The cover for His Unsuitable Viscountess

This is the cover for my August release.  I love and adore the dress. Imagine wearing those sleeves! And the model they used for Eleanor does have  the look I wanted -- a dancer's type build.
I hope other people like it.
I shall have to get the excerpt up and on to my website now.

The US cover for Viking Warrior Unwilling Wife

I have finally seen the front cover for the North American version of Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife.

It has a lovely romantic feel. I love the fjord in the background. The dress is very Norwegian.

It just takes some getting used to as I now have the UK cover in my mind.

Iwill be interested to see if the UK cover is the inside front cover of the NA version. Or if it was different artwork altogether. Different countries use different artwork because markets can vary.

A Question of Impropriety cover

The postman brought a rather large box of books this morning. The paperback copies of An Impulsive Debutante, and the hardbacks of A Question of Impropriety.

An Impulsive Debutante looks much nicer in the flesh than on its counterpart on Amazon etc.

It was my first peep at QI's cover and I love the feel of it. It does illustrate a scene in the book but more than that it has a fantastic romantic feel about it.

Now I simply have to get the books off to various review sites etc.

But the excitement of seeing a new book in print never dims. And this time, I had double the excitement.

A larger cover for Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife

Amazon.co.uk has put up the cover for Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife and I have checked. It is on Amazon.ca as well. This means that the cover will be on the other non US Amazon sites. The US site only carries those books which are released in the North American market. It is just the way Amazon works... I am afraid, but the non appearance of covers was bothering me a lot, so I am pleased.

People do judge books by their covers and their titles. And I know that there are book that I have bought based on the look of the cover alone. The choosing of covers is very much a marketing decision. But I do like the feel of this one. I also love the fact that it has the M&B centenary logo on it.

One thing that all the authors had to do for the centenary was to write a dear reader explaining a little bit about what the centenary means to them...

This book is also dedicated to e-harlequin, and in particular the Struggling Writers, and the Mouse & Pen and the Library. The Library thread has now become Love Historical Style but the same people hang out there. Anyway, I thought it appropriate. And I happen to really like this book and so am excited about its release in the UK in June...

My paperbacks should be arriving any day.

But I need to get my current Viking done and out of the way. I am at point when it starts to consume my life and I just want to write. And it started off so well as well. SOme days it does feel like the words are hard won.

Success with the cover

Thanks to Carole Townend, I learnt that WH Smith online now carries the HMB covers. So now hopefully the lovely warm sensualness of Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife will be apparent.

I have also put the cover on my myspace page.

Frustration

I received a jpeg of the cover for Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife yesterday from one of my lovely editors. It looks lovely and a copy now adorns the wall behind my computer...for inspiration. And it is an inspiring cover...

I have attempted to put it on the blog BUT every time, it comes out in reverse tones. It looks interesting, but it is not the warm sexy feel that is the cover. The important thing for a cover is the mood or the feel of the cover, the promise it gives. And this one promises a sensual romantic read. Plus the hero is bare chested.
I have no idea is if it was originally commissioned for another book, but I just like the cover and the mood fits the book.

I only have permission to use the on sale version, so you can't see the reverse colour version.
At the moment, Amazon.co.uk does not have the cover up either, so you all will have to wait...until 1 May when it appears on the M&B website...

Sometimes, these things are just beyond the control of an author.

The Roman's Virgin Mistress in French

Thanks to Joelle, a reader in France, I learnt that La Rose du Colisee (The Roman's Virgin Mistress) is up on the Harlequin France site.

Before anyone says anything, I do know the cover was recently used for Juliet Landon's The Warlord's Mistress. The various different Harlequin offices have full access to all the artwork and they are able to pick and choose the artwork that they feel will be best suited for the book in that particular market. And the cover has such a very lovely seductive feel that I am thrilled the French thought it could fit my book.

