UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
*~*~*

Hello, Delilah!  Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss my new release! Sometimes, as a writer, a passion project comes your way, and you just have to seize the opportunity.  And it might also be a squirrel (a project that wasn’t on my bingo card).

Passion’s Angel is literally—and figuratively—a passion project.

I have a friend who is good friends with Dr. Donna Jennings, who is an amazing creative force, and a former sex therapist who now works with authors of romance to make their books more authentic.  She helps bring passion and joy to their stories.  To help with that, she created the Dr. Donna Jennings Purple Passion Reflection for Women Cards series.  Let me tell you—they’re the coolest things ever.

When my friend approached me to be the final member of the project, I leaped at the chance. Female sexual empowerment? Check.  Working with a dynamic group of writers? Check. Stretching myself as an author? Triple check!

Dr. J. sent me my own deck of cards, and as I leafed through them, I was truly inspired. One card in particular spoke to me. The photo was of three women—of different races—and they were together in a way that got my creative juices flowing. In the end, I decided my story would be FFM, but I saw my characters reflected in that image.

I scurried off to Plot Whisperer and gave her an idea of what I was looking to accomplish.  We went back and forth for a while before we settled on the perfect plot.  A Domme with two submissives.  But not submissives who competed for her attention. No, they were submissives who complimented each other—who each brought something very different to the BDSM relationship.  A triad that would wind up together at the end of the story. An equilateral triangle—all sides were even.  And, within the hierarchical structure, Nadine was at the top…but Dustin and Angelique were very much equals as well—despite the fact Dustin came first.  In fact, in the end, he’s the one who convinces Angelique that not only is she wanted, but that she’s needed.  That’s powerful for a woman who’s never felt wanted by anyone.

But that’s at the end of the story.  I wanted to write a fierce older (within the context of the relationship) woman.  Nadine came to mind instantly.  Brash, bold, Black, and brilliant.  She owns her own advertising agency in Vancouver.  Successful for a long time, about two years ago, she took on a new employee to be her personal assistant.  Enter Dustin, fresh out of university and eager to learn from the best.  Eventually, though, at his nudging, prodding, and begging, Nadine became intimate with him.  When he discovered she had a dungeon in her basement, he pushed for a BDSM relationship.  He recognized Nadine’s dominant personality and was quite happy to be a submissive to her.

Then comes the day they need a model for a campaign.  Angelique isn’t a model.  In fact, she works in a gift store—being exploited by a crappy manager who makes her do all the work with none of the acknowledgement or credit.  I think a position many people can relate to.  Nadine spots her and knows this angel is the one.  Dustin, however, has to do the convincing.  I won’t go farther than this…except to say this is one steamy ménage romance written under my BDSM penname.  FFM is a new area of exploration for me, as a writer, but I knew Nadine and Angelique’s bond had to be as powerful—and sexual—as each woman’s relationship with Dusin was to be.

The book is set in Vancouver, so expect some cameos from other Gabbi Black and Gabbi Grey books just because I can!  I enjoy weaving my worlds—hopeful to pique the curiosity of readers.

Okay, so that’s my story!  I would love to give away a copy of one of my backlist books!  If BDSM isn’t your jam, I’m happy to make it a Gabbi Grey gay romance or a Gabbi Powell MF small town mid-angst, mid-heat contemporary romance. Your choice!  Let me know—what inspires you?  What are you passionate about? Just leave a comment and random will pick a winner. 

Passion’s Angel

A couple under stress, a woman alone—can three hearts be better than two?

Dustin

My Domme, my boss, my lover… Nadine is all those things to me. Our professional relationship has slid into the personal, and I have no problem with that. Pleasing her is my top priority. When things go sideways at work, I’m not sure how to help…until the answer presents itself in the guise of an angel.

Nadine

As a successful marketing executive, I have high standards. Dustin, my submissive and executive assistant, is perfection. But even he can’t solve my latest work dilemma. Then we meet Angelique, and I’ve found the star of my next campaign. Now I just have to convince the young woman that posing for me is in her best interests and, even better, convince her to join Dustin and me in a triad relationship.

Angelique

When a gorgeous man asks me to pose for a photo shoot, I’m skeptical. I’m overweight and unattractive, so who would want my picture? Refusing him is easy…but he’s persistent, and I give in. He’ll soon see how wrong he is.

Surprisingly, a photo shoot can be fun. Dustin is sweet and kind, and his boss Nadine is incredible. They have the kind of relationship I’ve always wanted, and it’s clearly not just professional. I’m sad when the photo shoot is done and I have to leave them and head out into the cold, alone. Then Dustin asks an unbelievable question.

