Tori Ross's Blog

The Sole Scheme is now available on Kindle, paperback, and free to read with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. You do not have to read book 1, The Panty Plot, to enjoy this book, but it does help.

And thank you for making it the #1 New Release in Men, Women, and Relationships Humor!!!!!

New Update From Amazon That Readers Should Know!!!

It used to be that, if your book is listed in KU, authors could not distribute a book anywhere else in eBook form online. That’s why you won’t find some of your favorites on Kobo or Apple if they are in KU.

Amazon recently updated this so that they will allow LIBRARY distribution. It is now in their terms of service that an author can have a book in Libby or Hoopla, for example, for library use. We still can’t be on Apple, Kobo, or any other RETAILER, but we CAN be in libraries now.

Are you an author and don’t believe me? Go to your KDP TOS and search for How to Enroll in KDP Select. See the last paragraph under “requirements” the requirements section, and there was a great discussion on it on the Wide for Win Facebook page. (Search September 3 if any authors are curious about D2D conversations with Amazon about the change.)

“During the 90-day enrollment period, the Kindle eBook can only be distributed through KDP and public libraries. However, you can continue to distribute print, video, audio, or other formats of your title elsewhere.” 

What does that mean for you as a reader?:

If your library has Hoopla, The Sole Scheme is there for you to read. You can also suggest it as a purchase through Libby to your local library. I already had a library order come through, and it tickled me purple, so thank you!!!

I love my library, so please support your public libraries and now you can support indie authors who are putting their books in these places.

Will the rest of my books be available there? They will eventually be in Hoopla. (They take a while to process, and I think a ton of KU authors enrolled when the change happened, so it will take them a while to sift through.) However, all of my books are now available for you to suggest to libraries as a Libby purchase. (Yes, that means your favorite big hitter KU books that you have not been available to request before may be there now IF the author knows about the change!)

Happy reading.

Read in Kobo Plus? Check out www.koboplusromancebinge.com for ideas! If you’re already a Kobo user and prefer to go directly there, you can also use  https://geni.us/YOLOWithKobo

Not sure what Kobo Plus is? Think Kindle Unlimited, but with Kobo instead of Amazon.

Arson is on the list! In fact, you can read the entire Jensen City Heroes series there with a Kobo Plus subscription.

Not sure about Kobo Plus or want to learn more about it? Check out the pricing here. You can read all you want for $7.99 a month OR you can read AND listen for $9.99.

It’s almost here! The Sole Scheme releases on October 21st on Kindle, paperback, and to read with your Kindle Unlimited subscription, so I thought I would go ahead and post the first chapter. If you’re interested in preordering the book, it is 99 cents here.

It can be read as a standalone, but it’s funnier if you read The Panty Plot first.

Blurb:

Chantel – I blame my old roommate, Laney, for all of this. She moved out, taking her half of the rent with her, and the government just jacked up my student loan payment. I’m broke as a joke. There’s also the problem of a “consultant” at work shadowing me and making sure I’m necessary to the company. I could lose my job, and a girl has to do what she can to survive in this economy.

There’s one asset I’ve never thought to use before. I have pretty feet. At least, the lady at the pedicure salon raves about them.

Once my friends give me the idea, I make thousands of dollars a month by sending men pictures and videos of my feet. No face. Nothing too weird. The best part is that there’s absolutely no way in hell that Jerico Merris, the grumpy and gorgeous man I have to sit with every day and invite to every meeting at my marketing job, will ever find out.

Jerico– I stay stern and professional around her, pretending I don’t notice the way her pencil skirts fit her hourglass shape or that her glasses give her the hot librarian vibe. I wish I could keep my mind off of her, but she’s everywhere. Her perfume. Eating lunch in the break lounge. I should keep my eyes to myself while shadowing her and not look at her phone notifications coming in, but I’m curious about her, and the phone is right there on her desk for me to see. What does she do in her free time? Does she have a boyfriend?

I never expected to see the app I see when her phone lights up at her desk. I also never expected to be the guy who’s now anonymously asking her for some twisted things I would never have thought about before I laid eyes on her. It would be bad for business if she ever finds out it’s me using the fake name and asking for videos of her feet. I just can’t help myself when it comes to her.

