Done? So we're in agreement, right? Good. Okay...

Third, I'm not sure an illustrated cover would convey the right tone. (Note: tone and mood are not the same thing.) Both set your expectation, but this story was written with yaoi in mind so an illustrated cover sets that up.

Ultimately, I chose to go with an illustrated cover because of branding. The cover, book trailer and teasers will all have the illustrations Zoe created. It's just makes sense with that point of view. I'll go with Zoe again when I make the next books so I have an all around brand with the Notice Me Sempai series.

You can see from Zoe's first attempts it doesn't give any impression that this is an all male menage. At least not really. The above picture is adorable. They look like they're posing for the year book. But the cover says this could be a story about three humorous friends, their lives, their differences and how they relate. That's not this story.

I needed a cover that could give me their character traits, besides teacher and students, that I'd like to put as the representative to my story. So then Zoe shows me this...

No, it doesn't show all their faces. I might still want that. But this at least screams, there's sex in here. The blatantness -- yes, my new word blatantness -- is what I was going for. I gave Zoe the okay for this one. Here's why.

It shows Mori's weakness, it shows Itsuma taking the lead like he always does, and it shows Scott's eager but gentle way. Those are my characters. Oh, for those who don't know the order from left to right is Itsuma, Mori, Scott. The best character illustrations of them are found here.

So Zoe's got the okay from me and I've got a rough sketch. The next time you see the cover will be for the cover reveal. For now, try to use your imagination for detail, color and shading. Until next time!

XOXO ~ Stephy

In late 2014 I was "hired" to ghostwrite a gay romance of 10k words. The premise was "gay assassin". NOT MY PREFERED WIP NAME, but whatev's. I did my world building, made my characters. Did my sheets. Filled out my story outline and... (here comes the punch line of this entire thing)...

"I'm not going to write you a love song, cause you need one, cause you asked for it..."

Then I realized, I don't have to write an 80K novel. He said story, not novella, not novel, not tome.

Story.

A story is anywhere from a sentence to the largest printed word ever in the history of man.

No I was not going to write a book the size of the food and drug regulations.

But I can write something! So, with the top picture in mind I present to you, and DW...

The Good Succubus

Any guy this side of twenty, or that side of forty-five, would not pass up the chance to create their own woman like build-a-bear. Chicks do it to men. Don't lie. Women are always looking for that "trainable" guy. The one they can fix up. Dress like a Ken doll.

Women see this as taking care of their guy, but really, it's their way of creating their fantasy man. So when the gates of hell opened up and up came wings, horns, chains and boobs I decided I might as well die happy. I knew what was in store for me. I was never going to heaven. Not with my reputation. No white wings for me--unless they were bat wings. Nope, I wouldn't be flying anywhere. Not with this gorgeousness in front of me.

She slapped her hip with the whip in her hand and she squealed. Instaboner. Bad for the soul, good for the ego. Everything warned me not to touch but the chain leash around her neck proved tempting. Her eyes beckoned me to claim her. But if I did, going back was not an option. The road to hell was trying to sit in my lap.    

Leave a comment on which one you'd choose.

Murder. Marriage. Forgiveness. The kingdom of Allsveil is the chessboard, and the royals are the pieces.
Two noble families meet in a whirlwind of battle, conquest, hate, and passion.

When a neighboring army conquers her home, Princess Alexia is forced to marry her father’s murderer, Darrin, the new king's young prince. While Alexia grapples with revenge and flirtation, finding her own strength in the process, the new king, Goththor, seeks forgiveness from his queen and from himself. Two generations learn that the game of chess is nothing compared to the game of love and forgiveness...

Play chess with a princess...get your copy today!

This, dear reader, is a story for you. Yes, I craft all my stories for you, but this one is special. I can only attribute it's creation to the suggestions of my readers. I have no memory of where the story came from, what it's origins are or how the whole thing came to be. Only that I wanted a "Taming of the Shrew" type story. It's working title was "Princess Bitch, Thee I Wed" but, I somehow don't think some distributors would appreciate the name--even if that title did better in testing.

This story tells the tale of two characters from their point of view--Princess Alexia and King Goththor. In the process of this story, I started another that began as a short story some of you beta read for me. The consensus was "YES, make this a full length story" and it will be a continuation of the FAMILY not the characters. Without giving away spoilers it will be about Princess Alexia's grandson.

But the real part I wanted to tell you about was this is at a I love my readers price of 99¢ for one week from today (Friday April 25th, 2014). So I suggest you play chess with a princess and get your copy today!! Happy reading!!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JXLD1R6