Amanda Meuwissen's Blog, page 6

New FREE MM Romance Short with Newsletter Signup

The giveaway for Last Courtesan of Olympus - Prologue: Ascension may be over, but you can still get this eBook short for FREE by signing up for my newsletter at https://sendfox.com/amandameuwissen

Readers may also notice that I've updated the cover for this prologue teaser, but an illustrated final cover is still on the way for the compiled full-length book. Stay tuned!

ASCENSION is the prologue to upcoming scorching MM romance Last Courtesan of Olympus, with over 5000 words to entice you to read the continuation later in 2023, which promises to include godly MM romance encounters to shake the heavens.

What better way to celebrate love, desire, and beauty than with an acolyte of Aphrodite turned courtesan of the gods?

Aikos is the best at what he does, the most beautiful, most skilled—and he knows it. On the cusp of his ascension from acolyte of Aphrodite to courtesan, where he’ll be chosen first by one of the high priests, he relaxes in preparation with his fellow acolyte and friend Dax. But at the time of ascension, Aikos’ pride at being the most desired and worthy may prove truer than he realized when he catches the attention of the gods.

Valentine's MM Romance Giveaway

Happy February! In honor of the month of love, I have a Valentine's MM Romance Giveaway to share with you, including 20+ FREEBIES - and one of them is mine!

ASCENSION is the prologue to upcoming scorching MM romance Last Courtesan of Olympus, with over 5000 words to entice you to read the continuation later in 2023, which promises to include godly MM romance encounters to shake the heavens.

Aikos is the best at what he does, the most beautiful, most skilled—and he knows it. On the cusp of his ascension from acolyte of Aphrodite to courtesan, where he’ll be chosen first by one of the high priests, he relaxes in preparation with his fellow acolyte and friend Dax. But at the time of ascension, Aikos’ pride at being the most desired and worthy may prove truer than he realized when he catches the attention of the gods.

I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter, but it isn't required to download this prologue. The fine Mavens who are members of my Facebook group, Amanda Meuwissen Books, will get sneak peeks of each future chapter as they're written, starting with the re-release of the prologue in April, and then each chapter to follow one week apart from there, leading to the preorder and official release of the compiled eBook and paperback planned for August.

There will be the prologue, nine chapters, and an epilogue, but to read the last chapter and epilogue, you will need to purchase the final book, which will also be on Kindle Unlimited.

For now, enjoy some FREEBIES and the start of Aikos' adventure.

Amanda Meuwissen Books 2022 Year in Review

It's time to celebrate just how much happened in 2022. I can hardly believe it, but as I was putting this together, I realized the sheer volume I produced, and none of it was done alone.

Besides the release of 8 new titles, including 6 novels, 1 short, and 1 inclusion in an anthology, I also released 4 audiobooks for previous and new releases, and attended 4 conventions across the country, two in Minnesota, GalaxyCon Raleigh, and the king of conventions, Dragon Con in Atlanta.

A big thank you to Gus Li, lead editor on my series titles, who never fails to make my stories better. K.L. Hiers for the convention company and constant cheerleading. Ashlynn Mills for heading the Haunted Love collaboration with 9 contributing authors, and Hellie Heat for leading our Monsters & Mayhem collection with 11 authors. Both were incredible experiences and some of my most successful releases of 2022.

Also, a big thanks to Fentriss O. Moore for narration on The Case of the Boy in Blue and Kevin Earlywine for Silhouette, including an unbelievable song collaboration. I did my own narration on Octopi My Heart and was finally able to complete Sidhe to join the other audiobooks in my Incubus Saga.

Between beta readers, my ARC team, author exchanges, cover artists, fans and fellow authors I got to meet in person, and more great experiences than I can name - THANK YOU.

And an extra thanks to everyone in my Facebook group Amanda Meuwissen Books, who helped me surpass 700 members. You can follow me on all the usual social sites listed here.

Last Release of 2022 - Wane on Harvest Moon

I can hardly believe my last release of the year is upon me. What a ride!

Wane on Harvest Moon, 3rd in the Moonlight Prophecies series, is LIVE.

When cat shifter Luke and rat shifter Preston travel to Glenwood, it’s not just their marriage that’s in trouble—it’s all of shifter society. Can the connections between the mystery happening now remind them of the one they solved years ago, and save both their pack and their relationship?

Relive the beginning of this opposites attract shifter romance here.

Release Day - The Bard and the Fairy Prince

This release has a story behind it (obviously, but I mean an EXTRA story).

