Category Archives: Author Posts

Guest post by Nell Iris

I’m here today to talk about my new release, They Met in the Park. It’s the second of the Meet Cute Chronicles books, three completely standalone stories connected only by the meet-cute theme.

They Met in the Park is a story about forty-somethings Jacke and David who meet in the park when David is walking his elderly neighbor’s dog. It’s a quiet sort of romance about two men who thinks they’re not relationship material and have more or less resigned to being alone the rest of their lives.

I’m a big fan of the quiet romances; where the characters connect deeply and show their affection in the little things, and in a personal way. So less big bouquets of roses and boxes of fancy chocolates and more buying a hot chocolate in the drive-thru for your person when they got caught in the rain. Less elaborate dates and more walks in the park, talking. Less explosions of desire and more warm, steady touches. Those kinds of things make my stomach warm and melty and leave me with a dreamy smile on my face.

Jacke and David’s story is all about walks in the park, drive-thru hot chocolate, and warm, steady touches.

Continue reading Guest post by Nell Iris

Guest post by Holly Day

Chocolate, anyone? Did you know that the US population spent about 27.4 billion dollars leading up to Valentine’s last year — that’s about $196 per person, on Valentine crap! About $2.4 billion of that money were spent on candy. Candy!

It’s romantic, you might say. I’d disagree, but since I’m here today to tell you about a Valentine story I wrote, I probably shouldn’t say too many negative things about this holiday of *cough* love.

Do you love your partner? Do your partner love you? Do you need roses on the 14th of February to believe it? If you do, I’ll go out on a limb here and say that you’re in trouble. I’m not saying don’t buy your spouse flowers or a box of chocolate if that’s what you want to do.

My husband buys me sharpies on an ordinary Tuesday if he happens to walk past a package with some colours he thinks I’ll like. It means a lot more than a heart-shaped box of chocolate ever will.

For $196 you can buy 288 sharpies or 128.5 pounds of basmati rice if you’d rather feed your family than fill your desk with sharpies. If you were to give your spouse a kiss and DIY a card on the 14th instead of buying anything, you’d be able to put those $196 into an index fund. Say you had a 7% interest and left it there for 20 years. Then you could buy your partner roses for $791.59 in 2041. Cool, ey? Say you’d skip all the Valentine gifts for those 20 years, and put in $196 every year. In 2041 you could take it all out and buy chocolate for $8,839.01.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to turn this into a personal finance lecture LOL. On to the story. It’s Valentine! Elian Hubert teaches history of literature at the university, and Dimitri Petrov got his lower leg blown off by a landmine four years ago while serving in Afghanistan. Since then he suffers from PTSD and doesn’t do well in crowds.

Neither Elian nor Dimitri want to celebrate Valentine, and yet …

Continue reading Guest post by Holly Day

Guest post by Ofelia Gränd

Book 2 is here!

Back in November, I was here and talked about Soul Eater. A story about a werewolf who’d been turned into a ghost and the wizard who brought him back to the land of the living.

Mind Scrambler is the second story taking place in Rockshade’s Paranormal Investigations Department. It’s about Captain Kol Jaecar, who we got to know a little in Soul Eater, and Elijah Long. Elora Long works in the department, and Elijah is her brother.

Since everyone got their vacation time cancelled in Soul Eater, we start the story with most of the detectives working in Rockshade’s PID being off work.

When Elora can’t get hold of Eli, she asks Jaecar to help her find him.

Together, they search for Eli, and Jaecar doesn’t know why, but he has this clawing need to find him.

Jaecar never believed he’d find his mate, and it isn’t until he’s within touching distance he realises what Elijah is to him. The only problem is that instead of throwing himself in Jaecar’s arms, Eli flinches away and avoids his touch. He doesn’t want to be in the same room as Jaecar, and he refuses to believe they’re meant for each other.

Elijah being an empath and getting overwhelmed as soon as he’s around people doesn’t help the situation.

