Guest Post, Elise Sax: The Affair to Dismember Cover

Today we welcome Elise Sax to the blog. She's on tour for her debut book, An Affair to Dismember.

She's here to talk about book covers, and one of the models for her book cover. Welcome, Elise!


The Affair to Dismember Cover

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but plenty of readers do, or so I’ve been told. So, there’s a lot that goes into a cover. A lot of people, artists, editors, publishers, agents. Even writers!

I’m very happy with the cover to An Affair to Dismember, a woman representing the main character Gladie in between her suitors: the hunka hunka burnin’ loves Spencer and Holden. Of course, they are shirtless. That was a no brainer. I mean, these men really should never wear shirts.

Cover models are the unsung heroes of publishing. They are the promise of the fantasy within the pages. And they are not just pretty faces (or pretty torsos!). They have to embody the story and make it come alive.

Let me introduce you to cover model Jimmy Principe. He was on one of the earlier versions of the
Affair cover, and he has very nice muscles (if you haven’t noticed).

He’s also very nice, and he agreed to answer a few questions for this blog. And he was shirtless when he answered them. Okay, I made that last part up, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

A professional model, it was Jimmy’s first cover shoot. According to him, the photographers and art directors at the publishing houses are very careful to cast the right model for the right book. The model should represent a character or the theme of the book. After he was chosen, they briefed him on the plot to An Affair to Dismember so that he could get into charter. According to Jimmy, he really liked the story. (Did I mention how nice he is?)

So, most importantly, how does Jimmy maintain his six pack (or is it eight? I lost count.)? “I stay in shape by working out 5-6 days a week,” he told me. “Consisting of super sets with high reps and minimal rest in between sets. I follow a high protein, low carb meal plan consisting of 6-7 meals a day to keep my metabolism racing.”

An Affair to Dismember
The Matchmaker Series
Book One
Comedic Romantic Mystery
Ballantine (Random House)
ISBN: 978-0345532220
Number of pages: 320 

Certain to appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, and Katie MacAlister, Elise Sax’s hilarious series debut introduces matchmaker-in-training Gladie Burger, who stumbles into a dangerous quagmire of murder and red-hot romance.

Three months has been Gladie Burger’s limit when it comes to staying in one place. That’s why Gladie is more than a little skeptical when her eccentric Grandma Zelda recruits her to the family’s matchmaking business in the quaint small town of Cannes, California. What’s more, Gladie is also highly unqualified, having a terrible track record with romance. Still, Zelda is convinced that her granddaughter has “the gift.” But when the going gets tough, Gladie wonders if this gift has a return policy.

When Zelda’s neighbor drops dead in his kitchen, Gladie is swept into his bizarre family’s drama. Despite warnings from the (distractingly gorgeous) chief of police to steer clear of his investigation, Gladie is out to prove that her neighbor’s death was murder. It’s not too long before she’s in way over her head—with the hunky police chief, a dysfunctional family full of possible killers, and yet another mysterious and handsome man, whose attentions she’s unable to ignore. Gladie is clearly being pursued—either by true love or by a murderer. Who will catch her first?

Praise for An Affair to Dismember

“Elise Sax’s new Matchmaker series is off to a rousing start! . . . Sax gives the comic mystery genre a new spin. . . . A fun read sure to entertain.”—RT BOOK REVIEWS

“Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this new author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich, Katie MacAllister, and Jennifer Crusie.”—BOOKLIST

“Elise Sax will win your heart.”—NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, JILL SHALVIS

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Sneak Peak! Here's a look at the cover art for Matchpoint
book two in The Matchmaker Series.
Coming July, 2013.