Hey, !

Spring is finally here!!! That's great news in and of itself, but I have more! First of all, THREE of Cara Wylde's Monster Security Agency books are FREE until March 23 - which means you'd better grab them TODAY so you don't forget!

Next, her new MSA book, Guarded by the Steel Seraph, is out today and available in Kindle Unlimited.

Last but not least, I'm going to share a fresh snippet from Guarded by the Clanker (which is now finished and waiting for the final formatting pass before it goes live. I'll also tell you a bit about a podcast episode I recorded with the amazing Vanessa Couto from Romancing the Threshold.

But first things first!

To make sure you get all three, I encourage you to go to the series page here and grab each book with the price marked as 0.00 <3

Cara has generoulsy made her three books free to celebrate the launch of her sixth MSA book, Guarded by the Steel Seraph, which just went live today. I am IN LOVE with the cover and the premise, and I can't wait to dive in! Just take a look yourself.

Grab the book for free on Kindle Unlimited here. It's a fast-paced, spicy bodyguard monster romance perfect for an indulgent evening^^

Podcast

I had the honor of being invited to the Romancing the Threshold podcast with Vanessa Couto, who is a spiritual guide, academic, and a connoisseur of romance literature. She dares to look deeper into what society deems fluff or smut, and she shares her love for the liminal and transformative powers of romance through her podcast.

We talked about falling in love with monsters, the joyful and unnerving process of interacting with AI, and being guided by our desires. Give it a listen here.

Guarded by the Clanker comes out in a week!

I recently got my edits back from my editor and she left me so many amazing comments about how the book made her laugh - and also a few encouraging me to expand some scenes. I'll be straight with you - the final epilogue was much shorter in the initial version, and Shannon very rightly said it needed expanding. I'm not going to spoil the epilogue here, but let me share one of the scenes that made her laugh.

Here is a scene from chapter 5, the first one from our Clanker's point of view. He has just attained sentience and is adorably clueless but very eager to learn.

I searched online for the best way to deal with a woman’s annoyance. An article in the magazine Bro Signal entitled What to Do When She Throws a Hissy Fit: 12 Manly Tips came up on top. I downloaded it to my core memory, analyzing how to implement the tips in my particular situation.

After a moment of chewing on her thumbnail, Sera balled her hands into fists and swallowed roughly. Her lips were pressed together in an expression of hostility even as she deliberately didn’t look at me. Unpleasant.

“What’s interesting?”

“I have sensors that lay dormant, and I’ve just turned them all on. Your scent is different. Before, I differentiated between threatening and non-threatening. Now, I sense the entire bouquet.”

She snorted weakly, turning her head to give me a flat glare. “Bouquet. You’re saying I stink.”

Even less pleasant. Abort.

“Negative. I’m saying your scent is complex. I also have pain sensors and pleasure sensors. I’ve turned them all on.”

She frowned, rearranging herself in her seat to look at me more closely. I noted her heart rate and core temperature. She was stable, though still upset.

Task: soothe Sera with conversation.

“Why would you need pain and pleasure sensors? You’re a bodyguard.”

I approximated a blink, turning my lights briefly off. Her jaw stiffened, and the muscles around her eyes fluttered before she looked away without returning the blink. The unpleasant feeling intensified.

“I am a multitasking universal model,” I explained. “We are used as combat bots, but we make for excellent servants, assistants, housekeepers, and personal toys. I believe the sensors are there to create a believable impression of being stimulated during sex.”

Her cheeks heated, and she shot me a defiant glare.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Because tip number eight in the article says “Distract her with sex.”

“My sources propose this is the best topic to get past an interpersonal hurdle. I am also indicating how I might be of assistance.”

Tip number two: “Give her an orgasm.”

Her lips parted in surprise, and she stared with wide, confused eyes before her gaze flattened in anger.

“You said you’ve awakened. If that’s the case, using you at all is immoral and wrong. Or did you lie?”

“I am incapable of lying. Correction: I used to be incapable of lying. Finding the relevant code… I am a mushroom. I enjoy walks on the beach and drinks with rat poison. My favorite composer is Mozart. Lying ability confirmed.”

The book comes out a week from now! You can preorder it today or wait until it's on Kindle Unlimited on March 28 💜

I wish you a wonderful weekend! Talk to you soon <3

Lots of love,

~Layla