Jaci Burton is stopping by Smexy Books to celebrate her new release, Thrown by a Curve, which is out tomorrow.

Hi Jaci!! Thanks so much for being here with us today at Smexy Books.

Thanks for having me here!

We all love the sexy, alpha men you write about. We are very excited about your newest release,Thrown By A Curve, which is slated to release March 5. What can you tell us about it?

Alicia Riley has been given the assignment of her dreams—to rehab star pitcher Garrett Scott. Garrett’s injury has taken him out of commission for several months, and with the start of the baseball season just around the corner, it’s make it or break it time for him. He’s put all his trust in Alicia, but he’s not convinced her treatment methods can put him on the mound come opening day. Getting in the way is the hot attraction they feel for each other. Bot their careers are on the line, and they have to trust in each other or both their jobs are in jeopardy.

Thrown By A Curve is #5 of this series. This time you are focusing on baseball and in past books you have featured football and hockey. I see the next book will be about a race car driver *grins* Are there any other sports that you want to write about? During the Olympics I joked that someone needs to write an Olympic swimmer hero. Will my wish ever get fulfilled?

I have mad passion for my favorite sports, which are football, baseball, hockey and auto racing. First, I’m so excited to add auto racing to the mix of sports romances in my Play by Play series, and I can’t wait for everyone to read One Sweet Ride. As far as other sports, I also love basketball, but have yet to come up with a storyline that I think fits. But we’ll see. Like you, I love the Olympics, both summer and winter. And I never say never, so who knows?

Your heroine in Thrown by Curve, Alicia, is a sports medicine specialist. What is your favorite thing about her?

Alicia is a tough, take no prisoners type of therapist. But she’s also tender and empathetic. I love that about her. She understands what Garrett is going through, understands his pain and apprehension about possibly never pitching again. Still, she pushes him hard because she knows what he’s capable of, and she wants him on the mound come opening day possibly more than he does. I really love a strong, capable heroine, one who really knows who she is, but who also isn’t afraid to be vulnerable. Alicia is that heroine.

When your covers for this series are released, it’s like a national holiday for romance readers. We celebrate each drop of sweat that we see after we magnify the picture to get a better look. What are your thoughts about the trend of just putting a cuff link on a cover? Or just a scarf compared to a half naked, sexy man? Do you think that trend will continue to grow?

First, thank you! I’m so giddy whenever I get a new Play by Play cover. The Berkley art department has exceeded all my expectations for covers for this series. I’m very lucky.

As far as the preponderance of the “What’s on a guy’s dresser” type of covers, I don’t know. I understand publishers trying to capitalize on the 50 Shades types of covers, and why not? It’s a high concept type of cover, and it’s working in terms of sales. And I can see the desire for those types of covers for readers who aren’t comfortable having sexy, half naked people on the covers of the books they’re reading, especially print books.

I love my Play by Play covers. They fit the books perfectly. I can assure you the covers for my series will not be changing. But that doesn’t mean every reader is going to love them. Some are very turned off by a naked man chest on the cover, and that’s fine. The other types are what I’d consider more understated covers. I think they’re all very attractive and compelling. I think there’s room for both types of covers. For me, as a reader, I judge a book based on the story, not so much the cover. But not every reader is going to feel the same way, so I think it’s important to give readers multiple options because some readers are going to make their buying choices based on covers and their own comfort level.

Lots of romance conferences are coming up this year. Where can readers find you in the upcoming months? And tell us what books we can expect from you coming up too!

I’ll be at the RT BookReviews convention in Kansas City in May, and the New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart in a Book conference in October. That’s all I have planned so far, but there maybe be possibilities you’ll see me elsewhere as the year plays out.

I have a lot of books releasing this year! You can find all of my upcoming books at my Coming Soon page on my website http://jaciburton.com/coming.php , but here’s the list:

March: Thrown By A Curve, Book 5 in the Play by Play series

April: Nautier and Wilder, anthology with Lora Leigh

May: Wild Nights, a digital novella

June: One Sweet Ride, Book 6 in the Play by Play series

July: Hot Summer Nights anthology, introducing my Hope contemporary romance series

September: Hope Flames, the first single title in my Hope contemporary romance series

November: Holiday Kisses, the Carina print release anthology which includes A Rare Gift

December: Holiday Games, a Play by Play digital novella

Jaci Burton

Website: http://www.jaciburton.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jaciburton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJaciBurton