Today, my dear friend Amy Spector is here on the blog to show off the cover of her upcoming release and tell us a little about it and herself. Amy always has to coolest covers, so check it out!

Happy Friday! I’m Amy Spector, and Ofelia has been kind enough to let me visit her blog today. Some of you may know me, most of you probably don’t, but Ofelia and I have known each other for years now, and have worked together on a number of writing projects. Those projects are always the most fun! (There’s a hint in that for you, Ofelia!)

Not only is this my first time stopping by Ofelia’s blog, but it’s also cover reveal day for my newest book, the first book in a new series!

I’ve always loved to read! Even as a kid, you would normally find me with a book in my hand. Yet, somehow I was surprised when the writing bug bit. Despite spending the last fifteen years writing marketing copy for work, it never occurred to me that I might enjoy writing fiction.

I think it was the discovery of paranormal romance that pushed me from avid reader and into writing. And that all my years of watching Bewitched and Dark Shadows reruns would finally pay off! I won’t lie, I still want to be Agnes Moorehead when I grow up! I’d also happily run a haunted amusement park.

I watched a lot of Scooby Doo, too.

Give me magic, mystery, and romance! Add a dead body and bad decisions? I’m a happy girl!

Club 669 (House of Witches Book One) combines all these loves. Especially the bad decisions

You can take a sneak peek below!

Cover and Blurb:

Witch’s corpse. Witch’s ticket. Witch’s party.

As a counter-boy at a high-end men’s boutique, Charlie Jessup’s life consists of little more than work and sleep. That, and enough flirting to help guarantee his commission on sales will pay his rent. So when a twist of fate, and some behavior unbecoming that of a Ganymede employee, leaves him in possession of a dead man’s pass to a mysterious Club 669, Charlie has no desire to waste it.

Every seventeen years, the House of Witches throws a party like no other. It’s invitation-only, and for centuries it has helped ensure peace between the covens. It’s the last place Caspian wants to be, but with the death of Queen Avel, and his own imminent rise to the throne, it’s more important than ever that he attend. The stability of the House depends on it.

In four days a new king will be crowned, but when Charlie unintentionally crashes a gathering of the most secretive of all the Great Houses, he sets in motion a series of events that could disrupt the transition of power, and threaten the future of the House of Witches forever.

Book Excerpt:

Adam pushed up to the bar, squeezing in next to a necking couple to press close to Sebastian. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket. “You got a light?”
The crowd was loud, the music louder, so that even with my better-than-average hearing, I needed to move in close to make out Sebastian’s response.
“They don’t allow smoking.” And that would have probably been the end of it if Sebastian hadn’t glanced away from the dancing long enough to take Adam in. “But we could probably find you somewhere to light up.”
“Really?” Adam smiled and made of show of slipping the cigarette between his lips. It was no wonder he made so much more than I did. “Too cold outside.”
Sebastian eyed him up and down, and his distraction allowed me to slide up even closer. How was it possible he could fall so easily for his own trick?
“Bound to be a back room somewhere.” He pushed up and dropped a few dollars on the bar. “Or there’s always my place.”
I recognized the smile.
“Your place sounds perfect.” Adam pulled the cigarette from his mouth and tucked it behind his ear. “I’ve got a car outside.”
I followed the two as they moved through the crowd, Adam wrapping himself around one of Sebastian’s arms. Once we’d made it outside, I stepped up and wrapped myself around the other one.
When he looked over, he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Oh, fuck no.”
“Oh, fuck yes,” I countered, dragging him toward Tiki’s car.
“I don’t want to be involved in this bullshit.”
“You drugged me,” I spat, and Adam’s eyebrows went up, but to his credit, he said nothing. “You’re already involved in this bullshit.”
“I’m sorry. Did I tell you I was sorry?” He tried to pull free, but Adam and I spent our weeks lugging boxes full of leather pants around, and Caspian had already told me that witches worked hard to remain anonymous. We were stronger than we looked, and he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. “Because I am. And your friend, what he did to me? He’s scary as fuck.”
Caspian? Scary? I couldn’t see it.
“What he did was stop you from abducting me. And what, raping me?”
“We were at an orgy, for fucks sake!” Sebastian’s voice was loud and his tone exasperated. Adam looked shocked. “I’m pretty sure we’d both been naked if I’d just waited around.”
Undoubtably.
“Well, you’re going to make it up to me. You’re going to take me to the Monastery.”
That seemed to take Sebastian by such surprise he allowed Adam to push him into the backseat of the car without a fight, Adam climbing in next to him as I slipped behind the wheel.
“You want me to take you to the Monastery? To the seat of power?”
His absolute confusion at the request settled me on my plan. It was obviously a brilliant idea.

