Tag: gay romance novels

Wolfy quote

Wolfy quote

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A laser-focused detective is hot on the trail of whoever snatched missing werewolves when he meets a sweet, optimistic young man who suddenly makes him question his all work and no play lifestyle in The Werewolf’s Heart. To celebrate the upcoming release of my new M/M paranormal romance on May 9, here’s a quote from the novel.

Wolves rarely cut and ran. It looked bad on them and their families to abandon the pack. Not to mention the emotional toll of leaving loved ones and their alpha without so much as a goodbye.

Wolves didn’t flee, not without a damn good reason. Or because they weren’t given a choice.

The Werewolf’s Novel

The Werewolf’s Novel

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I’m not sure why I always think I need the perfect opening line to talk about a new book, but whatever the perfect way to begin is, I haven’t found it. So let’s just dive right into discussing my M/M paranormal romance The Werewolf’s Heart.

In celebration of the book coming out on May 9, I’m going to post a quote and excerpt from the novel, but I’m not sure I’ve shared the cover and description yet, so that’s what is happening first.

Aaron Honeywell’s new house is a fixer upper, but his love life feels broken beyond repair. Fortunately, this fresh start is his chance to find the right man to help turn his house into a home. His sexy new neighbor Meritt seems like just such a guy until he saves Aaron from a handsy stranger, revealing that he’s more than man—he’s a werewolf.

Meritt Slate has worked some challenging cases before, but this is a whole other level of difficult. The detective is stuck undercover in suburbia to lure out whoever’s abducting werewolves. And his alluring neighbor is quite the distraction. Fighting his desires and doing his job has never been a problem before, but it’s possible he’s finally found someone worth settling down for.

But the dangers lurking outside their cozy street are getting closer to home. And when the supernatural world comes knocking on Aaron’s door, a werewolf protector may not be enough to save him. Can the werewolf protect his heart, or will evil forces break it first?

In this scene, Meritt the supernatural detective talks about the challenges with his latest case.

This assignment was full of challenges. Like me going undercover as a suburban homeowner. My interests included grisly murders, supernatural victims or suspects, and bringing killers to justice.

Now? I needed to blend in. Live a normal life. Whatever the hell that meant. Ugh, days, maybe weeks or more, full of… Being friendly. Polite chitchat at mailboxes. Socializing. Maybe going on a few dates. What regular people did. Even when they were werewolves , according to my annoying younger siblings.

Honestly? Pretending to be a regular werewolf living on the down-low among humans? Kinda sounded like torture.

Then I met him.

Aaron Honeywell—seriously with that last name?—was tempting. Too tempting…

Vitality

Vitality

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Hello, I wish to talk about my Kindle Vella novel, Invisi-bi-lity, but I’m not sure what to say. I had one image quote and post to make without having a plan for the content. This is always a dangerous situation, so let’s start with the easy stuff.

Description: John Hyde often feels overlooked. Even his best friend Cody doesn’t truly see him or that his feelings have changed from friendly to romantic. So he’s wondered before if anyone would notice if he disappeared, but he never thought he’d find out until he literally turns invisible. Is this the world’s worst superpower, a hex from a vengeful witch, or has bisexual erasure taken on new meaning? Whatever’s going on, if John can’t make himself seen soon he’ll vanish forever.

Hooray, I have now thought of either a terrible or perfect segue for the scene I’m sharing: in my novel, Cody and John go together like five ‘i’s in ‘invisibility.’ It’s vital! Yes, I admit this metaphor isn’t very catchy. (If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, check out this post about my titling woes for Invisi-bi-lity.)

In this scene, Cody tells John about his vitalness to Cody’s life. John is freaking out because he’s invisible for some reason?

~

I’d give anything to throw open the door and reassure Cody, but what will he find waiting on the other side? I’m afraid to look in the mirror again. There’s no way I’m invisible and yet… Whatever’s happening, I’m starting to believe the impossible. It’s terrifying.

 “What’s going on?” Cody asks quietly.

“Do you ever feel like you don’t exist? Do you worry nobody would notice if you were gone?”

“I’d notice,” he answers fiercely and immediately. “I would notice and I’m so glad you’re here. Don’t ever think of going anywhere.”

