Brigham Vaughn's Blog, page 12

FACE OFF FOR SOME HOLIDAY FUN

Do you have your copy of Pucking Around yet?

Remember that super secret project I told you about? This is it!

This MM Holiday Hockey Anthology includes 8 holiday hockey stories from 8 awesome romance authors meant to deck your halls and make your season bright! 

My story features some brand new characters, Shane & Noel. Shane is a new player for the Evanston River Otters and Noel is their new stats guy. It's an enemies to lovers, forbidden, forced proximity holiday hockey romance and I know you're going to love it!

The entire anthology is available for FREE on BookFunnel. Just click the button below to grab your copy.

It's only available until December 16th though, so grab it before it's gone!

UNDER THE MISTLE-TOME

Under the Mistle-Tome is live!

The wonderful Sammi Cee has the latest release from Christmas Falls.

Hoping to give his young daughter, Holly, the joyful childhood he had, Trevor moves back to the one place he’s always considered home—Christmas Falls.

As happy as he is to be back in the festive atmosphere of the small charming town, it’s nothing compared to how excited he is to spend time with his best friend, Trey.

Taking over the family bookstore in the town he grew up in was all Trey had ever wanted.

Until Trevor walked back into his life, proving his childhood crush had never completely faded.

And Trevor’s daughter? Well, the adorable girl quickly claims a piece of Trey’s heart.

With the help of a little holiday magic, these two men and one very determined little girl may get exactly what they need—a family.

SILENT KNIGHT

Silent Knight is live!

The latest release from Christmas Falls is a book by the incredible Beth Bolden.

Of all the things Murphy Clark loves about Christmas Falls, there’s always been one he loves a little more than the rest: His childhood best friend, Jem Knight.

Doesn’t matter that Jem’s barely been home in years, or that he’s busy conquering football fields instead of hanging out at Jolly Java or admiring Murphy’s carved wooden gnomes. Murphy’s always loved him anyway.

But now Jem’s finally returned to Christmas Falls to be the honorary figurehead of the biggest holiday festival in the Midwest.

Murphy’s hoping to rekindle their friendship but he didn’t count on Jem not recognizing him. Or flirting with him. Or re-igniting the hopeless crush he’s always had for his best friend.

He definitely didn’t expect for his crush to no longer be hopeless at all.

Or for both of them to realize that all they want for Christmas this year is each other.

GET FROSTED

Get Frosted is live!

Amy Aislin is the author of latest release from Christmas Falls.

For years, Mik has wanted nothing more than to put coal in Rudy Snow's stocking.

As former pro hockey players, they’ve been rivals for years. It started in Mik’s rookie season, when a reporter pitted him against his older brother's best friend. Rudy pushes Mik’s buttons like no one else, going out of his way to one-up him at every turn.

Now they’re both pub owners in a small town that takes Christmas to a level best seen in Hallmark movies, but not much else has changed. They’re still rivals, this time pitting gingerbread martinis against pomegranate sangria.

But when they’re forced to work together to plan a special holiday party, sparks ignite. Maybe it's a bad idea to put coal in Rudy's stocking after all. They both might just catch fire.

Then again, what better way is there to stay warm on a cold winter's night?

SNOWBODY LOVES ME

Snowbody Loves Me is live!

The latest release from Christmas Falls is from the fabulous Jacki James.

They say there’s no place like home for the holidays... But that isn’t true when snowbody loves you.

When I get ditched at the airport right before a holiday trip to the Bahamas, spending Christmas at home alone isn’t all that appealing so impulsively hopping on a plane to the most Christmasy place on earth seems like a good idea. At least until I realize I’ve got no plan, no place to stay, and nothing but beach clothes.

Luckily, Arlo, the handsome B&B owner, comes to my rescue.

Christmas Falls is supposed to be a quick holiday escape, but the town is just so dang cute. And so is Arlo.

There’s just something about the older man that draws me in and makes me want to stay a bit longer, and then a bit longer. Through sleigh rides, ornament-making, and handling a winter storm that strands guests, the Gingerbread Cottage B&B, Christmas Falls, and more importantly Arlo begin to feel like home.

The holidays never end in Christmas Falls–but can I say the same for me and Arlo?

BREAKING THE RULES - NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

The wait is over! Breaking the Rules is now available in audio!

As always, James did an incredible job and I think he might have outdone himself with Trevor & Wade's story.

He did such a beautiful job bringing them to life and I enjoy working with him so much. 

So whether you like to read a series in ebook, paperback, kindle unlimited, or listen in audio, it's now complete everywhere. 

It's time to cozy up and binge read or listen the complete Rules of the Game series. 

Plus, the story is WhisperSync ready so if you already have it in ebook or KU, you can grab it for just $7.49!

GUESS WHO IS GOING ON A ROAD TRIP?

Guess what? I'm going on vacation!

I will be doing some writing while I'm gone so it's not a FULL vacation but I'm still excited. You know how much I love travel!

Last spring, when my mom and I went hiking up north, we were talking about all of the places I had never been in Michigan.

Since I was born and raised here and lived here all of my life, it seemed like a really fun thing to do a road trip and check those off my bucket list before I dive into the grand adventure of moving across the Atlantic.

So, my parents and I are spending two weeks in Michigan's upper peninsula.

If you aren't familiar with Michigan, I live in south east Michigan. If you can find Fenton on there, that's roughly where I live.

We'll take I-75 north, alllll the way up to the Mackinac Bridge./St. Ignace.

