The Ultimate Romance Question: Shirt or No Shirt

Shirt or no shirt?

Seems to be the ultimate question among my romance author friends.

On the cover, do people like shirtless men, or models with shirts?

When one considers statistics, shirtless men covers sell more. Check out this report here that shows some interesting numbers when it considers covers and sales numbers.

Certainly, in romance, covers with men sell more than couples, women, or scenery (per the previous report's statement).

But the question always returns about shirtless men or not on the cover. I believe when writing erotica, the bare-chested man sells more. But what about sweet romances, paranormal, or inspirational? I believe that most of it depends on the genre, because the cover is supposed to convey the overall theme of the novel to the reader, first and foremost.

But even in non-erotic genres, why are the sales so much higher on books with bare chested men on the cover?

Perhaps the age-old mantra is still in full effect: sex sells.

I certainly understand the appeal. And some of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen have the shirtless, ripped male model on the cover. One of my dear author friends has her entire brand around the washboard-abs hotties on the front. They sell like hot-cakes! (Pun intended).
For me, it's not an automatic turn off with a bare chested man on the cover. But it's not an automatic one-click buy, either. My romantic suspense novel, Prince of Solana, has one smokin' hot man on the front, but he's completely clothed. *swoon*

What are your thoughts? Do you like bare-chested men on covers? Why or why not?

Susan Sheehey writes romantic suspense and contemporary romance. She's a strong advocate for autism awareness and acceptance, and includes the element of water in all of her novels. She lives in Texas with her husband and two boys. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, BookBub, and join her monthly newsletter on her website for updated information and prizes!

NEW DIRECTIONS.....

I’ve finally done it. I’ve quit my day job. I worked only 3 days a week, but it felt like 9. It took sooo much “thinking” time away from my writing. Beyond that, when I thought about the stress level compared to the pay, I just couldn’t find a reason to do it anymore.

Now I’ll be able to concentrate more of my time and energy on writing. I have several projects underway or on the back burner.

#1 is THE HORSEMAN, Book #3 of my Sons of Texas trilogy. I’ve blogged here about it before. It will present a romance for Troy Rattigan, horse whisperer and youngest son of the Lockhart family. It will also complete the arc that began in Book #1, THE TYCOON and solve the riddle of who is threatening and harassing the Lockhart family and the Double-Barrel Ranch. My books usually are between 25 and 30 chapters. I’m up to 15 chapters now, so I don’t have too far to go.

#2 is MAN OF THE WEST, Book #2 of the Strayhorn trilogy. This book was traditionally published as a mass market paperback and I FINALLY have the rights back. I’m going to revise it a little and re-lease it with a slightly new story and a new cover.

 

 #3 is CLAIMED, the 2^nd book of Miranda’s Chronicles. The first book, DESIRED, is a 40,000-word erotic novella. CLAIMED will be a full novel. I want to complete this duet because I really liked writing in first person and I liked the 2 main characters in this story. When I wrote DESIRED, I believed I had created one of my strongest, therefore best, heroines in Miranda.

#5 is to write Book #3 of The Strayhorn trilogy. This will be Cable Strayhorn’s story. I haven’t settled on a title yet, but I’m toying with MAN OF THE HIGH PLAINS. I’m also thinking about THE PRODIGAL because it will be the story of a Strayhorn heir who leaves the fold for a different life, then returns after personal tragedy. I know—soap opera. 😊 I don't yet have a cover. I have to settle on a title before I can choose a cover. ..... What do you think about the 2 titles?

Woven between all of these is a new Dixie Cash zany adventure for the Domestic Equalizers. I’ve got the title: WHEN I SAID YOU'RE THE BOMB, I DIDN'T DREAM IT WAS TRUE. I've also got the basic plot idea formed in my head and am doing research, but so far, I have on 3 chapters on paper. The title is a clue to the story. 😉 ..... This will be the biggest challenge of all of all my writing projects because I no longer have my sister as a partner and she is the funny one. I don’t have that “Saturday Night Live” sense of humor that she does.

Also woven among and in between all of this is an attempt to narrate my own audio books. The fees for narrators makes them too expensive to do very many. If I can do a decent job on my own narration, I'll be releasing more audio books.

As you can see, just because I've quit my day job doesn't mean I won't be busy. 😟 I only hope to live long enough to complete all of these projects. Wish me luck!

Changes in Reading and Writing

I don’t know about everyone else, but self-publishing and self-published authors promoting their books have drastically changed reading for me.

