Dani Collins's Blog, page 8
March 1, 2024
Do you want The Secret of Their Billion-dollar Baby early?
In the absolute madness that is my release schedule this year, I’ve barely mentioned The Secret of Their Billion-dollar Baby, even though it’s a book I absolutely adore.
When my editor asked if I had any ideas for a duet, I said, “I’ve been thinking about writing something with a surrogate pregnancy?” I was mostly thinking about the woman who carries the pregnancy when I pitched it. It was only as I began writing the first book that I realized I needed to know more about both women and why they have chosen this route.
Sasha was born into wealth, but her stepfather was very controlling. She acted out, ran away, and when her stepfather was about to pressure her into marriage, she married Rafael.
Rafael was not born into wealth. He and Sasha have an immediate physical connection, but they both hide behind it while they become a dynamic power couple–only to struggle when it comes time to conceive.
Bringing Molly into the picture is a godsend for Sasha. She and Molly have a sister-like closeness from when Sasha ran away (I’m trying not to give away any spoilers here.) Rafael feels threatened by their closeness, but having Molly carry their baby seems the only way to have a family.
Unfortunately, ~stuff happens~. There’s a car crash and Sasha pretends to lose her memory. Rafael is struggling to hold onto the fortune he spent his entire marriage building, the one he thinks is the thing that makes him *good enough* for Sasha. Molly has a whole :secret life: while carrying their baby (see: The Baby His Secretary Carries) and if you’ve read that book, you have an idea what the secret is that Sasha is so desperate to hide.
This book is brimming with drama and passion and a hero and heroine who are married and deeply in love and don’t have the sense to know it, let alone admit it aloud. I hope you love it as much as I do.
If you’re anxious to get your hands on it, good news! You can get it today from Harlequin.com or Mills & Boon UK.
QUICKLINKS: The Secret of Their Billion-Dollar Baby Read an Excerpt ✻ BuyAll about the Bound by a Surrogate Baby Duet
More Passionate Worldwide Romance
New to Dani? Find your next read→
February 13, 2024
Are you ready to visit Raven’s Cove?
It is a true fact that I have a lot of books out this year. But this one is special. The whole Raven’s Cove trilogy is.
They started when my aunt showed me photos of her visit to the island where my cousin had been working for more than a decade, in a remote part of Canada’s west coast. Denny Island is a tiny fishing village that you can only reach by ferry, boat or plane. I instantly thought, “What a great place to set a book.”
Story wise, I’d been noodling something with three brothers and came up with: Three Men and a Baby on an Island.
I sat on it for close to a year. Then, in 2018, my husband and I went to visit for a few days. It was a journey and a half to get there and so worth it. That corner of the world is beautiful and rugged and the village was tiny enough that everyone knows everyone’s business–my favorite kind of setting for a story.
I came home and began to write, but things got in the way—other books and life and pandemic and loss. Sadly, my aunt passed, then my cousin. I can’t look at the covers, with their oceanside scenery, without thinking of Auntie Honey and Lorne.
But these books are also a celebration of deep, intrinsic parts of me. Both of my grandfathers and my dad were gillnetters. They all visited that same tiny village as they traveled up the coast to fish. These stories became a love letter to this special part of Canada and my childhood and relatives I remember with deep, deep fondness.
I really hope you’ll visit Raven’s Cove with Marrying the Nanny, then come back for Forgiving Her First Love in Jul and Book Three (untitled) which releases Oct 1.
Spend the summer in Raven’s Cove! You won’t regret it.
QUICKLINKS: Marrying the Nanny Read an Excerpt ✻ BuyAll about the Raven's Cove Trilogy
More Heartfelt Small Town Romance
New to Dani? Find your next read→
February 9, 2024
Want a signed copy of Marrying the Nanny?
Enter for a chance to win 1 of 3 signed copies of Marrying the Nanny over on Goodreads. US or Canada only, I’m afraid. They didn’t give me any other choices. Closes Feb 21 so hurry!
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Marrying the Nannyby Dani CollinsGiveaway ends February 21, 2024.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
All about the Raven's Cove Trilogy
More Heartfelt Small Town Romance
New to Dani? Find your next read→
February 3, 2024
The Prospector is 99c!
Eureka! The Prospector’s Only Prospect is 99c!Act fast!
If you haven’t read my gold-rush in Denver historical romance, here’s what you’re missing:
“I’m obsessed. This is exactly what I’ve wanted in historical romance. It has the tension that the purity culture of the past provides, while allowing for more exploration than regency romance has.” ~ 5 stars, Alli on Goodreads
“I loved this! The Prospector’s Only Prospect was such an entertaining and fun read. I loved the characters, the time period, and the playful banter. It was a delight! It had a great flow and I liked the dual POVs. There was just the right amount of emotion with a little drama and quite a bit of heat. It made me ridiculously happy to read!” ~ 5 stars, Gretchen on Amazon
After eight days in a cramped stagecoach, divorcée Marigold Davis already regrets her decision to come to Denver City to marry, but with her life in Kansas all but incinerated, she needs a husband. Even if she’s not the bride that gold prospector Virgil Gardner is expecting…
Grumpy hard-ss Virgil is no fool. This is not the woman he agreed to marry. It takes a tough-as-nails woman to survive the harshness of a Rocky Mountain gold claim, and this whiskey-eyed, gentle beauty is not the type. Now it’s just a matter of how quickly she’ll quit so he can find a wife who will stick. Someone who can care for the only thing he values more than gold–his children.
If you haven’t read The Prospector’s Only Prospect, grab it quick for 99c.
If you have read it, let me know if you want more! I’m still working on The Saloon Girl’s Only Shot. Should I make it more of a priority? Let me know!
QUICKLINKS: The Prospector’s Only Prospect Read an Excerpt ✻ BuyMore Ardent Historical Romance
New to Dani? Find your next read→
January 28, 2024
Hot Gossip!
I have some super spicy gossip about a pair of books you may or may not have heard or read about. I wrote them.
Back in 2019, I was working with an agent who brought me an interesting opportunity. Entangled Publishing was looking for short, erotic, regency romances for an anthology. She asked me if I wanted to contribute something.
I wrote a very racy story about a woman who spends a night with a duke to settle her husband’s debts. I was quickly told the publisher liked it and wanted to chat.
Both my agent and I thought this was a multi-author project. To my shock, they were looking for one author to write all twelve stories. “Something for everyone,” they said. They didn’t all have to be romance, but they had to be super-spicy.
The suggestion was made to publish it under ‘Anonymous.’ Since this project was a departure for me, writing historical, short stories, and very explicit, I embraced the disguise. I stepped out of my usual lane and wrote same-sex, thruples, menage, and nonbinary characters.
It was titled Aphrodite in Bloom and came out in 2021. I waited with nail-biting suspense for the reviews.
“All of the praise for this historical & erotic read! It came highly recommended to me, & for very good reason.” ~ 5 stars, Hannah on Goodreads
By this time, they had asked for a second collection, which they wanted to call Fetish. Guess why?
This project really stretched my wings. Instead of the Regency period, I went Victorian. Instead of staying in the UK, I set the stories around the globe.
I had to restrict these stories to couples, though. Some are same-sex, but I found that the fetish itself became a third in every relationship. If these were novels, I would have had more room to explore those dynamics, but it wasn’t possible in a short story.
The reviews were also very positive when that collection came out in 2022.
“I thought Aphrodite in Bloom was full of sensual surprises, well folks… This is not the Victorian romance you’re used too. At all.” ~ 5 stars, Permanently Booked on Goodreads
Why am I revealing now that I’m the author? A few reasons.
First, I want you, my loyal reader, to know I have books out there that you might not have seen. If erotic romance with menage and fetishes is not your cup of tea, no problem! Give it a pass. But if you enjoy diverse, explicit historical romance, please check these out.
My second reason for telling you is that the foreign rights for Aphrodite in Bloom were returned to me, so I’m self-publishing those stories in German. (The first one releases on Feb 6th!) Those covers have my name on them so it seemed silly to hide my identity from my English readers.
Mostly, however, I wanted you to know about these collections because I’m really proud of these stories. I hope you’ll check them out and love them as much as I do.
Cover Reveal! Forgiving Her First Love
Look at this gorgeously adorable cover for Book Two in my Raven’s Cove trilogy!
I cannot wait for this one to come out. (In July. Sorry!)
But if you love a good grovel, you will love this book. It’s basically one long comeuppance for the hero, Logan.
Sophie had a crush on Logan her whole life. It culminated in a brief affair the summer she graduated high school. Then he left Raven’s Cove without her. (Jerk.)
Now he’s back and he needs her to keep working for him at the marina. She’s a single mom looking after her elderly grandfather. She needs her job, but she doesn’t need Logan and his playboy smile. Not anymore. Or does she?
