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Nicci Book Reviews, Romance

A really good romance! Book review, A Real Cowboy, Sarah M. Anderson

This book is a Harlequin Desire. I found it when I was looking for examples of covers to send in with my Cover Sheets. (For a post about my final cover, see The cover is here!) I liked the cover (can we just pull the tongue back into the mouth, Nia?) and the blurb intrigued me. See? Covers and blurbs do help sell books in this crazy, wonderful market, with so many fabulous books to choose from. (From which to choose, I know, I know, but who really talks that way?)

In A Real Cowboy, the hero is wonderful and so is the heroine. The writing is superb. The book pulls the heart strings. The most difficult part for me was knowing the Big Black Moment, as we call it in romance writing, was going to come. It always does. And when it did, Ms. Anderson handled it brilliantly. Every step of the story is well motivated. When the characters make mistakes, I understand why.

The setting is fabulous. The blizzard is so realistic and interesting. Quite different from the blizzards we get at Lake Tahoe, which is where I’m from.  (From where I come? Yeah, right. Please forgive me, I do know grammar and choose to ignore it sometimes.)

You can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/A-Real-Cowboy-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373732244

Enjoy!

Nicci Paris, Travel

Paris snaps 5

Palace of Versailles Grounds
Palace of Versailles Grounds
An old bookstore 2
An old bookstore
An old bookstore
An old bookstore
Picturesque building on the Seine detail
Picturesque building on the Seine detail
Picturesque building on the Seine
Picturesque building on the Seine
Cathedral Spire GIMP enhanced
Cathedral Spire GIMP enhanced
Avenue des Champs Elysees
Avenue des Champs Elysees
Champs Elysees flowers
Champs Elysees flowers
Grand Palais back
Grand Palais back
Grand Palais
Grand Palais
Petit Palais 2
Petit Palais
P1030188 first GIMP then NIK B&W
Grand Palais detail first GIMP then NIK B&W
Grand Palais 4
Grand Palais
L'avenue de la Bourdanais
L’avenue de la Bourdanais
Nicci Uncategorized, Writing

The cover is here!

My first published story is getting closer to being on the virtual shelves. The cover came in a couple days ago.

My first book cover
My first book cover

The cover artists were one of the biggest reasons I went with The Wild Rose Press. During the publishing process, you fill out a form called Cover Art Sheets. In this you explain the premise, give links to covers you like, any design suggestions, and you say what the most important element is. I detailed out two alternate covers with a lot of instructions and even did a mock up of a cover. My critique partner (CP) asked with some amusement (she’s pubb’d with WRP), how much of my suggestions were used. Answer: none. Ha ha! Except for “the most important element,” which I said was the hot FBI agent.

The heroine on the cover looks contemporary. At first I was like, “Wait! I didn’t describe that outfit.” The intelligent people I surround myself with quickly pointed out the obvious. Yeah, Angela Anderson saved me from myself. I’m so happy with the cover.

You know, for a long time, I didn’t want to be published. When I announced this to one of my writing friends, she said, “I don’t know what to do with that.”  She had already fixed me up by helping me see my slump-du-jour might be because I didn’t like the story I was working on, letting me know I could just set it aside and move on. We don’t have to finish everything we start. But then I came out with that comment.

Not wanting to be published sounds crazy, but to me, when I looked at people who were published, it didn’t look fun to me. At the time, I had a demanding job, and being a published author looked like a lot more pressure and work and no fun. But I watched my CP’s experience with The Wild Rose Press for a couple years. Her experience looked SO FUN!!!! She even went to an author retreat at a ranch in Texas! (I get to go to the next one, next year. Very excited.) Her editor was nice. Tough but nice, encouraging. They got back to her. They were organized. Then she received her first cover and wow. Now it’s happening to me.

In conclusion, getting published with The Wild Rose Press is FUN!