Isabel Murray's Blog - Posts Tagged "new-release"
First Dates and Birthday Cakes!
I have a new romantic comedy novella out, called
First Dates and Birthday Cakes!
Here's the blurb
Ben Porter is turning forty, and he’s not being cool about it.
He told his friends and family that he wanted to let this particular milestone pass by without any fuss, and for once, they actually listened.
Which is great. Because now here he is, sitting in his kitchen on a rainy Saturday morning, all alone, and he can feel himself aging.
So he decides to do something about it.
And maybe throwing himself a last-minute ice-skating party for one in an attempt to recreate the carefree birthdays of his expired youth wasn’t the best idea. Or the most normal. He’d even go so far as to say it was a terrible idea, as there’s a non-zero chance that his impromptu birthday activity will turn into an impromptu birthday trip to the hospital. Because despite the fact that he remembers being pretty hot stuff at skating?
He’s not. He’s really, really not.
He’s so incredibly bad at it that a tall, gorgeous member of staff—who actually is pretty hot stuff—has to come over and scrape him off the ice, just so he stops ruining everyone else’s Saturday.
Except Jake isn’t a member of staff, he has an ulterior (romantic!) motive for helping Ben, and Ben’s worst birthday ever is about to take a surprising turn for the better…
First Dates and Birthday Cakes is a 33k-word romantic comedy novella with a midlife crisis, a big surprise that Ben really should have seen coming, and something that looks a whole lot like happily ever after.
And here's the Amazon link
First Dates and Birthday Cakes
This novella is set in Chipping Fairford, the same (fictional) Cotswolds town of my Not That series, and has the same kind of vibe--so if you liked those books, you might like this one! 😆
It's available on Amazon now, to buy or in Kindle Unlimited.
If you read it, I really hope you enjoy it!
Here's the blurb
Ben Porter is turning forty, and he’s not being cool about it.
He told his friends and family that he wanted to let this particular milestone pass by without any fuss, and for once, they actually listened.
Which is great. Because now here he is, sitting in his kitchen on a rainy Saturday morning, all alone, and he can feel himself aging.
So he decides to do something about it.
And maybe throwing himself a last-minute ice-skating party for one in an attempt to recreate the carefree birthdays of his expired youth wasn’t the best idea. Or the most normal. He’d even go so far as to say it was a terrible idea, as there’s a non-zero chance that his impromptu birthday activity will turn into an impromptu birthday trip to the hospital. Because despite the fact that he remembers being pretty hot stuff at skating?
He’s not. He’s really, really not.
He’s so incredibly bad at it that a tall, gorgeous member of staff—who actually is pretty hot stuff—has to come over and scrape him off the ice, just so he stops ruining everyone else’s Saturday.
Except Jake isn’t a member of staff, he has an ulterior (romantic!) motive for helping Ben, and Ben’s worst birthday ever is about to take a surprising turn for the better…
First Dates and Birthday Cakes is a 33k-word romantic comedy novella with a midlife crisis, a big surprise that Ben really should have seen coming, and something that looks a whole lot like happily ever after.
And here's the Amazon link
First Dates and Birthday Cakes
This novella is set in Chipping Fairford, the same (fictional) Cotswolds town of my Not That series, and has the same kind of vibe--so if you liked those books, you might like this one! 😆
It's available on Amazon now, to buy or in Kindle Unlimited.
If you read it, I really hope you enjoy it!
New fantasy romance release!
My fantasy romance novelette,
The Naiad's Wish,
is live on Amazon now!
You can buy a copy for 99c, or read it via Kindle Unlimited.
Here's the blurb:
Sayan never expected to fall for a human. He certainly never expected to bind himself to one, and yet that is exactly what he did.
He’d do it again.
Over and over again, he’d choose Erik.
But…
He just wished that Erik would stop leaving him, and going off to attend to his ‘responsibilities’ in the city.
