UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

It’s Friday. The kids have one more partial week of school before they’re FREE for the summer. I love summers. Not only do we spend an inordinate amount of time in the pool, my daughter is very skilled at finding things for them to do that are fun. We, of course, like to snack around the pool and cook around the pool. When the bugs aren’t horrible, we bring the outdoor projector out at night and shine a movie against the chicken coop wall (I know that sounds ridiculous, but it is fun! Imagine watching episodes of Jimmy Neutron while sitting in lounge chairs under the stars.). We try to float the river at least once during the summer. We go to the beach at the local lake. We like movie nights inside, where we snack on finger foods. We have special meals where we’re all involved with prep. Do you own a raclette grill? We bought one maybe five years ago, and we bring it out to set up in the middle of the dining table to melt cheese over meat and veggies. It’s like fondue, I guess, but everything is grilled in individual trays. Then you place your grilled bites on hard crackers or bits of bread and gobble it up. Tasty and fun! We head to the movie theater several times during the summer. We buy the refillable popcorn tubs and eat before we head out to the movies to save on expenses. And we buy tickets to the matinees as opposed to buying full-price tickets for nighttime movies. We have craft projects—painting days, for example. So many things. We head to the library. We have plans. Lots of them. But we’re always looking for fresh ideas.

I’d like to do the same here and look for fresh ideas for this blog. I talk a lot here. It’s my daily habit to open up a blank screen and word-vomit about what’s happening with books and share the space with other authors who want to be seen. We play games (do you still love the puzzles?). While contemplating clearing my bookshelves, I instituted a new contest this last week, the “Clear My Bookshelf Giveaway,” that you apparently like, at least for this first outing, because the comments have surged. Yes, I prefer giveaways of cyber-gifts because I hate going to the post office, but I also hate the thought of consigning books to the burn barrel—it seems like a crime to even consider, but I have a finite amount of space in my office, and it’s time to thin out those books.

So, there’s a point somewhere in this post. Maybe I’ll find it. My fingers are typing, but they often speed ahead of my brain. Thank goodness, otherwise I’d never write a book.

I’m pausing now, because I do need to find the point. Today’s question… What was I talking about?

Oh, yeah. New ideas. Things you’d like to see. I’m glad I put that at the top of this post in the subject line, or I’d just keep rambling. Tell me what you like seeing here in this space. What sorts of prizes do you like? I can do signed books, downloadable books, bookmarks, small pieces of art, gift cards… Gift cards are easy, but they do add up. Mailing things isn’t so easy, but I do like to change things up, and I can enlist my dd to head into town for me. Yeah, she’s going to be busy with the kids this summer, but she’s a great multi-tasker. She rarely reads this blog. I hope she doesn’t decide to do so today.

Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Kerry Pruett!
*~*~*

Last weekend, my daughter and SIL splurged on a new Blackstone griddle. Frankly, I’d never heard of one, and when they explained it to me, I thought, yeah, a new barbecue, right? Well, my daughter is very, very serious about her new griddle. She has never once expressed interest in our grill or our smoker. In fact, the first night we had it, after she seasoned the griddle, she cooked our entire breakfast-for-dinner (eggs, bacon, sausage) on the griddle in a quarter of the time and dishes we would have normally in the kitchen. Plus, we ate at our patio table outside, steps away from the griddle. The following morning, the 19-year-old made a ton of French toast in minutes, and again, we enjoyed our meal on the patio.

Okay, I’m sold. Instead of multiple pans and cooking times, everything is done on one surface at the same time—outside. And clean-up is quick!  Cool. We’re going to make hibachi and smashburgers this coming weekend, and I can’t wait.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then make some suggestions for other things we might cook up on this new outdoor griddle.

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

Hello, Delilah! Thank you for welcoming me back to share my new release.  As you might know, I’m always game to try something new when it comes to writing.  I was approached last year to write a gay romance retelling of a fairy tale and to say I was excited was an understatement.  Several tales were still available, and I snagged The Beauty and the Beast. I didn’t know much about the story beyond the two Disney retellings, so I set about doing some research. Which, of course, included buying the Disney combo and watching the movies again.  The one stipulation on my story was that I couldn’t include magic.  No singing candelabras, dogs as footstools, or little boys as teacups.

