Last month I wrote a post about a makeover of a different kind, one that involved giving a facelift to some of my
books as I prepared print editions of them. I started with my romantic suspense
titles, one written under my own name—Love,
Lies and a Double Shot of Deception—and two under my Emma Carlyle pen name—Lost in Manhattan and Someone to Watch Over Me. I’ve now
completed my project with the conversion of my Emma Carlyle romances—Hooking Mr. Right and Finding Hope and the humorous women’s
fiction, Four Uncles and a Wedding.
Below are the before and after covers. So what do you
think?
And now that all the books are available in print, it’s
time to get back to writing the next Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery and the next Empty Nest Mystery, both of which
should be available the second half of this year.
Old Cover |
Hooking Mr.
Right
Can a butt-ugly alley cat named
Cupid bring together two people driven apart by secrets and lies?
After
writing a doctoral thesis that exposed fraud in the pop-psychology genre,
thirty-two year old professor Althea Chandler has to sacrifice her professional
integrity to save her family from financial disaster. She secretly becomes
bestselling romance guru Dr. Trulee Lovejoy, a self-proclaimed expert on how to
catch a man, even though Thea’s a miserable failure when it comes to
relationships—especially those with the opposite sex.
New Cover |
Burned
by a failed marriage, Luke Bennett finds himself pursued by Dr. Lovejoy-toting
women after a gossip columnist dubs him New York’s most eligible bachelor. When
he at first mistakes Thea for one of the women out to snare him, sparks fly,
but the two soon find themselves battling sparks of a less hostile nature,
thanks in part to an alley cat named Cupid.
The print edition of Hooking Mr. Right also now includes the short story sequel Finding Mr. Right. For those of you who
prefer ebooks, Finding Mr. Right is
also now available for .99.
Hooking Mr.
Right
Finding Mr.
Right
In this short story sequel to the award-winning Hooking Mr. Right by Lois Winston
(writing as Emma Carlyle,) editor Grace Wainwright, has taken over the role of bestselling
author and romance guru Dr. Trulee Lovejoy. Thea Chandler, the original Trulee,
is now married to her Mr. Right and is a successful cookbook author. She and
Grace host the top-rated Love Recipes
cooking show. When producer Becket Delaney announces the first two shows in
February will have a Valentine’s Day theme, Grace freaks out. The worst day of
her life occurred on Valentine’s Day ten years ago, and she wants no reminders
of it. Beck has his own reasons for hating the holiday, but the show must go on,
and he absolutely refuses to deal with an uncooperative prima donna. When a
citywide blackout traps him and Grace in his thirty-fourth floor office, their
adversarial relationship really begins to heat up. Recipe included.
Finding Mr. Right
Old Cover |
Finding
Hope
Hope Morgan was always the good girl, doing what her
conservative parents expected: she gave up her dream of going to college,
became a secretary right out of high school, and married the boy next door.
When Hope is suddenly widowed, she finds the courage to pursue her own dreams.
Twelve years later, after working full-time and going to school at night, she
obtains her degree and is offered a position at a prestigious architectural
firm.
New Cover |
That’s when her long-exiled libido decides to
resurface, and Hope finds herself falling head-over-heels for Ben Schaffer, her
married boss. What Hope doesn’t realize is that Ben’s marriage is less than
ideal. Within days of Hope starting her new job, Ben’s wife walks out on him
and their three-year-old triplets–the same day the nanny lands in the hospital.
When Ben can’t find a last-minute replacement, Hope agrees to step in as a
temporary nanny–not the best decision she’s ever made, given her raging hormones.
Ben is fighting a battle with his own hormones, but
an office romance is the last thing he needs or wants. However, he and Hope are
no match for three very determined three-year-olds on a mission to find a happy
ending.
Finding Hope
Old Cover |
Four Uncles
and a Wedding
Polly Faith Harmony is the ultimate ecumenical love
child. Born to former hippies turned millionaire entrepreneurs, she’s one part
Jewish, one part Catholic, one part Episcopalian, and one part Unitarian—hence
her name. Could have been worse. Her Flower Power parents might have named her
Polly Esther.
Aside from her joke of a name, her great-uncles, one
from each side of the family, are all members of the clergy, not to mention
golfing buddies and best friends. To keep harmony in the Harmony household,
Polly has grown up alternately attending all four houses of worship.
New Cover |
When Polly’s feminist mother decides it’s about time
her daughter settles down and starts providing her with grandchildren before
her biological clock runs out, she enlists help from the four uncles. Polly and
her friend Joni have penned The Top 10 Reasons to Call it Quits After the First
Date, but Polly soon finds that thanks to her interfering relatives, the list
is growing at an alarming rate. Worse yet, she learns that loving relatives on
a mission will stop at nothing.
Four Uncles and a Wedding
13 comments:
Nice before and afters. I like them all!
Thanks, Rose!
Love the new Four Uncles cover... still very unique and romantic but not the traditional guy on the cover!
I love the new covers. Wish I could change some of my Montlake covers. Amazon just kept the old Avalon covers, and they really need a make-over
You know how much I love the Four Uncles cover??? I love cartoon covers and this one is fab.
I'm with Vicki, I love a cartoon cover but a fresh new look is always a good thing. And I do like your new covers.
Thanks, Melissa, Vicki, and E. I thought I needed to stick with a cartoon type cover for Four Uncles to distinguish it from the others. Four Uncles is chick lit; the others are romance. I was really happy with the results. :-)
Kathye, when you get the rights back to the Montlake books, I can help you redo the covers.
I like the before covers but I think the after covers look brighter, more up to date. Your books sound like fun reads.
Thanks, Rose. If you do decide to read any, please let me know what you think.
Great looking covers!
Thanks, Angela!
You're very talented, Lois. I love the covers and the colors. You have an excellent eye for color and form.
Thanks so much, Gemma!
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