If only Sayan could think of something to make him stay…
The Naiad's Wish is an 11 000-word novelette about an insecure and possessive naiad and his patient human mate, with a minor tantrum, a joyful reunion, and more than a little bit of heat as Erik and Sayan smooth out a wrinkle or two in their new relationship.
This is best read after The Naiad's Gift , book one in the Immortal Bonds series.
***
Here's the Amazon link
What do you think? If you're in the mood for a short read between bigger books and you like a bit of hurt/comfort along with the hot stuff, you might like to check it out!
You can buy a copy for 99c, or read it via Kindle Unlimited.
Here's the blurb:
Sayan never expected to fall for a human. He certainly never expected to bind himself to one, and yet that is exactly what he did.
He’d do it again.
Over and over again, he’d choose Erik.
But…
He just wished that Erik would stop leaving him, and going off to attend to his ‘responsibilities’ in the city.
If only Sayan could think of something to make him stay…
The Naiad's Wish is an 11 000-word novelette about an insecure and possessive naiad and his patient human mate, with a minor tantrum, a joyful reunion, and more than a little bit of heat as Erik and Sayan smooth out a wrinkle or two in their new relationship.
This is best read after The Naiad's Gift , book one in the Immortal Bonds series.
***
Here's the Amazon link
What do you think? If you're in the mood for a short read between bigger books and you like a bit of hurt/comfort along with the hot stuff, you might like to check it out!
Not That Ridiculous is live!
My latest release,
Not That Ridiculous,
is live on Amazon now! 😆
This is book three in my Not That contemporary romcom series, and I loved writing it. I can't wait for people to read it!
Here's the blurb:
Charlie Galloway is handling it, okay?
Yes, he’s been left to run the family coffee shop all on his own, he’s up to his eyeballs in mortgages and loans, and his fixer-upper dream house is falling down around his ears. Big deal. He can handle it.
Just like he can handle being secretly in love with Kevin Wallis, Chipping Fairford’s favourite handyman, best known for once finding a dead body in a storage tub under a client’s bedroom floor.
Only it turns out that while Kevin might come across as a total cinnamon roll with his gentle brown eyes and his sweet, calm nature, he really is…not.
He’s not straight—not when it comes to Charlie, anyway—the things he keeps doing to Charlie are definitely not sweet, and he’s not holding back from letting Charlie know what he wants.
Not a problem. Charlie can handle that, too.
Charlie can handle anything.
Right up until Kevin decides to bust out his sledgehammer, work his handyman magic on Charlie’s dream house, and…well.
There’s a reason the local newspaper called him the Chipping Fairford Corpse Finder.
Not That Ridiculous is a 98k-word romantic comedy about a grumpy and overworked coffee shop owner and the sunshine handyman who wants to fix everything. Yes, there are some random dead guys in the mix, but that’s background noise. Who even cares? It’s incidental at best. There’s kissing and first times and way more interesting stuff going on. This is a romance!
If you're in the mood for something a little bit sexy and alot little bit ridiculous right now, it's available to buy on Amazon, or to read in Kindle Unlimited.
Here are some links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon DE
Alternatively, pop the ASIN in Amazon's search bar.
ASIN: B0DY9JSJ11
Hope you enjoy reading!
Isabel 😁
This is book three in my Not That contemporary romcom series, and I loved writing it. I can't wait for people to read it!
Here's the blurb:
Charlie Galloway is handling it, okay?
Yes, he’s been left to run the family coffee shop all on his own, he’s up to his eyeballs in mortgages and loans, and his fixer-upper dream house is falling down around his ears. Big deal. He can handle it.
Just like he can handle being secretly in love with Kevin Wallis, Chipping Fairford’s favourite handyman, best known for once finding a dead body in a storage tub under a client’s bedroom floor.
Only it turns out that while Kevin might come across as a total cinnamon roll with his gentle brown eyes and his sweet, calm nature, he really is…not.
