Hello, Delilah! Thank you for welcoming me here to share my new release! Archer’s Awakening is a short story in my Love in Mission City world.  I’m super excited about this short story (10k) because it’s a bit of a departure from what I’ve been writing.

In what way, you ask?  Well…firstly, it’s a love story in the Mission City series, which is small-town.  Yet the protagonist — Archer — is a big city divorce lawyer, and the setting is The Georgian Hotel in Vancouver, Canada (based on a real place, but not that place).  At least for the first two-thirds of the story, it’s not clear where the connection to Mission City is.  I trust my readers to hang in there until the reveal — because it comes.

This book is also steamy, but not in a traditional Gabbi Grey way. Curious? You’ll have to read because I don’t want to give any spoilers away.

I’m trying something new as I move forward in my Love in Mission City series — a small prequel short story before each big book.  The short stories are in no way necessary reading — but they offer a little snippet between big books to keep readers interested.  The first was Rayne Check.  That one was unintentional — I wrote it for a friend and to give away.  Then I wrote Rayne’s Return.  A reader can read that full-length book without the prequel — but having read the steamy short helps.

Which brought me to the next big book, Gideon’s Gratitude (coming in July).  I’ll share the genesis of that story later, but it’s been written for years.  I just needed to find the right spot for it.  After Rayne’s Return is perfect! Except…I couldn’t put anything in Rayne’s Return to help prepare readers for Gideon and Archer’s love story.

Hence, Archer’s Awakening.

Confused? Yeah, me too.  I’d plotted out the next four big books and, in the end, decided each needed a super short, super-hot prequel.

Unlike Rayne and Everett’s half-a-night stand in the prequel for their story, Archer and Gideon have to meet in chapter one of their book — it’s the ultimate meet cute.  So that left me with finding a way to whet reader’s appetites.  I truly hope I’ve managed.

Finally, Archer is bisexual.  That’s not a big deal in my fictional world — plenty of men and women are.  I know several in my own life, and I want to see their stories represented.  Archer’s coming out of what turned out to be a bad marriage. That stings because he’s a divorce lawyer — he can’t believe he’s become one of the people who couldn’t hold things together.

In an attempt to move forward, he’s going back to what is comfortable — he had a gay lover in college, and he’s willing to try again.  The trick for me as a writer? It has to be clear the guy Archer (sort of) hooks up with isn’t his happily ever after.  And readers can’t be disappointed the guy isn’t.  That’s threading a needle. I hope I’ve done it.

Anyway, that is my explanation about how Archer’s Awakening came to be.  I love the cover my designer made for me. (I’m thrilled with all the work she’s done for me.)  I hope readers enjoy this steamy short and that it makes them want Gideon’s Gratitude all the more!

As a thank you to your readers, Delilah, I want to give a copy of Archer’s Awakening and a $5 Amazon Gift Card to one commenter.  How likely are you to grab a short story if it’s connected to a series you love?  Do you enjoy these vignettes into the world or do you just want the next full-length novel.  Leave a comment and let me know!  Random will pick a winner.

Archer’s Awakening

Archer

I’ve spent the last fifteen years becoming the most sought-after divorce attorney in Vancouver. I use every hidden fact and every psychological trick to protect my clients and get the best settlements possible. I have a wait-list for my services a mile long.

Ironically, I didn’t see my own divorce coming. My wife cheated on me, and now I’m alone. As long as I’m rebuilding my life, this is the time to explore the bisexual side I’ve shelved since college. And hell yeah, I do like men, but the idea of one-night stands leaves me feeling empty. Might the right person still be out there for me? Should I go back to dating women?

I just don’t know.

Archer’s Awakening is a 10k steamy gay romance short story about a man on the precipice of a new life yet struggling to leave his old life behind.

Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Archers-Awakening-Mission-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B0DZ3NQNY1
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/archer-s-awakening
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/archers-awakening-gabbi-grey/1147281840
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/archers-awakening/id6744618670
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Gabbi_Grey_Archer_s_Awakening?id=uYFVEQAAQBAJ&gl=US
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1747321
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/ArchersAwakening

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

BURN:  A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Deadline Extended: June 15, 2025

BURN is open to all authors.

