New Series Announcement

Savage Society of Emerald Hills is a dark (my darkest yet) series full of forbidden stories. Think father's best friend, step brother, priests, etc. It’s set in Emerald Hills, the fictional town located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains (in the Pacific Northwest), and it takes place roughly five years before my upcoming series Riot Boys of Emerald Hills Prep.

The series kicks off with Cole and Fallon, a father's best friend, age-gap (obv) forbidden romance. If breeding is your kink, you're really going to love this one, too!

I’m currently writing it, but if you want a sneak peek, you can read it here.

I’m doing a few things different with this series. For one, I’m not planning the entire thing out before I go. I’m letting my creativity take me where it wants to. The chapters are going to be much shorter than my usuals, but there will be more of them, so the book lengths should be relatively the same.

But the coolest new thing I’m doing is posting each chapter as I write them over on Patreon. If you read chapter one and can’t wait to read more, I’m posting new chapters daily over there so you’ll want to sign up.

Please keep in mind that with editing and rewrites, the story is subject to change before it's published, and once it goes live on Amazon, it will be taken down.

I’m really excited for this one and can’t wait for you to read it!

Crossed Souls Rewrites Are Done!

Phew, what a journey! It took me an entire month, but I did it. Crossed Souls is now 16,000 words longer and I think the story is so much better than the original version. For context, 16,000 words is essentially the equivalent of four extra chapters (though I didn’t actually add any new chapters). I know all of my books are longer than your average romance novel, but hey, I’ve never pretended like I’m not a wordy bitch.

The entire start of the first chapter is completely different, and there are so many changes throughout the story now that I hope give more depth to the characters and make the worldbuilding better. This was my first time writing a paranormal story, and a reverse harem at that, and there are so many moving parts in the story that I really needed to figure out how to tell the story in my head while also balancing how much information I dump into the book without bogging the story down.

I hope I’ve finally struck a good balance between everything with these changes. If you haven’t read Crossed Souls yet, you can check out the new version by clicking here.

If you have already read it, the new version will be updating to your Kindle later this week (sadly, while Amazon delivers same-day, their electronic updates are still slow as hell) so keep your eyes out for that and let me know what you think of all the changes when you give it a read!

Next up… Bound Souls.

Progress Update

I thought it’d be fun to update you along the journey of writing my current books. So, what am I actively writing?

Chased:

I’m currently writing chapter four of Chased. It’s a Ronin POV chapter. When I wrote Captive, the chapters ran roughly 4,000 words each. So far, this book’s chapters are even longer at about 5,000 words each which are massive. Unfortunately for me, the harder I try to make them smaller the bigger they get, so I’m just going with the flow and letting them be whatever they need to.

I’m really excited about this book because it’s going to have even more action and be faster paced than the last one, too. I really should’ve finished chapter four yesterday, but my writing mojo wasn’t where it needed to be, so today I’ll be getting that done and moving on to Montana’s POV in chapter five.

Crossed Souls:

I’m still on chapter one for this book writing-wise. It’s from the FMC’s POV and Montana is such a dynamic character that I’m finding it hard to swap between the two of them because this FMC comes off as sort of boring in comparison.

The problem is I don’t want to make this FMC too similar to Montana and I have yet to really find the FMC’s voice. Because of that, I’ve stepped back from writing it for a couple of days to try and get a better hold on her personality. There was also a major piece of her background I was missing and didn’t realize it until I was actively writing.

Now, I’ve got all of that figured out so I feel pretty good about jumping back in and finishing the first chapter. My other issue is I hit all my plotted scene bullet points for chapter one and it’s only, like, 1700 words which is way too short to be a decent chapter, but I’m hoping with the bit of backstory I need to add in that it’ll plump it up to around 2500.

Takeaways:

I knew writing two books would be a challenge, but I really thought the tough part would be continuing to write after I hit my limit on one book. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten to that point yet, but I’m hopeful with the character stuff I figured out this week, I’ll be able to see how it all goes.

Writing two very distinct characters is hard. I want them to be unique and distinct and switching between the two is seriously difficult. But, I always like a challenge, so I’m not going to give up. I’ll post another update next week and let you know how it’s going.

When I'm Stuck

Typically when I write a book, I aim to get a chapter done every day. Now, there are plenty of times that it doesn’t happen or that I do more than one in a day (more often, it not happening is what’s going down rather than me writing more, but it does happen from time to time).

I also outline my books before I start writing them, which means I generally know where a chapter’s going to go before I start writing it. Problems crop up when the story goes off the rails of the outline or I realize that the word count isn’t on target.

(I always aim to write at least 100k words per book, and Griffin has been my shortest so far at 105k).