This 25k story is an FFM BDSM novella and is part of the Dr. Donna Jennings Purple Passion Reflection for Women Cards series.

Links:
Universal link:  https://books2read.com/PassionsAngel
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D9TY4ML3

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.

Personal links:
Website:   https://gabbiblack.com/
Newsletter sign-up:  https://sendfox.com/gabbi
Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2763198834
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbiblack/
Facebook (page): https://www.facebook.com/Author-Gabbi-Black-106666354460589/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GabbiAuthor

UPDATE: The winner is…Courtney Kinder!
*~*~*

I didn’t put much thought into today’s post. I opened my favorite stock photo site, saw that they had a category called “Pantone Color of the Year for 2024,” and skimmed through all these lovely photos of peach-colored things. I found a blossom I love and decided that was enough work. It’s pretty. You’ll like it. And who can complain about a pretty, neutral peach, huh? Sometimes, their colors of the year are a bit out there (I love it when they do that!). It’s fun seeing designers try to make up rooms using the year’s color when it’s something like neon green or eggplant.

Anyway, I’m having a quiet weekend. Next week’s the PET scan so we can determine where the cancer is. I’m hoping I don’t light up like a Christmas tree. That would suck. Even better would be if I disappoint them and I’m a boring little pop of this and that. *crossing my fingers*

In the meantime, I’m working a little, playing some Fishdom on my phone, and napping a lot. Other than abdominal discomfort, I’m feeling pretty good (popping Hydrocodone at night helps a lot!). I’m even getting my daily swims in.

So, back to the contest and the flower… For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me your favorite flower and color. Mine is a bright yellow sunflower. They’re so happy looking. Red is my favorite color in all its permutations (magenta to sunset orange).

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen!
*~*~*

Hello Delilah!  Thank you for inviting me here today to share my new release! It comes out next week, but I wanted to give your readers a sneak peek. Love on the Clock is a new anthology I’m partaking in, and it is about…wait for it…relationships formed at work.  I have to admit I like this setting.  You can fit so many tropes into it: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, rivals-to-lovers… Okay, there are others.  But you see what I mean.

I, of course, sought the advice of my Plot Whisperer (I swear I can plot stories on my own, and I have a few coming up that will prove that).  Still, I sought help.  I needed a short story in a workplace.  Oh, and I wanted to set it in the small town I’ve created.  And it’s a gay romance.  Plot Whisperer rolled her eyes (can you see an eye roll through chat with people on opposite sides of the world? I say you can…).  We went through any number of different potential places of employment.

We settled on an architect’s office.  With…wait for it…an architect.  Then we figured he needed a coworker.  Specifically, an interior designer.  Oh, and the two had to be complete opposites.  The designer is (stereotypically) a peacock, while the architect is strait-laced.  Dresses more like a funeral director.  Doesn’t do color.  Yeah sure…but you know the designer is going to take issue with that.

Throw in a demanding client, a tight deadline, frayed nerves, and a cantankerous photocopy machine and…voila. A rom-com short story set in a workplace.

Man, did I have fun writing these two characters! In my beloved favorite town.  The story is so tight that I couldn’t include cameos. Have no fear, though.  I suspect these two will turn up again.  Anyway, I hope readers fall in love with Orlando and Knight.

Thanks, Delilah, for letting me visit!  I would love to offer a $5 Amazon GC to one lucky commenter.  Let’s talk settings!  I have to write another workplace romance later this year – where would you love to see one set it?  Random will pick the winner so go ahead and comment!

Love on the Clock

Never mix business with pleasure

This collection of CEOs, assistants, partners and consultants have forgotten Office Rule No.1.

Whether it’s passion over the printer, scandal in the stationery cupboard or loosened ties in the boardroom, these co-workers are getting hot under the collar.

Join us around the Romance Café water cooler to discover the latest office scuttlebutt.

Authors:
Clarice Jayne
Sharon Michalove
Keighley Bradford
Kristine Charles
Élodie Garroway
Lisabelle Chretien
Katherine Moore
Harper Michaels
Sonja Flowers
Abigail Sharpe
Toni Bolton
Francis Black
Gabbi Grey

The anthology will only be available for a limited time.

Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/tnrc2024loveontheclock
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Clock-Romance-Anthology-Collection-ebook/dp/B0CLN4864V
Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200569229-love-on-the-clock

The Office Hotshot by Gabbi Grey from Love on the Clock…

Orlando

I’m a go-getter. Right out of interior design school, I’ve landed a plum job in a well-regarded architecture firm, and I’m ready to help the lead architect meet his deadline. Except the man’s a jerk, strung so tight it’s a miracle he hasn’t exploded. Offering a little stress relief is practically a service to humanity. But in the dark in the copy room, Knight’s a lot more human than I thought. Now stress relief isn’t the only thing I want to give him, and I’m dreading the day I’ll have to leave.

Knight

I’m working under a tight deadline, and all I want is peace, quiet, and an assistant who doesn’t give me lip. Right now, I have none of those things. The new hire is perky, pushy, and unfairly attractive. One hot encounter in the copy room isn’t breaking my oath to never get involved with a subordinate, right? Unfortunately, that one interlude leaves me craving more. What’s so special about Orlando, that he’s making me think about breaking all my rules and asking him to stay?

This is a 15k word gay romance novella with a successful architect, a quirky younger interior designer, and a cantankerous photocopier.

About Gabbi Grey

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.

This past week was basically all about keeping things together. Soldiering on. The busier I am, the stronger and more positive I feel. Lots happened last week, and this next week will be another rollercoaster.

Report Card

Last week…

1. I celebrated and promoted the release of Secret Identities anthology! I hope you all picked up your copies! There’s something for everyone inside that volume!
2. I worked on edits for one author.
3. I revamped my release schedule so that my book, Built Like Mack, is pushed off to September. Sorry, I know some of you were looking forward to it, but I’m not in the headspace at the moment.
4. I swam every day for the first part of the week. The next two items describe why that happened…
5. I went to the doctor for abdominal pain on Monday, thinking maybe it was my gallbladder or appendix. I wish. I was sent for a CT scan immediately and afterward was scheduled right away to see an oncologist.
6. My daughter and the girls returned from their vacation in Virginia with the flu and promptly gave me the bug, too.

This next week…

1. I see the oncologist on Monday. I’m sure he’ll schedule a biopsy and we’ll go from there. I hate waiting. That’s the worst part. I like action, solve it, figure out what I have to fight. Or maybe, it’s something other than cancer (I can hope).
2. I will finish editing one author’s manuscript and begin editing the next one in line.
3. I’ll work on finishing the next Delta Fire novella, Ignition. I only have a couple of chapters to write, and I think I can get through it while I wait for whatever procedures I will be going through.
4. I’ll continue swimming and trying to watch what I eat, although I am finding it hard not to want to eat my favorite things!
5. I’ll continue working on some small art projects while I declutter my art room.

Open Contests

On the Delilah’s Collections website!

1. GETTING TO KNOW N.J. WALTERS (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. GETTING TO KNOW M. JAYNE (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. GETTING TO KNOW GABBI GREY (CONTEST) — Last Day to enter! Win a FREE book!
4. In One Picture: Michal Scott’s “My Heavenly Phantom” (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!

Here, on this site!

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: While the cat’s away… — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. July into August (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Gabbi Grey: What a Difference Seven Years Makes (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Cecilia Tan: A Recipe for Steamy, Steamy Steampunk (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Cottagecore Aesthetic/Trad Wife…? — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Linda Rhoden!
*~*~*

If you hang out on TikTok or Instagram, you have to have seen the latest fashion/lifestyle trend: Trad Wifes. Don’t know what those are? They are influencers who have rich husbands so they can cosplay a country-farm lifestyle—but fashionably. If they are mucking out horse stalls, they’re wearing white linen dresses. If they have a Sunday dinner for the fam, it’s served outside with crystal wine glasses, and the family looks perfect. Believe me, I’m not knocking the aesthetic—it’s lovely, but I do have to wonder whether the husband is demanding fresh-from-scratch meals and a wife who can’t work because she has to maintain all the perfection. To me, it’s weird.

The 10-year-old loves the fashion and would love to mimic them, but then she watches their outdoor table settings and says, “Ew. First fly and I’m outta there.”

If they have chickens, ducks, and geese, who cleans up after them? They stink! We know! You’ll be wearing red-neck fashion—blue jean cutoffs, a wifebeater, and muck boots to clean out the coop.

Their yards and pastures are all so perfect, there is no way on God’s green earth, they are maintaining it all themselves.

Anyway, I am feeling a little grouchy. I have my appointment with the oncologist on Monday, and this morning, I woke up with the flu-like symptoms my daughter and the girls brought back with them from Virginia—fever, muscle aches, more nausea. I’m waiting for the vomiting. Oh, joy.

