It's release day for Playing House, book 3 in the Dropping Anchor series!

It's a little hard for me to process that the last book in the Dropping Anchor series releases today. The start of the series, Island House, was my first manuscript, and I started it in 2010. You'll note that it isn't my first published work, an honor that goes to the short story Traditions from the Heart, which was part of the 2012 Dreamspinner Press Advent Calendar. I'd gotten most of the way through Island House and then gotten discouraged, put it aside, and moved on to other projects.

The story kept eating at me, though, and I went back to it time and again. I'm more than a little bit in love with Niall, and I'm sure that shows in the book. While it's technically a romance, Island House is really the story of Niall coming to terms with an unimaginable loss and giving himself permission to grow and move on.

The book set the tone for the entire Dropping Anchor series. Each book is about a different kind of life journey, and all three have main characters who are a little lost and confused and have to find their way to happiness. In Island House, Niall finally lets go of his guilt over his partner's death and allows himself to live the kind of life his partner would have wanted for him.

In Finding Home, we watch Ian, who is self absorbed and brusque, finally settle down and grow into himself. Even though he's in his thirties, he never really grew up. Despite his character flaws--which are legion--he's a good guy at heart. It just takes the right motivation for him to uncover those depths.

The last book, Playing House, comes out today. I love all three books in the series, but for personal reasons, Playing House will probably always be the book closest to my heart, and it's all because of Frank.

All his life, Frank has been different. He's never had a label for it, but he's known that the way he processes things and experiences the word around him is somewhat off kilter from the norm. It hasn't negatively impacted his life, because he hasn't let it. He's taken completely by surprise when his husband says he wants to start a family, and Frank has to really take a good, hard look at himself and see if that's something he wants as well. And, of course, he has Niall and Ian there to help him along the way.

The entire Dropping Anchor series is about watching the struggles as men we've come to love--Niall, Ian, Frank--navigate the challenges that have been thrown their way, learning and growing as they go. The overarching theme in all three books is self-acceptance, and that's something I hope all readers are able to internalize for themselves. We're always so hard on ourselves, and the men in the Dropping Anchor series have to learn to be gentler with themselves. It's something we could all take a lesson from.

The Dropping Anchor series is available at most online book retailers.

All in a Day's Work is available for pre-order!

I've never organized an anthology before, but I will definitely do it again--it's been amazing  working with the authors involved in All in a Day's Work. In fact, it's been so fun that it hardly felt like work at all, which is why I was absolutely floored when the book appeared on Dreamspinner's Coming Soon page.

The editing process is always as painless as possible over at Dreamspinner Press, but this one seemed especially quick and easy. Must be because I did it in fabulous company, right? Hard to believe such an awesome anthology started with a simple Tweet. Behold, the power of social media! *g*

You can pre-order it (in ebook or paperback) now.

The book will be available Sept. 22, just in time for GayRomLit in October! If you order a paperback and will be going  to GRL, you'll have the option of picking it up there if you like. Several of the authors (including me!) will be at GRL, so if you see us stop us and say hi. I'll have some awesome book lights for anyone who buys a paperback of one of my books, this one included!

Cover reveal: All in a Day's Work

Sometimes I think  I should be banned from the internet because it makes me so much less productive. And other times it helps connect me with other writers and things like the All in a Day's Work anthology are born!

Eight short stories about  finding love—or a hot hook-up—at work. All but one are contemporary, with the outlier being a 1930s historical that will give you a new perspective on dance halls. From newlyweds who can't keep their hands off each other in the office to Revolutionary War reenactors who spice up Washington's Army to high society spies engaged in dangerous espionage, no one will suggest that the characters in All in a Day's Work give up their day jobs!

My piece in All in a Day's Work is My  OTP, and yes, that's a nod to fandom. It was a blast to channel all that fandom squee into an original fiction piece!

Troy Casley and Ryder Hamilton cohost a popular myth-debunking reality television show, and their on-air chemistry is a big part of the show's huge fan base. Fans have long suspected there's more between them than just friendship, and most posts on Tumblr about them are accompanied with exclamation points and the tag OTP--One True Pairing.Little do the fans know, but they're on to something. Troy and Ryder have been having a secret affair for months.

But Troy wants more than just a casual relationship with Ryder.  Like their hardcore fans,  he  wants  Ryder  to  be his  OTP.  When Ryder discovers the social media sites where Troy obsessively reads about them, his reaction just might surprise Troy.

The anthology will be available from Dreamspinner Press in  late September, just in time for GayRomLit!