Tag / updates

by Lexine

New Cover Alert!

I have my reasons why I changed the cover of my chart-topping bestseller (in my dreams) The Playgirl. Yesterday marked the end of my book’s exclusivity to KDP Select after being on it for 14 months, and, with its return to wide distribution, I felt like a cover change was needed. If you’ve been keeping track, yes, this is not the first time I changed it. And if you’re a cover collector, here’s another one to add to the trove!

If you’re wondering about the image I selected for the cover…I wanted something that embodied the salaciousness and drama of my story (which has not been changed, by the way). Somehow, I never considered using illustrated stock photos for cover art until recently. (My last cover was a photo of a nude woman silhouette, edited to make it look almost illustrated.) And when I eyed that simple yet striking illustration, after looking through pages and pages of stock photos, I thought, wait…I think I found her. After playing with fonts and line placements, I had done it again. I gave my story a new face. Compared to my last cover, it’s quite minimalist. And I actually like it!

Credit to Dasha Kovtun on Dreamstime.com for the artwork. It’s coincidence that the green lashes and dark brown locks of the illustration mirror the look of my green-eyed brunette protagonist. And this time, I’m sticking with this cover!

ETA: she’s now back on Wide Distribution! And on the jungle site too.

by Lexine

Sick Girl Summer

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With the way I’ve been living lately (if you follow me on Twitter or IG, you’d know), this was bound to happen one way or another. 😖😩 Made it 4 1/2 years without officially catching it. 

This result was from last night, and I had what felt like really awful allergies since Wednesday night. Nose running more than usual, feeling slightly more fatigued than normal (despite being jacked up on caffeine), and more coughing–something I don’t experience when I get regular allergies. I know what I’ve done lately, but I also work closely with clients one-on-one at my day job. And all these clients no longer mask, with some coming in with something gnarly, so who knows where I actually picked up that shit. (Yes, I keep my mask on with these clients.)

A silver lining? So far, I can still smell and taste things as normal. Also, no nausea, no brain fog, and, most importantly, no worries about being unvaccinated because I got all my shots and boosters. If this happened four years ago, I’d be screwed screwed. I hate being sick in the first place, and I’m keeping that mask on from now on until there’s official news on Covid finally being an endemic. (Maybe? Possibly?)

Covid ain’t over, but vaccines remain real. Get your shots and stay safe, people! 

by Lexine

New Month, New Site

new site address!

Finally! I get to use my domain here. Bought it almost a year ago, but I ended up waiting for a good flash sale for paid WP plans. Apparently, 30% off is the best deal they could offer (sheesh, I remember them offering half-off deals years ago), and since I like to start new things at the beginning of the month, yours truly got her a two-year plan here to make this blog truly mine. (I chose to “connect” instead of “transfer”, as I still want to own my domain name instead of WP.) I may change up the look here when I get some free time or when I hit a gnarly writer’s block with my latest work-in-progress. For now, I want to bask in the new blog address smell. Happy October!

by Lexine

More Changes…And Frustrations!

playgirl cover (new silhouette didot 5)

I finally made the genre change for my book. The simple process may have taken longer for me than it should have, but I was also working on another book cover for it. (And I also hit a busy period with my day job.) I also made some minor changes to the manuscript, which I had to do and I have my reasons why (I can be an edit slut who trips over trivial shit). Even though over 2K people now have my book (thanks to the free book promos from earlier this month) and I may be shooting myself in the foot here. Nonetheless, I’m finally FINALLY done with revising The Playgirl. It’s in the proper genres, the story is now truly to my liking (even though someone on Booksirens thinks otherwise–more on this later), and it’s got a cover I wish I could’ve gone with for its true debut back in July.

A little backstory to the cover: I selected that image as it was another one of my cover alternatives (you always need cover image backups). With my protagonist being a liberated, fun-loving woman, you don’t get more liberated than (an image of what appears to be) a nude woman enjoying herself. I chose the font design/arrangement because there’s something to the Didot font (that you see in the title and author name) that’s stylish and dramatic (and my story has elements of both). I also drew inspiration from the typography found in Harpers Bazaar magazines during the Tilberis-Baron days during the 1990s, and the result just pops. And, yes, I did that cover myself. Graphic design is starting to become my passion, haha.