Club 669 (House of Witches Book One) is available for pre-order on Amazon, and is out March 26

books2read.com/club669

Connect with Amy on social media

Website: http://www.amyspectorauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.spector.12
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amy_spector
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy_spector/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8366028.Amy_Spector
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/spectergirl/_created/

Today, Nell Iris is visiting! It’s the release day of her story, They Met in the Park, and she’s here to tell us a little about it. Welcome, Nell!

Thank you for having me on your blog, Ofelia! Again. I’ve been here a lot lately (and hope to get invited back soon) and I hope your readers haven’t grown tired of me! 😁

Today, I’m here to talk about my new release, They Met in the Park, the second of the Meet Cute Chronicles books. The first book, They Met in the Library, was released in January and features a librarian and a dyslexic. The three Meet Cute Chronicles stories are completely standalone and are only connected through the meet-cute theme. Because who doesn’t like a good meet-cute? 😊

Jacke and David, the main characters of They Met in the Park, meet when David is out walking his elderly neighbor’s spoiled little dog. Jacke is hanging out in the park, trying to find a moment of peace and quiet after a difficult day at work. He’s had a string of those lately, so when he came across a lonely park bench underneath an old oak tree some weeks ago, he’s returned to it daily after work to decompress.

Jacke’s a bit of a loner, so he likes it there on the bench, where he can hear and see other people but doesn’t need to interact. From the beginning, his loner ways were by choice; he grew up in a bigoted family in a bigoted town and was forced to keep his biggest secret—that he’s gay—close to his chest. But by the time he leaves his family behind after high school, the behavior is so ingrained in him that he hasn’t changed even now, in his forties.

But then David shows up. David who wears a fancy suit while walking a little dog. David who protects the spoiled creature—and not himself—with an umbrella when it rains. David, who awakens the want for something more in Jacke’s chest. So when the opportunity arises for Jacke to speak to David by offering him his umbrella when David forgot to bring his own, Jacke takes it.

And luckily David seems interested, too…

Excerpt:

The dog stops, sniffing something interesting on the ground before continuing her slow meander.

“You all right, there, Princess?” David says, but the dog doesn’t acknowledge him.

“It’s a very fitting name for her. Maybe you should address her as ‘Your Highness.’”

He laughs. “Yeah. Probably.”

Far too soon, we reach the parking lot and stop by a new-looking hatchback. David tries to open the trunk while holding both Princess and the open umbrella but gets all tangled up.

“I can take it,” I say.

He smiles at me and hands me the umbrella. “Thank you.” He grabs a towel from the trunk, crouches down and wraps it around Princess, and starts drying her off. I keep them protected with the umbrella, ignoring that the rain and the chill are finally getting to me. I can always warm up in the shower later.

When the dog is dry and back to her impeccable self, David opens the back door and lets her into a crate before turning back to me.

“That was very kind of you. I’d still be out there, struggling to get her to move, if it hadn’t been for you.”

“Glad I could help.”

“You should go home and warm up, though, so you won’t catch your death like my mom used to say.”

I smile. “Yeah.”

“I’m sure your wife must be wondering where you are.”

“No wife,” I say.

“No?”

I shake my head.

“Husband?”

Another shake, but slower this time, followed by a slow gaze traveling along his body. He’s mostly obscured by the overcoat, but he’s medium height and looks to be medium built, too. He’s always well put together, even on the occasions he’s wearing more informal clothes. His classically styled hair is usually immaculate and his clean-shaven face sports a dimple on his chin.

I guess his looks could be considered pretty average, too; not classically handsome, not ugly. Nice.

But there’s something about him that makes it impossible for me to take my eyes off him. Maybe it’s that he’s so unabashedly gay and does nothing to hide it, and I wish my teenaged self could have seen him. Maybe it’s the way he fusses over a little dog. Maybe it’s his smile or the quiet confidence in his movements or that he radiates contentment.

I don’t know, but I like what I see.

His smile widens under my perusal and he indulges in the same. I let him watch. After spending over half my life doing manual labor, a lot of it outdoors, I’m in great shape. Yes, my hair started turning gray early, so I’m sprinkled with salt and pepper—both on my head and in my stubble—and I have lines by my eyes, but my body is nothing to complain about. Strong. Toned. Capable. A little tired sometimes, but it always recovers.

