Ari McKay's Blog, page 19

Coming Soon!

At the moment we have three new stories coming up (hopefully that number will be increasing quickly!) and we’d like to share a little about them, because each of them is rather unique for us.

Dandy’s Little Girl is a different sort of Valentine’s Day story from our last one, and includes an MC with a child, something we’ve not published before. It was very interesting writing Emily, and see how she effects the relationship between her father and the new man in his life. Children always make things more complicated, and Emily is no exception!

Call of the Night Singers is a Gothic horror story, written in first person with very Lovecraftian overtones. This is an established relationship piece, and we’re hoping to have conveyed the slowly mounting sense of horror and dread that H.P. Lovecraft did so masterfully.

Finally, for the moment, we have Herc’s Mercs: The Bigger They Come, a tale of a man who has everything, including a stalker. We’re hoping this will be a series, featuring important men in danger and the big, buff bodyguards who protect their lives. There is a lot of action in store, and we hope everyone enjoys it!

New Holiday Story Out Today!

Our our holiday romantic comedy, “Holiday Hootenanny”, is out today at Torquere Books! Josh and Clint are lovers thinking about taking their relationship to a new level, but that means meeting each others families – and Josh has a family that would try the patience of a saint! As crazy and weird as home life is, though, Josh adores his family, and he couldn’t bear it if Clint couldn’t get along with them. He reluctantly takes Clint home for Christmas, and chaos ensues. Will Clint be able to handle it, or will Josh lose the man he loves?

Check it out!

Holiday short stories

It seems we’ve developed a routine of writing two holiday stories, one romantic drama and one romantic comedy. This year, our romantic drama is the historical romance we wrote for Dreamspinner’s holiday anthology, Last Leap of the First Foot. We wrote a romantic drama for Dreamspinner’s anthology last year as well, although that one has a contemporary setting. Like “Last Leap”, it features best friends who fall in love, but Mal and Aidan have a much harder road to their happily ever after than Iain and Bran! Their story is told in On the Rocks.

This year, our romantic comedy will be released this coming Wednesday from Torquere, “Holiday Hootenanny”, in which Josh takes his boyfriend Clint home to meet his large and boisterous family. Last year, we wrote about Kevin, who professed his feelings for his coworker Erik through a series of Secret Santa gifts in Santa’s Naughty Helper.

If you enjoy this year’s stories, you might enjoy our older holiday stories too!

Holiday story: Last Leap of the First Foot

Our first holiday story of the season is now available! Last Leap of the First Foot is set in 19th century Scotland during Hogmanay, and it focuses on Iain and Bran, lifelong friends who are realizing they both want more.

Iain Donaldson and Bran MacRae have been best friends since childhood, despite Iain being part of the gentry and Bran a mere crofter’s son. Iain’s feelings of friendship have deepened over time, and he suspects Bran might share his inclinations—and Hogmanay may be the time to confess feelings. As the old year becomes the new, Iain keeps his promise to first-foot at the MacRae cottage, and Bran takes the opportunity to bare his heart—will it be enough to overcome the challenges to their budding relationship?

“Last Leap” is part of Dreamspinner’s Heartwarming holiday anthology, and it’s on sale now – 58 pages for $3.99!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

If you’re looking for a different spin on pumpkin pie, this is one of my seasonal go-to recipes that I trotted out just about every year back when my family still got together for the holidays.

Pumpkin Cheesecake:

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup Bisquick baking mix

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

whipped cream topping

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pie plate. Place all ingredients except for the whipped topping in a large bowl and mix on high for 2 minutes, scraping bowl constantly. Pour into pie plate.

Bake just until puffed and the center is dry, about 45 minutes (do not overbake). Let it cool, then spread the whipped topping over top and garnish with pecan halves or twists of orange peel if desired. Refrigerate any remaining cheesecake. 

Works in progress

As everyone knows, we have a “Coming Soon” widget on here to keep everyone apprised of what’s coming out in the near future. But I thought I’d give folks a little taste of what’s beyond that, things that we have in the works which haven’t been submitted yet but which we will (hopefully!) have accepted by our publishers. If anyone is excited about these, we’d love to hear from you!

