Hello Delilah! Thank you for welcoming me here to share my new release! Rayne Check is a short story in my Love in Mission City world. So here’s the secret…I didn’t plan the world as it is. I didn’t plan a series. I’ll share with you how things evolved into what is now 5 books, 3 novellas, and 6 short stories with more to come.
Okay…so I’ve written and MF series set in the fictional town of Mission City, British Columbia — which may or may not resemble Mission, British Columbia — I’m not all that clever. But my fictional world has, of course, people and places that come from my mind. And yeah, Fifties diner in real life is Rocko’s (best burgers ever). Much of the rest, though, is in my head. As I would want a town to be. I eventually published a prequel and three books in my Love in Cedar Valley series under my penname Gabbi Powell. Same town, just I wanted to differentiate. But there’s a huge amount of cross-pollination. Characters and locations overlap and interact (and just to make things interesting, I tossed in some characters from my Gabbi Black In Their Eyes series).
Now, I’ve written about 20 books in what is now the Cedar Valley series — but I need to get them edited and I never have the time because I’m always writing new stories.
I hadn’t intended to transition from writing MF to queer books — but it happened. The fifth anniversary of my novella, My Past, Your Future is in February. I had a couple of short stories published before then, but I consider that release date as my stepping into the big leagues (relatively). That book was for a series for The Wild Rose Press. Then I wrote another gay novella for them for their ice cream series. Then came the Christmas cookie books and I was all in.
Somehow, I came up with the title Ginger Snapping All the Way, and I sat down to write the novella. I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty, but I quickly realized two things: this was a novel, not a novella, and…there was something magical about this book. In the end, I wrote the book as it was meant to be — 72k — and self-published.
Magic. I had a launch strategy. I had a discounted price. I had audio release at the same time as the ebook and the audio was amazing (I still listen to it as a comfort read). Ginger was my entry into what I saw as the big leagues.
So what next?
Just before it launched, I was presented with the chance to write a short story for a charity anthology. I had literally a weekend. I was like…HUH? Then I remembered one of my lead characters from Ginger had an asshat ex. I didn’t know it, but I was about to write my first redemption MM story. And I did. Stanley’s Christmas Redemption was 17k. And reviews were mixed, but the anthology sold well and we raised a bunch of money.
First lesson — be careful when you name people. Stanley was never meant to get a book. It’s not a name some people might associate with a hero. Second lesson — be careful when you name a book. If I could do it over, I wouldn’t have chosen to put Stanley’s name in the title. Anyway, long story short – the rights reverted and I wrote the story I mean to tell and released Stanley as a full length 85k novel. Third lesson — be careful when you expand a story — fans will come to expect that with all your short work.
Suddenly, I had a series. Well, two books. By then I was writing short stories and novellas for promos and charity anthologies I was writing up a storm — always short and always in the Mission City universe.
But I needed another big book.
I’ve talked about the genesis of Sleigh Bells and Second Chances before. I had an image of a wounded soldier returning from a war he was never meant to fight in. With the help of my plot whisperer, we came up with a story. And I wrote it. The rawest book I’ve ever written — and that’s saying something because I am the Queen of Angst.
Okay — book 3 released — all three in ebook, audio, and paperback.
So what next?
Well, I had a story I’d written for a traditional publisher. The story was sitting on an editor’s desk when he quit and he never passed it along to anyone. So I was screwed. But I LOVE the story. It just needs work (too short and written in third person point of view while I write in first…). The plan was to fix it up and it would become book 4.
Right…except fate intervened.
I was asked to write a short story (don’t snicker, I said hell, yes to everyone who asked last year). But who to write…? I remembered a secondary character from book 3 (as well as books 2.5 and 3.5 which I won’t even get into because I’ve yapped enough).
Everett called to me. So I came up with a short story to introduce him. I had to find the perfect guy for him. I had an idea (the only parameters were short and Halloween). I knew I needed a professional cover, so I went to my favorite designer’s site and found Rayne Check. Perfect! I loved the name, the cover…everything. So she slapped my name on it and I had my other guy — Rayne. Then came magic again — a short story that has just the right touch of mystery. Intrigue. Hopefully enough to make people want to pick up book 4.
Which is Everett and Rayne’s book.
Oops. Time to get a cover and start writing.
I’ve done both and the book is in edits — called Rayne’s Return.
Meanwhile, I’ve published Rayne Check. It’s a short — meant to entice readers into nabbing the next book. Or, if they aren’t familiar with Mission City, going back to the beginning to see how the stories have come together.
The book I wrote for the publisher will be book 5. Books 6 and 7 are plotted.
And that, my friends, is how you make a series (although I don’t recommend this method to anyone).  Well, how I make a series — haphazard, no idea what’s going on, with stuff slotted in everywhere with characters who pop in and out. You’ll never know who might drop by in one of my Love in Mission City books. I hope that anticipation is what keeps readers coming back.
Many of the short stories I’ve written over the past year are part of Mission City and I have plans for another boxset. Not a single word gets wasted, no character goes unloved, no opportunity missed…
Okay, that was — admittedly — a lot.
Rayne Check is free with most retailers. Still working with Amazon to get the price dropped. The audio is in quality control with Audible. That’s next up. I have to say, Michael Dean did a great job!
Thanks, Delilah, for hosting me! I’d love to give a prize to a lucky commenter. I’ll happily give a copy of Ginger Snapping All the Way. If you have that book, I can offer up something from my back catalogue from any of my three pennames — that’s more than thirty-five titles to pick from. (All published since February 2020 and man, have I been busy…) So let me know — is there a series you just loved. Or is there a book you wish the author would turn into a series. Drop a comment in and random will pick a winner!
Rayne Check
Everett
I meet an intriguing man at Quinton’s annual Halloween Extravaganza. That wicked smile and the tawny-brown eyes behind his mask hold my gaze. Under his costume, the restless energy of his body promises to do explosive, unexpected things to me. So we indulge in a little fun, but when the clock strikes midnight, the man I know only as Rayne disappears into the crowd.
My straitlaced Mission City friends tell me to chalk it up to experience, but I can’t get that man off my mind, or stop hoping we’ll meet again one day.
Rayne Check is a smoking-hot 7k word short story about a buttoned-up lawyer who lets go of his iron control for one night, the man he can’t forget, and the friends who have his back. The story is set in the Love in Mission City world.
Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DTJLMGQ5
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/rayne-check
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rayne-check-gabbi-grey/1146877924
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/rayne-check-a-love-in-mission-city-short-story/id6740942266
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=elBAEQAAQBAJ
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1693304
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/RayneCheck
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey 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 and Gabbi Powell.
Personal links:
Website: https://gabbigrey.com/
Newsletter sign-up: https://sendfox.com/gabbigrey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbigrey/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gabbi-grey
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15456297.Gabbi_Grey
Amazon Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Grey/e/B07SJVFX1M
Audible Profile: https://www.audible.com/author/Gabbi-Grey/B07SJVFX1M
Facebook (page): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGabbiGrey
