Kaje Harper's Blog
November 9, 2025
"Fixer" is out!
Today is release day for
Fixer: a Hidden Wolves prequel
- available now on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo (and Kobo Plus) and Google Play. (It seems to be hidden from Google searches but that link should work.) Other wide locations to follow.
I hope readers enjoy this tale of two wolves getting a second chance, seven years after pack laws almost destroyed them. This book stands completely alone (although if you are a reader of the series, you might spot one familiar name.)
Dustin:
Seven years ago, I murdered Wade's younger brother, at the command of our Alpha. Wade would've killed me for it then, except he was younger, smaller, and a much less experienced fighter. So he ran from our pack and disappeared. What Wade didn't know was that I lied to Alpha. His brother's still alive. Now I've found Wade at last— will he give me a chance to explain, before he rips my throat out?
....
excerpt:
Wade
I hadn’t slept all night. I also hadn’t left my apartment, even though my wolf battered at the inside of my head, urging me to chase Dustin down and attack him, kill him, rip him to shreds. Or to follow him and find his lair, plot and plan his utter destruction. I’d paced for hours, growling, grinding my teeth, reminding myself over and over to unclench my fists and breathe like a normal person.
Dustin Palmer. Here. Why? How?
Seeing his wolf at my window, huge paws planted on my fire escape, had sent a wave of fury through me so strong, I’d almost leaped through the glass pane to get at him. Almost ignored all the dangers of discovery to see how red his blood was. Seven years ago, I’d have done it. No risk of disaster afterward would’ve stopped me. Time had taken my red-hot anger down to something colder, something that could see the consequences, and bide my time.
How did he find me?
I’d left my first pack— our pack— when Shawn died, seven years ago. When Shawn was murdered by Dustin. Alpha had accepted that I needed to go, even if he had no clue how much I was hiding in the maelstrom of my emotions. He’d driven me to the boundaries of a neighboring pack and cut my bonds in front of their Alpha so I could join them, making sure someone else would control his problem wolf.
It’d taken me just a few months to convince my new Alpha I wanted to head to Alaska, make a whole new start as a lone wolf. My grief and anger had been poisoning the pack bonds, so he agreed. As soon as I was free, I’d run, fast and far. Bus and train, changing my name, picking up odd jobs and moving on.
I’d thought I was safe to settle here at last, five years back.
Turns out one of the rules of pack was that you were never safe.
As Dawn approached, I’d tried to plan, wondering when Dustin would return, surveying my belongings, considering what I could carry if I ran again. Thinking about how much I hated the idea of leaving this small home I’d made for myself, and all the people in the building I’d taken under my protection. Deciding… Fuck Dustin and fuck the pack, I’m not running. I’d die here in my own space, if it came down to that.
A deep, lonely void in my head wished Dustin was still a wolf I could trust. I ached at the long absence inside me of bonds, of packmates and the brotherhood of wolves. A fake brotherhood that discards you as soon as you step out of line. I knew the darkness underlying “pack”, and yet, from the moment my second Alpha cut my bonds to him and my packmates, the empty places in my head had ached with loneliness. That loss had stayed with me through all the intervening years.
Though never as badly as the loss of my brother.
Fuck Dustin! Goddamn fuck Dustin, and not in a good way. I laughed bitterly at the ridiculous thought that there was a good way. Kill or be killed, now. Somehow, from the moment the man I’d admired had turned into my worst enemy, I’d known this time would come. Odds were I’d be the one bleeding out on the floor, but perhaps I could make him sorry before I died…
Read about their first meeting after 7 years in Fixer: A Hidden Wolves Prequel -
Universal link: https://books2read.com/Fixer-Kaje
I hope readers enjoy this tale of two wolves getting a second chance, seven years after pack laws almost destroyed them. This book stands completely alone (although if you are a reader of the series, you might spot one familiar name.)
Dustin:
Seven years ago, I murdered Wade's younger brother, at the command of our Alpha. Wade would've killed me for it then, except he was younger, smaller, and a much less experienced fighter. So he ran from our pack and disappeared. What Wade didn't know was that I lied to Alpha. His brother's still alive. Now I've found Wade at last— will he give me a chance to explain, before he rips my throat out?
....
excerpt:
Wade
I hadn’t slept all night. I also hadn’t left my apartment, even though my wolf battered at the inside of my head, urging me to chase Dustin down and attack him, kill him, rip him to shreds. Or to follow him and find his lair, plot and plan his utter destruction. I’d paced for hours, growling, grinding my teeth, reminding myself over and over to unclench my fists and breathe like a normal person.
Dustin Palmer. Here. Why? How?
Seeing his wolf at my window, huge paws planted on my fire escape, had sent a wave of fury through me so strong, I’d almost leaped through the glass pane to get at him. Almost ignored all the dangers of discovery to see how red his blood was. Seven years ago, I’d have done it. No risk of disaster afterward would’ve stopped me. Time had taken my red-hot anger down to something colder, something that could see the consequences, and bide my time.
How did he find me?
I’d left my first pack— our pack— when Shawn died, seven years ago. When Shawn was murdered by Dustin. Alpha had accepted that I needed to go, even if he had no clue how much I was hiding in the maelstrom of my emotions. He’d driven me to the boundaries of a neighboring pack and cut my bonds in front of their Alpha so I could join them, making sure someone else would control his problem wolf.
It’d taken me just a few months to convince my new Alpha I wanted to head to Alaska, make a whole new start as a lone wolf. My grief and anger had been poisoning the pack bonds, so he agreed. As soon as I was free, I’d run, fast and far. Bus and train, changing my name, picking up odd jobs and moving on.
I’d thought I was safe to settle here at last, five years back.
Turns out one of the rules of pack was that you were never safe.
As Dawn approached, I’d tried to plan, wondering when Dustin would return, surveying my belongings, considering what I could carry if I ran again. Thinking about how much I hated the idea of leaving this small home I’d made for myself, and all the people in the building I’d taken under my protection. Deciding… Fuck Dustin and fuck the pack, I’m not running. I’d die here in my own space, if it came down to that.
A deep, lonely void in my head wished Dustin was still a wolf I could trust. I ached at the long absence inside me of bonds, of packmates and the brotherhood of wolves. A fake brotherhood that discards you as soon as you step out of line. I knew the darkness underlying “pack”, and yet, from the moment my second Alpha cut my bonds to him and my packmates, the empty places in my head had ached with loneliness. That loss had stayed with me through all the intervening years.
Though never as badly as the loss of my brother.
Fuck Dustin! Goddamn fuck Dustin, and not in a good way. I laughed bitterly at the ridiculous thought that there was a good way. Kill or be killed, now. Somehow, from the moment the man I’d admired had turned into my worst enemy, I’d known this time would come. Odds were I’d be the one bleeding out on the floor, but perhaps I could make him sorry before I died…
Read about their first meeting after 7 years in Fixer: A Hidden Wolves Prequel -
Universal link: https://books2read.com/Fixer-Kaje
October 30, 2025
Werewolf fun coming up
Want something new? I was working on a novella second-chances group project that had to be postponed till 2026, in which my "20K novella" had already expanded to 52K. Oops?
So the postponement till next year means I have Fixer: a Hidden Wolves novella , a werewolf prequel for you folks now, and I decided to just publish it on a short release date. (Since I also had written a 30K novella that can go into the project later, no loss. LOL) Release will be wide on Nov 9th - preorder right now only on Amazon, due to the short timeframe (sorry wide folks, the 11 day finished lead time for wide preorders is tough. I'm still proofreading.) It will go live on Smashwords on release day.
I've written mostly contemporary this year, so it's fun getting back to my werewolves, this time in the 1970s.
Amazon Preorder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXY1D1N3?
Blurb:
Wade
When my little brother was fifteen, he kissed a boy. Someone from our werewolf pack saw him and told Alpha, and that was the end. The end of his life, because wolf packs have ironclad rules and one of them is, Thou shalt not be gay, ever. Shawn died. And the extra gut-punch on top of losing my brother was that the man who obeyed our Alpha's order to kill Shawn was Dustin, our Fixer, a man I'd thought was my good friend. The man I'd secretly had a crush on.
Once Shawn was dead, once Alpha let me loose, I ran fast and far. I wanted to kill Dustin, to smear his guts out on the ground and dance on them, but he had four inches, thirty pounds, and fifteen years of fighting experience on me. He was pack Sixth to my Fifteenth. In a fight, I'd always lose. Still, as I made a new life a long way from the pack, I vowed that one day, I'd find Dustin and end him. Then, one spring night, I woke to a very familiar wolf peering in at me from the fire escape. I had my shot at revenge at last.
Dustin
Pack Fixer is a title, a job, an avocation. It's also a prison, bound by vows to your Alpha and one sole commandment: protect the pack. My father, who was Fixer before me, taught me all kinds of ways to cover up evidence that might reveal werewolves. I could pick locks, alter photos, confuse, drug, blackmail, and eliminate threats. I was up on all the new technology that was growing by leaps and bounds here in the 1970s. I understood video, knew what a motion detector could do. And I used my skills to kill an innocent boy.
Well, that's what my Alpha thought I'd done, what he'd commanded of me. What Shawn's brother Wade believed, when he escaped our pack and vanished. In fact, Shawn was still alive and I was no longer Fixer. But it took me seven years to find Wade, to give him the good news. Question is, will he kill me before I can tell him he still has a brother?
Fixer is a hurt-comfort, second chances prequel novella set in the 1970s, thirty-seven years before the events in Unacceptable Risk.
Amazon Preorder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXY1D1N3?
So the postponement till next year means I have Fixer: a Hidden Wolves novella , a werewolf prequel for you folks now, and I decided to just publish it on a short release date. (Since I also had written a 30K novella that can go into the project later, no loss. LOL) Release will be wide on Nov 9th - preorder right now only on Amazon, due to the short timeframe (sorry wide folks, the 11 day finished lead time for wide preorders is tough. I'm still proofreading.) It will go live on Smashwords on release day.
I've written mostly contemporary this year, so it's fun getting back to my werewolves, this time in the 1970s.
Amazon Preorder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXY1D1N3?
Blurb:
Wade
When my little brother was fifteen, he kissed a boy. Someone from our werewolf pack saw him and told Alpha, and that was the end. The end of his life, because wolf packs have ironclad rules and one of them is, Thou shalt not be gay, ever. Shawn died. And the extra gut-punch on top of losing my brother was that the man who obeyed our Alpha's order to kill Shawn was Dustin, our Fixer, a man I'd thought was my good friend. The man I'd secretly had a crush on.
Once Shawn was dead, once Alpha let me loose, I ran fast and far. I wanted to kill Dustin, to smear his guts out on the ground and dance on them, but he had four inches, thirty pounds, and fifteen years of fighting experience on me. He was pack Sixth to my Fifteenth. In a fight, I'd always lose. Still, as I made a new life a long way from the pack, I vowed that one day, I'd find Dustin and end him. Then, one spring night, I woke to a very familiar wolf peering in at me from the fire escape. I had my shot at revenge at last.
Dustin
Pack Fixer is a title, a job, an avocation. It's also a prison, bound by vows to your Alpha and one sole commandment: protect the pack. My father, who was Fixer before me, taught me all kinds of ways to cover up evidence that might reveal werewolves. I could pick locks, alter photos, confuse, drug, blackmail, and eliminate threats. I was up on all the new technology that was growing by leaps and bounds here in the 1970s. I understood video, knew what a motion detector could do. And I used my skills to kill an innocent boy.
Well, that's what my Alpha thought I'd done, what he'd commanded of me. What Shawn's brother Wade believed, when he escaped our pack and vanished. In fact, Shawn was still alive and I was no longer Fixer. But it took me seven years to find Wade, to give him the good news. Question is, will he kill me before I can tell him he still has a brother?
Fixer is a hurt-comfort, second chances prequel novella set in the 1970s, thirty-seven years before the events in Unacceptable Risk.
Amazon Preorder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXY1D1N3?
October 22, 2025
Release day for my redheaded goalie
Today is release day for my latest contemporary hockey book
Against the Odds: The Games We Play - Season 2
(Yeah, I seem to be writing a lot of contemporary, but I promise, super secret werewolves book coming soon.)
I had great fun, not least because this book is set in Canada - complete with Canadian spellings and maple syrup.
Against the Odds is currently on Amazon and in KU: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FKZK99HR
and check out the rest of Games We Play - Season 2 series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK87H2QK
* hockey romance
* opposites attract
* raising a younger brother
* past loss
* hot-tempered goalie
* toxic family member
* a smidge of drama
All the books in this series take place in the same hockey season, but are written to stand alone.
I had great fun, not least because this book is set in Canada - complete with Canadian spellings and maple syrup.
Against the Odds is currently on Amazon and in KU: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FKZK99HR
and check out the rest of Games We Play - Season 2 series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK87H2QK
* hockey romance
* opposites attract
* raising a younger brother
* past loss
* hot-tempered goalie
* toxic family member
* a smidge of drama
All the books in this series take place in the same hockey season, but are written to stand alone.
September 9, 2025
Arthur is out!
Release day for A Furever Home: A Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue Romance
by Kaje Harper and Gabbi Grey
Arthur - a lonely man who's dedicated his life to rescuing pets in need.
Brooklyn - an optimist who ran across the country to get a fresh start away from his toxic family.
When they come together over love and care for the fur-babies, something special starts to grow. But then Brooklyn's teen sister shows up on his doorstep, bringing his family and his painful past back into his life. Can a brand-new relationship survive threats, drama, and a teenager on the other side of the bedroom wall?
** Buy A Furever Home WIDE (including Amazon )
And in AUDIO with the talented Michael Ferraiuolo narrating - already whispersyced **
......
This series was Gabbi Grey's and my pet project from the start - in my Single Dads of Gaynor Beach book - Alec - the guys rescue a dog and find out there's nowhere in Gaynor Beach to take her.
And we thought, (while Joe and Alec love their new pup) - that needs to change. We brainstormed the idea of a follow-up series about creating and supporting an animal shelter for Gaynor Beach - and so Safe Haven Animal Rescue, and its Friends series, came into being. A bunch of great authors jumped onboard with us. Now, 8 books later, we wrap it up with a story for Arthur, the sweet big guy who wandered through everyone's books with his focus purely on the pets in need. And Brooklyn, who will become everything Arthur didn't realize he needed.
It's been a ton of fun (readers who are familiar with my backlist know pets tend to show up in my books.) And this was my first attempt at co-writing. I love the way it gives each of the guys their own unique flavor (although working together was only possible due to Gabbi's patience and willingness to let me tweak things to my satisfaction. She did a lot of the organizational work and the audio with Michael Ferraiuolo narrating. (now whispersynced by the way) and I backseat drove and played with the story.)
I hope readers have fun with this book. And we finish the series knowing all the dogs and cats and iguanas and rabbits and other critters of Gaynor Beach are in good hands.
And if you missed any of these stories (including the recent release - A Furry Thing Called Love by Abrianna Denae) you can find the entire series of 8 Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue books on Amazon and wide.
by Kaje Harper and Gabbi Grey
Arthur - a lonely man who's dedicated his life to rescuing pets in need.