“I don’t have a husband either,” he says and meets my gaze, bold and blatant.

“No?”

“Nu-uh.”

“Why not?”

“No one has applied for the job.”

I take another look at him. The dimple in his chin is adorable. I want to brush away the hair from his face and warm him up, kiss the blue tinge from his lips. “I find that hard to believe,” I say.

His eyes twinkle. “Same.”

“People have been applying, but no one’s been hired.”

He steps closer. “Oh? Why not? You picky?”

I shake my head. “Wasn’t hiring.”

His eyes crinkle with mirth. “You a one-man company, then?”

“I have been, yeah.” I chuckle.

“How about now?”

“Now I’m starting to wonder if it wouldn’t be nice with…another employee.”

He bursts out laughing. “Oh God, we took that analogy too far, didn’t we?”

“A bit, yeah.” I grin.

Blurb:

Can a spoiled little dog bring two strangers together?

The first time Jacke sees him, it’s a happy accident. He’s taken refuge in a quiet corner of the park, decompressing after a difficult day at work, when the man, dressed in a fancy suit, passes by him walking a spoiled little dog.

As the days pass, Jacke notices the adorable pair several times. He’s unable to take his eyes off the man whose first priority is the dog, even over his own comfort. And one day, when circumstances are right, Jacke takes a chance and speaks to the man. David.

David’s personality is as adorable as his outward appearance, and a short walk in the rain results in mutual attraction and a promise to see each other again. A second meeting in the park turns into a date, and Jacke starts longing for something he thought he’d never have; a partner. But does David feel the same? Will a chance meeting in the park turn into love?

M/M Contemporary / 17478 words

Buy link:

JMS Books :: Universal Buy Link

About Nell

Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bonafide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies room), loves music (and singing along at the top of her voice but she’s no Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (Make it so). She loves words, bullet journals, poetry, wine, coffee-flavored kisses, and fika (a Swedish cultural thing involving coffee and pastry!)

Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.

Nell is a bisexual Swedish woman married to the love of her life, a proud mama of a grown daughter, and is approaching 50 faster than she’d like. She lives in the south of Sweden where she spends her days thinking up stories about people falling in love. After dreaming about being a writer for most of her life, she finally was in a place where she could pursue her dream and released her first book in 2017.

Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, short over long, and quirky characters over alpha males.

Find Nell on social media:

Webpage/blog :: Twitter :: Instagram :: Facebook Page :: Facebook Profile :: Goodreads :: Bookbub :: Pinterest

Today, we have Nell Iris on a visit! She’s here to talk about her new release #SlidingIntoMyDMs. It’s a #Love story, and I’m super excited about this multi-authored series from JMS Books, but I’ll let Nell tell you more about it. Welcome, Nell!

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Thank you so much for having me, Ofelia. It’s always a pleasure to stop by for a visit, and you’re always so generous with your space. I’m proud of us for being such great role models of authors sticking together and lifting each other up 😊

I’m here today to talk about my new book, #SlidingIntoMyDMs, which’s a part of a multi-authored series released by my publisher JMS Books. Last summer, JMS Books sent out an in-house submission call for their authors, where the theme was “falling into love on social media.” We could either pick an existing SM platform where our MCs would meet and fall in love, or we could come up with a new one. The title for the submission call was #Love, and the title of our stories had to start with a hashtag. Hence #SlidingIntoMyDMs.

Do you ever wonder where authors get their inspiration from?

Last year, I got a DM on Instagram from M, an old acquaintance of mine who I haven’t seen in at least over a decade. He’d watched a video of Radiohead, my favorite band since I heard Creep, some time back in 1993, and thought of me. It was in the spring when the pandemic was relatively new in our lives and we were all fragile and needed cheering up. And then M, this nice, lovely person, saw something he thought I’d like and sent it to me.

He caught me on a particularly bad day so that video cheered me up more than he probably expected it would, and after watching it all the way through (it was an hour-long live show), I cried. I was moved by the music, and I was moved by his thoughtfulness, and after I felt happy.

His thoughtful gesture got me thinking. What if someone needed a pick-me-up just like me? What if his old acquaintance reached out to him via Instagram DM to cheer him up? What if they reconnected and it leads to something more. What if…?

So I scribbled down a few bullet points, the seeds of an idea, and as on cue, JMS Books put out a submission call a short while later and I thought Hmmm?, found my notes, and started writing what turned into Moss and Eddy’s story.

Blurb #SlidingIntoMyDMs:

“Hi. I heard you’ve been sick.”

