UPDATE: The winner is…Adisen!
*~*~*
I have an admission to make—I was never a fan of instalove. I mean, how do two people meet and just, like, know? To me, love takes time. Time to get to know the other person. Time to figure out if you’re compatible with them. Time to sort through all the baggage you both are carrying. (Because you don’t get to my age without some serious baggage…)
Maybe I’m showing my age.
When I sit down and put pen to paper, though, logic and common-sense fly right out the window. Of course, my couples are going to meet and know. Of course, everything is going to go right. Of course, there’s going to be a dark moment of the soul when all looks lost. Of course, they’re going to wind up together.
Now, in my mind, these progressions happen gradually. There might be attraction, but the characters have to work through their deep emotional wounds before they can find their happily ever after. And I do love to make my characters suffer. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Make that happen. Think things can’t get worse? They can. But I’m always working toward the happily ever after.
Up until this latest release, all my stories were novellas. Longer than a short story. Shorter than a novel. A nice in-between place. The problem? Between the emotional wounds and the action of the tale, that’s a lot of story to fit into a tight package. Readers have assured me I’ve done it well. Reviewers have decried “instalove”.
Ginger Snapping All the Way was supposed to be different. It’s my first full-length gay romance. The plan was for it to be a novella, but the story quickly got away from me, and writing long was my only option. I don’t regret it. I love this book. I believed since the book was longer, I could avoid some of the instalove criticism. Except, it’s not the length of the story, but the length of the time the characters are together that determines instalove. Yes, Maddox and Ravi are only together three days before they figure it out. They know. And yeah, that makes it instalove.
So, heap on the criticism. Decry that it’s not realistic. I’ll stand by my story. These guys fought hard to be in a place to accept love. Love that is freely given. Love with no expectations. A true happily ever after.
And, of course, a cute dog.
I would love to know what you think about instalove. Drop me a comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC.
Ginger Snapping All the Way
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.
Pre-Christmas Release price: 99 cents!!
eBook Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KMC3X5X
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Ginger-Snapping-All-Gabbi-Grey-ebook/dp/B09KMC3X5X
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ginger-snapping-all-the-way
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ginger-snapping-all-the-way-gabbi-grey/1140479206
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ginger-snapping-all-the-way/id1593193241
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/3yaArVAudio Links:
Audible US: https://www.audible.com/pd/Ginger-Snapping-All-the-Way-Audiobook/B09KS9C4Q4
Audible UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Ginger-Snapping-All-the-Way-Audiobook/B09KS845F
Excerpt from Ginger Snapping All the Way…
“Give me ten.”
He grinned. “Take fifteen.” He headed to the bathroom while I detoured to the walk-in closet to snag my terry towel bathrobe, and then I shoved my feet into my faux sheepskin lined leather slippers—a gift from Hillary. I’d be chilly by the time Princess did her job, but Ravi’d warm me up right quick. I opened the door to find my pooch planted at the door, tapping her metaphorical paw.
She’d obviously heard voices and decided she’d been patient long enough.
I ruffled the fur on the top of her heard and she gave me the stink eye. Ah, so all was not forgiven. Hard to say whether the bribery bone was going to get me back into her good books.
She followed me as I headed down the stairs, flipping on lights as I went.
Her nails clacked on the hardwood floor.
Time to trim them again.
One of the few things I didn’t enjoy as her owner. The thought of cutting her to the quick terrified me, but the alternative was going into town to the groomer’s and that was too much peopling for me.
Man, I really had to re-examine my life. If taking care of Sofia meant going into town, I should make the effort. She was probably due for some shots as well. I’d call Dr. Zephyra’s vet clinic and make an appointment for her. I opened the back door and was hit with a blast of frigid air.
Sofia balked.
I nudged her gently with my toe.
She glared.
I pointed.
She shrugged. And finally stepped out.
The nice square I’d cleared yesterday had almost another foot. All while we’d slept. Uh, thank you, universe. This meant I’d get my delicious gorgeous man for another day. Yum. I had plans. So many plans.
My stomach rumbled. I considered. Okay, yeah, dinner’d been about eleven hours ago. But I didn’t want to stop for food. I didn’t want to stop for anything. Princess Sofia finally squatted, and I did an inner cheer. My legs were turning into ice as she deigned to do her business. And with all the snow that’d accumulated against her belly, I now needed to grab a towel. More time. It would take more time to dry her off, and I needed more time with Ravi. Was I allowed to hope the snow never stopped?
Sofia tried to dodge around my legs, but I was quicker. I halted her progress and kept one hand clutching her collar while the other closed and locked the door. I snagged her towel, and she gave me a baleful look. Seriously? If someone offered to rub me down and I was wet, I certainly wouldn’t complain. Especially if that someone had tan skin, deep dark-brown eyes, and a killer smile.
My cock sat up and took notice at that thought. Sighing, I wrapped Sofia in the towel and rubbed vigorously, all the while thinking of other things I’d love to rub. When she was drier, I put her down.
She bolted for her bowl and nosed her very expensive kibble. And gave me that look.