Brooklyn - an optimist who ran across the country to get a fresh start away from his toxic family.
When they come together over love and care for the fur-babies, something special starts to grow. But then Brooklyn's teen sister shows up on his doorstep, bringing his family and his painful past back into his life. Can a brand-new relationship survive threats, drama, and a teenager on the other side of the bedroom wall?
** Buy A Furever Home WIDE (including Amazon )
And in AUDIO with the talented Michael Ferraiuolo narrating - already whispersyced **
......
This series was Gabbi Grey's and my pet project from the start - in my Single Dads of Gaynor Beach book - Alec - the guys rescue a dog and find out there's nowhere in Gaynor Beach to take her.
And we thought, (while Joe and Alec love their new pup) - that needs to change. We brainstormed the idea of a follow-up series about creating and supporting an animal shelter for Gaynor Beach - and so Safe Haven Animal Rescue, and its Friends series, came into being. A bunch of great authors jumped onboard with us. Now, 8 books later, we wrap it up with a story for Arthur, the sweet big guy who wandered through everyone's books with his focus purely on the pets in need. And Brooklyn, who will become everything Arthur didn't realize he needed.
It's been a ton of fun (readers who are familiar with my backlist know pets tend to show up in my books.) And this was my first attempt at co-writing. I love the way it gives each of the guys their own unique flavor (although working together was only possible due to Gabbi's patience and willingness to let me tweak things to my satisfaction. She did a lot of the organizational work and the audio with Michael Ferraiuolo narrating. (now whispersynced by the way) and I backseat drove and played with the story.)
I hope readers have fun with this book. And we finish the series knowing all the dogs and cats and iguanas and rabbits and other critters of Gaynor Beach are in good hands.
And if you missed any of these stories (including the recent release - A Furry Thing Called Love by Abrianna Denae) you can find the entire series of 8 Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue books on Amazon and wide.
August 13, 2025
New Hockey multi author series
Are you still reading hockey fic like I am? Are you ready for some brand new choices?
The Games We Play - Season Two is coming.
Now in preorder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK87H2QK
Books by a bunch of well-known hockey writers, and other writer folk like... well, me :)
Season Two will begin with a duo:
"Rough Draft: The Games We Play - Season 2" by RJ Scott and VL Locey (remember the Railers books?) on Oct 7
AND "Conditioning Loan: The Games We Play - Season 2" by LA Witt (remember Rebound?) also Oct 7
My book is "Against the Odds: The Games We Play - Season 2" - coming Oct 22
- hurt-comfort
- single guardianing of a younger brother
- opposites attract
Callum is a hotheaded goalie in the minor PHL (think AHL) who is singleminded about getting to the NAPH (think NHL) - once he's earning real money he can pay back his grandfather for taking him in when he was nine. He's not getting derailed by his teen crush moving back in next door, or his least favorite uncle showing up. But determination may not be enough.
Zeke is a cop, on leave after a long deep-undercover assignment, when his step-mom dies and he becomes the guardian for his pre-teen halfbrother. Moving back in the family home is weird, fitting a grieving kid in as he goes back on shift work is hard. And then there is Callum...
Check out all the books in the series. (And if you're eager to start, the Season One books are all available.)
July 17, 2025
New: Changes on Ice, audio of Transparent Is a Color
I have two new stories out for you - today is the release day for
Changes on Ice
- Changes Book 2.
This one is an MM hockey romance with a fair amount of hurt-comfort angst, an asexual discovery arc, and opposites-attract for Cross -- a wealthy, talented NHL player who has everything, until he doesn't -- and Rusty, a minor league player for whom the pennies of an ECHL salary and his old pickup truck are all he owns in the world.
This is book 3 in the Changes series, but follows two new MCs in a different direction, so I'm curious to see what fans of the series think. It also should stand alone, if you didn't read the MMM first two books (although Scott, Will and Casey show up in cameos).
Content warning for grief, stalking.
Now available wide: https://books2read.com/ChangesOnIceKaje
....................................
AND the amazing JF Harding who did such a talented job on my Life Lessons audio books, was looking for a lighter story for a change, and agreed to take on Transparent Is a Color. His performance brings added nuance and fun to my story of Perry, a bumbling young not-so-superhero, Deckard, a protective bomb-squad cop, the clever detection dog Nix, and a bunch of secondary characters.
Check out the audio on Apple, Amazon, and Audible - https://books2read.com/TransparentIsAColor-Kaje
I hope listeners enjoy this book in the Subparhero series - all the books stand alone.
This one is an MM hockey romance with a fair amount of hurt-comfort angst, an asexual discovery arc, and opposites-attract for Cross -- a wealthy, talented NHL player who has everything, until he doesn't -- and Rusty, a minor league player for whom the pennies of an ECHL salary and his old pickup truck are all he owns in the world.
This is book 3 in the Changes series, but follows two new MCs in a different direction, so I'm curious to see what fans of the series think. It also should stand alone, if you didn't read the MMM first two books (although Scott, Will and Casey show up in cameos).
