Ginger Snapping All the Way is live! Grab a ginger lumberjack Scrooge for yourself!
Nov 16, 2021 6:01 pm
Greetings from waterlogged Abbotsford, British Columbia
I’m settling into my new home. The recent move wasn’t a vast distance, but I’ve moved into my forever home and that’s overwhelming. (see picture of my accent wall below)
Ally the 6-year-old ChinPoo, Bella the cantankerous 18-year-old Himi, and I are learning our way around our new environs.
And…I have a new release! Ginger Snapping All the Way is my first full-length gay romance. Reviews are coming in with several comments about Princess Sofia. Can I share a secret with you? I didn’t initially plan to have a dog in the book at all. Maddox is a ginger lumberjack Scrooge. Loathes Christmas. Avoids human interaction. Wants to be left alone. So what’s the worse thing I can do to him? Force him to take in a way ward straggler just days before Christmas during an epic snowstorm. And to make things worse, the guy he takes in has to be sunshine personified. A happy man who also has hidden depths. I do like to give my characters deep emotional wounds.
Perfect, right? Just the right amount of angst. Nice solid story. Except Maddox was too grumpy. I needed to soften him. Make him more likeable. Enter…Princess Sofia. A little white dog with an adorable black nose, named by Maddox’s twin nieces. Maddox might be a bear with a sore paw around people, but he’s mush around his baby.
Writing Sofia was easy. I turned to my little one, catalogued all her foibles and funny anecdotes, and wrote a dog I hoped readers would love.
And because I want to share this book so much, I’m launching the book at the promo price of 99 cents and have made it available on all platforms.
Finally, and I still can’t believe I did this, I managed to get the audio done at the same time. Michael Dean’s performance is wonderful, and I’m hoping listeners will enjoy the book as much as I do.
Maddox
I’m not a fan of Christmas. I’m happy to stay up in my mountain cabin and let the silly season pass me by. But when a friend asks for a favor, I can’t say no. Now I’m stuck in my cabin during a snowstorm, trapped with the most beautiful man I’ve ever met—who can’t wait to get away. He just might break my heart when he goes.
Ravi
I’m racing to get home for the birth of my goddaughter when mechanical troubles force my plane’s emergency landing. There are no beds at the inn due to a horrendous storm, but a friend says she knows a guy who won’t mind putting me up until the bad weather passes. Now I’m trapped with that man, and I must decide if I stay, hiding from the rest of the world, or go and face my past to earn a shot at my happily ever after.
This is a 72k word, hurt/comfort, lumberjack/nurse, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity MM romance novel with a moderate amount of angst.
Buy it now!
And now my super secret news: in Ginger, Maddox has an ex who is an asshat. I wrote him as a throwaway character. Those of you who know me, know that I need to be careful with my secondary and throwaway characters. Recently I had the opportunity to join a charity anthology. What did I do? Jump in with both feet and write Stanley's story. The story takes place two Christmases after Ginger and reading that book isn't necessary. I wanted to give Stan a redemptive arc so readers could discover more about him.
Stanley's Christmas Redemption is a novella in the Secret Santa Collection that releases December 14th with net proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House. More good news? Over 70 authors have thrown stories in and several are LGBTQ. The stories span heat levels and subgenres. The best news? The great anthology is just 99 cents!
Stanley
I have life figured out—a good job, a nice car, and an ex-boyfriend whose heart I broke. But then my younger half-brother dies unexpectedly, and I go back to our hometown to settle his affairs. A quick trip before Christmas. Instead, I get the shock of my life. Do I face this new challenge or do what I’ve always done and run? Or will I stay and get to know the most amazing man I’ve ever met and take on a responsibility I've never dreamed of facing? This is likely to be a holiday season like no other.
Justin
I’m a therapist who helps people deal with grief. My life is fulfilling. So what if I’ve been single for years? I have the kids I counsel and co-workers I adore. Maybe I’m tired of going home to an empty house and not looking forward to another Christmas alone. But I’m not going to be taken in by some slick city guy who can’t wait to leave town. I’m not going to upend my life just because I’ve met the man of my dreams. Right?
Love vampires? I have to share Kayleigh Sky's book A Vampire's Heart!
Love hungers…
Otto Jones, a cop assigned to the seemingly random murder of a vampire, would rather hide out in the nearest bar than waste his time on a dead vamp. He hates the bloodthirsty demons. But when the king of the vampires commands him to work with one of the lesser princes and find the killer, he has no choice.
