Brigham Vaughn's Blog, page 7

MY SHOP IS LIVE!!

I am so excited to announce one of my HUGE projects for 2024: a shiny new online store! I’ve been working on it since May and after...

FLAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

Flake It Till You Make it by Beth Bolden will bring some small-town coffeeshop, fake-relationship, sweet holiday feels! Soooo tasty! It’s available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited now.

It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas . . .

When Rocco Moretti gets the chance to buy a coffee shop in a small Illinois town, it feels like a miracle. And in true Christmas Falls tradition, Jolly Java is a holiday-flavored one.

He sets up shop and starts experimenting with recipes. The only problem? His changes go over like a piece of coal on Christmas morning. Instead of serving up cups of holiday cheer, he's getting a solid "bah humbug" vibe from the town.

He needs another miracle, stat.

Enter Deputy Mayor Taylor Hall.

With the town’s city manager retiring, Taylor is looking to make a leadership move, but his dream is melting because the city council still sees him as an outsider. He needs to prove he's in Christmas Falls to stay, and what better way than by getting a boyfriend?

Even a fake one.

Rocco needs the town's acceptance, so why not date the deputy mayor? Faking it till they make it will be a means to an end. That's all.

But sharing the holiday season wins over more than the town's hearts. With each date, each mistletoe kiss, and every steamy night in front of the fire, it wins over theirs as well.

Come Christmas morning, there's really only one miracle Rocco wants under his tree.

For the love they've been faking to become real.

THE SNUGGLE IS REAL

The Snuggle is Real is out now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! Settle in for some warm, cozy holiday reads as our second season of Christmas Falls takes off this week! Snuggle gives you all the cuddly single-dad vibes paired with a steamy bi-awakening. Yum!

I never saw this Christmas gift coming...

When my ex-wife lands in rehab, I get a surprise for the holidays. A 7-year-old girl who's got no place to go. I love my former stepdaughter like she's my own, but I have no idea how to give her everything she needs.

In a holiday-crazed town like Christmas Falls, it seems inevitable I'll let her down.

Unless I finally let go of my pride an accept help from the new director of the Holiday Hope Foundation. Mason West is eager to lend support however he can. And when I let him, he goes above and beyond.

For Charlie's sake. Not mine. Even if I maybe, kind of, wish that it was for me.

I've never been into men before, but Mason is so sweet, so giving, so...perfectly sized to snuggle in against my holiday sweater. Maybe if I can figure out what all this means, I can gain more than a daughter for the holidays.

Maybe I can keep the gift I’ve always wanted most—a family of my own.

CHRISTMAS FALLS: SEASON 2 LAUNCHES IN ONE MONTH

I’ll be in Christmas Falls this Nov. 12-Dec. 13! Will you be joining me and my awesome author friends? 

You’ll want to read these stories set in a small town that could rival Hallmark. Here is a complete list of the authors taking part:

The Snuggle is Real, by D J Jamison

Flake it  Til You Make It, Beth Bolden

12 Dates of Christmas, Brigham Vaughn (that's me!)

Here Comes Santa Paws, Lee Blair

Under the Mistle-Foe, Rye Cox

Christmas Beau, Amy Aislin

No Business Like Snow Business, JA Rock & Lisa Henry

Frost Impressions, Kelly Fox

Promise Yule Be Mine, Rhys Everly-Lawless

Mingle All the Way, Hayden Hall

Ahh! I just love all of the cute, punny titles! So fun. 

And I'll give you a little hint as to who one of the main characters will be in my story this year. He showed up in Season 1 in Scrooge You!

Want to pre-order some or all of these titles? Click the button below!

12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS - COVER REVEAL

When it was time for me to pick out a cover image for 12 Dates of Christmas, it was pretty easy choice. I knew Nick Morgan was tall, dark, and handsome, so this guy felt like the perfect fit. 

Morningstar Ashley did the covers for the entire series and didn't she do a LOVELY job? They all look so pretty. 

We wanted the covers to look similar to last year, with just enough of a difference that it was easy to tell which books are from which season. What do you think?

