The Brava Authors congratulate Jill Shalvis for her RITA^® finalist nomination for Best Contemporary Single Title for INSTANT ATTRACTION!!

Hi there, long time no see! I trust everyone is well and reading like fiends? I’m in the middle of a romance reading spurt myself, and in my humble opinion, there’s nothing like a good book to make everything good.

Well, a good book AND maybe some junk food. Say like cookies. The other day I was taking a writing break and sitting on my deck reading and eating. A neighbor stopped by, took one look at the half naked man on the cover and wrinkled her highbrow. Or high brow. Whichever. “I like books where the covers are more tasteful,” she said.

What she meant was, she liked her sex on the inside, thank you very much, and she’d rather no one know what that she was reading it in the first place.

And that’s okay. I get that. In fact, my first two Bravas were like that. All cozy on the outside, and a little spicy hot on the inside. And then they were reprinted in mass market, and well . . . Maybe you’d better see for yourself.

Get A Clue, original in trade, and then the reprint:

I got lots of mail on the cover of this one.

And then came Aussie Rules, first the original . . .

and then the sexier reprint:

I’m guessing the hotter covers sell better or we wouldn’t be seeing them. My Sexy series out last year, SMART AND SEXY, STRONG AND SEXY, SUPERB AND SEXY, all had pretty hot covers, and they did well, proving the point, I’m thinking.

Next February I have a new series coming out, starting with:

Oh, wait. That’s not quite right, though I LOVE it. Sorry. Let’s reshoot him without my wonderful editor in the shot:

There it is. Not quite as overtly sexy as my past series. Which brings me to my question of the day. What do you want on your covers? Sexy? Subtle? Gorgeous men? Scenery? What? Inquiring minds want to know.

Oh, and I’ll draw a few names from those of you who comment and give away books from my backlist, including the very sexy covered SEXY series, or the more subtle covers of some of my others. Your choice. Now spill!

UPDATE: I randomly drew winners, and they are . . .
Amelia, Aideen, and Antonia Peace! (Funny that it was totally random and yet they all start with A’s!)
Anyway, hit the link to my site and email me from there with your snailmail and a few book choices!

Hi there! Long time no see, which is entirely my fault, as I’ve actually FORGOTTEN to blog on my assigned day two times in a row. Which tells you how full my brain is. Call it deadline dementia. I know I’d feel a whole lot more relaxed if my Girl Scout cookies had come in, but no. I have to live in Siberia where everything takes forever to get delivered . . . okay, I don’t really live in Siberia. If you read my daily blog, you know I live in the wild Sierras, near Lake Tahoe, where I have all sorts of I-Love-Lucy like adventures, especially with the epic winter we’ve been having.

What was I saying?

Oh, yes, that I’m SCATTERED. And hungry. But I digress. I’m here to talk about my Bravas. Some of you might have read:

Or maybe the sequel:

In any case, the third in the series, SUPERB AND SEXY, is coming out at the end of May.

And I just got a few ARCS (Advanced Reading Copies)! They don’t have the pretty cover on them, they’re basically just bound manuscripts but I figure there’s a few of you out there who would enjoy a copy. So read the excerpt below, and if it sounds like something that would float your boat, leave me a comment here and I’ll draw a few names.

Other than that, I would LOVE to know what you’re reading! Me first, I’m reading Strangers In Death. LOVE J.D. Robb. Now you.

Oh and before I leave, here’s the promised excerpt of SUPERB AND SEXY:

Maddie’s chest felt too tight. Damn it. She let out a long, calming breath, which of course didn’t work. It never worked. Neither did just sitting at the window staring down at Brody, but God, she was tired, and still recovering. Yeah, that’s what this asinine weakness in her knees was — recovery. Because it sure as hell wasn’t for him.

Her pulse took another unfortunate leap. The last time she’d seen him he’d been in his pilot’s uniform, and even though it was ridiculous and juvenile and wrong, it had turned her on. The thought of seeing him out of it? Even more so.


UPDATE:
Limecello, Sonya, and Jen! Your names were picked randomly by my Youngest, so that means you win. Email me with SUPERB AND SEXY in the subject line, and don’t forget to give me your snail mail addy!

I’m working on a Christmas story for next year, am in fact on deadline, so naturally I’m surfing the net. I got lost on TMZ for an hour, having lots of fun being a celebrity stalker. Just when I think that my life is rough, there’s Amy Winehouse flashing her va-jay-jay, or Britney shopping for light fixtures while her children are waiting in her car, or Akron throwing a kid off the stage and then acting all shocked to find out that’s frowned upon in today’s society.

After my pop culture fix, I sat in the living room in front a raging fire. It was snowing outside, just gorgeous. I was going To Write. Really. But then the puppy stepped on the remote and Project Runway came on. I’ve never seen that show but have to tell you, I was instantly hooked. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t reach the remote, and complicating matters, Bravo was running a Project Runway marathon.

Four episodes later, I finally pried myself away from the TV, but then the kitten commandeered a long-lost grape, and she was rolling around with it, chasing it, stalking it, attempting to bite it, and this amused me for another hour.

Clearly, I need help.

So I’m asking. Whatever your job, how do you stay focused?? What’s the trick?? And don’t say cookies. I’ve tried that and now my sweats are too tight.

My closet is once again out of control. Between my, ahem, slipper problem (I have way too many pairs, some bunny slippers, some Disney character slippers, some down slippers . . . you get the picture) and then there’s all the books in there, and that combined with my little disorganizational problem . . . well, you can imagine. I’d take a picture but it’s too embarrassing.

So I’m once again divulging myself of some books. I have three ARCs left of STRONG AND SEXY, which comes out in late December. I’m going to put up an excerpt here, and if you’re interested, post a comment and you’re in the running. Oh, and also? I want to hear what you’re all reading. I’m in the middle of Tangled Up In You, by Rachel Gibson, and am hooked, which was desperately needed.

And if you’re not reading, we can talk about my second great love, TV. What are you watching? Besides the usuals (House, Heroes, Extreme Home Makeover, Grey’s, Las Vegas, et al), I’m totally and completely gone over Dirty Sexy Money this season. Anyone else??

Okay now as promised, the excerpt for:

Excerpt:
“I saw the mistletoe,” she rushed to explain. “It’s everywhere. And people were kissing. And I couldn’t get kissing off my mind . . . God. Forget it, okay? Just forget me.” She took a step back, but because this was her, she tripped over something on the floor behind her. She’d have fallen to her ass if he hadn’t held her upright. “Thanks,” she managed. “But I need to go now. I really need to go—“

And kiss him.