Squawk Radio

Yesterday I received a hot-off-the-presses copy of MY FAIR TEMPRESS. It’ll be released on Tuesday and the first time I hold one of my books is always a special moment. I thumb through, looking at the ads in the back for my books, the quotes in the front for my books and finally admiring my own prose. Yes, the release of a new book is always all about me, and I revel in it. Because although this is my twenty-seventh full-length novel to hit the shelves, there’s always a special feeling that comes with seeing my work in print. It’s like a caramel apple or a big fire in the fireplace in winter or that new car scent. It’s special and it happens all too infrequently.

This time I had a special treat. I had seen the outside cover, but I hadn’t seen the drawing for the stepback (the inside cover.) So I peeked inside and … whoa. She’s gorgeous, he’s manly, and that nipple draws the eye like a bullet.

As an author, we’re always curious about whether our covers make you pick up a book, so right now I’m asking – do you look at the stepback art when you pick up a book? Does it influence your buying? And most important, about this marketing trend toward manly bare-chested guys and their nipples – what do you say, yes or no?