Showing posts with label Cover Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cover Art. Show all posts

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Thursday Tease with Roxy Wilson


Hello Lovelies,

Today I have a smexy post Christmas treat for you. The awesome Roxy Wilson was nice enough to stop by and drop a quick teaser of her new book, The Right Kind of Love.


I was fortunate enough to meet Roxy earlier this year just after reading her debut novel, He's So Into You. Not only did I like her writing style, but Roxy is a genuinely nice person who is fun to interact with online. 

If you check out the gorgeous book cover to the left you'll see the cover for Roxy's latest book, The Right Kind of Love.

It's no secret that love cover reveals. They're the perfect tease to the beginning of a new story. So often we see couples or nekkidness all over covers that I love to see covers that are both compelling, simple and beautiful all at once.

What are your thoughts? What about covers tantalize and tease you? What draws you in and captures your attention.

THE RIGHT KIND OF LOVE
Available now via Secret Cravings Publishing
And available at Amazon Barnes & Noble and other e-book outlets December 30th


BLURB
New Yorker Sloane Saunders has just about given up on love. She’s thirty-something and very single. A magazine article jolts her from her malaise and motivates her to do something she’s never tried before: online dating, and firstmeet.com is the website of choice.

Attending his brother’s bachelor party was the wake-up call Blake Morrison needed. Memories of a passionate relationship from his past drive him to return to claim his woman. Sloane. Despite the sizzling chemistry between them, it’s not as easy as he thought. With a family crisis and Sloane’s preconceived notions about love and relationships getting in the way, can Blake convince Sloane they have the right kind of love and that a love like theirs can last?

EXCERPT
“Why am I doing this, again?”

Sloane stared at the matchmaking website. Firstmeet.com. It promised to make falling in love easy. Then why was her chest so tight? Why did she feel like Atlas, with the weight of the heavens on her shoulders? Were these signs that her foray into online dating could turn out to be one of the horror stories she’d heard on the news? With her luck she’d end up meeting a catfish who created a false identity and made a complete fool of her. Not in a million years would she have believed she would resort to this.

Do I really need to do this? Is it worth the risk? No. Maybe I shouldn’t bother. I should just be content living alone, and using my Hitachi Magic Wand when I feel the need for some adventure in the bedroom.

“You know what?” Sloane moved the cursor to the Log Out icon. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all.” Just when she was about to click on the icon, Harper’s words came swimming up to the surface of her consciousness—Open yourself up to new possibilities, and maybe, just maybe, you might get your happily-ever-after.

Sloane lifted her eyes toward the ceiling. “Harper, you’re not even here, and you’re messing with my head.” She looked at the monitor and saw she had a million questions to answer before she completed her profile.

She inhaled a deep breath. “Okay, here goes.”

The questionnaire was exasperating. She couldn’t believe it went so far as to ask her to select what she’d do if she won the state lottery. How about all of the above? Sheesh. Sloane used the Eeny meeny miny moe rhyme to choose an answer, since all of the above wasn’t one of the options.

Twenty minutes later, Sloane completed the online form and paid the subscription fee. She took her shower and was just about to wrap the bath towel around her body, when she heard the doorbell. She wasn’t in the mood for visitors. Not when she needed to get ready to head out in a few minutes. The NHL games attracted large crowds, so everyone knew how important it was to arrive there early to get the coveted seats. Whoever was outside continued to press the doorbell, making Sloane more and more irritated by the second.

“Enough already, I’m coming,” Sloane muttered. She dried her skin briskly. Who could possibly be disturbing her peace this early on a Sunday morning? Don’t people understand the concept of weekends? It’s Sunday, for crying out loud. She rushed to her drawer and grabbed some clothing, along with her under-things. It didn’t seem as if Sloane could put her clothes on fast enough for her impatient, unwelcome guest.

By the time Sloane reached the hallway, the shrill sounds of the doorbell seemed to touch the most sensitive part of her nerves. She barely restrained herself from shoving her fist into her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Sloane opened the door, not too gently. Belatedly, she thought how foolish it was to not check the peephole before opening the door. When she saw the man standing before her, her last-minute fear vanished.

The first thing that caught her attention was the width of his shoulders. It was one of the things about a man’s physique that got her going. Sloane believed only other full-figured women would understand the rare delight she felt in the moment, to be standing next to a man with such broad shoulders. Sloane was sure she would feel protected, and oh-so-delicate, if he wrapped his arms around her. It was a sensation she didn’t often enjoy with the opposite sex. It would feel so good to be an elf, a dainty little thing, needing protection, in his presence. Sloane mentally shook herself out of the fixation on the man’s shoulders, and allowed her eyes to track upwards.

“What the—” Her voice trailed off as she peered into cyan-blue eyes. She felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head, as she looked into the all-too-familiar crooked, dimpled smile of the man who’d haunted her naughtiest dreams for ages.

“Blake?”