Editor/Author Delilah Devlin is looking for stories for a romantic erotica anthology tentatively entitled BURN:  A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY.

Why write a short story for this collection? Well, it’s certainly not about making a lot of money, so why do it at all? I’ve said this before, many times, but here are my thoughts…

Writing a short story for a call for submissions is a chance to flex your writing muscles! It can be a chance to experiment with a genre you’ve never written. If you’ve never written a story in first person but don’t want to begin by writing an entire novel using it, start short! For myself, I’ve written stories in new genres or with fresh themes that ended up being so much fun to write they’ve spawned entire series of books.

You have a deadline! I don’t know about you, but I have trouble keeping my butt in the chair without one!

It’s a promotional opportunity! If selected, you’ll be joined by 12-15 other authors for the launch, sharing your audiences and, hopefully, picking up new readers along the way. Having your story in the collection is another chance to be “seen.”

And remember, you retain the rights to your story, so you can republish it for individual sale or give it away to attract subscribers to your newsletter. You might even decide there’s more story to tell and expand your short story into a novel.

Here’s what I’m looking for…

BURN: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY will include stories that satisfy the reader who craves stories about those sexy, alpha men who face danger without hesitation and who love unconditionally. Perhaps, he’s the new firefighter in a small town who rescues a woman from a burning building. Maybe he’s an arson investigator, hunting for a predator targeting a local business owner. Or a vulcanologist studying an awakening volcano. Is he an alien from a fiery planet seeking a mate, or an astronaut searching in a mysterious solar system for a new home for colonization? Could he be a fire dragon living in the human world? There are so many ways to go.

BURN will seek stories with varied settings here on Earth—present, past, or future—or on another planet or moon in this solar system or in a galaxy far, far, away.  Heroes and heroines might be more than human—supernatural creatures or even aliens and cyborgs.

I’m open to any subgenre of erotic romance you want to write. I’ll accept contemporary, historical, science fiction, or paranormal stories, and I won’t be picky about whether the stories are hetero, LGBT, ménage… Basically, you, the author, can go anywhere your imagination takes you so long as 1) the story is a romance, and 2) you have a bad boy/girl somewhere on the pages!

The anthology will be sold at a low price—my intent is exposure for you and your writing. The more readers reached, the better! You will retain the rights to your story so that, at a later date, you can republish your stories individually.

I’m seeking hot and inventive stories from authors with unique voices, and above all, I’m looking to be seduced by tales filled with vivid imagery and passion.

Published authors with an established world may use that setting for their original short stories.

This is erotic romance, so don’t hold back on the heat. Stories can be vanilla or filled with kink but don’t miss describing the romantic connection between strong-willed individuals learning to trust and love one another. A deep sensuality should linger in every word. Keep in mind that there must be a romantic element with a happy-for-now or happy-ever-after ending. Strong plots, engaging characters, and unique twists are the ultimate goal. Please, no reprints. I want original stories.

How to submit: Prepare your 2,500 to 5,500 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12-point, black font, Word document (.doc or .docx) OR rich text format (.rtf), with pages numbered. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing; do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). U.S. grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the first page, include your legal name (and pseudonym, if applicable), mailing address, email address, and a 50-word or less biography, written in the third person, and send to bbbaburn@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you’d like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories. I will try to respond no later than August 15, 2025, with decisions.

Payment will be USD 25.00 ninety days after publication at the end of that month.

Who is Delilah Devlin?

Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romance and erotic romance. She has published over two hundred stories in multiple genres and lengths and has been published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Entangled, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Montlake, Penthouse, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.

Her short stories have appeared in multiple Cleis Press collections, including Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Lesbian Cops, Dream Lover, Carnal Machines, Best Erotic Romance (2012), Suite Encounters, Girl Fever, Girls Who Score, Duty and Desire, Best Lesbian Romance of 2013, and On Fire. For Cleis Press, she edited Girls Who Bite, She Shifters, Cowboy Lust, Smokin’ Hot Firemen, High Octane Heroes, Cowboy Heat, Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors, and Sex Objects.

