Cover Reveal: COUNTERMEASURES (Aka: You Win Some, You Lose Some)

So, perhaps I’ve mentioned that I have a four book series coming out with Harlequin Intrigue in 2015 (actually the first one, INFILTRATION, hits shelves in late December, and is available for pre-order, ahem, here).

The books officially come out January/February and then June/July 2015. They’re called the Omega Sector Series, but they’re also books based on the four Branson siblings: Cameron, Sawyer, Juliet and Dylan.

I talked a couple of weeks ago about the angst that comes along with seeing a cover for the first time, since I have no control over the cover. The cover for Book 1 INFILTRATION was pretty great:

I got the cover for COUNTERMEASURES (Book 2) last week:

When I saw this cover, my heart sank. Not because the cover was bad as a cover (although the guy isn't my personal type), but because the cover looked NOTHING like the characters I describe in the book.

Here are the heroine’s thoughts about the hero when she first meets him (taken directly from the book): 

If it wasn’t for the scar on his chin and slightly crooked nose —it looked like it had been broken at some point in his life— Agent Branson definitely could’ve made a living in front of the camera. Black hair, cut short and stylish, a perpetual five o’clock shadow, gorgeous green eyes. Megan put a hand up to her chin just to make sure she wasn’t accidentally drooling.

And the heroine? Described as having brown curly hair framing her face and shoulders and big brown eyes, with glasses.

So… yeah.  Um, that cover doesn’t look anything like my characters. Hello, blondie.  (And, for the record, I do complete an Art Fact Sheet providing detailed information about the characters and settings in each book)

I immediately put in an email to my editor: Was it possible to change the cover? If not, was it possible to change the text in the book so I could describe the characters to look more like the cover? She checked with the art and marketing department, but alas, no.

It was too late.

I have to admit, I was pretty devastated. After all, this was Sawyer and Megan’s story, and my favorite book I had written to date. When I think of a Sawyer, I think of:

(Although, looking at this picture, I'm beginning to understand where the art department was trying to go with the hero on Countermeasures. Maybe they're Lost fans too.)

And when I think of Megan, I of course think of: my BFF Megan:

Who wouldn't model a character after her?

So anyway, I was upset about the cover. But nothing could be done. In an online chat room I asked some of fellow Intrigue authors (who have been writing for years – some for decades) if anything like this had ever happened to them.

Trust me when I say, their stories both reassured me and had me in stitches on the floor.

For example, someone pointed out (international best seller multiple times over) Suzanne Brockmann’s book Get Lucky:

That dude looks like the Pillsbury Dough Boy! Rumor has it, Suzanne Brockmann  handed out smiley stickers to put over his face when the book came out. I remember reading that book. Brockmann has been one of my favorite authors over the years.

And speaking of RUMOR HAS IT, may I present:

Cindi is one of my friends, and also writes for Intrigue. A hugely talented and very kind lady. But what the heck is happening on that cover???  That can’t be anatomically correct, right?

Ultimately, their point was: Regardless of whether the details are correct, as long as the cover is good overall, then don’t worry about it. There will be some readers who comment that the coloring of the characters isn’t correct –because hey, it’s not— but it shouldn’t affect sales too much over all.

More importantly, I think the art/promo department really got the back cover copy right for COUNTERMEASURES:

The clock was ticking, the enemy was watching.

At first it looked like a glorified babysitting job: safeguard a scientist while she created a countermeasure to neutralize a dangerous weapon that had fallen into the wrong hands. But when Dr. Megan Fuller's life was threatened, undercover agent Sawyer Branson knew the enemy was closing in. Sticking by Megan 24/7 wasn't something he took lightly, even if Megan didn't seem to appreciate his constant presence.

For a man used to getting any woman he wanted, Megan was a challenge he was coming to enjoy. Because beneath her boxy lab coat and pinned-back hair lay a brilliant and beautiful warrior. And before long, Sawyer's determination to save the world was matched only by the sudden need to make Megan his.

SEXY! I love it!

So although the cover for COUNTERMEASURES was not what I had hoped it would be, in the end I think it’s going to be just fine.

And if you want to take a marker and color her hair curly brown on your copy, that’s perfectly okay with me.

Pre-order the Omega Sector Series now:
Book 1 - INFILTRATION
Book 2 - COUNTERMEASURES

Book 3 & 4 - available June & July 2015; links coming soon!

Cover Reveal - My Newest Intrigue Novel: INFILTRATION

There are a lot of things I like about writing for Harlequin Intrigue. The biggest are probably that: 1) They pay me and 2) They take care of all the things involved in writing a book beyond just the writing part.

