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.

Before I get into my latest release, a bit of news…

I met with the oncologist yesterday. And yes, I have the Big C. And it’s metastatic, which means the place where it was detected isn’t where it originated. I’ll get a biopsy either this week or next then I’ll meet with the oncologist again, and we’ll set up a treatment plan. I’m not feeling all doom and gloomy. That’s not me. He’s pretty cool actually. No fluffy talk. And he’s optimistic about outcomes or at least the fact I’m not going anywhere any time soon. We’ll take it a step at a time. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing what I always do—write, edit, and have fun with the family. I still have a least another month of pool time, which is a blessing. I always feel renewed after swimming. I’m a Cancer (a positive use of that word!) and a water baby. I’d appreciate your good vibes, prayers, Reiki (you know who you are! *wink*) and well wishes. I’ll need them for when I’m not feeling my best. However, I told the family we’ll make fun where we can. If I go through chemo, I want them to find the most outrageous and funny bandanas they can. Last night, the SIL found some funny head coverings that look like porcupine hats or grass hats. He gets the assignment. 🙂

Back to the new release. This is the last of the refurbished/republished stories in the Delta Heat/Delta Fire stories. The next one I release, Ignition, will be a new story. Yay! This one, with Gage as the lead is my favorite in the series. He’s my favorite kind of hero to write—gruff, burly, and ready to fall like a ton of bricks for the right woman. I hope you pick up a copy and that you enjoy it! ~DD

Rapid Entry

Order your copy now! | Read an excerpt!

Firefighter Gage Eastwood doesn’t hesitate to race into his neighbor’s apartment to put out the fire there. Of course, some hesitation might have given him the time to realize he was buck-naked. He’s a professional, so he can overlook the fact she’s in her underwear, but after a nosy neighbor snaps some pictures of them, the fire and his naked heroics go viral.

Shy Viviana Moore is a bestselling romance author. She might write about kink, but she’s never done anything kinky. So when her hotter-than-hot savior invites her out to his sex club, La Forge, she doesn’t admit at first to her lack of actual kinky experience. Soon, she has more than enough material for a whole new series as well as some hands-on experience of her own, and Gage is wondering if she’d let him be her muse…permanently.

Note: This book was previously published.

Today’s my sexy date with the oncologist. Afterward, I might pop in for an update, but we’ll see. I’m a little nervous. No stiff upper lip here today. I didn’t sleep well, despite a nice dose of codeine. Sleep is the ultimate elixir, isn’t it?

Anyway, there’s fun stuff happening over on the Collections website. Be sure to follow the link and enter to win. Ava’s story was the first one I read when going through submissions when I said, “Hell, yeah! I have to have it!” It’s that good. Funny, sexy, and just the kind of alien invasion story I adore.

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.