*VENT ALERT!*

I have to say: I still feel like a total noob in this self-pub game. Here I am, still making some changes to a book I worked on for seven-plus years. I should’ve been fully ready with my shit when I clicked on Publish in late July this year, but I guess I wasn’t.  So I stumbled here and there with my debut. That said, it’s all a learning process. With my day job, I know I was a lot different in my craft when I started in my profession over 12 years ago than I am today. I’m sure I’ll be a totally different writer 12 years from now. Not in terms of content, though–I know what my forte is!

I plan on doing another freebie promo for the “new and improved yet again” Playgirl; it will likely be towards the end of this month. I’ll announce it at the same time I reveal my other bit of Important News. For those who got free copies of my book with its 1st and 2nd covers, you can get one more cover to add to your collection!😆

And, of course, get my book here (Amazon) and here (non-Amazon links).

by Lexine

Apologies From A Self-Pub Noob

Well, it was bound to happen: I made a mistake with my first eBook. Maybe you can’t tell from looking at it, but thanks to one of my friends (who was also the very first one to read my book), I realized that The Playgirl got listed in the wrong genre. Friend texted me Wednesday to call her to discuss what’s she read so far, and, during my lunch break, she clearly told me that it’s no Romance novel. Ack! She’s liking the book so far, but she ended up reading the last couple of chapters first before starting from the beginning and made the conclusion. (She also says she’s got a long ways to go before finishing the book; she, like me, works a full-time job with long hours, so it will be a while before her review.)

As I processed her criticism while at my day job, I began thinking about if my book was truly Romance or not. “Women’s Fiction” was the genre my friend suggested to me when switching genres. When I finally got home from work, I looked up the difference between Romance and Women’s Fiction. Articles like this and this were quite informative. It’s funny; in all those days leading up to releasing my first eBook back in late (a book that I’ve worked on for seven-plus years), the one thing I didn’t really put much effort into was finding out its proper genre. For the record, I did not choose Contemporary Romance to get a shot of earning the big bucks. I felt Contemporary Romance originally fit my book because of the romantic storyline between my protagonist and her love interest. Without giving too much away here, though, I was starting to understand why my friend suggested my book to be in the “Women’s Fiction” genre.

When it comes to my writing, I strive to make everything as near-perfect as possible. Alas…My noob status as a self-pub author is sooo on full display here. Maybe you can also tell I went on this book on my own without any outside input until after I released it in July. (I have my reasons why.) I’m aware of how avid Romance book readers can be, and for those who got my book and expected a Romance in the truest sense, all my sincerest apologies. I hope readers of my book will still enjoy its story for what it is. The genre changes will be made very soon. There’s also a good chance that my cover (which I’ve changed twice now) will also undergo yet another change to reflect its appropriate genre but also the tone of the story. *sighs* I really like my current cover, but it looks more suitable for the Steamy Romance section (which my book does have) as opposed to the Women’s Fiction section. (Unless if there’s a Steamy Women’s Fiction section I’m unaware of…)

The story will stay the same, by the way.

I should also should mention: in my Twitter, I posted “Important News” coming to my book very soon. This wasn’t it, and I’ll save that other news for another time.

Gah! I can kind of hear Phyllis from The Office telling me this:

by Lexine

New Cover, New Sale!

playgirl bw alt cover (red cursive + print font 3.love)

The Playgirl has a new look! I liked my OG cover, but I wanted more of a sensual and dramatic image to match the tone of the story. All credit goes to Mocker @ Dreamstime.com for the capture. (I changed the color and did the font work.) I also made some minor revisions to the story, so there will be some small but noticeable changes from the true 1st Edition and the Revised Edition.

I’ll also be running a Labor Day sale, where you can hook up with the new and improved Playgirl for FREE! From Sep. 1st thru Sep. 5th, you can get my book free of charge at Apple Books, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and other eBook retailers. (I’m in the process of issuing the same sale for Amazon (which still has my 1st edition for sale at the moment), where I currently cannot offer my book for free unless I’m exclusive with them.* Hopefully that can be done by this Friday.)

*I’m also thinking about going exclusive with Amazon via their Kindle Select/KU program to see how that goes for my book. If I choose to, it will likely happen in early/mid September, and you won’t see my book sold elsewhere for a few months. So get your copy while it’s still sold Wide!