by Sarah MayberryWhen I filled out the art sheet for my November release, All They Need, I knew I was tempting the book cover gods when I described my heroine as having long dark curly hair. The Harlequin art department are magical wizards are far as I am concerned. They produce an enormous amount of beautiful cover art every month, and I am continually amazed by the lovely covers they give me for my books. Somehow they always manage to capture the essence of the story, be it in the smile the heroine and hero are exchanging or the attitude of their body language or in some other way. (A side note: I am particularly fond of the red umbrella they gave my hero and heroine in The Best Laid Plans).
The thing with curly hair, though, is that it's rare. Certainly it's rare amongst models, from what I see in various magazines. So I knew I was stretching the friendship when I gave my heroine long curly hair. I knew it might be hard to cast. And yet I did it anyway, because I'd written the book already and I simply couldn't imagine my heroine any other way. She just wouldn't be Mel without her crazy hair.
Can I tell you how thrilled I was when I got the cover for this book? Mel has curly hair! Better yet, she's wearing the stripy long-sleeved T-shirt I described, as well as the red woolly socks. She and Flynn look so cosy and comfortable together they almost make me wish for winter and an open fire - almost!
In case you can't tell from my author photo, I have curly hair, too. For the first twenty-odd years of my life, it was the bane of my existence. Because it was so unmanageable, my mum kept my hair pretty short when I was growing up. I have since learned that short hair and curls - my curls, at least - are not a great combination. In fact, pretty much it's just a recipe for fuzz. When I was in primary (elementary) school, I used to sleep with a scarf on my head (like a pirate!) so that I when I woke up in the morning I'd have "straight" hair instead of said fuzz. In high school I used to go through a can of hairspray a week to achieve the new romantic spiky look that I rocked for the latter part of my teen years. It wasn't until I was eighteen that I had the brilliant idea to grow my hair. And lo and behold, with a bit of length came corkscrew curls instead of unmanageable fuzz and my difficult relationship with my hair became much more friendly.
I've learned a lot of things since those early sleeping-with-scarf days. I know not to wash my hair every day. I know to never, ever brush it. And if I do all those things and the stars are aligned, it's possible to pull off a good hair day.
How about you? I'd love to here about your bad hair days, your youthful mistakes, or any other hair related hi-jinks you care to share. I'm going to give away a copy of All They Need to a poster, so post away for a chance to win - and, of course, to be in the running for the fabulous Kindle we've got on offer.
69 comments:
Well, that's an awesome cover and I think Mel is adorable! I have to say all my heroines on my covers have been pretty much spot on. In A Taste of Texas, Rayne has corkscrew curls that are long and red...and they even got that right :)
I know my picture doesn't show it, but I have naturally curly hair. In fact, it looks a great deal like yours, Sarah. For some reason, when I wear it curly, I feel not so put together, so I tend to blow dry it straight (with loads of product) and use the flat iron. But my husband likes it wild and curly best, so here lately I've been letting it go au natural. Heck, if he thinks it's sexier looking, I guess I should embrace that.
I have naturally curly hair also but with age it has somewhat become less curly as it turns more gray. As a child my mother kept it short so she could comb it easier but as I hit my teen years I just let it grow and found that it would curl in corkscrew curls which I rather liked and some of my friends envied.During the corkscrew curl days I let my hair grow to my waist. But oh trying to wash it was a real pain!!!
PS Don't enter me in the contest for the book as I already have it and have read it.
I have straight hair. My hair woes have always been with coloring my hair. The worst colors I have had are gun metal gray and lemon yellow.
I have a daughter who is blessed with curly hair...and of course she wants to brush it straight like her sister.
Love the cover!
Great cover, can't wait to read the book! My hair woes are exactly the opposite of yours. Mine is fine STRAIGHT hair. For too many years to count I have had it permed into tight curls- just recently I have embraced by hair's natural tendency and gone short and straight. With a little color and highlight I am actually liking it. Imagine that!!
Love the cover. Can't wait to read it.
I used to perm my hair in high school. It was the only way I could achieve the required big hair of the 80's.
