The 13th Floor Complete Collection Gets A Makeover!

Ah, the old cover. The one where I took an image of some stairs and photoshopped a silhouetted couple in it. Not horrible, but not that great either. I wouldn't call this an eye-catching cover any longer.

I've been wanting to change it for a while now, but I could not decide what I wanted to be on the cover. It had to scream paranormal romance. Researching covers, looking at hundreds of them, I came up with a list of what I should have on it.

1) Setting. Dark background. Don't let it overwhelm anything else on the cover. It can just be a faded partial bit.

2) Title/author. It should be easy to read in thumbnail form. Font is important. I had complaints about the font I used on the original cover. The style of it makes the letters uneven. I liked it, but some people thought it was just bad design.

3) Hunky man or dynamic couple. It's tough to find an image or images of a couple that work together for what you want. It's easier to go the hunky man route. But having a person or people on the cover is key. (Sidenote: usually having just a woman on the cover is more representative of urban fantasy than paranormal romance.)

4) Something paranormal. Lots of magical swirls or mist is popular.

Even with these guidelines, it was tough to figure out what to do. The book consists of six different novellas with various characters. I spent hours searching through image sites.

I finally decided I would feature either Marc (The Marquis) or Xan (The Dragonslayer). They are my two most popular heroes. And it was easier to find a dark haired muscle man than a blond one. Marc gets to represent the collection!

I don't know how pleased Marc was with the decision, especially when I knew immediately how I wanted to present him. I imagine some grump going on, but Mae would convince him to be a good sport about it.

I found the background at Pixabay and the model at Unsplash. These two are my favorite free image sites. Lots of variety and beautiful shots.

As I've leveled up my Photoshop skills, I've learned to layer, but I've also learned that if you can get away with a few layers, all the better. Simple and clean without so many things to distract the eyes.

Behold! The new cover!

Review for Demon in the Basement

Blurb:

Thirty-two stories, including a novelette by the same title, to keep you awake at night.

A time-traveling Chevy, an ancient church of evil, a house possessed by black magic. Stories to fill you with dread, draw you into places you'd rather not go, smack you in the face with ironic possibilities.

Meet the monsters of myth, the creatures that lurk under your bed, the phantoms you thought didn't exist. Travel to the real Atlantis, strap in for the Bermuda Triangle. Terror lurks in the ocean, while an asteroid hides a secret .

Leave a nightlight on before you go to sleep. Something's coming for you.

My review:
A chilling collection of thirty-two horror stories that will make your skin crawl and your heart race. Evil like you've never known it and, more frightening, evil that you do know with terrifying twists. It doesn't matter if the characters are good or bad. Each of them live their own nightmares, and some never to wake.

Some of my favorites include "Food Chain" where something so innocuous becomes a Lovecraftian monster. "Metamorphosis" brings us to the beautiful Atlantis with its horrifying secret. And finally, we have the novella which holds the collection's name. Robert is tormented by a demon through his teenage years, and years later, he returns to battle it. But how to defeat it?

Buy it here: Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

Add it to read on Goodreads.

Stalk River Fairchild here.

Teaser Tuesday with Spell of Summoning

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This one has been on my Kindle for a while, and I'm so glad I finally got to it in my TBR list. A great paranormal romance by Anna Abner with a refreshing take on necromancers. No longer the creepy, basement lurking evil mages you're used to reading. This guy is hot!

Here's your teaser:
"Yeah." It wasn't that she didn't or couldn't trust Kristin, but how did a person admit they were being possessed by a demon? (45% on my Kindle)

* * * * *

We're coming upon that time of year again.

Romance is in the air.

And it can be on your e-reader too.

The Valentine's Day Book Giveaway!

Hilary Grossman and T.B. Markinson have organized a great group giveaway. 21 authors are giving away books! I'm giving away a digital copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection.

Click HERE to enter.

 Don't worry. I'll remind you of it again!

More Than Just a Kiss Blogfest still on

“A kiss, when all is said, what is it? 'Tis a secret told to the mouth instead of to the ear.” ~ Edmond Rostand

Have you joined the blogfest yet?

All it takes is one kiss.

One scene to be entered to win great prizes.

READ THE RULES AND SIGN UP HERE!

 

This kiss is from one of my unpublished manuscripts tentatively named SORROW PHAGE. (I know, the title isn't screaming romance!) The protagonist, Erinys, is a demon that feeds on people's sorrow, and Nicolas is a young vampire.

“Of course you wouldn't forget. I know I've got a body to die for. Literally.” He chuckled at his own joke and moved closer to her. He lifted a hand and kept a close watch on her face as he brought it up to touch her forearm where the trail of spots started. “I do really like them. Something exotic about it. Do they go all the way down?”

“Down my spine and the back of my legs.” Erinys stood very still, feeling her stomach flip as he touched her. Her toes wiggled in her wet boots.

His fingers reached her shoulder and caressed the place where it met her neck. Nicolas gently urged her away from the wall and turned her around. He brushed her hair to one side and continued to follow the spots down her back with his fingers. He kissed that same spot between the neck and shoulder. Her lips parted, tremulously inhaling.

“You're so beautiful,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck. “You and your black spots.”

Erinys whipped around and elbowed him in the chest. He flew back into the tub, cracking a few tiles. She ran, jumped into the bed and wrapped herself in a thick quilt, burying her head in the pillows with the hope she wouldn't start crying again.