Never judge a book by its cover...

We hear that all the time and yeah, it sounds good. Except, you know, when you're actually looking at books. Let's be honest: there are so many books out there and all of them are vying for reader attention. In this day of quick scrolling and short attention, you need something to jump out and grab the reader, something to slow their scrolling and get them to look a little closer.

             

And what better way than with that cover?

So what makes a cover stick out? If anyone knows the definitive answer to that then please, share it! Because yeah, every author wants to know. But generally speaking, the first thing you do is get a wonderful cover artist. And if you're lucky, a really hot model.

I lucked out with cover artists when I chose Jay Aheer of Simply Defined Art. And I have enough confidence in her not to mess with her process--why should I, when she gives me gorgeous covers? But for Dangerous Passion, I wanted something just a little different.

Well, okay, time for some honesty here. It's not just that I wanted "different"--I wanted BT Urruela. I mean, why wouldn't I?

So my cover artist hooked me up with Christopher John of CJC Photography and I entered the world of custom photography. I had no idea how hard it would be searching through dozens and dozens of pictures (notice I didn't say "hardship" because that would be a total lie!). I finally found one that I really liked and gave it to my cover artist and let her work her magic.

And boy, did she ever!

So why did I pick Dangerous Passion to go the totally-custom route? Well, part of it was the story itself.

Dangerous Passion is a non-hockey romance, a stand-alone and a little different from my other titles. The story has a little bit of intrigue, an introvert set on accepting a crazy dare, and one hot cop hell-bent on something more than a one-night stand. It just so happens the cop resembles BT a tiny bit (and yes, that really was a coincidence because I wrote the book before I even knew who BT was). And oh yeah--it has some super steamy sex in it, a little hotter than some of the earlier hockey books.

No, this isn't an answer to that elusive question of which kind of covers work best to catch the reader's attention. I still don't know the answer to that. But it's definitely a step in the right direction when you throw in a gorgeous model, a talented photographer, and a rocking cover artist!

You can learn more about Dangerous Passion, including purchase links, by clicking here: http://www.lisabkamps.com/dangerous-passion/

And to celebrate hot covers, I'm giving away two digital copies of Dangerous Passion. Just leave a comment below and I'll pick two random names on Friday!

Until next time,

Lisa

To learn more about me and my hockey books, and firefighter books, and steamy stand-alones, check out my website. And feel free to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!