Upcoming Cupid Pre-Order, Updates, This & That

Hi, all.

It’s been quite a few months since I’ve popped on here. Between traveling and my migraines coming back with a vengeance, I had to take a step back from all things writing. While the headaches are still making an appearance, I’m starting to have a few good days here and there. The headache is always there. Some days are just milder than others.

I’ll go ahead and give some writing updates.

Cupid (Love Gods, #2)

Have you read Eros? If not, would you like to? I’m asking because Cupid (#2) will be put up for pre-order soon, to be released on January 1st. Cupid could maybe be read as a standalone, but to understand the backstories and secondary characters (Eros, Sy/Psyche, Aphrodite), you really need to be familiar with the first book. Those three characters, along with a few new ones, play a big part in Cupid and Peit’s story.

Eros is in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. If you don’t have KU, and would like to read Eros before Cupid’s release, shoot me a message and I’ll gladly send you an e-copy. I’ll also do some promos with the first book (maybe free on Amazon for a few days) before the release of the second one.

Cupid has been finished for quite some time. I just had other things pop up in my world that prevented me from hitting publish.

You can check out the blurb for Eros here, and the blurb for Cupid here. It’s approximately 44,000 words.

Cupid has been almost 8 years in the making. I hope you guys enjoy Cupid and Peit’s story, and I hope you enjoy revisiting Eros and Sy. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed spending time with Eros and Sy again. For some reason, Sy (aka Psyche) is one of my all-time favorite characters that I’ve written. Maybe it’s because I based his looks on the violinist, David Garrett, or maybe it’s simply because he’s such a decent guy. It’s always a blast revisiting old characters unless it’s Mary Claus from Willy’s world. I’m over that one. đŸ˜‰

I’ll update on here when Cupid’s officially up for pre-order.

Purrs Series

The Purrs series is still on hold and will likely stay that way. Maybe someday I’ll revisit it, but not in the near future.

Other Stories in the Works

I may have stepped back from all things writing for the past few months, but I did get a lot written earlier in the year. I’m only now able to revisit those stories.

The Right Time (very tentative title) – Enemies-to-lovers, both bi characters. This tells the story of Ryan Bailey and Greyson Tanner, two men in their forties who have spent the past 29 years pretending they’re not both head over heels in love with each other. Something happened when they were both 18 that ruined any chances of them being friends, much less more. Ryan’s spent almost three decades wanting to make it right. Grey’s spent almost three decades trying to avoid Ryan at all costs, something made difficult by the fact that they both went into law in the same small town, and that their sons have been the best of friends for over a decade.

Now those sons are marrying each other, and are determined to fix things between their dads once and for all. Between the sons’ matchmaking, and Grey’s ex-wife who’s a real treat to be around (very heavy sarcasm), it takes a little while for the two men to put the old misunderstandings behind them so they can finally have the HEA they’ve always secretly yearned for.

The story has been complete for quite some time. I’m now in the serious self-editing stage. Unless something drastic happens between now and then it will definitely be published not long into the new year.

Grey and Ryan are from Lassiter, the same small town in Alabama that Owen and Reese are from (from Christmas in Holly Pines). Expect them and their men to make a quick appearance or two, along with their mom and dad, Jenni and Jonathan.

There’s no cheating in this book, now or in the past. The ex-wives and how the two sons came to be are explained, but nobody went outside of their respective relationships.

When all rewrites are done, it should be around 55,000 words.

Untitled Enemies-To-Lovers – This has an age gap, two men who can’t stand each other, and a couple of little boys who go from being enemies to best friends, forcing the two men to spend time together whether they want to or not.

I’m a couple of chapters away from finishing it, but then I’ll go into the self-editing part that will take me a little while. I’m hoping for a February release.

Untitled Cinderfella story – I started this book in 2015 and forgot about it. I went back into it earlier this year. I’m in the process of writing the last chapter now, so the first draft should be complete very soon, depending on life and how I’m feeling. It’s a modern day gay romance Cinderella story. I’m looking forward to finally putting it into the world.

It’ll likely be around 25,000 to 30,000 words, so more of a short story than a novel.

Untitled Coming Home story – Best friends-to-lovers. I’m also in the last chapter or so of this one, but it needs some serious rewrites. Maybe it’ll be published in mid-2024. That’s the plan anyway.

Hooper Lake series – All books, with the exception of the last one, are long complete but not edited. I’ll revisit them in 2024.

Willy the Kinky Elf short – I started writing this a few months ago but wasn’t able to finish it in time for Christmas 2023. Willy won’t shut up in my head (still), so I thought I’d write a little quickie with an update of what’s been happening in the North Pole since Mrs. Claus was finally banished. Hopefully I can publish it on November 1, 2024.

There’s another Christmas story that I’m hoping to publish for next year’s holiday season as well. It’s also best friends-to-lovers with a bit of funny kink thrown in. This is NOT in Willy’s world, but it does take place in a different version of the North Pole.

~*~

I think that about sums up what I’ve been working on as far as writing this year. I’ll save the rest of what’s been happening in my world for my end of the year post in December.

I hope you’re all doing well. Thanks to everybody who has continued to read my books even with me MIA for the past few months. I appreciate every single one of you.