She’ll never know…

Chapter 1-

Chantel

I hate my fucking job. My coworkers are boring and mostly nearing retirement, the coffee could be compared to tar, the printers never work, and even the walls are gray. Yeah, they’re the color of prison bars. What kind of company uses gray paint and thinks the employees will find it motivating?

A home improvement materials company run by Hugh Anderson, that’s who. The same one I’ve been working for since college, and the one that pays my bills.

It’s the bill thing that keeps me here and will keep me here for the foreseeable future, if the screen in front of me is any indication. I scroll through my student loan’s payment website while holding my lips together, lest my breakfast yogurt come back up. Someone please explain to me how I took out loans totaling forty thousand dollars for my state university marketing degree and now owe forty-two thousand dollars after already paying on the damn thing for eight years. Does anyone get ahead on these, or do they keep burying us under interest rates until we die? Due to recent legislation, my loan repayment has gone from five hundred dollars a month to seven hundred. I can’t pay an extra two hundred a month on the loan, especially when my roommate moved out!

Stupid Milo Coulson. This is all his fault, stealing Laney away from my apartment like that. I now have double the rent until I can find someone to move into her old room, my landlord just raised the rent a few hundred bucks, and I owe the government loan sharks an extra two Benjamin Franklins a month.

This office may not be decorative, fun, or even have good coffee, but it keeps me off the streets, and I’m still able to afford luxuries like a cart of groceries and water coming straight from my tap. Well, I may not be able to buy the groceries anymore because I’ll still be paying for the degree I should have already paid off if predatory interest didn’t exist.

My desk phone lights up, and I squint at it. I can’t remember the last time it rang, probably when Hugh, my manager and the owner of the firm, wanted to see me in his office. Most people communicate through text chats and have only used chat since I started working here eight years ago.

I pick it up like I’m not sure what to do with it. “Uh, hello?”

“Chantel, can we have a conversation?” Hugh asks in a scratchy voice.

Chills instantly move up my spine. My boss is ancient, coming in at around ninety. At least, that’s what the office betting pool has his age set at when we discuss Hugh over happy hour drinks. He doesn’t come out of his office often because he takes at least three minutes to completely straighten when standing. Hence, he calls us on the phone when he wants to speak with one of us, even though my desk happens to be four cubicles away from the door to his office.

“Right away, sir,” I say, already standing and grabbing the work tablet I use to take notes in meetings. Well, that’s what it’s supposed to be for. I downloaded Libby and now read as much smut as I can find on my lunch hour.

I smooth my black pencil skirt, slip out of my retro Strawberry Shortcake house slippers to put on my basic black work heels, and walk the ten steps to Hugh’s office before knocking on the door as loudly as possible.

“Wanted to see me, sir?”

Hugh claps his hands and focuses his eyes, which takes a second. Was he napping? “Chantel! How is my favorite brand manager?”

“I’m your only brand manager, Hugh,” I say, sliding into the leather chair across from him.

The chair and all the other office decorations are as old as the man in front of me. Thankfully, mahogany wood is timeless, but the leather of the chair under my ass is cracked and could use a good oiling. The room itself still smells of cigars from the old days when people could still smoke at work, and the bar cart in the corner containing rum and vodka squeaks like hell when you move it.

Hugh looks at me with the relaxation only old men know. A smile is perpetually on his face, he stoops a bit in both sitting and standing positions, and he clasps his weathered and age-spotted hands in a steeple position on the desk in front of him.

“Why do I have a feeling this isn’t good news?” I ask. “Is this about my overdue performance review?”

“I guess I do owe you one of those, huh?” he chuckles.

I could use the money. Maybe I’ll get a two-hundred-dollar raise each month? Fat chance of that. We all get raises around here, but as soon as we cheer, “Yay, I got a raise,” we get the email from HR that says, “Yeah, health insurance costs are going up, so it’ll probably cancel out any pay raise. Happy New Year.”

“This isn’t about my review?” I ask.

“It’s an interesting opportunity to help the company improve.”

Shit. Mother fucker. Fucking hell. The kiss of fucking death. Opportunities can suck my ass.

