Sunday, January 3, 2021
9th Day of Christmas Author Spotlight: Jaclyn Quinn
I have been an artist from a very young age. From drawing cartoon characters and evolving into portraits, making jewelry, photography, and now writing. I have an amazing support system in my family and friends and couldn’t be more grateful.
I live in central New Jersey, love summers at the Jersey Shore, rock music, wine, sexy men, and laughing a lot with my amazing friends and family. Sunday dinners at my parents’ house are crazy, hysterical and you can count on a movie quote…or ten…being thrown out. Insults between siblings is how we show our love for each other!
When I’m not creating, you can find me reading books from my favorite authors. I’m a hopeless romantic, starving for passionate characters and always craving that happy ending, whether in reading or in writing my own books.
Summary:
Beyond the Cove #1
Leaving his enormous family behind, native New Yorker, Elijah, decides to move to Brighton Pier for a fresh start. Being part of a large LGBTQ community and landing his dream job at Inkubus, a local tattoo shop, is too big of a draw for him to turn down.
But just when he thinks his new life is going perfectly, he finds out his burgeoning relationship is nothing more than a friends-with-benefits arrangement to the man he was swiftly falling for. Suddenly, everything that felt so right to him feels all wrong, and he wonders if New York, with his family, is where he is meant to be after all.
Jake has worked hard for the life he’s made for himself in Brighton Pier. His life as a bachelor is pretty set in stone. Running his own business and spending time with his family and friends is enough for him, or so he’s convinced himself. Though he’s met a man he cares for, he’s adamant about keeping his single life as is. He has his reasons for not wanting to commit to the beautiful man he’s irrevocably drawn to. He just hopes their friends-with-benefits arrangement will be enough to keep Eli in his life.
When tragedy strikes, and Jake’s world is turned upside down, his instincts lead him to lean on the one person who’s become someone special, despite his best efforts to try and push him away. Eli—unable to turn Jake away when a loss so great takes the strong man to his knees—steps selflessly into the void in Jake’s life, regardless of the toll it takes on him. As both men struggle to deal with their own emotional turmoil, their lives veering off course, they grow inevitably closer as the days pass. But even so, they are still left wondering—can two people, drawn together by tragedy, turn a devastating situation into a fresh start? Or is it too late for a new beginning?
Click to read an excerpt(Saturday Series Spotlight).
Summary:
What happens when a bet between best friends takes an unexpected turn?
Ty and Spencer have been best friends for six years. A constant in their relationship are the frequent, and sometimes extreme, bets they make with each other. No matter what, they both know they’ll hold up their end of the bargain.
After Ty witnesses something he wasn’t meant to see, he starts to look at Spencer in a different way. When another outrageous bet is made between them, Ty begins to wonder if this will be his opportunity to get something he never knew he wanted.
Will upping the ante on their friendship be the payout they never dreamed possible? Or will laying all their cards on the table cost them everything?
Summary:
Mitch Jensen has just missed the most important interview of his career. An outrageous suggestion to meet Everett Remington at his family’s home in upstate New York irrevocably changes Mitch’s life. The idea is crazy, right? The last place he belongs is in the family home of the famous chef, but if he wants to meet his deadline and convince his boss he’s right for the online column, At Home With…, he really has no other options.
Delayed snow plows, a treacherous covered bridge, and Mitch’s boss finding out he’s snowed in with the Remingtons, creates the perfect storm. When the gorgeous chef invites Mitch to stay for Christmas and document their family traditions for next year’s printed holiday issue, Mitch finds himself in a very unknown place. For one week, he allows himself to experience something he’s never had:
A taste of a real Christmas—and a taste of the sexy man who makes Mitch realize how amazing this time of year can be.
Summary:
Ace's Wild #8
Can one night change your whole life?
When Jeremy Anderson goes into Ace’s Wild, it takes him completely out of his comfort zone. So, he is in no way prepared for the gorgeous, raven-haired man who walks through the doors.
