Category: My Books

Cover Love!

The cover for WHERE SHE BELONGS, my dramatic contemporary romance coming in library hardcover from Five Star Expressions in December 2011 (which means it will be available for purchase by the general public probably in January 2012):

Things I love about this cover:

  1. I really wanted a waterfall on the cover. I didn’t outright ask the Art Department to put a waterfall on the cover, but instead commented that the waterfall is a major setting in the story, plus I sent along several pictures of the geography of the North Thompson Valley in British Columbia where my fictional logging community, Destiny Falls, is based. So that I actually got a waterfall that duplicates the fictional waterfall in my mind…gotta love it!
  2. The heroine looks like the picture of Jess Morgan (her name) in my head. When that happens, it’s cover magic.
  3. Why, lookee that! My name is at the top of a book cover FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. How can I not be thrilled?
  4. WHERE SHE BELONGS is my 2007 Golden Heart finalist manuscript, Long Contemporary category under another title. I actually wrote this book before HEAD OVER HEELS and BORROWING ALEX, but various circumstances (including a learning curve on my behalf) prevented it from being accepted for publication until after both my romantic comedies had been on the cyber-shelves for…quite some time. In between, I was busy writing manuscripts I eventually sold as Penny. So, you see, “Cindy” has been working diligently all along, but “Penny” grabbed all the glory for awhile there. Now I’m back on top! Mwahahaha. Actually, I guess we’re tied. Because my book comes out in December/January and Penny’s comes out in November.

I promised last week that I would post Penny’s new cover this week, too. However, there’ll be a postponement on that one. It still has to route through the Samhain marketing department, I discovered.

As soon as I have permission, have no fear, I’ll post it on behalf of Penny.

Now before you go asking me what WHERE SHE BELONGS is about, the reason I haven’t posted the back cover blurb is because I don’t know if Five Star/Cengage tweaks the blurbs the authors provide. I don’t want to put up a premature blurb. Besides, once I have the blurb, I can post the cover again with it. (Yes, I know, I’m sneaky.) Short version, WHERE SHE BELONGS is about loss, forgiveness, and rediscovering one’s sense of belonging (hence the title).

I also promised pictures of my trip to Newfoundland, but I am now consumed with first-rounds edits on Penny’s book that I want to have done before I leave for the RWA National Conference in New York City. And I just started preparing for conference yesterday. I’m going to be running around like the proverbial chicken with no head until I board that plane for New York next weekend.

Patience, my pretties.

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Penny Shoots, She Scores!

Welcome to the Cindy Lee Cup Finals, everyone! I’m Dawn Cherie, your hostess.

Today, we have some very exciting news to announce. Cindy’s alter ego, known on Muse Interrupted as “Penny,” has sold her first erotic romance single title, A LITTLE WILD, to Samhain Publishing! Cindy and Penny are both excited and happy and proud. Cindy more than Penny, even though it’s technically Penny’s sale. However, Penny has sold everything she’s written. Cindy, in a word, hasn’t. So, Cindy, alas, is well-versed is coming in second. Let’s see how she’s faring, shall we?

Dawn Cherie: Cindy, it’s nice to see your bright, smiling face. How do you stay so upbeat when Penny just sold her first single title whereas yours is gathering cyber-dust on your hard drive?

Cindy: Um, thank you, Dawn. I think. First, I am totally thrilled for Penny. She wrote her single title before I wrote mine, that is if you’re referring to the romantic comedy/mystery I’m currently marketing. She submitted it before I began marketing mine. So it makes sense that Penny’s book would SELL first, don’t you think?

Dawn Cherie: Semantics, Cindy! Tell us how you really feel.

Cindy: I know deep inside my heart that I play a part in Penny’s success. So, honestly, I am thrilled for her. However, if you want to get picky (or nosey), technically, my first single title is releasing in December of this year, from Five Star/Cengage/Gale. My 2007 Golden Heart finalist manuscript, WHERE SHE BELONGS. It’s on the shorter side for a single title—65,000 words. However, it still qualifies.

Dawn Cherie: How long is Penny’s A LITTLE WILD?

Cindy: Why don’t you ask her?

Dawn Cherie: :::shaking head::: I tried, but she’s not taking interviews at the moment. I fear her success might have bloated her ego.

Cindy: Makes sense. Okay, I happen to know that Penny’s erotic romance, A LITTLE WILD, is 85,000 words.

Dawn Cherie: So, technically, TWENTY THOUSAND words longer than yours!

Cindy: Technically. However, the single title I’m currently marketing is more like 95,000 words.