“That sounds lovely, sir. I love opportunities. How can I help?”

I straighten in my seat and paste on the smile I know Hugh loves. He likes it when the ladies in the office smile through whatever corporate hell we’re experiencing. He uses the word “pleasant” to describe “his girls” when we show our teeth.

“We’re bringing in a consultant for the company. He’s going to observe our processes for the next few months. I know he’ll be specifically interested in what you’re doing to protect our branding and may discuss options for a new logo.”

I scoot to the edge of the chair, my heart now pounding. “How, exactly, will he be looking into our processes?”

“He’ll be having meetings at first to get a scope of what everyone does. Then, he’ll be shadowing employees for the next few months. You could probably expect him to shadow you personally for a couple of days. Maybe more, but that’s at his discretion.”

Shadowing? Well, there go my lunches with Laney that may run a few minutes over, and I can forget slipping out for coffee. Will he monitor my bathroom usage?

“How will he be shadowing us? Will he be sitting at our desks with us or asking us to provide daily reports?”

“Probably both. He’ll do whatever he needs to do to get a good understanding of how things run and some changes we can make to streamline operations and cut spending without cutting morale or quality for our clients. Consider it a hard audit of our processes. I trust Jerico with making the correct suggestions.”

“Jerico?” I ask, blurting the name like I’m yelling the F word after stubbing my toe. “He’s named after a Biblical battle?”

Hugh sniffs. “Kind of a cool name. You don’t hear that very often.”

I inhale deeply and let the breath out slowly, trying not to show Hugh that I’m peeved. I run my hands through my medium-length brown hair in frustration, then give it a little pat like I’m just fixing my waves that can get unruly halfway through an office day. I adjust my black glasses that I only wear to work, preferring contacts at home. I get little excitement in my life, and glasses at the office while wearing contacts when I go out make me feel like Clark Kent.

“Hugh, that sounds a lot like that old movie, Office Space. Is this guy firing people? Is this a staff slash and burn?”

Hugh sucks on his teeth. I’ve always wondered about that term when people say it, but in Hugh’s case, he literally sucks on his teeth. His dentures often come loose, and they move freely in his mouth as he considers my question. He isn’t worried about it enough to push them back into position. Maybe it’s because we’ve all seen him get buzzed at the office Christmas party and entertain us with a reading of How the Grinch Stole Christmas without his dentures.

He makes a sucking noise, adjusts his glasses, and finally reaches into his mouth, pushing the fake teeth back onto his gums before saying, “I’m not getting any younger, Chantel.”

Gee, you think?

“Come on, Hugh.” I wave my hand like I’m swatting a fly away from my lunch. “You have twice the energy of the guys in the mail room.”

I’m not exactly lying there. It’s a compliment to make Hugh feel young. What he doesn’t know is that the mailroom guys are usually high by ten in the morning and don’t move much the rest of the day.

He smiles a sarcastic, lilting grin, and I’m thankful his teeth stay in. “I want the place streamlined and in good order for my last two years until retirement. Then, I’ll turn the firm over to my kids, who will then trash any progress, so we’ll be back to square one. At least it will be a wash.”

I clear my throat. “That doesn’t really answer my question. Will there be cuts? Will there also be promotion opportunities?”

I close my eyes for a brief moment and send good thoughts to whatever deity controls my fate. I make a mental note to add volunteer dog walking at the animal shelter to my calendar this weekend. I’ll ask Laney and Samantha how I can improve my karma, too. They’ll know something.

“We’ll have to see what recommendations Jerico makes. You’ll listen to his advice and loop him into meetings?”

I give a short nod. “Will he be my boss now or something? This sounds pretty serious and like someone I need to impress. This doesn’t sound like I should just go about my business.”

Hugh chuckles, and a drop of spit shoots from his mouth, landing on his desk. He doesn’t bother wiping it away. “I’ll always be head honcho around here, but look at him like a middle manager who will report to me and make suggestions on how you can do things better.”

“So…a boss?”

“Sure, we’ll go with that. But a temporary one. Just be the Chantel I know and love, and I’m sure you’ll get along with Jerico just fine.”

I stand and nod, ready to get back to the safety of my cubicle and get back into my pink house slippers that smelled like strawberries when I bought them. Now they smell like the office carpet.

