UPDATE: The winner is…bn100!
*~*~*

Hugh is my third shared world book, and I’ve signed up to write three more in the next six months.  Why? Easy. Because I love the camaraderie of working with other writers.

Writing is very much a solo pursuit.  You can join writing groups, cultivate critique groups, find loyal beta readers, and even have accountability partners.  In the end, though, unless you’re literally sitting next to another writer and you’re sharing the words, you’re on your own.  You might brainstorm a story with a good friend, but getting the actual story on the page is up to you.

Shared world writing is no different.  I’m still responsible for writing the story.  But I get to have fun working with other authors.  We create a world and then we share it with readers.  Our characters develop into more than what we see for them.  For instance, Charley Descoteaux wrote Jake, the first book in the Single Dads of Gaynor Beach series.  I read her book and adored her couple, Micah and Jake.  I brought them into my story.  I also pulled some of her secondary characters and Wynn – the hero of Amelia Hayden’s book.

Then I created other secondary characters – like Louisa, the local veterinarian.  She’ll appear in Kaje Harper’s upcoming book Alec.  And, of course, I’m hoping my couple – Hugh and Oscar – appear in future books.

Although writing like this is way more effort, it’s also rewarding.  I’ve met some great new authors and gotten to work with several authors whose work I’ve admired in the past.  I’ve enjoyed this process so much that I’ve signed up to write Anthony.  His book is coming in December 2022.  Now, he’s a bit of a jerk in Hugh, so you’ll have to stay tuned to discover why he’s an asshole, and how he’s going to redeem himself.

The one challenge, for me, was choosing an original storyline.  With twenty books about gay single fathers, I wanted something unique.  For Hugh, I chose to have a single grandfather.  He doesn’t know about his daughter, and when she dies, he discovers he has a granddaughter.  He races home to take care of her only to discover there’s already someone caring for her.  Want to know how that goes over?  You’ll just have to read the book!

What are your favorite tropes?  I love single fathers.  I adore hurt/comfort with a moderate amount of angst.  How about you?  One random commenter will win a $5 US Amazon gift card.  Good luck!

Hugh

Hugh

Having spent more than twenty years as an emergency medicine physician in war zones around the world, I barely have a home to speak of. A daughter I didn’t know about has died and left a child behind, so I must get to Gaynor Beach, California to claim my granddaughter. Her temporary guardian is the first man to spark my interest in a very long time, but it would be inappropriate for me to have a relationship with this much-younger man.

Oscar

Gutted by my best friend’s death, I take solace in the daughter she left in my guardianship. I’ll protect this precious baby with all I have, and no one is going to take her away from me—least of all the man who turns up on our doorstep claiming to be her grandfather. Despite the resemblance, I plan to keep him at arm’s length. I’m going to show him how capable I am. But I might also lose my heart in the process.

This is an 85k word, hurt/comfort, interracial, age-gap, MM romance novel with a moderate amount of angst.

Where to buy:
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/Hugh-Single-Dads-Gaynor-Beach-ebook/dp/B0B5BD7XK5
Universal Book Link:  https://books2read.com/b/b6RDGM
KOBO:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hugh-single-dads-of-gaynor-beach-book-4
Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hugh-gabbi-grey/1141709240
iBooks:  https://books.apple.com/us/book/hugh-single-dads-of-gaynor-beach-book-4/id6443041869
Google Play:  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Gabbi_Grey_Hugh_Single_Dads_of_Gaynor_Beach_Book_4
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1153733

Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61069506-hugh

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.

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
Facebook (page): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGabbiGrey
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GabbiGrey

Just a reminder! In just ONE WEEK, Gabriel releases! Have you pre-ordered your copy?!

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS:
DEAD HORSE, MT
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…

An ex-Special Forces bounty hunter has to find a way to repair his friendship with the agency’s prickly tech guru while not falling in love with her…

Gabriel Pelletier can’t read women. Hell, he didn’t know his ex-wife had been seeing another man until she cleaned out the apartment while he was deployed. Somehow, he’s managed to offend the Montana Bounty Hunters’ tech guru, and everyone around him is telling him to fix it!

