Cover Buzz for Virtuosity!

Show some love for the author of Virtuosity, Jessica Martinez...

I was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. As a child I played the violin, read books and climbed trees incessantly. I went on to study English and music at Brigham Young University, and since then have been a high school English teacher, symphony violinist, elementary school teacher, violin teacher, and mother. I currently live in Orlando, Florida with my husband and two children.

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Onto some Hardback Virtuosity Truths...

Hardback                           Paperback

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?

Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall...

1. I am the last person in the world to see that my cover looks like an iTunes ad. When someone pointed it out, I was like, “Hmm, yeah. You’re right. Am I about to get sued by Apple?”


2. The model on the cover is Asian.


3. It’s actually the second cover my publisher created. The first was beautiful, but much darker, almost paranormal looking (to my eye), so I’m thrilled with the modern feel of the cover they went with.


4. My editor, because she’s awesome, asked me which dress I liked best for the cover shoot. No comment on whether or not she went with my favorite.


5. As a teenager, I wouldn’t have touched the color pink with a stick. (Anybody else remember grunge?) I’ve recovered. Now I love pink and even wear it occasionally, which is good because my second book has a pink cover too.

More buzz about Ms. Martinez's second novel...

From the author of Virtuosity, a novel about two sisters and the secrets they tell, the secrets they keep, and the secret that tears them apart.

Amelia is used to being upstaged by her charismatic younger sister, Charly. She doesn’t mind, mostly, that it always falls to her to cover for Charly’s crazy, impulsive antics. But one night, Charly's thoughtlessness goes way too far, and she lands them both in serious trouble.

Amelia's not sure she can forgive Charly this time, and not sure she wants to…but the situation is even worse than either of them realizes. Amelia has no choice but to give up everything--her friends, her future, her dream--in order to cover for Charly’s huge mistake.

Amelia doesn't understand how her sister could have done this to them both. What she doesn't know is that Charly is hiding a terrible secret—one with the potential to change everything.

Thank you, Jessica, for sharing some tidbits behind your debut's cover!

LiLi