Looking for something fun to do this summer? Why not come down to the Houston area for dinner with me, Sophie Jordan, Donna Grant, Tracy Wolff, Tessa Adams and Tracy Deebs!

Just one day after Complete Me hits shelves, too, so the timing is perfect to get a signed copy!

Details will be up soon at the event site, along with a PayPal button to reserve your seat!  Hope to see some of you there!

P.S. - Book two of my Stark Trilogy -  Claim Me - is in it's third week on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! And Complete Me comes out July 30.  WOOT!  (And if you missed book 1, Release Me, grab your copy now!  I'm thrilled that it's now in it's 11th week as a USA Today bestseller!)

--J.K.

We’re baaaaaaack! #StarkOnSaturday is starting up again as we count-down to the release of Complete Me!

And thanks so much to everyone who has put Release Me back on the USA Today bestseller list (it’s in its 11th week!) and has kept Claim Me on both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists for the three weeks that it’s been on shelves.  Y’all rock!

I recently discovered White Collar (really fun show!), so to add a little flair to this week’s excerpt, I’m including some Matt Bomer eye candy. (He could totally play Damien.)

And now, without further ado, here’s a snippet from the upcoming Complete Me, book three in the Stark Trilogy that began with with Release Me, continued with Claim Me, and will conclude with Complete Me!

 

I squeeze my eyes shut, and fresh tears spill out over my lashes.

The pad of his thumb brushes my cheek.

“You understand?”

“No,” I say, but I mean yes, and when I open my eyes I can see that he knows it. He moves closer to me, and my breath hitches. I hiccup a little, tasting tears as his mouth closes over mine. The kiss is soft at first, gentle and sweet. Then his hand cups the back of my head even as his other arm snakes around my waist and tugs me onto his lap.

I gasp with surprise at the movement, and he takes advantage, his mouth hardening, his tongue finding mine, his kiss becoming deeper and  more demanding. I twine my fingers through his silky hair and lose myself in the sensual firmness of his mouth. In the wildness of this kiss. Our tongues meeting, our teeth clashing. My mouth will be bruised in the morning, but I cannot resist this kiss that is setting us both on fire.

I am breathing hard when he finally pulls away. My lips feel swollen and used and spectacular. I wonder if I’ve ever truly been kissed before, even by Damien. And right then, all I want is more.

I lean toward him in silent demand, but he catches me with a firm hand under my chin. I stay there, my position awkward, my eyes lifted to his.

“You are my everything, Nikki. You have to know that. You have to believe it.”

“I do,” I whisper. I see the tremor run through his body, then the way his muscles tighten as he pulls me tight against him and holds me close. I melt into his arms, so in love with this man that it almost hurts.

 

Want more? You can pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble!  On-sale July 30!

And if you missed Release Me, you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-a-Million
Random House
your favorite independent bookseller
in the U.K. from Amazon
 in the U.K. from Waterstones
 in the U.K. from WH Smith

More soon,

XXOO

P.S. - Book two of my Stark Trilogy -  Claim Me - is in it's third week on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! And Complete Me comes out July 30.  WOOT!  (And if you missed book 1, Release Me, grab your copy now!  I'm thrilled that it's now in it's 11th week as a USA Today bestseller!)

--J.K.

Yesterday, I posted the first chunk of the first chapter of Complete Me, book 3 of the Stark Trilogy (which follows Release Me and Claim Me). Today, I’m giving you the rest of the chapter … along with the UK cover of Complete Me (I love it!)

Again, keep in mind that it’s impossible to post the first chapter of book 3 in a trilogy without inherent spoilers.  So keep that in mind if you keep reading!

Enjoy!!!  And be sure to pop in on Saturday for the renewal of #StarkOnSaturday leading up to the release of Complete Me.

Note that this chunk has not yet been copyedited.  It may change slightly in wording, punctuation, etc. between now and publication:

If you missed the beginning, read the first chunk here!

“Damien,” I whisper, because I can’t wait any longer to feel his name against my lips.

That wide, spectacular mouth curves into a slow smile. He tugs my hand, pulling me onto his lap. His thighs are firm and athletic, and I settle there eagerly, but I don’t lean against him. I want to sit back enough that I can see his face.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I know what his answer will be, and yet I hold my breath, praying that I am wrong.

“No,” he says. “I just want to hold you.”

I smile as if his words are sweetly romantic, refusing to let him see how much they chill me. I need his touch, yes. But I need the man more.

I stroke his cheek. He hasn’t shaved since yesterday, and the stubble of his beard is rough against my palm. The shock of our connection rumbles through me, and my chest feels tight, my breath uneven. Will there ever come a time when I can be near him without yearning for him?  Without craving the touch of his skin against my own?

It’s not even a sexual longing—not entirely, anyway. Instead, it’s a craving. As if my very survival depends on him. As if we are two halves of a whole and neither can survive without the other.

With Damien, I am happier than I have ever been. But at the same time, I’m more miserable, too. Because now I truly understand fear.

I force a smile, because the one thing I will not do is let Damien see how terrified I am of losing him. It doesn’t matter; Damien knows me too well.

“You’re scared,” he says, and the sadness that colors his voice is enough to melt me. “You’re the one person in all the world I cannot bear to hurt, and yet I’m the one who put fear in your eyes.”

“No,” I say. “I’m not scared at all.”

“Liar,” he says gently.

“You forget that I’ve seen you in action, Damien Stark. You’re a goddamn force of nature. They can’t possibly hold you. Maybe they don’t know it yet, but I do. You’re going to walk away from this. You’re going home a free man. There’s no other way that this can end.” I say the words because I need to believe them. But he is right. I am desperately afraid.

Damien, of course, sees through my bullshit. Gently, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “You should be scared. This is the kind of case that has prosecutors salivating.”

“But you were only fourteen,” I say. “And you didn’t kill Merle Richter.” I still don’t understand why the court decided to try Damien as an adult. All I know is that it was a battle that Damien’s defense team lost.

His expression darkens. “Truth is a malleable thing, and once I walk into that courtroom, the truth is what the court says it is.”

“Then you need to make sure the judges know the real truth. Dammit, Damien, you didn’t kill him. But even if you did, there were mitigating circumstances.” Only recently had Damien told me what happened. He and Richter fought, and when Richter fell, Damien held back, refusing to step forward to help the coach who’d abused him for so many years.

“Oh, Nikki.”  He pulls me against him, his arm swooping around my waist and shifting me on his lap so quickly that I gasp. “You know I can’t do what you’re asking.”

“I’m not asking anything,” I say, but the words sound brittle, because of course I’m asking. Hell, I’m begging. Damien damn well knows it, too. And yet he is denying me.

Anger flares within me, but before it explodes, his mouth crushes against mine. The kiss is deep and raw and all-consuming, and warm desire blooms within me. It doesn’t erase my anger or my fear, but it does soothe it, and I shift closer to him, wishing I never had to leave the safety of his arms.

His body tightens beneath mine, the bulge of his erection under his jeans teasing my rear as I shift my weight and lean closer, deepening this kiss and wishing like hell we were in our suite instead of in a very public bar.

After a moment, I pull back, breathless. “I love you,” I say.

“I know,” he says, and though I wait for the reciprocal words to come, he doesn’t say them back to me.

My heart twists a little, and I force a smile. A pageant-quality All I Want Is World Peace kind of smile. The kind of smile I show the public, but not Damien.

I tell myself that he’s just tired, but I don’t believe it. Damien Stark does nothing without a purpose. And though it is impossible to truly get inside that head of his, I know him well enough to guess at his motivations, and I want to jump to my feet and scream at him. I want to beg him not to push me away. I want to shout that I get it; that he’s trying to protect me because he knows that he might lose the trial. That he might be ripped from me. But goddammit all, doesn’t he know that all he’s doing is hurting me?

I believe with all my heart that Damien loves me. What I fear is that love isn’t enough. Not when he’s determined to push me away in some misguided attempt to protect me.

So I don’t lash out. That’s not a fight I can win, but I can play the game my own way.

With renewed resolve, I kick the wattage up on my smile and slide off his lap, my hand extended to him. “You have to be in court at ten, Mr. Stark. I think you’d better come with me.”

He stands, his expression wary. “Are you going to tell me I have to get some sleep?”

“No.”

His gaze slides over me, and my body quivers in response as if he had physically touched me. “Good,” he says, and that one simple word not only conveys a world of promises but takes the edge off the chilly fear that has filled me.

I allow the corner of my mouth to quirk up into a hint of a smile. “Not that, either. Not yet, anyway.”

The confusion on his face brings a genuine smile to my lips, but he doesn’t have the chance to ask, as the concierge has approached. “Everything is ready, Ms. Fairchild.”

My smile broadens. “Thank you. Your timing is perfect.”

I take the hand of the very confused man that I love and lead him through the lobby, following the concierge to the front of the hotel. There, parked on the street beside a very giddy valet, is a cherry red Lamborghini.

Damien turns to look at me. “What’s this?”

“A rental. I thought you could use a little fun tonight, and the A9’s just a few miles away. Fast car. German autobahn. It seemed like a no-brainer to me.”

“Boys and their toys?”

I lower my voice so that the concierge can’t overhear. “Since we already have some interesting toys in the room, I thought you might enjoy a change of pace.”  I lead him closer to where the valet stands by the open passenger door. “I understand she’s very responsive, and I know you’ll enjoy having all that power at your command.”

“Is she?”  He looks me up and down, and this time the inspection is tinged with fire. “As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what I like. Responsiveness. Power. Control.”

“I know,” I say, and then slide into the passenger seat, letting more than a little thigh show as I do.

An instant later, Damien is behind the wheel and he’s fired the powerful engine.

“Drive fast enough, and it’s almost like sex,” I tease. And then, because I can’t resist, I add, “At the very least, it makes for exceptional foreplay.”

“In that case, Ms. Fairchild,” he says, with a boyish grin that makes this all worthwhile, “I suggest you hold on tight.”

 

Want more? Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of the chapter.  And  you can pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble!  On-sale July 30!

 Claim Me – which is now in it’s third week on the New York Times bestseller list — is already available! Get your copy here:

Claim Me from Amazon!
Claim Me from Barnes & Noble!
Claim Me from Books-a-Million
Claim Me from Random House
Claim Me from your favorite independent bookseller
 Claim Me in the U.K. from Amazon
 Claim Me in the U.K. from Waterstones
Claim Me in the U.K. from WH Smith

And if you missed book 1, Release Me (now in its 11th week on the USA Today bestseller list!) you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

Some of you have read the first chapter of Complete Me, book 3 of the Stark Trilogy, following Release Me and Claim Me (which is still hot off the presses!) in the back of the digital version of Claim Me — but editing being what editing is, that chapter has changed a bit!

So for the benefit of those digital readers–not to mention the paper and audio readers who didn’t even have access to the first chapter — I thought I’d post Chapter 1 of Complete Me in its entirety (split up into two days — but spoiler alert! It’s impossible to post the first chapter of book 3 in a trilogy without inherent spoilers.  So keep that in mind if you keep reading!).

Enjoy!!!  And be sure to pop in on Saturday for the renewal of #StarkOnSaturday leading up to the release of Complete Me.

Note that this chunk has not yet been copyedited.  It may change slightly in wording, punctuation, etc. between now and publication:

CHAPTER ONE

Fear yanks me from a deep sleep, and I sit bolt upright in a room shrouded with gray, the muted green light from a digital alarm clock announcing that it is just after midnight. My breath comes in gasps, and my eyes are wide but unseeing. The last remnant of an already forgotten nightmare brushes against me like the tattered hem of a specter’s cloak, powerful enough to fill me with terror, and yet so insubstantial that it evaporates like mist when I try to grasp it.

I do not know what frightened me. I only know that I am alone, and that I am scared.

Alone?

I turn swiftly in bed, shifting my body as I reach out to my right. But even before my fingers brush the cool, expensive sheets, I know that he is not there.

I may have fallen asleep in Damien’s arms, but once again, I have awakened alone.

At least now I know the source of the nightmare. It is the same fear I have faced every day and every night for weeks. The fear I try to hide beneath a plastic smile as I sit beside Damien day in and day out as his attorneys go over his defense in meticulous detail. As they explain the procedural ins-and-outs of a murder trial under German law. As they practically beg him to shine a light into the dark corners of his childhood because they know, as I do, that those secrets are his salvation.