It used to be that I had a set of authors whose writing I consistently enjoyed, thus I always bought or borrowed their books and was perfectly happy reading in my comfort zone.

Now, every time I turn around, some author is touting a *free* book. And because many of my faves write only one book per year and because I’m cheap, like every other human on the planet, I download a lot of those free books onto my Kindle. So now I have such a mish-mash, I can’t decide what to try to read next. I’ve never had so many books I've started, but will never finish.

This experience has been a journey of discovery for me.….. Of the plethora of books I’ve downloaded, I’ve discovered a couple of authors whose free book I enjoyed, so I bought the second in a series or another book by the same author. Nine times out of ten, that has been a mistake because a lot of the time, the story falls apart in Book #2 and I'm disappointed.

I can see that it's a challenge to carry on an interesting story involving only two 2 characters (hero & heroine) throughout a three or even five-book series. I’m in the process of writing a trilogy myself and I am glad I didn’t choose to make it only about 2 characters. I’m glad I have a story arc that begins in Book #1 and ends in Book #3 because I don’t think I could pull it off if I just had the hero and heroine to work with.

Another vehicle I’ve discovered self-pubs using is to publish books that amount to short stories and end them with cliff hangers so that I’ll have to go on and buy the next book if I want to read the whole story. All I can say is that makes me feel cheated. And after disrespecting my intelligence as a reader in that way, an author would have to be telling a heck of story to make me buy Book #2.

And speaking of shorts, I’m close to finishing up a novella. But I’m clearly labeling it as a "novella" so that nobody will be expecting a 100,000-word book if they buy it. In the beginning, it was going to be an erotic novella, but after reading at least two, maybe three dozen erotic books, I’m not sure it’s erotic. It’s hot, with explicit steamy sex, but it’s not kinky. So I’m still undecided if I’m going to try to market it as “erotica.” 

Let me know what you think of the cover:

It does have a cliff-hanger ending, but it’s also a stand-alone story. A reader shouldn’t be disappointed if he or she doesn't read the next book. ….. Oh, and I might change the title. ..... Can anyone say “make up your mind?”

Meet the Cast of Tasting New York by Kimmie Easley

It's confession time. I am a reader at heart. Yes, I am an author. I plot even when I'm sleeping! However, my first love is reading. That being said, something I like to see as a reader is a good round of 'Meet the Cast'. It always intrigues me to have some insight into an author's thought process when it comes to his/her characters. 

So let's get started! 

Meet the cast of Tasting New York, the second installment of the Tasting series. 

My main character, Hope Fairbanks, is a young, inexperienced beauty from an affluent, controlling family. 

Of course, the cover says it all where Hope is concerned. 

 

Next, we get to meet Jonah Dempsey. Jonah was easy for me. Many romance novels look to big, brawny muscle men as their hero (nothing wrong with that, yum). I tend to fall on the side of the sultry, sexy side. Jonah is a NYC artist, and everything that entails. He resides in a loft, works all night, and could care less what other people think. He also carries a heavy burden, a secret. 

There always has to be trouble maker. Tasting New York has a couple. Here, we meet Kym Yoshida. She's a jealous, Kym. Gorgeous, but green with envy. 

Moving on to the next trouble maker, Perry. He was a fun character to play with. I don't know why I enjoy writing the characters that everyone loves to hate, but alas, I do. Perry needs to pack up his Bentley and move on with Brittney, or Becky, or Bethany... whatever her name is. ;-) 

When reading Tasting New York, you'll find that Hope has difficulty cutting the daddy strings. Meet Mr. Fairbanks, the tyrant of Fairbanks International. 

Finally, who couldn't use a good dose of a controlling, belittling mother? The answer is Hope...  I introduce you to the nagging Claudia Fairbanks. 

The cast of Tasting New York is an emotional, heart felt, and sexy ensemble. It is live right now in The Hot Summer Nights anthology, along with nine other stories for a mere .99 cents! 

Tasting New York / Hot Summer Nights on: AMAZON

  

You can also read Tasting Texas (the Tasting series book one) and get to know Beth Garrett, Eric Alexander (who also makes in appearance in Tasting New York), and the redneck romeo Wren! You won't be disappointed! 

Tasting Texas on: AMAZON

Feel free to touch base with me on my website and check in for future projects and musings: http://www.kimmieeasley.com/

Interview with Cover Model, Padme Kane by Kimmie Easley

I have recently had the great fortune of working with a new cover model. Padme Kane is the gorgeous beauty on the cover of Tasting Texas.