Did you like your tease? Go ahead and show Roxy some love. You can always find her strutting around the web, especially Facebook and Twitter. And don't forget to check out her blog. Ms. Wilson's posts are always so informative. 


ABOUT ROXY WILSON

Roxy Wilson is a self-professed junkie whose excessive consumption of traditional and electronic books is legendary.

As a graduate with a degree in Education, she writes blogs which help readers to think critically about and appreciate poetry. In July, 2012, however, she decided to delve into the world of writing romance stories.

When she is not reading or writing, she spends her time cooking, listening to music and visiting the various islands of the Caribbean.



Talk to you soon,
Laurel

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Winter Book Releases

Good Evening Lovelies,

I love this time of year! There are back to back holidays that just get me in a happy as can be mood. Starting with Halloween I'm usually sporting an annoying grin till New Years. The addition of pumpkin pancakes to the mix a few years ago only added to my overall happiness. However this year there are a few extra bits of awesome that have catapulted my holiday mood to squee-tastic proportions. This afternoon I finalized my book launch schedule for the end of the year!

Although I had originally hoped to have both Acquisition Skills and Cupcakes at Midnight launched in November and January respectively, plans have changed slightly. Those two books have been pushed back to early 2014, and I'll announce the release dates as soon as they're confirmed. However, I'm super happy to announce that starting in December, I will be releasing the first of four (yes FOUR) new books! SQUEEEEEE!

My winter line up is as follows:

Wynter's Fall
December 22nd 2013

Executive Control
December 30th 2013

Wynter's Grace
January 20th 2014

Wynter's End
February 24th 2014

Wynters's Fall, Wynter's Grace and Wynter's Fall are part of my Wynter's Tales trilogy. Each one is a small twist on a some of my favorite fairy tales and rhymes. I'm really excited about this series. Aside from the stories told in each book, I've included a little surprise in each one that has me bouncing off the walls in anticipation. I hope you all like them.

Executive Control, is a sexy contemporary that I promise you, will scorch your e-readers :). There's just something about sassy women and the men who love to chase them that always makes me smile. Executive Control is not a part of my Boardroom Acts series, but if you loved Negotiating Skills and Persuasion Skills, you'll definitely enjoy this read. 

I'll be posting blurbs for each of these releases soon. However, since I have to share at least one thing, here's a sneak peak at the cover for Executive Control.



Talk to you soon,
Laurel

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tuesday Teasing with Iyana Jenna

Hello Lovelies,

It's been a long while since I posted any new books or teases. I'll be remedying that soon. Casual Smex Friday and Foreplay Monday will be back in full force in November. However, until then the lovely Iyana Jenna was nice enough to provide a little Tuesday Teaser.

If you check out the gorgeous book cover to the left you'll see the cover reveal for Iyana's latest book, A Single Black Rose.

I love cover reveals. They're the perfect tease to the beginning of a new story. Let's face it a pretty cover always draws the eye and I love this one! Aside from complementing the title it also sets a tone that I find intriguing and yes, it does have me interested at first glance about the story within. The hot guy brooding also helps :).

What are your thoughts? What about covers tantalize and tease you? What draws you in and captures your attention.


A SINGLE BLACK ROSE
Coming on November 17, 2013, from JMS Books LLC.

Blurb

Actor Sean O'Reilly received a bouquet of roses that at first he thought was sent by his boyfriend, Nate Matthews. Alarm bells rang when Nate said that he hadn't sent them. Sean panicked when he kept receiving flowers over the next days, and what worried him more was that there was always a single black rose in the middle of other colored ones.

Together they tried to find out the meaning of all this. They found no answers. Sean and Nate didn’t realize that a wicked plot against Sean had been set up by an obsessed fan who was helped by a brother who had promised to always take care of him.


Did you like your tease? Go ahead and show Iyana some love. You can find her hopping around the web, trailing smexy prose left and right. 

IYANA JENNA: Blog | Website | Amazon | Goodreads | Facebook |Twitter

Talk to you soon,
Laurel

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Persuasion Skills Cover Reveal!

Hello Lovelies!

I've been bouncing around for the last few days super excited to finally have the official release date and cover art for Persuasion Skills! Final edits went out, cover art mocks tweaked and approved, final release date set!

So drum roll please . . .The release date is this Friday, July 5th! Yeah I know, I ran around like a headless chicken when it was confirmed. Admittedly I had the opportunity to chose a later date, but you know me...no patience! So July 5th was chosen and Ay Caramba! what a whirl wind it's been since.

Anyhoo, doesn't that cover just look scrumptious? As the image alludes there are some...(ahem) interesting scenes in the book involving an alpha hero and a woman who doesn't mind being swayed by his methods of persuasion...

Don't just take my word for it. Go ahead and take a peak at the excerpt here. Oh yeah and also buy he book on Friday (wink-wink).

A virtual tour is currently being arranged and as promised I'll be setting up some prizes and giveaways in honor of the event. I'm planning a virtual release party via Facebook and Twitter for Friday, July 12th so please stay tuned. I have an awesome grand prize in the works so don't miss it!

