I know, authors aren’t supposed to use flimsy adjectives like “astonishing” or “fabulous” or “wonderful.” They also probably shouldn’t say, “holy crap that is so flippin’ cool!” But whoever came up with that rule obviously hasn’t seen this MIND-BOGGLINGLY AMAZINGLY FULL-OF-AWESOME cover for the German release of the series formerly known as Delcroix Academy! (which will henceforth be known as TSFKADA):

Notice, I did not say that this was the cover for The Candidates. Or The Talents. Because in Germany, Dancia will be attending Night Academy. I know. More coolness abounds.

So, now Dancia’s first book has had 3 covers. And can I tell you a story? Here, lean closer and I’ll whisper in your ear:

I think I like this one best.

Whew! So glad to get that off my chest. I mean, come on! Look at the model–she’s incredible! And the school looks creepy, and there’s a whole atmosphere thing going on and then you see the hidden texture in the background.

Oh man.

But enough about me — what do YOU think about my new cover?!

Hey friends — I realize this wasn’t entirely fair, because you haven’t read the book, but I really appreciated all the comments and votes for my little cover contest. I think the cute couple votes had it — but to be perfectly fair, I think my (hypothetical) book has a young, urban feel that works better with a Julie James sort of model.

Sooo…I loved Kira’s comment about the empowered woman on the couple, and my (hypothetical) heroine is definitely kick-butt, which means…

KIRA DECKER, YOU ARE THE WINNER!

Please email me (inara.scott at gmail dot com) with your address so I can mail you a copy of Radiant Desire! Here’s to strong women and the men who love them.

BTW, I will send all your awesome comments to the cover gods. I’m sure there will be more cute couple covers in the future!

Well friends, I still can’t make a formal announcement, but let’s just say, for hypothetical sake, that I will be coming out with a new contemporary romance. Let’s also say, hypothetically, that the heroine is a lawyer, the hero is a CEO, and it’s sexy, funny, and of course ends with a happily ever after.

Hypothetically.

Now, if this scenario were true, I would have to give my publisher ideas for the cover of this imaginary book. And while I knew for a fact that my faerie Handmaids needed to feature a woman on the cover, I am not so sure about this book.

I’m pretty sure a half-naked man isn’t appropriate. But a clinch of some kind? Cute guy, maybe in a suit?

Hmmm. As I see it, I’ve got three main options. First, there’s the adorable single girl on the cover. Then there’s the adorable COUPLE on the cover.

And finally, there’s the smoking clinch cover, a la the other woman who writes about female lawyers, the incredible Julie James:

I must say that this story (should it exist) does not take place in a small town, and will never be described as “cozy.” But is it fun, contemporary, and there’s definitely a smoking hot guy involved.

So the question for you, dear readers, is which cover style do you like best? Cute girl, cute couple, or hot couple?

Leave me a comment, and I will pick one lucky voter to win a copy of Radiant Desire!!

I’m knee-deep in revisions on a project I haven’t even told you about yet, but I will soon. Promise. Anyway, I just spent 10 minutes (okay, maybe small exaggeration, but at least five minutes) on two short paragraphs. And I am reminded why revisions can take so bloody long.

Here’s the section I’m working on. Set up: Tori is a lawyer, talking to her assistant. Tori is desperate to make partner before her mother, who has Alzheimer’s, is too far along to know that Tori has succeeded. As a result, she has little time for socializing — or men. In this scene, her assistant is urging her to have a fling with a sexy guy she met the weekend before, who just sent her a dozen roses.

“Betsy!” Tori slapped her hands against the files stacked up on her desk. “I don’t have time for a one-night stand. I assume, since you make my calendar, you’ve looked at it? Do you see a lot of free nights in there?”

“That is your choice, not a requirement,” Betsy retorted. “At least give Brit a call. You’ve got to thank him for the flowers, don’t you?”

“I’ll send him an email.”

This was okay, but I wanted Betsy to push Tori a bit more, and reference Tori’s recent success with a client. So I made a little change, and that change set off a domino run of problems. See if you can tell why I wasn’t happy. The words in red are new:

“That is your choice, not a requirement,” Betsy retorted.“You just closed a huge deal. You could take a night off.”

Tori narrowed her gaze, not backing down an inch.

Betsy sighed. “Right. You’re like talking to a brick wall. At least give Brit a call. You’ve got to thank him for the flowers, don’t you?”

Did you catch the problem? Now I’ve got “talking to a brick wall” rhyming with “give Brit a call.”

I tried various ways of revising the sentences, and finally come up with:

“You’re like talking to a brick wall. At least call him. You’ve got to thank him for the flowers, don’t you?”

I like the way wall and call are separated by structure, but of course, I’ve created a new echo-y problem:

“At least call him. You’ve got to thank him for the flowers…

I tear out a few piece of hair, pet the dog, and drink more coffee. Then I play around with this for another few minutes and end up with:

Betsy sighed. “Right. You’re like talking to a brick wall. At least call him. You’ve got to say thank you for the flowers, don’t you?”

Great. Problem solved. Tomorrow, I will probably delete this whole section and render all this work meaningless. But at least it gave me something to blog about.

HA! The life of an author…

If you haven’t been watching Portlania, you should! This is all true. Seriously.

Oh my goodness — you all are AMAZING. Thanks so much for showing up, liking, following, hanging out, saying nice things and being an all-round amazing group of readers, fans, and bloggers! I heart all of you!!

BUT…I did say there would be prizes. Sooooo….

Since I had SO MANY entries, I decided to give away not 1, not 2, but THREE Delcroix prize packs.

And the winners are:

PRIMROSE

MARISA ODOM 

and

ZOEY TALBON! 

Please email me asap with your addresses: inara.scott@gmail.com

THANKS again everyone for playing!