Prepare to have your heart wrung right out with this one.
QUICKLINKS: Forgiving Her First Love Read an Excerpt ✻ BuyAll about the Raven's Cove Trilogy
New to Dani? Find your next read→
January 23, 2024
The Baby His Secretary Carries Arrives Today!
It’s release day for The Baby His Secretary Carries! Hooray!
Here’s what Patty said on Goodreads:
The characters are strong and independent, while Molly is loving, kind and caring which is something Gio never had. They both deserve love and a family. Worth the read. Dani Collins always brings it.
Molly is half in love with her boss, Gio, when she offers to help her friend who longs for a baby. The catch? Her surrogate pregnancy has to be kept secret. When Gio’s grandfather winds up in hospital and his last wish is that Gio marry, guess who Gio turns to?
Molly agrees to pretend they’re engaged, but what happens when Gio’s grandfather recovers and expects them to actually marry?
The official blurb:
The Italian boss’s proposal…the secretary’s secret!
Faced with a hostile takeover, tycoon Gio must strengthen his claim on the Casella family company with a fake engagement. He’ll never commit to a real one again. Despite his forbidden attraction, his dedicated PA Molly is ideal to play his adoring fiancée. The only problem? Molly is pregnant!
Secretly carrying a surrogate baby, Molly can’t reveal the truth of her pregnancy. But knowing Gio’s protecting his legacy, she agrees to the ruse temporarily. Until pretend passion becomes red-hot reality! Will innocent Molly walk away from Gio unscathed or forever burned by his irresistible touch?
The Baby His Secretary Carries is the first half of my Bound by a Surrogate Baby duet.
You can find it on shelves and on all digital platforms now.
QUICKLINKS: The Baby His Secretary Carries Read an Excerpt ✻ BuyAll about the Bound by a Surrogate Baby Duet
More Passionate Worldwide Romance
New to Dani? Find your next read→
January 1, 2024
Who doesn’t love a New Year’s baby?
Have I got a New Year’s Baby for you!
Molly is half in love with her boss, Gio, when she offers to help her friend who longs for a baby. The catch? Her surrogate pregnancy has to be kept secret, even from Gio. When Gio’s grandfather winds up in hospital and his last wish is that Gio marry, guess who Gio turns to?
Molly agrees to pretend they’re engaged, but what happens when Gio’s grandfather recovers and expects them to actually marry?
Here’s the official blurb:
The Italian boss’s proposal…the secretary’s secret!
Faced with a hostile takeover, tycoon Gio must strengthen his claim on the Casella family company with a fake engagement. He’ll never commit to a real one again. Despite his forbidden attraction, his dedicated PA Molly is ideal to play his adoring fiancée. The only problem? Molly is pregnant!
Secretly carrying a surrogate baby, Molly can’t reveal the truth of her pregnancy. But knowing Gio’s protecting his legacy, she agrees to the ruse temporarily. Until pretend passion becomes red-hot reality! Will innocent Molly walk away from Gio unscathed or forever burned by his irresistible touch?
The Baby His Secretary Carries is the first half of my Bound by a Surrogate Baby duet.
It’s available today on Harlequin.com and Mills & Boon UK.
You can find it on shelves and on all digital platforms by Jan 23.
QUICKLINKS: The Baby His Secretary Carries Read an Excerpt ✻ BuyAll about the Bound by a Surrogate Baby Duet
More Passionate Worldwide Romance
New to Dani? Find your next read→
December 20, 2023
Join me now in the Tule Book Club!
I’m in the holiday celebration in Tule’s Book Club on Facebook right now!
Join me to celebrate all of my Christmas titles published by Tule (starting with Blame the Mistletoe in 2014!) There will be recipes, giveaways, and lots of friendly chatting.
I’ll be in the group from 12-2pm Pacific time today (3-5pm Eastern.) Pop in anytime and, if you can’t make it, be sure to check in later to enter the giveaway.
Click on the image or join the Tule Book Club group here.
December 18, 2023
Mark your calendar for Tule’s Holiday Celebration
Did you know there’s a holiday celebration going on in Tule’s Book Club on Facebook?
It’s a celebration of all their holiday reads from the past ten years. The party runs from Dec 13-25th and authors are joining in with recipes, giveaways, and joyful conversation.
I’ll be there on Dec 20th from 12-2pm Pacific time. (3-5pm Eastern.) I hope you you’ll join me!
Click on the image or join the Tule Book Club group here.