With Tempting Harrison, I realized that with the number of chapters I have planned out and the word count of each chapter being what it is, I was going to fall short of my 100k goal. Now the struggle is how do I beef up the story without using anything that feels like filler?

The past four days, I’d been stuck on a chapter I added in. I thought I knew where it was going, but once I had written out the things I had in mind, I was about a thousand words short of where I needed to be. I’d been going crazy wracking my brain trying to figure out what to do, when finally I brought it up with a fellow writer friend of mine, Cathleen. (If you’re looking for something to read while you wait for Harrison, go check out her debut novel, Heart of Steel).

She made a couple of suggestions that got me thinking in a whole different direction than I was and bam! Unsutck, just like that. This morning, I finished the chapter and moved onto the next and the book is back underway.

So, in short, being stuck sucks but having peeps to bounce ideas off of is the best way to get un-stuck in my opinion. Also, this book (Tempting Harrison) is honestly my favorite of the series, which has been such a happy surprise. I can’t wait for you to read it!

Bonus Content

I’ve been keeping a list of scenes and chapters and novella ideas that I can expand on from the Shadow Phoenix series book just for fun, but I’m torn on what to write first. There are so many possibilities. Here are some ideas I’ve had for scenes that would be fun to write and share with you. Let me know in the comments what you’d like to see first.

Bonus Content Brainstorm:

• True & Amara: What happened during Zen and Kennedy’s wedding reception (bonus scene).

• Lucas: The equipment manager from the Wild Ride tour (Griffin’s book) get his chance at love (M/M novella).

• Lennon, Atticus & Oscar: Acid trip scene (bonus scene from Tempting Harrison—you haven’t met these characters yet, but trust me when I say this scene would be hilarious).

• Maddox, Ryan & Quinn: A reader requested a steamy scene between these three, so it’d be an expansion on the truth and dare scene in the book (bonus scene).

• Jericho & Moon: Dealing with new parenthood with their colicky, terror of a child (bonus scene).

• Lennon, Atticus & Violet: Again, characters you have yet to meet from Tempting Harrison, but I want these guys to find their HEA, and it’d be in a MMF/ménage novella (novella).

• Griffin & Magnolia: Wedding (bonus scene).

Welp, those are all the ideas on my list. How about you? Which one would you want to see written? Or do you have your own ideas of a bonus scene or novella you’d like to read from the Shadow Phoenix characters before we say goodbye to the series and move on to the Hollywood Guardians with Connor? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Sorry For the Delay

I know, I know. It’s been a hot minute since I wrote anything on this blog, but there’s a good reason—promise! I’ve been hard at work writing Griffin. This book… it’s testing me, y’all. I’ve had to do so much research to try and get everything just right.

The Shadow Phoenix crew is going on tour in Griffin’s book, and while it’s not a huge tour, I want you to feel like you’re experiencing some of the places they go right there along with Magnolia and Griffin (and, of course, some of the other guys and girls from the group).

So, I plan on getting back into more detailed blogs soon, just as soon as I finish writing this book. I’ve got less than three weeks to get everything done and the stress is legit kicking my ass.

I’m off to get this manuscript finished so I can get it into your hands… or devices. But in the meantime, read on for a little sneak peek of a silly and sweet moment between Griff and Mags.

Griffin

Magnolia raised her eyebrow at me and I laughed. “What? You know I’m from Texas.”

“Yeah, but you don’t strike me as the kind of guy who listens to a whole lot of country music,” she noted, letting her stunning blue gaze run over all my tattoos and piercings and my body heated under her scrutiny. Again.

“Well, ma’am, give me any country song from the nineties and I could probably sing along,” I drawled, letting the twang I’d worked hard to bury pop out in an over-exaggerated way and she giggled. It was a sound I hadn’t heard from her yet, but one that had everything inside me lighting up. 

Instead of continuing our banter, she turned on the stage and looked out into the empty auditorium, breathing in deeply. “Just think about all the people who’ve stood on this stage in the last ninety-five years,” she mused. “The music that’s been played and all the people in the audience who had a chance to come out and see the show, no matter what was going on in their lives. They all came together to enjoy something special. It’s really incredible when you think about it.”

I stepped up beside her and looked out into the rows of empty seats. The Grand Ole Opry was a place of musical legend, and just like Magnolia, I never thought I’d be standing on this stage. This was one of those places on every musician’s bucket list--no matter how famous or not famous you were. “What show do you wish you could’ve seen?”

Playing Jericho Deleted Scene

When I write a book, a lot of the time I get inspiration from different places or songs or just random thoughts that pop into my mind. It’s usually not for a full scene, but I get snippets of dialogue or moments of interaction that I don’t want to miss out on, so I keep a file in my book folder called Bits and Pieces and I add to it throughout the entire process.

My actual folder for Playing Jericho and the aforementioned Bits and Pieces document.

