Elaine Gignilliat

Taken from the publication Love Lines published in 1983 by Bantam.

Elaine's appealing swept away look has appeared on such covers as Day Taylor's The Black Swan and Moss Rose (both by Dell); Catherine Coulter's Devil's Embrace, Lorena Dureau's Iron Lace (Tapestry); and Diane Dunaway's Desert Hostage (**a great sheik romanace by the way).

She devotes a great deal of time to research and details for each of her covers. She reads each story and if the author say, mentions a specific river or mountain range, she does intensive research on the area. "It has to be right," she says. "Readers resent it when the cover doesn't fit the descriptions in the book, or if it looks too general. When you fake something, it usually looks it. The cover should fit the book." It should also indicate the degree of sensuality in the book, she adds, to help guide the buyer.

Elaine visits the library or consults her own voluminous files for her research. Thoroughly familiar with clothing, she can pinpoint a style within ten years throughout history. If a cover calls for a sunset, she researches photographs until she finds the right cloud formations or colors.

Elaine allows two weeks for the actual painting. Her work days tend to be long--ten to sixteen hours-- and spill into weekends as well. She paints in oils and uses any colors, whichever seem best suited to the book. The illustration should look believable, she says, "but the artist has to breathe a little magic into it."

Examples of Elaine's great covers.