Many moons ago, when my husband and I played World of Warcraft in college, he had a human warrior character named Janskoller, and I had a human warlock named Nemirac, which was meant to be an inverse of my oft used online name Crimson, and was generally a morally gray character whenever I used that name from then on.

When people ask me if characters in my books are based on me or people I know, the answer is almost always no, unless it's a minor character a little like me as a mother figure. But I can't deny that Janskoller and Nemirac are especially close to me because they were inspired by characters first donned by me and my husband.

He has since used versions of Janskoller for Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, where a once warrior character first became a warrior bard, and I've used the name Nemirac for campaigns too, as well as for video game characters.

That may be why this review hits so close to home:

"The patience of that man with all of Nemirac’s whims while still remaining comprehensive and funny. He was the only one who could manage Nemirac’s stubbornness and, some mistakes aside, he did it perfectly."

Yep, he truly does that for me in real life too.

Enjoy Janskoller and Nemirac's Tale from the Gemstone Kingdoms, The Bard and the Fairy Prince.

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When Prince Nemirac learns of his heritage, he vows to become the most powerful demon in history. But he can’t do it alone.

Feeling betrayed by his parents’ lies about his true lineage, Nemirac embarks on a quest to visit all five Gemstone Kingdoms and drain the stones of their power to ascend as a new being. But until he obtains that magic, he’s vulnerable.

Enter Janskoller the warrior bard.

Janskoller has just returned to the Gemstone Kingdoms, drawn by stories of broken curses and lands open for travel. He doesn’t expect a pretty young mage to hire him as a bodyguard, but it’s a good gig for a bard—lots of adventure to fuel his stories, and plenty of travel to spread his fame. Besides, Nemirac’s passion and obvious secrets intrigue him. But soon Janskoller realizes the peril of Nemirac’s goal—an end that puts the five kingdoms at risk and corrupts Nemirac into a darker, twisted version of the man Janskoller has come to care about. As the two grow closer, can Janskoller convince Nemirac to abandon his pursuit of power in favor of the deeper, more lasting magic of love?

MM Romance at Twin Cities Con

Wow almost 80 books sold to nearly 40 different people – meaning most bought more than one. Thank you, attendees of Twin Cities Con this weekend, for my most successful con of all time.

I prefer comic and anime conventions over those specific to my genre or just books, because I’m a huge geek myself and love cosplaying and the general geeky atmosphere. Also, you can’t beat the look on someone’s face at finding queer fiction in this environment.

From the man buying a book for his fiancé, the couple who came back after one bought several and the other had to have his own, the wives who gushed about cosplay and anime with me as one bought several, the Poison Ivy cosplayer who bought a series, only for her partner dressed as Harley Quinn to buy another, and the young man in an incredible Hawks cosplay from My Hero Academia who planned to wait to purchase until after autographs from Sean Astin and Elijah Wood, only to rush back early to have reading material in line, and let me know later how much he was enjoying the first book in The Incubus Saga.

THANK YOU.

I could go on and on, because whether it’s someone younger buying my YA title Life as a Teenage Vampire, or another aspiring author who’s excited to see more local queer representation, this is the type of con experience I live for. I sold out of copies of my Dracula retelling, A Delicious Descent, and sold at least one of every title on my table, many of which were close to selling out as well.

Twin Cities Con is a young one, only on its second year, with kinks to work out as attendees increase, but I was ecstatic to see the turnout and so many incredible vendors, many of whom I’ve known for years. We’ve been missing a big con like this since the loss of the short-lived GalaxyCon Minneapolis in 2019, and I hope Twin Cities Con continues to grow and develop into something truly grand and wonderful for all involved.

You bet I’ll be there next year.

Release Day - A Delicious Descent

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Happy Halloween - and happy release day to me!

This is one of my favorite things I've written, a dream come true in so many ways. Thank you to everyone who helped me almost DOUBLE my preorder goal, and if you haven't nabbed it yet...

Won't you join Jonathan in his descent?

❤️❤️❤️❤️

A Delicious Descent

https://mybook.to/mmdracula

Dracula retold, with Jonathan as the object of the legendary vampire’s obsession.

Engaged to his dear friend Mina, Jonathan Harker jumps at the chance to delay their wedding by accepting an assignment in far-off Transylvania. Jonathan loves Mina but not in the way a man should love a wife, for his true passion lies with the company of men, an illicit craving he can never indulge.

