I’m pleased to get to host K E Osborn today as she talks about the inspiration behind her book covers.  We’ve actually seen this series a couple of times before (here, here and here) but they are definitely worth another look.

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One of the things that often get a comment is the covers of my books.  I studied graphic design and had full intentions of following that career path. I am a fully qualified graphic designer but my love of writing was always bubbling away in the background. Although I consider writing to be my full time career now, my graphic design skills are being used over and over in many different ways.  I need to be able to create meme’s, book covers, blog banners and buttons etc, so I guess you could say my graphic design skills have come in very handy. The inspiration for the covers was drawn mostly from the books themselves.

The Trust Me? cover is a glass of wine being smashed. This is in the book when a work colleague of Jeni’s attempts to ask her out. Jeni is so shocked by his forwardness that she drops her glass of wine and it breaks. This is a major turning point in the book as it helps in a decision that comes later in the story. The colored water at the bottom of the book represents the waterfall, which is in each of the three books as a significant place for both Aiden and Jeni. In a way the shattered glass also represents Jeni’s fragile state and how she is also broken and damaged.

The Love Me? cover is a sea theme and a pair of pink fluffy handcuffs. This scene is in the book and it is where Aiden and Jeni visit a beach house. Aiden surprises Jeni with some fluffy pink handcuffs, which relates back to the first book but in a more serious way. I can’t tell you why because it will spoil both book one and two if I do.

s ring is the one described in book two of Love Me? I have made the rings look like they are coming out of the water as a symbol of Aiden and Jeni rising up against all the odds and making their way out of the deep water they were wading through.

Now I cannot give too much away otherwise it might give away the storyline and there would be no point in that, but the book covers are definitely drawn from the storyline in one way or another.  You will, after you have read the books know what each cover is all about.

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Trust Me? Blurb:

This book is for mature audiences 18+ It contains explicit language and sexual content.

Jenifer Taylor is content with her life, dull and boring as it is. Being absent from the dating scene means she doesn’t have to deal with the major trust issues she has with men that stem from a controlling and aggressive ex- boyfriend and an absentee father. She’s happy being alone, sharing her life with her friends and family.

When Jeni starts a typical day in the big city of Mornington Vale, California, it turns from bad to worse s involved in a chain collision on her way to work.

Her world changes forever that day because she meets Aiden O’Connell, the billionaire son of Alistair O’Connell, who owns Mornington Vale’s largest financial corporation.

Aiden is an up-and-coming young businessman who’s ready to take on the vice presidency of his father’s company. He is the good son, and it’s imperative to Alistair that Aiden succeed and follow in his footsteps. Life for Aiden involves working hard and not much else.

After the accident, however, Aiden’s world changes as well. He finds Jeni irresistible and instantly pursues her. With some coaxing, she eventually agrees to a date, and the attraction is mutual.

Jeni finds love quickly with Aiden, but trusting him is another issue. When to trust is tested in many different ways but comes to a head when Aiden is investigated for a serious crime. As her trust issues spark, she is forced to go through a journey of self-discovery.

She must decide once and for all whether she trusts the man she loves when she’s asked the ultimate question: “Do you trust me?”

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Excerpt:

I turn to face him; he puts his other arm around me. We are in the same position as before when the last kiss attempt failed. My arms are tight around his neck, his arms around my waist. I look down. He lifts up my chin so I’m lost in his gaze. His hand goes back to my waist. He swallows; I think he’s as nervous as I am. He tilts his head and leans in … I back away quickly.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, looking hurt.

“Oh, no, it’s not you. I think … I might have garlic breath.”

He laughs and pulls me back to him. “So do I.” He pulls me in tighter, and before I know what’s happening, his lips are on mine. I give in and surrender to him completely.