“I won’t,” I prom—say, because unfortunately, that might not be a promise I can keep right now.

“Besides,” Cody says. “How can I be myself without you in my life?”

Rising up with shaky legs, my head peeks over the bathroom counter—oh thank god. There I am.

After opening the door, I’m not sure who moves into who, but we wrap our arms around each other and don’t move for a long time. Things seem normal again. Normal enough. Feeling his burgundy wool sweater between my fingers makes me hold on tighter. In Cody’s arms, everything will be okay.

-Read more here!

Relationship Expert

Relationship Expert

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Ryan Miller may be a science genius, but his relationship skills are put to the test when his boyfriend struggles to ditch his beard and come out of the closet in the coming of age love story One Little Lie. In this scene, Ryan uses his questionable expertise to figure out whether he’s about to go on his first double date. He is contractually obligated to freak out for all big moments like this. The contract is his life.

~

Ryan

“Why aren’t you more worked up? This is our first double date.”

The words first and date so close together made my heart speed up in anxiety. Ryan’s didn’t do well under pressure. Hey, wait. I pointed a finger at Luke. “I see what you’re doing.”

Instead of giving me his clueless, earnest gaze, he smirked. My boyfriend was secretly evil! I’d be upset about it, but it was a little hot.

“Is it working?” he asked hopefully.

“Why do you want me to be a nervous wreck like you?” I asked with a pout.

His smirk only intensified. “You’re fun when you’re a nervous wreck.”

“It’s not going to work,” I said haughtily. I did the teasing to Luke. It didn’t work the other way around!

Evil boyfriend continued to smirk. Had we ever been on a double date before? Oh, mother fu-

Wait! “No, we went to dinner with the girls earlier,” I realized triumphantly. I already defeated my first double date. Or a word less combative.

He frowned for a moment, then shook his head. “No, that doesn’t count.”

“You can’t decide that,” I decided. “Who made you the decider of all things?”

Relationships weren’t dictatorships! They were about give and take. God, I was one of those people who acted like an expert anytime I was in a serious relationship. I hated those people. Except when those people were me. Maybe I really was an expert.

Wait, I totally wouldn’t mind if we had a dick-tatorship…

-This is from One Little Lie, the second sweet and snarky M/M romance in the One More Thing series of contemporary YA novels. Grab the book here as part of the One Crazy Love Story box set, which features the first four books in the One More Thing Series.

Paranormal Romance Book Review: Treasured by Cari Z

Paranormal Romance Book Review: Treasured by Cari Z

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Quick Summary: Getting picked up by a rich, sexy British stranger might just be too good to be true for a grad student with minimal magical abilities.

Treasured is a fun, magical heist book featuring a relationship between a sorcerer and shifter. This one is relatively low on angst and danger for the paranormal romance genre, there’s no tragic backstories or traumatic events, which fits with the heist style. It’s an exciting, steamy short read.

Made Up Rating System: 4/5 priceless magical artifacts

About Treasured

The action begins when a magical grad student with nominal abilities meets a sexy stranger at work. Danny can’t believe his luck that a total hottie is into him, even after he nerds out over magical artifacts. Rhys, the charming British hottie, asks him to dinner. And of course, we learn at the beginning that Danny is one of only a few people whose hands can pass through the magical glass safely at the museum where he works because he handles the exhibits.

Yes, the love interest is likely a mysterious thief with unknown shifter powers and motives. It’s not exactly subtle but the book is short so the action moves quickly. The short length may or may not bother you. I think a novella works for the theme and feeling of the book, but it may feel too brief and incomplete if you’re used to longer paranormal novels. This is more the start of a love story and grand adventure than complete in its own right, but the book is enjoyable and there’s a lot of potential for the future.

Finally, while I noted the book was light on angst and life-threatening situations, that doesn’t mean there’s no drama. What starts as a whirlwind romance gets complicated with that age old question: is he really into me or does he just want my museum clearance level?

Yes, that’s totally an age-old question. I ask it all the time.

My thoughts

Seeing the future or reading minds are valuable superpowers, but they come with such hassle and guaranteed TMI. And Danny’s foresight ability only gives him glimpses of like, a second later, so the same insight into the future can be attained by just, you know, waiting a second to see what happens.