She has also edited Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance, Rogues: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Blue Collar: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Pirates: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Stranded: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Cowboys: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Silver Soldiers: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, and Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology.

Direct any questions regarding your story or the submission process to Delilah at bbbaburn@gmail.com.

SAMAEL is the first book in the Blackwell Brothers’ Redemption trilogy, featuring three brothers with a very interesting job—they’re reapers.

Being the sons of the Grim Reaper comes with expectations, and their father is not happy at how they’ve been conducting business. He’s given them each an ultimatum— learn to reap with compassion and do the job to his standards or face eternal exile. Stranded in the town of Redemption with limited powers and money and no way to communicate with the outside, they’ll all play the game, reap the soul, and return to their normal lives. It’s a straightforward plan—until they meet their assignments.

Samael
Blackwell Brothers’ Redemption, Book 1

Love her. Protect her. Reap her soul.

Samael Blackwell is the son of Death—and he’s officially out of chances. After centuries of reaping souls with zero regard for the rules, his father sends him to the dead-end town of Redemption. With only a few hundred bucks and the clothes on his back, Sam has one last shot to prove he can do the job right: reap with compassion or lose everything.

It should’ve been easy. Find the soul. Finish the job. Walk away.

Then he meets Adrianne Sharp.

She’s strong, guarded, and hiding from a past that refuses to stay buried. The connection between them is instant—and impossible. Because Adrianne isn’t just anyone. She’s his assignment.

And her soul’s on the clock.

To win back his old life, all Sam has to do is watch her die. But what if the cost of redemption…is her?

He was sent to end her story. But she just might rewrite his.

An excerpt…

He pushed into a seated position and got his first glimpse of himself. It wasn’t only his watch that was gone. He no longer wore his custom Tom Ford suit and hand-tooled Italian shoes. In their place were worn jeans, a plain white T-shirt, a battered leather jacket, and boots that had seen their best day a decade ago.

He pushed himself upright and brushed the dirt and debris from his clothes. Raking his fingers through his hair, he scanned his surroundings. There were trees everywhere, not a high-rise to be seen. A huge crow swooped down and perched on a nearby branch, cold black eyes staring directly at him.

“Malaki. Why am I not surprised the old man sent you to spy on me?” Crows were often employed as messengers between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. Malaki was his father’s companion, his personal assistant, as it were. “You tell him I’ll play his game, and I’ll damn well win.”

*~*~*

Want to read more? You can find SAMAEL here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2SDQMVF/
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/samael-n-j-walters/1147212495
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/samael-13
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/samael/id6743937757

About the Author

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, assassins, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Visit her at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/gdblg5
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://x.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters

First, Happy Easter from my house to yours!

Next, remember when my dd gifted me with mini-Marvel superheroes for my advent calendar at Christmas?

Well, before I started to put together my report card for today, I decided to pull a figure from my bucket rather than pull a tarot card, just to get the right mindset for the coming week. I pulled this guy:

He’s The Punisher. Not a true-blue hero at all; however, he does have redeeming qualities. He takes out the bad guys. No mercy. So, I’m going to borrow some of his balls-to-the-wall determination this week and slay my calendar! 🙂

Report Card

Since April 1st…

1. I’ve done nothing. Nada. Zilch. Of course, I have the best excuse in the world. I am currently recovering from major surgery—and kicking ass while doing it. 🙂

This next week…

1. I will return to work, editing two projects for other authors!
2. I’ll issue an extension to authors interested in writing a short story for the Burn collection. Folks may have been waiting to see if I kicked the bucket before submitting their work. LOL
3. I’ll be reviewing short stories I’ve published and picking some to put together into a second Ultra collection. I need to get something published, and I do have some hot stories that haven’t appeared in a set or in print yet…
4. I’ll contact my oncologist’s office to make an appointment to set up more appointments so I can get them hard-scheduled in my work plan!
5. I’ll begin painting again. Small things, only. I want to continue work on #the100dayproject, even though I’m dragging far behind the rest of the participants.