Dawn Cherie: Ten thousand words longer than Penny’s! Except…(consulting notes)…Oh, ahem, it says here that YOUR single title, which you are currently, um, “marketing,” is actually only 94,000 words. Cindy, I caught you in a fib!

Cindy: I was approximating! Look, Dawn, if you want to get crabby about it, let’s add ’em up. I have published and/or sold two short romantic comedies and a long contemporary romance. Together, they add up to 165,000 words. Penny has sold three erotic romance novellas and now a single title. Together, they add up to 160,000 words. So, you see, I’ve sold 5000 more words than Penny has. So there!

Dawn Cherie: Wow, Cindy, you really dug through your files and added up the words of all your sold works? (You didn’t slip in the unsold works, did you?)

Cindy: Yes, I really added them up. (And, no, I didn’t count the unsold works. That would be too scary). You’re the one trying to make this into a competition! Making me all…all Capricorny!

Dawn Cherie: You need to take a chill pill.

Cindy: I do!! Dawn, I must be off.

Dawn Cherie: I believe you are already (off her rocker, that is!)

Cindy: That’s it! Dawn, you’re taking the Cindy Lee Cup Finals far too seriously. I have writing to do.

Dawn Cherie: But, but—you haven’t provided a blurb of Penny’s A LITTLE WILD yet.

Cindy: NEXT TIME!!!

Cindy stomps off.

Dawn leaves in a snit, adjusting her starchy blouse collar.

Cindy peeks back in and whispers, “Congratulations, Penny.”

Penny creeps out of the cobwebbed corner of Cindy’s brain. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Cindy bows (humble, as always).

Sitting on Good News

Howdy-hoo, blog buddies!

I am sitting on some very good news for my alter ego, Penny. I’ve been sitting on this news for 5 days now. I can’t announce what it is right now, but I’m very excited for Penny and myself. As soon as I can give a public shout-out, I will.

In the meantime, I learned BORROWING ALEX is still enjoying a Debut Special price reduction (as in sale!) over at AudioLark. There wasn’t a new release this week, so if you’re quick like the proverbial Easter bunny, you can still nab the BORROWING ALEX audio book on sale.

I can never decide how to write audio book. I want it to be one word – audiobook. But, technically, I suppose it’s two. Like website. I think Web site looks dumb, but isn’t that the proper use? I always use website.

Back to audiobooks… I’ve discovered a website for the narrator of the HEAD OVER HEELS audiobook, Karen White. Hippy-hoppy on over and give her a look. I’ve added her site to my Various Haunts listing in my sidebar (which should be spelled sidebar, and, by gum, I think WordPress spells it that way. Clever WordPress).

Have a great weekend!

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Debut Tuesday…Until Next Tuesday

BORROWING ALEX will continue to be available at Debut Tuesday pricing until sometime Monday night or Tuesday. So if you know of someone who’d like to take advantage of 1/3 off retail pricing, send them over to the BORROWING ALEX page at AudioLark. Free sample available!

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Borrowing Alex Now Available in Audiobook!

It’s Debut Tuesday tomorrow over at AudioLark, and guess who’s debuting? Moi! Yes, BORROWING ALEX is now available in audiobook for your listening pleasure! If you have a device that can play MP3s, you can listen to my quirky story. Over and over again.

Debut Tuesday means special low pricing that’s in effect all week! You heard me, alllllllllll weeeeeeeeek!

In fact, I could say that it’s Debut Monday Night, because the audiobook is already on sale. Yoop!!

Play a sample audio clip here.

Here’s the audio cover and story blurb:

What’s a girl to do when her fiancé won’t set a date for the wedding? Pretend to have an affair with the best man, of course.

Nikki St. James knows kidnapping Alex Hart and whisking him off to secluded Lake Eden is probably a little extreme, but her fiancé barely seems to notice her existence any more, and she needs Alex to help her get his attention. Besides, she’s probably doing the college professor a favor—he’s so uptight a little R & R at a lakeside cabin is just what he needs. Not that she cares what he needs, or has noticed how handsome he is….

Alex needs a break from his quest to achieve tenure at warp speed—but being kidnapped is not his idea of a good time; especially not by his college buddy’s crazy fiancée! He’s not one to judge, but if what he’s heard is true—that she’s perfectly happy with an “open relationship”—why bother to get married at all?

Alex quickly realizes he’s been misled about Nikki. Worse yet, he’s beginning to fall for her. Can he make her see the truth about her impending marriage without ruining his chances for a happy ending?