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

Readers still love their niches, and medical romance is still an incredibly popular one — even though expectations have changed considerably. I know! You’re thinking — surely not. Readers like to read within their niche because they know what they like, and they don’t like change. Maybe you’re a medical romance reader, and you know the genre upside-down and back-to-front, and I bet you do, too. There are still the same markers and expectations medical romance writers are expected to hit, and that’ll always be true — whether it’s a small-town sweet romance within a doctor’s surgery or a fast-paced city-hospital romance that bares all. But the genre has changed in one incredible way, and that is…it’s gotten hotter.

Way, way hotter.

You must have noticed it yourself. We’re talking medical romance meets erotica; there’s a story without the sex, but the sex is the cherry on top. We’re seeing every aspect of our medical staff; all those unprofessional moments of lust, of kisses in the medicine room, romps in the break room, moments that were traditionally fade-to-black. Thank you, Grey’s Anatomy! I fully expect it myself when I read medical romances, and I actually feel something is missing when I don’t find enough of it. Like all genres within romance, we’ve gotten much bolder with the spicy elements — we proudly call it smut, right?

But for medical romance, this is a big deal. My first introduction to medical romance as a genre was — like many — via those pocket Mills and Boon books, which are still going strong today with the die-hard subscribers who receive a handful of books in the mail every month. They’re eaten up like Smarties — and they’re definitely sexier than they used to be. When it comes to self-published medical romances, however — it isn’t even the same ball game anymore. The indie writers — who of course started as medical romance readers — knew what was missing. We knew what we wanted. Now, they’re delivering medical smut in spades — and I’m proud to say, I am too.

Lovers of sweet romances may not think it’s their cup of tea, and that’s okay. I think medical romance readers who prefer the fast-paced, heart-stopping city hospital stories — as opposed to the sweet small-town ones I mentioned — might like a little more action in the round. This is medical romance, after all. We like details. The spicy elements are desired in equal measure with the trauma, the patient cases, and those high-octane medical emergencies that have us rapidly turning the pages.

Many writers of the genre are themselves nurses, doctors, paramedics, carers, admins, staff of all disciplines. Personally, I’m an experienced patient (huge congrats on your treatment success, Delilah!) I’ve spent weeks upon weeks in hospital, endured several major surgeries — including open abdominal surgery — and years on medications to treat a dangerous condition. Countless procedures for all kinds of things. For a time, hospital was my second home, and I loved to watch everybody around me work. I even had the privilege of being a guinea-pig for student doctors in their exam, where they were tasked with examining me and diagnosing my condition. Staying in a London hospital, with St. Paul’s Cathedral outside my window, wasn’t all that bad, because the staff made me so comfortable.

I guess you could say that those difficult days were the first kernels of inspiration. My experiences made me feel much more comfortable writing about the genre. I developed a fascination with the different professions I came into contact with, and I began to read medical memoirs voraciously. Lucky for me, these memoirs became suddenly very popular, and I could read everything from brain surgery to forensic pathology and forensic anthropology. I saw the humans behind the profession, including their personal failings, mistakes, relationship problems, you name it. It’s no wonder medical romance is hugely popular today — there are so many variables, so many opportunities for relationships to blossom, and so many wild ways for that to happen!

My first attempt at medical romance was within a three-book-series called Professionals Gone Wild. I wrote about a financier’s son, a barrister, and a neurosurgeon. All books were received well by reviewers, but the medical romance one was by far the one I most enjoyed, the one best reviewed, and it was the best-seller of the three. I realized, then, that I was being given a pretty clear sign — I needed to fine-tune my genre-writing skills, lean hard into the medical niche, and really go for it.

In three weeks, I wrote The Nurse and the Neonatal Surgeon, the first of my London children’s hospital series of spicy medical romances. Writing about two medical heroes falling in love on the neonatal unit was not an easy start, let me tell you — but the readers really loved it. Even my worst review — and there aren’t many of those, thankfully — states that they still enjoyed the patient cases involving the babies, even when the love story wasn’t for them. I take that as a win, because not only is medical romance difficult to get right, but neonatal surgery was a very tough balancing act.

How to give detail, without giving too much detail? How to include heart-wrenching aspects without upsetting the reader so much that they put the book down? The fact is, I wanted to go there, and write something I loved and found meaningful — but doing so without overstepping the mark or going too far was like walking a tight-rope in some respects.

Maybe it’s because I’m a mother myself now, and because I’ve experienced loss in the past — like many of us — but I felt it was a task I was up to. I decided my old-fashioned-style titles — my nod to the old pocket-books I talked about — was a good way to let the reader know exactly what medical scenarios they’d be encountering. If a reader isn’t comfortable with reading about a neonatal unit, then they know immediately that this book won’t be for them. The same goes for the second in the series (all stand-alones with cameos, references to each other, etc.) The Intern and the Plastic Surgeon. If a reader isn’t comfortable reading about craniofacial surgery in detail, or who finds the subject difficult for any reason, they know what they’re getting before they buy or download.