But Damien remains stubbornly mute, and I am left huddled against this pervasive fear that I will lose him. That he will be taken from me.

And not just fear. I’m also fighting the damnable, overwhelming, panic-inducing knowledge that there isn’t a goddamn thing in the world I can do. Nothing except wait and watch and hope.

But I do not like waiting, and I have never put my faith in hope. It is a cousin of fate, and both are too mercurial for my taste. What I crave is action, but the only one who can act is Damien, and he has steadfastly refused.

And that, I think, is the worst cut of all. Because while I understand the reason for his silence, I can’t quell the selfish spark of anger. Because at the core of it all, it’s not just himself that Damien is sacrificing. It’s me. Hell, it’s us.

We are running out of time. His trial will begin only a few hours from now, and unless he changes his mind about his defense, it is very likely that I will lose this man.

I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing the tears to remain at bay. I can push the fear back, but my anger is like a living thing, and I am afraid that it will explode no matter how hard I try to quell it. For that matter, I’m afraid that suppressing it will make the ultimate explosion all the more brutal.

When the indictment came through, Damien had tried to push me away, believing that he was protecting me. But he’d been wrong—and I’d flown all the way to Germany to tell him so. I’ve been here for over three weeks now, and there has not been a day when I have regretted coming, and I do not doubt that what he said when I arrived on his doorstep is true—he loves me.

But that knowledge doesn’t soothe the sense of foreboding that has been rising within me. A trepidation that is especially potent at night when I wake alone and know that he has turned to solitude and scotch when I want him in my arms. He loves me, yes. But at the same time I’m afraid that he is pushing me away again. Not in big steps, but in little ones.

Well, screw that.

I peel myself away from the cool comfort of our bed and stand up. I’m naked, and I bend to retrieve the white, lush robe provided by the Hotel Kempinski. Damien brushed it back off my shoulders after our shower last night, and I left it where it fell, a soft pile of cotton beside the bed.

The sash is a different story, and I have to dig in the rumpled sheets to find it. Sex with Damien is always intense, but as the trial comes closer, it has been wilder, more potent, as if by controlling me Damien can control the outcome.

Idly, I rub my wrists. They bear no marks, but that is only because Damien is careful. I can’t say the same about my ass, which still tingles from the feel of his palm against my skin. I like it—both this lingering sting and the knowledge that he needs my submission as much as I need to give myself to him.

I find the sash shoved down near the foot of the bed. Last night, it had bound my wrists behind my back. Now, I tie it around my waist and tug it tight, relishing the luxurious comfort after waking so violently. The room itself is equally soothing, every detail done to perfection. Every piece of wood polished, every tiny knickknack or artistic addition thoughtfully arranged. Right now, however, I am oblivious to the room’s charms. I only want to find Damien.

The bedroom connects to an oversized dressing area and a stunning bathroom. I check briefly in both, though I do not expect to find him, then continue through to the living area. The space is large and also well-appointed with comfortable seating and a round worktable that is now covered with sheaths of papers and folders representing both the business that Damien continues to run despite the world collapsing around our ears, and the various legal documents that his attorney, Charles Maynard, has ordered Damien to study.

I let the robe drop where I stand and pull on the stunning trompe l’oeil patterned sheath that Damien cavalierly tossed over the arm of chair after peeling it off me last night. We’ve spent a few hours escaping reality by shopping on Munich’s famous Maximilianstrasse, and I have acquired so many shoes and dresses I could open my own boutique.

I run my fingers through my hair as I cross the room to the phone by the bar. I force myself not to go into the bathroom to primp and freshen the make-up that has surely rubbed off. It’s more challenging than it sounds; the mantra that a lady doesn’t go out unfinished has been beaten into my head since birth. But with Damien at my side I have thumbed my nose at many of the tribulations of my youth, and right now I am more concerned with finding him than with applying fresh lipstick.

I pick up the receiver and dial zero. Almost immediately there is an accented voice on the other end. “Good evening, Ms. Fairchild.”

“He’s in the bar?” I do not need to explain who the “he” is.

“He is. Shall I have a phone brought to his table?”

“No, that’s all right. I’ll come down.”

“Sehr gut. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, thank you.”  I’m about to hang up when I realize there is something. “Wait!”  I catch him before he clicks off,  then inveigle his help with my plan to distract Damien from his demons.

Despite the age of the building and the elegance of the interior, the hotel boasts a modern ambiance, and I have come to feel at home within these walls. I wait impatiently for the elevator, and then even more impatiently once I’m in the car. The descent seems to take forever, and when the doors finally open to reveal the opulent lobby, I aim myself straight for the Old English style bar.

Despite the late hour on a Sunday, the Jahreszeiten Bar is bustling. A woman stands by the piano softly singing to the gathered crowd. I barely pay her any heed. I don’t expect to find Damien among the listeners.

Instead, I wander through the wood and red leather interior, shaking off the help of a waiter who wants to seat me. I pause for a moment, standing idly beside a blonde woman about my age who is sipping champagne and laughing with a man who might be her father, but I’m betting is not.

I turn slowly, taking in the room around me. Damien is not with the group at the piano, nor is he sitting at the bar. And he does not occupy any of the red leather chairs that are evenly spaced around the tables.

I’m starting to worry that perhaps he was leaving as I was coming. Then I take a step to the left and realize that what I thought was a solid wall is actually an optical illusion created by a pillar. Now I can see the rest of the room, including the flames leaping in the fireplace set into the opposite wall. There is a small loveseat and two chairs surrounding the hearth. And, yes, there is Damien.

I immediately exhale, my relief so intense I almost use the blonde’s shoulder to steady myself. Damien is seated in one of the chairs, his back to the room as he faces the flames. His shoulders are broad and straight, and more than capable of bearing the weight of the world upon them. I wish, however, that they didn’t have to.

I move toward him, the sound of my approach muffled by both the thick carpet and the din of conversation. I pause a few feet behind him, already feeling the familiar pull I experience whenever I am near Damien. The singer is now crooning Since I Fell For You, her voice cutting sharp and clear across the room. Her voice is so mournful that I’m afraid it is going to unleash a flood of tears along with all of the stress of the last few weeks.

No. I’m here to comfort Damien, not the other way around, and I continue toward him with renewed resolve. When I finally reach him, I press my hand to his shoulder and bend down, my lips brushing his ear. “Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?”

