Today I am so pleased to welcome Mia Kerick to Joyfully Jay. Mia has come to reveal the cover for her upcoming release, I’m Not in Love, book 1 in the Don’t Let Go series. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Thanks so much to Joyfully Jay for helping me to reveal the cover of my June 13 release, I’m Not in Love. You are always such a wonderful support to authors, Jay.
Here’s the scoop behind the cover:
I fell in love with promotional work my cover artist, Laura from Fiverr, did for my last series. In fact, I fell so much in love with her work that I decided to have her design the covers of the two books in the DON’T LET GO Series. Book 1—I’m Not in Love and Book 2—Smitten.
Having art on a cover is a change for me because I normally use photographs for cover images, but Laura’s amazing style grabbed me and wouldn’t let go!!
Of course, I supplied Laura with MANY photographic images to show the physical characteristics of my two male characters, Remi and Tristan.
I also gave her a long, detailed descriptions of the MCs in this series.
Remi: a brooding artist, extremely wealthy, tall, lanky, lean, hard to read, even harder to bond with, a cold person with an unlikely streak of…helpfulness (he is the dark-haired guy on the cover)
Tristan: a stunning male life model, financially challenged, sweet and patient, a devoted uncle to three quirky kids, puts his goals on the back burner to serve his family’s needs (he is the fair-haired man on the cover)
Laura came up with the cover I’m revealing today for I’m Not in Love, and believe me, Book 2, Smitten, has an equally gorgeous cover.
Hope you love it as much as I do!!
Mia
Excerpt
Tristan
I’m used to being stared at. I mean, I’m a nude model—it comes with the territory. But that dark-haired dude planted on the drawing chair to my left looks like he wants to do more than sketch me. I’m not too new to this game to know what’s up. The student artist in the preppy button-down shirt would like nothing better than to ingest me dry, without a dab of dipping sauce.
I shudder—hopefully imperceptibly—and immediately regret it. I’m supposed to reflect total ease with my “undraped” body. If I want to continue to score modeling gigs in Garner City’s many art colleges, I need to come off as unflappable. I refuse to sweat or stumble beneath some twisted dude’s hungry stare. Wanting to consume me whole is his problem, not mine.
It’s all about professionalism, Tris, I remind myself. Being here—as naked as the day I came into this world—is by my choice, and for this choice, I get paid. Not enough by a longshot, still I receive regular paychecks—or sometimes fistfuls of small bills, collected in a rusty coffee can passed around by a dozen starving artists in a community house basement.
I share this money with my twin sister Tara, who spends it on Jared, Tommy, and Wendy’s food and clothes… and soon their Halloween costumes. Seeing the excitement on the faces of my niece and nephews as they tear apart the costume department at the local discount store makes my sacrifice feel like… less of a sacrifice. And more of a gift.
So why do I feel more naked than usual?
Blurb
I’m not in love…
I’m not in love…
I will never let myself fall in love with Tristan Wilder.
And maybe if I tell myself this a thousand times, I’ll believe it.
Having lost his parents to a tragic accident when he was a child, wealthy hotel heir Remi (Julian Remington III) refuses to form intimate emotional bonds, fearing a repeat of the crushing loss that destroyed his youth. This means no deep friendships, no heartfelt family ties, and God forbid should he ever fall in love… Well, it’s safe to say he will never let that happen.
However, as a senior at the most prestigious art college in Garner City—his last year of freedom before he’s required to take his place at the top of the Remington family empire—Remi freely explores sexual intimacy with “distractingly” beautiful men. And he does so with enthusiasm—how better to distract himself from the temptation to experience tender human connection?
Remi’s plans for emotional isolation are shook up when he meets Tristan Wilder, a nude model for his life drawing class. Stunningly beautiful from head to toe—and inside his heart, as well—Tristan struggles to scrape together enough money to support his twin sister, Tara, and her three young children. Like Remi, “Uncle Tris” is unwilling to enter a romantic relationship—his responsibility to family is all-consuming. As the men take a chance on casual friendship, Remi comes to admire Tristan’s devotion to his family. And with Remi’s surprisingly doting attention to Tara’s children, he works his way into Tristan’s heart.
Tristan is finally all in, but can commitment phobic Remi lower his walls enough to allow Tristan—and the entire Wilder family—into his heart?