This feels like one of my fantasies, only way, way better. He holds me tight as one hand moves from my waist to caress my cheek, kissing me softly but sensually. My hands move to the back of his head, and I grab a lock of hair in each hand. He moves our bodies so that I’m against the railing at the edge of the deck. He moves his hand from my waist to hold the rail as I still grasp his hair. The kissing becomes feverishly passionate; his tongue against mine as they intertwine with each other. Our breathing becomes faster and erratic. Our kissing becomes more intimate. We are in perfect sync with each other. I pull him closer to me, our whole bodies touching. My heart is pounding fast and hard. His hand moves from my face to the back of my head, pulling me tight. He moves my hair from the side of my neck, breaks our kiss and kisses my neck slowly and seductively. I sigh and breathe in a stuttering motion. I open my eyes to see the waitress standing there, gawking at us. I stiffen as I see her. He pulls back and looks at me. With my eyes, I gesture toward the waitress. He turns, looks, and lets out a little huff. He leans in towards me.

“Now that’s a first kiss,” he whispers as he grabs my hand and leads me over to the table. I can’t help but smile

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Love Me? Blurb

This book is for mature audiences 18+ It contains explicit language and sexual content.

In the first book of The Trust Me? Trilogy, Jeni Taylor finds the love of her life, but as the second book begins, she finds herself lost without Aiden O’Connell, who’s been wrongly convicted of embezzlement charges and incarcerated. She must find the strength within to help prove he’s innocent while dealing with other issues.

Aiden’s father, Alistair, still taunts her, making life between Jeni and Aiden more difficult, and an unexpected visitor enters their lives, creating havoc and turning it upside down. Jeni’s trust issues return in a major way after an incident leaves her fragile and broken. Aiden and Jeni find themselves going through more trials and tribulations than ever before in this second installment of the Trust Me? Trilogy. In the end, Jeni will be asked the ultimate question:

Do you still love me?

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Excerpt:

My nerves start to get the better of me, I start to feel nauseous; those darn pesky butterflies attack again. I’m not sure why I’m nervous, whether it’s the shoes making me unstable or whether it’s the memory of our first date, our first touch, or our first kiss that’s making me bashful.

I turn the corner to see him standing there with a bunch of red roses, in the suit that he changed into earlier, this time with a baby pink tie on. Behind him is that gorgeous waterfall cascading down the cliff with the lush greenery surrounding us. As I take a step closer, I hear music playing. “Thank You for Loving Me” by Bon Jovi. It’s our song. I feel my eyes welling up as all the emotion and love I feel for this man is becoming too much to bear.

His smile is beaming from ear to ear when I approach. Finally I reach him. He holds out his hand for me to take. I take it, and he pulls me into a tight embrace.

“This is perfect,” I whisper.

“Perfection for perfection, my love.” He kisses my cheek, and places the bouquet of flowers on the railing.

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Author Bio:

K E Osborn was born in September 1984 and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. She had a love of writing throughout High School but went down a different path to Design instead. It wasn’t until she had a vivid dream about a three car pile up that the characters of her first book came to life.

Aiden and Jeni are the amazing couple from the Trust me? Trilogy and they were born into the world through the imagination of K E Osborn in 2012.

Website   Twitter   Facebook   Trust Me Trilogy on Facebook   Goodreads   Smashwords

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Tour Schedule:

11/25:  Spotlight – Deal Sharing Aunt

11/26:  Spotlight – Bootheel Cotton Patch

12/4:  Interview – Becky on Books

12/16: Spotlight – Laurie’s Thoughts

12/18:  Spotlight – http://www.simplistik.org/lissetteemanning

1/2:  Spotlight / Review – http://www.snifferwalk.org

1/10:  A Passion for Romance

1/10: Spotlight – Nyxx’s Nook

1/13:  Guest Blog  – Romantic Reads and Such

1/14:  Spotlight – Magic Within the Pages

1/21:  Spotlight – In Shadows

1/22:  Spotlight – As the pages turn

1/23:  Interview – You Gotta Read Reviews