I swear to God, the dog was psychic. Or I’d given in to her demands once too often—I wasn’t sure which. I moved to the cupboard and pulled down the very expensive wet food. And cursed. I hadn’t brushed her teeth the last two nights. After a very expensive dental bill, I’d decided I’d rather brush her teeth every night than lose another thousand bucks. It’d also cost her three teeth. That was really the determining factor.
And she didn’t really fight anymore. She just liked to put on a good show.
Sighing, I dumped the food into a bowl and separated it into Sofia-appropriate sized bites. I barely put the bowl on the floor before she’d scarfed most of it down. No delicacy here—she ate like a starving wolf after a long winter. Or like she hadn’t been fed for a month. Sheesh.
Hot chocolate. And ginger snap cookies.
I pulled the milk from the fridge, then grabbed two mugs. It took entirely too long to prepare two mugs, but in the meantime, I grabbed a sandwich bag and added four cookies. I’d prefer presenting the cookies on a nice plate Hillary had insisted on giving me—because she insisted I would eventually have company—but two mugs and a plate was just too much to carry. I doubted Ravi’d care how I presented the cookies.
I snagged Sofia’s wet-food bowl off the floor and put it into the dishwasher. Then I selected a small frozen soup bone for her.
Her eyes lit with glee—a double treat.
Enjoy it, pooch.
Not going to happen again any time soon.
Unless Ravi stays…
Nope, not going there.
I held out the bone, and she angled her head to grab it with her little teeth.
She made a beeline to her bed in front of the fireplace. She dropped the bone and sniffed it, clearly trying to decide the best way to approach this.
About the Author
Gabbi lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black.
Personal links:
Website: https://gabbigrey.com/
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15456297.Gabbi_Grey
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Happy Holidays to you and your family, Delilah! I love the idea of finding your soulmate and knowing them instantly. I have to say I knew I was immediately interested in the guy who is now my hubby, but it took us a year to start dating, lol. (don’t enter me into the contest)
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Happy Holidays!
My mom knew my dad was the one the moment she met him… took him a bit longer… Enjoy Instalove books!
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Thank you for hosting me! Love, Gabbi
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As implausible as this sounds, I told my husband I loved him before we’d even met in person. I truly fell in love with a man I’d only spoken to on the phone and exchanged emails with. We’d never even done face time since he didn’t have a cell phone or a camera on his laptop – this is 15 years ago, kids, and we were both in our 40s!
Our first date I was both taken by his devil-may-care way of dressing (a Hawaain shirt over long underwear since he’d ridden his Harley to his govt job and hadn’t had time to take off the warm layer… it was 1pm… he’d had time he just liked to say FU to the man in a subtle way!) but not by his appearance… he was blonde. I prefer dark hair and skin. He was my height. I prefer my men at least 6 feet tall. He was clean-shaven. I want a beard.
But… my heart already knew it loved this man for who he was under the pasty skin and shortish stature.
We’ve been together 15 years. He’s now basically bald and even shorter. But he grew a beard for me. I love him for that and for all the things I leanred about him before we even met.
It didn’t feel like instalove… it felt like I’d known this man my whole life.
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I think I have read (or listened to) all of your MM books and loved them. I know some readers don’t like insta love but I don’t mind it. I know a few couples IRL who met and married within days and stayed married until one of them passed away.
Keep on writing what works for you and don’t worry too much about the haters of insta love. Merry Christmas!
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I believe in instant attraction.
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Your attention to detail and the worlds you create never cease to amaze me!!! I just can’t believe the quality of writing you put out with the quantity of writing you do!!
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Gabbi has a amazing way of creating vibrant worlds for her characters.
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Always love your use of familiar locations – it helps you to make them stand out in your works!
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can happen
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I am not a big fan of instalove stories. I think in real life people can feel instant attraction but they need to learn about each other.
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I think Insta-love is possible, just sometimes we’re not at the right place in our lives for it.
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Happy Holidays!
Married for 35 years to the guy who started proposing 2 weeks after we met.
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I like instalove. I also like slow love. Instalove doesn’t mean instahappy. I like when they have to work at having a relationship even if the love is quick.
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I enjoy insta love stories.
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I know a few folks who had that happen in real life, so if an author writes it well, I’m onboard for it. I do want to see them have to figure things out afterward, though. Love is easy, relationships are hard.
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I actually believe in it. I fell in love with my partner when I met him at 15 yrs old. I knew he was my soulmate as soon as I laid eyes on him. He told me he felt the same way year later. Now we’ve been married for 7 years and so happy and more in love than ever.
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Happy holidays! I’m up for instalove in books. All part of the fantasy of getting swept away.
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I don’t believe in instalove. I think you can be attracted to someone but you need time and trials to let that superficial feeling blossom into love.
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I’m a fan of almost any romance, and while I like when characters have to work for their happy endings, insta-love works for me, too. It’s nice to imagine a love so powerful, it overtakes the characters from the get go.
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Thanks to everyone who shared!
And thanks to Gabbi for being a great guest!
The winner is…Adisen!