I’m now releasing the third in the series, The Intern and the Orthopaedic Surgeon, TODAY! This one is the spiciest yet; an opposites-attract, teacher-student story with BDSM-flavours and, of course, medical details and patient cases. Gabriel Grant is my favourite medical hero of the series so far. He’s like Peter Steele meets Gideon Cross in appearance, but with Peter Steele’s sense of humour and a hint of the Labrador about him. Personally, I just loved writing him. My leading lady, Connie, is a faith-led woman who is dedicated to her job and her alcoholic father who, through Gabriel, finds a way of nourishing her body and soul in the ways she deserves, and craves.

I always write about dishy-daddy-doctors, but trust me, you don’t want to miss Gabriel Grant!

To celebrate its release day, I’m giving away an ebook copy of The Intern and the Orthopaedic Surgeon! Comment below for your chance to win!

The Intern and the Orthopaedic Surgeon

“I’m a good girl who follows the rules, due to graduate the orthopaedic surgical programme and start my dream career. But when mischievous rogue Gabriel Grant becomes my mentor, he shows me a deeply sensual world that threatens to derail my perfect plans…and awaken my deepest desires.”

Gabriel Grant is a young buck when it comes to Orthopaedic surgery, but he’s making waves as a maverick. Beautiful, sharp and virile, eyes linger on Gabriel wherever he goes – but his eyes are fixed on me.

I’m determined to keep focused, but he thrives on challenge – and I’m proving to be his biggest yet.

My obvious desire permits him to show me he can be what I crave; romantic, tender…as well as white-hot and dominating.

I’m a faith-led woman who craves his searing heat as much as his tenderness, but Gabriel has a thing or two to learn about that. The question is: can he be taught?

Get ready for some alpha male, forced proximity, opposites attract awakenings against a backdrop of the children’s orthopaedics department.

Gabriel Grant knows he’s God’s gift to women; there’s a reason they called him the Bone Daddy. But when his intern demands more than just his body, Gabriel must face his dark past. Will he dare to confront the abuse that still haunts him, so he can offer his heart and soul as well?

*This book is part of a series but works as a standalone novel. Contains 18+ spicy scenes throughout. Mature readers only.

About the author

Liza Collins is a wife and mother of two from the UK. She writes about medical heroes falling in love in a critical care context – and some other stuff too, just for fun.

Keep in touch:
Amazon: Liza Collins
Website: Liza Collins Books
Facebook: /Lizacollinsbooks
Liza’s Newsletter: Liza’s Subscriber Club

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen!
*~*~*

Hello, Delilah! Thank you for welcoming me here to share my new release! Rayne Check is a short story in my Love in Mission City world.  So here’s the secret…I didn’t plan the world as it is. I didn’t plan a series. I’ll share with you how things evolved into what is now 5 books, 3 novellas, and 6 short stories with more to come.

Okay…so I’ve written and MF series set in the fictional town of Mission City, British Columbia — which may or may not resemble Mission, British Columbia — I’m not all that clever.  But my fictional world has, of course, people and places that come from my mind.  And yeah, Fifties diner in real life is Rocko’s (best burgers ever).  Much of the rest, though, is in my head.  As I would want a town to be.  I eventually published a prequel and three books in my Love in Cedar Valley series under my penname Gabbi Powell.  Same town, just I wanted to differentiate.  But there’s a huge amount of cross-pollination.  Characters and locations overlap and interact (and just to make things interesting, I tossed in some characters from my Gabbi Black In Their Eyes series).

Now, I’ve written about 20 books in what is now the Cedar Valley series — but I need to get them edited and I never have the time because I’m always writing new stories.

I hadn’t intended to transition from writing MF to queer books — but it happened.  The fifth anniversary of my novella, My Past, Your Future is in February.  I had a couple of short stories published before then, but I consider that release date as my stepping into the big leagues (relatively).  That book was for a series for The Wild Rose Press.  Then I wrote another gay novella for them for their ice cream series.  Then came the Christmas cookie books and I was all in.

Somehow, I came up with the title Ginger Snapping All the Way, and I sat down to write the novella.  I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty, but I quickly realized two things: this was a novel, not a novella, and…there was something magical about this book. In the end, I wrote the book as it was meant to be — 72k — and self-published.

Magic.  I had a launch strategy.  I had a discounted price.  I had audio release at the same time as the ebook and the audio was amazing (I still listen to it as a comfort read).  Ginger was my entry into what I saw as the big leagues.

So what next?

Just before it launched, I was presented with the chance to write a short story for a charity anthology.  I had literally a weekend.  I was like…HUH?  Then I remembered one of my lead characters from Ginger had an asshat ex.  I didn’t know it, but I was about to write my first redemption MM story.  And I did.  Stanley’s Christmas Redemption was 17k.  And reviews were mixed, but the anthology sold well and we raised a bunch of money.

First lesson — be careful when you name people.  Stanley was never meant to get a book. It’s not a name some people might associate with a hero. Second lesson — be careful when you name a book.  If I could do it over, I wouldn’t have chosen to put Stanley’s name in the title.  Anyway, long story short – the rights reverted and I wrote the story I mean to tell and released Stanley as a full length 85k novel.  Third lesson — be careful when you expand a story — fans will come to expect that with all your short work.