Undaunted, I tackled the project and…came up blank.  I knew I wanted to set the story in my Mission City, British Columbia world, but beyond that…I had nothing.  One day, I was chatting with a friend from Australia.  She said she wanted me to either write a story with a Canadian bloke in Australia or an Australian bloke in Canada.  Something clicked.  That morning (about 4 a.m. for me and about 9 p.m. for her), we plotted out a basic story.  About an Aussie forester coming to Canada to study, well, forestry management techniques.  So that was my Beauty – a lumberjack of sorts.  Then I needed a beast.  Since I was already flipping the trope, I decided to go with a slender, petite former model.  In stereotype parlance – a twink.  From there, we crafted out a story figuring out how Beauty (Dean) would wind up at Beast (Adam)’s castle (and yes, I have a real castle…of sorts…)  Throw in a dog named Chip, a cat named Maurice, and a pile of characters from the world I’d already created…and I had the skeleton outline of my story.

Executing this book turned out to be more challenging than I’d anticipated, and at one point I despaired of ever getting it ready to publish.  Toss in two amazing beta readers (one Aussie) and a fantastic editor and…we made it.  I hope readers will love the book as much as I now do.  A very different telling than the Brothers Grimm might’ve planned, but still something worth reading, I hope.

Thank you for letting me visit today.  I would love to give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card to one commenter.  Either tell me which fairy tale you would like to see modernized or feel free to mention an adaptation you’ve recently enjoyed.  Random Number Generator will select one lucky winner!

The Beauty of the Beast
A Contemporary Fairytale MM Romance

Dean

All my life, I dreamed about making the long trip from Australia to Canada to study forestry amid the old-growth stands of the Pacific Northwest. Now here I am, living the dream. Of course, nothing’s perfect. The only housing I can find is renting a room from a grumpy, reclusive guy who doesn’t seem to want me around. I should keep out of his way and focus on my studies, but there’s something about him that keeps drawing me in. I feel less homesick when I’m with him, and maybe I can make a difference for more than just the trees.

Adam

Life as I knew it ended with my horrific accident ten years ago. There’s no point to my existence now, but I can’t seem to stop living, so I hide my battered carcass in my mountain home. There, I can wander from room to room and no one stares, no one laughs, no one even remembers I exist. Until I make the mistake of offering a stranded Aussie a room to rent. It should’ve been a simple favor—two men with our own spaces, ignoring each other. Instead, he’s always close by, and he won’t let me wallow, and what’s worse, I think I’m starting to like that. But there’s no way someone like me can have a future with someone like him. Right?

The Beauty of the Beast is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set in the wilds of British Columbia, where an Aussie forester a long way from home falls for the untouchable man he shouldn’t want. The novel has moderate angst, a feisty foreigner, and what happens when someone trusts again.

Links:
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Beast-Contemporary-Fairytale-Romance-ebook/dp/B0CN4VXZ2T
Universal Book Link:  https://books2read.com/TheBeautyoftheBeast
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-beauty-of-the-beast/id6499569892
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beauty-of-the-beast-gabbi-grey/1145522583
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-beauty-of-the-beast-5
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1558154

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
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GabbiGrey

UPDATE: The winner is…Anna Marie Flamini!
*~*~*

A rare geomagnetic solar storm has some folks very excited. When it was announced, we were disappointed that we wouldn’t get to see them this far south in Arkansas. However, last night, some of the 19-year-old’s friends shared pictures they’d taken with their phones of faint glimmers of the aurora borealis affect.

So, she went outside and took these.

Cool, right? Our big old trees blocked most of it. Okay, so it’s not spectacular, but we NEVER see the lights this far south.

I’ve always wanted to go someplace like Iceland to experience the truly spectacular Northern Lights, but maybe someday.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, have you ever seen the Northern Lights? Enjoy the puzzle and Happy Saturday!

UPDATE: The winner is…Colleen C!
*~*~*

The first book I completed was A Change for the Good. It was one of those times when the idea came to me complete. I knew the characters’ names, and scenes were fully plotted. I fully intended it to be a one-and-done. I was new to publishing, and I had so many ideas.

However, Forde and Layla popped into my head, and I couldn’t shut them up. Better was the first book that I couldn’t stop writing. I would open my laptop to write a quick one hundred words here and there whenever I got the chance.

With that book, The Change Series was born. I had no plan, only ideas. I used it as a way to try different things. I wrote about interracial couples, male/male, dealt with mental illness, women who did not want to settle down, and characters who didn’t want children. They were imperfect heroes and heroines who were making changes to get what they wanted.