For the chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you’ve been following these Trad Wifes, living this cottagecore aesthetic, and which ones you enjoy.

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
*~*~*

I am an accidental historical romance writer. I didn’t intend to become one of those folks who gleefully researches fashions and famous people and language of the past, but somehow, I keep coming up with ideas where I must. Where I diverge from the usual territory of “historical romance,” though is that I don’t write Regency (yet). I’ve written a lot set in the 1980s—the era of MTV and Ronald Reagan—and now I’m diving into steampunk with an erotic novella entitled The Blossoms of Summer.

When I sat down to write something steampunk, I discovered that it was much more fun to approach it like a Victorian alternate history than to completely invent whole cloth.

I started with my inspiration in the real-life story of adventuring botanist Robert Fortune, who was sent to China as a spy to steal the secret of tea-making and, if possible, to make off with ten thousand seedlings so that England could start tea plantations in India and break the Chinese monopoly. That’s a bit of a downer, of course, if you’re anti-colonialist, but I decided I did really like the idea of the adventuring man of science who is flung into unknown circumstances. What a recipe for an erotic adventure!

Venturing into the unknown, of course, is excellent fodder for erotica. The thrill of the unknown is a classic spice for adding heat. So is the thrill of the forbidden. Thus, I have sent my naturalist, via airship (of course, it is steampunk), into the hidden valleys of Canton, where truly exotic pleasures await him—though, of course, he is unaware of the nature of what lies in store.

And being a proper Victorian gentleman, my Robert is accustomed to repressing his desires. This also added much more heat than I was expecting. I often write heroes who are un-repressed about their sexuality—rock stars who are kinky doms, for example—so delving into the realm of self-restraint was a delicious change of pace.

The third bit of crucial spice I added in The Blossoms of Summer is one of my favorites and one I don’t see very often: the language barrier. Maybe this one is a bit of a personal kink, but I really enjoy reading stories where the characters can’t actually speak to each other, but the smoldering erotic attraction is undeniable, and they come up with ways to understand each other. Maybe call it “the universal language of love/lust” trope? I don’t see it often, so I have to write it myself!

If you’d like a taste of my steamy recipe, the first segment of The Blossoms of Summer is now live on my patreon, and the novella will be released as a book/ebook on August 20.

What about you? What’s your personal kink, what’s your catnip? Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

About the Author

Cecilia Tan is an award-winning writer of passionate fiction, romance, and erotica. She has written over 30 novels, including the Magic University series, the collection Black Feathers, and many other books. She was inducted into the LGBT Writers and Editors Hall of Fame in 2010. RT Book Reviews awarded her Career Achievement in Erotic Romance in 2015 and her novel Slow Surrender (Hachette/Forever, 2013) won RT Reviewers Choice and the Maggie Award.

Links:

• The Blossoms of Summer on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Sp2VDt
• The Blossoms of Summer on Cecilia’a patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/624166?view=expanded
• “Historical” 1980s fiction: https://daron.ceciliatan.com

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

On January 21, 2017, Delilah Devlin sent me a rejection letter. I hadn’t had many emails like that in my fledgling writing career. Probably because I hadn’t sent many projects out on submission. If you don’t put yourself out there, then you can’t be rejected. That’s a great theory, but it doesn’t get a newbie writer published. Somehow, in my mind, Delilah gave me brilliant feedback on how to make my short story better. For posterity’s sake, I pulled it up to reread just now. Nope. It’s a standard if kindly written, rejection letter.

It spurred something inside me, though. I took that short story, worked with an editor, and made it better. Eventually, I found a publisher. The Wild Rose Press took a chance on me and published For the Love of Max. The story they published was substantially changed—because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Today, I didn’t reread the old story I submitted because I knew I’d cringe. I meandered way too long before getting to the core of the story. The love scene wasn’t nearly sensual enough. The point of view wasn’t deep enough. Hell, I’d never heard of Deep POV.

I’ve worked with that freelance editor for almost ten years now. She poked, prodded, cajoled, and finally shoved her way into my head. I know what she expects from me. The same thing my readers do—a well-crafted, heartfelt, strong story with great characters. I am more confident now I can deliver that. Do I waver? Type the end and think…is this brilliant or garbage? Yep, all the time. But I keep going. I keep weaving stories, fabricating worlds, and creating characters I know my readers are going to love. Writing isn’t just a hobby—it’s a vocation. I love my day job. One of the reasons I work so hard in it is so I can afford to hire editors, cover designers, and marketing people so that I can keep publishing stories.