We're been revealing a cover a day on social media from October 1-10th so if you haven't checked out the other covers, you should.

Want to pre-order Nick & Leo's story? Click the button below!

MEET NICK MORGAN

Last week I shared a little about Leo and an exclusive teaser from my Christmas Falls book, 12 Dates of Christmas. This week I want to introduce you to Nick Morgan, Leo's love interest. 

When I first started planning the story, I did a little brainstorming session with DJ Jamison. We always have fun bouncing story ideas off each other and when she suggested that one of my main characters could be a matchmaker I was IMMEDIATELY sold. I've never written a matchmaker before and it sounded so fun. 

Nick is 38 years old and widowed. Nick started dating Nicole in their late teens and unexpectedly lost her to a heart condition a few years before the story starts. He's through the worst of the grief but believes that he's already had the love of a lifetime and couldn't possibly find someone else he'd ever love as much ... 

Surprise! He just hasn't met Leo yet! And while he's going to try to set Leo up with other people, he just can't get Leo out of his head ...

Keep reading for an exclusive teaser from the story. 

Nicholas Morgan straightened the pens inside the green glass cup on his desk, oddly nervous about the upcoming meeting.

He’d spent the past month working virtually with Leo Fenner to update his website but they hadn’t actually spoken face-to-face yet. But Leo had just moved to town a few days ago and had emailed Nick asking if they could have their upcoming meeting in person.

Nick had said yes.

Leo had been a lifesaver already. 

Nick had started the matchmaking business last year, mostly operating on word of mouth and a few poorly cobbled together Google forms. He had tried to build a website himself, signing up for one that was advertised itself as “easy to put together in minutes!” but that had proven to be a lie. At least for him. He had no idea what he was doing and had quickly gotten in over his head.

It didn’t do half of the stuff he wanted, and the half he’d managed to do looked like garbage.

Nick had reached out to Hayden Bradley for help but he’d taken one look at what Nick wanted, then frowned and shook his head.

“I think you need a web developer. I can make your site look pretty but some of the functionality you want is … well, I’ll be honest. It’s beyond my skills. I know some coding but you want to integrate that kind of in-depth questionnaire and scheduling into your site, you need someone who can build the thing from scratch and really personalize it to your needs. I have a friend I went to college with who does some freelance work though, if you’re interested. He does top-notch, professional work and he’s not crazy expensive.”

Hayden had given Leo’s email address to Nick but Nick had been a little embarrassed to email Leo about what a mess he’d made of things.

He’d put it off for weeks, but once he finally did it and got a response back, he’d regretted dragging his feet. Leo had been kind and funny in their email interactions, and had immediately put Nick at ease.

Nick had filled out spreadsheets and forms with all kinds of information about his business and what he was looking for.

He loved what Leo had created so far.

But the About Me section was where Nick kept getting stuck. How could he put into words why he’d felt the need to do this?

Why he wanted to help other people find love.

Nick had tried to put a positive spin on things, but frankly, it was a little depressing to remind potential clients that the love of his life was gone. It didn’t exactly seem like it was the kind of thing that he wanted to include on his site. He’d scare people away, reminding them that even if they were lucky enough to find their soulmate, it didn’t mean they’d grow old together.

With a sigh, Nick sat back and looked around the cozy office Nicole had used to write her books.

They’d put the addition on the house a few years before her death. She’d been a prolific romance author and once her books had really taken off, they’d agreed she desperately needed a dedicated office space instead of her desk being crammed into a narrow spare bedroom.

The addition had turned out beautifully with walls of bookshelves, a wide desk and a cozy reading chair.

Donating Nicole’s clothing and tossing her toiletries had been gut-wrenching, but dismantling this space that was filled to the brim with reminders of her and her work had felt impossible. The room had sat nearly untouched for more than a year after her death, until Nick’s older sister had finally held his hand through the process.

But as Nick had sorted through letters from Nicole’s fans that talked about how her stories had encouraged them to be brave and find love, an idea had begun to grow. An idea to start a matchmaking service.

A way to help other people find the love Nick and Nicole had shared.

