Release Day: SAVED (Breaking Free #1)

It's finally here, y'all! Back in late May/early June, my brain latched onto an idea for an Omegaverse story and wouldn't let go. So I stopped what I was currently drafting and jumped into this world where only men exist, they're either alpha, beta, or omega, and where omegas had very few rights at all.

Yes, some of this story was an outlet for my frustration over what's currently happening in the world. It's also a study of our political climate, past and present, as well as what could happen in the future if we don't continue to resist and fight for the equal treatment of all human beings, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

So I hope you enjoy this journey into a new world, and please take the warnings seriously. 

SAVED

(Breaking Free Book 1)

An Omegaverse Story

He didn’t want an alpha to save him, but fate had other ideas…

Braun Etting was raised to know his place as an omega by his alpha father’s cruel words and fast fists, and he expects nothing but violence from the alpha who may one day mate him. His older brother Kell mated a cruel alpha who abuses him daily, and Braun is terrified of that seemingly inevitable future. When Braun’s father dies in a car crash, leaving Braun an orphan, he’s sent to a halfway house for omegas. But on his fourth night there, he witnesses a horrifying crime that sends him fleeing to the streets alone—and edging into his first heat.

Tarek Bloom is settled in his workaholic, single lifestyle, even if it is somewhat embarrassing to be a twenty-eight year-old unmated alpha. He enjoys his job as a constable, helping people and solving problems, so he isn’t prepared for his life to flip upside-down when he walks into his beta friend Dex’s apartment to help with “a problem.”

The problem turns out to be an unmated, nearly in-heat omega orphan who Dex and his husband rescued off the street last night. The even bigger problem is that Tarek feels the mating bond for this terrified omega immediately—and he’s pretty sure the omega feels it, too. But Braun hates alphas as a general rule, and no way is he giving in to the bond. All mating leads to is violence and suffering, so no thank you. But Tarek’s gentle kindness slips under Braun’s emotional shields, and Braun begins to want. To dream. All Braun has ever known is violent alphas, but Tarek is determined to make Braun trust him—and to trust in the idea of their happily ever after.

NOTE: This is a non-shifter Omegaverse story with alpha/omega/beta dynamics, heats, knotting, and mpreg. In this world, omegas are second-class citizens with few civil rights and almost no protections under the law. Trigger warnings for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. 67,000 words.

Only on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

Hot Licks: Some Thoughts on Release Day

My very first m/m/m romance, HOT LICKS, is out today, and I'm both nervous and excited about it. A little less than two years ago, I was contacted by an editor at St. Martin's to write a series for their new-ish digital imprint Swerve. We brainstormed ideas, and we settled on a series about up-and-coming rock stars. I'd never written rock stars before, but hey, what's life without a challenge? We even came up with titles for all three books ahead of time.

BODY ROCKS was always about Dominic and Trey. I told their story exactly as I'd planned in the proposal: two guys from rival bands begin a secret romance. Book two, STEADY STROKE, was always going to be about Lincoln dealing with the fallout of the end of book one. But in the proposal, his hero was vastly different (an adrenaline junkie, I believe). And HOT LICKS, as per the proposal, was going to be about Tyson and a guy named Jordan (who eventually became Emmett in Steady Stroke).

The story for STEADY STROKE changed about halfway through drafting BODY ROCKS. It made more sense for the character of Jordan/Emmett to end up with Lincoln. The conflict was so much bigger once Emmett's secret came out, and while I was writing STEADY STROKE, I knew that the proposal for HOT LICKS was going out the window. Tyson had disappeared and wasn't speaking, and meanwhile, a side character named Van Holt was stealing the show in every scene he invaded. I needed to tell Van's story, but I wasn't entirely sure how.

Enter some stuff going on in my personal life. I few years ago, I accepted the fact that I was asexual, possibly demisexual, and I'd only recently begun being open about that fact on social media. It's a sexuality that is constantly misunderstood or ignored entirely, and there aren't very many ace characters in romance. Particularly in m/m romance. I'd read a handful, but I didn't see me in any of those characters. And you know what they say: write the book you want to read.