I finished the last book in 2020 and moved on to other series. Three years ago, a member of my team suggested that I update the covers for the series. Every six months, she would remind me of all the reasons why it was necessary and enlisted others to encourage me to do so.

Last fall, I paid for new covers, and since the ladies who were working on the project had read the books, they had great ideas and insights. We tried to position the series for Contemporary Romance and Women’s Literature (Chick Lit.)

Because I could not leave well enough alone, I decided to go back and reread each book and make a few fixes. I thought it would take forever, but the books are easy reads, and I was done in a few weeks.

As I read each book, memories of the struggle to tell the couples’ stories came back to me. The excitement of knowing that I was on the right path when the words came easily and the pain deep in my chest when they thought they might not make it.

I rediscovered my old friends. In Best, I created the best friend that I wish I had. Billie has been through so much and is damaged. She has PTSD and a horrible mother. She moves to Indianapolis to start over. Soon after, she meets Zoe Alessi from Good and becomes a part of the Forde Limited family and finds the love of her life.

Next came A Change in Perception, where I explored the issue of child abuse and made the mother the aggressor. A book club in Michigan read the book and I was shocked to learn that one of the members was furious that I wrote “that garbage.” The reader believed that a mother would never hurt her child.

I’m still amazed at people who refuse to see.

Cress was a tough character to write. She works so hard but really only lives half of a life. When the book opens, she is trying to take some control over her disaster of a life. She doesn’t have a plan except to make changes. I needed to create a character that didn’t know herself, but she wanted to. She was smart and dumb at the same time. Her new friends and lover gave her a safe space to learn and the patience to make missteps.

My plan when writing A Change of Plan was to make Ramsay Kent, who was a ball-breaker and mistake-maker, likable. When the reader meets her in prior books, she is prickly and selfish. When things get tough, she takes off. Rereading her story years later, I saw a deeply wounded woman who was doing the best she could. It was ingrained in her that she was not worth people sticking with. I paired her with Osi Browne, who is a loner. He’s big and scary and intimidates all. He also has infinite patience and the drive to figure the elusive Ramsay out.

Immediately, I saw similar traits between Osi and The Novus Pack’s most popular male, Lore. They have a personal code. They care for only a few, but if you are one of “theirs,” then they will be loyal.

I clearly remember creating Campbell Talbot from A Change of Direction as a woman who made her own rules. She was single and enjoyed being so. Men were a want and not a need in her life. She was unapologetically independent.

In a different life, I could be her. In some ways, I am.

When she meets Sly, neither are looking for a relationship; however, their chemistry cannot be denied. He puts up with her dating rules because they amuse him. When he finally meets her two besties, he gains valuable insight into Campbell.

She needs to feel that she has control because, in her failed marriage, her husband controlled her with money. When she wanted her freedom, he fought and delayed the divorce to watch her suffer.

The final book in the series takes place during the holidays. I devote a chapter to each couple and give an update on their lives and a hint of their future. The story arc is about Billie and Tye moving into their dream house and their fertility journey. The final scene is during the group’s Christmas lunch. I wrote the damn scene, and I read it with tears falling down my cheeks. I was happy for all of my old friends, but especially for Billie.

After reading the series, I realized that I was writing about what I wanted from my friendships and what I wanted to give. I had gone through a period where I lost my closest writing world friends. There was no big blow-up, and to this day, I still don’t know what happened. One day, we were in a four-person Messenger group, and the next…it was disbanded.

In the Change Series, I created female characters that I wanted in my life. Women that were loyal and could have a problem with one another and not ditch a friendship.

As time passed, I made new friends. I probably moved more slowly with them because I was wary. I wanted to be sure they would be honest with me and understand that I’m far from perfect. I was looking for friendships where we celebrated the good times and pulled one another through the bad times.

Taking the time to reread the books gave me the opportunity to see how much I have grown as a writer and as a person and friend. Hopefully, I’ll be much better.

*~*~*

You can learn more about Melanie Jayne:  https://www.readmelaniejayne.com

And the Change Series: https://www.readmelaniejayne.com/change-series.html

To enter the drawing for a $10 Amazon Gift Card— Who is your Book Best Friend?
(A fictional character that you wish was real and in your crew)

Although the concept of motherhood has, in times past, been fairly narrow—and binary—I believe in a more expansive definition.  We can have “mothers” in our lives who didn’t give birth to us.  Aunties or grandmothers who raised us, foster parents who took care of us, or trans moms who might’ve had a different role as we grew up.