Suddenly, I had a series.  Well, two books.  By then I was writing short stories and novellas for promos and charity anthologies  I was writing up a storm — always short and always in the Mission City universe.

But I needed another big book.

I’ve talked about the genesis of Sleigh Bells and Second Chances before.  I had an image of a wounded soldier returning from a war he was never meant to fight in.  With the help of my plot whisperer, we came up with a story.  And I wrote it.  The rawest book I’ve ever written — and that’s saying something because I am the Queen of Angst.

Okay — book 3 released — all three in ebook, audio, and paperback.

So what next?

Well, I had a story I’d written for a traditional publisher.  The story was sitting on an editor’s desk when he quit and he never passed it along to anyone.  So I was screwed.  But I LOVE the story.  It just needs work (too short and written in third person point of view while I write in first…).  The plan was to fix it up and it would become book 4.

Right…except fate intervened.

I was asked to write a short story (don’t snicker, I said hell, yes to everyone who asked last year).  But who to write…?  I remembered a secondary character from book 3 (as well as books 2.5 and 3.5 which I won’t even get into because I’ve yapped enough).

Everett called to me.  So I came up with a short story to introduce him.  I had to find the perfect guy for him.  I had an idea (the only parameters were short and Halloween).  I knew I needed a professional cover, so I went to my favorite designer’s site and found Rayne Check.  Perfect!  I loved the name, the cover…everything.  So she slapped my name on it and I had my other guy — Rayne.  Then came magic again — a short story that has just the right touch of mystery.  Intrigue.  Hopefully enough to make people want to pick up book 4.

Which is Everett and Rayne’s book.

Oops.  Time to get a cover and start writing.

I’ve done both and the book is in edits — called Rayne’s Return.

Meanwhile, I’ve published Rayne Check.  It’s a short — meant to entice readers into nabbing the next book.  Or, if they aren’t familiar with Mission City, going back to the beginning to see how the stories have come together.

The book I wrote for the publisher will be book 5.  Books 6 and 7 are plotted.

And that, my friends, is how you make a series (although I don’t recommend this method to anyone).   Well, how I make a series — haphazard, no idea what’s going on, with stuff slotted in everywhere with characters who pop in and out.  You’ll never know who might drop by in one of my Love in Mission City books.  I hope that anticipation is what keeps readers coming back.

Many of the short stories I’ve written over the past year are part of Mission City and I have plans for another boxset.  Not a single word gets wasted, no character goes unloved, no opportunity missed…

Okay, that was — admittedly — a lot.

Rayne Check is free with most retailers.  Still working with Amazon to get the price dropped.  The audio is in quality control with Audible.  That’s next up.  I have to say, Michael Dean did a great job!

Thanks, Delilah, for hosting me! I’d love to give a prize to a lucky commenter.  I’ll happily give a copy of Ginger Snapping All the Way.  If you have that book, I can offer up something from my back catalogue from any of my three pennames — that’s more than thirty-five titles to pick from. (All published since February 2020 and man, have I been busy…)  So let me know — is there a series you just loved.  Or is there a book you wish the author would turn into a series.  Drop a comment in and random will pick a winner!

Rayne Check

Everett

I meet an intriguing man at Quinton’s annual Halloween Extravaganza. That wicked smile and the tawny-brown eyes behind his mask hold my gaze. Under his costume, the restless energy of his body promises to do explosive, unexpected things to me. So we indulge in a little fun, but when the clock strikes midnight, the man I know only as Rayne disappears into the crowd.

My straitlaced Mission City friends tell me to chalk it up to experience, but I can’t get that man off my mind, or stop hoping we’ll meet again one day.

Rayne Check is a smoking-hot 7k word short story about a buttoned-up lawyer who lets go of his iron control for one night, the man he can’t forget, and the friends who have his back. The story is set in the Love in Mission City world.

Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DTJLMGQ5
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/rayne-check
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rayne-check-gabbi-grey/1146877924
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/rayne-check-a-love-in-mission-city-short-story/id6740942266
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=elBAEQAAQBAJ
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1693304
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/RayneCheck

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

After a charging bison comes between her and her latest skip, a bounty hunter must rely on the survival skills of her park ranger rescuer…

Note: This 5,400-word short story exists in the Montana Bounty Hunters world. The story features bounty hunter Martika Mills from Hardman.

Get your copy here!

Before I introduced Marti Mills in the Dead Horse bounty hunter series (she’s the heroine of Hardman), I wrote a short story featuring her that appeared in First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. Marti was fiesty and mouthy, and I loved her from the moment she appeared on the page. She was a bounty hunter, but unaffiliated with any Montana Bounty Hunter agency. The hero of the short story? Well, he’s a park ranger in Yellowstone. So, when I wrote Marti’s story, set in Dead Horse, the ranger wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I still have him in the back of my mind. He has to be part of a story set in the new Yellowstone bounty hunter books. Would you like to meet him? Get your FREE copy now!