Also don't forget to sign up for my newsletter. Subscribers will have access to additional opportunities to win prizes including the chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift card (only open to newsletter subscribers)!

Okay I'm off to spread the news far and wide through out the interwebs. 

Talk to you soon, 
Laurel
 

Monday, August 27, 2012

Romance Novel Book Covers Mystery Solved!

Good Evening Lovelies,

Let me preface this post by stating self-publishing your own book is HARD. I have major respect for all writers who have taken this route. When you're a first time author whose chosen this path you take on more than the role of writer, you become your agent, your publicist, your editor and your cover designer all rolled into one frazzled, scared  and determined package. When I first made the decision to self publish I spent hours reading blogs, articles and books about how best to go about it. There were three main rules that seemed to be consistant through out all of my sources:

1.) Write a story that you think is awesome (kind of obvious, I know).
2.) Publish your book to as many sources possible. 
3.) Make your book physically stand out.

Today I want to focus on rule number three. In a perfect world you would hope that your work stands by itself. That the story you worked so hard to get out to the masses is so good that the moment you publish people flock to the net and download copies of it in multiple formats and languages just so that they can tell their grandchildren they got a copy the first day your amazing story was released.... Hmm anyway, the most amazing story in the world will never get read if no one sees it to buy! We unfortunately, are human (most of us anyway), and as humans we are drawn to shining objects and other attractive sites. That is where book cover art comes in. Cover art is the beer bikini models of the book industry. They provide the enticement for readers to stop their scrolling and pause to take a second look, and after writing that amazing world impacting book you don't want a wallflower in a one piece you want a Victoria Secret model striking a "come get me" pose!

This is actually the main reason why I chose to go with a professional cover artist for my first book (the ever lovely Ravven). I wanted my cover to represent not only my book but stand out among the crowd of other books in its genre as well. Admittedly I could have perused the millions of stock photos available on the web and worked up a basic cover myself for free (or close to free), but why spend all that time when you can pay someone who is a professional and actually knows what their doing? Not to mention you're getting a customized cover that is wholly unique. This leads me to an interesting phenomenon I've noticed amongst e-book covers.
      
For a while I've wondered why so many self-published and professionally published e-books have very similar book covers and by similar I mean EXACTLY the same. Seriously, it's particularly noticeable within multicultural and interracial titles. The same cover models are being used in the same poses across multiple books by different authors. At first I honestly thought that it was one designer peddling the same image off on multiple unsuspecting authors. However, after a while I noticed that  the same covers were showing up at popular websites who shall remain nameless (trust me you'll know them when you see them), and thought maybe it's just these sites. Maybe their design departments are so swamped with work from so many awesome authors that they're recycling covers to increase productivity and bring more reading material to the hungry masses (yeah every now and then my Pollyanna comes out to play). However, today I learned the truth behind these doppelganger covers! It was my DUH! moment of the week. The culprit is www.RomanceNovelCovers.com! 

I found the website randomly through a Google link maze while searching for something else entirely (you know how it is). Anyway, when I entered the site, there was almost every cover I've seen ciculating the romance lists lately. Now let me be perfectly blunt, I don't see anything wrong with using stock photos. As  a self-published writer you need to utilize all of the resources at your disposal. However, I do think that if you're going to use stock images, go the extra mile and actually layer elements on the images to make them unique. There are a two really great applications (GIMP and Paint.Net) that can be used for this and they are completely free. 

I know some people will read this post and accuse me of being a snooty newbie, but seriously e-book self-publishers have to compete against all of the agented authors and their established publishing companies that can provide them with dedicated design and promotion teams. Self-publishers have to work doubly hard to compete against that type of professional competition. I'm still very new to this industry so I may change my mind about this later, but I seriously doubt it. What are your thoughts?

Talk to you soon,
Laurel

Monday, August 6, 2012

Negotiating Skills Book Cover Reveal

Hello Lovelies. The book cover for my new erotic romance "Negotiating Skills" is officially complete! The lovely Ravven was again nice enough to do the cover art. As usual she was awesome to work with. The original release date was scheduled for August 1st. unfortunately I was a bad girl and took a while to complete the review and edit process. Thankfully the worst is finally behind me and I'm ready to move forward with all of the platform formats.

The book will be released for free purchase through Smashwords on August 18th and 19th and starting August 20th it will be available for $3.99 on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook and Smashwords. If you haven't already read the preview check it out here.

Talk to you soon,
Laurel

Friday, June 29, 2012

Negotiating Skills Book Excerpt

An excerpt for my new erotic romance Negotiating Skills is now available here. You can also find it by clicking directly on the Negotiating Skills tab on this blog. The short novel is set for release on July 30th in the Amazon Kindle market. I'll be releasing the cover art soon. I'm hoping to use the amazing Ravven again so stay tuned.  

Talk To You Soon, 
Laurel