Kaje Harper's Blog

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.)

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.

 

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...

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

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.

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

New story coming for Ukraine charity

Hey folks - bad news, good news :) You may remember that I was talking about writing a story for a Ukraine charity anthology that was being organized by another author. That anthology was rather unceremoniously dropped at a very late stage, which means we all had our stories ready to go. I'm really sad not to see it come to fruition, since we had both M/M and M/F stories in it.

But on the plus side, she had asked for brand new novellas. So I now have one of those ready for release. And many of us will be putting our stories up for charity individually - I'll donate my royalties for Cowboy Dreams through December to Nova Ukraine.



BTW -
Gabbi Grey also has her M/M from the planned anthology up in a box set of two novellas and a short, with the first release month of royalties from Love in Mission City: The Boyfriend Gamble going to The Canada-Ukraine Foundation.
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mission-City-Boyfriend-Gamble-ebook/dp/B0F6VPXG43
I'll let you know if I see where the others go with theirs (I got shut out of the group so I may or may not find out.)

Mine is now up for preorder too - if you are in my "Kaje's Conversation Corner" Facebook group, you may recognize the beginning of it. Remember Cowboy Dreams? The 9,000 word (ahem) "short" story I posted one Sunday a few years ago, that FB pulled down as "spam" for being too long? Well, the guys wanted more, so I added 27K and it is now a 36,000 word novella. Those who did read the short story will recognize the first chapter, but stick with it, lots more to follow.

This WILL BE WIDE but the preorder is Amazon only
https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Dreams-Kaje-Harper-ebook/dp/B0F7GTV7NK/
because the preorder time frame is tight.

The book will release on May 22.

Cowboy Dreams

The right man for a longtime cowboy might be a city slicker.

Joe

I've been going into Max's Place for twenty years, but tonight's different. There's a stranger at the bar with city-fancy clothes, wide shoulders, and the face of a fallen angel. I'm just an ordinary cowhand. Being gay's the most noteworthy thing about me, so I don't expect much. But when his eyes light on mine and he invites me to ride in his classic '67 Mustang, I figure what the hell. If he's a serial killer, what a way to go. And if he's not, then a couple of my cowboy dreams might finally come true.

Sylvester

I grew up here in these Colorado foothills, but I haven't been back since I was ten. Now I've inherited my grandfather's neglected ranch, and I can't decide whether to sell it or stay. I stop in at the only gay bar in fifty miles, wondering if I can have a decent life as an out gay man in this county. And there coming in the door is the kind of tall, lean, working cowboy who pushes all my buttons. I don't know if Joe will be a reason to stay or a one night stand, but I'm going to have fun tonight.

Cowboy Dreams is a 36,000 word novella about two solitary men in their 40s figuring out how unexpectedly well they fit together, in bed and out of it.

Amazon preorder : https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Dreams-Kaje-Harper-ebook/dp/B0F7GTV7NK/

"Saved by the Rat" now available wide

For those who didn't pick up my 17,000 word contemporary Necromancer story Saved by the Rat when it was free, the novella is now available wide - https://books2read.com/SavedByTheRatKaje



Meet Robin - short, bespectacled, young manager of his uncle's store and no-one's pushover.

Meet Alaric - temporary employee of said store with more to worry about than a cute, self-important manager. Namely, finding an evil grimoire bound in human skin.

Meet Harry - Alaric's rat familiar with a nose for magic.

Add workplace mutual attraction, a break-in, dark sorcerers, and you have Saved by the Rat.

This story is intended to stand alone for those not yet familiar with Necromancer but it carries the spirit of the series, set in modern days like the Magic duo. I hope readers enjoy this lightweight tale. (And tail. My apologies to those not fond of rats. Harry insisted he was not a ferret or anything but a proud rat, thank you very much.) On sale for $0.99 (or equivalent) on most vendors.

New FREE Necromancer novella - Saved by the Rat

For the month of February, you can download 7 Workplace-romance novellas from various authors for free from Book Funnel. And when I was asked to contribute, what I came up with was a contemporary-paranormal (was supposed to be just contemporary. Oops) set in the modern-day Necromancer world.



Robin
I’ve been managing my uncle’s secondhand building-supply center long enough to know that I need to make an impression on new employees first. I’m five-foot-two and skinny and look younger than twenty-five. I start with the power suit and the power attitude, until I get the upper hand. Problem is, with Alaric, I’ve been bossing him around for a week wearing the stupid tie and shiny shoes, and I don’t think he’s impressed yet.


Alaric
The kid running this store doesn’t know that dangerous artifacts were dumped here in the clearance of a local sorcerer’s house. Robin’s human. To him, magic’s just a trick and a joke. My familiar Harry and I know better. If I don’t find the missing grimoire bound in human skin before someone less scrupulous does, we’re all in trouble. I need to ignore Robin’s cute ass and keep searching, although that ass gives me an idea for a distraction if I need one.


Saved by the Rat is a standalone 17,000-word story set in the Necromancer universe in modern times. (content warning for violence)

You can find my story and 6 more brand new novellas HERE - https://books.bookfunnel.com/workplacemmromance/3jpwl1296p


* Kaje Harper - Saved by the Rat
* Gabbi Grey - Ginger in the City
* Michelle Dare - Three Friends Wanting More
* D.C. Emerson - You're Ours
* Rinda Elliott - The Spy Who Vexed Me
* Skylar M. Cates - Fires and Liars
* Madalyn George - Todd's Home: A Hampstead Valley Novella



All these novellas are intended to be stand-alone introductions to one of the author's worlds, mainly contemporary. (I kind of broke the rules. It's Harry the rat's fault.)

Newsletter signup is optional.

I hope folks enjoy these.

"Unmasked" is now available wide

For those of you who missed my Halloween "Hidden Wolves" novella that was briefly available, I have now put it up for sale. You can find Unmasked: a Hidden Woves novella on AZ, Google Play, and Smashwords, with other wide locations to come. 20,000 words, $1.99 I got this great new cover for it from Jo Clement - the human MC is said to look like Clark Kent and this guy is perfect :D

If you got the freebie with the old cover, it is the same story.

https://books2read.com/UnmaskedKaje

Unmasked: a Hidden Wolves stand-alone novella

Trent
Halloween has always been a night I take for myself. On that one night, I cut loose with a mask hiding my face, and head to the gay bars. I can dance and flirt and maybe get laid, just one guy in a crowd of guys like me. They don’t know I’m a werewolf. My pack doesn’t know I’m gay. Every year, I grab onto my night of freedom and enjoy it hard.

Until this year, when my Alpha tells me I have to shift into wolf fur and go trick-or-treating with the pack kids. I’m supposed to wag my tail and charm the humans with “Operation Werewolves Make Good Neighbors.”

This was not how I wanted to spend my Halloween, but I’m just pack Fifth. When Alpha says “Hop,” I ask “How high?” So here I am, out with the kids, playing a happy, furry Warg, when I hear a little girl crying. And in saving her, I set a chain of events in motion that will upend my entire life. When Halloween is over, I’ll have to figure out who I want to be, in a world not made for gay werewolves.

Unmasked is a stand-alone story in the Hidden Wolves universe, set thirteen years after the main series, as werewolves and humans are learning to live side by side.

And don't forget the first novel in the Hidden Wolves - Unacceptable Risk is a free read - https://books2read.com/u/mgzOW7