Let's talk about backstage passes

And rockstar double entendres

The first rockstar romance I ever read was Olivia Cunning’s Backstage Pass. Great title (wink wink nudge nudge).

The book is memorable for a variety of reasons, the last of which is that it’s the first ebook I ever read on my phone. I read it while pushing my 2-year-old toddler on a swing until my arm nearly fell off.

And it was so compelling, so transgressive, and so remarkably hot that I couldn’t stop reading. Pretty sure my child’s entire vestibular system was rewired that day.

I’m not a big “rockstar romance” reader (I’m sure that’s eliciting plenty of chuckles right now from all of you who are fans of my Random series…), but Olivia Cunning had a way of writing intensely transgressive erotic scenes with such lush, lyrical, and super dirty language that I found myself in awe.

The only book that’s ever drawn such a visceral, physical response from me is Sierra Simone’s American Queen, a radically different book that was recommended to me by a fellow author, and one that I unfortunately chose to read while traveling on a long-distance flight.

THAT COVER!!

I am pretty sure I was pages away from destroying the flight because my seat was nearly on fire from the heat Ms. Simone generates through her fingers on the keyboard. Whoa.

She defines transgressive.

Back to rock stars…

Another series I loved, but didn’t read until after I’d written mine, is Kylie Scott’s Stage Dive series. Lick’s cover is just, well… you want to lick it!

When I wrote Random Acts of Crazy, my first in what is now an 11-book rockstar romance series (and yet it’s so, so much more…), I had NO INTENTION of writing a “rock star romance” series. Hell, I didn’t know I was even writing a series! Darla’s voice popped into my head and took up residence for a while.

I thought I was writing a journey. Detailing how a group of unlikely young people in their early 20s came to find out who they really are. Making Trevor and Joe “rock stars” was just a device. A way to make Darla have something in common with these two men who couldn’t be more different than her. I didn’t set out to have them in a band. I’m not that methodical - remember, I’m a “pantser.” I fly by the seat of my pants when I write, vs. being a “plotter,” a writer who plots everything out.

It was realistic to imagine a rural Ohio woman working in a gas station, frustrated by a life that didn’t offer her the opportunities she deserved, would be active online and find community there. Random Acts of Crazy was a tiny band out of Boston and the fact that she was a huge fan via online access to their music was… fate.

:)

This is why I love writing fiction. Because I get to be fate. I decide who loves whom. I decide who gets their just desserts. I decide when conflict happens and how it’s resolved. I decide how to take people on emotional journeys, when to put in roadblocks, how to help them resolve obstacles.

Readers, though… you guys decide whether the story is any good.

If you’ve been a longtime follower of my books, you’ve likely read Random Acts of Crazy by now. If you have, you have an opinion, one way or the other.

And let me tell you: people either love that book, or… well…

Whatever the opposite of love is, and in this case, it ain’t indifference LOL. The 1 star reviews and the 5 star reviews are proof. Darla and the gang get VERY FEW 3-star “this book was okay” reviews. Polarizing is a great word for Random Acts of Crazy.

If you’re new to my books, or just haven’t gotten around to getting Random Acts of Crazy, here’s the great news - it is on sale right now for nothing.

Yep - costs nothing. Free. Gratis.

And if you love audiobooks, you can get it Whispersync’d on Amazon for just $7.97, with narrators Sebastian York as Trevor, Andi Arndt as Darla, and Tad Branson as Joe.

Behind-the-scene story: my cover designer had to move that towel, um… up quite a bit from the original photo! It wouldn’t pass censors on Amazon and Audible otherwise. ;)

This is one of my absolute favorite books, in part because I didn’t so much write it as provide the fingers for Darla to control through the first 10,000 words. Some books come to authors slowly, revealing themselves like burlesque, giving a look here, a hint there, a bit of a tease.

Others are firehoses to the face.

Darla is a firehose. Like, a human embodiment of one.

Click on the button to find all the online ebook retailers and start the series:

You’ll never be quite the same… and if you’re wondering why so many people send me chicken videos, you’re about to learn the truth.

:)

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The Coming Home Series Boxed Set just 0.99

I wrote The Coming Home series before I wrote the Breaking Away series. A bit of trivia: I wrote about half of Return, the first book in the Coming Home series, but I paused. Realized I needed to start with something more intense. Sons of Anarchy was still very popular back then, so I decided to write a motorcycle club romance, with lots of DEA agents and backstabbing and undercover secrets and sex.

