Hello Delilah!  Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss my newest release, Flying Hearts.  The short story was initially part of the Well Played sports anthology that came out last year. When I first signed up, I planned to write about gay archers. An enemies-to-lovers story.  Only, as I plotted the tale in my mind, I had lots of questions. I discovered a close friend did archery for fun and we had a video call (she’s in Argentina). Turned out my plot was a dud.  She gave me something possible to work with, but it was completely implausible.

So I quietly backed out of the anthology and focused on the twelve other projects I had going.

I needed a cover for another story I was going to write and an artist I knew posted a premade cover that I had to grab.  Plot Whisperer helped me with that one and I was thrilled.

I realized, though, that I had bought another cover from this artist several years ago and hadn’t gotten it changed (piece of advice for writers buying premade covers – always get your name on it and a working title right away – unfortunately, things can happen to cover designers, and you might get stuck with a pretty cover you can’t get fixed. This sucks. Trust me, it happened to me, and I have 13 unusable covers…).

Knowing I needed to act, I asked Plot Whisperer to help me come up with a title. Just so I’d be protected.  She asked me why the woman had wet hair. She wanted to know about the guy’s tattoo. And on it went.

Eventually, she plotted the whole damn story for me.  And we added a BDSM twist so I could write the story under Gabbi Black (my BDSM penname).  Next thing I knew, I had my acrobat MMF BDSM sports romance.

Who knew?!?!?!?

So that’s the story of how Flying Hearts came to be. Initially, we thought gymnasts and Tumbling Hearts, but having a ropes guy and BDSM? Perfect fit.  So I have Nick the rigger as well as Kaden and Yasmine, the acrobatic team.

Throw in some super steamy sex scenes and I had my erotic sports story to go with the hockey, baseball, and football romances. I submitted it only a couple of days late to the anthology people (I warned them it was coming).  I didn’t let people down after all.

Wait ‘til you see what I’m doing later this year in the sports arena!  Ah, for another day.

Thanks, Delilah, for hosting me!  I would love to give away a copy of Flying Hearts. Just comment and let me know – what’s your favorite sports to watch?  Are you an Olympics every four years or is there something you never miss? For me, that was figure skating.  Not so much these days, though.  Anyway, random will choose a winner. Good luck!

Flying Hearts

Yasmine

I’ve trusted Kaden with my life on the trapeze since we were fourteen, and with my heart since we became lovers at eighteen. People give us odd looks when we say we’re in an open relationship, but I’ve never been concerned about Kaden’s other partners. But then Nick lands in my life, and suddenly Kaden’s not the only man I can see.

Kaden

I’ve had a super partner in Yasmine—both on and off the trap. I assumed she was happy with our open relationship. She’s got her studies, and I have my…temporary bed partners. All is going well until a domineering rigger arrives. Suddenly, everything changes.

Nick

As a professional rigger, I know rope. I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for almost fifteen years, keeping people safe in front of audiences and in private. Rope is not just my profession, it’s my pleasure. Yasmine intrigues me, and when Kaden tries to interfere between her and me, it’s going to be a competition to see who comes out on top.

Note: Flying Hearts is a 15k steamy BDSM short story about a couple who didn’t know they needed more, and the man who’s tying them in knots. The story previously appeared in the anthology Well Played.

Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/FlyingHearts
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Flying-Hearts-Erotic-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B0DXW14RNL
Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228204301-flying-hearts

About Gabbi Black

Even though Gabbi Black is a firm believer in happy endings, she makes her characters work for it in every romance she writes, no matter what the genre. From contemporary to BDSM, they are penned early in the morning in her home in beautiful British Columbia while her trusty ChinPoo dog keeps her company. She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey and small-town romances as Gabbi Powell.