What I’ve Been Working On…

So drumroll… this is my secret, most beloved baby of all, the novel I’ve been working on since this summer. It’s a strange duck, for sure: a romance novel about female sexual dysfunction. But it has all my favorite elements: musicians, college students, craft microbrew, screaming sexual tension, and a gorgeously muscled, soulful man with a secret. I call it A Cruel Kind of Beautiful. Here’s a little peek at an early version of my book description for this one:

A Cruel Kind of Beautiful

Jera McKnight loves music, loves beautiful men, and hates sex. Her perfect storm arrives in the form of ex-baseball star and nude model, Jacob Tate, who has a heart as big as his record collection. But she knows there’s no hope of a healthy long-term relationship that never gets physical, so she keeps Jacob firmly ensconced in the friendzone and pours all her pent-up energy into her band.

It all seems to be paying off when a major label offers them a record deal, but when the fine print doesn’t exactly read the way she’d hoped, Jera is forced to decide what she’s willing to compromise to have a shot at her dreams. And while she’s trying to sort through her career confusion, she’s faced with a second choice: cut Jacob out of her life for good, or suffer the humiliation of confessing what’s wrong with her. But is she the only one harboring the kind of secrets that could destroy their relationship before it even begins?

So, what do you think? My reader’s opinions matter more to me than anyone else’s so I’d love to hear if you like the idea, if you’re leery about the storyline, or just if you happen to have a good musician romance novel to recommend because I’ve been gobbling them up this year!

Currently, I’m in revisions on this manuscript with the help of my supernaturally brilliant critique partner, Katie (who is self-publishing a pretty edgy new romance novel herself, more on this soon). Once that’s done, I’ll be querying A Cruel Kind of Beautiful to agents, right along with Forsworn, which is a post-apocalyptic novel that managed to steal its way into the quarter-finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest earlier this year. And once all that’s done? Jeez, after that I might take a nap. Or binge-read Patrick Rothfuss’s blog. Or (whistles innocently) write a companion novel to A Cruel Kind of Beautiful, featuring Jera’s sexy and mysterious best friend and bassist, Danny. Because he won’t get out of my head. But no promises, people 😉 It’s all one day at a time over here.