They take care of: content editing (overall big edits: does the story make sense? do the characters

Seriously, my editors love me.

act/speak consistently through the entire book?), copy editing (flow, clarity, did you use the word “well-preserved” in this paragraph and two paragraphs ago?) and line editing (basic grammar, punctuation, peek vs. peak vs. pique…)

Beyond editing, Harlequin also takes care of cover design, titles (with some input from me), back cover copy, distribution, basic promotion and all things unicorns and rainbows.

There are lots of arguments about traditional vs. indie routes in the publishing world. I have no doubt I will do both before it’s all over. A writer can (theoretically) make a lot more money publishing independently, but then you’re in charge of all the unicorn and rainbow stuff yourself. That’s not something I’m wanting to take on yet.

But despite the fact that I am appreciative of what Harlequin does for me, some of it is nerve-wracking. Particularly when it comes to covers of the book. Generally, I am sent the cover art three months before the book is available at bookstores. The cover is a total surprise (I get no hints as to what it will look like) and set in stone by the time I get it.

I understand why Harlequin does that. Because these are series/category romances (meaning a new set comes out every month) they do not have time to discuss every detail about the cover with a committee (Although to quote Princess Leia: "I am not a committee!" -- but alas...) I complete what is called an Art Fact Sheet (basic features and characteristics about the hero, heroine and theme of the story) and can offer suggestions, but beyond that I just cross my fingers and hope for best.

I lucked out when I got the cover of PRIMAL INSTINCT:

Seriously, I love that cover. I couldn’t have designed it much better if I had worked with the designers myself. (And I love that Harlequin gave me a giant poster! --thanks to fellow Intrigue author Barb Han for mailing it to me after it was used at the Romantic Times convention)

So I was very nervous about getting the covers of my upcoming 4-book Omega Sector Series. Well, last week I got the cover for Book 1: INFILTRATION that will be available in stores mid-December. It’s the first story of the four Branson siblings, Cameron, and how he falls in love with Sophia Reardon while saving the world, of course:

Front only

Front & Back

I like it! It reflects what the book is about: He’s been undercover a long time and lines are getting blurred. She’s a little damaged and was having a bad day even before being kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend. 

So I would say I’m 2 for 2 when it comes to the covers of my books! And I have another cover coming this month for my book COUNTERMEASURES (out mid-January), so I’ve got my fingers crossed for that one. 

Be sure to support your favorite almost starving author and pre-order The Omega Series, Book 1: INFILTRATION at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or look for it in stores from mid-December to mid-January.

Why Is Getting Rid of Kids Easier than Getting Rid of Characters?

Yesterday I sent the kiddos off to school. 

I was terribly sad to watch them go. You see, I am one of those mothers who would spend all her time with her kids if I could. And having them home with me – all the time – just completes me in a way I never thought possible.

Is anybody but me rolling around on the floor laughing yet?

Holy cow. I love my kids, but THEY HAD TO GO!!! Here in Virginia we have a late school year start (the day after Labor Day) and I thought I would kill them the last couple of weeks.

But now they’re gone.

This was them, heading on off to school:

As soon as the last one was out the door, this was me:

(Or even better, see this dancing orangutan. That was really me: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153151189783228&set=vb.135376688227&type=2&theater) 

Interestingly, the day I said goodbye to my kids was the day I also said goodbye to Omega Sector Series characters I was writing for my next Harlequin Intrigue books. Book 4 was due to my editor on September 2, the day after Labor Day. 

Kicking the Omega Series guys out the door was a little more difficult than kicking my kids out. Maybe because the characters in my books rarely ask me to make them a sandwich or demand an iPhone for their birthday. 

But these characters have consumed me for the last ten months. Together, we’ve been in plane crashes and on yachts and in dangerous situations we were both sure there was no way out. I’ve spent hours every day figuring out what drives them and scares them and makes them more than they thought they could be. I’ve gotten to know each character as if he or she was a real person. Because to me they were each a real person.

Deadline reminder that has sat on my desk for 10 months

And although pitching, writing and editing four novels in ten months was CRAZY, I was sad when I wrote The End on book 4. 

Because that meant these characters were gone.

I guess they’ll be back somewhat in the form of copyedits, cover reveals, and, of course, the books themselves. That makes me happy and I truly hope readers will fall in love with these characters like I did. But for all intents and purposes, they’re gone for me. I have to move on to the next project with its own set of characters that need my attention. But hopefully not any sandwiches.

So I send off my Omega characters – the Branson siblings and those special people who come to love them in their stories– but without a happy orangutan dance. Because I know these guys won’t be getting back off the bus at 3pm.

I’ll miss them. I really will. They've been my buddies. 

But now I’m ready for the next set of stories and whatever crazy adventures we’ll take together.