About Me
Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs is the freelance business of Jaycee DeLorenzo. I have been in business since December 2011. What began as an offer to help out an author friend looking to redesign her website and establish branding has grown into a thriving business that averages 60-100 projects a month and works with a wide-range of authors, from those just starting out to those regularly landing on the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Bestselling lists.
I am a romance writer and (mostly) a romance reader, so it makes sense that 90% of my clientele are romance writers. I can and have, however, worked with authors in other categories and genres, including, but not limited to: Young Adult, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Non-Fiction and Educational Guides. I have also worked with a number of people and companies outside of the publishing industry, such as management corps, school districts, musicians, sports teams, online magazines, and independent business owners, though I am strictly working in the publishing industry and with authors for the time being.
Aside from working with my own clients, I also sub-contract with NineStar Press and work with Open Door Publishing, authors of Ebook Press and Paperbook press, and do occasional work with Omnific Publishing,
In addition to my design work, I have been invited to several events and cons to speak on the topic of the importance of good cover design, including the Tucson Festival of Books, Saguaro RWA (Tucson), Valley of the Sun RWA (Phoenix) and TusCon Science Fiction Convention. Invitations to speak can be sent to jc@jayceedelorenzo.com.
But who am I?
Hi, I’m Jaycee and I love my job! Seriously, I have one of the best jobs in the world. I work in pajamas with a laptop on my lap and my feet up in a recliner. I get to be creative every day, and I love learning new things.
I’m located in Tucson, Arizona. I’m a mother, wife, self-published author, ex-teacher, graphic designer, coffee and Diet Pepsi addict and a proud-to-be homebody. (Seriously, getting me out of the house is like pulling teeth.) I have two dogs (Achilles and Nyxy) and 2 cats (Narcissa and Khemji), a library in my dining room with over 1600 books in it, and an addiction to all things Harry Potter (well, all except for J.K. Rowling.)
I’m a self-taught designer who’s been “playing around” with html coding and design programs since 2000 for fun. Confession time: I was a mega-fan of the television show Roswell, learned to design fan-art in Macromedia Fireworks, wrote fan-fiction for the show, and ran a huge fan-fiction archive for over a decade! I took the skills I learned during my fandom years and began designing professionally in December 2011. In May 2015, I quit my teaching job and started designing full-time. I happily continue to do so!