Read an excerpt…

If not for her GPS device, Martika Mills wouldn’t have had a clue where she was. All she knew was that she was soaked to the skin, mud sucked at her boots, and two days into this hunt, she was no closer to finding Marlon Oats.

Earlier that morning, after sliding a twenty to a gas station attendant on the Montana border, she’d thought she was getting close. She’d gotten a description of the car Marlon had “borrowed” on his flight into the wilderness and had found it parked in a narrow roadside viewing point, just inside Yellowstone National Park.

After that, she’d followed the narrow stream into a deep gully off the road, knowing Marlon considered himself quite the fisherman, or so his mother had said. No doubt he intended to live off the land until the heat died down after he’d failed to make his date with the judge in Helena, where he was due to be tried for robbing a pawn shop in Springdale at gunpoint. His mother had been very helpful, liking the fact that Marti seemed like “a nice girl” who might “ask” her son to let her put him in handcuffs rather than shooting him. His mother didn’t want Marlon hurt, even though his skip might cost her the home she’d lived in since she’d married Marlon’s no-account, long-dead father.

Marti was just about to call it a day, figuring she had just enough daylight left to get back to her SUV parked behind Marlon’s at the roadside park, when she spotted a puff of dark smoke rising over the gully. Noting its direction, she climbed up a steep embankment, seeking footholds in mud and rock and grabbing vines along the sides of the rocky face until she stood at the top and realized the land on this side of the stream was flatter and filled with tall spring grass—and a herd of buffalo that didn’t seem to pay her any mind as she bent over and dragged in deep breaths. She glanced at her hands braced on her knees and grimaced because they were covered in mud, which she shouldn’t give a shit about because her jeans were streaked with dirt as well.

Marlon had a lot to answer for, but thoughts of the rich bounty she’d score kept her from throwing in the towel. Her mother liked to say that stubborn was her middle name, which was a quality that worked well in her line of work. She always got her man because she never, ever gave up. She’d been bounty hunting for nearly four years now, the last one going solo because she didn’t like sharing her bounty with a partner or an agency, although she was considering working for one again. Agencies often served as bail bondsmen, too, and therefore had the downlow first on the richer bounties. Fetch Winter from Montana Bounty Hunters had been working on recruiting her to join a new satellite office he was trying to get off the ground in Dead Horse, Montana, to service southwest Montana and into Wyoming. He needed hunters with experience, and he’d heard good things about her.

She’d heard good things about the agency, too, if you discounted the cable TV show that followed his hunters out of Bear Lodge. Fetch gave his crews a higher percentage of the bounty than most agencies did, and he’d assured her that he wouldn’t be looking to do any spin-off series featuring his other offices, but he had admitted that the bonuses for the hunters who permitted the production crews to accompany them were very generous. The job was hers, if she wanted it. But first, she had to find Marlon Oats.

Trying her best not to draw the herd’s attention, she walked along the edge of the ravine, keeping within the narrow line of trees standing along the edge of the ravine as she made her way toward the place she believed a campfire had been lit.

As she drew closer, she stayed hidden and peered into a clearing. A small tent had been pitched, one that had seen better days. One of the screen windows was torn, and one of the poles that held up the tarp over the door was missing. But she couldn’t make out whether anyone was presently occupying the campsite.

Just then, she heard movement coming from the stream below and a soft off-key whistling. Hunkering down, she waited patiently until the person climbed over the edge of the embankment and stood.

“Marlon, you sweet idiot,” she said under her breath. Her heartbeats quickened, and she drew slow breaths. She needed calm, not adrenaline, to get closer to her target.

Marlon strolled toward his campsite holding a string of four fish, which he lowered into a pot beside the fire. As he began taking them out, one at time, gutting and filleting them, and then tossing the pieces into a pan he’d filled with oil, she moved closer, choosing her footsteps carefully, grateful for the chorus of gargling grunts from the buffalo nearby that masked the sounds her feet made in the suctioning mud.

She studied Marlon to see what challenges he might present. A rifle leaned against the tent, and he held a knife in his hand. Slowly, she dropped her backpack to the ground and drew her own 10mm Remington from the holster on her thigh, and then began to work her way toward the edge of the tree line, knowing she’d eventually have to expose her position to prevent him from making a move toward the rifle.

Soft chuffing grunts sounded from the herd, but she ignored the animals, keeping her gaze fixed on the more dangerous game in front of her.

Then she stepped on a twig, and it snapped.

Marlon’s gaze swung toward her position, and his eyes widened. His gaze shot to the rifle, but she shook her head.

“I’m a Fugitive Recovery Agent, so you know why I’m here,” she said, keeping her tone low and hard.

Eyes still wide, his body tensed as though he was preparing to bolt upwards and make a run for it.

“Don’t even think about running,” she bit out.

He blinked, and his gaze went to something behind her. “Bitch, you might want to think about making a run for it.” Then a smile stretched across his face as he slowly stood and waved his arms.

What the fuck…?

Then she heard it. A deep, gargling grunt. With her handgun still held in both hands in front of her, she darted a glance behind her.

A large bison bull faced her from about twenty feet away, his head lowered toward the ground, his gaze fixed on her.