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs:

1. 1. Meet Author Kaje Harper! Complete Short Story Here! Plus, FREE Reads! — Read an entire short story, plus pick up FREE reads!
   2. Gabbi Grey/Gabbi Powell/Gabbi Black: Why I Can’t Stay in My Lane (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
   3. Gabbi Grey: I Wanted Taylor Swift! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
   4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest — Win an Amazon gift card!

I’ve finally graduated from a recliner in the living room to my own bed in my own room. The test was my being able to get myself out of bed without straining my healing belly. I graduated yesterday! Woohoo. I slept with a pillow on my belly in case the cats decided to climb over me. They were thrilled to have their human pillow and back-scratcher back. One chose my shoulder, the other my feet. I didn’t feel used at all with all the purring going on.

I’m up early and will likely head back to bed for a couple more hours of rest, but while I’m feeling up to sitting at the computer, I will.

I chose today’s puzzle image because it’s a house on the edge of the woods, which is our place, and it feels rather magical this time of year. Everything’s greening up—the yard and pasture, the trees in the wood. We have tons of deer coming to drink at our pond in the back. The squirrels love to harass the dogs, running from tree to tree, then quickly circling up the trunks while they bark at the dogs. There are other animals there, but sightings are rarer—foxes, for example. I remember the year we found the injured baby fox and raised it until it was ready to go back into the woods. In another month, we’ll be in the pool every day, watching the birds overhead, and in the evenings, watching the bats as they come out to eat up all those pesky mosquitoes. They really are cool to watch.

Anyways, it’s still dark outside. I wanted to get this post up so it would be waiting for you when you woke up. Happy Saturday, everyone!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle and tell me what magical things are happening with the seasonal changes where you are!

Well, I met with my surgeon yesterday.

From his POV, everything is going swimmingly. Even the UTI, with the gloriously named cause (Morganella Morganii), is responding well to the antibiotics. He renewed that prescription for an additional week just to make sure we wipe it out.

As to the results of my surgery…

Again, he stated he’d taken out everything he could visually detect. My body bits were sent to a lab, and they did find microscopic evidence the cancer was still alive. Not unexpected. He saw some in the omentum, which they fully removed, some in my uterus (also gone).

His recommendation to my oncologist will be that since I did so well with chemo, knocking it back so much, and my body appeared to tolerate it, that he would like to see me undergo three more rounds of chemo before I go back on immunotherapy maintenance.

Today, I’ll set up an appointment to see my oncologist to discuss what happens next.

I really, really didn’t want to hear that I’d be going back on chemo. It’s painful, it drags me down, and I just started regrowing my hair (I know, that’s not important, but…).

Three rounds would put me through the end of summer, which will really hit my pool time hard, and I’ve been holding onto dreams of floating in the pool with a margarita in my hand to keep myself feeling upbeat. So, yeah, today, I’m a little down.

I’ll allow myself a day to feel sorry for myself. But I’m determined to “graduate” from sleeping in my lift chair to resting in an actual bed this weekend—even if it’s not my own just yet. My dd wants to be nearby in case I run into trouble in the middle of the night, so I’ll accede to her wishes. She’s been an absolute gem, and I don’t want to make her work harder.

All my plans for what I’d hoped to accomplish this summer have to be reviewed. I’m sure I can keep busy with editing, but writing…? Good Lord. Am I even still a writer if I’m not writing? That sounded like a distinct whine.

Anyway, I plan to run a contest tomorrow and catch up on some that already posted because it’s time to wrap them up. I hope to get back to regularly posting very, very soon.

In the meantime, hello from me. I hope you are all doing well. I’d love to hear your plans for the coming summer/winter, depending on where you are in the world. ~DD

Hello, Delilah!  Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss my new short story in a great anthology!

I’m sure you’re wondering…Taylor Swift?

I’ll see if I can explain.  About a year and a half ago, I signed up for this anthology.  Well, this one and a bunch of others.  I signed up for every one I could get my hands on.

Then Plot Whisperer and I sat down to figure out potential storylines for each anthology.  This one was a bit perplexing.  What circumstances might lead a couple of guys to only have one bed?