Ex-Army Fredericka “Fig” Newton has always navigated working with men by repelling them before she attracts unwanted attention. She temporarily lost her mind trying to befriend Gabriel when he joined the agency. Sure, he’s cute, and while everyone around her has found their happy-ever-after, she thought, just maybe, she could find hers with him. But nope. All her friendly overtures blew up in her face. So, it’s back to prickly Fig. Besides, they have a bad guy to take down and no time for romance.

Pre-order here!

Open Contests

1. 10 Things That Make Me Sigh (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Giveaway! FREE Read! Sweeter Than Honey — This giveaway ends soon! Everyone, get your copy!
4. Tell Me a Story or a Big Fat Lie! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is Amanda Honea!
*~*~*

I bought this little brainstorming tool years ago at some writers’ conference. “Story Cubes” is a brainstorming game. You roll the dice and whatever pictures appear face-up are the ones you use to riff off a story.

Now, I’d like you to tell me a story based on what you see on the cubes. OR tell me a big fat lie—something better than the dog ate your homework or my car broke down on the way home from the office party. Do any of these symbols tell you anything? You can pick some of the images or use all of them.

Have fun with this! Don’t overthink! Here’s the roll… 

To make this fun, I’ll offer a prize—a $5 Amazon gift card—good for purchasing one or two stories equally as creative as the one you’re about to tell! 🙂

It’s Sunday, and I’m still zooming toward the end of the book I’m writing, so I don’t have a lot of time for anything else. I thought I’d offer up a FREE copy of a story I wrote some time back. I may have given this away in the past, but since I don’t remember doing so, I’ll hope some of you haven’t already downloaded your copy! Anyway, this story is sort of a “prequel” to my Lone Star Lovers series. It’s set in the Old West in the sleepy town where my menage westerns are set. It’s very sexy (er, raunchy) and has one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever written. Enjoy!

Get your FREE copy!

UPDATE: The winner is…#11, Joy Boutwell!
*~*~*

It’s Puzzle Day! The image today is a personal photo of something I miss.

(Head down again now. I have a book to finish!)

Solve the puzzle then share something you miss! Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun!

I love a tortured hero, don’t you? In the latest installment in my Zenarians series, I deal with the trauma of loss. My battle-scarred hero Zadoc lost his beloved ofelia (soulmate) to the war with the Mordaines. Murdered right before his eyes. Doomed to live without her, each day is a new torment for him. I honestly cried a few times while writing his tragic story. He loved his Jasmine with all his heart. So, when unassuming Laura St. Claire comes into his life and he finds himself drawn to her, Zadoc is torn. It’s a betrayal to Jasmine’s memory, and yet there’s just something about the dark-haired human female that tugs at him. Even her scent is somehow familiar. Is he being given a second chance at love?

When you pick up this novel you can expect to read about an immortal alien hero, an introverted bookworm of a heroine, love scenes that will knock your socks off, and edge-of-your-seat action. Have tissues handy because you just might shed a few tears!

Other novels in my Zenarians Series include Zar, Kade, and Dyre. All can be read on their own, but you won’t want to miss these over-the-top alphas! To get you started you can read the first chapter of all four books on my website: https://www.annerainey.com/zenarians-series

Zadoc: Zenarians Series, Book Four

She awakens the beast in him…

Zadoc has known happiness when he met his beautiful Jasmine. His ofelia. His soulmate. She was his whole world. Only to have her ripped away from him when she was murdered during the war with the Mordaines. Her death was a knife to his heart. As a centuries-old Zenarian immortal, Zadoc is aware that he will never love another. Never feel the soft caress of a lover’s hands upon his wings. The physical scars he bears are a constant reminder of all that he’s lost. Until he meets Laura. Sweet, shy, and Earth-born. Her presence brings light and joy to his soul—and his creature isn’t immune to her innocent allure either. After so many years of cold emptiness, Zadoc will go to extreme lengths to keep Laura by his side.

