The One with the INSPIRE Cover!!!

 So, you may have heard the news....I'm writing a New Adult Paranormal series!! AND today is the day I get to share the cover AND release date with you! The book will be releasing in e-book December 15th! With a print edition to follow. 

I am so unbelievably excited about this book. Most of you probably don't know this, but Losing It was actually the first contemporary book I'd ever written. All of my manuscripts prior to that had had some element of fantasy or the supernatural. I wrote Losing It because I'd needed a break from my current project, and... well, the rest is history. It's been a wild ride, and I certainly have no intentions to stop writing my New Adult contemporary romances, but I am eager to add a little magic back into my writing life.

I know you guys are really just here to see the cover, so I'll cut straight to the point, and we'll talk after... kay? Kay.

First up, here's the book summary for book one in my two book NA Paranormal series. 

INSPIRE by Cora Carmack
Coming December 15th, 2014

Kalliope lives with one purpose.

To inspire.

As an immortal muse, she doesn’t have any other choice. It’s part of how she was made. Musicians, artists, actors—they use her to advance their art, and she uses them to survive. She moves from one artist to the next, never staying long enough to get attached. But all she wants is a different life— a normal one. She’s spent thousands of years living lie after lie, and now she’s ready for something real.

Sweet, sexy, and steady, Wilder Bell feels more real than anything else in her long existence. And most importantly… he’s not an artist. He doesn’t want her for her ability. But she can’t turn off the way she influences people, not even to save a man she might love. Because in small doses, she can help make something beautiful, but her ability has just as much capacity to destroy as it does to create. The longer she stays, the more obsessed Wilder will become. It’s happened before, and it never turns out well for the mortal.

Her presence may inspire genius.

But it breeds madness, too.

EEEEEEP!!! Look at that gorgeous cover made by VLC productions! I'm in love with the girl and the font and the fact that they're holding up the title! I just love everything about it. And I think it fits the tone of the book so well! This book still has plenty of my normal witty and flirty dialogue, but it also takes a much darker turn naturally. I wanted to talk about the dark and light side to creativity and the dark and light side of beauty. And I think this cover captures that perfectly.  

 I am SO friggin' excited for this book, you guys. Like you don't even know. You can already add it on Goodreads!

Or you can pre-order now exclusively through iBooks! http://bit.do/inspireCC. It will be available across all online retailers on release day. 

I can't really put into words how much I care about this book. I've been lucky the past few years to be able to chase my dreams, and this is the next big dream for me. Most of the books that have shaped me as a person are fantasy. Most of the authors I idolize write fantasy. It's those kinds of stories that first kindled my love for writing, and I'm so eager to finally be able to share this side of myself with you all.

I am so very grateful for your support and excitement. It means more to me than you can possibly know. And please, consider sharing this blog post with any friends you think might be interested in INSPIRE. 

 And now... because you're awesome (and I love love love you), here is the VERY FIRST sneak peek of Wilder and Kalli:
(P.S. This is totally unedited. So, any mistakes are all on me).  

He gives me that already familiar expression of doubt, and I laugh. “Why do you bother asking me questions if you’re not going to believe what I say?”

“Because maybe one time you’ll slip up and tell me the truth.”

“My feet are fine, and I’m not drunk.” I slide out of the car to prove my statement, but I know it’s a mistake the second my sore feet hit concrete. I try to hide my wince, but it’s not exactly something one controls with conscious thought, so instead my face ends up doing this weird twitch thing, and he gives me a knowing smile that makes me want to punch him. Or kiss him.

Maybe a little of both.

I keep my chin up and take a few steps past him, enough to push the door closed behind me. I turn, intending to head for his door with whatever dignity I can manage to scrape up. I take two hobbling steps before he’s at my side, sweeping me up into his arms.

Dignity is long gone when I squeak and try to hold onto him with one arm while desperately yanking on the hem of my dress with the other.

“No one’s around but me,” he murmurs. The side of my breast is smashed up against his chest, and the vibrations when he speaks move through me, distracting me from my panic. “And I promise not to look.”

I don’t even answer him. I haven’t the slightest clue what to say.

Me. At a loss for words. I spent centuries learning how to speak to men, how to capture their interest, how to maneuver in their world, and now I’m undone by this dichotomy of a man and his not quite smile.

“Hold on to me,” He says, and I wrap both arms around his neck in answer. He drops the hand at my back to search for his keys, and I tighten my arms around him, drawing myself closer to his chest. I catch my breath at the sensation, glad for the thickness of his leather jacket that hides the way my breasts have become swollen and tight from the closeness.

I hear the jingle of keys, but I’m not sure how he manages to get the door open because his eyes never leave mine. Our faces are so close together that when he leans forward to push the door open, my lips accidentally brush his jaw. He sucks in a breath and closes his eyes. Stepping over the threshold, he closes the door behind us, and I don’t think. I just act.

Before he can lower my feet down to the gray carpet below me, I tilt my chin up and touch my mouth to his. His arm returns to my back, his fingers curling around my side, but other than that, he doesn’t move. Doesn’t kiss me back.

I press a little harder, willing him to respond because if he doesn’t… if I read all of this wrong… gods that would be the icing on the terrible fucking cake that is this night.

I pull back, already squirming in an attempt to get him to put me down.

“I’m sorry. I—“

He drops my legs, but loops that arm around my waist too, keeping me up and against him, my toes still off the floor. I don’t look up at him and he says, “Kalli.”

His voice. It’s so smooth and warm, and I just want him to keep talking to me. I could forget everything about tonight, ignore it all to listen to his voice.

“You’re sober?” he asks.

He must take my scowl as truth enough because as soon as I open my mouth to reply, his lips slam into mine, hot and hard.

 Well! There's your first look at INSPIRE. Make sure you add the book on Goodreads, and mark your calendars for Dec. 15th! And I'll hopefully have some pre-order news for you soon!

In Awkward <3,

Cora