UPDATE: The winners are…Roxie Jones, Steph, and Debra Guyette!

*~*~*

I’ve told you all before that I love my Montana Bounty Hunters. From the first stories in the original series set in Bear Lodge, MT, I tried hard to make each of the bounty hunters individual rather than cookie-cutter characters with different names. I loved devising unique takedowns because they’re fun to write, and they showcase who these men are. I especially loved writing Hook because I got a chance to take a deep dive into the research to make his disability real and still make him sexy as hell. I hope you enjoy his story!

Hook

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Authentic Men… Real Adventures…

Former Army Ranger, Dylan “Hook” Hoecker, has a new job along with a new prosthetic arm. Being a bounty hunter is the closest career field he could find as a civilian that gives him the adrenaline rush that is his addiction. So, when his first solo assignment is to keep an eye on a flight risk the boss bonded out of jail, he’s not thrilled. However, he soon discovers a fresh addiction—one mouthy, nerdy redhead, who resists his attempts to keep her out of trouble.

Felicity Gronkowski is grateful for the bone the head of Montana Bounty Hunter threw her. She didn’t have the money to pay for bail, but he has a soft spot for former military, and she bartered to install a new computer system in his satellite office in Bear Lodge. Being on the outside of jail was her first imperative because she has to figure out who framed her for a series of high-end robberies while she worked installing home security systems. However, her bounty-hunting babysitter isn’t giving her any slack. Every time she thinks she’s given him the slip, he’s one step ahead of her. Either she has to find the perfect method of distraction to escape him or she has to enlist his help to clear her name.

Contest

Are you all caught up reading the original Montana Bounty Hunters series?

For a chance to win a download of one of the stories you may have missed
(I’ll pick three winners!), tell me this:
I am currently thinking about stories to add to my MBH Yellowstone series. Do you have any ideas for fun stories or perils my hunters might face in Yellowstone?

Here are all the Bear Lodge Montana Bounty Hunters! Yes, it’s an old meme, but do you really care? 

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Bear Lodge, MT
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
Reaper: https://amzn.to/2NztLpv
Dagger: https://amzn.to/2zo6Dav
Reaper’s Ride: https://amzn.to/2KKkisI
Cochise: https://amzn.to/2zq4avV
Hook: https://amzn.to/2UrpyYh
Wolf: https://amzn.to/2yUTjr5
Animal: https://amzn.to/2H4Roob
Big Sky Wedding: https://amzn.to/33GprwK
Quincy: https://amzn.to/2QlleM8
Brian: https://amzn.to/2ZV8m2G

Excerpt from Hook:

Dylan “Hook” Hoecker had no problem keeping pace with Dagger and Cochise as they raced along the dark alleyway, following the skip they’d tracked to a gun shop in Libby. Scooter James had made the crew the moment Dagger entered the premise. Perhaps it was Dagger’s burly physique that had tipped him off, or maybe he was just nervous having three intense-looking dudes enter the store, but he’d run for the back exit.

No, Hook’s legs had never been an issue. He ran like the wind, easily leaping over a barrel Scooter dumped on its side, hoping to trip them. Beside him, Dagger cursed, and Hook couldn’t help smiling as the big guy went down. This skip was his. When he reached the end of the alley, Scooter veered left and ran through a stand of motorcycles, tipping over one, which sent the rest slowly falling like dominoes. Bikers sitting at outdoor café tables nearby rose and filled the street, shouting and moving toward their Harleys, forcing Cochise and Hook to push past them.

Cochise went down when one biker stuck out a foot, perhaps angry that their chase had scratched his ride.

Hook waved his prosthetic arm, which, sometimes, had even those who weren’t so tight with the law pausing and giving him a break. He didn’t mind one bit using his disability to give him an advantage. He shouted out a “Thanks, man,” when one biker rolled his bike forward to clear his path.

Now, it was just him following the slap of Scooter’s Adidas on the pavement. Hook paced himself, forcing himself to keep his breathing even so he’d outlast his target. He didn’t use every bit of his strength to close the gap, because he knew he’d need anything extra to take the fucker down once he began to slow.

In his mind, Hook thanked his physical therapist, who’d concentrated on helping him make the adjustment to his new circumstance, learning to use his prosthetic, but who also continued to meet him on the track three or four mornings a week to make sure he worked out the rest of his body to help, not only keep him toned for the work he did, but to keep his dark moods at bay. Raydeen Pickering was a hero in his mind, because she went the extra mile for every man and woman she accepted into her treatment program.

Ahead of him, Scooter ducked into another alley.

“He’s turned again,” he said, knowing the others could hear him through the radio in his earpiece. “Left, into an alley.”

“I’m behind you,” Cochise said. “Don’t let him out of your sight.”

“I’m cutting through another alley. Will try to get to the street before he does,” Dagger said in his ear.

Hook went left and entered an alley lit by a single golden bulb at the back door of a restaurant. He ran past rank-smelling trash bins and plastic bags but didn’t see his mark ahead. “Don’t see him,” he said, and then slowed and turned.

