Coming in 2016

Newsletter subscribers got the lowdown last month, but seeing as 2015 is quickly drawing to a close, it's time to let everyone in on what's coming in 2016 and early 2017 (and I think you'll be pleased).

Samhain Publishing

I've got two books coming out with Samhain next year. First up is The Heart As He Hears It (Perspectives #3).

Love can slip through the smallest crack in the door.

While most of his friends have moved on to "real" careers, Jon Buchanan is content skating through life as a part-time waiter and gay porn star. Firmly single thanks to a previous relationship disaster, he focuses his spare time on Henry, a dear friend dying of cancer.

And with Henry's happiness paramount, Jon is on a mission to help Henry meet his recently discovered grandson.

Isaac Gregory hasn't set foot outside for the last year. He has everything he needs delivered, and his remaining family knows better than to visit. When a complete stranger shows up claiming to be his grandfather--with a distractingly handsome younger man in tow--his carefully structured routines are shaken.

Despite his instant attraction, Jon senses Isaac is too fragile for a relationship. Yet tentative friendship grows into genuine companionship. And when Henry's health begins to fail, they realize Fate brought them together for a reason.

Warning: Product contains a neurotic porn star with body image issues, a virgin hero with severe agoraphobia, and a fluffy ball of gray cuteness you'll want to take home and cuddle. Also contains references to past abuse some readers may find disturbing.

The Heart As He Hears It releases April 19th, 2016!

Goodreads

Amazon Pre-Order

Also coming from Samhain in September 2016 is Fractured Hymns. This is a standalone novel featuring Ethaniel Shockley, who was introduced to readers in Foundation of Trust (Cost of Repairs #5). He intrigued me enough that eventually he earned his own story and HEA (and he definitely earned it, considering this book took me over two years to write). It's certainly the most spiritual book I've ever written, and it deals a lot with personal faith and understanding what that means to you as an individual.

I can't wait for you guys to meet Angel. 

Carina Press

I've signed on for another trilogy from Carina, and I couldn't be happier. Still set in my fictional version of Wilmington, DE, that is featured in both Belonging and Restoration, All Saints shifts back into a younger, New Adult set of characters.

Book one, Come What May, releases May 16th. No cover yet, but I do have a blurb!

Jonas needs Tate. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Or at least, he doesn't want to admit it. Because there is no way Jonas Ashcroft is gay. He’s a straight, care-free frat boy player, just like any good son of a conservative state senator. If only his struggle to convince everyone—especially himself—didn’t leave him so miserable. No matter how many girls or bottles he drowns himself in, Jonas can neither escape nor accept who he is.

Enter Tate. He’s smart, confident, and instantly sees right through Jonas’s surly exterior. Sure, he’s done things in life he’s not proud of, but he knows who he is and what he wants. And what he wants is Jonas. As their easy friendship intensifies into something more, Tate introduces Jonas to a life he’s never known. One filled with acceptance and sex and a love that terrifies and excites them both.

But some inner demons refuse to be shaken off so easily. When Jonas’s old life barges in he faces a shattering choice, one that could destroy everything he and Tate have fought so hard for. Sometimes love just isn’t enough—and sometimes it’s exactly what you need.

Goodreads

Amazon Pre-order

***

Jonas is one of those lost characters that you just want to wrap up in a big hug until it all gets better for him. I also enjoyed revisiting the boys at Half-Dozen, and a few other familiar faces make brief appearances throughout. 

Book two, Say It Right, will release in the fall of 2016, with book three releasing in 2017. As is pretty typical of my series, all books will feature a different pair of heroes, with characters overlapping. 

SMP Swerve

St. Martin's Press has recently announced the launch of a new digital-first romance imprint, Swerve, and I was very lucky to have been approached by one of their editors to write for them! So I stepped out of my small-town comfort zone to write some rock star romances, and thus the Off Beat series was born!

I've contracted three titles: Body Rocks (June 2016), Steady Stroke (October 2016), and Hot Licks (March 2017).

Body Rocks has a cover (which I've been swore to secrecy about for now) and no official blurb, but if you follow me on Twitter you probably saw me tweeting about Dominic and Trey back in early summer. Chance meeting + insane chemistry = amazing sex and strong attraction. Too bad they are in rival bands that are both competing for top prize at a summer music festival--and Trey is still in the closet. 

This book also has one of my favorite sex scenes I've ever written.

So yeah. That's....*counts*....six new books coming from me next year, with two already scheduled into 2017. 

::confetti::

A Look Ahead

First of all, I want to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased/reviewed/blogged about THE TRUTH AS HE KNOWS IT (Perspectives #1) and GETTING IT RIGHT (Restoration #1) during these last two months. It's always nerve-wracking debuting a new series, and launching two of them within a month's time is extra-double-crazy. But the response to both books has been overwhelming and amazing, and I am so grateful to you guys for your support.