I’ll pop back in soon when Cupid’s pre-order goes live.

Until next time,

Candi

P.S. I’m sending big virtual hugs to my best friend who’s not been feeling too well lately. Much love, my friend.

 

New Series! Silas (Purrs, #1) Up For Pre-Order

My late sister loved cats. If she saw one, she had to love on it. She didn’t just love on them. She took them in, got them spayed or neutered, and made sure they had everything they needed. We always jokingly called her our resident cat lady. Trust me, that wasn’t an insult to her. She was perfectly happy with the title.

Back in February around her birthday, a story idea popped in my head about shifters. When we think shifters it’s normally the bigger animals like Santa’s reindeer in my Willy the Kinky Elf series, or maybe bears or lions. We definitely don’t think common house cats, though the shifters in the Purrs series would definitely take offense to being called common anything. đŸ˜‰

Once the idea took hold, I ran with it. In under 3 weeks I’d written an entire 5-book series. Well, 5 and a half because of a quickie short that’s thrown in at the end of the last book. These aren’t 80,000+ word novels. The stories in the Purrs series range from 20,000 to 32,000 words. In other words, quick novellas, so things happen fairly quickly for all the couples.

The series centers around Finian Kitt and his five adult children – Lyn, Cosmo, Silas, Indigo, and Larkin – and their successful cat-themed bar, Purrs. In this world of shifters, there are fated mates, though not many find theirs in their lifetimes. The world’s a big place. Finian met his once, but they aren’t together for reasons neither man talks about.

The first book in the series is Silas (Purrs, #1) about Silas Kitt and Stuart Parker. Silas has been living under Stu’s roof for a year – as Stu’s pet cat. It’s not like Si can just blurt out that he’s actually a cat shifter and that Stuart is his fated mate. So, what to do? Silas has already waited a year. He knows he can’t keep it going the way it has been.

It’s taken out of his hands one night when Silas’ very human side just happens to bump into Stuart at Purrs.

There’s a little bit of humor – Silas is a total cat diva – some insta-love that comes with fated mates, and family.

Which brings me to trigger warnings for the entire series. Below is in the very front of each book –

When Keiran Parker (main character in Indigo, secondary in Silas) was just shy of fifteen, something happened involving a teacher. Some readers may be triggered by this. While no graphic details are on-page, the topic is still discussed in Silas (Purrs, #1) and Indigo (Purrs, #2).

There is some discussion about child and animal neglect in Cosmo (Purrs, #3), Larkin (Purrs, #4), and Finian (Purrs, #5). Although nothing is described in detail, readers should be aware of it.

As for Lyn’s story (#5.5), there’s nothing triggering, nor does the story have to be read at all as far as the series is concerned. It’s little more than a F/F sex scene when Lyn finds her mate.

Silas (#1) is up for pre-order on Amazon, with a publishing date of October 1st. With each story being ready, they’ll be staggered over a period of weeks as far as their publishing dates.

The Purrs books can not be read as standalones. While each couple gets their HEA at the end of their individual books, the story as a whole plays out until the very end.

I hope you all enjoy my little cat-themed series that was written solely to honor my sweet, late sister. Something tells me she’d be tickled to death, especially with me using PURRS as the title and name of club.

You can pre-order Silas from Amazon. It will also be available in Kindle Unlimited.

You can add it on Goodreads here.

Also, I’ll be doing an e-book giveaway of Silas and an ARC of Indigo, the 2nd book in the series, at On Top Down Under Book Reviews in October to celebrate 10 years of On Top Down Under. I’ll also be throwing in a $25.00 Amazon gift card as part of the giveaway. I’ll update on that when I have more info.

I hope you guys enjoy my little cat-themed series. It was a blast to write.

Blurb –

Stuart Parker is looking for love. He goes on the occasional date, but none of the guys want to stick around. If they bother to show up at all. On the rare times a date has come to his house, Stuart’s diva cat didn’t exactly give him a warm welcome. He swears the cat is purposefully sabotaging his love life by hissing, growling, and even hiding his condoms and new underwear.

Si isn’t your typical house cat. He’s been trying to work up the courage to tell Stu the truth for a year, but how do you tell your human mate that you’re not the feline that you appear to be?

After being stood up yet again, Stuart’s brother Keiran takes him to Purrs nightclub, where Kei is the assistant manager. When Stu meets one of the club’s owners, Silas, he’s struck still. Besides being the most beautiful man Stuart has ever seen, the collar he’s wearing looks an awful lot like the one Stu designed for his cat.

You know, his cat named Si.

Life suddenly takes a drastic turn for both human and feline. Has that elusive happily-ever-after Stuart’s been searching for been right under his nose the whole time? Will he run in the opposite direction when he discovers who his pet really is?

Each book in the Purrs series takes place during the same time period. Details from one story may be expanded upon in another. Some events in a previous book might not have taken place yet in a subsequent book.

The books in the Purrs series cannot be read as standalones. While each one focuses on a new couple, their stories are all linked to the series as a whole. Some secondary characters may seem insignificant in one book and be quite significant in another.

Note that past sexual abuse is discussed briefly in Silas (Purrs, #1). While nothing is on-page, this may trigger some readers. Keep this in mind before downloading the book.