Something dark swung at his head, and he held up his right arm to deflect the blow from a two-by-four from a pallet, no doubt. But the board hit plastic and metal and bounced off. Hook swung under it with his left, catching Scooter in the chin. Their target dropped like a sack of rocks across a row of trash bags lined up on the dirty, smelly pavement. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes, one of the most difficult things to do as an author is to categorize a story correctly. Yet, it is tremendously important. In fact, it may be the most important thing an author does aside from writing the story. Now, one may think an author should easily be able to identify the genre since he/she wrote it. On the surface, that is an accurate assumption. However, there are a few factors that complicate the issue.

Some genres have overlapping elements. Fantasy and science fiction both include world-building. Romance and love stories both involve deep emotions and relationships. Thrillers and suspenses both include scenes that increase adrenaline and keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Second, some writers have stories that intentionally blur lines. Consider a book that has a magical system as its main setting. For example, a magical school that houses mythological creatures (e.g., dragons, elves, and witches) and only a specific group of people have the ability to use this magic. In this world, there are things that exist that are not explained by any type of science, and the government is run by the Mount Olympus Greek gods and goddesses. Readers would easily classify this story as fantasy.

But what if in that same world, it is explained that some species exist because artificial intelligence and genetic engineering have altered the biology of humans and animals; Earth has become so inhabitable that people have relocated and formed colonies on Mercury; and space travel has advanced to a level that allows traveling from planet to planet to be as common as crossing the street. Additionally, it is set in the year 3056. This second part is clearly science fiction.

Now, I don’t know how something like this would be possible, but suppose this world exists. It has elements of both fantasy and science fiction. Which should the author choose? How is it measured? A reader who wants fantasy may dislike the book because it includes in their opinion too much Sci-Fi. The opposite of that can be true as well. A Sci-Fi reader may complain there’s too much fantasy. It comes down to opinion.

This is where subgenres come into play. Simple, right? Try doing an internet search for the definition of subgenre and tell me how that goes. See, subgenres tend to be one of those things that people know what it is when they see it but can’t tell you what exactly it is—sort of like the mystery meat served in the school cafeteria. A very generic (and I should say useless) definition of a subgenre is that is a smaller and more specific genre within a broader genre. (Yeah, clear as mud. Didn’t teachers always say never use the word to define its definition?) But a subgenre isn’t necessarily a niche, nor is it considered a hybrid or mashup of multiple genres. Here’s my answer. (Don’t take it as being correct, exclusive, or exhaustive. It’s an opinion.)

A subgenre is two major genres blended, and each plays a significant role in the story. If one of the genres is removed, the story would not make sense. Notice that I said “significant” and not “equal.” One of the genres has to be the primary. And yes, it makes a difference. For example, you can have a romantic comedy (romcom) where the romance is highlighted (e.g., A Merry Little Meet Cute: A Novel by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone) or a comedy with lots of romance. But who decides which is primary? One would think the author, but are they?

Many authors have been dragged for mislabeling their books, and quite frankly, incorrectly categorizing a book can kill it. In the past, some authors have been guilty of mislabeling books for one reason or another, but I don’t think that is the standard. Authors want to put their books in the hands of the readers who want to read them. A writer wouldn’t want to market an erotica to sweet romance readers. That’s a huge powder keg waiting to explode. But what how an author conceptualizes a book may not be the same as readers.

For example, I mainly write sports romance. Readers can expect to get a huge dose of both romance and sports. In the past, I’ve received feedback that there’s not enough sports, not enough romance, too much sports, and too much romance all for the same book. It’s not really upsetting. It just proves how difficult the process is. The balance is fragile.

Here’s the bottom line. In the writing world, there are very few rules and lots of opinions. Most everything is subjective. One reason self-publishing became popular is because traditional publishers for a long time tried to shove writers into narrow boxes, and writers grew weary of either having to conform or having to wait until a new box was formed. With few definitions, writers sometimes struggle to find the most accurate labels because they do not neatly fit into any mold. But also, each reader has his/her definitions. Just look at book reviews on Amazon and/or Goodreads to see the scatter. And while looking at those numbers, really look at those numbers. Math matters. The fewer the readers the worse one negative review impacts the rating. It’s easier to pull a rating down than it is up.

And that’s all I’ve got for today. Now, it’s your turn to sound off. Let me know your thoughts below in the comment section. Your feedback allows me to know the content that you want to read. And if you like this post, consider clicking the like button and sharing.

Demon Rodeo

If Brokeback Mountain, 8 Seconds, Poltergeist, and Supernatural had an orgy, Demon Rodeo would be the lovechild.

Demon Rodeo is available now on Amazon. For video book trailers, visit my TikTok page. The full blurb is on my Instagram and Amazon.

Demon Rodeo is the first book in the Chasing the Buckle series but can be read as a standalone. It’s a friends-to-lovers romance set in the rodeo world. These are not your typical cowboys. It’s a widely diverse cast of characters and a mashup of genres that aren’t always seen together. If you’re looking for a palate cleanser, this may be a book for you.