Content warning for grief, stalking.
Now available wide: https://books2read.com/ChangesOnIceKaje
....................................
AND the amazing JF Harding who did such a talented job on my Life Lessons audio books, was looking for a lighter story for a change, and agreed to take on Transparent Is a Color. His performance brings added nuance and fun to my story of Perry, a bumbling young not-so-superhero, Deckard, a protective bomb-squad cop, the clever detection dog Nix, and a bunch of secondary characters.
Check out the audio on Apple, Amazon, and Audible - https://books2read.com/TransparentIsAColor-Kaje
I hope listeners enjoy this book in the Subparhero series - all the books stand alone.
July 1, 2025
Smashwords July Sale
Hey folks, this is day 1 of the annual Smashwords July SALE from July 1 to 31.
I have "Saved by the Rat" and "Unexpected Demands" FREE, and "Impurrfections" at 50% off.
LOTS of other great deals on M/M and unlike Amazon, you buy and download the file so it can never be taken back. 🙂 Plus authors get 15 to 40% (on under $2.99) more royalties there.
Check out all the gay fiction on sale here:
https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/pr...
And mine:
Saved by the Rat : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Unexpected Demands : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Impurrfections : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
I have "Saved by the Rat" and "Unexpected Demands" FREE, and "Impurrfections" at 50% off.
LOTS of other great deals on M/M and unlike Amazon, you buy and download the file so it can never be taken back. 🙂 Plus authors get 15 to 40% (on under $2.99) more royalties there.
Check out all the gay fiction on sale here:
https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/pr...
And mine:
Saved by the Rat : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Unexpected Demands : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Impurrfections : https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
June 23, 2025
A NEW Animal Rescue book
Surprise! I have been working with author Gabbi Grey to wrap up the Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue series.
And we have a book for you:
A Furever Home: A Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue Romance
(This book will be wide but currently preorders are Amazon only.) Releasing Sept. 9th.
https://books2read.com/AFureverHome
This is my first co-written story. I wasn't planning to do one. (I'm a terrible control freak about my writing, plus a total pantser. It's hard to invite someone else to join in a book when the question of "What will it be about?" can only be answered with "I guess we'll find out when we write it.")
But the whole Animal Rescue series was a collaborative effort. At the end of the Single Dads of Gaynor Beach series, Gabbi Grey and I were chatting with a few of the other authors. In my book, Alec, I'd had the guys adopt a dog when the vet told them there was no local shelter for lost and abandoned pets. And I think it was Gabbi who decided it could be fun to write a series creating the shelter. So we did. :)
There is one more new entry to come before ours, A Furry Thing Called Love from Abrianna Danea (one of whose other books is a favorite read.) Looking forward to this one coming Aug 26th. And then...
My Animal Rescue book, Impurrfections, launched the shelter with the conversion of an old wine-tasting venue, and in the process introduced a side character— Arthur— the big guy with a soft heart for animals who ended up running Safe Haven. And as we put out the other animal shelter stories, (sorry about the bad pun titles,) Gabbi decided we should wrap it up with a happy ending for Arthur. Which I was all in favor of. That guy deserved his HEA. Except I created him and wasn't sure I wanted someone else writing him. So when it appeared he was going to find his forever person in Brooklyn, a side character in one of Gabbi's stories, the answer was obvious.
Well, after some discussion and "are you sure you want to work with me?" it was obvious. We'd write it together.
And so we did. I hope our readers will enjoy it.
A Furever Home:
Arthur
When I was squeezing seven rescue dogs and a horde of cats in my small house, all I wanted was to not turn away a pet in need. Opening the Safe Haven Pet Rescue was a dream come true. But when I get hurt, standing between a man with a gun and a stray dog, I realize I still can't do it all.
My injured leg, a concussion, having to lean on my friends, and realizing how helpless I feel, throws me back to my childhood when nothing I did ever seemed to be enough. But there's one silver lining. Brooklyn West. He's the kind of guy who holds a stranger’s hand in a crisis. He's great with my dogs, even cranky little Chili, and really seems to want to help the shelter. I like watching him be a protective big brother when his sister turns up on his doorstep, even though I think there's pain underneath his sunny smiles. But as we move toward friendship, I keep looking for the strings, for the catch, and wondering how I'll pay him back, because nothing in my life can be that sweet, or that simple.
Brooklyn
I went through a slice of medical hell, and came out the other side with enough money to move to the opposite side of the country and start the doggie daycare business of my dreams. The cherry on top of that good luck is meeting Arthur Bjornsson. Big, wild-bearded, soft-voiced Arthur is the kind of guy my family would've ridiculed. He's warm-hearted and willing to throw himself into harm's way right in front of my eyes to save one pathetic stray dog.
He's the kind of guy who gives me back some faith in humanity. But when my underage sister Cheyenne shows up on my doorstep, on the run from the family I thought I'd escaped, my old life and new collide. I want to help Arthur, get to know him, and, as he heals, I want more than just friendship. But Cheyenne brings legal risks, a teen on the other side of my bedroom wall, and the threat of retribution from our family. The simple relationship I thought Arthur and I were building is suddenly messy as hell. I don't know how we'll get through this to reach the furever home I so desperately want.