Don’t get me wrong, he does have the chance to successfully use his gift throughout the book. It’s just one of those barely-a-power powers, which I admit I do love.

Sort of reminds me of a character I wrote recently, who starts turning invisible. He does the fly on the wall thing and has some fun seeing people behind the scenes and then it’s like… what now? Not terribly useful powers are probably some of the most fun to write and read about. 

Book Quote

Treasured by Cari Z

Daniel Hart barely has enough magic to qualify as a student at the University of Arcane Studies. He’s not trying to change the world; all he wants is to study, work his job at the museum, and enjoy his calm, routine life.

Everything changes when he meets Rhys Daveth, a shifter with mysterious connections and even stranger taste, who pursues him with a passion that Daniel has never experienced before.

The chemistry between them is undeniable, but things take a turn for the worse when Daniel is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit–one that he suspects his new lover had a hand in.

Once the truth comes out, Daniel will have to choose between the steady, reliable future he’s always seen for himself and something deeper, more exciting, and far more dangerous than he could have imagined.

Series Titles

Treasured

Shadowed

Reclaimed

Trick Questions?

Trick Questions?

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A 16-year old boy in a boring city ponders his place in the universe in my coming-of-age novel Invisi-bi-lity. Or at least he wonders about the important things in his universe. Namely, who he is and who he loves. John has some ideas but isn’t totally sure. He could be bi or he might just love one guy, his best friend Cody.

This seemed like a good place to start the novel, right when he’s figuring out the answers to some big questions he’s been wondering about for a while. Of course, the answers won’t slap him on the face but Cody does. He snaps him out of his daydreaming, they do some illicit activities together, and John has an epiphany.

Cody and John talk about birthday wishes in this scene, and John has a realization.

(It’s extremely possible these realizations will be a lot less shocking to you than they are to John.)

~

When we emerge on his grandparent’s front lawn, Cody makes an excited noise. “Hey, don’t I get a wish for birthdays?”

“You get a wish for your birthday, not my—”

“Too bad,” he talks over me. “I already know what I’m asking for.”

A billion dollars or a new car? Ending world hunger? A date with that gay YouTuber he always says is cute?

Cody smiles, lit by his grandparent’s porch light. “I wish that this is the year you finally realize how amazing you are.”

Suddenly I feel completely sober.

Once, my feelings and the labels that best define me seemed confusing. These days, the real issue comes from my readiness to acknowledge these inner truths. Maybe I’m just looking for a sign, a push, for the truth to slap me in the face until I can’t ignore it anymore.

The sincerity in Cody’s voice, how his lopsided smile looked so bright even in the dark… there’s another option to my life-long romantic questions. Why hadn’t I considered it before? I’ve been trying to decide whether I’m bi or in love with my best friend, but the answer seems so clear on the walk home. It’s both. I am bi and I love my best friend.

-check it out on Vella here!

Book Review: Dead Over Heels by Arden Steele

Book Review: Dead Over Heels by Arden Steele

by fnmanning ♥ 1 Comment

I’m a little early for New Year’s resolutions, and I also don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I guess I’m trying to be more flexible by reading Dead Over Heels. I usually hate straying from series reading order, though since the books in the Blackhaven Manor series are connected yet about different characters I made an exception. This was the perfect time to read too since it takes place over the winter holidays.

Quick Summary: A troubled loner finds a fresh start in a magical town. Meeting his fated mate helps, but running into an unexpected ghost does not. Oh yeah, he sees dead people.

My thoughts: What a great winter/holiday novel about fated mates who suddenly find themselves living together during the Christmas season. The book is full of sweet romance, domestic ups and downs, and just a touch of heat.

Fictional Rating System: 4.5 tiny cat sweaters out of 5

Keywords and tags: Paranormal romance, holidays, age gap, werewolf, medium, ghosts, fated mates, cranky cats, crankier spirits, fluffy, finding home, acceptance

Characters and Story (and Curtains?)

Fritz, called this for many technical malfunctions in real life, is a sweet, clumsy guy who is used to annoying people and occasionally hurting himself with his klutzy mishaps. Adding in medium abilities only makes matters worse. Even though supernatural beings are known, he thinks he’s just a regular guy who happens to see ghosts and never stays in one place too long because people will ask questions or he’ll overstay his welcome.

