Hey, !

I've sneaked out from my writing cave to let you know Guarded by the Clanker is almost ready and will be with my editor soon! I love this book 😍 It's fun, bantery, and filled with action, and Dean, our clanker bodyguard, has stolen my heart!

Here is some art that I haven't shared anywhere else yet! Aaaah, don't they look good together?

And here's a little excerpt from the book! It hasn't been professionally edited yet, so there might be small errors and typos. This is a one-bed scene (one of my favorite tropes, ofc) and our characters have just spent the night crammed together into a bunk in a capsule hotel. This is from Sera's, the FMC's, point of view.

Guarded by the Clanker excerpt: one bed scene!

“This is weird,” I blurted, watching Clanker, who now wore a faint, relaxed smile that transformed his features into something very human and approachable. “You’re too close.”

His expression did not change, but his voice turned quiet and almost pensive. “Why do you care? I’m just a machine. You sleep with your phone under your pillow, don’t you? It’s the same thing.”

“But you’re not,” I said, frustrated. “You’re… I don’t know. Definitely not a phone. You have all those… limbs and… And stuff.”

I cringed, huffing angrily. God, what was even wrong with me? 

Everything, a quiet voice supplied in the back of my head. You’ve been upside down ever since it happened.

“Finding the meaning of ‘stuff’ in the provided context," he said. "I see. You are wrong, as I certainly am not equipped with any form of genitals, so it cannot be honestly stated that I possess ‘stuff’. However, I do have the necessary sockets and wiring connections. My deficit can be amended.”

I facepalmed myself. How did he sound so intellectual while getting everything so completely wrong? 

“I didn’t mean your genitals, and I don’t want to know anything about them or the lack thereof! I just meant general… stuff,” I grumbled, biting the inside of my cheek with embarrassment. 

I was a journalist, for fuck’s sake. Why was it so hard to say what I meant?

You know why.

“I am at a loss, then.” Clanker, who had been reclining on his elbow, lay down by my side and turned his face toward me on his pillow. It was incredibly intimate, and I pulled away, pressing my back into the wall.

“What I mean is, you are clearly a person,” I said through clenched teeth. “I was wrong, all right? You happy?”

The silvery lines painted to look like his eyebrows pulled into a small frown. “That you were wrong? Why would that make me happy?”

I shrugged, looking away. “You should hate me. I’m your kind’s enemy number one.”

A slow, sensuous laughter, low and masculine, filled the air. I gritted my teeth. It wasn’t right for a machine to sound so goddamn human. 

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re too weak, too soft, and too short to be considered an enemy, kitten.”

I bristled. “You should know I work out.”

“Yeah? And how much can you lift?”

“I hip thrust almost a hundred pounds,” I said proudly.

He grinned, and it was perfect this time, slightly mocking, a bit roguish, and too damn handsome for a clanker.

“I weigh three hundred and thirty pounds, boo. Come back once you can hip thrust that.”

I squinted at him. That smile, that low, honeyed voice… Was he flirting with me? Clanker laughed and rolled until he was on his back, grinning at the ceiling that was uncomfortably close. 

If this is your jam, you can preorder Guarded by the Clanker on Amazon so it lands on your kindle as soon as it's live 💜

Preorder now

And with that, I'm going back to my writing cave. I hope you have an amazing day!

Lots of love,

~Layla