This week, Mary explores the covers of brothers John and Hank Green as she eagerly awaits the release of Hank Green's A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. In this episode, Mary gives into her fan girl tendencies to give a short history of the careers of the brothers Green, and take a closer look at several of their novel covers. We discuss the evolution of John Green's book covers throughout his publishing career, look at the mysterious covers of Hank Green's novels to see if they hold clues about th...
Jul 14, 2020•39 min
This week, the ladies of Casing the Cover take a deeper dive into the world of movies, and specifically look at troupes of movie posters. We look at how to decode color schemes, body poses, actor billing, and other tools marketing departments use to get you into a theater. Along the way we compare the techniques of the movie world to what we know about book cover techniques, and spoil a few Emilia Clarke movies for good measure. Sources used for research in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/...
Jun 23, 2020•43 min
Summer is in full swing, and so this month your favorite book cover detectives are on vacation from the book shelves and taking a look at movie posters instead. We start the month with a trip under the sea as Jenn reviews two foreign films with very different takes on mermaids. Listen to this week's episode to find out more about The Mermaid, an adorable rom com about a mermaid assassin, and The Lure, a movie which is going to give Mary nightmares for the rest of her life without ever even watch...
Jun 09, 2020•37 min
For our second blast to the past, Jenn reads The Orange Grove by Kate Murdoch, a historic drama full of intrigue, magic, and many characters. In this episode we delve not only into historical accuracy in period dramas, but also discuss the pitfalls of balancing characters and the difficulty of killing your darlings. New episodes of Casing the Cover are released on the last second and fourthTuesday of each month. New and current episodes available at Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Qg83iC...
May 26, 2020•51 min
This month on Casing the Cover, current affairs are too much for us so we're taking a trip to the past. First Mary delves into Nadine Brandes' Romanov, a fantasy young adult novel about the tragedy of the Russian Royal Family. With one of the most beautiful covers we have encountered in our investigations, does Romanov have a story compelling enough to match, and how well does it blend historical and magical elements? Join us for this week's episode as we take a trip back in time with Romanov. T...
May 12, 2020•32 min
In this episode of Casing the Cover, Jenn and Mary are joined by author Avily Jerome. Jerome is the author of The Breeding, The Amulet Saga, and the all new book Swimmer. Join us as we talk with Jerome about her years in the writing industry, including her work as an editor, and her process of writing and publishing her novels. Naturally, we also talk in depth about Jerome's experience with choosing her beautiful cover art and working with cover artists. For more information on Avily Jerome and ...
Apr 28, 2020•40 min
This week Jenn reviews The Breeding by Aviy Jerome, a science fiction detective novel with a stunning cover. In this episode we also discuss the advantage of science fiction and fantasy novel cover with crossover appeal, the use of religion in fiction, and Jenn's beef with a sword. And stay tuned for our next episode of Casing the Cover where we talk to the author of The Breeding herself, Avily Jerome, all about her work and her cover art. For more information on Avily Jerome and her novels, and...
Apr 14, 2020•39 min
Like many others, Jenn and Mary are trying to find normalcy in quarantine, and this bonus episode is our attempt to pod long distance. In this episode we discuss how we're spending our time at home and finding new ways to connect with our friends, family, and communities. Join us for a mini review of A Sorceress of His Own by Dianne Duval, and stories of our exploits at Concellation 2020, the best online convention we've never been to. For more information on A Sorceress of His Own: http://diann...
Apr 07, 2020•56 min
We finish our month of James Patterson by diving into his 2019 novel The Chef, a novel Mary chose exclusively because she thought the man on the cover was Gordon Ramsey. Join us as we determine whether this novel, written by Patterson and Max DiLallo, is going to give us an insight on the lives of celebrity chefs as the cover implies, or if it is simply another in Patterson's long line of detective dramas. For information about Patterson's extensive career visit https://www.jamespatterson.com/ N...
Mar 24, 2020•40 min
James Patterson has published nearly 150 books during his illustrious career, and yet it seems like if you've seen one, you've seen them all.That's right, this month we are tackling the world's most prolific author, James Patterson, and for our first Patterson episode we're going to be taking a look at the covers of his many, many, many works. What will we discover about branding, marketing, and book trends when tackling such as case study? Turns out, quite a lot, so please join us as we take an...
Mar 10, 2020•37 min
This week Jenn and Mary examine an array of sexy men under the covers...I mean on...on the covers of romance novels. Journey with us as we travel through time to the days of Fabio and follow the trail of abandoned shirts to the headless horsemen of modern romance. Also literal horse men...and dinosaur men...it's a thing. Please take a look at the brilliant article by Jen Chen and Jessica Zhang that we examined in this episode! https://sites.duke.edu/unsuitable/men-on-covers/ New episodes of Casi...
Feb 25, 2020•36 min
In honor of Valentines Day Jenn takes on Lauren Rowe's Ball Peen Hammer, a romance novel all about sexy construction workers! Wait... that's not what this is about? Then what is it about? Join us for this very...um... romantic? episode of Casing the Cover as we discuss how we think Ball Peen Hammer came to be. Warning to listeners: This episode does contain discussion of some adult themes. To learn more about Lauren Rowe's Ball Peen Hammer visit http://www.laurenrowebooks.com/ball-peen-hammer Ne...
Feb 11, 2020•36 min
If you've ever wondered how some authors create their books overs, this is a must listen episode. This week, Jenn and Mary welcome their first ever Casing the Cover guest, Bob Frank! Bob Frank is the author of the Third Eye Trilogy and co-author of the upcoming Cloud to Cloud with our very own Jenn! Join us as we discuss Bob's series and he shares with us the traditional, and not so traditional, ways that he chose cover art for his Third Eye Trilogy. A huge thank you to Bob Frank for joining us ...
Jan 28, 2020•44 min
It's a new year so naturally Mary and Jenn had to start the decade off with a self help book. Join us as we talk all about the world of self help books, and take a look at Patti Digh's Life is a Verb, a self help book with an unusually crafty cover. Did we learn to be our best selves? Did we gain some enlightenment? Did Mary just pick this book up because she thought it was about scrapbooking? You won't know until you listen to the first Casing the Cover episode of 2020! To learn more about Patt...
Jan 14, 2020•30 min
It's the holiday season and what better way is there to celebrate than to sit by the fire with a cozy holiday mystery novel? Perhaps to sit by that same fire with a sultry romance novel? That is the question that Jenn and Mary endeavour to answer in this very special holiday episode of Casing the Cover? Which genre produces the better holiday covers? Listen and find out! To find out more about the books we discussed in today's episode The Mysteries - Yule Be Dead by Lorraine Bartlett and Gayle L...
Dec 24, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Join Jenn, Mary, and their live audience from CoKoCon 2019! In this episode Jenn reviews Paula Brackston's The Little Shop of Found Things, a science fiction novel wearing a mystery novel's book jacket, and Mary tackles Ryan Graudin's Wolf by Wolf a genre bending teen novel. Will either of us be reading the respective sequels to these titles? You'll have to listen to find out! While you're at it, stick around for our audience Q & A where our live liseners tell us some of their biggest cover ...
Nov 26, 2019•45 min
For our spoopy Halloween episode, Mary and Jen take a look at John Everson's The Pumpkin Man. Does this book provide the perfect scary read for All Hallows Eve, or does the titular killer fail to frighten us? Take a listen to find out what we think about this horror novel. Please be advised, this episode does deal with some gory subject matter, as is the case when reviewing books about serial killers. To learn more about John Everson's The Pumpkin Man visit http://www.johneverson.com. New episod...
Oct 29, 2019•40 min
Have you noticed how cozy Science Fiction and Fantasy novels are getting on library and bookstore shelves? Have Science Fiction and Fantasy become so close that we can't tell them apart anymore? That's what we find out in this week's episode as Mary takes revenge and tests Jenn's knowledge of our two favorite genres. Play along with us by testing your own knowledge of Science Fiction and Fantasy covers. Check out the links below for more information on the books that we talked about in today's e...
Sep 24, 2019•32 min
In this week's episode, Jenn learns all about Buddhism from an overweight feline and we both unleash our inner crazy cat ladies. Join us as we dive into David Michie's "The Dalai Lama's Cat". To discover more about the Dalai Lama's Cat and more of David Michie's work visit https://davidmichie.com. New episodes of Casing the Cover are uploaded on the last Tuesday of each month, and all available episodes can be found on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. To get regular updates about Casing the...
Aug 27, 2019•26 min
In the romance novel market, there seems to be a little something for everyone, but have you ever noticed that many of the covers follow some pretty similar tropes? We certainly have, and in this episode Mary poses the theory that most romance novel covers fall under one of three categories... and Jenn is determined to prove her wrong. Join us this week for a new episode of Casing the Cover where we talk all about romance novel covers. Check out the links below for more information on the books ...
Jul 30, 2019•29 min
It's Mary's turn to review a cover, and in this episode she tackles the ridiculously named and hilariously covered Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston. Will she make some surprising discoveries about shapeshifting honey badgers and the bears they love? Listen and find out! Warning to listeners: This episode does contain discussion of some adult themes and some profanity. If you want to discover more about The Honey Badger Chronicles or the rest of Laurenston's works visit http://shellylaurenst...
Jun 30, 2019•28 min
This week Jenn delves into Samantha Hunt's The Invention of Everything Else. Does the novel bring all the excitement of a pigeon taking flight? Listen and find out! If you want to find out more about the book we reviewed in today's episode please visit http://samanthahunt.net/. For more from Casing the Cover, or to suggest an upcoming episode topic or book for review you can find us at: https://www.facebook.com/CasingTheCover @casingthecover on Twitter or email us at Casingthecoverpod@gmail.com ...
Jun 26, 2019•26 min
An introduction to the podcast for new listeners. Jenn and Mary talk about the orgins of Casing the Cover, why they they are embarking on this project, and what listeners can expect from future eisodes of Casing the Cover. To find our more about Casing the Cover visit https://www.facebook.com/CasingTheCover/. Also for a bit of fun, check out the trailer for Jenn's Book "Blackstraps Ecstacy" here.
Jun 26, 2019•21 min