Somehow, after having my second child, my hair got a bit of wave to it. If I let it dry naturally, it looks like I just took my hair out of a pony tail.
Sarah, I love your curls! They look fabulous in your photo. In the sixties, the big thing was VERY straight long hair. My sister used to iron her hair--on the ironing board with a regular iron! The things we do for fashion and vanity ;-)
I love your new cover.
Mary
Hi Sarah,
I have natually curly, (I mean frizzy) hair too. Humidity and I are not friends. I love your new cover and I want your book!
My hair is getting curlier as I get older. What's up with that?
The bad hair days? Do we have that much blog space (or time)?
High school graduation day. I went to a hairdresser I'd never used before. She had no clue about African-American hair and I had no clue what to tell her since I'd only been to a hairdresser once or twice before. Pretty much hit or miss. Big miss. I had to go home and restyle my hair before I could go to graduation. Very disappointing.
There is no curl in my hair at all and you can't do a thing with it. I use to put perms in so I would have some body and then they got to where they wouldn't take so not I just keep it cut off short and blow dry it and hope for the best. I did have a few perms that turned out to be big fuzz balls though. You just never know whats going to happen.
Great post! I don't read a lot of heroines with curly hair and I think some curls can be very pretty. I have natural wavy hair which needs taming but sometimes I do appreciate it.
Sarah--I love your hair. I always wanted tousled curls, but had to make do with wavy and fine. The blow dryer is my best friend.
I think we may have the same cover model. When I sent in the Art Fact Sheet for Cowboy Comes Back, I sent a picture of the blue roan horse, which the art department did a fantastic job on, and a picture of the heroine's long curly hair. They hit a home run there, too. Score!
I'm with a lot of the people commenting, fine hair that doesn't do anything. I keep it semi-long in the winter and short short in the summer, learned to live with it.
I also love your cover and would love to win the book!!!
It's kind of funny, Sarah, but until I was in the 10th grade, I really had no idea that my hair was naturally as straight as a stick. That's because, as far back as I could remember, my mother gave me permanents, even as a very small child (like 4).
Of course, I knew that permanents gave one wavy/curly hair, but since I'd never seen my own hair without a permanent, I didn't really have a clue. And while I love curly hair like your heroine's on the gorgeous cover (the cover gods were definitely smiling on you), I never liked my "bumpy" hair that would just wave uncontrollably unless I rolled it and sat under the hair dryer. (Yes, I grew up during a time without blow dryers and curling irons.) Then again, does anyone naturally like their own hair, curly or straight, when they're young?
So, the summer before 10th grade, I rebelled and talked Mom out of a perm. It was only then that I discovered that my hair is pretty much straight as a stick and very fine. Hmmmm. That worked for a girl growing up in the 60s and 70s, when peace and love and the hippy look with its long straight hair reigned supreme.
For the most part, I've made peace and am content with my hair these days, though at my age one can really use the softness around the face that a little curl provides. Nowadays, I get my little bit of curl and lift from a curling iron and sometimes a multitude of hair "product". As long as it doesn't rain or get too humid (ha! look humid up in the dictionary and you'll probably find a picture of the Ohio River valley), the soft curl will stay and make me happy. Otherwise, I end the day looking a lot like a sheep dog, with hair flopping down over my face.
Hi Sarah,
That's a great cover and the red umbrella on Best Laid Plans was so striking and memorable!
When I went away to college, my hair was thick and straight. I decided I would get a perm for the first time, but it didn't seem to "take." So I went back and asked the hairdresser to redo it.
She gave me another perm and still no curls. I was at college for about a week when I decided I'd just cut it short and forget about the failed perms.
Guess what? BOTH perms were lying in wait. As soon as the length was gone, tight red curls sprang up all over my head.
I was looking very Little Orphan Annie-esque. Not the best look for impressing the college boys.
After that, I grew it long and got lots of layers which enabled me to achieve the enormous red, curly 80s perm I maintained for the next four years. It was just as special as it sounds.
Now my hair is mostly gray and has nice body. I actually really like it even if I miss my red a bit.
Congrats on the gorgeous covers!
Great cover. I really like the new darker look to the covers. I agree, it's cozy. Love the socks.
