Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Spymaster's Lady in Russian


I seem to be out in Russian.

Here. and Here.

I do want to find out how to get a copy of it.
Has to be some way ...

Interestingly enough, the cover seems related to the scene, and they've got Grey's shirt historically correct.
!

The title in Russian apparently translates to 'Secret Courtesan'.

The God of Romance Titles has not finished toying with me.


This cover is truly in competition for 'Cover of a Joanna Bourne Book Most Related to the Actual Story'.

ETA -- The better translation of the title is 'The Courtesan's Secret'. Very nice. Thanks so much to Russian reader Ksu for help on this.

22 comments:

  1. Ooh, congrats. Pretty cover. It's neat to see the difference in covers between countries/languages.

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  2. Oh, my. Well, congrats!! But...but..."Secret Courtesan"?? *snicker* I do hope it resonates better in Russian than in the translation.

    And what was this about your style being "dry"???? I didn't quite grasp that. Boy, I wish I'd could remember more Russian from my college days. It would be fun to read and translate on my own.

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  3. Ma-ee-na Kour-mee-zan-kee by Djoanna Born

    Sounding things out is the extent of my Russian skills ;)

    Congratulations :)

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  4. Love it. The art may not be fabulous, but it looks like someone actually read the book: short hair for Annique and a pretty but not-quite-decent dress.

    And is it my imagination, or are they about two minutes away from the bathtub scene?

    Nice!

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  5. Anonymous8:06 PM

    If you need I can always, HELP!!!! anything for a sneak peek!!JO, one question I want to ask is, are you not doing this story the hard, going in the past( when the characters are all ready established), why not write about someone new ! just curious.. Tal

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  6. Secret Courtesan? Is that really what the title translates to?

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  7. Я Люблю русский книги! (I like Russian books) Can't wait to get my hands on a copy and practice my Russian! :-)

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  8. How very cool! And the translations from the Russian web pages are a hoot. I especially like:

    "Ouch! I have a very long time need this book. I want!"

    Which is pretty much how I feel about your next book. {g}

    Linda

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  9. http://www.kniga.com/books/БОРН-Д-Тайна-куртизанки__k7255-1151.html

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  10. Anonymous2:48 PM

    Which book is it supposed to be? The literal translation of the book cover is "The Courtesan's Secret"

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  11. Hi Jo,

    Test post for you. Also, I like your Russian cover.

    Linda

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  12. The amazing thing is, the scene on the cover is within spitting distance of the scene in the book.

    And they got the period man's shirt right. See, it only opens half the way up.

    Somehow the pair on the cover look Russian. Dunnoh what it is.

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  13. They do look Russian. Something about the cheekbones, I think.

    Oh, and the translations of the Russian websites are great. My favorite is this, from the message board:

    "Ouch! I have a very long time need this book! I wish!"

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  14. Google translations never fail to delight me.

    If I need to know what's going on, I take the same passage and run it through babelfish as well. This let me kinda pick some from column A and some from column B and find some distant approach to meaning.

    Though much remains obscure.
    As always.

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  15. I love the cover. I wish they would make a movie of the book! In English, that is. ;-)

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  16. Uber cool. I would like to know what your name translates to, though...

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  17. @ Beth. I think the name is, like, my name. The beginning sound for the 'J' is more like 'Dj' though.

    @ LL. Wouldn't it be cool if it were a movie. *g*

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  18. Y'know ... the more I look at the cover, the better I like it.

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  19. Hi, Jo! Му name is Ksu. I am from Russia. Here are some corrections to your Google translation:

    1) The title in Russian apparently translates to 'Secret Courtesan'.

    - In English it means "The Courtesan's Secret" :)

    2) I believe the male on the cover is John DeSalvo. So he is not Russian at all. But our publishers use his cover images quite a lot. Maybe because of his cheekbones. ;) I think he is the only one book cover model whose name is well known to romance readers. Accept for Fabio, of course... :)

    3) "Ouch! I have a very long time need this book! I wish!" means:

    - Wow! I have been interested in this book for a very long time. I want it! :)

    4) Is your surname pronounciation starts with [bo] or with [bu]? That is the question. :)

    We're waiting for your next books. Good luck!

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  20. Hi Ksu --

    I suspected the Google Translation had some major flaws. Your words are much more logical.

    For those who do not know John DeSalvo, he may be found at

    http://www.romancebookcovers.com/hotbar/thewarriorsdamsel.jpg

    and

    http://www.romancebookcovers.com/hotbar/franklymydear.jpg


    He is so cool. I have been lucky in the men they put on my covers.

    My name is pronounced 'born'. One syllable. As in, "I was born in Baltimore'

    I'm working very hard on the next manuscript. I am so slooooow.

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  21. Hi All --

    Strangely, Blogger has been hoarding comments.
    Now they're back again.

    Life is so strange.

    @Sandy. Yes. I do love this cover. They even have the ATTITUDE of the two characters right for this scene.
    I mean, how cool is that?

    @ Claire. I am assuming this is the two of them at the inn. Anneka is about to bash Grey over the head with a candlestick. It is shaped somewhat differently from those shown on the cover, but I am not going to nitpick. I am so achingly grateful we're even in the same ballpark, coverwise.

    I mean, with me and covers it's like I'm playing baseball and they're playing soccer and we're on the same playing field but . . .

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  22. @Tal --

    The reason I'm going back to 1794 to write the Maggie story . . .

    Hmmm ....
    There is probably a good reason for this.

    I guess it's that I have the whole lives of a dozen characters in my head. So if I'm sitting in 1812 I'm in the middle of Doyle's life and Adrian's life and that 1812 moment is interesting to me and I want to write about it.

    But the lovestory part of Doyle's life is back in 1794 and the lovestory part of Adrian's life is ahead in 1818. So that's where THEIR books will be.

    Does that make any sense?

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