Shit. I’ll have to wear real shoes all day. That’s in addition to no longer looking at random news articles during my work time. It’s always been my process to work for twenty minutes, flip to a news page or something else I need to look up on the Internet, and then go right back to working a couple of minutes later. It’s like my own mental break, allowing me to go for long stretches of working, even into the evening hours after everyone else has left. It’s just how I work best. Something tells me that this consultant guy won’t approve, and I’ll actually get less quality work done.

Jerico is a problem in other ways. I have to show him that my job is necessary and not something that can be rolled into the social media manager’s role or some random department that doesn’t handle marketing at all. It’s not unheard of for departments to take on work they have never handled, nor know the first thing about handling, all in the name of rolling up the company sleeves and pitching in. All one of our accountants needs is to suddenly find themselves in charge of managing our brand. Given my current financial situation, I need this job more than ever.

Should I pick up a side hustle to pad my bank account and get some footing on my student loans? Laney sold her underwear to pay off hers.

I walk back to my cubicle, fumbling with the waistband of my skirt as I think about the possibility the entire way. I couldn’t sell my panties. No way. Especially not dirty ones. I don’t think Laney did anything unethical, especially given her financial dumpster fire after she lost her job. It’s just not something I could personally do.

No matter what happens, fuck this Jerico guy. He sounds like a real prick.

Want a sneak peek of Bang so you can feel the vibe? Check out a snippet of chapter 1 below. Please note that this is a rough snippet, and I still may change a few things around during the editorial process.

Bang will be available on July 21st. You can preorder it here, but it’ll also be in KU for those of you who read there. As a reminder, this is my first “dark” romance, and it has darker themes than Copper. (Book 1.) You do not need to read Copper, but it will help you understand the side characters and the better understand the epilogue.

Cheryl-

“What in the actual fuck?” a voice says behind me, and I close my eyes.

“I can explain, Lucy,” I mumble, grimacing, my teeth clenched.

She’s silent for ten seconds as I look down at Daniel, my hands on my hips and still not turning to face Lucy. I’m scared what I’ll see when I turn around. It’s safe to say I’m probably fired, but I’m not sure what kind of facial expression one puts on for their boss who just found their employee standing over a dead body in the parking lot. Do I smile? Look mean so she won’t cross me, even though I’d never hurt her?

“Jesus Christ, is your stripper heel clean through his eye?” Lucy asks.

“Yes, ma’am,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. This is Daniel.” I gesture to the man on the ground. “Daniel, this is my boss, Lucy. She’d shake your hand, I’m sure, but you’re busy dying and all.”

“You know this man?” she asks.

I finally turn to face her and find a surprisingly neutral expression on my boss’s face. There’s a hint of curiosity there, judging by the scowl on her forehead, but I don’t see judgement or horror. Only concern.

“He’s my ex. The boys’ father.” I rub my neck. “He was waiting for me and attacked me.” Silence as she stares at him on the ground. “I guess he was mad about me asking for an increase in child support, huh?” I chuckle, even though nothing about this is funny. “I had to… improvise,” I say, pointing at my bare foot. I cross my fingers she can see the red mark where he slapped me and my messy hair so she can form her own opinion on what happened.

Lucy takes two tentative steps forward and cranes her neck. “Didn’t want to pull the shoe out?”

“Nope. I can’t stand the idea that an eyeball would come with it. Apparently, that’s my line when killing my ex.”

“Everyone has a line.” Lucy inhales deeply and looks around the parking lot. “Clean shot, though. Bravo, you.”

“You’re not mad about this?” I ask.

She bites her bottom lip, thinking. She takes four steps and looks down the street aways at our nearest neighboring business, a taco joint with cameras in their lot. “Probably not close enough for them to get a good shot. The bushes between our properties kind of cover some things, too. Not like they’d rat on us anyway. They don’t want attention brought to them with some family members from Mexico working in the place, and we’re going to leave them the fuck out of this.” She looks around. “Open your trunk.”

“What?” I ask.

“Well, we can’t just leave the bastard here with a shoe in his eye!” She points to Daniel. “Open your trunk.”

