Notorious Eliza - Release Day!!

Woo-hoo! It’s not only New Year’s Day, but it’s also release day for Notorious Eliza, my short story from Harlequin Undone. It's available not only in several formats from Harlequin, but also on the Amazon Kindle and in a number of other formats from Barnes and Noble. And maybe other places, too. Isn't the e-book world amazing?

One of the first blogs I did for the Pink Fuzzies had to do with book covers… specifically, cheesy male torsos on book covers. (I didn’t get one! Which made me very happy, because I’m not the cheesy male torso type, although I must admit that sometimes they’re done extremely well.)

Anyway. The cover of Notorious Eliza is, to my dazzled eyes, Absolutely Gorgeous. Does it reflect the story? No. And Yes.

When Harlequin asked for information to help with the cover art, I told the absolute truth. Eliza dresses very plainly. In public, she scrapes her hair back in a tight bun. She’s already notorious enough because of her occupation of painting the nude mistresses of London rakes, and the last thing she wants is to attract these lecherous fellows. She’s actually a lusty sort of girl -- widowed, and definitely missing the pleasures of marriage -- but she does NOT want to appear sexy and scandalous.

Ah, but Harlequin Undones are about sex and scandal, and the cover has to reflect that, so of course my editor changed things a little on the art fact sheet, and the results are fabulous… and perfect. The way Patrick and Eliza are looking at each other is definitely accurate. Don’t they look hot for one another? I have no quibble about Patrick’s looks – he’s a hunk, and if he’s dressed more like town than country, that’s a minor detail. But in the story Eliza wears something gray and serviceable, not pink and frivolous. She doesn’t have jewelry or any skin showing… And yet, the artist got her absolutely right. The Eliza on the cover is the vibrant, sensual woman the story is really about. All I can say is, wow.

Patrick needs a respectable new wife to be a mother for his daughter.
Notorious Eliza paints nudes to support her young son.
They should resist the attraction. (They don’t.)
They dare not fall in love. (They do.)
They must not marry… for one day Eliza’s most scandalous secret will surface and destroy them all.