Ten years ago today, I took a leap of faith and published my first book. It was called Way Off Plan, and it began my Firsts and Forever Series, which lives on to this day. I've published 39 books over the past decade, and I'm so grateful for my readers. Thank you for taking a chance on my books.
I just published my first ever MMM story! It's a lighthearted holiday novella featuring Kel, Hudson, and Noah, who've all been supporting characters in my Firsts and Forever Series. It can also be read as a fun little holiday stand-alone. Here's the universal link, it's available as both an ebook and paperback.
A week in a rustic cabin sounds like the perfect holiday getaway to Kel, Hudson, and Noah. Maybe it’s also the perfect time to finally act on the couple’s unspoken attraction to their best friend. But if they do, can what’s started in private survive in the real world, especially when one of them is a public figure who’s struggling with coming out?
This MMM sweet-with-heat holiday novella features characters introduced in Alexa Land’s Firsts and Forever Series, though it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.
Both the ebook and paperback versions of The Thief and The Gangster are now live on Amazon!
Here's the blurb:
Adriano
It started as the hottest hook-up of my life. Jack was gorgeous, and the spark between us was intense. But the night ended with me chasing him through the streets of San Francisco half-naked, after he stole my late father’s watch. Awesome.
Days later, I finally tracked him down, just as I got the news that all hell was breaking loose back home in Las Vegas. Now I have to bring Jack along while I deal with the mobster who’s targeting my family—as if a road trip with that little thief is even sort of a good idea. But what choice do I have? If I let him out of my sight, he and my most prized possession will disappear forever.
I can’t deny it, I’m still drawn to Jack—but how can I trust him?
Jack
I like to think of myself as a modern-day Robin Hood. I rob from the rich and give to—well, to me. I’m poor, so that counts. Not that I’d planned to rip off Adriano Dombruso when he picked me up in a bar, but that vintage Rolex was just too tempting to pass up.
It sucked when he managed to track me down. Then, before we could retrieve his watch, an urgent call from home set him in motion. Now I suddenly find myself in Vegas. The bad guys are closing in, and the smart choice would be to escape and save myself—after all, self-preservation is what I’m best at. Somehow though, I hate the thought of leaving Adriano to deal with this on his own.
Am I actually falling for that big, burly gangster?
The Thief and The Gangster is a lighthearted gay romance set in the world of Alexa Land’s Firsts and Forever Series. While long-time readers will recognize some familiar faces in supporting roles, this can absolutely be read as a stand-alone.
My latest release, The Thief and The Gangster, is now on pre-order and goes live October 29th. I've been writing stories in the Firsts and Forever universe for close to ten years now, so this book felt like coming home.
While it can definitely be read as a stand-alone, longtime readers will recognize some familiar faces in supporting roles. I loved checking in with many of my readers' favorite characters and seeing what they're up to a few years down the road!
My latest book, The Thief and The Gangster, will be released on October 29th. The pre-order is up on Amazon, and here's a little information on the characters. If you'd rather be surprised when you read the book, you might want to bail out of this blog post. :)
The two main characters are Jack Granger, age 34, and Adriano Dombruso, age 37. You''ll be meeting them for the first time in this book. If you've read other books in my Firsts and Forever Series though, you'll recognize a lot of familiar names in the supporting cast. This book has a lot of action and a storyline that includes organized crime, because I wanted it to be reminiscent of the earliest stories in my Firsts and Forever Series.
Despite the cameos, this book can absolutely be read as a stand-alone! You don't need to be familiar with any of the supporting characters or their books to thoroughly enjoy Jack and Adriano's action-packed story.
But if you have read some of my earlier books, you might notice that Adriano has the same last name as a very prominent family that's appeared throughout the series. So who is he?
Following is a little snippet from the book. This story is told in dual point of view, and this passage is from Jack's perspective:
The journal had fallen open to a page with a list of names and addresses, and I picked it up and asked, “Who are these people with your last name? Dante, Vincent, Gianni, Michael—”
“They’re my half-brothers.”
“I thought you just had one brother named Romy.”
“He’s the only one I grew up with. Those four are my half-brothers on my dad’s side. He went back to his wife after he spent a few months with my mom, so two are younger than me, and two are older.”
“Are you close?”
“I don’t know them at all,” he said.
So there you have it, a fifth Dombruso brother! Adriano's dad, Paulie Dombruso, separated from his wife for six months when Dante and Vincent were toddlers. During that time, he got involved with a woman named Amanda Russo in Las Vegas. Adriano was born after Paulie went back to his wife, and he never got to know his dad, who died just a few years later.
Dante, Vincent, Gianni, and Mike all got their happily ever afters in earlier books, and now it's Adriano's turn. I've had so much fun revisiting the family in this book, and I can't wait to get it into your hands!
In case you missed it, I published the following note and sneak peek at the end of my last book, Every Saturday Night. I'm republishing it here, for those of you who are wondering what's up next.
December, 2022 marks my ten-year anniversary as a published author. Over this past decade, I’ve set most of my books—aside from my paranormal series—in my ever-expanding Firsts and Forever universe. While the next book I have planned for you introduces two brand new main characters, it also brings together the Pink Victorian Crew and some favorite characters from very early on in the original Firsts and Forever Series. It feels like a full circle moment for me, and for my longtime readers.
Following is a little taste of what’s in store for you with that next book, The Thief and the Gangster. It’ll go live this fall, just ahead of my ten-year publishing anniversary.
My heart’s pounding as I race down the sidewalk. At best, I only have a minute or two on my pursuer. He looked furious too, when he caught me stealing the vintage watch out of his dresser. What can I say? If you don’t want to get robbed, don’t invite strangers into your home, then doze off after you fuck their brains out. You’re really only asking to get ripped off.
This guy though, he wasn’t just pissed—he looked like he was going to do something about it. When I saw him reach for a gun, that was my cue to get the fuck out of there.
I didn’t do myself any favors by jumping off his second floor balcony, though. In fact, I tweaked my ankle pretty good. Now here I am, running down the middle of the street at three a.m., like I want to get caught or something.
My solution is to climb over a fence into someone’s backyard, then over another into the yard next door. If I keep doing this, I’ll come out on the other end of the block, and he’ll never find me.
Only problem is, when I climb over the next fence, I land in a bad way on my ankle, and that’s it—I just took it from twisted to sprained, and now I’m not going anywhere. I also made the mistake of yelping when the pain shot up my leg, so there are lights coming on in the house attached to this backyard. It’s a pink Victorian, and if houses can look friendly, this one does. Let’s just hope whoever lives here doesn’t own a gun, because one per night is more than enough.
I sit up and brush some flowers out of my dark blond hair. I’ve landed in a bed of lavender. It smells like a fuckin’ funeral. Pretty soon, there are a whole bunch of people standing over me. One of them—a petite brunette that someone calls Yolanda—is wielding a baseball bat. I can tell she’s not afraid to use it, either, if she thinks I’m a threat. Fortunately, people have told me I have the face of an angel. I’m small too, so everyone always underestimates me.
To discourage her from clocking me with the bat, I start crying. I’m good at that, I can do it on cue. I introduce myself as Jack and spin a sad story about a date gone wrong and how I needed to get away from some jerk. They’re buying it. Next thing I know, I’m in their kitchen with an ice pack on my ankle, and a cute guy named Lark is making me a cup of tea.
They suggest spending the night on their couch. Why not? Frankly, I can think of worse places to hide out until I can walk on this ankle. They don’t have a thing to worry about, either. These are good people. Working class, like my Ma. I’m not going to steal from them. I’m like Robin Hood in that respect—rob from the rich and give to…well, to me. I’m poor, so that counts.
While a big guy named Dylan goes to make up the couch for me, I glance at my new watch. It’s a beauty, a platinum vintage Rolex. I decide I’m keeping this one for myself, instead of pawning it for a few bucks. Something like that doesn’t come along every day.
Then, just because I’ve already forgotten the name of the watch’s former owner, I fish his business card out of the pocket of my suit jacket. He gave it to me when he picked me up in a bar a few hours earlier.
I flip the card over and read what it says. Turns out his name’s Adriano Dombruso.