I actually start a folder for each book and a Bits and Pieces document before I’ve even really plotted the book so I can add character details or anything that comes to mind, really.

Such was the case with the scene below. I wrote it, didn’t edit it at all, but realized that the scene I had in mind for it just wouldn’t fit. For one thing, the bit below was in Jericho’s POV and the chapter ended up being in Moon’s. There also just wasn’t a great place to fit it in when the whole thing was written.

So, now you get a little sneak peek in the form of a deleted scene. This scene takes place a music festival (think Coachella) where the guys were playing. Moon and Jericho spend some time together after the guys are done with their set, and this is the result.

Enjoy!

Jericho

She tugged me through the crowd. "You pick the band, I want to dance."

I thought for a minute before a smile tugged at my lips. "I know the perfect spot."

We pushed through what seemed like endless bodies until we stood in front of a stage. Her jaw fell open when she heard the song playing. "Is this Cruel Summer?" Her eyes lit up.

I nodded. "This band does all eighties covers. Ever since Wheezer covered Africa it's become a whole thing."

"I think it might have started when Limp Bizkit did Faith," she surprised the fuck out of me by saying. Moon knew her music.

"Yeah, but we don't talk about that. They butchered the shit out of that song."

"Then there was Tainted Love when Marilyn Manson did it," she pointed out, acting like I hadn't spoken and I wrapped my arms around her, reeling her into my body and burying my face in her hair as she rotated her hips against me. I was so fucking hard it hurt.

"You win. I can't think straight with all my blood in my dick," I growled into her ear. The music was so loud I wasn't sure she heard me until she dipped down and dragged herself back up my body inch by sexy inch.

Her sultry laugh carried over the music and the look she shot me told me she knew exactly what she was doing. “That’s right, I always win.”

And fuck if the challenge in her eye didn’t make me want her that much more.

What I Wrote This Week

This week, my sole writing focus was the Shadow Phoenix prequel. Want to know the best part about this book? It’s going to be totally FREE! Woo!

It’s been coming along nicely and I’m having a lot of fun writing it. I’m a little bit worried about how you all will like it because it’s not necessarily like a traditional romance. Sure, there are steamy scenes and all sorts of debauchery in the book, but this story is more about the guys and their friendship and how they depend on each other more than anyone else in this world while they’re trying to navigate climbing the show business ranks.

They go through a lot through the span of the book, and I’ve been pushing my writing to put them in scenes that make me uncomfortable to write. It’s been an experience and one that’s helped me grow in a lot of different ways.

One thing I’m doing this book that I’ve never done before? I’m not plotting anything ahead of time. As a writer, I usually plot every single thing in my books down to the scene (usually I write 2-4 scenes per chapter) but this time I just sat down and started writing.

Like above, it’s pushed me outside of my comfort zone and at times has left me for days pulling out my hair or staring off into space wondering what the hell I’m going to do next or where I’m going to take the story so that it makes sense. But I’ve learned to listen to my gut and just go with whatever feels right, even if my mind wants to fight me.

Being a writer is weird, y’all.

But, I’m pretty sure I only have two chapters left to write and then this baby’s going to be done. And when it is? Buckle. Up.

You’ll want to read this one before you read Jericho because his character’s going to make a LOT more sense if you do. I’ll give you more details about a release date soon, but it’s not going to be much longer before it drops!

A Tiny Sneak Peek:

True

A letter with my name on it sat propped on the kitchen counter, and I eyed it like it was about to catch on fire. I texted the guys to come over as soon as I noticed it because I couldn’t bring myself to open it alone.

What do you think is in the envelope? Leave me a comment with your guesses!

What I Wrote This Week

I spent the majority of this week working on two things: An overhaul of Finding Zen and the Shadow Phoenix prequel (which as of now is tentatively named Shadow Phoenix).

Finding Zen was my first ever novel, and as a writer I think I’ve come a long way since I wrote it, even though I started it almost exactly one year ago. I learned tons through the whole process and while I still love the bones of the story, I think there are some things that could use tightening up—plot holes I missed the first time around being one of them.

So, I’ve been meticulously going through each chapter with a lot of help and polishing up the story to make it better. As of now, I’m more than halfway through it and would really like to have uploaded the new version by next week.

As far as Shadow Phoenix… This one’s going to be intense. It’s a prequel and will be a novella, so it won’t be quite as long, but it centers around the band’s formation and the main relationship focus is on the guys’ friendship. Now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The debauchery in this book isn’t quite like anything you’ve seen me write before. But that’s what makes it fun!

Exploring all sorts of dark angles and themes has been a blast so far. I still don’t have a release date for this one, yet, but as it gets closer I’ll let you know. The story is told from four points of view—Maddox, True, Zen, and Jericho. You’ll get a deep dive into the personalities and inner workings of each guy and the stuff they’ve gone through to get to where they are.

