Tag: book news

Fantasy Time: What does your dream home and dream neighbor look like?

Fantasy Time: What does your dream home and dream neighbor look like?

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Let’s play a game. Let your imagination run wild when thinking about this question.

What’s your dream home and who’s your dream neighbor?

In this scenario you’re free to live anywhere and have any kind of home your heart desires. And when you move into your ideal neighborhood, who would you be super happy to see living across the street?

(I wanna make some joke about the eye candy adding curb appeal but I don’t have it.)

Are you picturing a log cabin in the mountains with a sexy lumberjack? Or a palatial estate with an infinity pool, acres upon acres of land, and a classically handsome hottie with a square jaw grinning at you from his sports car?

Admittedly my head started somewhere around the latter but then I realized I’m a whimsical romantic sort. Cute, cozy, and a little quirky is much more my speed. So I started searching for fairytale-esque cottages.

The house is in Carmel-by-the-Sea California. Awesome name, and you don’t even have to ask if it’s near the sea because it’s right there in the title. The town apparently attracts artists and oddballs that want the area to retain its eccentric charm, so I’m guessing there’s no Chipotle nearby but otherwise looks like a nice place to live.

And since this is a fantasy I don’t have to ask myself who would water those plants and why I thought I could handle the responsibility of keeping them alive.

My ideal neighbor was a bit of a challenge because I wanted someone super good looking who also might be able to walk into a small cottage without bumping his head.

I went with Freddie Stroma from Bridgerton, though I recently watched him on Unreal where sometimes he looks nice and conventionally attractive and other times he grows a beard or gets this steely look in eye and goes from cute to dirty hot in a very appealing way.

The inspiration for today’s hypothetical question came to me based on my newest novel.

The book is a paranormal romance, so I suppose the scenario actually goes like this: What if your new home came with everything you desired, including a sexy new neighbor? What if your new neighbor was also a werewolf?

The Werewolf’s Heart is my new book that launches on May 9th. There’s a lot more to share with you soon, including the cover and special release day bonuses.

(No idea if this needs to be said, but in case you’re wondering, the book is of course M/M.)

New book! Hooray!

New book! Hooray!

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Happy book release day! This is in no way a national holiday, but my book Falling in Love and Other Bad Ideas is out now.

Sometimes bad ideas are the hardest ones to resist…
Zach Ahmad is more used to fooling around than falling in love. In fact, the bi baseball player’s fondness for having a good time earns him many parental lectures from his disapproving father. But Zach isn’t expecting anything to change during his senior year, until he literally falls into the arms of the new boy at school.

When the new guy isn’t impressed by his charms, Zach can’t help but be intrigued by the dog-lover and do-gooder. Even if his meddling friends are trying to turn his life into a romcom. Just when Zach is ready to take a chance on something real, a curveball from his dad puts his whole future in jeopardy. Can Zach face his biggest challenge ever and still fall in love, or will he fall flat?

Falling in Love and Other Bad Ideas is an LGBT romance about what happens when a guy who never falls in love finds himself in a romantic comedy filled with meet cutes, matchmaking friends, and supposedly adorable canines. While characters in this story appear in the One More Thing universe, this standalone Zach novel can be read separately from the other books.

That’s the official stuff, but I wanted to say a little more about the book.

Inspiration: Zach is the kind of character who takes over. At least, he is for me. When writing this series, I would look back over a scene he’s in and remind myself the book wasn’t about him. Which meant naturally I needed to make a novel about him.

Our common traits: Sometimes I use a specific trait or event from my life, but I usually do more an inspired by true events thing than an accurate recounting. Zach and I sort of have lots in common in that we’re not-white bi people who avoid serious situations, and we don’t believe in the religions we were born into. However, we’re only share those traits in broad strokes, the more specific one goes, the more different we become. The part where I did draw inspiration from my own life is in how Zach’s parents don’t address him being bi.

Differences: Zach is confident in a way few people, including myself, are. His ego is both his biggest strength and weakness. And when focusing a book on him, it’s a great place to start as we test his confidence and see what’s under his bravado.

And now the story of this story

And now the story of this story

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Because I am incapable of on topicing, first I have to say that the title I made up sounds like something Perd Hapley would say. He’s the painfully literal over-explainer and reporter from Parks and Rec for those who aren’t as Perd obsessed. Actually, maybe the title is an actual quote from him? Well, either way, totally intention on my part.

(The only way to improve on the perfection of Perd, in my opinion, is to know his actor is also a reporter in real life and he only plays reporters.)

perdreddit
pic from reddit

The Story’s Origin Story

Fun fact, or at least one of those things, when I wrote One Little Word, I had no idea what I was doing. It was my first ever YA gay romance and the plot contained such depth and complexity. Just kidding, the original idea was this: so there’s this nerd. And then there’s a jock. And they aren’t friends but then they have to date for reasons.

How did I come up with something so original? Easy, I didn’t try to be unique! I wanted to use popular tropes. Plus, I was also counting on my complete inability to ever keep things simple to ensure the end result would be both familiar and unique.

wordswag_1536273600267
Needed a picture, so here’s one with a quote from the book.

Writing this, it sounds like I had a plan with this novel. When I wrote it, again, I had no idea what I was doing. Whether I’ve learned anything since then, who knows, but now I more confidently fumble my way along.

These observations brought to you by my attempts to make a print version of the ebook.

Extreme Makeover Book Edition

Someday I would love for all my books to have print and audio versions. Though, it’s hard to say when that mythical day will arrive. My current print efforts are being done with all the speed of an old, doomed gazelle at a watering hole.

wordswag_1536266444878
Another quote

The cool part is that the ebook is getting an update. New cover, expanded scenes, theoretically more editing. Which means, when One Little Word goes on sale, that’s a perfect opportunity to get the new edition, become acquainted with the series, or even leave a review. I’m saying all this as if it’s totally just occurring to me and not something planned at all.

The One Little Word sale is from, oh my god, I literally just looked it up, how do I not remember again? Okay, the sale is from Feb 16-23. The book will be 99 cents the whole time. Yay!

Also, if you have Kindle Unlimited, anytime before April is a good to check out the book. Or any of the books I’ve written. Since they are leaving the KU library. I have as much idea as you whether this will be a permanent change or not, which means I have no idea. Unless you have an idea, then you know more than me, so let me know? That would be kind.

The End

And now, I’m going to start as I began, with gratuitous Perd Hapley.