Oh Wow! Spectacular new cover for BEST SERVED COLD

I recently mentioned the new contract with Ellora's Cave for a romantic suspense series I'm doing. The first book BEST SERVED COLD now has a cover. It is too amazing for words. The cover designer is Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs. Check her out. She does fabulous work.

I am stunned and amazed! Shocked and awed. What do you think?

My Writer Friends...Cindy Jacks.

Check out Cindy's newest release: Phantom Touch

Erika leads a quiet life—at least in the real world. But her alter-ego, Little Lottie, is a singer at a local club and engages in a wild online romance. For months she’s been communicating with a mysterious man, known only to her as the Phantom.

Her lover contacts her via texts, emails and instant messages. When he offers to fulfill her desires in real life, she can’t refuse. The only condition to meeting for their sizzling assignations—he wears a mask to hide his true identity. Despite his reluctance to reveal himself to Erika, he tears down her inhibitions and unleashes her suppressed passions, taking possession of her body and soul.

Erika may have finally found the one man who can sate her every longing…if only he would show her the man behind the mask.

And you can buy it here: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9623-phantom-touch.aspx

The chances of getting published greatly improve if...

I don't normally post from other blogs but I thought this from Jen Jackson of Donald Maass Agency had some interesting statements about what wanna-be-published writer's will do that will sabotage their chance of getting a request from an agent.

For a direct read, go to: http://arcaedia.wordpress.com/

Here's what I cut:

Things that made me go huh in this last batch….

* The sheer number of people who can’t be bothered to begin a letter with a salutation. And the number of those who can’t be bothered to include a letter of any kind.

* Not sending the requested first five pages and stating only full manuscript requests will be considered (it would apparently be meaningless as the book can only be appreciated in its entirety). Closely followed by first novels that will not be finished for another six months.

* Sending a one-liner email with the full manuscript attached.

* Indicating that the query was sent because of a characteristic of two novels that I have sold where those two novels have not yet been released, and one of them is by a debut author, so claiming any sort of familiarity with the work seems unlikely. This really comes across as someone looking up the most recent sales on PM and using them in an attempt to personalize without actually doing real homework. Go figure.

So the moral of this story is...this is so simple it kills me to say it...follow the instructions!