Cover Reveal - SEX AND THE SINGLE FIREMAN

I've been waiting for this moment for a LONG time. Avon sent me this cover sometime over the summer. I went crazy over it and wanted to share it with the world. But I had to wait until the cover flats were out. Well, now they're out. I don't have to wait another minute to unveil this gorgeous cover.

In my opinion, the Avon art department is just amazing. I've been so happy with all the covers, but this one is extra-special. I love their expressions. Can't you just feel the heat and tenderness between them? (Maybe it's just me.)

Here's the cover copy for SEX AND THE SINGLE FIREMAN, which is Book 3 in the Bachelor Firemen series and comes out on January 29, 2013. The series does not need to be read in order.

There’s a hardnosed new training officer in town, and that’s bad news for the BACHELOR FIREMEN OF SAN GABRIEL … but great news for firefighter Sabina Jones … maybe.

The toughest captain on the East Coast, single father Rick Roman, has come thousands of miles to San Gabriel to put an end to the “Bachelor Firemen” media hype. But when a stunning woman he nearly hooked up with in Reno turns out to be a firefighter from his new station, Roman realizes it’s going to be tough keeping the tabloids at bay.

But there’s even more Sabina isn’t telling him. Before dedicating herself to battling blazes, Sabina led a very different life, one that made her famous. The last thing she wants is to have her secret exposed. The papers, bloggers and TV gossips will have a field day with that—especially when they sense the obvious sexual heat beween Sabina and Chief Roman, who’s torn between firing her … and falling in love with her!

One last thing: if you'd like a signed cover flat, leave me a comment and email me your address at JenniferBernard.author@gmail.com.

Have a great week!

Jennifer

HOT FOR FIREMAN Release Day

HOT FOR FIREMAN has officially been released into the big wide world! My sweet baby, which started as a kernel of an idea during a long drive from Anchorage to Homer, has blossomed into a full-grown book and flown the nest.

Seriously, I'm not one of those people who think of my books as babies -- it's just a metaphor. But when you consider how much goes into developing an idea into a book, it fits. Creating the characters, devising a plot, fleshing it all out with side characters and fun scenes and sizzling scenes and bit and pieces of imagination and observation and inspiration. Then other people take a crack at it -- critiquers and agents and editors and copy editors and proofreaders. Cover artists work their magic. The publisher machine cranks into action. It takes a medium-sized town to produce a book! Thanks to everyone who has participated in the creation of HOT FOR FIREMAN: Liz, Rick, Maxine, Alexandra, Tessa, Scott, and many more whose names I don't even know!

Here's a little bit about the story, which is the second book in the Bachelor Fireman series, but can be read as a standalone:
 
Katie Dane knows better than to mix business and pleasure, but her new bartender, Ryan Blake, is simply irresistible... and besides, she doesn't plan on working there much longer. That's if things go according to plan. But they never do, do they?
Ryan, the sexy heartbreaker of Station 1, is determined to rejoin the force. Tending bar in the meantime seems like the perfect idea, especially when it means he can spend his nights working next to his sultry new boss... if only the bar didn't keep catching fire.
Throw in a grizzled career criminal, a luscious-bodied barfly, a Bachelor Fireman bachelorette party, a flash-fire romance, and a million-dollar money pot, and suddenly playing with fire never seemed so much like falling in love.

And here's a review from Romantic Times Magazine, which gave it 4 1/2 Stars and made it a Top Pick.

"Bernard thrills again with her fast-talking women and smooth-talking men. The second in her Bachelor Firemen series is a fast-paced, laugh-a-minute ride that will have readers turning the pages at lightning speed. With a series of fires pushing the characters together and a cast of characters that should be headed to the big screen, this is a great read."

You can read the first chapter of HOT FOR FIREMAN on the "Books" page. Or you can just .... 

CLICK TO PURCHASE

ENJOY!!!!

xoxoxox
Jennifer

Release Week on Rewind

It's been an incredible week. I think this photo, from a Target in California, says it all. THE FIREMAN WHO LOVED ME has been spotted at Walmart, Target, and Barnes & Noble (where I personally moved copies from the bottom shelf to the alphabetically incorrect eye-level shelf.) At this particular Target it was nested between Susan Elizabeth Phillips' latest book and Kristan Higgins'.

I've spoken many times about how much I revere Susan Elizabeth Phillips. One of the first romances I ever read was Fancy Pants, which completely captivated me. Like all great writers, she expanded the boundaries of what was possible in the genre. Kristan Higgins is a more recent discovery for me, but I'm now a rabid fan of hers as well. To see my book shelved between the two of them is simply incredible. It's almost surreal, to be honest.

In the days since my book came out, I've been at the mercy of a dizzying kaleidoscope of emotions. It's a little like my wedding -- joy mixed with a generous dollop of stress. The wedding passed in a blur so fast I immediately wanted to rewind and experience it all over again. That's how I feel about this release. I'm never going to have a "debut release" again, but worries about sales and reviews and so forth distract from the pure pleasure of this moment.

I love this photo because it brings me back to the wonder of it all. I wrote a novel that's on a shelf between books by two of my romance writing idols. How amazingly, incredibly cool is that?

Deep breath. Much gratitude. Savor the moment. Then get back to work.

Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

My Chocolate Challenge

Since I'm no good at New Year's resolutions, I'm making a "new knee" resolution. I just had surgery on my left knee (ACL reconstruction, for those of you familiar with knee issues.) The lead-up to the surgery and the aftermath have put a serious crimp in my blogging intentions. But now -- new knee, new attitude. I'm going to aim for a new post every Monday.

But I'm the kind of person who needs an incentive. I fall somewhere on the spectrum between procrastinator and slacker. So I'm issuing this challenge to myself and to you. If you catch me without a post up by 9am on a Monday -- Eastern standard time, to make it even harder for me since I'm 4 hours behind -- and you call me on it in the form of a comment or an email to JenniferBernard.author@gmail.com, I'll send you some chocolate.

(Yes dear, someone said chocolate.) This is no hardship for me because I love sending people chocolate. I do it so often that Vosges, my favorite chocolate maker, assigned me my own "chocolate concierge." Her name is Betty, and I simply email her when I want to send someone a gift of sweet, delicious heaven. In fact, I may just miss a post on purpose so I can send off some chocolate.

My latest chocolate obsession? Dark chocolate-covered blueberry and acai berries. I've never seen an acai berry in the wild, but they sure taste good dipped in chocolate. What's more, I choose to believe they have magical healing properties since I hear they're grown in the high Himalayas and harvested under the crescent moon by chanting Tibetan monks. (Please don't ruin my illusions with any inconvenient factual corrections.) Since chocolate cures most ills anyway (see above request re factual corrections), these wondrous little sweets must be twice as powerful. 

Think they might heal my left knee if I eat enough of them? I figure it's worth a try.

So there it is, my Chocolate Challenge! I'm in the clear for this week, but please try again next week. And be sure to follow the blog to qualify to win. Here are the rules again:

1. See that I haven't posted a new blog post by 9am EST on any given Monday.
2. Comment here on the blog or email me at JenniferBernard.author@gmail.com.
3. Follow this blog.
4. Prepare to receive chocolate.

In the meantime, what's your favorite kind of chocolate? Have you tried the chocolate covered acai berries?

Have a great week!

Jennifer