Upon arriving in Transylvania to help the elusive Count Dracula purchase an estate in London, Jonathan makes some surprising if tantalizing discoveries. It seems his mysterious client has similar proclivities and encourages his male servants to explore their forbidden desires, all the while tempting Jonathan to partake.

Carnal pleasure isn’t the only surprise awaiting him, however, as Dracula’s secrets are far deadlier than Jonathan ever imagined, and as alluring as his new master’s touch.

Contains MM with sharing, MMM, and brief FF. Only warnings are for typical vampire violence and the mildest of dubious consent, for Dracula wants nothing more than for Jonathan to choose him willingly...

New Release: Gardening with a Ghost

Gardening with a Ghost is LIVE!https://mybook.to/ghostgardening

I had so much fun working on this project, my first multi-author collaboration, my first time formatting my own paperback, and a chance to finesse my mystery writing chops. What a blast! I got to explore gardening, a gothic home, vintage skin mags from the 80s, and renew my love of Indiana Jones. All in all, a really great book to work on that I am very proud of.

Peter Thorne has a secret—he can bring the dead back to life.

When Peter’s mother died, she passed him the touch of life and made him promise to use his abilities wisely. Unable to bring her back and afraid of being caught or causing too much imbalance in the world, Peter vowed to use his gift only on plants. After all, with people, sometimes dead is better.

Or that is what Peter thinks until he takes a gardening job at Benes Manor. The mystery of a missing girl, an old gothic home, and the whispers and tempting caresses of a ghost in his room lead him to delve deeper into his powers than ever before. Perhaps he can find the missing girl and the origins of his ghostly visitor, if only he knew who to trust—and who and what to touch.

Gardening with a Ghost is part of the MM paranormal romance collaboration Haunted Love.

DragonCon 2022 Recap

What a whirlwind! I had the pleasure of sharing an authors’ booth in the exhibitor hall for DragonCon with the following amazing authors:

K.L. Hiers, my fellow MM romance author DL Wainright with queer representation but NOT romantic dark fantasy horror Jeffrey Logue with epic fantasy novels Sheila English with alternate history/horror, both as books and comics Fionne Foxxe Farraday with an alien post-apocalyptic sci-fi romance C.L. Wilson with epic high fantasy romance series and standalones Marina Simcoe with paranormal romance between human heroines and non-human heroes, and Honey Phillips with similarly paranormal and sci-fi romances

We started with setup on Thursday, the first day of the con technically, though the exhibitor and artist alley building didn’t open until Friday. While most of the time I spent alternating selling my own and my peers’ titles, there was also time to be a geek.

I dressed up Friday as Poison Ivy, one of my spirit animals, and the first three days I headed to the walk of fame where the celebrities reside.

A few celebrities I was excited to see in person:

Laz Alonso Aaron & Shawn Ashmore Morena Baccarin Arthur Darvill Harvey Guillen Laurie Holden J. Lee Nolan North Danielle Panabaker Chandler Riggs Michael Shanks Olivia Swann

And then the ones I got to talk to:

Osric Chau Mark Sheppard Garrett Wang

DL Wainright, dressed as Stede from Our Flag Means Death, even hawked some fabulous booty for us.

Sunday was insane with final sales, and all four main days I got to meet many wonderful current and future readers. The highlight for sure was buying books and having them signed by all my fellow authors in the booth, as well as the hospitality from C.L. Wilson in particular who organized everything and provided such a great community experience for my first ever DragonCon.

Enjoy all the pictures! It was a blast to experience in person.

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Upcoming Events for M/M Romance Author Amanda Meuwissen

What a whirlwind of a year it’s been, and it’s not about to stop. Want the chance to meet me in person and get your favorite (or soon to be favorite) book signed? Here is where you can find me in the coming months.

DragonCon, Atlanta, GA

September 1-5, 2022

Floor 1 Exhibitors, at Tairen's Lair & Authors Lair booth

Microcon II (replacing Fall Con this year), Mounds View, MN

September 25, 2022, 10am-5pm

Mermaid Entertainment & Event Center

Twin Cities Con, Minneapolis, MN

November 11-13, 2022

Minneapolis Convention Center, Artist Alley

I won’t have every single one of my titles at every event, but rest assured, after DragonCon, I should be able to reopen my Etsy store for signed paperbacks as well.

If you’re in the area for any of these, please consider attending and saying hi, or even buying some books to support a local (well maybe not local while in Atlanta) author.