If you like Romantic Suspense…

…then you are definitely my kind of reader! All of that intrigue, passion, and suspense just gets to me. I love reading about hot, sexy couples thwarting danger at every turn. The tension keeps me turning pages while the attraction between the couple keeps me hoping for the eventual happy ever after.

While the road to passion may be a bit bumpy, the search for a villain and avoiding the threats and hazards seems to bind the two together. The idea of beating the odds of the line from the movie Speed, “cause you know, relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last” just makes me want to cheer when the hero and heroine finally commit to each other.

In my novel A Chaunce of Riches, Samantha and Ben fight the attraction they still feel for each other after seven years apart. But there is a threat to Sam’s life and Ben was hired as a bodyguard after all. His concern for her safety grows until they can no longer hide the intense feelings they have. Ben realizes that Sam’s husband didn’t die of natural causes; whoever killed Julian Chaunce is focusing on Sam and trying to hang Julian’s murder on Ben. Will they solve the mystery in time and stop the murderer before another victim is claimed?

In Common Bond, Tangled Hearts we know early on that the villain is Layne’s ex-husband who wants Layne and her son back at any cost. Justin didn’t mean to fall in love with Layne, he only meant to meet the child that he learned was his. Charlie pits his arrogance and money against Justin’s wealth and power and it’s a battle that almost kills the love struck couple. Will they become the family they were meant to be? Or will Charlie manage to keep them apart for his own selfish gain?

In His Lucky Charm, Brandon and Caitlyn wake up in bed together and he has no idea who she is. She says she is his wife, but he has no memory of marrying her and doesn’t know if he can trust her. Is she lying? Or did someone do something to Brandon to destroy his memory? And why? As Brandon slowly regains his memory, the couple is chased across the country in a dangerous game of international espionage. Will they save the country? Will they save themselves?

So, sit on the edge of your seat and enjoy a good romantic suspense. All of my novels come in multiple e-book formats – go to my Smashwords page at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/chellecordero or my website at http://chellecordero.com/ for more information. And I hope you’ll stop by my blog and say hi, http://chellecordero.blogspot.com/

Got it covered...

Are we so superficial that we judge the books we’ll read by the way the cover looks? It’s part of the come on I guess.

Truth be told, if your book cover doesn’t grab a potential reader’s eye, your words will remain hidden within the pages. Think about your own shopping experiences – your curiosity gets piqued by how something looks; the outfit that looks dynamite even hanging on the hanger, the food that looks tasty even on the package label, and the cars that seem to stand out from the rest on the highway. A book cover shouldn’t be misleading the same way food packaging should at least hint at what is inside the package. Alas, the cover should appeal to your target audience.

Three of my novels have undergone face-lifts since the stories were first introduced:

Courage of the Heart was first published in 2001 by another publisher which transformed itself into a self publishing vanity press between acceptance of my manuscript and actual production. Without paying big bucks, there was no help in the marketing and promotion area; using the “If I knew then what I know now” lament, maybe I could have still gotten somewhere anyway. However, the original cover seems more suited to a textbook than an intriguing novel. Courage of the Heart was re-released by Vanilla Heart Publishing in 2008 with a tantalizing new cover and a combined promo effort between VHP and myself. I think you might agree, which one would catch your eye?

Next up we have Bartlett’s Rule. Kimberlee (my publisher) and I loved the original cover for Bartlett’s Rule – unfortunately we soon found out that the characters on the cover looked young and folks assumed the content was YA. My books are definitely NOT YA, thank you very much. Bartlett’s Rule is the story of a rape survivor who falls in love, the man who loves her and their combined efforts to learn how to trust, deal with the sorrow and anger, and not let the ugliness of the event take anything more away. While many parents have told me that they passed this book along to their teen agers, it really is intended for “mature audiences”.

The third novel not only had a face-lift, but a total transformation including name change. Forgotten seemed to live up to its name, not so much for the story, but because looking up the story by title alone was too arduous and often unsuccessful. Try it, go to Amazon and type Forgotten into the search bar; my book comes up (finally) somewhere on page 5 – fans had difficulty finding it at online retailers and since there are only some walk-in stores carrying the book, we had to make it easier. The story of Brandon and Caitlyn and amnesia, espionage and love was just reborn as His Lucky Charm – and we are hoping that this book also lives up to its name. The brand new cover certainly seems to be a “grabber”.

“What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas... this time it follows Brandon and Caitlyn across the country and into a world of espionage and danger. The one thing that Brandon knows for sure is that he can't afford to lose his lucky charm, Caitlyn. Previously released as Forgotten, by Chelle Cordero”

Excerpt from His Lucky Charm:

He felt his muscles clench as he stared into the woman’s face that lay beneath him. If he hadn’t already felt her trembling, he would have known she reached her own climax just by the expression of her face. With one more powerful thrust he felt everything he had spilling into her, he felt a completeness he would have never thought possible. Everything stopped and then he swore he felt their hearts start beating again as one. Pausing a moment to look into her eyes, and they were beautiful eyes he thought, he brushed a long strand of chestnut hair away from her face and kissed her. Then he rolled off of her.

“I love you.” Her voice was soft, like the touch of her lips. He couldn’t believe the tingling he felt in his loins at hearing her words.

“You’re not even human...”

“What?” She almost laughed at his choice of words.

He hadn’t even meant to say that thought out loud. “I mean... I just never felt so... consumed before. I feel like I am under some kind of spell.” As he sat up to face her, he was surprised by the life he felt in his groin. Feeling a touch embarrassed, which was a new feeling for him, he admitted, “I almost feel like I can go another round, and considering how powerful that was...”

She faced him and gave him a sultry smile; her bare breasts were firm and small. But not too small, he thought, just enough to fill his hands. He felt his groin tighten again and just stared.

“Hey, are you okay?” She suddenly sounded self-conscious.

“Uh, yeah.” He forced himself to look at her face.

She touched his arm, her fingers felt light like feathers. “Can I do anything for you?”

“Yes.” He glanced at her breasts again and then back at her face. “Tell me... who are you?”

She laughed, it was a full-bodied sound. “Just one day married and...” She saw the surprise in his eyes as he looked at his left hand and saw the ring. Pulling the bed sheet up to cover her nakedness, she looked at him puzzled. “You’re serious?”

He frowned. “‘Fraid so.”