Prince Jessamine Senera is ready to sacrifice his happiness in a loveless marriage for his family’s benefit… but not yet. He dreams of adventure, excitement, and true love. He lives on romance novels and detective stories and wishes he could drink synthetic blood like every other vampire. But he can’t. He needs human blood to survive and is hated by vampires and humans alike.
As Otto and Jessa draw closer to an entity that doesn’t want to be discovered, Otto finds the heart he thought long dead opening to the romance-loving Jessa. No good can possibly come from falling in love with a vampire, but when a mysterious assailant attacks Jessa, Otto will descend into the darkest pit of the earth to rescue him.
Here's an excerpt:
Otto finished his drink and ordered another. He was halfway through when she arrived with a handful of vampires in tow. Tall, in thigh-high boots with needle-thin heels that had to be six inches. All around her, heads turned. She wore black leather shorts and a filmy red blouse over a black camisole. Her dark hair fell in a single long braid over her shoulder. As she strode onto the dance floor, dancers reached to touch her arms and shoulders. Fleeting touches. She grinned in response, flashing a dimple in her cheek. The vampires who accompanied her stayed close. She pulled one of them near her and laid both arms across his shoulders.
Otto froze with his glass halfway to his lips, his gaze on the guy dancing with her.
Not a vampire. His hair was too light and not a wisp of menace wafted off him. A human.
Otto drank, a long swallow that burned his throat.
The guy swayed with his boots stuck to the floor. They were mid calf over skin-tight leather. His shirt was a plain pinstriped button-down that looked bizarrely sexy over the leather. But the guy danced for shit. The princess slapped him on the shoulder. His long hair, tied back by a few braids, was a mix of indeterminate color in the red light.
Otto finished his drink.
Another song began, and the human loosened up. He still wasn’t any good, but he made a couple moves that were limber as fuck. Otto grimaced at the images that sprang into his head. How bendy was this guy?
“Another?”
He turned to the bartender, who gestured to his empty glass. Otto pointed toward the dance floor. “Who is that?”
“The princess.”
“The guy with her.”
The vampire shrugged. “Never seen him before.”
Otto slapped two twenties on the bar. “Find out.”
The vampire shrugged but pocketed Otto’s money. A minute later he set a new drink down. Otto picked it up.
Now the guy was dancing with one of the vampires who’d accompanied the princess. He didn’t dance any better, and they were both laughing. The princess approached the bar. She was several yards away, and Otto froze when she turned her head and stared at him. The moment didn’t last long before she looked away again. Beautiful but ferocious. Otto preferred soft. Malleable.
Bendy.
He gazed back at the dance floor but lost sight of the human. The princess disappeared too. He sipped his drink, watching the band set up.
It wasn’t until the band started playing that he spotted them again, this time the whole entourage, sitting around a table in one of the booths. It wasn’t long until the princess met Otto’s stare again, this time with a slight smile and a tip of her head. Otto returned her smile with a grin. She laughed, and the guy beside her leaned in. She said something to him, and he looked at Otto. Even from across the room, the dazed look on his face was apparent. It was a fairly average face with a thin nose and—
Otto frowned.
Familiar.
“Hey.” Otto turned, and the bartender swapped his drink for a fresh one and said, “That’s the second prince. Jessamine.”
Jessamine.
That’s who it had been. The one in the field. Otto focused on him again. The princess was leaning in close, speaking into her brother’s ear. He nodded and she pushed him. Now he stood, and two of the vampires rose and followed him. He approached the bar not far from Otto, darting quick glances his way. Otto stared back, watching the color rise in the prince’s cheeks. A crossling.
Otto had heard of another prince but had thought he was disabled and housebound. This guy looked like touching his toes bending backwards was child’s play.
Otto took a swallow of his drink.
Fun to see.
Not that this guy did it for Otto. He didn’t tick off any boxes. But he was shy looking and that always set off Otto’s hero complex. He got another glimpse through the braids that had come loose from the guy’s tie.
Disabled how? Mentally, maybe? Was he a serial killer who now and again escaped the castle?
The eye peering between the braids flittered away again.
One of the vamps with the prince bent down and straightened a moment later, scowling at Otto. He skulked down the length of the counter and loomed over Otto on his stool. Flashes of red from the lights pooled in his black eyes. The creature’s scowl cut lines in his face.
“The prince wants a dance.”
And the promised picture of my accent wall in my new home!
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