When I first moved to Asia, after six weeks I was badly in need of a hairdresser. One of my colleagues recommended one near by and made the appointment as they didn't speak English. In Asia, hair comes pretty much black and straight. So when the hairdresser combed out my hair it went straight as it was wet but as she cut it, it began to curl. To my horror, she got spooked by the curl and started screaming and pulling my hair. She quit with only a third of my hair cut and tried to wave me out of her shop. When I wouldn't leave, another hairdresser very hesitantly finished the cut, sort of. I didn't need to speak their language to know they told me not to come back.
I always envied the curly-headed girls, imagine never having a flat hair day. But now I appreciate a frizzy hair day is just as bad. Like many other straight-haired commenters I had a perm once -less said the better.
Karina
And I MUST use a brush on mine to get it to do anything!
linda s.,
I wonder what she thought she would accomplish by screaming and pulling on your hair? Your story's funny now, but I'm sure it wasn't a bit funny as you sat in the salon with half-cut hair!
Hello everyone! I am up and about. Starting from the top: Liz, I had my hair straightened professionally by my hairdresser two haircuts ago, at the instigation of my neighbour who was there getting her hair cut at the same time. My hair was so soft and straight afterward, it was unbelievable. But I felt like a racing ferret. Waaaay too much face, not enough hair. So, I'm kind of the opposite of you - I'm so used to the curls I feel naked without them!
Hi Ellen. I was trying to grow my hair all year because I envisaged myself having the sort of flowing curls you achieved. Then it got to a certain point and I realised all I was doing was sticking it into a pony tail all the time. What's the point of having long hair if you never wear it long? So I got it cut to about the length it is in my author photo again. And the world is a much better place! It will be interesting to see if I lose curl as my hair gets greyer. Although it's pretty grey already, truth to tell.
CrystalGB, I can give you a run for your money on hair color! On a trip to the US about 15 years ago, I had my very short dark hair bleached white blonde (I wanted to be Annie Lennox). It took two goes with the peroxide and my scalp had chemical burns afterward. Then, after about a week, the regrowth came. Looked TERRIBLE. So I redid my hair myself. Then another week and more dark regrowth, and I realised that this hair color was extremely high maintainance. So I decided to go back to the dark burgundy color I'd been sporting before the bleach. But bleached hair will not take hair color. I ended up with rose pink colored hair. Thank God it was so short and it grew out relatively quickly, but I had a very horrible couple of months there.
Hi Marcy. Sometimes I brush my hair, just for laughs. I look like a member of the Jackson Five. Enough said.
Hi Janet. Working WITH nature rather than against it is much less exhausting, isn't it? And far more comfortable than sleeping with a scarf on (or in rollers like my Nan used to!).
Kristina, I've heard people say that about having children changing their hair. People who have had chemotherapy say it, too. I think that's really interesting. Makes you wonder if there will ever be a pill for curly or straight hair. In theory, kind of cool, but imagine waiting for a full head of straight or curly hair to grow in!
Hi Mary. I love this cover, too. It's so snuggy looking! And there's such a nice vibe between the two of them. My mum has curly hair - actually much curlier than mine - and she used to iron her hair on the iron board, too. Talk about dangerous!!!
Tammy, humidity is not our friend, is it? I have found a great new product in the last year that I find really good for giving me curl definition. It's called Morrocan Oil Intense Curl Cream. It's expensive - about 40 dollars here in Australia (no doubt only 5 dollars elsewhere if other commodity prices are anything to go by!!!) but one bottle lasts me nearly 6 months. It give me great curl and definition without any crunchiness.
Helen, EllenToo said her curly hair got straighter as she got older. You're right, it's strange. Especially when you spend a life time getting used to and taming your hair. Kind of unfair to negate all that expertise!
Patricia W, I cannot tell you the number of times I have left the hairdresser and sat in the car trying to either calm down the enormous hair they have given me. Now I just leave the hairdresser with damp hair with a bit of product in it and let nature do the rest.
Perms were very big when I was in highschool, but of course my hair was short then, wasn't it? I can remember watching my friends' wildly varied results from getting them, though. And all the fancy names - weave perm and spiral perm and whatnot.