I came up with the idea of Taylor Swift coming to Vancouver and people having to bunk together.

Plot Whisperer vetoed that idea. Not because of TS…but just because it didn’t resonate with her.

We kept working at figuring a reason.

In the end, we settled on the tight housing market in Vancouver.  Completely legitimate if you know this city.

Then we needed to sort through how Troy and Rocco knew each other, why Troy needed help, and why Rocco would offer it.  Check, check, check.

From there, I just had to write my story.

Writing about Rocco’s decision to downsize from a large house made sense. He wanted to be closer to work (Vancouver traffic is hellacious).

Troy’s living near the poverty level because of a job that pays barely above minimum wage is definitely a thing.

Throw in a good friend, a wayward son, and I had a story.

But I didn’t get my Taylor Swift!

Ironically, she announced she was coming to Vancouver just a few months later, and she ended her tour here. So, yay Vancouver!

(I did consider having Troy hit by a car by someone heading to the concert but wouldn’t have fit – so I vetoed my own idea.)

Mentioning any person – living or dead – is always a risk.  Especially speaking of them in a negative light.  There are people who don’t like Ms. Swift and would take offense for me including her in my story – even if I was only mentioning her concert as being popular. (FYI – I tried to get tickets and couldn’t. Given the expense, that probably wasn’t a bad thing. See above for the cost of living in the Vancouver area.)

Thanks for letting me visit Delilah! And to talk a bit about the process of writing.  I would love to give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card.  Can you remember a time when you were reading a book and a reference to someone famous struck you? (Good or bad…) I had a reference in an upcoming story to someone I thought was a good actor and a decent guy.  My proofreader said, you realize he’s a jerk, right? I googled and was horrified.  And no, I hadn’t realized. I had to change a line in the story just a week out from publication.  One of the reasons having a good team is so important.  So let me know! Or is there a famous person whose name would turn you off from a book? Drop a comment! Random will pick a winner.

Bed, Two Hearts: An Only One Bed Romance Anthology

Sometimes love starts with a little forced proximity… and just one bed.

In One Bed, Two Hearts, discover a collection of contemporary romance where strangers, friends, and even enemies find themselves sharing a bed—and maybe, just maybe, sharing their hearts too. With sizzling chemistry, accidental sleepovers, and unexpected connections, each story brings you a delightful take on the beloved “only one bed” trope.

From cozy cabins to luxury hotels, these stories are filled with laughter, tender moments, and undeniable attraction that will leave you swooning for more.

Perfect for fans of forced proximity, slow-burn romance, and a dash of humor, One Bed, Two Hearts delivers love that blooms when people are closer than they ever expected.

Authors:
Jill Brashear
Deaia Sanders
Michelle Moncreiff
Linda G. Hill
Emma Lynn Everly
Chele MacCabe
Sharon Michalove
Skylar M. Cates
Gabbi Grey
Cara Dion
Freyja Frost
Angela Breen
J.M. Adele
Jewelz Baxter
Ebony Snow
Juliet Martini
Cynthia Terelst
Harper Michaels
Maida Malby

The anthology will only be available for a limited time.

Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/tnrc25onebedtwohearts
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/One-Bed-Two-Hearts-Collection-ebook/dp/B0DJRKFBDY
Add it to Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220258911-one-bed-two-hearts

Inside One Bed, Two Hearts: Saving Troy by Gabbi Grey

Rocco

Being called to a hospital in the middle of the night is scary. When I discover my adult son’s best friend has been injured and has no one else around to help, I race to his side. Troy’s always been a nice kid, and now he needs a safe place to stay. My condo’s a tiny one-bedroom, but we’ll manage. Or so I tell myself.

Troy

Spending the Christmas season with the hottest man around—who also happens to be my best friend’s dad—is torture. Every night. Worse because his couch sucks and we end up sharing the bed. Platonically, of course. In theory. If Marco finds out I’m crushing on his dad, and it’s mutual, he’s going to kill me.

Saving Troy is a 15k one-bed, best-friend’s dad, instalove, gay romance short story.

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