This new anthology of drabbles is a celebration of motherhood in all its many forms.  Of moms in their many forms.  Some stories will make you laugh, some will make you cry (yes, even me), and some will make you reflect on how we all view motherhood.

What’s a drabble? It’s a form of microfiction.  100 words.  Exactly 100 words.  No easy feat – trust me on that.  I love this project so much that I submitted stories under three different pen names.  I’ve had three maternal figures in my life: the woman who gave birth to me, the woman who adopted me, and the woman who guided me into mature adulthood.  My birth mom, my adopted mom, and my step-mom.  All hold pivotal roles in my life.  All mean the world to me.

So from funny anecdotes to touching moments to poetry, there’s something in here for everyone.  And the book has been published in paperback and hardcover – so it’s the perfect gift for the mother in your life – whomever that person is. (Or for yourself, to enjoy the reflections of all kinds of motherhood…)

Flowers for You

One hundred perfect words. A thousand heartfelt emotions.

For Mother’s Day and all year-round, we at the Romance Café are shouting about this collection of perfect, bite-sized celebrations of moms, mums, mas, mothers and other caring figures in your life.

These 100-word stories celebrate the many different ways that carers show their love, from the everyday acts of kindness to the sacrifices they make for their children.

Warning: may cause a sniffle or three.

Authors:
Gabbi Powell
Gabbi Black
Trinity Wood
Kaje Harper
Tami Winbush
L Mad Hildebrandt
Hannah McKee
Lisa Gwizdala-Cody
Alexa Santi
Cara north
Sonja Flowers
Michelle Mars
Tori Fields
Rhianon Ruby
Elaine Reed
Danika Bloom
A. Boss
Niki Brazen
DL Gallie
Mila Chase
Debra Deasey
Susan Horsnell USAT Bestselling Author
Jeanna Louise Skinner
Cecelia Conway
Suki McMinn
Annee Jones
Gabbi Grey
J.E. Feldman
Kathleen Ryder
Sarah Stein
Angela Kady
MacKade
Heather Osborne
Harper Michaels
Sofia Aves
Bonnie Poirier
Ryleigh Sloan
Niki Trento
Yolanda Olson
Sera Taíno
Kat Long
Katherine Moore
Melissa Kendall
LoLo Paige
Aurelia Foxx
Krithika
Vanesa L. Perillo
G.R. LeBlanc
Jade Glas
Brianna Malotke
Tori Fields

Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/TNRC2024FlowersForYou
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Flowers-You-Drabbles-Microfiction-Collection-ebook/dp/B0CH3GBY4K
Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198359414-flowers-for-you

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.

Last week…

• I finished one editing job for another author.
• I found the art for the cover for my next We Are Dead Horse book, Built Like Mack, got the cover made, and the pre-order set up in Amazon.
• I had covers made for a series I’m republishing and created the pre-orders in KDP. Those links aren’t available because KDP wants to make sure I’m republishing my own books first.
• I began lightly revising the first of the series I’m republishing, which I hope to have out on May 14th. If you like kink, be watching for it!
• I worked on art for #The100DayProject—nearly catching up with the schedule.
• I’m still recovering very slowly from an injury to my knee. At first, I got around with a limp, then I used a knee brace, then a cane. I’m off the cane, but not 100% just yet!

This next week…

• I will work on two editing projects for other authors, finishing one!
• I will try to find art for the next anthology, Secret Identities. Plus, I’ll work on the webpage on the Collections site, adding loglines for each author’s story.
• I will complete editing the first and the second stories in the kink series I’m republishing and get them uploaded for pre-order.
• I will begin writing my next Montana Bounty Hunter story, the first in the West Yellowstone office, Cyrus.
• I will continue creating small art daily for #The100DayProject.
• I’ll work on a gazillion administrative things I need to catch up on.

And here I was hoping I could take a bit of a break…

Open Contests

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: The Time Tunnel (Contest) — This one ends tomorrow! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Hold on to Memories (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. April into May (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Word Search: Happy Batman Day! (Contest) — Win a beaded pen!
5. Remember when…? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Happy Paranormal Day! (Giveaway!) — This offer ends soon! Get your FREE book while this offer lasts!
7. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Why did the black bear cross the road? — Win an Amazon gift card!