Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Today's Special - - Kat Martin


New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History.   She is married to L.J. Martin, author of western, non-fiction, and suspense novels.

Kat has written more than sixty-five novels.  Sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries, including Japan, France, Germany, Argentina, Greece, China, Russia, and Spain.

Born in Bakersfield, California, Kat currently resides in Missoula, Montana, on a small ranch in the beautiful Sapphire mountains.

Her last 10 books have hit the prestigious New York Times bestseller list.  AGAINST THE WILD, AGAINST THE SKY, AGAINST THE TIDE and INTO THE FURY her latest release, took top ten spots. 

Visit Kat's website at www.katmartin.com

Or look for her on Facebook at Katmartin/author.



Cover--Blessing or Curse

The cover of a novel is one of the most important ingredients in the success or failure of a book. 
If the book is special enough and gets lots of word-of-mouth, even a bad cover can’t stop the novel from being a success.  If the author’s name is well enough known, a bad cover might slow sales down but it won’t be a death knell, which if very well can be.

Most of us fall into the category where a good cover is imperative, the difference between success and failure. 

Take the cover of my new book, INTO THE WHIRLWIND.  At six-foot two and totally ripped, Dirk Reynolds is gorgeous to look at, tough as nails, and sexy as hell.  He’s featured on the cover of the book, which is out May 31.

Personally, I love covers that show bare-chested, hard-muscled men, but it turns out a lot of book buyers don’t like them.  Or perhaps it’s just that there are so many of them out there right now.
I’m hoping the gorgeous cover on INTO THE WHIRLWIND will appeal to readers as much as it appeals to me.  The book is Meg and Dirks’ story, the second in the BOSS, Inc. Trilogy following INTO THE FURY.

When Megan O’Brien's three-year-old son is kidnapped, the former lingerie model goes to the only man she trusts to help her, private investigator, Dirk Reynolds, her former bodyguard, the man who was still owns her heart.  But their breakup had been bad, leaving Meg unsure if Dirk will agree.  Desperate, Meg is willing to risk everything to save little Charlie.

Together, as they follow the clues, Dirk and Meg are pulled into the murky world of high-stakes gambling, international crime, and terrible danger.  I think the picture on the front of the book fits the story perfectly.

Over the years, I’ve had good covers and bad.  One of the prettiest covers I ever had was on an historical I wrote titled MIDNIGHT RIDER.  The problem was the cover was completely white.  The lovely embossed bird on the front didn’t show up until the reader picked up the book. 

Not many did! 

But the cover was chosen by the publisher and no amount of talking could convince them to change it. 

On the other hand, my AGAINST SERIES, all twelve novels had fabulous covers, each with a profile of the hot-looking hero.  Sales reflected how great those covers actually were. 

I hope you like the cover of INTO THE WHIRLWIND.  Even more, I hope you enjoy Meg and Dirks’s high action adventure.

Till then, all best and happy reading, Kat 


Readers, do covers influence your decision to buy a book?

What's your favorite kind of cover?

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment on today's post will receive a copy of INTO THE FURY.
Deadline for comments to be included in the giveaway is 11:00 PM, June 2nd.


EXCERPT from INTO THE WHIRLWIND

*****

     Megan O'Brien parked at the end of the gravel driveway and quietly got out of her compact SUV.  Through the trees, she could hear the roar of a chainsaw, hear see two-by-fours going up to form the sides of the house under construction.
     The garage was already finished, undoubtedly full of Dirk's toys, including a Harley and a custom Dodge Viper.  In the summer, he kept a boat docked on the lake below the house.
     Though two other men were hard at work, her gaze went straight to Dirk.  Hammer in hand, carpenter's belt dangling low on his waist, he was shirtless, though the January air was chill.
     Hard muscle flexed across his back and shoulders as he pounded in a nail with an ease that said how many times he had done it.  Long, sinewy muscles outlined by the soft fabric of his jeans stretched and moved as he worked on his house.
     Meg's gaze went over the familiar dragon tattoo that wound over one shoulder and inched up the side of his neck.  The colored ink seemed right with the sexy, short-cropped, horseshoe mustache that framed his mouth and curved down to his jaw, making him look like the hard, tough man he was.
     Even her terrible fear for her son couldn't block the memories of how it had felt to lie with him.  Couldn't lessen the yearning that burned through her body just at the sight of him.
     On the fashion show tour, Dirk had been her bodyguard, and though every instinct had warned her not to get involved with him, the fierce attraction between them was impossible to resist.
     Once the tour returned home, Meg had ended the affair.  Dirk Reynolds was wild and fierce while she was a single mother with a son to raise.  She had duties, responsibilities.
     She couldn't have Dirk Reynolds.   
     But she had never gotten over Dirk.
     Meg steeled herself and headed along the gravel driveway toward the house he was rebuilding after the fire that had nearly killed him five months ago.  One thing she knew, Dirk Reynolds was a hard man to kill.
     Which was the reason she had swallowed her pride and her heartache and come to him.  She needed him, trusted him as she never had another man.  Her little boy's life depended on gaining this man's help.  This man she had loved and rejected.
     She stepped out of the foliage and started toward him.  With Dirk's usual keen senses, he turned, alert that someone was there, though the buzz of the saw hid the sound of her footsteps.
     For several long moments, he just stared, watching as she approached.  He was six-two, his body lean and sculpted.  Wavy dark brown hair curled at the nape of his neck.  She forced herself to keep walking, even as his jaw locked and a fierce scowl darkened his face.
     Dirk grabbed a faded blue work shirt and shrugged it on, covering most of his amazing chest.  He didn't bother fastening the buttons, just strode toward her, blocking her view of the house.
     He stopped right in front of her.  "What are doing here, Meg?"
     "I need to talk to you.  It's...it's urgent."
     "You're trespassing.  What do you want?"
     She swallowed, fought to stay strong.  He didn't want her there.  She had known he wouldn't.  Known he thought of her only with contempt.  She wished he would hold her the way he used to when she was afraid.  "I...I want to hire you."
     The corner of his mouth edged into a ruthless half smile.  "What for?  Stud service?"
     She wanted to cry.  She wanted to beg his forgiveness.  Tell him she had never forgotten him.  That she never would. She knew it wouldn't matter to Dirk.  Not anymore.
     It didn't matter.  Nothing mattered, but saving the life of her son.
*****

