Hello !

I attended a friend's 60th birthday party three weekends ago. Dozens and dozens of my village neighbors were there, including lots of people I recognize but don't know the names of.

One of those women approached me a couple of hours into the celebration, demanding I tell her which one of my books was written about the secret affair between two of our residents.

In all sincerity, I told her I didn't expose an affair in any of my books. She insisted I had. Nothing I said would convince her otherwise.

"I'll just wait until you're drunk to ask again," she said. Then she looked at the drink in my hand—a bottle of kombucha (it's not alcoholic, if you weren't aware)—grabbed it from me in disgust, and forced me to take her vodka cooler.

My guess is that she'd already had a few.

I managed to get my 'booch back and slide into another group conversation.

Fast forward one weekends later ... I was in my front yard with paperback copies of all my books laying on a blanket, having some photos taken for promos. Beth, one of our town's female firefighters, wandered over and picked up the copy of First In: Cheeky with the Fire Chief. She read the back cover blurb and dropped the book like it was on fire.

Bonnie, the young woman managing the photo shoot, is also a firefighter here in town (as I used to be) and told Beth (who'd joined after I retired) that she should read the book, that she'd love it. So Beth reluctantly took it home.

Last Sunday, I was at a brunch hosted by yet another firefighter. Beth was there, too. She told me she was having a really hard time reading First In since so many of the characteristics of the heroine and hero matched hers and the local firefighter she'd had a secret relationship with ... from his name to her occupation! And creating an even bigger "ook" factor is the fact that the hero's closest brother has the same name as Beth's ex-husband. 🫣

Mystery of the affair I'd exposed, solved!

Except that First In: Cheeky with the Fire Chief was written in 2019, three years before the real life, firefighter secret love story took place. Years before I'd even met Beth or her husband at the time. Though I did serve with a firefighter named Nick, like the hero in my story—but he was not in any way the inspiration for my career, city fireman. Honestly!

Everyone who attended that brunch now thinks I should write a book about a romance author who unwittingly creates relationships through the stories she writes.

I love the idea! And in the last week, as I walk around the village with the dogs, I'm pondering which of my neighbors should be intentionally written into a love story and who I'd pair them with!

If you're interested in the book that highlights my precognition abilities, and you have Kindle Unlimited, add First In: Cheeky with the Fire Chief to your Kindle today since it's coming out of KU on July 9.

If you buy your books anywhere but Amazon—great news since a few days later it will be available for Kobo, Nook, iBooks and maybe a few other ereaders.

And if you like paperbacks ... check out the fun covers I had done for this series. And the great price—just $12.99 USD for 325 pages of firefighter fun!

Already read First In?

No problem! Here's another small town romance by an author friend to make you shiver with delight.

That One Touch

A small town single dad romance by Carrie Elks

He’s a single dad. The father of her student. And the chemistry is off the charts…

After an accident ends her big city ballet career, Cassie Simons is ready for a brand new start, moving to a small town to help run her best friend’s dancing school.

From the moment she meets her new students she knows she’s made the right choice. The kids love her, she gets to spend lots of time with her bestie, and the flashbacks to her car crash are slowly starting to dissipate.

The only fly in the ointment is moody single dad, Pres Hartson.

From the moment they meet - when Pres is running late picking up his daughter from class - sparks fly between them.

It doesn’t matter that the man is all muscle and grit. Or that her heart skips a beat every time they bump into each other. He’s trouble with a capital ‘T’ and she’s had more than her fair share of that.

Since he lost his wife three years ago, Pres isn’t interested in women. And definitely not in his kid’s dance teacher, no matter how good she looks in a leotard.

All he wants is to raise his daughter in peace, to build up his construction business and to keep his matchmaking family off his back.

But then Cassie joins the band that Pres and his brother play in for kicks. And before long the two of them are making sweet music together.

He shouldn’t touch her, he knows that. She’s too young and innocent, and he’s way too broken to start a relationship.

The only problem is, he can’t stop himself…

Read That One Touch

Hope you have a gossip-free Sunday!

xo,

Danika