I take my other shoe off so I can walk and then shuffle over to my car on bare feet. I search for my keys, pick them up with shaky fingers, and take two tries to press the button for the trunk. Once the trunk is open, I walk back to her, taking small steps on the painful gravel and watching for broken beer bottle glass that always seems to be around.

“Help me get him in your car,” Lucy directs. “You lift the bloody half since you’re the one who did the damage.”

I bend and lift Daniel’s shoulders as blood still pours out of him. Who knew people had this much blood inside of them? I sure didn’t. If he wasn’t dead from the strikes, bleeding out would do it.

Lucy suddenly drops her end of him, and I tumble forward, almost falling. “What the fuck?”

She turns and heads toward the door of her business. “We need trash bags to line the trunk. Otherwise, he’ll bleed all over it. I have some cleaning gloves, too.”

Lucy goes inside for a few minutes while I wait in the parking lot, tapping my foot and wondering if I should drag Daniel behind the dumpster in case someone happens to be lost and pulls into the parking lot to turn around or something. What would I do then? Smile and wave?

Eventually, she comes back and silently lines my trunk with plastic sheeting she must have left over after painting the place a few months ago. She even has duct tape with her and tapes the sheeting to the edge of the trunk, making a bowl-like plastic protection for my car. On top of that, she lays four trash bags down and two old towels on top of that.

“There,” she says. “Now we can get him in. I’ll hose this off after we get him in and pour some bleach over the top of that. I got some new scrubbers that should get most of it. The parking lot will be good as new.”

Lucy goes back to Daniel’s feet and squares her legs before squatting to lift. I can’t help but think about my retail job in high school where we had an entire training session on team lifts and using our legs. I guess that information is finally coming in handy.

“He’s a heavy mother fucker, that’s for sure,” Lucy says, grunting a little as she lifts.

“He was always bulky. Lifted a lot.”

“Ugh. I hate muscular guys that are jerks. It makes dealing with this harder.”

“What’s harder?”

She blushes at the question. What’s harder? How does Lucy know muscular dead men are harder to deal with?

“You’re abnormally calm about this,” I say when she doesn’t answer.

Blood from Daniel’s head and neck runs down my legs to my ankles. Maybe Lucy can go inside and get me some wipes. I’m not sure I have enough baby wipes in the car. I usually carry them for the boys’ sticky hands if they eat in the car, but they sure don’t make this kind of mess.

Lucy’s eyes meet mine for the first time since she found me hovering over Daniel. Her normally dark eyes are even darker, but an eyebrow is raised like she has a question or possible secret. “Shit happens, honey. Shit happens to men like this sometimes.”

We all love our libraries, and many of us lean on them more in tough times when we’re counting our pennies and trying to be more mindful of our consumption. But when is the best time to ask our library to stock our favorite books, especially by unknown smaller authors?

Answer: Right now.

Understanding Your Library and Purchasing:

My friends and brothers and sisters in reading, it is the end of the fiscal year for many libraries around the country. (Usually ends in June, but they often need to wind down purchases by April 15th.) That means, many libraries have money left over in their book purchasing budgets, and they HAVE to use that money before the end of the fiscal year. If you’ve ever wanted them to buy a license for an ebook or purchase a paperback, now is the time to request it and ask for the moon. (Reminder that authors in KU cannot sell licenses to Libby, but you can request their paperbacks!) Ask for a paperback of Haunting Adeline if they don’t already have it, or ask for a Meghan Quinn or Pippa Grant paperback. Ask for more Fourth Wing licenses on Libby! Ask for a paperback of a small indie author’s book called Contact High. (ahem ahem.) They work like any corporation, so if there’s money leftover at the end of the fiscal year, not only do they lose it, but the people in charge may then decide to reduce the budget next year.

See, friends, if you use your library regularly, they have data to show their board that so many checkouts are happening. That means, community leaders know it’s being used and are more likely to keep funding it. If you don’t use libraries, funding is cut. So use them without shame and request without guilt!!! Be obnoxious about it. Tell everyone to use the damn library and get their requests in to the point of annoyance.