The blurb for La Rose is:
République romaine, 69 av. J.-C. Veuve, la belle Silvana dirige avec son oncle une maison de plaisirs. Aux yeux de tous, elle offre l’apparence d’une femme comblée. Nul ne sait que son oncle est couvert de dettes et que la ruine les menace. Courtisée par de riches soupirants, dont le jeune et fougueux Eutychus qui veut l’épouser, elle répugne pourtant à faire un mariage d’intérêt. Mais, un jour, l’arrogant cousin d’Eutychus, Lucius Fortis, proche de Jules César, vient lui proposer un marché : il fera d’elle une femme riche pourvu qu’elle s’engage à renoncer à Eutychus. Humiliée d’être prise pour une créature vénale, Silvana refuse.…

You can purchase it here.

My friend Jen Black told that when you go into the French hypermarkets, they have long rows of the covers and they are quite a site to see.

A Christmas Wedding Wager -- cover

I have finally had a glimpse of the US cover for A Christmas Wedding Wager and I am really thrilled with it. The sleigh played an important part in my planning and I am so pleased it is on the front. I also like the skaters in the background. It has a very Christmassy feel which is what I wanted. My editors are very good that way!

The sleigh in the book was inspired by the Dragon sleigh at Wallington, the one of the local National Trust houses, and a place I have spent many happy hours. Originally I had them going to Wallington, but then when I began writing the story, the internal demands of the story were such that it worked better to keep them in Newcastle.

This also reminds me that I need to get the excerpt up. This will be done sometime today.

Anyway, the blurb reads: Just one kiss under the mistletoe could change her whole life!
Lovely Miss Emma Harrison has long turned her back on the frivolities of the Marriage Mart and dedicated herself to helping her father. But this Christmas everything changes – the unforgettable Jack Stanton is back! No longer the charity boy determined to make good, he has become one of the richest men in England. Driven to succeed and used to getting anything he wants, Jack makes it clear that he wants Emma.
And as the Yuletide festivities throw Emma into his company, she can’t help but wonder if she made the right choice seven years ago... Christmas Newcastle Upon 1846

In the UK market, A Christmas Wedding Wager is being sold as part of a duo with Helen Dickson and is called Christmas by Candlight. I can't wait to read Helen's story --Wicked Pleasures. She did Christmas in the southern rural England while I got the industrial North.

Taken by the Viking -- cover

The cover for Taken by the Viking is up at Amazon.co.uk. I personally think it is lovely.

The back cover blurb reads:

A Viking raid
They claimed they came in peace, but soon Lindisfarne was aflame. Annis of Birdoswald fled in fear, but she could not escape the Norse warriors.
An honourable captor
One man protected her - Haakon Haroldson. The dark, arrogant Viking swept Annis back to his homeland, taking her away from all she held dear.
A new life – as his mistress!
Now Annis must choose between the lowly work that befits a captive, or a life of sinful pleasure in the Viking's arms!
England and Norway 793 AD

Read the excerpt

It is available for pre-order. And my contest to win a signed hardback copy closes on 15 July. You simply need to email me the answer to the following question:

What are the names of the hero and heroine of Taken by the Viking?

Dear Author Review

The review for The Roman's Virgin Mistress is up on Dear Author.com. I received a B which means that Jayne really liked it, despite the title. LOL.
Personally I like the title but there again I had a rapid awakening to the power titles. As a newly bought M&B author, I asked my Mother-in-law's next neighbour to tell me some of her favourite M&B authors and I would try to get some signed books for her. This is a woman who inhales M&B novels. Her reply was that she didn't have favourite but if there was Virgin or Mistress in the title, she bought the book.
I have little to do with titles or really cover art or back cover copy. All of that is the providence of the marketing department and the editors. They work very hard to give books a certain feel. My own humble opinion is that my editors do an outstanding job. I let them get on with the job. It is my task to provide the content that goes between the covers. And if I do that well enough, my customers will be satisfied and will come back for more. Or at least I hope so.

The Roman's Virgin Mistress -- cover

Barnes and Noble have the July covers up and so I have finally been able to see what the North American cover is going to look like. I love the strap line -- Seduction Under the Italian Sun.


I am really thrilled with it. I know my editor went and looked for images Baiae where the story takes place.