You’ll get to watch their rise to stardom and experience their ups and downs along the way. And let me tell you, you’re in for quite a ride. So keep your eyes peeled to future posts for more sneak peeks and details as I hammer this one out.

And if you want to read an small (unedited) excerpt, keep scrolling.

Maddox

I held up the bottle I’d swiped off of the shelf next to the office door on my way out, tilting it side to side. “Want a drink?”

Zen sat back down and I sat next to him, crossing my ankle over my knee as I leaned back into the cool leather and twisted the cap off of the bottle. I took a giant swig before passing him the container. He lifted it to his lips and took a sip before lowering it back down. “Are you going to get anything done while we’re here?”

Shrugging, I grabbed the bottle back from him. “Not ink. I’ve always wanted to pierce something, though.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Really? Please don’t say your cock.”

I tossed my head back and laughed. I hadn’t been considering it but now that he mentioned it, it wasn’t the worst idea. The thought of some long-ass needle being stuck through my dick was cringeworthy, even if it meant greater pleasure later. No fucking thank you.

“Nah, maybe my nose like True. Or a nipple.”

“A nipple,” Zen repeated incredulously. “Why the fuck would you want to pierce your nipple?”

“Why not? I think it’s hot when guys have their nipples pierced.” I took another pull from the bottle, feeling the effects of the liquor as it warmed my blood and I relaxed further into the sofa.

“If you say so.” Zen reached for the bottle. 

What I Wrote This Week

This past Tuesday, Saving Maddox released and now that it’s out in the world it was time for me to jump into my next project. If I’m not actively writing something at pretty much all times, I get twitchy.

Unlike every other aspect of my life, my writing process is really organized and linear. I start my projects by figuring out the two main characters and a loose plot line. I figure out where I want them to start and how I want the story to end. And then I jump into detailed plotting.

I plot every single scene I’m going to write before I write it. At least that’s typically how I do things. I also only work on one project at a time.

Way back when, I was super into knitting. And I was also super into starting a million projects and never finishing one so I had half-finished knitting projects all over the house. Knowing that about myself, when I started on this writing journey I told myself I would only start something if I finished something else. So far this has served me well, but I had two projects once Maddox was done that were tugging at me and demanding to be written.

So this week, I broke my self-imposed one project at a time rule. That’s right: I’m actively writing TWO books right now.

So what are they?

Well, the first is Playing Jericho. Out of all the books I’ve written so far, this one has given me the most trouble plot-wise. The character I originally envisioned for Jericho didn’t fit when the time came to start actually plotting the book and it took me a couple of months of plotting and replotting to finally figure out that the problem wasn’t the plot but the character instead. Which meant a complete overhaul of who he was as a person.

I had to stop trying to force him into what I thought he should be and start letting him be who he was meant to be. Once I did that, the plot flowed and the words came a lot easier.

On top of Jericho, I’m also working on a prequel. It’s working title is Shadow Phoenix (original, I know haha) and it’s the story of the four original band members and their friendship and their path to fame. It starts just before high school graduation and follows the start of their music career with lots of debauchery along the way. It’s been fun to write, and unlike Jericho, I’m not plotting the shit out of it before I write it. I’m just writing and seeing what happens.

So far I don’t have a release date set for the prequel, but I’ll let you know when I get closer.

It’s been hot, so I’ve been multitasking by spending time with my kiddo at the pool and writing.

So, here’s how this week breaks down:

Playing Jericho: 2 chapters written

Shadow Phoenix: 3 chapters written

A few done, many, many more to go!

A quick (unedited!) sneak peek from Playing Jericho:

Jericho

I repressed the urge to smash my controller against the wall and squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep breath. “Fuck, I’m out. Maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow,” DeathMinion said before signing off of the game. Once he was gone, FatUncle followed him and that just left LunaGirl and me. A devilish grin crossed my face.

“Hey, Luna,” I breathed into the mic, lowering my voice to almost a growl.

She laughed that throaty laugh of hers that always turned me the fuck on. “Hey, Wicked. Nice campaign, even if we did get our asses kicked.”

Flirting with Luna over this game was what I looked forward to most these days. It wasn’t playing sold out shows with Shadow Phoenix, the band I was a drummer for. It wasn’t accepting awards, doing interviews, or any of the other boring-ass shit that came along with being someone famous. Nope. It was this right here—LunaGirl and her sultry voice. Her and this game were the only places I let myself really be who I was deep down inside. The only safe places I had to let the darkness out to play because LunaGirl got off on my need for control.

Have a great weekend, and look for my “What I Read This Weekend” post on Monday for my favorite reads from the past weekend.