And the year isn't even half over!

I told you guys that you'd fall in love with Tristan in TTAHKI, and you did. He is definitely one of my top three characters I've written, and I adored telling his love story. THE WORLD AS HE SEES IT releases in October of this year! I know it feels like a long wait, but there are other books coming before then to keep you occupied.

Like Belonging was, Restoration is a now-completed trilogy with Carina Press, so you can expect two more books to finish off this particular series. FINDING THEIR WAY releases July 20, and the final title, TAKING A CHANCE, will release in September. 

Some folks who've read GIR have been asking about Will Madden, one of James's patients. To be honest, before I got those reader comments, I hadn't made any plans to revisit Will. But plans change. My next project for Carina is going to be, like Belonging, New Adult with a focus on younger characters. Jackson (bartender at Pot O Gold) is still itching to get his chance in the spotlight, and I really love the concept I've dreamed up for the new series. I also think this is a great place to incorporate Will, who is only 16 in GIR, but who will be 18 by the time this new series begins within the timeline of the Wilmington universe. I don't know where his story will eventually go yet, but like Romy, Will definitely deserves a hero and a happy ending.

At the moment I am trying to stay focused on writing Perspectives #3 for Samhain, but my brain occasionally bounces over to other projects. And for those who are curious, I do plan on revisiting Cole and Jeremy again in the future--their story simply isn't finished yet.

Happy reading, all!

New Book with Samhain!

I'm so excited to announce that I've signed my sixth contract with Samhain Publishing for THE TRUTH AS HE KNOWS IT, which is tentatively scheduled to release in February 2015. TRUTH is a spinoff from my COST OF REPAIRS series, still set around Stratton, PA, with the focus also shifting to Harrisburg and other nearby towns. So this one is "Perspectives #1/Cost of Repairs #6".

TRUTH brings back Officer Noel Carlson, seen briefly near the end of ACTS OF FAITH (Cost of Repairs #4), and gives him quite the challenge in Jody "Shane" McShane. Shane will be introduced in a short story I hope to post for free sometime this summer, before the release of FOUNDATION OF TRUST (Cost of Repairs #5). The short story is all Schuyler and David's fault (trust me). And TRUTH wouldn't be a CoR book without a small Samuel cameo.

Like usual, I'm posting the blurb I used when I sent the book to my editor. This is not the official book blurb.

Have I mentioned I'm excited about this book? It made my editor Tweet "I hate you for this" at me (don't worry, it's a good thing).

Noel Carlson is stuck in a routine that is as comfortable as it is stifling. A young police officer with no family to support, Noel's overnight first watch shifts conflict with the social schedules of guys his age, so he spends most of his time alone.  He isn't out to anyone in small-town Stratton, Pennsylvania—only his distant family and a few out-of-town friends know he's gay—so a relationship is out of the question. But that doesn't stop him from wanting one.

 Jody "Shane" McShane is stuck in a different kind of rut. He lives in a cheap trailer with his older brother Jason, who works two jobs to pay their bills and keep them both fed. Shane helps out by working at Mineo's Deli as often as they'll have him, and by moonlighting as a private party stripper. Neither he nor Jason have much time for a social life. They each blame themselves for the debt they're struggling to overcome, and any discussion of past mistakes inevitably leads to an argument no one ever wins.
 

When Noel rescues a half-naked stripper from a birthday party gone wrong, he can't get the gorgeous Shane out of his mind. A fortuitous run-in with Shane leads to a non-date of hot sex and takeout food, and a strong bond is forged that neither man expects—or knows what to do with. Shane's soul is bogged down by the weight of painful secrets that continue to strain his relationship with his brother and test the limits of Noel's patience. After Jason's health is threatened by his overwhelming workload, Shane is determined to take some of the burden onto himself and pay off their collective debt—no matter what it costs him in the end.

And because I can't help it, this is the photo I found on Tumblr that inspired the entire book:

Happy New Year!

Looking back at everything that happened this year, 2013 has been pretty darn good to me.

Three more books in the Cost of Repairs series released this year: COLOR OF GRACE, WEIGHT OF SILENCE, and ACTS OF FAITH. And yes, there is a fifth book coming!

I also had two releases with Dreamspinner Press: UNEARTHING COLE and WHAT YOU OWN.

I've gained lots of new, amazing readers, and I'm thankful for each and every one of you. I would be nothing without my readers, so thank you for reading my books and recommending them to your friends.

I know I've grown as a writer. With each book, and with each new set of characters, I feel as though I've allowed myself to open up and be more honest. To shine a light on the dark things that happen to us, and to let that light take some of the darkness away. You haven't met Ezra and Romy yet, but you will, briefly, in February's NO SUCH THING, before they get their own books. These boys broke my heart this past year, and I'm honored to have written their stories.