The blurb reads:

Scandalous!
Silvana Junia knows what the gossips say about her – and doesn't care! Until a mysterious, dangerous stranger rescues her from the sea, and she's instantly drawn to him.
Notorious!
Lucius Aurelius Fortis is rich and respected. But his playboy past could come back to haunt him if he cannot resist his attraction to beautiful Silvana. And in the hot sun of Baiae their every move is watched…
Outrageous!
Tempted beyond endurance, Silvana will become his mistress. But she has one last shocking secret…which will change everything between them!
Rome, 69 B.C.

You can read an excerpt of the story here.

Anyway, I am really thrilled with it all. It is a really special moment when an author gets to look at the cover of her book.

Now All I have to do is keep writing my current wip.

Required Listening

Phillipa Astley has a link to the Easter editoion of Open book on her blog and it should be required listening for all writers -- whether they are published or not. The programme deals with how editors, publishers and authors work together. In particular it gives an editorial view of revisions and why they happen. I can't imagine ever working like Rose Tremain who has her editor come and visit. They then go over the book page by page in the course of two days. And I did find it amusing when an editor described how she tried v hard to be diplomatic and postive. One of her authors was then asked how he felt when he got one of her letters -- bruised and battered came back the reply. The morale is: author's egos are fragile. And some times, it does not matter what is said, the author is not going to like it. Personally, I agreed with another author who said he would be upset if the publishing house simply took the novel without any revisons, because he knows how much stronger a professional eye can make the book. There is always something that can be revised.

The part on covers was very interesting as well. How a cover needs to create a mood. This is certainly true of Sold and Seduced and The Roman's Virgin Mistress. And the prototype of Taken by The Viking that I have seen. As Cheryl St John has already recieved her July cover and it is beautiful, I am hoping they will be putting the July covers up soon and then I can put the cover for TRVM up.

The programme is very much geared towards the literary end, but I know that much of what is said is true of HM&B. They do stick with authors. they want to grow authors.they believe in authors. They buy books because they like the authors. I loved how Orion stuck with Ian Rankin for seven years.

The programme takes about a half hour and I enjoyed it. I was also amused that they did not dare state the obvious -- the one publisher who REMAINS a brand -- Harlequin Mills and Boon. M&B readers still wait for the publication day of their favourite series. Something that Penguin readers gave up on awhile ago.

Sold and Seduced copies

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Sold and Seduced arrived today and I finally was able to see my cover.





It is a lovely seductive cover BUT it has nothing to do with the book. I am not sure why it was chosen.

The heroine's hair colour is wrong and they never kiss in a pond with catkins, but it is a lovely and evocative cover. And I trust my editors to have chosen a cover that will sell the book.

As some of you may know, this book was inspired by a conversation with Kate Walker. She was explaining about her book The Antonakos Marriage and the hamster wheels started turning in my head. At last a really solid reason for a marriage of convenience. I kept nodding my head, as she explained some of her revision problems but only listened with half an ear. I know what I thought she said. I could not get the premise and the idea out of my mind. And I told Kate, and with her permission as there is no copyright on ideas, I started to write.

Kate very kindly sent me a copy of TAM to read while I had my first eye operation. At this point Sold and Seduced was about half done. When I read The Antonakos Marriage (and it is a very good read btw and I have a few copies of TAM that I will be giving away when the UK paperback of Sold and Seduced is published), I realized that I had not heard properly at all. Sold and Seduced is a very different story with a very different plot line. Perhaps I need to have my ears checked!

The one thing it shares in common is the Beauty and the Beast premise -- a woman sacrificing herself for the sake of her father and his position in society.

If you ever get the chance, do go and take a course with Kate. She is a wonderful teacher and mentor. I defy you to go and not have your head come away buzzing with ideas. If not her book -- Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance is an excellent resource.

Oh and I have just looked at Kate Walker's blog and seen the cover for The Antonakos Marriage in the US. Kate and I share an editor who knows the story of my inspiration. My editor who is a Bad Influence has a wicked sense of humour. I think I now understand the reasoning behind my cover. Very amusing...