Dawn Atkins's Blog

Here's the cover of my November Harlequin. Considering how hot it is right now in Arizona, this looks like so much fun...The book is fun, too, as these two people find a way to be together and love and raise their twin nieces. I've got an October book, too. This one is suspense from Entangled Ignite, the new name for their hot suspense imprint.

Check out the newly launched romantic suspense imprint from Entangled on Facebook: IGNITE

Delicious-looking, hmm?

My first Entangled release comes out SOON...yikes. TWO CAN PLAY might be available in October. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted.

Really cool comments from veteran model about winning the genetics lottery and other down-to-earth truths about what it means to be a model. Worth a listen.

I'm excited to announce the upcoming launch of a line of indie-published ebooks written for college-age+ women under the name April Starr. The countdown has begun to the June 15 release.

The first will be an erotic novella entitled IN TOO DEEP, featuring a paralegal determined to live life to the fullest after losing her mother to breast cancer and the hotter than hot builder working on the remodel of her house.

The pair meet after Laney strips her way from her car and her old life to the brand-new swimming pool her mother never got the chance to use and Travis hears her shriek from the cold water, running out to rescue her.

He does, by the way, with the fantasy sex she'd been picturing. She jolts him back to life after a year of grief. The two practically spontaneously combust and launch an affair they agree will last the length of the work on her house...which somehow keeps needing one more improvement... Falling in love complicates their simple plan, as they figure out what they really mean to each other.

You can track April's journey and upcoming contest giveaway at April's blog, follow her on Twitter and friend her (please) on Facebook.  

Wahoo! Romantic Times Book Club gave BACK WHERE SHE BELONGS 4.5 STARS! Here's one piece: "The secondary mystery adds to the nicely complex plot, and Atkins’ skillful dialogue helps the story flow seamlessly."Happy, happy, happy, since this book was difficult in the writing. Hope readers feel the same....  

My March SuperRomance cover...Couple is right, so is the blanket and the terrain, vehicle is a Land Rover and they're about to do a paintball game of capture the undies...long story. Other than the washed-out colors, I guess I'm okay with it. Thoughts? 

Here's the cover of my October book. Set in a small Arizona town, it's the story of two broken people who heal each other. Cara is on the run, along with her 9-yr-old daughter, from her abusive ex-husband when she lands a waitress job at the Comfort Cafe, where fry-cook Jonah is recovering from the break up of his marriage by building amazing furniture. I wanted the cafe to look inviting and full of "hope," but am wroried it looks a tad, well, hopeless...lost and deserted. Thoughts? Hopeful ones, I hope
 Here's the back-cover blurb for more detail: Welcome to New Hope, AZNew Hope? Not from where Cara Price is standing. Miles from her destination, a car that won’t run and a daughter she can protect only by moving, lingering in this town is not on Cara’s plan. And the harder she pushes to leave, the more things conspire to prevent that. There’s the slow mechanic…there’s the café in need of a waitress…there’s its owner in need of a friend. There’s also the very tempting Jonah Gold.Cara’s plan is all about survival with no room for romance. Yet, Jonah’s charm and the easy way they work together has her wanting to make space for him. The promise of what they share is so different from the life she’s escaping. Maybe this café, this town and Jonah are all the hope she needs!
 ?

This is the cover of my January SuperRomance. The artist went to a lot of trouble to match it to the characters, even giving Gabriel his chest tattoo--TERCO--which means STUBBORN in Spanish. That said, I'm not sure the moustache works. I'm afraid he looks kind of, well, scuzzy. What do you think?

I mean, tell me I'm wrong. I love this story, by the way. It takes place in a school. It involves a biracial relationship and a sad history and healing and redemption and troubled kids who get a fresh start.

The Romantic Times Book Club review gave it 4 STARS and said

"This is a well-written story with lots of great chemistry."

Here's the book description from the review:

When Felicity Spencer begins her new job as magnet school principal, she reconnects with Gabe Cassidy, older brother of her high school boyfriend whose gang activity led to his death.

Gabe's running a martial arts gym out of her school, and Felicity wants the space for an after-school program.

At first, Gabe's still angry over Felicity's abandonment of his brother, and over her decision to eventually close his school, but the two soon find themselves working together and unable to resist each other.

Here's hoping readers agree.
Best,
Dawn Atkins

It's here! The cover of my September Superromance, and it's perfect. The hair color, the faces, the little boy--even the gold earring. I'm really proud of this book. It was complicated and emotional and not easy to write, but I'm hoping readers will enjoy it as much as I do. It's a secret baby book that's a little different...at least that's what I intended it to be. Once you love the characters it feels all new, I guess.

I'm also celebrating that I got my next book turned in, HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER, out in January. This one has a tough-guy martial artist, Gabe Cassidy, and Felicity Spencer, a new principal at a failing inner-city school with something to prove. Two two share a painful history--she was his younger brother's girlfriend when he got in trouble with the law, then ended up killed in a gang fight. Working through their issues was tricky. I hope I handled it well. My editor will let me know. 

In the meantime, I'd better get back to percolating new ideas. Tell me what you think of the cover. Come on, September!
Best,
Dawn Atkins

This is so cool! I published two books--an erotic novella and a sexy romantic comedy on both Amazon for Kindle and Barnes & Noble for Nook--and already the sales are coming in. Way, way cool. Check them out. On Amazon for the Kindle, here's Letting Go, an erotic novella and Cross My Heart.

For the Barnes & Noble Nook, check out Letting Go and Cross My Heart. You can always search by "(title) by Dawn Atkins, of course, and get there, too.
 
I'm curious about what you think of the covers, too, which I had designed. Let me know.   So now I'm part of the wild and wonderful world of e-publishing. Wish me luck. Enjoy your e-readers. I'm loving mine.
All the best,
Dawn Atkins