A Furever Home is a fur-baby-filled, hurt-comfort, small town romance between two men whose only chance at a family is to build one themselves.
https://books2read.com/AFureverHome
And we have a book for you:
A Furever Home: A Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue Romance
(This book will be wide but currently preorders are Amazon only.) Releasing Sept. 9th.
https://books2read.com/AFureverHome
This is my first co-written story. I wasn't planning to do one. (I'm a terrible control freak about my writing, plus a total pantser. It's hard to invite someone else to join in a book when the question of "What will it be about?" can only be answered with "I guess we'll find out when we write it.")
But the whole Animal Rescue series was a collaborative effort. At the end of the Single Dads of Gaynor Beach series, Gabbi Grey and I were chatting with a few of the other authors. In my book, Alec, I'd had the guys adopt a dog when the vet told them there was no local shelter for lost and abandoned pets. And I think it was Gabbi who decided it could be fun to write a series creating the shelter. So we did. :)
There is one more new entry to come before ours, A Furry Thing Called Love from Abrianna Danea (one of whose other books is a favorite read.) Looking forward to this one coming Aug 26th. And then...
My Animal Rescue book, Impurrfections, launched the shelter with the conversion of an old wine-tasting venue, and in the process introduced a side character— Arthur— the big guy with a soft heart for animals who ended up running Safe Haven. And as we put out the other animal shelter stories, (sorry about the bad pun titles,) Gabbi decided we should wrap it up with a happy ending for Arthur. Which I was all in favor of. That guy deserved his HEA. Except I created him and wasn't sure I wanted someone else writing him. So when it appeared he was going to find his forever person in Brooklyn, a side character in one of Gabbi's stories, the answer was obvious.
Well, after some discussion and "are you sure you want to work with me?" it was obvious. We'd write it together.
And so we did. I hope our readers will enjoy it.
A Furever Home:
Arthur
When I was squeezing seven rescue dogs and a horde of cats in my small house, all I wanted was to not turn away a pet in need. Opening the Safe Haven Pet Rescue was a dream come true. But when I get hurt, standing between a man with a gun and a stray dog, I realize I still can't do it all.
My injured leg, a concussion, having to lean on my friends, and realizing how helpless I feel, throws me back to my childhood when nothing I did ever seemed to be enough. But there's one silver lining. Brooklyn West. He's the kind of guy who holds a stranger’s hand in a crisis. He's great with my dogs, even cranky little Chili, and really seems to want to help the shelter. I like watching him be a protective big brother when his sister turns up on his doorstep, even though I think there's pain underneath his sunny smiles. But as we move toward friendship, I keep looking for the strings, for the catch, and wondering how I'll pay him back, because nothing in my life can be that sweet, or that simple.
Brooklyn
I went through a slice of medical hell, and came out the other side with enough money to move to the opposite side of the country and start the doggie daycare business of my dreams. The cherry on top of that good luck is meeting Arthur Bjornsson. Big, wild-bearded, soft-voiced Arthur is the kind of guy my family would've ridiculed. He's warm-hearted and willing to throw himself into harm's way right in front of my eyes to save one pathetic stray dog.
He's the kind of guy who gives me back some faith in humanity. But when my underage sister Cheyenne shows up on my doorstep, on the run from the family I thought I'd escaped, my old life and new collide. I want to help Arthur, get to know him, and, as he heals, I want more than just friendship. But Cheyenne brings legal risks, a teen on the other side of my bedroom wall, and the threat of retribution from our family. The simple relationship I thought Arthur and I were building is suddenly messy as hell. I don't know how we'll get through this to reach the furever home I so desperately want.
A Furever Home is a fur-baby-filled, hurt-comfort, small town romance between two men whose only chance at a family is to build one themselves.
https://books2read.com/AFureverHome
June 7, 2025
Changes on Ice in preorder
I put up the preorder for the third Changes book - Changes on Ice
This is book 3 in the Changes universe, but it's not a direct sequel for our favorite sheriff, hockey player, and ranch manager.
Instead, meet Cross, the teammate who flew out to support Scott when he needed it, and Rusty, the teen hockey player discarded by his family.
Changes on Ice is M/M, age-gap, hurt-comfort, slow burn, asexual-self-discovery.
universal link: https://books2read.com/ChangesOnIceKaje
(some sites may still be in process)
Coming July 17th.
Rusty Dolan tries to think of himself as lucky. When his folks declared him dead to them for being gay, he'd already turned eighteen, his hockey gear was in his truck, and NHL star player Scott Edison lived a dozen miles down the road. Which meant instead of crashing his life, Rusty had a place to stay and a goal to chase. At the end of summer, his old pickup wheezed over the mountains without dying, and Scott's coaching helped Rusty earn a spot on the Eugene Gryphons ECHL team.
Now, halfway into the season, he's playing his best developmental-league hockey and checking out the Oregon gay scene, which has a lot more options than small-town Kansas. Sadly, it has more douchebags too, and when one of them latches onto Rusty, he panics. NHLer Roger LaCroix is also a friend, of sorts. Rusty calls Cross for help, and the veteran defenseman shows up big time. Which does not help Rusty's long-time crush on him.