Besides new releases, I signed three new contracts for 2014!

Of course I keep talking about my new series with Carina Press, which begins with NO SUCH THING on February 17. Book two (Title TBD) releases in late July, and book three, FOLLOW YOU HOME, sometime later (probably 2015). I'm so freaking in love with these books and these guys, and I hope you love them, too.

For the folks who asked, I contracted the sequel to UNEARTHING COLE to Dreamspinner. UNDERSTANDING JEREMY has a July/August release date.

I also contracted FOUNDATION OF TRUST, the fifth Cost of Repairs book. This is David Weller's story. More to come on that, but David. Oh David. Some characters you just do not expect....

In terms of what I'm writing, I have two different works in progress, both of them spin-offs from other series. I hope to get whacked upside the head with an idea for a standalone or two, like WHAT YOU OWN, but I do seem to get caught up with multi-book series. Probably because that's what I prefer to read. I love revisiting locations and groups of characters. But sometimes you want something that stands on its own two feet, you know?

So from my boys to you: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!   ::confetti::

New Series Coming from Carina Press!

So I've been teasing for a few months about some exciting news and new books coming in 2014.  It's been in Publisher's Marketplace already, but now that the executed contracts are back in my hands, I feel comfortable making an official announcement!

I've signed with Carina Press for 2 books in a new series!  I'm so thrilled to be working with Carina, as they are another of my favorite ebook publishers.

CATCH & RELEASE is the first book.  The description below is NOT the official cover copy blurb. It's what I used in my query letter to Carina, but I think it does a good job of setting up the story (at least, I assume it does, since Carina contracted the book *grin*).

Sometimes three exclamation points can change your life.

 When Jaime Winters put the "Help Needed!!!" sign in his sister's breakfast diner window, he never imagined she'd end up hiring super-hottie Alessandro Silva right off the street—and Alessandro is just as eager to fill the position.  A few weeks ago, Alessandro left behind his life in the city to move back to his small hometown in order to support his newly-widowed foster mother and help her with her foster kids Tony and Molly.  A reformed troublemaker, Alessandro left a lot of ghosts and regrets behind when he left town, and his return has stirred up the attention of an old enemy.

 Unlike Alessandro, Jaime has spent most of his adult life watching the world go by—first from a series of hospital windows, and now over the spines of history textbooks.  It's easier to put all of his energy into his Bachelor's Degree than to face the fact that years of battling heart disease means he's a twenty-three year-old virgin—until Alessandro awakens desires he'd long ago given up on.  The last thing Alessandro wants is a relationship with someone as innocent and fragile as Jaime, but he can't fight his attraction, or his need to be with Jaime. 

 But Alessandro doesn't believe in "one and only."  He's willing to be Jaime's first, but can't hang his heart on the idea that this is a forever kind of thing.  And Jaime may have been given a second chance with a new heart, but he's scared of what giving it to another person means.  They agree to an arrangement—Alessandro will teach Jaime the finer points of gay sex, no feelings involved, no strings attached, and then he'll let Jaime go.  Easier said than done.  Alessandro doesn't mean to get attached, but when an angry ghost from his troubled past threatens the people in his present, Alessandro realizes how hard he's fallen for Jaime—and that Jaime's feelings just might be mutual.

This book was so fun to write, and I'm eager for readers to get their hands on it.  Book two, LOST & FOUND, is Ezra Kelley's story, whom you meet for a few memorable scenes in C&R.  This is also what I've been referring to on Twitter as "The Big Book of Angst." And boy howdy....

More as it happens!

Book News and Updates

I'm so pleased to see such a warm response to UNEARTHING COLE from readers. It takes some serious subjects, and I was a little nervous about this book. Not anymore. I know some folks have had a few issues with the ending, and I want to ease your minds a bit: I will be writing a sequel.  Jeremy has been demanding his own point-of-view, and the love story between him and Cole isn't over yet. Their HFN has a long way to go to reach an HEA.  Jeremy's book is my next project, and I can't wait to get into his head.

In the world of Awesome News, I am happy to announce that the 4th Cost of Repairs book, ACTS OF FAITH, has been contracted by Samhain! This is the book that CoR fans have been waiting for: Rey and Samuel take center stage again! A year and a half into their relationship, they're as solid as ever, until a Christmas miracle is thrust into their lap. A miracle that changes everything.

You can probably guess that that miracle is....

WEIGHT OF SILENCE (Cost of Repairs 3) isn't up on the Samhain site yet, but it is available for pre-order on Amazon.

In the world of Awesome News I Can't Share Yet, I have something fun and new in the works for 2014. It involves two books, including the book I've been calling on Twitter "The Beast of Angst." I'll have more details once the contracts are signed.