Even though I’m well into the story already, I’ve spent all this time trying to decide who I want to picture as my hero & heroine of PROJECT:  RUNAWAY HEIRESS, the first book in my upcoming “Project:  Passion” series for Harlequin Desire.

There are going to be three books to start, one about each of the three Zaccaro sisters—Lily, Juliet, & Zoe.  Book 1 (PROJECT: RUNAWAY HEIRESS) is about eldest sister, Lily, who runs off to Los Angeles & meets the sexy CEO of a British clothing company, Nigel Statham.

And of course these people have to be gorgeous, right?  Lily is also smart, so her celebrity counterpart has to reflect that.

All three sisters are blonde, so I think I’ve decided to use Reese Witherspoon as my inspiration for Lily Zaccaro.

She’s pretty & stylish, bright & savvy, just like Lily.  What do you think?

Then for Nigel, I’m picturing him a little blond.  (Don’t ask me why; I normally avoid blond heroes because I know they don’t translate well on covers & that publishers usually avoid doing too blond, regardless of an author’s description in the book.)

But for some reason, I seem to be leaning toward Simon Baker.

Maybe with some shorter, less wavy hair…

With maybe a bit of this guy thrown in:

I don’t even know who he is, but he’s working for me big-time when I picture Nigel. :howyoudoin

So I’m reading the On the Hunt anthology, & I’m enjoying it so far.  Gena’s story was exceptional, as usual.  :happysun

But I just cannot seem to get past the cover.  Look at this thing:

Now, I’ll concede the fact that it’s 85% .  Love the colors & layout, & that guy’s body is not one I’d kick out of bed for dragging along a bloody scimitar.

But that face!  Oh, the face. :nowait

I’m not sure if you can tell here, but close up, the guy looks to be about 13-years-old.  Seriously, he could be the kid who mows my lawn.  So every time I pick up the book, I think, Ooh, hot…hot…EEP!  :patrick4

Luckily, I’m not a gal who judges a book by its cover.  Well, I do—but only as a first impression.  Then I let the writing itself form my opinion.  So I’m happily moving forward, even though I do find this particular cover distracting, to say the least.  (I’m actually considering sticking a little post-it note over just the face for the rest of the time I’m reading. :bubble )

So what do you think of this cover?  Do you find the youthful look of the hero as distracting as I do, or do you think he’s just plain , regardless? :bed

And do you tend to judge a book by it’s cover, or are you cover blind? :Cukoo