A chance encounter turns into an amazing night he’ll never forget, with a man he’ll never see again.
Fate, apparently, has other plans, though—plans that seem to include the tall, dark, and handsome Griffin Welles.
Summary:
Haven's Cove #1
Owen Richards lives a quiet life in his small hometown of Haven’s Cove. He has a rewarding life consisting of three very supportive—not to mention feisty—women, and a successful bakery that he owns and absolutely loves. Yet, Owen can’t seem to shake this emptiness inside or the intense feeling that something is missing. A sudden encounter with a man from his past, one he despises, turns his entire world upside down. When Owen finds himself attracted to that sexy man, he questions everything, including his sanity. After all, only an incredibly disturbed person would find that he can’t stop thinking about his high school bully.
Brody Walker never expected to return to Haven’s Cove. He’s made a life for himself in Boston, where he can truly be the person he was always meant to be. But an unexpected call has Brody facing all the demons he’d left behind so long ago. Now, he’s faced with not only a difficult goodbye, but one long overdue apology to a man who is no longer that lanky kid from high school. The challenge is to convince the guy he’s changed—and also prove he’s worth taking a chance on.
When passions ignite truths are exposed, changing the beliefs these men have held on to for years. Faced with the knowledge that things aren’t always what they seem, will they choose to hold on to the incredible thing they’ve found…or is it easier to give in to the fear and let go?
Drawn to You
Bet on It
A Taste of Christmas
Spreadsheets
Hard to Let Go
Sunday's Safe Word Shelf: Five Gold Rings by Xander Collins
Vale Valley Season One #5
Chris and Jason thought they’d lost their way home, but wound up finding the exact place … and person … they’d been looking for.
A young couple--Chris, a beta, and Jason, an omega--come upon a small, snowy town that seems too magical to be true. Is it just the snow and the Christmas season that makes them feel like anything is possible? Or does that feeling really come from the knowledge that nothing is holding them back from a relationship they never could have imagined in their wildest dreams?
Rafe Montgomery has been single for over five years. He lives with his daughter, Grace, and some staff in his enormous mansion in the woods. As much as he tries to give everything to Grace, he still can't give her the comfort and security that comes with having both an alpha daddy and an omega daddy. But he's sworn off love after losing his cherished mate in an accident. When he sees Chris and Jason he's struck by something he doesn't understand, but soon realizes that the three of them fit together in a beautiful relationship he'd never even considered.
Five Gold Rings is the fifth book in a multi-author series about Vale Valley, a small town open to everyone in need of love and a home. Each installment can be read as a standalone.
It is about a relationship between an older, tall, dark, handsome, and wealthy, alpha dom, a young beta sub, and a young omega sub. You will find incredibly hot sex between three men, male pregnancy, loads of holiday decorations and snow, and a very sweet, cuddly HEA in front of a roaring fire.
Chapter 1
Jason
“How much farther?” I craned my neck to see the GPS of my boyfriend’s phone, the glare coming in through the car windows and making it almost impossible to see the screen.
“I don’t know.” Chris took the phone off the dashboard holder. “I don’t think this can be right. It says we’re fifteen minutes away from our destination.” Chris handed me the device while he kept his eyes on the road. “Check out the route and see how many more miles there are until the lodge.”
I tapped the screen a few times and brought up the directions. “We stay on this highway for another five miles then turn right onto Old Dusk Road. We’re only eight miles away. But that doesn’t make any sense at all. There’s no snow on the ground.” I caught a glimpse of the rolling green hills in the distance through a break in the tall, evergreen trees lining the sides of the highway.
“This is crazy. How can there be no snow in December?”
“Global warming?” I laughed. But it wasn’t funny. We’d saved for this vacation for months. Chris and I were both poor college students living in the most expensive city in the United States, which left almost no money for things like dates and recreational activities. We’d both pretty much been surviving on potatoes and rice the entire semester to afford books and supplies.
