Double the 8 inch...snow cover...& peen

Happy Valentine’s Week, Strawberry fans!

  The farmer’s almanac predicted a wet and snowy winter for Kentucky and they hit the nail on the head. Just when the snow from January’s snowstorm melted, we got a forecast for round two. We’ve more than doubled our yearly average of 8 inches per year (ah hem, yeah, I’m chuckling like a middle schooler at that too.) Speaking of double the 8 inches, it’s release day for Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls. His oviposition pearls, double peen, and horror romance hit Kindle Unlimited this morning as the first book in the Time for Monsters historical, monster romance series.

Have you visited the Kentucky swamps of 1922? Before the horseracing plowed the forests and marshes into rolling hills of bluegrass, Kentucky contained more species of amphibians than anywhere else in North America (I learned this when tree frogs were infiltrating my bathrooms. Storms blew them from the treetops into my bathroom fans. They took refuge in my toilets and would jump when you sat down. A scary story in itself.) Guess why amphibious Cthulhu’s story turned into a horror romance? ARC readers call Clutching Cthulhu’s Pearls a “blend of history, horror, spice, and romance that you can’t put down, reminding me of the old-timey black-and-white horror movies.” Here’s where you can get your copy.

Find Clutching Cthulhu's Pearls Here!

Thank you to everyone who journeyed with the Chuchunya in Book 5: Forgiving My Chuchunya. I’m so grateful Gleb & Hannah’s romance touched your hearts. Many thought Hannah was a breath of fresh air after independent Sydney, fierce Patricika, and villainous Kaitlyn. If you loved Forgiving My Chuchunya, please give it your star rating—they boost books as much as a written review and I’d love to have Gleb & Hannah’s story sit with the first 4 books in the Amazon rankings. If you haven’t traveled with the youngest pair in the clan, you can read their story on Kindle Unlimited here.

Journey under the Tundra Here!

Are you set for Valentine’s Day? Mr. Barr and I have reservations at our favorite Italian restaurant, Ciao. Resisting the wine and gluten will be challenging, but love is not for the weak. Then we plan to head home for silent reading. It’s great to be married to a fellow bookworm…even if he reads YA sci-fi, Dr. Who, and comic books from the 1970s and hates books with spice. What will I be reading? I’m plowing through the monster romances from these book fairs.

Enter the Spicy Monster Book Fair Here!

Enter the Fuzzy Valentine Book Fair Here!

Have you fallen in love with Ray & Chloe, yet? This pair of cuties are the main characters in Spelunking for a Goblin Husband, joining the monster brides on 3/15/2025. I wrote this book in the weeks following my diagnosis of Hashimoto’s syndrome. What I thought was burn-out and exhaustion turned out to be dangerously high blood pressure due to a low-functioning thyroid. I love to say nobody can kick my ass but me, and this time I proved it. Now, my diet, exercise, and medication regimen are twice as rigid then in 2024. How did I cope with the change? Torturing these darlings. Chloe also has Hashimoto’s syndrome with one small complication….she’s survived an alien invasion and extermination of 90% of Earth. How will she get the human medicines she needs? Mammoth Caves in Kentucky where she’s a tour guide…kinda…it’s a long story…which you can preorder here.

Go Spelunking for a Goblin Husband Here!

OR you can read the unedited chapters and peep their NSFW artwork on my Patreon at the Strawberry Blossom tier NOW -

Become a Strawberry Bossom Here!

 Book Recs!

He calls me beautiful in his husky, damaged voice. Kind. A Naga Queen has never been called kind…

Find Your Copy on KU Here!

Freedom wears many faces.

Grab Your FR33 Copy Here!

I just love monster romances of all sorts. From fuzzy yeti to scaly nagas, I read them all. What about you? How daring are you willing to go within the pages? I’m asking because I have a great idea for a Monster Brides book…but our main character is…out there. She’s (yes another female monster) an alien spider lady. Are you in? Reply to this email with your thoughts on reading a spider lady romance. Are you turned off by female monsters, spiders, or sexy silver fox astronauts with a BDSM kink (spice level equivalent to Tied to Ms, Krampus, nothing too hardcore)? FOUR newsletter subscribers will receive an eBook copy of Hooking Captain Teeth as my thanks for sharing your opinions. While I write what I love, I want you to love the stories too.

Speaking of pushing the envelope and getting weird, my next newsletter will have a cover reveal for a secret project I’ve been working on with some new friends. If you’re a fan of Vivian Murdock, Ivy Penn, Raven B Stone, Leslie Ayla, or Whitney Edes, so am I. You know if I read their books, I’m going to try to write with them. We’ve teamed together with a few other authors to write an anthology you won’t want to miss. It’s so out there, I considered making a new pen name just for the project. I’m struggling not to tell you everything! Y’all know I’m terrible at keeping secrets and this juicy secret doesn’t release until 6/6/25. Okay, I give… here’s a hint…moo.

Blessed Be and Let Magic Find You,

Marilyn