Hi Na. My sister has wavy hair. She's going through a stage of ruthlessly using the hair irons every day. I think Kate Middleton (now Princess something or other) has brought hair with more body back into fashion, so maybe wavy hair is coming into its own!!!
Jeannie, I think they do a great job using the same models and making them look different in different cover shoots. I requested the model from one of my covers (Take on Me) for my female boxer Blaze, Below the Belt. And I'm pretty sure I got her - but I still find it hard to tell for sure. Getting a horse right is pretty cool! I really do think the Harlequin art dept rocks!
Hi Gloria.I love the idea of having a winter haircut and sumer haircut. My hair takes soooo long to grow, though, I'd have to do it every two years! Mind you, it gets "big" easily, just not long.
Hi JV. I cannot imagine how strange it must have been to not know what your hair was really like until you were in high school. Your mum obviously has a real thing about straight hair, didn't she? Good on you for standing your ground.
I have very straight hair and I got a perm once in high school and it made my hair frizzy and I've never gotten another perm since.
Hi Ellen. I love the idea of your two perms lying in wait for you, aching to pounce once you had your hair cut. Hair always has the last word. I want to see a picture of you with big red hair. Pretty please?
Linda S, what an amazing story. How bizarre that they had never encounter curly hair before. And how worrying for you to be the source of so much freaking out!!! This is why we love our hairdressers when we find a good one!
Hi Karina. Yes, frizzy hair days are the pits. Sometimes the only resort is to wear a hat. I have quite the collection! I think I heard a few years ago that they were trying to revive the perm, but it doesn't seem to have taken off. Phew, eh?
Jane, you are amongst good company in the "tried a perm once" camp. From what I can gather, it's a bit of a crap shoot - you never know what you're going to get. Personally, I'm happy to play "lucky dip" at the fair, but not with my hair. And yes, that was a rhyming couplet.
Hi Sarah,
You're in luck. I participated in a Big Hair day blog. Here's a link. Scroll down to find me.
http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-hair-day.html
;-)
Ellen, thank you. That was awesome. If I had a scanner, I would share my Annie Lennox blond do with you. I look as though I was recently released from a women's prison. Sadly, the scanner died last year. Thanks for sharing - and that was some gorgeous Titian hair you had!
Yep. Did the 80's perm/big hair thing. But in my defense...I have baby fine hair with a wave here and there just to make my life more difficult. I found short hair when I started having babies. Much, much easier to tame. ;) LOVE the new covers!!
Awesome cover Sarah... and guess what, my hair is long and curly too! My mom liked it short, but it would just go bawangi all over my head, so when I got to high school, I wore it long to weigh it down. It's still long (down to my butt) and needs a trim but I always leave it at least a foot long (pass my shoulders) to weigh down the curls :)
Sarah, your hair always looks great. I have wavy hair that's prone to frizz so I feel your angst. When I lived in humid, rainy Vancouver my hair was a giant puffball. Having some length helps pull it down though and I don't know how I lived before the flat iron.
Yay on the artists getting your heroine right. Love the cover of All They Need. It's a fabulous, touching story.
Beautiful cover. I have naturally curly and wavy hair which I've had a love hate relationship with since my teens. I asked my mom to chemically straighten it once, but the episode that stands out in my mind is the time I got a perm. Yes, a perm! Think poodle. Ugh!
LindaC
Hi Chelle. I have always been a fan of short-ish hair. It's just easier. Plus my hair gets very hard to manage once there's a whole lot more of it.
Hi Snookie. I have tried the long hair thing, but I find I get this flattened thing on top of my head and that doesn't really suit my face shape. In case you didn't see above, I swear by Morroccan Oil Intense Curl cream. Here's a link if you're interested. It gives awesome curl definition. http://moroccanoil.com/
Hi Joan. You're always very kind about my hair. I love yours at the moment - always looks great. Especially loved it with your fabbo beret at conference. Tres chic!
Hi Linda C. Those poodle perms were quite the rage for a while, weren't they? It must have been that much harder to control them, too, back in the day because they didn't have as many different hair care products around. Mousse, gel or hairspray are not curly hair's friends!
