Jen’s JewelsGet the lowdown on your favorite authors with Jennifer Vido. I have always been fascinated with the art of knitting. As a child, I would watch in awe as my mother would create beautiful afghans and colorful scarves. She always seemed so relaxed and at ease while masterfully designing her next creation. When the time finally came for me to join in on the fun, it didn’t take long for the “ooh” and “ahh” factor to quickly fade away. Knit one. Purl two. Whatever! Let it suffice to say that it’s not as easy as it looks! Cooking has always been an interest of mine despite my lack of aptitude. Sure, I can whip up a tasty meal courtesy of my ever-reliable crock-pot. As far as I am concerned, being able to cook an entire meal in one pot is worth its weight in gold. However, when the task of grilling meat while simultaneously sautéing veggies with perhaps a side of you-name-it comes into play, that’s when I call in the reinforcements…my husband and sons! This month’s Jen’s Jewels Lucie Snodgrass is always a welcomed guest in our home. A culinary expert in her own right, she has cleverly…

Books, that is. One of the topics authors, agents and editors spend a lot of time discussing is the publication of a book in hardcover or paperback. Like many new authors, I had long imagined walking into a bookstore for the first time and seeing that shiny hardcover on the shelf. So I was a little disappointed when I learned that the publisher had decided to publish my first novel, THE KOMMANDANT’S GIRL, as a trade paperback instead. The reason was simple: numbers. The sales force had discovered they could get a lot more books into the stores in trade paperback format than hardcover. For me, the decision turned out to be a winner. Not only were we able to get more books into the stores, but we were able to get into stores that only have a limited book selection and tend to take more paperbacks, such as Sam’s Club, which otherwise might not have been possible. Trade paperbacks seem to be a natural fit for book clubs and other reading groups, too. And let’s face it, it is far easier to ask family and friends to shell out $12-$15 for a trade paperback than $20 plus for a…

February 2010On Sale: February 2, 2010Featuring: Jude St. Laurent; Lily Vale288 pages ISBN: 0451229118EAN: 9780451229113Trade Size$15.00 Romance Suspense, Romance Erotica Sensual Buy at Amazon.com I Spy A Wicked Sin by Jo Davis Desire is the ultimate deadly weapon. The author of When Alex Was Bad and The Firefighters of Station Five series provides another titillating two-pronged mission: seduce…and eliminate. Jude St. Laurent is a former assassin for SHADO, a covert homeland security agency. After a mysterious accident, he’s lost all memory of his former life, and embraces his new identity as a hedonistic artist. But when he’s haunted by visions of the past, he turns to his new personal assistant for help-and she knows just how to make him forget. Jude doesn’t know that Lily Vale is a secret agent who uses sex to manipulate her targets-and always gets her man. But her mission takes a turn when Lily realizes that there’s more to this case, and Jude, than meets the eye. If she’s going to save them both, she’ll have to find out who’s pulling the strings… Undercover erotic espionage tale. Previous Picks Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.