13 comments:

  1. Hi,

    just lately some of my favorite covers seem to be of paintings by some of the Great Masters.

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  2. Honestly, I like them all. I like couples, singles, with animals, in the distance, up close, no people, you name it, I like them. I don't like the old horrible ones that used not-real-people that looked like mannequins. The cover on Into the Whirlwind is fine!

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  3. Sure, if a cover catches my eye I'll take a closer look. It may be either the picture on the cover or the authors name. I do like the cover to reflect the style of the story.
    I've read Kat's 'Against ...' series and am looking forward to this next series.

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  4. Covers will catch my eye but then I always read the back blurb. So a catchy cover does get me to look at the book initially and if I like the blurb I will buy it but I've never bought a book just for its cover. I like many different covers - hunky men, couples, beautiful gowns, scenery, etc. Probably my least favorite are the cartoonish ones. I've enjoyed your books and your covers :)

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  5. I prefer covers with the heroes on the front--front or back or side shots...I'm not picky there. Heroine covers are okay, but I prefer the hero version.

    I tend to veer away from covers with a baby crawling on it or a puppy leaping out at me. MIND YOU, I'll read books and enjoy those with both puppies AND kids, but when they're on the cover, it makes me veer away. I have to be talked into reading the book. *shrugs* For instance, I now buy Kristan Higgins automatically, but when she first started, there was always a dog on the cover and I just bypassed her for many years until finally I just read one. *shrugs*

    I think one of my favorite covers of ALL TIME was THE MAGNIFICENT ROGUE by Iris Johansen. Gorgeous cover with a crown on it in jewel toned blues and greens with a stepback and the hero is predominant picture and he's in a kilt and he looks like a magnificent rogue. That was a cover that lived up its title. *LOL* So I do have a fixation for STEPBACK covers. I tend to pick up those most, if possible.

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  6. I like eye catching covers. My favorite was the original cover for Fancy Pants by SEP she claims she hated that cover but it made me pick it up and buy the book... love your books!!

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  7. I prefer covers with vivid colors but I'd never say not to a good-looking guy on a cover, that at least would make me pick up the book, I mean, I would not necessarily buy the book but I'd pick it up and read the blurb. Thanks!

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  8. I love a good cover. That is one thing that will make me pick up a book. I love to see a gorgeous man on the cover. I love seeing a beautiful woman with a man.

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  9. Yes, they do.
    ladbookfan

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  10. I love a cover that catches my eye because it is well done and usually colorful. I don't like the ones with bad photoshopping that look like a kid put it together using magazine pictures. ;-)

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  11. I love a cover that catches my eye because it is well done and usually colorful. I don't like the ones with bad photoshopping that look like a kid put it together using magazine pictures. ;-)

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  12. I didn't read romances for a long time because of the covers. I am still not a fan of the "bodice ripper" style covers. The first romances I read were Julie Garwood's historicals from a print series that had lovely jeweled broaches and fabric on the covers. I do think the shirtless male cover is becoming a bit over used just as the covers with women with their gown half off. That doesn't mean that I dislike them all. Some are nicely done. I do think the covers do influence the comments and attitude that romance is junk reading and not to be taken seriously. Very far from the truth, but hard to argue against when you can't get someone past the covers to pick one up and read it.

    I have a copy of INTO THE WHIRLWIND with the white cover. It is a lovely cover, but you do have to really look at it to appreciate it which many people won't take the time to do.

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  13. yes, not weird or the same ones as other authors' covers

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