I hear rather than see his answering smile. “That depends on who’s asking.” He doesn’t turn to face me, but he lifts his arm so that his hand is held up in a silent invitation. I close my hand in his, and he guides me gently around the chair until I am standing in front of him. I know every line of this man’s face. Every angle, every curve. I know his lips, his expressions. I can close my own eyes and picture his, dark with desire, bright with laughter. I have only to look at his midnight-colored hair to imagine the soft, thick locks between my fingers. There is nothing about him that is not intimately familiar to me, and yet every glance at him hits me like a shock, reverberating through me with enough power to knock me to my knees.

Empirically, he is gorgeous. But it is not simply his looks that overwhelm. It is the whole package. The power, the confidence, the bone-deep sensuality that he couldn’t shake even if he tried.

Want more? Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of the chapter.  And  you can pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble!  On-sale July 30!

 Claim Me – which is now in it’s third week on the New York Times bestseller list — is already available! Get your copy here:

Claim Me from Amazon!
Claim Me from Barnes & Noble!
Claim Me from Books-a-Million
Claim Me from Random House
Claim Me from your favorite independent bookseller
 Claim Me in the U.K. from Amazon
 Claim Me in the U.K. from Waterstones
Claim Me in the U.K. from WH Smith

And if you missed book 1, Release Me (now in its 11th week on the USA Today bestseller list!) you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

Writers’ Block bringing you down? Janis Patterson joins me today to talk about the struggles and the best ways to overcome. Read on for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Writers’ Block and Other Hazards – The Joys of Being A Writer

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

It’s happened to everyone.

You’re speeding along, words are flowing easily, the plot is advancing, your characters are doing exactly what they’re supposed to…and suddenly BOOM! Everything stops as suddenly (and sometimes as messily) as if you’d hit a brick wall.

Suddenly your characters stop cooperating and start sulking while without warning your Muse takes it into her head to dash off to parts unknown.

Suddenly your story becomes a tangled mess of coincidences and author intrusions that not even a Deus Ex Machina could sort out.

Suddenly you become a tongue-tied idiot with a vocabulary of six words and no idea of how to construct a sentence. To add insult to injury, every word you put down only makes it worse.

You have writers’ block.

It’s a horrible disease that strikes without warning and, according to some who have been afflicted, deserves its own telethon. Unfortunately, there are lots of cures – it’s just that none of them work consistently.

I know. I’ve been there.

The most obvious is just to take a break – get up and fix another cup of coffee, or walk around the block, or (my particular favorite) take a good long soak in the hot tub. Sometimes, when those don’t work, The Husband will take me out for dinner. Either he is terribly kind, or he doesn’t want to risk eating anything I prepare when I’m in such a mood.

Usually these stalls, combined with an evening of mindless television and a good night’s sleep, do the trick. By the morning my mind is rested and everything starts to work again.

If it doesn’t, I grit my teeth and go after it the old fashioned way. I write a word. Then another. Then another. And so on. Most of what I write in this way is pure rubbish, but after a while it does prime the pump and the story starts to come again – usually first a dribble and then (hopefully!) a good flow.

Sometimes, if the block is stubborn, I simply switch to another work in progress. That’s why I seldom have fewer than three or four projects going in varying states of completion.

Then occasionally you’re writing at full speed your story twists and turns and metamorphosises before your eyes. Sometimes several times. I know when I was writing THE HOLLOW HOUSE (cozy murder mystery set in 1919 written as Janis Patterson – Carina Press) I ended up changing the murderer three times in the last three chapters of the story. Then, when the killer was finally revealed it was so right! Of course, I groused that I had to go back and put in all the clues leading to this killer, but what was spooky was when I started, all the clues were already there. Hmmm…

Another kind of problem plagued me while writing EXERCISE IS MURDER (contemporary cozy mystery written as Janis Patterson – 5Star/Gale/Cengage). I knew exactly who did it, and where, and how, and why, but what drove me nuts was getting everyone in place for the reveal. My characters simply wanted to go their own way. It took some doing, but finally it was done (though not in the way I originally envisioned) and justice served.

Another problem is being true to the world you have created. In INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS (traditional gothic written as Janis Susan May – Carina Press) I had two worlds – one the everyday, reasonably normal one, the other a perhaps fictional world created by the heroine’s late author father. Okay, the everyday one was pretty easy – I just had to remember to keep everyone’s names straight. The other…

When I teach writing, I urge everyone to keep a bible (small ‘b’) on each book. Nothing fancy, just when you put something in the manuscript, also put it in the bible. I don’t organize or section it – just put whatever it is on the next line. It saves time. If ten chapters later I need to find out the name of Lady Whatsis’ butler, it’s easy to glance over the one or two pages of the bible instead of searching through the entire manuscript.

With INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS, though, the bible ran to eight single-spaced pages. The world the heroine’s father had invented had six or seven separate sentient species, each of whom had their own appearance, language, history, mythology and norms of behavior. The spellings alone were enough to drive one batty. When I submitted the book, I sent the bible along with the manuscript to my editor, who in time handed it over to the copy editor. I got nice letters of thanks from both of them for saving them a lot of time and trouble, but I originally did it just for me.

I think that we can all accept that writers are different, but we do have to live in the real world, however reluctantly. The words dry up on us, our characters stubbornly go their own way, sometimes we invent worlds too complex for our puny little brains to handle, yet we always manage to come out on top. It really isn’t writers’ block or a hazard – it’s a challenge, and real writers will always come up with real solutions.

Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson is a 7th-generation Texan and a 3rd-generation wordsmith who writes in mystery, romance, horror and non-fiction/scholarly. Once an actress and a singer, Janis has also been editor-in-chief of two multi-magazine publishing groups as well as many other things, including an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist. Janis’ husband even proposed in a moonlit garden near the Pyramids of Giza. Janis and her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued furbabies.

For more information on her books, check out both Janis Susan May‘s and Janis Patterson‘s websites!

Many thanks to Janis Susan for coming on the blog! Ready to tackle your next writing project? Leave a comment to be considered for the $5 Amazon gift card!

P.S. - Book two of my Stark Trilogy -  Claim Me - is in it's third week on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! And Complete Me comes out July 30.  WOOT!  (And if you missed book 1, Release Me, grab your copy now!  I'm thrilled that it's now in it's 11th week as a USA Today bestseller!)