Laura enjoys a simple life. A good book on a stormy night. Sunday dinners with her family. Her life is as modest as it gets and she’s happy with the status quo. When she meets Zadoc, co-owner of Zenarian Industries, she’s instantly drawn to him. His commanding presence and the deep, gravelly tone of his voice sends tingles of awareness along her nerve endings. Everything feminine in her stands up and takes notice. Until she glimpses the black wings sprouting from his back. Wait, wings? Before she can wrap her mind around what she’s seeing, she’s kidnapped by a disgruntled co-worker and tortured, marking the beginning of Laura’s crazy adventure into a world she never knew existed.

Buy Zadoc on Amazon Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WJRPB6J/

You can also join me on Rainey’s Readers for exclusive peeks at upcoming books and contests: https://www.facebook.com/groups/785284435328066

Excerpt from Zadoc: Zenarians Series, Book 4…

Laura couldn’t look away. She suspected she was frozen in terror. Or maybe she was having a crazy and intense dream and she couldn’t wake up. Sleep paralysis was a thing, right? People suffered from it all the time. You think you’re awake, but you aren’t. Either way, nothing in her life could’ve prepared her for what was sitting next to her. Zadoc has wings. Giant black Lucifer-type wings. She watched as the gorgeous man shifted around on the sofa to get more comfortable. She had to scoot away from him to keep from being hit in the face by the right one. They were spread out on either side of him. A twitch of his shoulder and the left wing flexed, knocking into the table lamp. For a few worrisome seconds the metal base teetered back and forth before it steadied.

Oh, God, it couldn’t be real. “Touch him,” she mumbled to her cowardly self. “Just find out if they’re real.”

Taking a deep breath, Laura reached out with her right hand and stroked a feather near the top bend. It was as soft as velvet beneath her fingertips. Zadoc’s entire body went rigid and his eyes flew open. His gaze snared hers. “Ofelia,” he murmured in a voice so deep and hoarse that Laura felt it coast along her nerve endings.

She slowly got to her feet. “I don’t—”

Sheer terror prevented her from finishing the statement. She backed up a step, stumbling over the heels that she’d kicked off earlier, then ran toward the door. She heard Zadoc calling her name, but adrenaline was pumping hard and she ran for all she was worth. She saw her purse on the table near the door and grabbed it, then gave the knob a vicious twist, shoving the door wide. She hauled ass down the sidewalk to the street beyond. “Help!” she screamed. A porch light came on a few houses down and she ran toward it. She could hear footsteps behind her, but she didn’t dare look back. Suddenly a car came barreling around the corner, headlights momentarily blinding her. Brakes screeched and a passenger door swung open. She stared in horror as Eddie sat behind the wheel holding a gun.

“Get in,” he shouted. “Now, Laura, or I’ll kill you and your boyfriend.”

Laura looked back and saw Zadoc running toward her. The wings were gone. As if they’d never been there. Had she dreamt the whole thing? Jesus, maybe. A combination of too many hours at the office and not enough sleep. She’d had freaky dreams plenty of times. Zadoc yelled her name and Laura started in his direction, but Eddie’s words pulled her to a halt.

“He’ll die first,” Eddie snarled. “I have nothing to lose, thanks to you.”

Her stomach churned and her knees nearly collapsed. If she didn’t get in the car then Eddie really would shoot. Zadoc would be dead and it’d be her fault. And all because she’d had a nightmare and imagined things that couldn’t possibly be real.

I’m just ducking in to make a quick post! I went to “Art Day” at my local art guild and spent the morning wallowing in watercolor. I need more days spent like that! So, I’m just making a quick post to remind you that there are open contests you need to ENTER WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Open Contests

1. Happy International Kissing Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Montana Bounty Hunters–Dead Horse, MT (Contest–2 Winners!) — Win a FREE book!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Diana Cosby: Nature at the Shore! (Contest) — Win a FREE tote!
5. 10 Things That Make Me Sigh (Contest) — Win a FREE book!