We have bad guys, abductions, and growling mates!

Continue reading Guest post by Ofelia Gränd

Guest post by Nell Iris

Like Adrian in They Met in the Library, I’ve always loved libraries. A huge place full of books you can borrow and read for free, what’s not to like? I like the quiet, the relaxed atmosphere, and the special scent a room full of books give off.

The library where Adrian works is modeled on a library in my old hometown, a place I used to visit a lot, especially when I was a kid but up in my adult years, too. But when I moved to Malaysia, I didn’t go there for years. Until last year when we went back to the tiny town because my husband had a meeting, and I decided to go wait for him in the library.

The first thing that hit me when I entered was the scent. I recognized it in my bones and was instantly comforted by it. That familiarity paled a bit when I realized they’d rearranged since I was there last. I wandered to the poetry shelf … or at least where the poetry shelf used to be and was met with ALL THE DVDs. That made me a bit disgruntled.

My dream is to one day have my own library. A room with floor-to-ceiling shelves, stuffed full of poetry books, my favorite M/M Romance books, lots of Shakespeare and Jane Austen, and anything else that tickles my fancy. It’s going to be complete with a big, comfy armchair, a small table where I can put my tea (or wine) while reading, and if I’m really lucky, a fireplace. And hopefully, the scent of that room will one day be as deeply ingrained in my bones as the scent of my childhood library.

But until that dream comes true, I just store my books wherever I can fit them, just like Adrian. I haven’t resorted to the fridge yet, though 😊

BLURB:
Adrian, book-lover extraordinaire, adores his job at the small community library. He gets to share his passion with other people and help them with all book-related questions and issues. When a big, hulking man walks into the library, looking terrified, Adrian’s skills are tested in a completely different way.

Manne’s relationship with books is uneasy, to say the least. He’s dyslexic and events in his past have made him fearful of books and turned libraries into his worst nightmare. But when the quirky, bowtie-wearing librarian steps in to help, the experience turns positive.

Their banter is easy and their chemistry instant. But can an accidental meeting turn into something more? Can someone who has trouble reading ever fit into the life of a man whose passion is the written word?

START READING TODAY!

Download the ebook today!

Guest post by Holly Day

Hello, everyone! My name is Holly Day, and I thought I’d drop by and tell you a little about my new story Hop Hop, Carrot Top.

Did you know January 12th is Kiss a Ginger Day? It’s been celebrated since 2009 and was created as a reaction to Kick a Ginger Day that came to be in 2008. Kick a Ginger Day led to students being harassed in schools, and at one point there was a Facebook page dedicated to the day — it’s not around anymore.

To make sure I wasn’t lying to you, I went on Facebook and checked. I did not find a Kick a Ginger page, but I found a Jump on a Ginger page. They encourage ginger-making since only 2% of the world’s population has red hair. I think we’re getting off-topic.

Kiss a Ginger Day celebrates redheads, and I’m all for celebrating things. Since, like in the Kick a Ginger example above, gingers often are bullied and made fun of, Kiss a Ginger Day is all about spreading peace and love to gingers.

Show the redheads around you some appreciation — you don’t have to kiss them. These days, I’d strongly advise against it, but you can do something nice for them. If you know any. I’m blessed with having gingers around me, but if you don’t, you can always write a story *wink*

Hop Hop, Carrot Top is about Flynn Thomas who left his hometown twenty years ago and swore to never set foot there again. Six months ago, his mother passed away, and he is back to clear out her house. His plan is to work around the clock to empty the house before anyone realises he’s there.

Things don’t always go as planned, though.

Caspian Cook loved watching Flynn when they were in school. It’s the hair, and the freckles, and the way he moved his hands. He always wondered if the freckles continued from his face and down underneath his shirt. It’s been twenty years, but as soon as he sees Flynn, he realises his desire to watch him hasn’t lessened.

Continue reading Guest post by Holly Day