Friday, July 11, 2014

Help I Need a Cover Part Three


 
A few weeks ago I asked for help picking a new title. If you remember the working title had been The Target is out. I thought I'd update you. (And no that's not my cover - that's one of the ones I found already published.)

The book is a dark, romantic suspense that takes place predominately in Reno and involves the Washoe Sheriff's office and the Reno PD.

The book is about chat rooms for teens; a serial killer who works the chat rooms looking for blonde, fourteen year old teenage girls. When he finds he develops a relationship with her,convinces her to come and meet him, rapes and kills her and then moves on to another chat room looking for another girl.

I asked for help and got lots of great names. When I researched pubbed books I found several with the same names so I ruled them out. It's taken awhile but I've decided on DON'T GO.
My reason was when I was editing the book I found the Washoe Detective saying it several times.

Here's the excerpt:

“Damn it. Where the hell is she?” She popped the chocolate in her mouth and chewed slowly moving her mouse around the Washoe County mouse pad. She scanned the cyber chat room one more time. “Damn. I can’t lose another one. She has to be here somewhere.”

Sam leaned forward, lips pursed, eyebrows crinkled.. “Come on; come on, ‘Invisible-Melissa’, check- in, please. Don’t go to meet him. He’s not who you think. You have no idea what he can do to you. Please baby, don’t go.”

Desperation wrapped around her like an iron boa and squeezed so she could barely breathe. Another tear trickled down her cheek.

With a few more clicks times she scanned the names of those in the online chat room. ‘Searching- for-You’ hadn’t checked in since last night either.

 “Damn. That’s probably who she’s gone to meet. How did I miss it? Don’t these kids know you never go to meet some stranger you’ve only talked to on line? They should have learned that back in the sandbox.”

She leaned back in her chair. Her forehead squeezed against her skull, shooting barbs of pain to her eyes. The chocolate hadn’t helped the stress.

“How did I miss this one?” She punched her fist into her palm. Insidious memories crept from the dark corners of her subconscious, spun a cocoon around her and dragged her back into the dark, tangled web of her own past.

The sickening sweet smell of overpowering after shave snaked up her nostrils; fat, sweaty palms grasped at her thighs. She knew what was going to happen; unable to scream, unable to escape … no one to help her.

The images crashed over her, scattering years of counseling like broken shells on a beach, and covering her soul with the spray of desperation and anger.

Sam scrubbed at a tear drifting down her cheek, and forced the images back into the darkness, back into the locked box.

It’s not about me. It’s about this girl and another predator creep.

With clenched fists she white-knuckled the arms of the chair, to keep from throwing the damn computer against the wall.

“Find anything?” Kerensa strolled back into the computer room, a partially eaten sugar donut in her fingers. A faint white trail drifted behind her. “They got a whole box of these out there if you want to grab one before the other detectives get back and scarf them all.”

“Damn it! I should have seen it coming. Where the hell are they?” Sam kicked her chair away from the computer and stood. “No thanks. Those things can kill you. I’d have to work out an extra hour tonight.”

“Hey, they’re no worse than that stash of chocolate you hide in your bottom drawer.”

“A girl has to have something to combat the frustration. Besides, dark chocolate is good for you.”
 
I've got my cover artist working on the cover and when I get it back I'll share it. Thank you everyone who sent suggestions. 

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