And The Winner Is ...

Yeah, okay I said I was going to post the results tomorrow, but ya know?

Who’s gonna complain that they’re a day early???

Man, I’ve never been so eager to calculate a spreadsheet full of numbers in my life!! I attended a wedding on Saturday and all I could think about, aside from the relentless loop of AC/DC You Shook Me All Night Long playing in my head (thanks, Cheeks!), was how badly I wanted to get home and do my homework.

For months I’ve been going through portfolios, searching for the face of Logan and now, I finally get to announce him!!

Before I do, just want to quickly thank some people who were an integral part of this contest and made it a successful venture:

To all of the models:

Not just the final five, but ALL the guys (over 200 candidates) who submitted their portfolios. Thanks so much for the daily distraction and for taking an interest in the contest!

To my top 5 candidates

(Michael Ceorgoveanu, Julian Christian, Jon Mahoney, Ajdin Sefer and Adriel)

I had no idea what to expect with this contest. You guys made it fun and exciting, not just for me, but for readers as well. Your drop dead good looks combined with your bios and interview responses brought such variety to all the different traits of this character—from cocky bad boy, to Logan’s tortured side. Thank you so much for taking the time and participating. And uh … for giving me something to stare at the past few months, of course. *coughs*

Definitely something I’d repeat.

To the bloggers who helped me spread the word:

Love my pimps!

Booked and Loaded, Bookaroo-Ju, Reality Bites Let's Get Lost, Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Reviews & Goodies, Paranormal Book Club, Prufreads Blog, Book Lovin Mamas, Under the Covers, Reading Between the Wines Book Club, Romancing the Dark Side, Got Fiction, Fictional Candy, Herding Cats & Burning Soup, Talk Supe, Reading Infection, The Drunken Pervy Creepers, The Autumn Review

Thank you so much!

Finally, to my readers:

I wanted to find a way to make you a part of my next book, to give you something fun and entertaining as you patiently await Logan’s story. Even if your guy didn’t win, you own a part of this story because you got to know the character, you participated, you provided your input, you spread the word and your name will be included in the acknowledgments (if you opted to be included)!

I can promise you that there will be more opportunities throughout this series for all of you to own a part of my stories. Thanks so much for reading them and giving me a big reason to love what I do.

YOU made this contest a success!!

Okay, on to the winners of the $50 Amazon gift cards and t-shirts:

Congratulations to Elizabeth K. H. and Judith C.!

I also picked another winner from the comments on the voting page for a Sons of Wrath Swag Pack:

Congratulations to Veronica de Luna!

I shall be emailing all of the winners today.

AND NOW …

to find out which sexy candidate I’ll be drooling er, will serve as my muse for book two.

The votes have been aggregated, calculated, obsessed over.

And I’m incredibly excited to announce that ...

JULIAN CHRISTIAN will represent the face of Logan for Soul Resurrected!!

If you happen to recall from his spotlight (did anyone read what I wrote or …) I mentioned that it was this photo that got me all tingly about advancing him to the finalists:

I can't help it ... now every time I look at this photo, the song pops into my head. Thinkin' its his badass expression ...

This is good. Very good.

After all, it was this song that inspired the character.

Guess what?

The genius photographer behind this photo, David Wagner of WagnerLA Photography, will be working with me on the cover design, which means, (not that he needed any help, mind you), Julian will be looking dayum good when it’s all said and done.

I mentioned in a previous post that David also photographed the sexy Italian model who will be the face of Calix in book four. And um … wow. I’ll share those as soon as I can. Excuse me ... *picks jaw up off the floor*

And since Soul Resurrected (Book Two) is slated for fall publication, y’all get to see the final results very soon as I’ll be scheduling the cover reveal next!

HolyHotDamnSomeoneKnockMeTheHellOut.

Gonna need something hard-hitting to tone down my excitement a little!!

Quickly, I’ll just mention that I’m nearly finished with my edits. I know, I know. WTF?! Well, more than anything, I want to give you guys a great story. I can’t bring myself to throw out a bunch of shite for the sake of a deadline. So I’m slightly behind but will be handing off the manuscript to my betas next week.

Betas … I’ll be hunting you down soon!

Lastly, if your guy didn’t happen to win this particular cover—and I’m asking that all voters please be respectful to all candidates in the contest—fret not, for there are plenty of books and novellas plotted for this series. You might just see his handsome face on a future cover!

Gavin’s book is next … and I can’t WAIT to begin looking for the gorgeous face that will represent him in Soul Enslaved.

Thank you again for helping me choose the guy.

All five of the candidates are absolutely drool-worthy, and if left up to me, would've been squished together onto one cover.

Come to think of it ...

What a smokin' hot mess that would've been!

Grab a copy of Soul Avenged here: