Hello !

I hope this long weekend (in Canada and the USA, at least) is giving you some extra time to enjoy the things and people you love most. Darling Husband is out in the yard, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and staying out of my hair!

Thanks to everyone who wrote back last week sharing your feelings about that article I mentioned that suggested romance readers are not critical thinkers when it comes to love and sex.

As I expected, every single person who wrote me back used words like 'hogwash'—some a little more colorful than that! Your stories about how reading romance has actually helped you in life and / or your relationships was heartwarming.

Writing romance improved my marriage

As an author, creating stories has a direct impact on my life and relationships because I need to be in a certain frame-of-mind to write.

Before I wrote my first romance novel in 2019, I wrote dark humor, women's fiction with romantic elements. Only one of the manuscripts I wrote was ever published—the others hit walls that I couldn't push past.

I tried. In fact, my last effort almost ruined my marriage since I had this ridiculous idea that to give my story to the emotional depth I was struggling to achieve, I had to be experiencing the angst my heroine was in—like a character actor in writer form!

I wish I was joking. Writer's block used to make me doing crazy things like pick fights with the man who chose to live with my personality quirks and unreliable income and mediocre cooking skills and on-again/off-again libido!

Making the decision to write romance has been nothing but good for my marriage. I still draw on my own experiences and emotions when I write, but since my stories all have a guaranteed happily ever after, when I'm plumbing my depths for the hard times, I now hold the hand of the happy resolution.

Speaking of happy resolutions...

Some of my friends have contributed to anthologies with all the proceeds being donated to charities. You get over a dozen happily ever afters for $0.99 in each of these collections. They're all available across many platforms, so if Amazon is not your fave place to buy your books, these should have you covered.

The link above takes you to a collection that includes even more books for $0.99—including my own, Mind Over Splatter and several of the sister novellas in the Love at First Kiss collection. If you haven't had a look yet, they're all quick reads—90-minutes to two hours, according to Amazon.

New from Carly Spade!

Elani Stewart hasn't believed in "true love" or fairy tale endings since her parents' divorce.

It's one of the reasons she developed her dating service "E-romantic," a scientific algorithm-based process that matches one person to their most compatible partners.

When clients start dropping like flies, claiming that a bartender at The Arrow led them to the "love of their lives", she decides to take matters into her own hands or risk being client-less.

Little does she know she's up against the god of love and passion himself. If she can open herself to the possibilities and listen to destiny's call she may learn to trust in love again and "soar" to new heights. Buy EROS on Amazon today!

Some free books for you...

Jade Parrish is tired of having her personal items disappear from her gym locker, and having her favorite bottle of nail polish stolen is the last straw. It would have been nice if the detective taking her report had taken her dilemma seriously. Watching him drive off, she knows she'll never see him again.

Download HER MR. WRIGHT, a quick-read novella for free!

Prince

My dad thinks I'm a screwup. No matter what I do, I can't seem to change his opinion of me. It doesn't seem to matter how high I climb in the IT and AI world. He only ever sees my mistakes. I'll never stop trying to prove him wrong. He thinks I'm a spoiled jerk, and hell, maybe he's right? All he cares about is getting me married and out of his hair.

Download PRINCE, book 1 of A Million Dollar Lover Romance series for free.

If you love stories set in small towns, click the picture above to find free books and samples. It's a great way to try out new authors.

Last days to get Rhodes to Love for just $0.99

I am so excited that Rhodes to Love will be downloading to e-readers in just 5 days! I love these characters so much. Adam is a single dad who became the guardian of his best friends' 2-year-old daughter, Olivia, when they died in a snowboarding stunt that he was in. After three years, Olivia's aunt pops into the picture demanding custody of the little girl Adam has grown to love as his own.

Since I write romantic comedy, this single dad's solution is a fake relationship—and all the fun messes that creates when he marries a family friend who already has a close relationship with Olivia.

If you've not yet read any of my books, you can start with Rhodes to Love. And if you have read some or all of the love stories in The Mixed Six-Pack, you'll be happy to know the three brothers who've already found their happily ever afters are here to support their eldest brother find his.

Final words... focus on breathing in love...

Darling Husband finished his yard work while I was working on this message to you. He wandered into my office with a big bag of almonds I just bought for him. He asked me for tape to close the bag. It would have been a moment in my pre-romance-writing days that would have triggered some serious snark from me.

Why? Because he cut the resealable bag below the ziplock line so it can't be resealed.

This is a man who has a masters degree and almost thirty years of work experience as federal litigation manager... he's smart. But not clever enough to cut a bag of nuts on the proper side of the sealing zipper? Lord help me...

love&nuttystuff,

Danika

xo

PS—Please, help me stay sane. Tell me one thing your significant other (human or pet) does that defies logic and makes you wonder how they can both have your heart and explode your blood pressure.

Of course, your story may find its way into one of HEAs as a character trait my imperfect hero must overcome to win the heart of his heroine!