Cross knows his worth to the Rafters as a Norris-trophy-winning player, but that's about the only thing he's certain of. Hockey is his whole life. He got dumped by his longtime girlfriend a few years back, and wasn't as sad about it as he expected. He's decided he's probably demisexual, and he and Willow just never reached his comfort zone.
But now there's Rusty. After the mess of the past summer, Cross wants to help a deserving young player get his shot. As a man who hates creeps, he has no hesitation posing as Rusty's boyfriend to fend off a predatory ex. Problem is, Cross kind of likes being around Rusty, giving coaching tips and taking care of him. Except who is Cross, at thirty, to have some kind of identity crisis at the expense of a hot, young, up-and-coming player? He and Rusty really should stick to being friends. It's the only safe answer.
This is book 3 in the Changes universe, but it's not a direct sequel for our favorite sheriff, hockey player, and ranch manager.
Instead, meet Cross, the teammate who flew out to support Scott when he needed it, and Rusty, the teen hockey player discarded by his family.
Changes on Ice is M/M, age-gap, hurt-comfort, slow burn, asexual-self-discovery.
universal link: https://books2read.com/ChangesOnIceKaje
(some sites may still be in process)
Coming July 17th.
Rusty Dolan tries to think of himself as lucky. When his folks declared him dead to them for being gay, he'd already turned eighteen, his hockey gear was in his truck, and NHL star player Scott Edison lived a dozen miles down the road. Which meant instead of crashing his life, Rusty had a place to stay and a goal to chase. At the end of summer, his old pickup wheezed over the mountains without dying, and Scott's coaching helped Rusty earn a spot on the Eugene Gryphons ECHL team.
Now, halfway into the season, he's playing his best developmental-league hockey and checking out the Oregon gay scene, which has a lot more options than small-town Kansas. Sadly, it has more douchebags too, and when one of them latches onto Rusty, he panics. NHLer Roger LaCroix is also a friend, of sorts. Rusty calls Cross for help, and the veteran defenseman shows up big time. Which does not help Rusty's long-time crush on him.
Cross knows his worth to the Rafters as a Norris-trophy-winning player, but that's about the only thing he's certain of. Hockey is his whole life. He got dumped by his longtime girlfriend a few years back, and wasn't as sad about it as he expected. He's decided he's probably demisexual, and he and Willow just never reached his comfort zone.
But now there's Rusty. After the mess of the past summer, Cross wants to help a deserving young player get his shot. As a man who hates creeps, he has no hesitation posing as Rusty's boyfriend to fend off a predatory ex. Problem is, Cross kind of likes being around Rusty, giving coaching tips and taking care of him. Except who is Cross, at thirty, to have some kind of identity crisis at the expense of a hot, young, up-and-coming player? He and Rusty really should stick to being friends. It's the only safe answer.
May 22, 2025
Cowboy Dreams released
You can now buy this story and contribute toward charity for Ukraine - **All royalties from this book through December 2025 will be donated bi-monthly to Nova Ukraine - a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine**
I hope people have as much fun reading about Joe and Sylvester as I had writing them.
Universal link: https://books2read.com/CowboyDreamsKaje
Excerpt: (Folks who read the first 1/5 of this novella as a short story will recognize this bit.
Saturday, I almost didn’t go to Max's bar, just to be ornery. But I’d woken up with painful morning wood, and my dick had nagged at me hopeful-like through the day. I was bound and determined to do something about it this time. Even if it wasn’t with Mr. Rich City.
Sure enough, when I arrived, there was no broad-shouldered stranger at the bar. I shoved my hopes down in the little box in my head where a lotta stuff like that lived, and paid for a drink while I scanned the thin crowd. I was in no hurry. Things would pick up later.
Round about midnight, I was just deciding that Junior Willoughby looked decent enough this time when I swear I felt a chill like an ice cube on the back of my neck. I turned and there he was, coming in the door. Those ice-blue eyes seemed to track right to me, and he headed my way. Several other guys watched him. That face and those shoulders were prime beef in a sea of ordinary folks like me.
When he reached the bar, he sat beside me, glanced at my glass, and asked Max, “Is your rum as mediocre as your Scotch?”
“You’ll have to buy one to find out,” Max drawled.
“Two rum and cokes.” He slapped two twenties on the bar.
Max coughed because his drinks ran seven bucks, but took both and poured out two stiff measures. The stranger pushed one toward me and drank the other like he was used to doing shots.
“Yes, as I thought,” he said, setting down the empty glass. “A bit lower than top shelf.”
“Well, I like it.” I sipped at mine, acting like it was some vintage brandy champagne thing. Even though booze never was more than a quick way to get a little lubrication onboard.
“I’m not sure what that says for your palate.”
“Says I’m not some city slicker with a fat wallet and prissified tastes.”
“Or that you’ve burned out your tastebuds.”
I shrugged and took another sip. “You got a name?”
“Yes.”
I waited but he didn’t go on, just eyed me sideways. “What’ve I gotta do to hear it? Lift your wallet and read the license?”