I didn’t want to think about what was going to happen once our loan payback kicked in. It wouldn’t be for a little while after we graduated, but it was looming in the distance. I was especially nervous since employers weren’t necessarily clamoring to hire someone with a general liberal arts degree. Chris might have it easier than I did, though. He was studying economics with a specialty in market analysis. I didn’t understand a single thing he told me when he excitedly tried to explain things happening in the market. I would roll my eyes and call him Captain Brainiac then get back to watching Game of Thrones.
“I mean, I checked the route before we left to make sure we wouldn’t hit ice or a big snowstorm,” Chris said. “But I didn’t think to check to make sure there was actually going to be snow on the ground.”
“Wouldn’t the lodge have called us if they knew we wouldn’t be able to ski?”
“Well, maybe not everyone goes up there to ski.”
“What else would they do at a ski lodge?” I asked as the car slowed down.
“Looks like this is the turn off,” Chris said. “Still no snow.”
I stared out the passenger side window as the dark, forested scenery whizzed by. “Maybe we’re at too low an elevation.”
“We’re in the mountains now. We’ve been climbing steadily for the last hour. If there was enough snow for skiing, we’d definitely be seeing it here.”
I sank down into my seat and rested my head against the back. I’d been looking forward to this. I didn’t really care so much about the skiing. That was really Chris’s favorite pastime. At least it had been when he was growing up. His family used to go on ski trips regularly until his alpha dad lost his job and they had to sell their house a year before Chris started college. And thankfully his dad’s financial records showed the family was living below the poverty line, otherwise Chris wouldn’t have gotten any financial aid.
But I felt terrible for him. For both of us. He wanted to spend the next few days on the slopes, and I fantasized about the two of us spending the evenings curled up on a big fluffy couch next to a roaring fire with cocoa or hot buttered rum warming our hands. I guess we could do that with no snow on the ground, but it didn’t seem like it would be as special.
Neither one of us spoke as we pulled up to the lodge. It was a beautiful building with massive walls of glass that looked out over the mountains. Mountains barely sprinkled with a coating of snow. As we approached the building, I glanced up at the strings of lights running along the eaves, following the sharp peaks of the roof, and wound up the huge logs holding everything up. This place would’ve been magical if there’d been snow on the ground, or even a crisp breeze. I almost started to cry when I got out of the car. It was so warm I didn’t need a jacket.
“Wow,” Chris said as we stepped into the lobby. “When my family came here in the beginning of December a few years ago, that whole front room was full.” We stood near the reception desk which bordered a large lounge with a vaulted ceiling and one of those massive walls of glass. The view was stunning. “I remember thinking it was so fancy and sophisticated the way everyone had a drink in their hand while they stood around that fireplace. There’s not a single person here. This sucks.”
The fireplace was gorgeous. It was a round stone structure in the center of the room. I could feel the heat of the roaring fire from where I was standing, halfway across the room. Chris was right, this did suck. But maybe that meant Chris and I would have this whole place to ourselves. We could sit by the fire and have drinks, but a hot mug in my hands didn’t sound so nice all of a sudden.
I was so immersed in my fireside fantasy I jumped when a woman showed up behind the counter and welcomed us.
“How are you this evening?” she asked. “Do you have a reservation?”
Chris and I looked at each other, then back at the woman. It didn’t appear we needed a reservation. Neither one of us had said it out loud, but we didn’t need to. I’d been able to read his face since the day I met him. He came off as somewhat distant and emotionless to most people, but I always knew from his eyes what he was thinking. He didn’t want to stay.
“We were a little surprised on the drive up here …” Chris started.
He was much better at this sort of thing than I was. He didn’t seem remotely bothered by expressing his dissatisfaction to a salesperson or someone who worked at a business. They’re here to serve us. To make sure we’re happy, he would always say. And while I understood the concept, I could never bring myself to complain or stand up for myself when I felt I was being treated unfairly. Whether it was someone cutting in line in front of me or a cashier giving me the wrong change, I would always accept the hand I’d been dealt and walk away.