The first time I saw this pic, I knew without a doubt she was the face of Beth, a stunning natural beauty. What I didn't expect was that Padme is a master at changing up her look and is also the face of Hope from Tasting New York! Check out the cover for the second novella in The Tasting Series.

Maybe you can see why I'm beyond excited to have the opportunity to interview the super talented model and friend. So let's get started!

KE: First, tell us a little about yourself.....

PK: I am an Aquarius, Scorpio rising, Capricorn moon! I am a model, wanna-be writer, and an upcoming full-time cosmetology and business student.  I’m a strange person in general, loyal friend, and a lover of laughter! 

KE: What are your goals as a model? How do you see yourself progress in the field?  

PK: My goal as a model is to simply have fun.  I hope to grace many covers of many books and hopefully other media as well, but my main objective is to always take good, creative photos that people enjoy looking at and that represent their work well. 

KE: Ok, let's face it, you're hot. What do you do to stay in shape? What does being fit look like for you?  

PK: You are awesome, thank you!  I participate in martial arts and I practice yoga.  I really enjoy making traditionally unhealthy dishes healthy.  You don’t have to sacrifice flavor when eating healthy.  Something else that may sound like more like an annoyance but I have made it a habit, is that I park at the very back of every parking lot I visit.  Raining or not.  I enjoy the extra exercise and more people need to learn to breathe and walk in the rain.  Being fit?  Being fit looks like you are healthy and comfortable with your body. 

KE: What are your likes and dislikes? Yes, sounds a little Hustler/Playboy, but I love this question!  

PK: Hmmm.  I am such an opinionated person so I don’t know where to begin.  I like food, music to an insane extreme, dancing, good people, and anything where I can move my body ;-)  Dislikes?  Inconsiderate drivers, Spam (the “food”), insincerity, disloyalty.

KE: We know that you take a hot photo and have made your debut on the cover of an erotic romance novella. What are your limitations? Where would you draw the line? 

PK: A FANTASTIC novella that I cannot wait to finish reading, btw!  J  I am very comfortable with my body and consider modeling artistic, to a certain extent.  My limitations are unknown at this point.  I think, I will know when I reach them.  If something makes me uncomfortable or it doesn’t feel right to me, then I will know. 

KE: Oh! Oh! Oh! That's MY little novella, Tasting Texas. Still on cloud nine! Ok, moving on. Do you do your own hair and make-up? What would be your number one beauty tip? 

PK: I have a fantastic hair stylist, Rachel Lily Campbell, but I style my own hair and do my make-up for my shoots.  It is a creative outlet for me to create certain looks that go with each outfit or theme.  It is truly enjoyable for me.  My number one beauty tip would be to keep those cheeks rosy.  If I only could wear one piece of make-up, it would be blush.  A light rosy glow keeps you looking radiant. 

KE: What are your other aspirations?  

PK: To put the inner workings of my devious mind on paper and hope people enjoy them.  To become a writer and photographer as well as a model.  I would love to do hair, make-up, and wardrobe for a model and then take their pictures.  I aspire to travel one day and find beauty everywhere.  Perhaps to create my own personal Zen.  J

KE: Who do you look to for inspiration?  

PK: Hmmm.  I don’t really look up to anybody, as odd as that may sound.  I do get inspired from time to time, by friends, political figures, children, and by music.  Sometimes, just having somebody believe in you, can inspire you.  I hope I have inspired others as well. 

KE: Let's play.... If you could grace the cover of one famous author who would it be?  

PK: Oh, Kimmie!  This is tough.  I can’t choose one!  Poe, Ray Bradbury, Anne Rice, Vladimir Nobokov. 

KE: Where can we find more about you and check out your portfolio? 

PK: I am in the process of building my website (keep an eye out) and am also preparing for a scheduled shoot to build my portfolio. 

You can find more of me and my photos on Facebook here ---> Padme on FB and on Twitter here --->  Padme on Twitter 

KE: Who would play you in a movie bio pic about your rise to stardom (yeah, we're assuming that happens)? 

PK: Hmmm, Liv Tyler-Empire Records era

KE: Padme, thank you so much for spending time with me and answering my quirky questions. Any parting words? 

PK: Thank you for having me!  I truly enjoy chatting with you.  Stay true to yourself people and remember your worth.  Never slouch.  Walk with a purpose.  J

I truly enjoyed my chat with Padme and am excited about our upcoming projects. There are a lot of great things in store for us both! Keep up with us for the latest! 

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