“Maybe tell me yours first?”
“Joe. McNeil. Folks around here know me, anyone could tell you. But I never seen you in these parts before.”
“Oh dear, senility setting in?” He peered at me with fake concern.
“Say the fuck what?”
“You saw me in here just last week. I’m shocked you’ve forgotten. That memory loss must be most inconvenient.”
I’d meant before that, and he knew it. So I said, “I guess you’re just that forgettable.”
He licked one finger and gave me a point in the air. I tell you, my jeans got tight watching his tongue on his skin. You can lick my finger, or any other parts you want.
“If you told me your name, I forgot that too,” I said.
“I didn’t.”
“You sure? Murgatroyd Bumblegarden rings a faint bell.”
“Hearing things too. Tsk tsk.” He shook his head. “There are no bells in here, Joe.”
I suddenly wanted to get this man and his smart, pretty mouth away from Max and the other guys—a bunch of them leaning close, listening, ready to horn in if the stranger got tired of plain old Joe. “Maybe we should check outside,” I suggested.
“Maybe we should, at that.” Mr. City waved to Max. “Keep the change.” He slid off his stool and raised an eyebrow at me. “Coming?”
“Takes more than a free drink and a pretty face to make me cum,” I muttered. “But I ain’t opposed to it.” I picked up my hat, walked past him, and led the way out, because he’d been making all the moves, and while I like a guy to push a bit, I didn’t have a measure of him yet.
Find out how Joe and Sylvester strike sparks off each other and their adversaries in Cowboy Dreams
I hope people have as much fun reading about Joe and Sylvester as I had writing them.
Universal link: https://books2read.com/CowboyDreamsKaje
Excerpt: (Folks who read the first 1/5 of this novella as a short story will recognize this bit.
Saturday, I almost didn’t go to Max's bar, just to be ornery. But I’d woken up with painful morning wood, and my dick had nagged at me hopeful-like through the day. I was bound and determined to do something about it this time. Even if it wasn’t with Mr. Rich City.
Sure enough, when I arrived, there was no broad-shouldered stranger at the bar. I shoved my hopes down in the little box in my head where a lotta stuff like that lived, and paid for a drink while I scanned the thin crowd. I was in no hurry. Things would pick up later.
Round about midnight, I was just deciding that Junior Willoughby looked decent enough this time when I swear I felt a chill like an ice cube on the back of my neck. I turned and there he was, coming in the door. Those ice-blue eyes seemed to track right to me, and he headed my way. Several other guys watched him. That face and those shoulders were prime beef in a sea of ordinary folks like me.
When he reached the bar, he sat beside me, glanced at my glass, and asked Max, “Is your rum as mediocre as your Scotch?”
“You’ll have to buy one to find out,” Max drawled.
“Two rum and cokes.” He slapped two twenties on the bar.
Max coughed because his drinks ran seven bucks, but took both and poured out two stiff measures. The stranger pushed one toward me and drank the other like he was used to doing shots.
“Yes, as I thought,” he said, setting down the empty glass. “A bit lower than top shelf.”
“Well, I like it.” I sipped at mine, acting like it was some vintage brandy champagne thing. Even though booze never was more than a quick way to get a little lubrication onboard.
“I’m not sure what that says for your palate.”
“Says I’m not some city slicker with a fat wallet and prissified tastes.”
“Or that you’ve burned out your tastebuds.”
I shrugged and took another sip. “You got a name?”
“Yes.”
I waited but he didn’t go on, just eyed me sideways. “What’ve I gotta do to hear it? Lift your wallet and read the license?”
“Maybe tell me yours first?”
“Joe. McNeil. Folks around here know me, anyone could tell you. But I never seen you in these parts before.”
“Oh dear, senility setting in?” He peered at me with fake concern.
“Say the fuck what?”
“You saw me in here just last week. I’m shocked you’ve forgotten. That memory loss must be most inconvenient.”
I’d meant before that, and he knew it. So I said, “I guess you’re just that forgettable.”
He licked one finger and gave me a point in the air. I tell you, my jeans got tight watching his tongue on his skin. You can lick my finger, or any other parts you want.
“If you told me your name, I forgot that too,” I said.
“I didn’t.”
“You sure? Murgatroyd Bumblegarden rings a faint bell.”
“Hearing things too. Tsk tsk.” He shook his head. “There are no bells in here, Joe.”
I suddenly wanted to get this man and his smart, pretty mouth away from Max and the other guys—a bunch of them leaning close, listening, ready to horn in if the stranger got tired of plain old Joe. “Maybe we should check outside,” I suggested.
“Maybe we should, at that.” Mr. City waved to Max. “Keep the change.” He slid off his stool and raised an eyebrow at me. “Coming?”
“Takes more than a free drink and a pretty face to make me cum,” I muttered. “But I ain’t opposed to it.” I picked up my hat, walked past him, and led the way out, because he’d been making all the moves, and while I like a guy to push a bit, I didn’t have a measure of him yet.
Find out how Joe and Sylvester strike sparks off each other and their adversaries in Cowboy Dreams
