A Memorable Launch - His 16th Face

If you were to buy a copy of His 16th Face, this is what would be on the back of the book.  

Christian is the wrong man for Beth to love. Everything about him is forbidden. If he loved her, it would be a crime. If she loved him, she would be overlooking a hundred lies.

She knew when she woke up on a beach in Mexico after years of battling heart disease, that he had risked everything to save her. The past always catches up to him. Hunted, he must change his name and change his face, as if he never even existed.

The price of love is unimaginable.

Here's an excerpt on the cover:

"Have you ever been in love with a liar? Have you ever been in love with someone who is completely pretentious? They're lying to you. You know they're lying, yet they could ask you for absolutely anything and you'd give it to them. Why? Because you trust that liar. You trust something in their expression, in the brush of their fingertips, and the promise of devotion in their eyes no matter what the last thing they said was.”

Rogan’s expression had split in half. That was what happened when a practiced liar had to play a part but still had to feel within himself. The half that was Rogan looked annoyed, while the half that had been my Christian was visibly moved. “You shouldn’t love that kind of man, Beth.”

I ruffled my hair. “No kidding. How I feel about you is just as bad. I know you’re wrong for me. I know you don’t want to love me and you’re just sitting on that couch now because you’re worried I won’t be safe if you don’t. I love that you feel that way. Stay. I’ll make you dinner.”

I have rarely been so pleased with my presentation of the hero of a story as I have been with Christian Henderson.  During the weeks leading up to my release, I was reading and rereading him, trying to make him perfect.  I was so busy that I completely missed the fraudulent copy of Whenever You Want that went up for sale on Amazon in early April.

I honestly thought I was too small time to have to deal with unauthorized versions of my novels and working it out basically ruined my release day.   It ended up being pretty easy to work with Amazon to prove my ownership and get the unauthorized copies removed, but still... the fraudsters ruined my release day because instead of posting happy, super-pumped ads everywhere, I was composing communication with Amazon and trying not to sound crazy... which totally happens when someone who has no right to sell your book is charging more than you are.  Don't even get me started on the super cheap cover they gave my book or the font they used to spell out my name.  Ugh... the losers can't even steal with style.

The one thing that was positive about the whole thing was how chill I was when I handled everything.  It was like the alarm inside me labeled 'freak out time' stayed off no matter how many times I glanced at the dashboard.  It was never time to freak out because I am never going to quit doing this. I plan to write until I die now, so I'll have to learn to deal with this stuff.

I don't really know when the moment came, that I became a person who will not stop writing.  I suppose it was like the day that comes when you pick up your child and unwittingly you will never pick them up again.  It came so gradually, you don't know the exact day.  Even if you put your child down saying they're getting too big to carry, there still might come another day when you lift your child up in your arms and carry them.  I remember my mother carrying me on her back when I was 17.  My ankle was hurt and she carried me.  In the next moment, my boyfriend was carrying me.  Dear sweet Christopher, who took me from my mother's arms, married me as early as he could and made me a mother.

This book is dedicated to him, Christopher, who has been by my side for over twenty years with his unerring confidence, his smile that has all the fun in it, his willingness to be reckless in his own calculated way, and all those little things that make him the perfect muse.  This book is more for him than any other I have ever written.  He loves this book.  It's his favorite.  I can't wait to write the sequel to show all of you where a man like that can take you.  Watch for it.

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to my mom who will not see this blog.  You raised a girl who calmly handled one of her greatest fears on release day.  May my daughter also deal with thieves and robbers by cracking her knuckles and typing it out.