He was sexy as fuck, too—tall, dark, and Italian, a combination I find irresistible. Not that it matters. After tonight, he’s someone I need to avoid at all costs.
And yet I can’t shake the feeling our paths are destined to cross again someday.
I'm SO excited about my work in progress! It's called The Thief and the Gangster, and I'm having the best time writing it.
The sixth book in my Firsts & Forever Stories collection is LIVE! It's available as both an ebook and a paperback, and it's also on Kindle Unlimited. You can find it on Amazon.
This opposites attract romance is about a young single dad and a smoking hot Cuban-American motorcycle mechanic with a secret. It can be read as a stand-alone, but if you've read some of my other books you'll recognize some familiar faces in supporting roles. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!
Meet Logan! His book is now up for pre-order on Amazon, and it goes live July 23rd. He's Lark's younger brother, and I love the fact that there's a bit of a family resemblance.
The next book in my Firsts and Forever Stories is in the home stretch! It's called Every Saturday Night, and I plan to release it in late July, as long as my life doesn't implode between now and then.
The main character is Lark's brother Logan, a young single dad who moved in with the pink Victorian crew at the end of my last book, which was titled Lark. I'll have more information soon, including a cover reveal and release date. Stay tuned!
What do a widowed firefighter who’s stuck in the past and a carefree sex worker have in common? Absolutely nothing. But maybe the last person they’d ever consider is exactly what they need.
My new lighthearted opposites attract romance is now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Good news for my paperback readers! The paperback version of Lark went live early and is now available. For everyone else, the ebook of Lark is on pre-order and goes live this Friday. You can find both the ebook and paperback on Amazon by following this universal link.
The fifth book in my Firsts and Forever Stories is simply titled Lark, for the dynamic supporting character in Bad Ideas who captured my heart and demanded I tell his story. One of my very favorite tropes is opposites attract, and it doesn't get much more opposite than widowed firefighter Dylan Hawkins and carefree cam boy Larkin Genardi. Writing their story was pure joy, and I can't wait until it's in your hands!
The book goes live on April 29th and is available for pre-order. This universal link should take you to Lark on your country's Amazon site.
Well, it's certainly been a minute since I last updated my blog, and for that I apologize. January and most of February were rough months, health-wise, but I'm now slowly getting back on track.
I'm happy to report I'm making good progress on Lark's book. We met him in my most recent release, Bad Ideas. He was Casey the main character's roommate, and he's been a joy to write! He's a 26-year-old cam boy who's very sweet, a little naive, and just so lovable.
For his love interest, I dipped way back into my original Firsts and Forever Series and brought a minor character forward. Some of my readers might remember a widowed firefighter named Dylan, who had a small role in River's book, All I Ever Wanted. He'd remained in the back of my mind, and years later I finally found the perfect partner for him.
The working title of this book is Cam Boy, and I'm shooting for an early April release as long as my health cooperates. An exact release date and a cover reveal will be coming up in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, here's a draft of the blurb for Cam Boy, which gives you a little taste of what's in store for you:
What if the most unlikely person you’d ever consider is exactly what you need?
Lark
As a cam boy, most of the guys I meet just want to get me into bed. Then there’s this sexy firefighter named Dylan. I’m not sure what he wants from me, and I don’t think he knows, either.
Even though we have nothing in common, we still have a great time together, and the attraction is undeniable. The only problem? He’s still mourning the loss of his husband, and I’m not sure if he’s ready to move on. Even if he was, would someone like Dylan really want someone like me?
Dylan
Lark Genardi and I couldn’t be more different. He’s an uninhibited, carefree cam boy who’s eight years younger than me, and he embraces life in a way I’ve never seen before. Whenever we’re together, I’m happier than I’ve been in a very long time. But whatever’s happening between us makes me feel like I’m disrespecting my late husband’s memory.
I’m not sure if I can find a way to reconcile my past and my future. But I find myself wondering—what if the most unlikely guy I could ever imagine is exactly what I need?
Cam Boy is a contemporary, opposites attract MM romance. It’s part of Firsts and Forever Stories, books that can be read as stand-alones and share some supporting characters.