He’s not straight—not when it comes to Charlie, anyway—the things he keeps doing to Charlie are definitely not sweet, and he’s not holding back from letting Charlie know what he wants.
Not a problem. Charlie can handle that, too.
Charlie can handle anything.
Right up until Kevin decides to bust out his sledgehammer, work his handyman magic on Charlie’s dream house, and…well.
There’s a reason the local newspaper called him the Chipping Fairford Corpse Finder.
Not That Ridiculous is a 98k-word romantic comedy about a grumpy and overworked coffee shop owner and the sunshine handyman who wants to fix everything. Yes, there are some random dead guys in the mix, but that’s background noise. Who even cares? It’s incidental at best. There’s kissing and first times and way more interesting stuff going on. This is a romance!
If you're in the mood for something a little bit sexy and a
Here are some links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon DE
Alternatively, pop the ASIN in Amazon's search bar.
ASIN: B0DY9JSJ11
Hope you enjoy reading!
Isabel 😁
My new fantasy romance novella is out!
It's release day, and
The Naiad's Lover
is available now on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited! 🥳
Goodreads
Amazon.com
Books2Read
This is the fourth Erik and Sayan story I've written (three are on Amazon and one is a newsletter short) so clearly there's something about these two that keeps drawing me back for another peek into their lives.
I remember writing The Naiad's Gift back in 2023 (😱). Like the majority of my stories, it started out as a writing practice piece.
Writing practice is something I do every morning and have done for years now. I'll talk about it more in a blog some time, but basically it's the first creative writing session of the day, in which I free-write to a prompt as a warm-up.
Want to know the prompt that became The Naiad's Gift ?
It was this:
REFLECTION
Yeah, no. I have no idea how that ended up as a fantasy romance about an immortal naiad and a sad, middle-aged widower, either.
Looking back at my story spreadsheet (another thing I'll talk about another time!*) I can see that The Naiad's Wish came from this prompt:
YEARNING
Okay, this one tracks--the story begins with Erik leaving for the city and Sayan absolutely pining for him, in his own special, dramatic way. (He sulks.)
As for The Love Gift (the newsletter short) and The Naiad's Lover , these are both stories that I just started writing because I felt like it, no prompts.
I wonder if I'll ever write another one for these guys? 🤔
Maybe, maybe not. I think I like where I left them at the end of this book.
If you read it, I hope you like where I left them, too.
Isabel
xxx
*Guaranteed way to clear a room: "Let me tell you about my spreadsheets!"
Goodreads
Amazon.com
Books2Read
This is the fourth Erik and Sayan story I've written (three are on Amazon and one is a newsletter short) so clearly there's something about these two that keeps drawing me back for another peek into their lives.
I remember writing The Naiad's Gift back in 2023 (😱). Like the majority of my stories, it started out as a writing practice piece.
Writing practice is something I do every morning and have done for years now. I'll talk about it more in a blog some time, but basically it's the first creative writing session of the day, in which I free-write to a prompt as a warm-up.
Want to know the prompt that became The Naiad's Gift ?
It was this:
REFLECTION
Yeah, no. I have no idea how that ended up as a fantasy romance about an immortal naiad and a sad, middle-aged widower, either.
Looking back at my story spreadsheet (another thing I'll talk about another time!*) I can see that The Naiad's Wish came from this prompt:
YEARNING
Okay, this one tracks--the story begins with Erik leaving for the city and Sayan absolutely pining for him, in his own special, dramatic way. (He sulks.)
As for The Love Gift (the newsletter short) and The Naiad's Lover , these are both stories that I just started writing because I felt like it, no prompts.
I wonder if I'll ever write another one for these guys? 🤔
Maybe, maybe not. I think I like where I left them at the end of this book.
If you read it, I hope you like where I left them, too.
Isabel
xxx
*Guaranteed way to clear a room: "Let me tell you about my spreadsheets!"