Plenty of sex!

If you haven’t read The Breaking Away series, my very first trilogy as Meli Raine, today’s a great time to start because the entire boxed set is FREE in eBook right now.

On Amazon only, when you own the eBook, you can get the audiobook for just $7.97.

And The Coming Home series boxed set is just 0.99 this week, a 90% discount:

Grab the freebie and the deep-discount and give yourself loads of time to immerse your heart and soul into a pulse-pounding romantic suspense world. Both series are interconnected, though they can each be read as standalone.

I love the yin-yang of writing romantic comedy vs. romantic suspense. <3

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Love You Fiancee is just 12 Days Away!

You can preorder Love You Fiancee right now for just 2.99, and it releases on July 31. Please note: this book was originally a novella in my “Proposal Laughbox” boxed set that released in 2022. It has been expanded and is now releasing separately after readers asked me to do so.

Audiobook by Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton releasing by July 31, and print will release as well.

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Aesop ‘s Fable - Holliston, Massachusetts

I’m very open about the fact that I’m immunocompromised and so is most of my family (we are a motley group of autoimmune and genetic… stuff). All of this means I don’t go many places indoors these days, and if I do, I wear a mask.

Two friends and I went to Aesop’s Fable, an adorable and exhilarating local bookstore (local to me… 30 minute drive) in Holliston, Massachusetts. Housed in an antique building, in a brick-lined basement, the store is a treasure trove of outstanding book pics, toys, games, and even special hardcover first editions you can buy!

I dropped a ton of money, bought my 13 year old all his birthday presents (he turns 14 in August), joined their frequent-reader club ($50/year and you get 10% off plus a cool tote bag), and luxuriated in spending an hour or so surrounded by ten thousand or so possible worlds to crawl into.

It was bliss.

Aersop’s Fable is the kind of bookstore I want to see more of. When I was part of the Ashland Library “Rom Con” in May, they were the local bookstore that worked at the event.

Julia Kent and Sarah MacLean talking to readers at the Ashland Public Library.

We arrived at Aesop’s Fable at 10am and only the clerk was there, and she was delightfully helpful, even directing me and one of my friends to a little Italian bakery in the same building called Gaitano’s, where to my utter delight I found GLUTEN FREE Italian pistachio macaroons and pine nut cookies! I was in HEAVEN!

(And on a side note: my friend and I walked in masked, and the owner and clerk immediately put on masks - we never asked. It was sweet, and I never expect that of people, but for anyone who is disabled or immunocompromised, it means a lot.)

For those who don’t know, 4 out of 5 of us in my family have celiac disease. I’m the only one who doesn't, but we learned years ago that I carry 2 copies of a gene associated with celiac, and my doctor told me to go gluten free.

When I say Clark and I are genetic… stuff… I mean it :( .

Gaitano’s has a lovely outdoor area with tables, so my friend and I sugared-up and caffeinated ourselves before heading home to our new books, with a plan to frequent the bookstore and bakery more often!

Aesop’s Fable has 3 signed copies of Love You Right in stock, and you can order online! So for folks who are looking for a signed copy, head on over.

And for those who are within driving distance, GO SHOP THERE! I love supporting local businesses, and hope to find ways to be more involved at this special place.

<3

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Paid Subscribers to this Newsletter

You’re already a free subscriber and will continue to receive all my newsletters, so no worries there. But I want to make sure you know that right now, the only way to get signed, personalized copies of my books is to become a paid subscriber. Click on the “Upgrade” button on the screen to learn more. For $45 per year ($65 outside the US) you get a swag pack, tote bag, personalized print book of mine of your choice, and a birthday card signed by me and Clark!

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Fun Stuff You Need To Know About

MissingMoney.com: I literally found $368.99 for my family this week! Including a $73 paycheck from a job I had in 1997! If you’ve ever wondered what happens to unclaimed property like that $10.65 overpayment on an electric bill, or your deposit on a water line, here’s your chance to claim it. A friend found money from a jewelry store (credit on an account), I found an overpayment on an old car insurance policy, and we found a $108 abandoned savings account for a relative! Have fun!