But Wait…I Want to Help Indies. Don’t I Have to Buy the Book?:

Authors get royalties when a library buys our paperbacks or buys a Libby license from us. We also get paid per checkout with Hoopla. I know there was some false discourse on social media recently when an absolutely moronic author on Threads tried to tell people authors earn nothing from libraries and libraries hurt authors more than help, but it’s bunk. Absolute trash info. Fake news, if you prefer. In fact, in some countries (not the US) authors actually get paid per checkout of their paperback. Rest assured, we are getting some kind of royalty, whether royalty from a license purchase or per checkout royalty when you use the library.

How do I request a paperback?

You have a couple options. First, check your local library’s website to see if they have a “request a title” section. Fill out the title and author info, ISBN if you have that info, but ISBN is not necessary. They can usually find it by title and author. You can also call or visit in person and ask the librarian you talk to about adding it to the collection. That’s it. They then decide if it’s in the budget. (And that’s why we’re asking now at the end of the fiscal year. You’re more likely to get it this spring.) Don’t be offended if they don’t buy it. They can’t buy everything, but it’s worth a try. If you ask for a lot and get half of what you ask for, it’s a huge win.

How do I request a Libby purchase?

This one has a couple steps. First, search Libby by author name. If your library doesn’t already have a license for the book/s, their book will come up without a “borrow” or “place hold” choice. Click on “Notify Me” and that’s it. Libby sends it to your library anonymously and tells them a patron is interested in that book. It’s then up to your purchasing department to decide if they’ll roll the dice on a library license.

It’s worth mentioning that if a library system has both Libby and Hoopla, and the book is already on Hoopla, they probably WON’T buy a LIbby license for it. Keep that in mind and just pop over to Hoopla to read. Libraries aren’t going to double up on paying for eBooks.

What is Hoopla?

If you’re not sure if your library has it, ask them. Hoopla is another eBook service that costs the library per checkout instead of per license like Libby. I get paid every time you check out one of my books from Hoopla, which is why they sometimes don’t have bigger authors like CoHo or Emily Henry. That would break a library, so they often buy Libby licenses for bigger authors instead. They have the ability to turn off certain authors or books in Hoopla at the library level. Again, you won’t see books in both places very often.

Books I have in Hoopla: the entire Jensen City Heroes collection.

Cloud Library:

This is another type of library app some libraries may have instead of Hoopla and Libby. Ask your librarians about it and how to get your favorite indie books with them. Librarians are good at helping!

Get those FREE library cards and start requesting what you want, will ya? Your tax dollars are already paying for it.

March 4th only!!!!

It’s a Stuff Your Kindle day for romance.

Books are divided into two group: Steamy or closed-door, so there’s something for everyone.

Head to alphacinnamonroll.com or click on the graphic above to check out the list and grab The Pipe Cleaner while you’re there. (Also in KU.)

Due to me working more in my non-smut job in 2025 and writing more under my other pen names, my release schedule will slow a bit. However, these are the books I’m working on in the coming year.

Sign up for my newsletter here to follow news on what I’m working on and official release dates. You’ll also get The Flower Festival Fling free when you sign up for my newsletter.

Current WIP:

Surprise! You’ll get a sequel to Copper. There is no preorder at this time because I’ve learned my lesson about doing that unless the book is almost finished. Again, watch my newsletter. Cover and title reveal will be soon since I’m about 15k words into it. You’ll get it this spring.

And it’s real fucked up. I wrote my first blood play scene the other day, and I’m kind of concerned how dark I went.

The Final Fix-It Guys Shorts:

Rosie and Lyla need to get laid, friends. The second book, The Bush Trimmer will drop in February. It’s with the proofreader right now, so I feel good about showing you the cover. It’s not really a surprise since this book was originally available for preorder but had to be pushed back. These books will drop when they’re done. Look for The Bush Trimmer in February and last book in the series sometime around May or June.

The Final Book of The Traveling Calvert Sisters:

Lily will get her turn. For fans of Peyton, I’ll send Peyton with Lily on this adventure. Look for this around fall of 2025. No cover or title reveal yet until preorder is up, but it is coming. Hint: Lily will visit California.

PS. Wine on Waiheke is available for preorder. I just loaded the final file into all retailers, so it’s ready to rock and roll for a January 7th release!