Until he arrives at Blackhaven manor. He’s looking for a job, and they instead send him to the sheriff’s office. Said sheriff rightly assumes this is a set up because the manor literally hires everybody, they even have a job which is basically Official Opener and Closer of Curtains. This isn’t at all related to the plot, but it’s a detail I remember when writing this, and I still find it amusing.

Vander is the sheriff, who indeed hires Fritz. It would be kind of rude to not give his fated mate a job. But before they can get to know each other better, Fritz accidentally touches some evidence and gets saddled with a ghost. A nasty one. Vander doesn’t know what’s happening, but realizes he needs to tread carefully to make his mate comfortable and get him to open up. So what follows is Vander low-key wooing his mate while Fritz tries to handle his uninvited ghostly house-guest.

Sweeter Than Sugar Cookies

While most shifters are apparently not huge fans of sweets, this book is filled with sugary goodness as the pair live together and fall in love. All while dealing with enthusiastic family members, a touch of demonic possession (or close enough), and hilariously feisty animals.

Honorable character mentions go to the hellbeast/nice kitty they babysit and the formidable goose who battles a werewolf and wins.

Honestly this wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. It’s an enjoyable book I didn’t really fall in love with, but I still recommend because of excellent writing and such fun, silly scenes that are sure to be memorable. I think there are lots of people who would love this novel when looking for seasonal reads, romantic comedies, and sweet love stories with relatively low angst.

Book Quote

Dead Over Heels by Arden Steele

It’s been twelve years since the Awakening. Otherlings are out of the paranormal closet. The whole world knows that creatures like vampires, werewolves, and witches exist. So, seeing dead people barely even rates on the freaky scale. Right?

Wrong.

Fritz Tolliver figures he must have done something terrible in a previous life to be afflicted with such a curse. In fact, every bad thing that has ever happened to him can be traced back to his unwanted ability. So, when a stupidly hot werewolf who’s way out of his league claims to be his mate, he should be thrilled. And he probably would have been if he hadn’t gone and gotten himself haunted by a nasty spirit on the same day.

When a human male strolls into the station asking for a job—and promptly spills an entire Americano on him—Sheriff Vander Hale has a feeling it’s going to be a bad day. Then, the door opens, the wind shifts, and suddenly, his whole world changes. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his mate, no battle he wouldn’t wage, even if his enemy is technically already dead. Unfortunately, there’s just one problem with his plan.

He’d go to hell and back for Fritz, but how is he supposed to fight something he can’t see?

Series Info: Blackhaven Manor

Purrfect Harmony

Night and Fae

Dragon It Out

Pixie Little Liar

Dead Over Heels

Silent Knight

New Novel Characters

New Novel Characters

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Ready to meet the main characters of my new M/M contemporary romance? Hopefully, because that’s what this post is about. The novel is called The Boy Next Door, featuring a shy artist who works up the nerve to confess his feelings for the boy next door, only to have his love note fall into the wrong hands.

This is a Kindle Vella novel, and the first three chapter are free, or available without spending any tokens. And if you haven’t checked out Vella yet, you should, because you can claim some free tokens to get started. (Right now Vella is just for US audiences.)

Sam Bell is the main character. He’s made a lot of progress since he was a young boy suffering from crippling anxiety. He’s now a high school senior who isn’t sure if he wants to pursue art or something else in college. Despite the eccentricities of his teacher, he’s excited to be in an honors art class and thinks now might finally be the right time to confess his love for his sweet neighbor Dylan.

Dylan Cruse is popular, good-looking, and almost certainly the love of Sam’s life. Even if the other guy doesn’t know it yet. While nice and easy to talk to, Sam and Dylan don’t have a ton in common. But they are both in photography club and grew up together as next door neighbors.

Quote: The school doors open, light from outside hitting him just right and making his blue eyes sparkle. And his hair color, a rich chestnut brown, is new and makes my knees weak.

Hunter Cruse is Dylan’s older brother. He’s nearly 21 and left home years ago in order to move to the West Coast and become a huge rock star. Now the drummer is back and just as mysterious and superior as ever. Sam’s afraid Hunter is going to stand in his way when it comes to Dylan. And he’s right. Because when Sam confesses his feelings in a note, Hunter intercepts the message and thinks it’s for him.

