Cover Reveal Party!!!

Woo hoo!!!! On Friday I'm hosting a fun party on Facebook to reveal my cover for Try Me on for Size, my new book that will be released in August through Simon & Schuster's Pocket Star imprint!

Click here for the event page! There will be all kinds of fun stuff, including excerpts and prizes! Stop by for all the fun!

But right here on my blog, I'm doing something really awesome!! Lots of ways to enter to win a $25 Amazon or B&N GC!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*****UPDATE!!!****

The winner is Melissa Giorgio!! Congrats!!

It's my birthday!! But I have a surprise for all of you!!!

I know birthdays are not special to many people...but for me...even as I step into my mid-thirties today...I still feel special on this day. I think everyone should feel special on their birthday! It's the only day of the year that is just for you.

I have long sine abandoned parties on my birthday, but in our family, we still celebrate. The birthday person gets to choose where we go for dinner and we enjoy a nice meal together. I don't get as many presents as I used to...and I'd be lying if I didn't say I missed it! Can't help it...I'm a girl who likes to be spoiled!!! But my parents and my mother in law always treat me to something and hubby too...but usually I pick out my own present and say "This will be my birthday present!) LOL!

So anyway...without further ado..I have a present for all of you on my birthday!!! It's sultry and sexy and I can't wait to hear what you think! It's my new covert art!!!!! Karma Kameleon will release in January 2012 and here is the cover!!!!

Revealing my new cover art!

You may have already noticed this on my sidebar. It's the cover for Soap Dreams, my forthcoming novelette, due out in June 2011.

I think it really captures the young love/first love vibe of the story! What do you think??? I like that's it's bright and sunny!

Don't forget my Show Me The Love Blogfest!! It's gonna be fun!! Make sure you sign up!

My new cover art!!!!

I am so so excited to reveal the cover art for Paradise Cove!! The email came in on Sunday, which is rare. I get very few emails over the weekend. I saw the subject and instantly got butterflies in my stomach. This is such a huge thing!! I was so so excited!!! But I was very nervous too! What if I didn't like it??

But when I clicked the attachment and this amazing cover opened, I was in awe!! I remember the day I first saw my cover for A Bitch Named Karma. While it was beyond striking, I was afraid it really didn't fit the novel's genre completely. And while I thought it was quite sexy, I've caught a ton of flack for the cover model's lack of clothing.

But this new cover....there is no doubts about this one at all. It's stunning...it's perfect...it's everything I wanted!!

And without further ado....the cover for Paradise Cove:



So, what do you guys think??? Hope you love it as much as I do!

Double post- but this is an emergency!

Well, not really, I guess. But I need your votes!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!! With cherries on top...and whipped cream, or whatever else you like on top!!!

My cover is in a contest! Please vote asap!! Stop by You Gotta Read Covers and on the right hand side, click on my book- A Bitch Named Karma! Voting ends tomorrow night!

Thanks so much!! I love you guys!!!

My Cover Art: Here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so unbelievably excited to share this with my blogger friends!!!!

As I said in my last post, it is a bit more racy than I would have liked, but option #2 was just not as striking. And honestly, the second model had WAY too much makeup on and she was kinda ugly! LOL! And her arms were positioned really weird. I think this cover will definitely grab someone's attention and hopefully once readers read the blurb, they will want to buy it! There is a warning that will post under my blurb, telling possible buyers that the story contains strong language. There is no mention of sex in my warning, so hopefully that will be enough to let readers know it is not an erotic novel. And it will be listed under Chick Lit not Erotica.

Sooooooooo......what do you guys think??????

COVER ART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am beyond excited!!!!!!

Wow....I have been waiting for this day...since...forever!!! I think all writers dream of the day they will see their name printed across the cover of a book! And let me tell you...just the jpeg attachment of my cover art took my breath away!!

I never really had any ideas for cover art for A Bitch Named Karma. My publisher, Lyrical Press, asked what my ideas were, which I thought was very cool of them, and I didn't really know what to say. I wanted something eye-catching, of course, and I like more simplistic covers. Lyrical has fantastic cover art, so I wanted to leave it up to the professionals!

And wow...did the professionals do an amazing job!!!

I am not going to post it yet...I know...it breaks my heart not to share it!!! It may go through a change before it's set in stone.

But let me tell you, the font is really fantastic...and the background is a medium blue and it's ruched satin. I am not usually a fan of blue, but this is really stunning. There is a female model on the cover, as Lyrical uses real photos on their cover as apposed to drawings. She's gorgeous, of course, with dark hair that contrasts against the blue amazingly!

My one and only gripe is her clothing....or rather, lack there of. She's a little too naked for the type of novel. It's chick lit/contemporary romance and my fear is that potential readers will think it is an erotic novel. There are sex scenes, but they are, for lack of a better word, glossed over. My MC is a very sexual person but I chose not to write the details of the scenes. I'm afraid that someone may look at the cover and pass on it because they do not like detailed sex scenes. Or others may buy it thinking it's erotica and feel disappointed when it's not.

Book covers, even digital ones, are sooooooooooo important. No matter what your blurb says, or what your excerpt is....readers see that cover first and they form an opinion immediately. Last thing I want to do is turn away potential buyers or disappoint someone who was looking for more that what my book contains.

Does the look of a Blog really matter???

When it comes to graphic design and web design and all that good stuff...I am about as dumb as it gets. I know how to use a computer...I can do some maintenance.....I manage pretty well and when something major happens I call up my uncle and he takes care of it for me.

I had a website for my floral business when I was still doing it. It was pretty awesome. I didn't do it, of course. I paid a cousin and his friend to do it. When I needed a website for my writing, I didn't have the cash to pay anyone so I went with a template. Then when I started blogging...again...free template.

Do both of them look nice and presentable??? Yeah, I guess so. They're both neat and tidy. Check out my website if you want to take a peek. Do they serve the purpose?? Definitely. Original??? Not even slightly.

I do have some ideas of what I'd like them to look like, but bottom line, I do not have the money to pay someone to make them all pretty.

And how much do readers care what the blog or site actually look like?? Both of mine are easy to read...I am turned off by hard to read sites and blogs...especially those with dark backgrounds and funky fonts.

In this world of judging books (and most things) by covers, is an uninteresting looking blog page or website a deal breaker??? Or is the content more important?? I'm finally stepping into the publishing industry...and I am a reader myself...I know how important a fantastic cover is.

The process is finally underway!

Two copies of my signed contract were in the mail this past Friday. It's quite a relief to know the process has officially begun!!! And quite exciting too! I can't wait to start editing and see what they have to say about my story. And then the cover art.....very interested to see what they come up with for that!!! The publisher...and since I have officially sent in my contract, I will reveal their name: Lyrical Press, they have some FANTASTIC cover art!