Other Romance Pen Name:

Did you know I also write as Kinsey Wiseman? Well, you do now. Book 2 of the Capsburg series, The Vet, will be available in August. It’s already up and available for eBook preorder if you click on the graphic below.

Note: You do not need to read the first book, The Election, to enjoy this book. In fact, I’d encourage you not to unless you’re OK with political discussions. The tagline for the first book is “He’s red. She’s blue. This fall…love wins.” So there were some political discussions there, and that’s also why I kept it away from my Tori Ross stuff. Not everyone likes that in their romance.

Upcoming Events:

I’ll be with other local authors at the Old Bakery Beer Company in Alton, IL on January 18th from 11:30-3:30! Swing by if you’re in the area and come see me/have a beer.

Happy rest of the holiday season!

And you can gift them without breaking the bank…

Ahead of Black Friday, I thought I’d give you a helpful list of things I’ve enjoyed in the past few years and appreciate as a reader or what my friends have raved about. All of these items are non-books. If you’re interested in knowing how to gift books through Amazon, you can read my blog on gifting books through Amazon here. You can also grab my novella, The Flower Festival Fling, for free with newsletter signup here. Why would you want to do that? Sign up for my newsletter because there’s going to be one hell of a banger newsletter sent out on Black Friday with TONS of deals of mine and my author friends!

Click on each graphic below to see a full product description of gifts other than books for the romance reader in your life.

Paperback/Hardback Book Light:

This is the Glocusent Book Light for Reading in Bed. This handy thing is only $10 but worth every penny. I’ve taken this on countless vacations and overnight trips and use it in my room at night. I’m about a 50/50 paperback/eBook reader, so this really helps with reading paperbacks when I read before bed.

Library Lover Mug

Do you know a Gen X book lover that still remembers when we got our books stamped upon checkout? Check out this library due date coffee mug by Joyful Moose Store.

Odds and Ends Cabinet/Card Catalog Style

Speaking of libraries, my friend, Jessica, has always had a huge card catalog in her living room. I think it’s since been passed to her daughter, but I’ve always been jealous of it.

Here’s the small desk-top version. I’ve been eyeing it because it’s perfect for odds and ends. (Stamps, paper clips, rubber bands, coins, gift cards, etc.)

Total nostalgia sold by Primeo Supply

Smutty Stickers

OK. I don’t have this particular set because I get my smut book stickers from the events I participate in. But if you don’t have an event or convention where you can pick up stickers from authors directly, this is a fun choice.

Only $5. You can’t go wrong with that. Perfect for a stocking stuffer.

Sold by SixOrchid

Funny Reading Socks

My husband bought these for me, and I LOVE them. They’re actually thicker than they look in the picture and hold up really well, unlike a lot of novelty socks.

Just, uh, don’t leave these in the bin so your teen wears them to middle school one day.

Ask me how I know that.

Blue Q Women’s Novelty Socks sold by

Reading Candle

Candles are some of the easiest gifts to give. I mean, who hates candles?

Hahah. “Spice and toe curling scenes.”

Sold by LEADO Gift Shop

So…get after it and look like the gift-giving hero you are to the reader in your life.

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Finally! The sequel to Contact High is now available on Kindle, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited. You do not need to read Contact High to enjoy Baked and Burned, but it does help.

Click here to grab it or click on the graphic above!

Happy reading.

If you haven’t heard yet, I’m in an anthology!

Love, Lattes, and Holiday Tales will be released Dec 10 on all retailers. Pre-order available here or by clicking graphic below!

Each story takes place in or around a fictional coffee shop called Hounds and Grounds. Think Dunkin, but dog friendly. Watch people fall in love (or just some good old-fashioned banging it out) around the cutest coffee shop on this world (or another.)

What is my short about? What happens when you’re home from college and run into your best friend’s dad and his business partner at a coffee shop? Wink wink. Hell, it’s even called Two-for-One Day.

The best part of all of this? ALL royalties will go to 4 Paws for Ability! The authors are donating all royalties to this amazing organization. You can learn more about the organization here, but the Cliff’s Notes version is that the royalties from this book will go to help pair dogs with veterans and people with disabilities.

Happy reading!