From there, we'll go along the northern part of the upper peninsula, we'll check out Whitefish Bay and go all the way up to the northernmost point at Copper Harbor, which juts out into Lake Superior.

In the Upper Peninsula, there are incredible natural wonders like Tahquamenon Falls, Pictured Rocks, and the Porcupine Mountains. There's amazing hiking, an Ojibwa native culture museum, beautiful lighthouses, and a shipwreck museum.

After that, we'll head south again, crossing the Mackinac Bridge back into the lower peninsula and stopping in Petoskey, Traverse City (I have been there several times!), and along Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan's shore.

It's peak time for fall color too so it should be a really beautiful trip. I was hoping to enjoy some nice cool fall days but that might not be happening until partway through. There are predictions for 80 degree weather several days next week, even up in Marquette. Yikes.

But I am very excited about the trip and really looking forward to all of it.

I will be sending newsletters with updates and pictures but you can also follow me on Instagram if you want to see pictures and videos of the trip as I go!

SOME GOOD NEWS AND SOME BAD NEWS

As you can see, I have some good news and some bad news for you.

The bad news is that if you pre-ordered The Head Game, you got an email saying that the pre-order was cancelled.

As with most disasters, there were multiple factors. I’ll save you the long story but there was a glitch when I uploaded the final file and I was locked out of fixing it.

Amazon’s customer support assured me that it was no problem, the pre-orders were intact, and I could swap it out the moment it went live and they would push the updates to readers.

Well, I got a notice 90 minutes later that my pre-order was cancelled.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday and this morning trying to escalate this with Amazon but … no dice.

It sucks. It was a record number of pre-orders for me and I’m really upset to lose them. But The Head Game is a book that’s all about learning to roll with what life throws at you.

Nico and August both learn that sometimes things don’t go according to plan. At one point, Nico jokes that his life philosophy is that it’s pointless to make plans, so why bother?

And while he doesn’t *really* believe that I think this was a good lesson for me that often plans go sideways.

And like Nico and August, I’m going to roll with it. At one point in the story, Nico says that he and his family are lucky. They always land on their feet.

I can be upset about the lost pre-orders or I can try to make the best of it. Today I’m going to channel my inner Nico and hope it works out for the best.

So the good news is, the book is ready and it’s live three days early!

ARC readers are already loving Nico & August’s story so I hope you’ll grab your copy and help spread the word about what happened.

WELCOME, AUGUST!

I'll be the first to admit, August isn't my favorite month. If you know me, you know that I don't love heat and everything is generally sticky and miserable for me this time of year unless I'm in the water.

Come July, I am absolutely counting down the days to cooler weather.

But I try to focus on the positives as well and finding moments of pleasure in the misery make it a lot more bearable.

Sometimes, when the weather cooperates, the month of August can be glorious. There's fresh produce coming in from my parents' garden and I can cook and bake to my heart's delight (in the cool air conditioning).

Here in Michigan, we have lakes everywhere. There are dozens within a half hour drive of me which I try to use frequently. My cousin and her family have a small sailboat so they belong to a local sailing club.

Last weekend we met them along with her sister and her family for a really lovely dinner by the water.

Everyone pitched in to make the meal, there was a firepit to roast s'mores, and a cool breeze coming in off the lake. Everything was drenched in the most beautiful evening light and as we sat in our comfy chairs catching up and watching the sun set, I had one of those moments where I just felt at peace.

That happens less than it should. I struggle with anxiety (much better managed now than it was a few years ago, thankfully!) and I always have a billion things I'm doing.

But in that moment I was very content.

So I've decided I'm going into the new month trying to focus on the things I have to look forward to. Like going sailing with my cousin's husband in a few weeks, plans to go kayaking with a friend, having the first BLT of the season and making roasted tomato soup when the vines are bursting with them.

I'll bake zucchini cookies when the garden gets overrun by them and pick flowers from my mom's garden to put on my desk.

I'm going to enjoy that glorious golden evening light that happens this time of year.

Sure, I'm counting down to crisp fall leaves and enjoying being outside more. But there's a lot to appreciate in August too and I don't want to miss that.

Besides, I'm currently writing a book about a character named August so that seems rather apropos!

What are you looking forward to this month?

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE HUSBAND GAME

The smile lit up Nico’s face, taking his look from arrogant to playful. It sent a little shockwave through August that he felt down to his toes.

“Auggie, can I call you Auggie?” Nico asked, tone conversational, as he turned away, sauntering toward a dresser that held the liquor, an ice bucket, and some glasses.

“No. You absolutely cannot call me that,” August sputtered.

Nico continued like he hadn’t even heard him. “Auggie, I think you need to loosen up a little.”

“I’d rather just get this over with,” he said tightly.

August heard the clink of ice being dropped into a glass, then the splash of liquid. Nico turned toward him and held out the drink, silent.

“Trying to get me drunk, Arents?” August asked, ignoring the offer, though he did step further into the room.

“Well, you’re a little tightly wound, dude. It seemed like you need it.”

“I don’t need it,” he protested. “I just don’t know why we aren’t getting down to business already.”

“Damn, you sure know how to romance a guy there, Manning,” Nico shot back. He looked down at the glass August hadn’t taken, shrugged, then took a sip.

August sputtered. “This isn’t about romance.”

“Figure of speech.” Nico grinned at him over the rim of the glass. “And if we’re going with trite clichés, why don’t you take off your coat and stay a while? I don’t mind getting fucked by a guy who’s fully dressed but an overcoat and scarf might be a bit much.”