Delilah was absolutely right to reject that story. When I spotted that she had another anthology coming out this year, I sat down and wrote “Thought You Were the One.” I actually wrote another story under a different pen name because I wasn’t certain which she might want. I was okay with another two rejections because I know the quality and quantity of stories Delilah gets for her anthologies every year. I sent the stories off and tried really hard not to dwell on the fact my darlings were out on submission.

When Delilah emailed me to let me know I’d made the cut, I yelled so loud that I woke the dogs up. Then I realized she hadn’t told me which story. Ironically, I thought she’d pick the other one. But she didn’t, and I’m so glad to bring representation to this wonderful anthology. I plan to submit more stories in the future. Undoubtedly, there will be more rejections. It’s not personal—sometimes, the story doesn’t fit, sometimes there are too many similar ones, and—gasp—sometimes you just didn’t write a good story. Happens to the best of us. I have more than forty publishing credits, and my editor lobbed one back at me last year and said, “Oh hell, no.”

Wait—I had two editors each lob one back. Huh. So yeah, even when you think you’ve got it all figured out, you discover you’ve written a dud. But I dusted myself back off, have plans to edit and fix those stories, and will keep creating more.

Thank you, Delilah. Both for saying yes and for giving me the space here today to share my story.

I would love to give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card to a commenter. Have you ever faced rejection and found a way around it? Over it? Under it? Moved on? Feel free to share a few words of encouragement with a writer who might be struggling. Random will select the winning commenter.

 Secret Identities: A Bad Boys Anthology, #8

 

Inside Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, you’ll find stories by some of the hottest romance writers out there for readers who crave mysterious, enigmatic men and women who may not be who they claim to be. Perhaps they’re the new next-door neighbor with a secret mission, an alien from a far-away galaxy looking for his fated mate, or a spy trying to catch a foreign agent. Whatever their secrets, intrigue and passion follow…

Secret Garden by A.J. Harris – Hired by werewolf matriarchs to track down a bad-boy photographer, a private investigator discovers a deep connection with her past—and a secret garden of unspoken, sensual pleasures

What That Alien D Do by Ava Cuvay – A cosplayer at a popular Sc-Fi convention stalks her favorite MyFans content creator only to discover his alien “prosthetic enhancements” are real

Masquerade by Brent Archer – After accepting an invitation to a masquerade, a coffeeshop owner finds himself on the run from a mafia hitman with a handsome harlequin

Claimed by her Naga Bodyguard by Cameron Allie – Escaping her dorm for a night of fun with friends takes a turn for a witch-in-training when demons attack, and a mysterious creature comes to her rescue

Mayday by Cindy Tanner – A miscommunication isn’t the end of the world—unless it is the end of the world—and your “ride or die” might just be undead

Matsuri by D.S. Dehel – An American woman searching in Japan for the man haunting her dreams is chased by a wily kitsune into a magical place where she meets a samurai warrior

Most Wanted by Darah Lace – A bounty on the line, a hunter who bedded then betrayed her, and a strip club—she’ll bare it all to get her man

Heartthrob by Delilah Devlin – Determined to recast his image from heartthrob to action hero, an actor hires on incognito with an Oklahoma ranch whose owner is trying to stay out of foreclosure

Sex, Spies, and Subterfuge by Elle James – Scottish UK SAS Agent on an undercover weekend assignment tangles with a beautiful Russian seductress and potential assassin.

Thought You Were the One by Gabbi Grey – He’s in for a surprise twist when he seeks a second chance to win the attention of his handsome, unrequited, high school crush

Baby, Take My Hand by M. Jayne – After surviving a bullet to the brain, a detective hunting a serial killer is drawn to a mysterious man

Her Heavenly Phantom by Michal Scott – Forced into a marriage of convenience neither wants, a mild-mannered banker with an intriguing secret discovers his reluctant bride has a secret, too

Perfect Stranger by N. J. Walters – An undercover DEA agent must keep his identity secret from the woman he’s falling for, a woman he’s also investigating

In the Dark by Reina Torres – During a blackout, an undercover NSA agent in Hawaii falls hard and fast for the military guy living across the hall with secrets of his own

Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Identities-Behaving-Badly-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0D5SQ4P2P
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-identities-delilah-devlin/1145674531
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/secret-identities/id6503634546
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/secret-identities-8
Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214187714-secret-identities

About Gabbi Grey

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.