--J.K.

Need a new book to enjoy for the warmer spring weather? Try one of these great titles!

Death, Taxes, and Hot Pink Leg Warmers (Tara Holloway)
A perfect summer beach read!
Learn more at Diane’s website!

Never Haunt a Historian (Leigh Koslow Mystery Series, Book 7)
Just released! Book #7 in the Leigh Koslow cozy mystery series!
Learn more at Edie’s website!

Sink or Swim
99 cent sale through June 1st
Learn more at Stacy’s website!

Stand By Your Hitman (Greatest Hits Mysteries)
99 cents May 13-21!
Learn more at Leslie’s website!

A Bitter Veil
Check out Libby’s blog post about A BITTER VEIL here!
Learn more at Libby’s website!

SINFULLY SWEET (Boxed Set of 6 FULL LENGTH Novels)
Happy to promote my friend Carly & Co.’s box set today!
Learn more at Carly’s, Alannah’s, Janelle’s, Rhonda’s, Leslie’s, or Marquita’s websites!

Beaded to Death
Check out Janis’s blog post later this week!
Learn more at Janis’s website!

A Scandalous Wife (Scandalous Series, BOOK 1)
I’m excited to share Ava’s great book!
Learn more at Ava’s website!

P.S. - Book two of my Stark Trilogy -  Claim Me - is in it's third week on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! And Complete Me comes out July 30.  WOOT!  (And if you missed book 1, Release Me, grab your copy now!  I'm thrilled that it's now in it's 11th week as a USA Today bestseller!)

--J.K.

Today I welcome Libby Hellman to the blog! Keep reading for her captivating story of how A BITTER VEIL came to be written…

A BITTER VEIL:

The Story Behind The Story

Libby Fischer Hellmann

So there I was at a conference a few years ago. I had just finished my sixth novel and an author friend asked, “What are you going to write now?”

I had no idea. I told him I liked writing about women whose choices have been taken away from them. Who have run out of options. How do they survive without becoming victims?  Is it even possible for them to prevail?

As we chatted a memory swam up to consciousness. A few years earlier I’d gone to a high school reunion. I’d published a few novels by then, and one of my former classmates approached and said she wanted to tell me her “story.”  Like most writers, I’m a sucker for a story, so we grabbed a glass of wine and went into a corner.

She proceeded to tell me how she’d fallen in love after college with an Iranian student. They married and she moved with him to Tehran. Four months later the Shah was deposed, and her life went from wonderful to acceptable, from acceptable to mediocre, difficult, and finally intolerable. After a year or so she was able to flee Iran, returned to the States, and got a divorce. Now I told my author friend at Bouchercon about my classmate. He promptly suggested I write about her.

“I cant,” I said. “It’s not fiction, and there was no crime.”

He cocked his head and looked at me as if I were a little strange.  “You write crime fiction. Find one.”

I took his advice.

***

I began by doing research. Usually I’m the type of writer who believes in field trips. I’ve gone to Douglas, Arizona; Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; neighborhoods in Chicago I’d never visit alone; even Cuba. But I couldn’t go to Iran. It was—and is—unsafe for an American woman, particularly a Jewish American woman. I would have been questioning and interviewing people about a delicate time in Iranian history. It’s possible some people might have had the wrong idea. It’s possible I might have been stopped, even apprehended. So a trip was out of the question.

However, not experiencing Iran first-hand was problematic too. How could I capture the setting accurately? The culture? The struggle that erupted when a religious revolution was foisted on a previously (mostly) secular society? Perhaps, I reasoned, the story was better left untold. After all, there already are plenty of books—both fiction and nonfiction—written about that period. Indeed, I’ve included a list of some at the end of A BITTER VEIL.

But the story wouldn’t leave me alone. After much internal debate, I decided I wouldn’t write the book unless I did enough research to feel comfortable with the evolution, conflicts, and issues of the Islamic Revolution.

Fortunately I’m a former history major. Not only do I love research, but I have always been captivated by the past and how we bend it, learn from it, or ignore it at our peril. And the Islamic Revolution of Iran is one of the most well-covered revolutions in history. It was easy to find chronologies, books, articles, and reactions. I read nearly twenty books, both fiction and nonfiction. I took notes, read more, watched films, examined photos. A factor in my favor was that the revolution was relatively recent. Many of us remember TV news footage of the Shah piloting his plane out of Iran, followed by the triumphant return of Khomeini a few weeks later. It was not difficult to find materials.

I also put the word out that I was looking for Iranian-Americans who’d lived in Iran during the early years of the revolution. Within weeks I found five people willing to talk to me. Some warned me not to be too critical; others not too gentle. One told me such a harrowing story that some of her history ended up in the book.  As you might expect, none wanted their names made public.

After sifting through what I’d learned, I decided I might be able to write the novel after all. The first fifty pages take place in Chicago, so that section wasn’t difficult. After the couple moved travel to Tehran, it became more challenging, but whenever I had questions, I did more research. For example, it turns out that my female protagonist buys two chadors. I discovered a chador shop in Tehran, read about chadors and their headpieces, and incorporated the information into the story.

When I finished a draft, I sent it to one of the five Iranian-Americans I’d interviewed. She vetted the entire manuscript and told me where I’d gone astray. I made revisions. Then I sent it to my editor who sent it to a second Iranian-American for further checking. Finally, when producing the audio, we checked with yet another person for the proper pronunciation of Farsi phrases.

I was comforted by the thought that I was writing about the era as seen through the eyes of an American woman. What she observed was in large measure what I learned during my research. Some of it was beautiful—for example, the sheer magnificence of the Persian culture. Some of it, less so.  In all cases, though, I tried to be faithful to the research.

***

There’s one more component to the back story that made writing A BITTER VEIL irresistible. As crime writers, we learn early that “conflict” is the most essential ingredient in fiction. We learn that there must be conflict on every page, even if a character just wants a glass of water and can’t get it.

What triggers more conflict than a revolution?  Whether it’s the French, Russian, Cuban, Chinese, or what we’re now calling the Arab Spring, nothing shakes the foundation of a society more than internal conflict. That kind of conflict turns some people into heroes; others into cowards. The most satisfying part of writing for me is placing a character in the middle of that conflict and seeing how they behave.

That happened in A BITTER VEIL. Some characters did what I thought they would, but others surprised me with their actions.  In fact, I thought I knew who the culprit was when I began the book. But that changed several times during the writing, and it wasn’t until the climax that the perpetrator was unmasked. I hope readers will be as surprised as I was.

The conflict triggered by the Islamic revolution manifested itself in a non-pluralistic way, as well. Through my research I learned that Persia had been invaded many times over the centuries. However, Persia’s invaders always tended to assimilate the magnificent Persian culture rather than imposing their own on Persia. In some cases, the invaders even allowed the Persians to retain a semblance of autonomy. That didn’t happen this time. Iranian customs, culture, and politics changed dramatically.

Why? Was it because the revolutionaries were insurgents, not foreign invaders? Was it because there was no choice—Iranians were required to “assimilate” the new republic’s dictums?  I’m not sure, and it was a compelling question—one which I ultimately had to leave open.

 ***

Now for the punch line.

I finished the book, recorded the audio, planned my promotion. I had decided early on not to use my high school classmate as a source, so she knew nothing about the book. When it was done, though, I decided to dedicate the book to her if she agreed. It took almost six weeks for us to connect because she was traveling, but when we finally did, I said,

“Hi. You remember the story you told me about moving to Iran?”

“Iran?” She said. “It wasn’t Iran.”

“Of course it was,” I said. “You fell in love, you got married and moved to Tehran. When it became impossible, you came home.”

“No.” She corrected me. “It wasn’t Iran—it was India.”
“But…but…” I sputtered. India?? She’d gone to India, not Iran? How had I screwed that up?

“I can’t believe this,” I said. “I just finished writing a novel about Iran. And it all began with you!”

“Actually, I do believe it,” she said. “I moved to the Punjab area of India, which is predominantly Muslim. The Shiites in India tended to follow and do what Iranian Shiites did. The same customs, the same restrictions. So don’t feel badly; it was a similar situation.”

But of course, I did. I spent a couple of days shame-faced and embarrassed. After a while, though, I realized it didn’t matter. Clearly, it was a subconscious error. I’d written the story I was supposed to write. A BITTER VEIL is that story.

Libby Fischer Hellmann is the award-winning author of A BITTER VEIL, SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE, the Ellie Foreman and Georgia Davis crime fiction series, and NICE GIRL DOES NOIR, a short story collection. She’s lived in Chicago 35 years and intends for them to take her out feet first.

Many thanks to Libby for coming on the blog! Don’t forget to check out A BITTER VEIL.

P.S. - Book two of my Stark Trilogy -  Claim Me - is in it's third week on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! And Complete Me comes out July 30.  WOOT!  (And if you missed book 1, Release Me, grab your copy now!  I'm thrilled that it's now in it's 11th week as a USA Today bestseller!)

--J.K.

Wow! Hard to believe July is just around the corner–along with book 3 of the Stark Trilogy!

I’ll be starting #StarkOnSaturday up again next week … and I’m also going to post the first chapter of Complete Me soon (for those of you who read it in the back of the digital edition of Claim Me, it’s changed a bit since then).

But in the meantime, I thought I’d treat y’all to a steamy outtake from Complete Me, book 3 of the Stark Trilogy, following Release Me and Claim Me, which is still hot off the presses!

Enjoy!  (Remember, this is an outtake, which means it didn’t make the final cut into the book!)

I tilt my head so that I can see him better.  “I assure you that these panties are not designed to prevent access.  But,” I add, hooking my thumbs in the flimsy band, “the right man could probably persuade me to take them off.”

“The right man?” He steps back, breaking contact, and I swallow a sigh of regret.  Slowly, he lifts his hand, then brushes the pad of his forefinger over my lower lip. Ripples of desire race through me, and I reach out to steady myself with a hand on the floral-patterned wall paper.

“Tell me,” Damien says as he gently eases his thumb into my mouth.  “Just who might that man be?”

My thoughts are swirling, and I draw in his tongue, relishing the taste of him.  He is like the most decadent of desserts—and I want to gorge myself upon him. That’s not going to happen, though, because he gently tugs his finger free, and I actually whimper as he does.

“I’ll ask again,” he says, slipping his hand down my belly until his fingers creep under the tiny triangle of material.  I’m so very wet that he easily slides that same forefinger deep inside me.  Immediately, my body clenches around him, drawing him in, and I release a moan of pure, animal pleasure, so loud that he silences me with a firm—and all too brief—kiss.  “Who?” he says when he breaks the kiss.  “Tell me who the man is who could persuade you to take these off.”

“Or?” I tease.

“Or you’ll have to suffer the consequences,” he says, withdrawing his finger as he grins playfully.

“You’re a cruel man, Mr. Stark.”

“So you’ve told me.”  He brushes the finger over my lips again, and I draw it in slowly, tasting the sweetness of sex and feeling the tightness build in my body simply from the connection to this man.

His own groan reflects my arousal, and when I open my eyes I see him watching me with such intensity that I think I might come simply from the pressure of his gaze.

Slowly, he withdraws his finger from my mouth, past my lips that are closed tight against his digit because I want to extend the contact for as long as possible.

And then he is gone and I am touched only by the heat of his proximity.  It’s enough.  Just being close to Damien makes me feel alive.

“What?” he says.  “You’re smiling,” he adds, apparently noting my confusion.

“I’m happy.”  The word seems insignificant, but to me it is full of meaning.  In just the short amount of time since he’s walked into this dressing room, everything has changed.  I feel light again.  As if any moment I am going to rise off the floor, and it is Damien who is both causing the rise and keeping me tethered.

He looks me up and down, the desire in his eyes so ripe I can almost see the coming explosion. But though I expect him to break and pull me hard into his arms, it doesn’t happen.  Instead, he simply meets my eyes directly and says in a voice overflowing with emotion.  “You’re beautiful.”

I have been told that all my life.  It is only when the words fall from Damien’s lips that I believe them.

Want more? You can pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble!  On-sale July 30!

 Claim Me – which debuted at number 2 on the New York Times bestseller list — is already available! Get your copy here:

Claim Me from Amazon!
Claim Me from Barnes & Noble!
Claim Me from Books-a-Million
Claim Me from Random House
Claim Me from your favorite independent bookseller
 Claim Me in the U.K. from Amazon
 Claim Me in the U.K. from Waterstones
Claim Me in the U.K. from WH Smith

And if you missed book 1, Release Me, you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

How do you get out of the typical tropes for paranormal writing? Laura Resnick shares her stories…with a kick!