“Yes, I’m sure the traffic is very light. I can imagine the two of you made good time,” the receptionist said with a brusk but friendly tone.
“Yeah, especially since there’s no snow on the ground.”
“Unfortunately, we haven’t built up a base yet. Every time it does snow, the next day we get sun, and everything melts. The lodge is functioning the same as in previous years, though. The restaurant and bar are open, and our full menu is available for room service or to enjoy in the front lounge near the fire pit.”
“But there’s no snow,” Chris repeated. “We came here to ski.”
“Yes, I understand, sir. And I apologize. But we have no control over the weather, and we do require at least forty-eight-hours’ notice for cancellations.”
Clearly, this wasn’t her first time having this conversation. She had her responses down pat.
“I understand your policy,” Chris said in his most official-sounding tone. The one he used whenever he was on the phone with someone he wasn’t very interested in talking to. “But this is our vacation. We booked this lodge expecting to spend the next few days skiing.”
“I completely understand,” the woman said, the look in her eyes finishing the sentence for her … but I really don’t care. “If you had concerns about whether or not there was snow on the ground, you could have checked online. We do have a twenty-four-hour video camera pointed to our main ski lift. That would’ve given you information about the slopes and skiing conditions.”
“I suppose I should have checked, but it didn’t cross my mind. You must have had some cancellations. This place is completely empty.” I could tell Chris was past agitated and verging on angry.
“Yes, we have had some cancellations, but as I said, we do require at least forty-eight-hours’ notice. You have a cabin booked for five nights. I can credit your card for the last three nights of your booking if you’d like to cancel now.”
Between the woman’s cold tone and the edge in Chris’s voice, I started to regret that we’d come on this trip at all. I stepped back away from the counter and shifted my eyes around the lobby, avoiding the conversation between Chris and the receptionist, and wishing I was anywhere but there in the middle of what was turning out to be a very uncomfortable moment.
“What the hell happened to the customer is always right,” Chris said as he pushed his way through one side of the glass entry doors. When we got to the car, he slammed the door so hard it almost made my heart jump into my throat. I felt terrible that Chris was so angry, and I understood why he canceled the whole reservation, including the first two nights, which wouldn’t be refunded. But that meant we had nowhere to go. I was pretty sure I would’ve done the same thing if I were him. But if it were me having to deal with that lady, I would probably just have accepted the sad, snowless conditions and sulked in the lounge for the next five days.
“What are we gonna do?” I asked. Chris started the car but sat there with it in neutral. He had his eyes closed and was taking deep breaths, something he’d been practicing for a while now when he felt his temper getting the better of him.
“I don’t want to drive all the way back to the city tonight,” I continued.
“I’m not sure if we are going to have much choice,” he said, dropping his head back against the seat and sighing. I could tell he felt horrible, which made me feel even worse. This wasn’t his fault. “It’s Friday night, and the woman said it could take a couple of business days before I see the credit on my debit card. I think I have … maybe fifty bucks in my account. It was a special deal here. All the meals were included in the room rate, so I didn’t think we need much extra money. I feel like a total idiot now.”
“I have about fifty bucks in my account too. We can find something, can’t we?”
“I don’t know. This is a pretty expensive area. It’s all lodges and resorts. And if we do find a room under one-hundred dollars, including tax, how are we gonna eat? Jesus, this sucks so bad.” Chris slouched down into his seat. “I’m so sorry, Jason. I really wanted this to be special for you.”
“It’s not your fault. And I don’t want you to worry about me,” I said. “I’m okay. Really. We’ll figure something out. Everything’s gonna be fine.” But as the words came out of my mouth, and I heard the slight trembling in my voice, even I didn’t believe them.
Vale Valley is a small town open to everyone in need of love and a home, where were-creatures, witches, ghosts and many others can live in harmony.
Xander Collins write super sexy, romantic omegaverse stories with the warm fuzzies, hot dudes, and cuddly babies we all crave.
EMAIL: xandercollinsauthor@gmail.com
Five Gold Rings #5
Series
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