Covers, characters and a giveaway!

by Emmie Dark

Hi Lovecatters! It's an exciting month for me. Not only has my brand new novella Spellbound hit the e-shelves with Destiny publishing, I've also just received the cover art for my June SuperRomance!

I've totally been blessed by the cover fairies this month. Check out Spellbound:

Isn't it gorgeous? Sexy, a little mysterious, and somehow magical -- perfectly in sync with the quirky spice of the story. Personally, I also think that guy has one very sexy shoulder/chest. I think, maybe, it's because he's wearing a singlet and not showing just bare skin. What do you think? Are we in the romance world a little weary of naked-chested hunks? (Is such a thing possible??)

And here's the cover for Just For Today...

I've got a story about the cover for Just For Today. It's funny how different books can be. For me, most of the time when I'm writing, I don't usually have an exceptionally strong sense of how my characters look. I mean, I know what color their hair is, and their eyes,  as well as any quirks like scars, etc, but when I picture them in my mind's eye, I don't often have a crystal-clear image of their faces.

That was totally different with Just For Today. I knew exactly, right from the start, what my hero and heroine looked like.

My hero was the spitting image of Jensen Ackles from the TV show Supernatural. He seems to be a perennial favourite with romance authors -- I do see his mug pasted up on Facebook more often than most.

And I think you can see why.

Apart from the jaw and chiselled chin, the hair was a big thing. My hero, Sean, does his hair exactly like that. And it gets referred to a lot in the book.

My heroine, Jess, also sprang into my mind's eye just as quickly and fully formed. She was Erin Karpluk from the TV show Being Erica. (If you haven't seen it, you absolutely must! It's wonderful!)

Jess had that same long, flowing hair and very natural, down-to-earth look. She's also a little older than Sean (a little more world-wearied, too) and I thought the two of them worked perfectly together. (I was thrilled to discover, long after the book was written and submitted, that Jensen and Erin shared screen time in the show Dark Angel -- unfortunately not romantically!)

Now go back and look at the cover for Just For Today -- don't I owe the talent scouts in the art department at Harlequin a beer??

I haven't got my advance copies of Just For Today yet. But leave a comment and I'll send one lucky commenter a copy as soon as they arrive. You'll be among the first in the world to read it!

How much notice do you take of the way characters look on the covers as compared to how they're described in the book? How clearly do you picture your characters when you're writing?