One of the challenges a paranormal novelist like me faces is how to use familiar supernatural tropes without writing a book that’s just like someone else’s book.

I didn’t really struggle with this when I wrote the first couple of books in my Esther Diamond urban fantasy series, Disappearing Nightly and Doppelgangster, because the fantasy premises I used in those two books (supernatural vanishings and paranormal perfect doubles) weren’t common, let alone ubiquitous. My next two Esther Diamond books, though, brought my dread of the retread into my writing life front-and-center, since Unsympathetic Magic was a zombie novel and Vamparazzi was about vampires.

Oops.

In an endless sea of zombie and vampire books, how do you write a novel about each of these familiar (no, let’s be honest: clichéd) subjects that isn’t just like someone else’s novel?

Well, I’m a simple person, so I found a comfortingly simple solution: Research.

I ignored everything that I had seen in the movies, TV shows, and popular novels viz zombies and vampires, and I focused on nonfiction books and documentaries about my subject matter. This is the way I always do research for my novels, after all; and it turned out to be particularly useful when dealing with something as done-to-undeath as zombies and vampires.

Thus I soon discovered that what I “knew” about zombies and vampires was based entirely on my exposure to well-entrenched portrayals (no, let’s be honest: popular stereotypes) of them… And such portrayals were entirely different from religious beliefs, mythologies, and folkloric traditions recorded about such creatures.

For example, all I “knew” about zombies was that they’re terrifying walking-corpses who eat human brains. But actually, in Haitian folklore, from which the commercial concept of zombiism was originally derived (and then much altered), zombies don’t eat human brains. They don’t eat anything, in fact. Because they’re, you know… dead. So they don’t require nourishment.

Zombies also aren’t evil or vicious in Haitian voodoo (or Vodou) belief. They’re morally neutral, in much the way that your car is morally neutral, because they’re animated and directed entirely by an exterior intelligence. Zombies are not violent unless ordered by their creator to commit violence. They cannot act independently or react to circumstances; they’re strictly the obedient slaves of whoever raised them from the grave—typically, a bokor (a sorcerer who deals in black magic) who has petitioned Baron Samedi, the Lord of Death, to allow him to create a zombie.

And “slaves” is a key word there; in Haitian belief, a zombie is not a monster, it’s a victim. Haitians don’t fear zombies, they fear becoming zombies. In the context of Vodou, a religion founded by slaves, slavery is the worst thing that can happen to a person—hence the fear of being raised from the grave as the living dead, for the sole purpose of being a dark sorcerer’s slave.

This was all a lot more interesting to me than, “Brrrraaaaiins! WANT BRAINS!” when figuring out how to write about zombies.

Similarly, when I started working on Vamparazzi, I initially feared that when writing about vampires, there would be no way to avoid invading territory already staked out (sorry, I couldn’t resist) by other novelists. Once again, though, as soon as I started researching my subject, I discovered precisely the thing that became the promo tag line for Vamparazzi: “Everything you think you know about vampires is wrong.”

Here’s a good example: In European folklore, vampires don’t have fangs. That’s strictly an invention of novels and films. It’s a shrewd invention, of course—because trying to access someone’s jugular vein without razor-sharp fangs is extremely messy… as we learn in Vamparazzi, which eliminates fangs as a feature of vampirism, since I didn’t want to imitate (generations of) other novelists when I wrote about vampires.

To give another example: Vampires bursting into flames or withering into ashes when exposed to sunlight is also strictly an invention of fiction and film; yes, folkloric vampires are typically active by night rather than day, but there is no tradition of sunlight being fatal (or, rather, terminal) for them.

Moreover, I was surprised to learn there have been real-world vampire epidemics. In Eastern Europe in the 18th century, for example, outbreaks of vampirism were so alarming and widespread that the Austrian Empire, which then ruled the region, sent government officials to the afflicted provinces to investigate and report on these strange events. Those vampire epidemics play an important role in Vamparazzi—as, indeed, they played historically in spreading Slavic vampire lore through Western Europe.

Thus I relearned a lesson which helps me gird my loins as I approach additional tropes that I fear may have already been done way too much: Just research it.

*****

Laura Resnick is the author of the popular Esther Diamond urban fantasy series, whose most recent release was Polterheist. She is on the Web at LauraResnick.com, and you can visit her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Thanks to Laura for an exciting post! Are there any tropes in paranormal novels you would prefer to see (or prefer to not see)?

P.S. - Book two of my Stark Trilogy -  Claim Me - is in it's third week on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! And Complete Me comes out July 30.  WOOT!  (And if you missed book 1, Release Me, grab your copy now!  I'm thrilled that it's now in it's 11th week as a USA Today bestseller!)

--J.K.

The world of book publishing requires authors to have a hodgepodge of skills, including choosing your cover art! Need a little help getting that eye-catching cover for your book? Brian Jackson is the man for the job!

0xF Tips for Creating a Selling Book Cover

by Brian Jackson

I doubt that there are many self-published authors out there who would argue against the fact that a good book cover is essential to grabbing a buyer’s attention and therefore selling more books. We all know this. Let’s assume it’s a given.

Given that we all care about our book covers, have you ever wondered how to create a book cover that sells? I bet you have. In my self-publishing book, Do It Yourself: Book Covers, I address the mechanics of creating quality book covers inexpensively but provide little guidance on the best practices for book cover design. In this blog post I intend to rectify this omission.

The following are 16 tips for creating a quality book cover that will sell more books. Why 16 tips instead of 10 you ask? Because I used to be a programmer and we count in base 16 (hexadecimal). As a result, I’m providing 16 tips, not 10. They’ll be number in hexadecimal format from 0×0 to 0xF.

0×0 Reinterpret Existing Book Covers

Before creating a book cover, spend plenty of time checking out the covers on books that sell well and covers that you like. I’m not saying you should steal the covers, but there’s nothing to say you can’t borrow appealing elements from these cover, try to match images, replicate a color scheme or layout, and thereby reinterpret a winning book cover.