Order:
⇨ Amazon: https://readerlinks.com/l/4174852
⇨ All Stores: https://books2read.com/u/bP8RG7
*Note: All of my books can be purchased from brick-and-mortar bookstores (e.g., Barnes & Noble, Book-A-Million, etc.) as well if requested at the checkout counter.)

Until next time, happy reading and much romance. Laissez le bon temps rouler.

If you’re not following my blog, Creole Bayou, what are you waiting for? There’s always room at the bayou.

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LOCKER ROOM LOVE

Locker Room Love Series

Are you searching for a sexy book boyfriend? You’ve come to the right place.

• Out of the Penalty Box (book #1) One minute in the box or a lifetime out.
• Defending the Net (book #2) Crossing the line could cost the game.
• Ice Gladiators (book #3) When the gloves come off, the games begin.
• Penalty Kill (book #4) Let the pucker begin.
• Future Goals (book #5) The future lies between a puck and a net.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Genevive, and I am a contemporary sports romance author. My home is in South Louisiana. If you like snark and giggles with a touch of steamy Cajun and Creole on the side, I may have your poison in my stash of books. Drop by the bayou and have a look around. The pirogues are always waiting for new visitors.

UPDATE: The winner is…Ani!
*~*~*

Besides my series, I have written some very sexy standalone stories, too! I forget about them because I’m so busy trying to keep up with series, but I shouldn’t. In fact, I should go back and look at my workplan because I deserve to write something completely fun and one-off!

If you haven’t read the books below, now’s your time to peruse, and I’m including an excerpt from one of them so you can sample some of the fun. Several of them are menage stories, so if that’s your thing, be sure to check them out!

Contest

For a chance to win your choice of one of the books below,
tell me which of these covers appeal to you!

  

  

  

Click on any cover to learn more about the story!

More about Saddled…

Riding double never felt so fine…

When Bobby Blackhawk and Cale Yancey see a car slide off the highway and into an icy creek, they’ve got only minutes to get the beautiful driver out alive — and just one way to save her from hypothermia: take her to their isolated cabin, get naked…and hope like hell that when she wakes up, she doesn’t scream the place down.

When Katherine Duvall opens her eyes in a strange bed, the tingles flooding her body aren’t entirely due to thawing. She’s snuggled between two handsome, naked men — one a gruff, gentle giant, the other a sexy, playful Native American. Having just left her cheating fiancé, she’s not quite as shocked as she might have been. In fact, these two lonesome cowboys could be the perfect bookends to satisfy her hunger for revenge and bolster her dented self esteem.

With all of them bent on seduction, it’s not long before they melt the snow on the cabin roof, and soon, the threesome finds something else is melting, too. Their hearts…

An excerpt…

Bobby Blackhawk shook his head as the taillights of the little Beemer just ahead flashed red again through the falling snow. Sure enough, as soon as the driver crunched the brakes, the tail end of the car began to slide on the snow-covered ice.

“She’s gonna go right into the river if she keeps that up,” Cale Yancey muttered beside him.

They’d been following the car for the last ten miles, inching down the lonely highway. They’d already figured out the car wasn’t using snow chains, and the driver was too stupid to know she was skirting on the edge of real trouble.

“Why are you so sure it’s a woman?” Bobby asked.

“Can’t drive worth a damn.”

“Love for you to tell Lacey J. that.”

“Lacey’s not like other women.”

Now, that was an understatement that had them both sharing lopsided grins, considering how well Lacey had proven that point the previous weekend.

“Sure could use me a little of her lovin’,” Cale said, sounding wistful.

The last trip into Wellesley, Colorado in anticipation of snow blocking the mountain pass had been a wild, lust-packed two days. With a lonely winter facing them, they’d both taken Lacey up on her offer of a threesome that was sure to keep the two men growling like hungry bears for the next two months, impatient for the thaw so they could get back down the mountain.

It was a good thing they’d discovered long ago that they were compatible in ways that would make most men blanch, otherwise the wait to make it back into town would have been unbearable. Neither was squeamish about helping the other out; however, both preferred emptying their passion inside the wet, snug passage of a woman. If the woman happened to be obliging, like Lacey often was, they didn’t mind sharing.
Both vehicles climbed the last long hill right before the men’s turnoff and another half-mile beyond to the highway, tire treads biting into fresh snow.

“She might make it,” Cale said, sounding doubtful.

“Think we better follow to make sure?”

The car ahead made it to the top of the rise, and then the brake lights flashed again.
Cale cursed. “Wish she’d quit doing that.”

Rental company plates on the back of the car explained a lot about the aptitude of the driver. “Doesn’t know she should just gear down and take it slow.”

They reached the top, and Bobby geared down. Sure enough, the driver up ahead hit the brakes again, and the rear of the car slid sideways. As though watching a movie in slow motion, both men held their breaths, hoping the woman would gain traction at the last moment, but one rear tire slid off the edge of the road and then the right front followed. With tires spinning and brake lights flaring bright, the car slipped slowly down the hill and into the creek.

“Not good,” Cale said tightly as Bobby pulled into the snow bank at the side of the road and left his emergency lights flashing. Just a precaution since there wasn’t much of a chance of anyone coming up on their rear end since the road crew had been taking the barriers off the truck when they’d passed.