Eddy Pennington is recovering from a severe bout of pneumonia when an old acquaintance, Moss, sends him a message on social media. They haven’t spoken in years, but Eddy is pleasantly surprised. He always liked Moss even if they were never close friends.

Moss Fanning has no ulterior motive with his message: all he wants is to wish Eddy a speedy recovery. He got over the crush he used to have on Eddy a long time ago.

They reconnect easily and have even more in common now. And when they meet in person, the attraction is instant. Will an innocent, well-meaning message on social media lead to something more? Something deeper? Something…everlasting?

M/M Contemporary / 21998 words

Buy links #SlidingIntoMyDMs

JMS Books :: Universal Buy Link

Excerpt #SlidingIntoMyDMs:

I sink back onto my pillow tower and groan out loud. He’s just fucking perfect, isn’t he? Adopting an abused dog, spending his life coddling him, making sure he has a nice life.

What’s the catch? No one can be that good, right?

Eddy: Now I feel like a jerk for wanting to see your niece riding your dog. I’ll give him a doggy treat and apologize when I meet him.

Moss. LOL. Weirdo. You’re fine.

I decide to throw caution to the wind, because why not? Seriously though. Are you perfect? This time his answer takes a while and I have time to start regretting my question but then I can see him start writing and soon a reply pops up on my screen.

Moss: Um, no? But I’m glad you seem to think so 😉

I lay my phone screen down on my chest. I need to think. I haven’t flirted in so long, haven’t had a real relationship in forever. Hookups on Grindr are so much easier, with no expectations other than tab A in slot B. But this…this is flirting. I’m not great at flirting IRL, and probably even worse at in my Instagram DMs.

But at the same time, I kind of like it. It feels…unpretentious. Like it’s okay if nothing comes of it because social media isn’t the real world. Or at least it shouldn’t be.

I don’t know. I’m too old for this shit. And that thought alone makes me feel even older. I’m forty-two, not one-hundred-and-two. I pick the phone back up.

Eddy: You gotta love a man taking care of poor abused dogs. It’s the rule.

Moss: It is? What rules are those? I need to read them, so I don’t break any of them inadvertently.

Eddy: They are ‘Eddy Pennington’s unwritten but very important rules of conduct and man-loving’ of course. Sadly, they only exist in my brain so I can’t lend them to you.

Moss: I’m laughing so hard I woke up Balderik.

Eddy: Are you laughing at me or with me?

Moss: With you of course.

Eddy: Good save.

Moss: Balderik told me not to fuck things up before he’s had the chance to go for a walk with you.

Eddy: He did? He sounds like a very smart dog.

Moss: Are we flirting on social media like two old farts?

I burst out laughing but clamp my mouth shut quickly, afraid of a coughing fit.

Eddy: I’m afraid so, yes. I’m pretty certain there are grandpas out there with better game than us.

Moss: I was afraid you’d say that.

Eddy: It’s all good. At least we play in the same league.

Moss: So I can tell Balderik not to worry?

Eddy: Yes, you can. Also, you’re not supposed to make me laugh. Coughing is bad for an old guy with pneumonia 😉

Moss: We definitely need to stop the old guy references.

Eddy: Agreed.

Moss: When can we take you for a walk?

Eddy: My sister already got dibs on tomorrow. But the day after that? Unless I take a turn for the worse?

Moss: Thursday it is! If you send me your address, I’ll pick you up. Balderik and I know a perfect walking spot.

Eddy: Sure. Can’t wait.

Moss: Me either.

After we say goodbye, I send him the address and then check my feed. He’s posted a new picture of himself and Balderik. They’re lying down on a leaf-covered lawn somewhere, Moss’s arm is slung around Balderik, and Balderik is kissing his face.

It’s so fucking adorable I can’t stand it.

About Nell

Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bonafide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies room), loves music (and singing along at the top of her voice but she’s no Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (Make it so). She loves words, bullet journals, poetry, wine, coffee-flavored kisses, and fika (a Swedish cultural thing involving coffee and pastry!)

Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.

Nell is a bisexual Swedish woman married to the love of her life, a proud mama of a grown daughter, and is approaching 50 faster than she’d like. She lives in the south of Sweden where she spends her days thinking up stories about people falling in love. After dreaming about being a writer for most of her life, she finally was in a place where she could pursue her dream and released her first book in 2017.

Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, short over long, and quirky characters over alpha males.

Find Nell on social media:

Webpage/blog :: Twitter :: Instagram :: Facebook Page :: Facebook Profile :: Goodreads :: Bookbub :: Pinterest