The second Blood Bathory novel is completed and we’re doing our edits before submission. This one is pretty cool, featuring several new characters in addition to Will and Ian. Elizabeth isn’t out of the picture yet, and we reveal more of her backstory – as well as a new villain who is possibly even more frightening.

We’ve started the first of what we hope will end up being a new series of novellas, centered around men who served together in a paramilitary outfit and are now working together in civilian life. Dangerous situations and action are featured in addition to romance!

Speaking of novellas, we have plans for a few more stories in the Recipe for Romance series, so if you love Stephen, Robert, and some of their friends from Montgomery House, you haven’t seen the last of them! Stephen and Robert may have gotten their chance at happiness at last, but Stephen still has Things To Say about how other people should live their lives, and Robert is right there with him to try to smooth things over when the situation gets rough. Our snarky chef and ninja-cupid take to the road, and Mouth of the South starts its first season – but will disaster strike when the very first episode features rival cooks who have carried a grudge against each other since high school, and who both are determined to win the title of Best Barbecue in the South?

We also have a stand-alone novel in the works, where a gay man who is suddenly thrust into fatherhood finds that coping is tough – at least until a handsome pediatrician decides to step in and lend an unexpected hand.

Beyond those, we have Blood Bathory 3, which is shaping up to be a wild ride, and we’re currently tossing around ideas for another stand-alone novel, this one in an unusual setting. And of course we have a list of plot bunnies a mile long!

There is much more to come from Ari McKay in the future – and we hope everyone will be as happy to read our new works as we are to write them!

Now on Sale!

We’re pleased about the release of Cinnamon and Seduction, but don’t despair if you missed the first three books in the series! They’re on sale now at Torquere for 20% off! Check it out here: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=specials

Site Update

I’ve added a new page to our site: Free Reads! We can scarcely believe we’ve been at this long enough for any of our contracts to expire, but “Steam Heat” ran out recently. We decided to offer it as a free read, so it’s now available to download for free at either Torquere Press or All Romance Ebooks.

If you haven’t checked it out before, “Steam Heat” is a (very) short story in which we indulged our love of conventions, costuming, and Steampunk. We hope you enjoy it!

Cinnamon and Seduction is here!

After the success of his two Gourmet Network specials, outspoken Executive Chef Stephen Pierce is offered a sweetheart deal for his own regular show. Everyone believes Stephen has a lot of self-confidence, but he is aware of his own shortcomings and refuses to sign on unless his loyal PA, Robert Logan, agrees to stay with him. Stephen knows Robert is the one person who can keep him in line, but Stephen has always hidden his more personal interest, fearing that if he knew, Robert would be disgusted and leave him.

Robert has been in love with his boss for almost six years, but he’s begun to believe Stephen will never see him as more than an efficient assistant. Resigning himself to never having the man he truly wants, Robert begins to date other men, hoping that one of them will strike the same sparks for him that Stephen does without even knowing it.

Can the efforts of their friends finally get Stephen and Robert together, or will Stephen’s hidden insecurities keep them apart forever?

Cinnamon and Seduction - 138 pages / 41500 words Ebook zipped file contains – html, Adobe and Sony optimized pdf, mobi, epub for $5.99

Don’t forget the Giveaway!!!

In honor of the release of Recipe for Romance #4, we’re giving away a free copy of Cinnamon and Seduction! Don’t miss your chance for a free copy of the story.

Robert Logan has been in love with his boss, Executive Chef Stephen Pierce, for years, but Stephen has never indicated being interested in Robert – or anyone else. With his birthday approaching, Robert starts to feel that life is passing him by, and his friends urge him to start dating other men. Yet Rhys, Clay, Darius, and Max have a plan to get Stephen to notice Robert as a man – can they manage to bring Robert and Stephen together at last, or will their scheme backfire and make Stephen’s volatile temper explode?

Enter here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6b17bb6/