I don't remember exactly how the pieces came together in my mind. I remembered the scene where Benji flirting with Van at Off Beat in book two, while Benji and Joshua were on a break from each other. I thought about Benji's open relationship with Joshua, and I started wondering why they had that arrangement. And then Van jumped in with his two-cents and the story flowed came together from there. When I emailed my editor to tell her about the change in book three, she was thrilled, so I forged ahead.

There is more of me and my personal journey in Benji Moore than in any character I've ever written. I was in a relationship with an allosexual man--my first sexual relationship--when I finally embraced being in the asexual spectrum. A lot of my own worries and fears went into Benji: Is there something wrong with me? Will I ever be enough for him? Is it better to let him go so he can find someone who can be what he needs?

Is Benji representative of every ace person out there? Absolutely not. We exist on a spectrum, and I'm not going into detail here. That's what Google is for. But if Benji's story rings true for even one fellow ace, then I've done my job. And if this book helps allo readers understand what asexual is a little bit better, then I've done my job.

Oh yeah, and hopefully I've told a fun, engaging, sexy menage romance tale, but that's for you guys to decide.

Cheers and happy reading!

AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
KOBO
iBOOKS

Benji Moore is living his dream traveling as the lead singer of his band. His life would be perfect if he could get his boyfriend, Josh, to commit to an exclusive relationship.

Even though Josh loves Benji, he has good reasons not to trust in long-term relationships. So Josh decides to take some time to himself and sublets a room at a friend’s beach house. But when he walks into the nearby Off Beat bar, he finds a bartender who may be a good distraction from his relationship problems.

Van Holt doesn’t do anything deeper than sweaty one-night stands. But when Josh sets his sights on him, Van is surprised by their connection. Except Van also doesn’t do complicated, and the situation between Josh and Benji defines complicated. But the more time Van spends with them, the more he’s realizing how hard it would be to let Josh and Benji go.

Can the three of them find a way together, or will they all end up going solo?

Available Now: Say It Right

After his parents kicked him out for being gay, Marc Villegas lived on the streets before getting a second chance. Now he’s giving back by working at a shelter for LGBT teenagers—because helping fight their demons keeps his own at bay. Including his infatuation with the former best friend he’s sure is straight. 

Anthony Romano hasn’t seen Marc since Marc left home eight years ago. In his confidant’s absence, Anthony turned to heroin. Now at rock bottom, he has an offer from Marc to help him get clean. Detox is hard and ugly, but not as hard as admitting the truth: he’s in love with Marc. Always has been. 

Marc swore he’d never date an addict, but he never dreamed the one in question would be the man he’s always wanted to be with. As the two explore their feelings for each other, Marc faces a difficult choice. Say yes, and it could cost him his sobriety; say no, and it could cost him his heart.

Carina Press
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Nook
Kobo

Steady Stroke Release Day!

After a tragic accident, Lincoln West’s dreams of making it big as a guitarist fell apart. Unable to play music, he’s battling a hopeless downward spiral, and takes his friend’s offer to stay at their beach house for the summer. While at an open mic night at local bar Off Beat, he locks eyes with a busboy who doesn’t make Linc feel so broken anymore. 

Emmett Westmore lives for the anonymity of busing tables in his aunt’s quirky bar where no one pities him for the fire that killed everyone he loved. He blames himself for the fire, and he doesn’t want anyone to see him—except for Linc. Emmett’s walls drop when he’s around the gorgeous blue-eyed guitarist, but he has a secret that could destroy his budding relationship with Linc.

Both Linc and Emmett are looking for a way to live again…will they let their fears control them or take a chance on something real?

Amazon US: http://tinyurl.com/hufedb7
Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/gqq5mwc
Nook: http://tinyurl.com/gudhoof
Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/hxzspzy