Do I Choose My Cover Models?

August 14, 2016

In this newsletter:


Maddie grabbed the collar of Jacob’s shirt. “We’ll never tell anyone. Right? You promise. Right?”
“God, no. Never.”
“No, really. You and me. In bed. The neighbors.” She shuddered. She edged off the mattress.
He began to feel insulted.
Then, so close they both jumped, a police siren started wailing.
Maddie looked at him, her eyes were so wide and horrified that he was undeniably insulted. Irritated, he said, “No one is coming to arrest us for sleeping in your bed.”
She took a quavering breath. “Right. You’re right.”
“No one cares.”
“If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.“
— BECAUSE I’M WATCHING

Dear Ones,

As you know, BECAUSE I’M WATCHING is my 54th book and because of my experience and maturity, I’m able to open the box that contains the first glimpse of the novel, pick up a copy and calmly hold it for the first time and know its existence is the result of hard work writing (on my part), editing (on my editor’s part) and design (on the art department’s part) and OH MY GOD HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING SO GORGEOUS IN YOUR LIFE?!? IT’S THE BEST BOOK I’VE EVER WRITTEN AND IT’S THE BEST COVER I’VE EVER HAD — IT SHIMMERS!!! — AND THE ENDPAPERS ARE EVOCATIVE AND … as I said, I treat the arrival of a new book with aplomb. And maturity. Soooo much maturity which involves very little squealing or jumping up and down. Really. This is seriously beautiful.

RT Book Reviews gave the book a Top Pick! “Virtue Falls has seen its fair share of the evil that can live in the hearts of some individuals, but it has also seen the triumphant spirit of others.…From the opening page, Dodd reels readers into this eerie and darkly suspenseful tale…”

To those of you who won an arc in the previous contests — thank you so much for the Goodreads reviews. As of this writing, BECAUSE I’M WATCHING is at 4.48 stars. These ratings are so important to book sales and to me personally. BECAUSE I’M WATCHING is the best thing I’ve ever written and I truly want all of you, my readers, to enjoy it!

Haven’t read the Virtue Falls series yet?

VIRTUE FALLS in eBook: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay, and Apple Books.

OBSESSION FALLS in eBook: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay, and Apple Books.

I would love to tell you good news about our home repairs and how the contractor finished in a week as they promised. I would love to … but instead let me share my fabulous salmon salad recipe!

I had cooked sockeye salmon leftovers so I used it to make my all-new Salmon Salad Recipe. I did make this up by checking several recipes for tuna salad and adding and subtracting ingredients, so use this as a jumping off spot for your own ideas. Makes one serving.

1/4 pound cold cooked salmon
3 tablespoons cottage cheese
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
About 1/2 finely minced green onion
About 1/2 finely minced stalk of celery
1/2 Dijon Mustard
A tiny bit finely chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 Sriracha Sauce (or to taste, any hot sauce will work.)

Mix lightly.

I served the salad on a bed of lettuce with alfalfa sprouts, yellow heirloom tomatoes, avocado slices and, because I had some left over from the night before, slices of cold potato. This is so good. Trust me.

You can find this and other recipes in my Wine and Food Pairings under the dropdown menu, “Opinions.”

Last but not least, I did a video answering the question, “Do you get to help choose your cover models?” 15 seconds. Scroll down. I think you’ll like my answer…

Until next time, I wish you all the time in the world to read.

Warmly,
Christina Dodd
New York Times bestselling author
The Virtue Falls series includes
#1 THE LISTENER: A Virtue Falls short story
#2 VIRTUE FALLS: The First Virtue Falls Full-Length Thriller
#3 OBSESSION FALLS: A Virtue Falls Full-Length Thriller
#4 LOVE NEVER DIES: A Virtue Falls short story
#5 BECAUSE I’M WATCHING: A Virtue Falls Full-Length Thriller
#6 THE WATCHER: A short story
#7 THE WOMAN WHO COULDN’T SCREAM:A Virtue Falls Full-Length Thriller
A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT: A Compilation of the three Virtue Falls Short Stories+Virtue Falls Never-before Published Extras

“I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain.” — Lily Tomlin ← also relating to the house repairs