Hello !

I'm getting ready for another short trip this weekend, so I'll do my best to be quick this time around! First of all, I wanted to let you know Wed to the Lich is already longer than 100 pages and might even get as long as 200 - which means it will be the longest of all the Arranged Monster Mates novellas. On the one hand, I'm happy, because this story is truly unique and needs to be this long to shine. On the other hand - eeeek!

Underestimating wordcounts is proving to be the number one cause of stress in my writerly life. I have to write so much in such a short time, and even though the story flows easily, sitting at my desk for 10 or more hours a day to get it all out is doing me no favors.

Then again, it is absolutely worth it. I love, love, love this story! It's just perfect, and Virgil is so swoony. Take a look at the exclusive excerpt below. I'm not sharing it anywhere else! (It's unedited right now, so my apologies for any typos etc.)

Excerpt from Wed to the Lich

“If you don’t want me to take you, May, you must leave now,” he said in that flat, expressionless voice.

I didn’t move.

Virgil’s Shadow expanded slowly, hovering behind his back like a dark storm cloud, and I released a shaky breath.

“And when you do,” he said quietly, “make sure not to run. If you run, I will catch you.”

I bit my lip, considering. Would it be better if he caught me? Would it be faster?

Maybe that would be easier. Just make it quick, done and over. And yet, I stayed put. Because I didn’t want it to be quick and frenzied. I wanted slow and sensuous, an act I could commit to memory.

I want him, I thought with wonder, a bubble rising in my chest. Not just so he’ll keep me. I truly want him.

“Please, May. You have to leave,” he said, his voice lowered by an octave, coming out dark and menacing as his Shadow poured out, snuffing out the light in most of the ballroom.

I watched it with wide eyes, suddenly afraid. I hadn’t known it was so big. So very dark. Crackling with something violent… Just like a storm cloud. What would happen when it seized me…?

“Last chance,” Virgil whispered, and I tore my eyes away from his Shadow to look at his face.

“I’m still here,” I whispered back.

So there you have it! The book comes out September 13 and is up for preorder on Amazon.

Free monster romance

And I also have a treat for you! Monster Romance Reads compiled a list of free books with around 80 titles to browse! Inside, you'll find books by Ava Ross, Lizzy Bequin, V.T. Bonds, and many other fabulous monster and alien romance authors. So definitely check it out and get your fill of monster freebies!

Get in the mood for spooky season!

And last but not least, here are two quick recs to get you in the mood for spooky season! First, I have to mention JACK and JACK 2. Each is the perfect read to go with your first PSL of the season, and if you don't know why... You're in for a treat! (Or a very traumatic experience. I'm sorry!) Anyway, if you don't mind some monster cream in your latte, definitely check out JACK 2 - it's a special Halloween anthology of my flavorful monster erotica, available on Kindle Unlimited like all my books. You can also get it as a paperback.

And if you're more into dark academia vibes, with a gothic magic academy, mysterious sculptures that come alive at the stroke of midnight, a magic library, an obsessed demon who shares his body with an ancient monster, and a woman who tries to assassinate them... Falling for Mr. Hyde is for you!

All right! Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a fabulous time in those final days of August. Gosh, I can't wait for September! I can already feel autumn in the air.

Stay spooky, my friend!

~Layla