Bobby slammed the car into park and climbed out, following Cale as he slid on his ass down the hill. They paused at the water’s edge, staring at the vehicle, both knowing one of them was going to have to get wet.

Water was midway up the car door, and the driver had rolled down her window. Blonde hair peeked beneath a black knit hat. Terror-stricken blue eyes peered at them through the falling snow.

“Ma’am, can you get yourself out?” Cale shouted.

“I think so,” she said, her voice tight and quavering.

“If you can crawl out your window, we can help you the rest of the way.”

“I’m getting wet. It’s cold.”

“Gotta move now, sweetheart,” Cale said, his tone gentling the same way it did when he worked with a fractious horse. “You wait another second, two of us are gonna be in trouble.”

“My purse. I can’t find it.” She turned in her seat, reaching into the back of the car.

The car bobbed on the water, and for a moment, Bobby thought it might break free and start floating. “Lady, leave it,” he shouted. “You don’t have time to look.”

“But my money—”

“Not gonna spend it if you’re dead.”

She bit her lip, and then her face screwed up as though she was going to start crying.

“Fuck sake,” Bobby muttered, stepping past Cale and stripping off his coat. “I’ll get her out. It’s gonna be up to you to get us both up that goddamn hill.”

I’m sorry I’m posting this late! We had a power outage this morning! Please welcome Karenna! ~DD

*~*~*

Delilah, thanks for allowing me to come here and talk about my new book, Bring on the Broccoli! This is book 7 of my Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat series…and the series has definitely been a ride.

It all started in 2010 with a 1000-word scene I dashed off to answer the question posed by a writer friend: “How could a werewolf be vegan?” I had an answer.

And then I had another scene with the vegan werewolf, Kyle Slidell, and his mate, Tobias Rogan, the Alpha who prefers letting someone else be in charge in the bedroom.

And then I had a novel. And then a five-book series, originally published between 2011-2014 and pulled off the market in 2016.

In 2021, I dug out the books and said, “I really like these. I should make them available again.” I started revising and re-editing the books, including bringing their setting from 2015, when they originally took place, to an undefined “present day” and updating some language and technology references accordingly. During that process, I started thinking maybe Kyle and Tobias’s story was longer than five books.

So I wrote book six, Take Some Tahini, which was released in summer 2024. However, there was a small problem with that book and future ones.

The original series included books that took place in Boston—where Kyle and Tobias’s tiny pack lives in a cluster of buildings on the East Boston waterfront—and in Pennsylvania and California. As of the end of book 5, Tobias and Kyle are living in California.

The problem being that I live near Boston. And I’ve never been to California.

When I wrote Take Some Tahini, I knew keeping Tobias and Kyle in California wouldn’t be sustainable. I planted the seeds for them to move back to Boston, though they’re no longer part of that tiny pack on the East Boston waterfront.

By the beginning of Bring on the Broccoli, Kyle and Tobias have fully relocated back to the city where their story began. And I’m not sure who’s happier about it, Kyle or me. I’ve always loved Boston; I grew up in Maine but had family in the Boston area, so I spent a fair bit of time here as a teen. And Kyle loves it because it’s where his chosen family, the pack he first belonged to when he became a werewolf, is located.

As Kyle said in Chapter One of Bring on the Broccoli, “We were home.”

As the author, I’m glad they are. I was starting to feel a little homesick writing the books that took place elsewhere.

Bring On the Broccoli (Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat 7)

Finally back in Massachusetts, vegan werewolf Kyle Slidell hopes for a peaceful life with his mate, Anax Tobias Rogan. But the pressure of ruling all werewolves in the United States is getting to Tobias. Kyle worries that the gentle, compassionate man he fell in love with is becoming like the previous Anax: a power-mad ruler who is all too eager to kill.

An old friend comes to Tobias for help in rescuing his mate from an abusive Alpha. As the extent of the Alpha’s crimes comes to light and the Alpha flees, Tobias sentences him to death. And he seems all too eager to carry out the sentence.

As they and their guards search for the fugitive Alpha, Kyle will do anything to ensure that the power within Tobias doesn’t take control—including becoming the Anax’s enforcer.

This book includes an on-page death in a werewolf attack, the on-page execution of a werewolf, discussions of abuse and assault, and depictions of PTSD.

 Bring On the Broccoli is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. Amazon (US) link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DM9H4VZN

About the Author

Karenna Colcroft lives just north of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been in love with the city since childhood. To the best of her knowledge, she has yet to encounter any werewolves or other paranormal beings here.

Karenna is a polyamorous, nonbinary human. She lives with her husband and has two adult children and three “bonus” kids, four grandchildren, and three cats, who aren’t at all pleased that Karenna writes about werewolves.

Find out more about Karenna online at http://www.karennacolcroft.com or https://www.facebook.com/KarennaColcroft , or join her Home for Wayward Werewolves at https://www.facebook.com/groups/karennacolcroftshomeforwaywardwerewolves

Receive a free story and get updates and sneak peeks at Karenna’s upcoming books at https://karennacolcroft.com/get-your-free-story/