Hey !

It's official! Three of my titles are getting produced into professional audiobooks by Tantor, an amazing audio publisher! We're still in the early stages of production, but the contracts are signed, so I can finally say with certainty - THIS IS HAPPENING!

I'm ridiculously happy because I love audiobooks, and hearing a narrator's interpretation of a character always gives that character an additional dimension and one more reason to fall in love with them.

Here are the three titles that will be available in audio (probably later this year): Wed to the Ice Giant, Wed to the Orc, and Wed to the Lich!

Yup. Virgil's voice on audio. I can't wait to hear how the narrator pulls it off, because I wrote Virgil as inflectionless and unable to convey conversational cues. It's a challenging character to portray!

To celebrate, here is some artwork of Virgil and May 😍

Publishing Plans for 2024

And here is some inside scoop on what books of mine will come out this year! One is already out and getting staunch fans. Judging by the reviews and reader messages, this is my most reread book ever, and it makes me so happy! I know I did a good job if a reader feels compelled to reread a book right after finishing it.

(I had that experience with some Lily Mayne titles and a god-tier Dramione fanfiction. It's the highest praise!)

The book I'm talking about is, of course, Guarded by the Snake. It's available in KU, and yes, the MMC is a snake-type creature (kind of like a naga, only more monstrous) but I promise you, he's a HOT snake 👀

Next in my publishing schedule is Wed to the Basilisk, my final Arranged Monster Mates title. I'm writing it right now and having the time of my life. Voss, the MMC, is slowly going rabid from loneliness and rage. The only thing that can save him is finding a mate, but he doesn't believe a human can awaken his mating instincts. He's in for a surprise 👀 And also for some rage killing right at the start, when the heroine's abusive ex shows up. (Not a spoiler, it's all in the blurb.)

The contrast between Voss's lethal rage directed at anyone who even dares to look at his bride, and the sweet way he treats her is my favorite dichotomy ever.

Here is the cover! It comes out on April 24 and is available to preorder. It will also be in KU.

My next book after this will come out in June - on summer solstice! It's fitting, since the bulk of the starting action happens on the Slavic Kupala night, which is a summer solstice (or thereabouts) celebration.

It's Devil's Deal, book one in the Jaga and the Devil series. (I want to say duology, but now that I started writing it, I'm not so sure. We'll see how the story develops for me. I'm a discovery writer, so I only find out what happens when I write it.)

It's a dark fantasy romance between a witch and the devil.

Then in July, another round of Monster Security Agency books will come out! Cassie Alexander, Cara Wylde, and I will bring you a kraken, a leshy, and a vodnik, all bodyguards, all monstrous. My book is called Guarded by the Vodnik. Here is the cover.

We've planned one more round of our monster bodyguard books for this year, and the only thing I can tell you is that they will come out in the spooky season and will be very appropriate for that time of year - perfect Halloween reads with action, spice, protective monsters, and spooky vibes!

The preorders will most likely be up in June. I'll let you know.

As for my other plans, they are tentative for now. I want to write two more books this year, and one is the second part of the Jaga and the Devil series (which I hope will come out on winter solstice, because I love symmetry).

The other book I'm hoping to write already has a gorgeous cover, but I can't show you yet! I don't want to push myself into a corner and raise your expectations since I'm not sure I'll be able to complete it this year. My schedule is already tight with many long titles, some of them very complex. Gone is my novella era. I'm officially in my long novel era, and loving it!

BUT. This book will be huge and something a lot of people hoped and asked for, and it's coming - just maybe not this year. It might have something to do with our favorite shadow daddy skull boy ^^

Since you lasted until the end...

Let me reward you with a short teaser for Wed to the Basilisk! It takes place on the first night our heroine spends in her monster husband's home. I wrote this scene yesterday, and I love it.

Here comes:

“That’s right,” I mouthed, creeping closer. “Stay asleep.”

I didn’t even want to ponder why he decided to make my bedroom’s doorstep his bed. All I wanted was to be back in my circular nest, a locked door between us.

“Almost there,” I whispered, getting ready to step over.

It happened in a flash. I was about to raise my dress when I realized the corridor was dead quiet, the sound of Voss’s steady breathing gone. Next thing I knew, the hem of my dress was in his hand. He pulled it roughly, making me stumble, and I gasped from terror.

He pressed my dress to his nose with an audible sniff. I stood there, paralyzed, my heart hammering with fear, when Voss finally let go. His eyes were still closed. I braced myself, determined to jump over him and slam the door shut, when his claws curled around my ankle.

“My mate,” he muttered, slurring like he was still asleep.

And then he pulled me closer until I fell on top of him with a mild shout. His arms closed around me, warm and strong, and he buried his scaly face in my neck.

“Stay with me.”

Thank you for being a part of my newsletter family, ! I'll have something for you next week, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely time this first week of spring!

Stay safe and horny,

Layla