Well I started life with wavy hair but it is only somewhat wavy now.
My absolute worst hair experience came when I was a bridesmaid at my older brother's wedding. I had never been to a hairdresser to begin with and my sister in law requested all her bridesmaids would have the same big hair. Many bobby pins and back combing and lots of hairspray and I was set to go. It looked alright for the wedding but it took me two days to get it combed out and looking normal. By that time my head was so itchy I was almost tempted to cut it off.
PS ~ I love your cover and don't enter me in the draw as I ordered your book on Friday.
PPS ~ Ellen Hartman ~ Love your big hair.
Hi Kaelee. I have never backcombed my hair in my life. I think I missed a lot of the backcombing years (fortunately). It sounds painful to rectify! Hope you enjoy All They Need when it arrives.
Hi Sarah, isn't it ironic - when you have straight hair, you want curly hair or visa verse. I do also have curly hair, mine doesn't look as cute as yours. Love your hair! Also love the cover of your new book - it was very well done. Can't wait to read it!
Hi Botanyflora. We humans are fickle, grass-is-always-greener creatures, aren't we? My hair is currently going through a good stage now that I have found a good hairdresser again. I wept when I left New Zealand and The Best Hairdresser Eva behind.
I have straight hair. I was a teenager in the 80's so I had perms most of the time. Rather made a mess out of my hair.
Chey, I was tempted to try the chemical straightening thing when I was younger but I'd heard such horror stories about perm solution and it put me off. I hear it's pretty harsh stuff. Hope your hair eventually recovered!
Your hair always looks fabulous Sarah. I was born with auburn curly hair that evetually morphed into wavy brown. Now it's going pepper and salt grey, which I have to admit I quite like. Looking forward to reading your latest.
Oops! That was me not Reader!
Hey, Sarah, great cover! As far as bad hair days, I long for the days when we wore scarves and tied them at the back of our heads--I know I date myself with that, but it was so much fun to buy a great scarf and not have hair worries.
Hi Reader/Keziah, You're very kind. I can assure you, my hair doesn't always look great. My husband is particularly fond of the "palm tree" look I wear sometimes where I scoop it all on top of my head with a hair tie. Like a palm tree. Very attractive (not!). I am tempted to give up dying my hair, but every time I let the gray grow out a bit I chicken out. My nan died at 92 with a full head of brunette (dyed!) hair. I think I might go that way, too!
Hi Mary. I spent a great many of my university days sporting a sort of rolled scarf thingy on my head that allowed me to never have to worry about my hair. I am a big fan of hats and the like for the same reason. Sometimes it really is too much trouble, especially if your hair requires arm wrestling into submission.
I find when my hair gets too unruly I braid it up & tie the plaits up. I look a bit like a Swedish backpacker.
Marybelle, I would love to be able to braid my hair, but it's never really been long enough. I happen to think the Heidi look is very fetching.
I really like your upcoming releases cover. I love her outfit and she looks really cute. I made the mistake of asking my mother to get a perm in the early 90's. It did not go well. LOL I learned my lesson though, never again. :)
Thanks for the giveaway!
jcross719(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Hi Jess. These perm stories are a strong indicator of why the perm may never make a big come back. Who wants to go into a salon with no idea of how they will look coming out? (although there is an argument to be made that we all take that risk every time we get our hair cut!)
Jo's daughter, This story reminds me of the time I bought myself a pair of thinning scissors. If you're not familiar with them, they look a bit like scissors on one side of the blade and a comb on the other. The theory, I guess, is that they cut some and leave some so your hair is thinned out. Since I have thick hair (as well as the curls) I figured I might be able to last longer between hair cuts if I could get rid of some of the puffiness inbetween. Um, yeah. I got a little zealous with the thinning scissors and wound up with a big bald patch right near my temples. Gave the scissors away the next day.
Congratulations of the cover. I like it.
I have curly hair myself and it's been very problematic. It is very dry from the ends and so it looks untidy and when there is humidity it gets more curly. I mostly keep it in ponytail to avoid all these problems.
Include me to the competition.
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