You can begin your journey by reviewing The Wall of Book Covers located at the following URL: http://www.authorBrianJackson.com/bookCovers.html

These book covers were created by me using the techniques outlined in my book.

Before creating a book cover or contracting with someone to create a book cover you, do your homework by examining plenty of covers for books in your genre. Look for pleasing color schemes, cool fonts, and eye popping images to reinterpret in your own cover.

0×1 Use Fonts to Tell Your Story

A book cover is composed of three basic elements: text, images, and colored boxes. It’s that simple. All three of these elements need to be used to tell your customers what you’re book is about. One of the most frequently overlooked elements that can be used to tell your book’s story is your cover font.

Go back and check out The Wall of Book Covers. Notice how the fonts used on the covers move from whimsical to downright creepy? That’s because the story told by each book ranges from whimsical to downright creepy.

If you’re creating your own book cover, check out the following URL to download free fonts onto your computer: http://www.dafont.com. Look for fonts that tell your story.

0×2 Purchase Quality Low Cost Images

One of the most powerful aspects of any book cover are the images presented to tell the book’s story. You can spend your time trying to get the licensing rights to images you find on the web or searching the public image bins, but I recommend that you instead purchase the rights to low cost images.

The following websites sell the rights to professional images for one or two dollars an image. The quality of the images is exceptional and you don’t have to screw around trying to get the rights, they’re selling the rights:

http://www.canStockPhoto.com and http://www.iStockPhoto.com

Both sites are great, the first is a little cheaper and the second has somewhat better images. In either case they’re both cheap and provide wonderful professional images. All the images on The Wall of Book Covers are from either canStock or iStock.

Note that when buying images from either site, you should purchase credits and use them instead of paying in dollars. Paying in credits is significantly cheaper.

0×3 Avoid Spindly Fonts and Tiny Images

Man those delicate, spindly fonts sure are pretty. The problem is that when these fonts are viewed in thumbnail size (e.g. on Amazon) those pretty delicate fonts tend to become dashed and come apart. The same is true for small delicate images.

Avoid using narrow fonts and small images on your book covers to insure they can be seen. One good way to insure your book covers elements can be seen is to…

0×4 View Your Cover in Thumbnail Size

All image manipulations programs (e.g. GIMP or Photoshop) support the ability to view your images in various sizes. Use this feature to insure that your cover is readable and looks good when displayed in smaller sizes (e.g. in GIMP I view in either 1:8 or 1:16 size to verify an image’s readability).

0×5 Use Large Fonts for Title and Author

You want to make your title readable. Next in order of importance is your author name and any accolades you want to brag about. Reviews from famous authors are also important. Your subtitle or slogan doesn’t matter quite as much. Make your title and author name large enough to be readable in thumbnail size.

0×6 Contrast Font and Background Colors

Dark text tends to pop off the cover better when it overlays a light background. Conversely, light colored fonts show up best when laid over dark backgrounds. White on black or black on white produce the greatest contrast and tend to pop the best. Pay attention to your font and background image colors when designing your book cover. Consider using colored boxes or drop shadows to make your font stand out.

0×7 Include Appropriate Accolades

If you’re an Amazon, New York Times, or USA Today bestseller, you’d better say so right about you author name on your cover. Likewise if you’re a Bram Stoker, Hugo, or Nebula award winner. Include appropriate accolades on your cover right about your author name.

Skip the accolade if it’s a featured author in your junior college review. Yeah, I won that honor once as well, but we’re trying to REALLY wow the reader.

0×8 Include Series Designation

If you’re book is part of a series, let the reader know. At least list the name of the series to let the reader know that they can purchase additional books if they like the characters and world. Consider including the sequence number of the book in the series (and definitely include this information in the title of the book in your Amazon listing).

0×9 Include a Catchy Subtitle

Got a nice hook to draw readers in? A catchy slogan or subtitle? Use it, just keep it smaller than your title, accolades, and author name. If it’s really good then why isn’t it your title?

0xA Use Colored Boxes or Background Images to Contrast Text

This is that old light text on dark background and vica versa thing. I really like placing light or dark colored boxes behind my text to really make it pop. In your image manipulation program simply select a rectangular area and dump a light or dark color into it, then place the rectangle behind your text and over your background image. Works great.

0xB Use Drop Shadows and Ghost Shadow to Make Text Pop

Quite often, text can be highlighted by placed a drop shadow or ghost shadow behind your text. If your graphic program doesn’t directly support drop shadows, simply put the same text behind the text you want to make pop but make it a contrasting color (e.g. black for white text, white for black text). Position the text behind the text you want to make pop and slightly down and right of the text on top. Now blur it. I like to blur white ghost shadows a lot defusing them into the cover image.

0xC Use Complementary Colors

Show some taste with your covers. Use cool blues or greens, pastels, or wild yellow and red. Just keep the colors complimentary (e.g. no hot pink fonts over an image of a forest). I’d like to explain further, but this blog post is too short. I’m afraid that if you have no taste you’re doomed when it comes to cover design.

0xD Select Compelling Cover Images

Yeah, I know. This is pretty obvious but it’s also so important that I feel the need to state the obvious. Besides, to some degree this is the fun part of cover design. Spend lots of time on canStock searching for images that will catch the eye by being exceptionally beautiful or in some other way are eye catching. Find an image the both tells your books story and catches the book buyer’s eye.

0xE Review Your Book Cover With Others

I always send my book covers out on FaceBook for review. Readers can provide a lot of good insight into how to improve a cover. Plus it’s nice to get some positive strokes for your work.

0xF Tell a Concise Story

Keep it simple. Sometimes the simplest, minimalist covers are the best. Tell a concise story with your book covers and don’t overload the reader with needless BS. Title, accolades, author, subtitle, image. That should do it.

About the Author

Brian Jackson is a retired computer programmer who now spends his time writing. He is the writer of fiction in a number of genres and nonfiction books about self-publishing. Additionally, he publishes books written by his wife Melanie Jackson and maintains her web page.

Thanks to Brain for a helpful guide to cover designing! What do you look for in a good book cover?

P.S. - Book two of my Stark Trilogy -  Claim Me - is in it's third week on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! And Complete Me comes out July 30.  WOOT!  (And if you missed book 1, Release Me, grab your copy now!  I'm thrilled that it's now in it's 11th week as a USA Today bestseller!)

--J.K.