Giveaway
Mia has brought a $10 Amazon gift card to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Saturday, May 21st at 11:59 pm ET.
- By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Hello Mia hope “I’m not in love” is gonna be a great success cause it sounds like is gonna be an awesome reading!
Hi Valentina! Thanks so much for stopping by to show your support for my upcoming release! I’m Not in Love is an emotional read, but satisfying at the end.
I’m Not In Love synopsis shows a great deal of emotional (sensative) impact with a wonderful future read on any reader’s horizon. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Fran,
Your comment is beautiful. I think the blurb did its job! YAY! The story is emotional, but there are many moments of laughter and heat mixed in.
I want to thank Joyfully Jay for supporting the cover reveal of my June 13 release, I’m Not in Love, and for supporting so many LGBTQ+ Romance authors with their projects! You are appreciated!
Gorgeous cover! Can’t wait to read it
Hi Crystal! Thanks for supporting my cover reveal of I’m Not in Love! Hope you love the book!
i love these exerpt that you did for each book thanks for the chance
Hi Kathy! I really love that excerpt too. It shows just who Tristan is and what he struggles with. Thanks for commenting!
Lovely cover! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Linda–so happy you like the cover. Do you usually enjoy art covers? I’m more of a photo cover person, but I just fell in love with this!
Welcome, Mia, and thanks for sharing that wonderful cover. Best wishes for the success of I’m Not in Love!
Kareni- I appreciate your wish for success and am so glad you like the cover!!! Thanks for saying hello!
Good luck with the release. Can’t wait to read it x
Hello Debbie!!
Thanks so much for supporting me (again) with I’m Not in Love!! I really appreciate it!
I’m so looking forward to this!! I love the cover.
Sue-
You are always here for me as an author and a friend–every time I turn around I can count on your support! Thank you so much. It means everything! And I hope you enjoy I’m Not in Love. Tristan and Remi are made for each other, even if they don’t want to admit it.
That cover is beautiful. The excerpt makes it all the better. I’m looking forward to the story.
Wow, Shante. You made me so happy with your comment. I’m really proud of that excerpt. Tristan is just so honest.
I can’t wait to read this book!
Hi Kathy! Thank you so much for checking out my post and the cover!! Your support means so much!
Great cover! The blurb definitely has my interest. I will never not love a wealthy but emotionally stunted man and the person who will shake up his life.
Hi Antara! Awesome comment- it makes me so confident about my idea for I’m Not in Love! I love it when characters from opposite sides of the track come together when everything seems to be holding them back. Thank you for stopping by!
The cover is great. As a Canadian of a certain age, whenever I read “I’m Not in Love” it triggers a song of the same title from the group Platinum Blonde (Canadian band in the 80’s). I’m now singing it to myself. It’s good that I like the song.
Hi Jennifer- I’m so glad I didn’t plant a song you dislike in your mind! LOL. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
The cover looks great and from the synopsis it feels like it’ll pack an emotional punch.
Hi H.B. Yes, you are right. Remi is kind of a tragic figure and he doesn’t always act in his best interest, which leads to a bit of angst. I’m so happy you stopped by to say hello and leave a comment.
Great cover and great sounding story!
Thank you so much, Paul. I’m very proud of the writing in this one–some of my best to this point. And I am in love with the cover.
nice blurb
Thank you so much for stopping by to let me know that you like the blurb!! Good luck in the contest!
Great cover!! Can’t wait to read this beautiful book!
Hello, Natali! Sooo excited you like the cover and you plan to read I’m Not in Love! Thank you for commenting.
That’s a really catchy cover! I love it. And the blurb sounds great. Looking forward to reading it. 😉
Hi Susana! I’m so glad you like my cover- I love your term “catchy”. Yay! Thanks for stopping by.
I was an art history major, so the premise is irresistible!
Trix- that is interesting to hear! I had to do so much research on drawing, painting, and sculpture, as well as on experiences of life drawing models, to make this book come together. Thanks so much for commenting!
i love the new cover i’m heading over to download book congratulations on new release
Thank you so much, Kathy!
Gorgeous cover! Can’t wait for it to get here. I love your books. Plus can’t wait to read it
You are the best, Crystal! So excited to see if you like Remi and Tristan!!