Quote: Hunter dyed his hair black as night practically as soon as he reached preteen years. The blonde fringe falling in his eyes now reminds me of the cherubic golden curls that framed his face when we met. His angelic appearance duped me into trusting him and he pushed me into the pond when I couldn’t even swim.

The Boy Next Door

The Boy Next Door

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Kindle Vella is a thing now. Authors write episodic stories and post over time instead of delivering a whole novel at once. Which is pretty cool, and a fun challenge for me to write on a schedule and keep producing stuff.

While not totally released, one of the novels I have on Kindle Vella is finished. It’s all uploaded on the site and will be out by the end of October.

Yay! Now that I’m actually finished with my latest novel, I should talk about it here.

In The Boy Next Door, a shy artist struggles to show his passions on and off the canvas. Confessing his feelings to the boy of his dreams is a good start. But when his crush’s older brother gets his love note by mistake, life takes an unexpected turn.

This is a young adult contemporary romance featuring an ill-fated message in a bottle, sexy neighbors, and an enemies-to-lovers M/M couple.

My basic idea for this story was a John Hughes/classic romcom vibe but much gayer. So of course, the main character is crushing hopelessly on his sweet friend, and a crazy misunderstanding means a guy he hates gets his love note by mistake, but when they’re thrown together, sparks fly? Yes, they do.

When I said this is my year and nothing will stop me? I figured I’d get over my own tied tongue and confess my love for Dylan, whether shouting or mumbling how I felt. Any other obstacles were fictitious. I certainly wasn’t imagining Hunter Cruse, the asshole older brother of my crush. Did I mention he hates me?

Yeah, he can stand in my way.

–from The Boy Next Door

New Cover for One Little Lie

New Cover for One Little Lie

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For self-published authors like me, hiring a cover designer is crucial. Unless I want to make everything myself with my questionable design skills. I do not want this in the slightest, but I’ve paid various prices for results of varying quality and sometimes it’s very hit and miss.

So some of my covers are unfortunately made by me. But I’ve found a designer I like and am slowly updating my catalogue. This is the new cover for One Little Lie, and there’s also an excerpt from the book that is probably more appealing than my brief discussion of cover woes.

And here’s a small hint that you may want to buy this book now. You may want to buy this book now. Hint, hint. Because with this spiffy cover and an upcoming box set, I’ll eventually change the price back to $2.99. Once the box set for the first four books in this series is out, this one is going back to regular price. Though I guess you could also wait and get the boxset. Because then you get more books for less. You have options, I guess that’s the point.

Here’s the new cover:

In this scene, boyfriends Ryan and Luke are getting ready for a double date.

Ryan

Luke acted like a contestant in a beauty pageant, obsessing over his outfit.

He faced away from me but glared through the mirror in front of him. “Ryan, stop laughing and tell me which one of these shirts makes my eyes pop!”

I giggled helplessly while Luke directed his gaze to the two shirts in question. He held them up to his chest one at a time while deciding.

“Baby, you look good in anything.” Sure, my tone still sounded at least 20% sarcastic but that was my baseline.

He scoffed, unimpressed with my answer. “Stop being a weirdo.”

“I’m a weirdo for you,” I cooed. Teasing was the only option to avoid combusting into a puddle of hormones and fondness.

“You do realize this might be the only time I ask you for fashion advice?”

Well played. “Wear the red one.”

Luke frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, moron, I’m sure.”

Hey, could moron be Luke’s pet name?

He held the chosen shirt up in front of the mirror and nodded decisively. “Thank you.” A serious look crossed his face and he turned to me. “Your pet name for me is not going to be moron.” He turned towards the mirror again to fuss with his hair.

Wow, had we become so in sync we thought alike? Maybe we developed a psychic connection. Probably the first one. Just to be sure, I should double check.

I concentrated on thoughts of Luke’s ass. “What am I thinking about?”

“My ass,” he answered without hesitation.

“You are psychic,” I marveled.

“I can feel and see you staring at my ass.” He met my eyes in the mirror with a laugh.

—