MEET THE NEWEST RESIDENT OF CHRISTMAS FALLS

Last year, when I wrote Scrooge You!, I accidentally set it up so Hayden's friend from Chicago, Leo Fenner, could be a future main character. 

This year, when I decided to write his story, I thought it would be fun if he was the complete opposite of Hayden when it came to the holidays and love. 

I adored the idea of him being charmed by the quirky small town of Christmas Falls and lured in by the promise of finding love there. And, oh yeah, just a wee bit envious of Hayden for finding his HEA with Joel! 

Keep reading for an exclusive teaser from the story. 

Leo stifled an appreciative sigh. The man was a hunky ginger-haired bear of a baker with kind eyes and a sweet smile. 

Lucky Hayden.

“It’s slowed down a little at the bakery so I can help you guys unload, if you want,” Joel said, flashing that same sweet smile at them both before he bent to give Hayden a quick kiss, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Hayden shot him an adoring look and Leo had to look away. They were utterly, disgustingly in love.

Leo was so fucking envious.

“That would be amazing,” Leo said gratefully. He’d sold most of his furniture since the apartment over the bakery came with the pieces he really needed, but he still had a lot of crap to haul upstairs. Who knew he owned that much stuff?

Thankfully, with three people, the work was a whole lot lighter than it had been when Leo packed the car in Chicago by himself. Although, if Leo caught Hayden ogling Joel’s ass one more time, he was going to barf.

Or maybe that was just the envy talking again. Because goddamn did Joel have a nice ass.

Maybe Joel should use that for the bakery’s tagline: home of the baker with the best buns.

WELCOME BACK TO CHRISTMAS FALLS

I’ll be in Christmas Falls this Nov. 12-Dec. 13! Will you be joining me and my awesome author friends? 

You’ll want to read these stories set in a small town that could rival Hallmark. Here is a complete list of the authors taking part:

The Snuggle is Real, by D J Jamison

Flake it  Til You Make It, Beth Bolden

12 Dates of Christmas, Brigham Vaughn (that's me!)

Here Comes Santa Paws, Lee Blair

Under the Mistle-Foe, Rye Cox

Christmas Beau, Amy Aislin

No Business Like Snow Business, JA Rock & Lisa Henry

Frost Impressions, Kelly Fox

Promise Yule Be Mine, Rhys Everly-Lawless

Mingle All the Way, Hayden Hall

Ahh! I just love all of the cute, punny titles! So fun. 

And I'll give you a little hint as to who one of the main characters will be in my story this year. He showed up in Season 1 in Scrooge You!

Want to pre-order some or all of these titles? Click the button below!

GETTING LOCKED OUT, BOOK BROWSING, AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS

On Monday, I had some errands and an appointment I needed to take care of so I decided to grab lunch with my mom and help her pick out frames for some art she has.

 

It's something we do whenever the framing place has a coupon (because holy crap, custom framing is EXPENSIVE). We got a few pieces all ready to go so that'll be fun to see them when they're all done. 

After the framing place, we grabbed a few groceries from the nice market nearby and then ... locked the keys in her van. I am not quite sure how we managed that, since most vehicles won't even let you do that but she was using the valet key for some reason. 

We had to call my dad to come rescue us! lol Thankfully, he was very nice about it and has the spare key to my car. 

While we waited, we grabbed lunch at the market. I had a lovely slice of spinach pie and a truly ridiculous amount of roasted Brussels sprouts with cilantro vinaigrette. I am aware these are two things that people normally loathe but holy crap the sprouts were delicious and I could not stop eating them. 

I was never a huge fan of sprouts and then I tried them roasted and was an immediate convert. SO amazing. 

After my dad rescued us, my mom went home with him in the van and I went off to my appointment in my car. I had about an hour to kill before the appointment though so I took myself to a local bookshop nearby! What better way to spend my time, right?

I was bummed that they don't have a bigger queer/LGBTQ romance section. The only one I saw there was Red, White and Royal Blue. 

I did find a really pretty journal and a book I've had on my TBR list for a little bit. I mostly read queer romance rather than literary fiction but this cover and title drew me in when I saw it sitting on a friend's table. And then I read the blurb and I was so hooked. 

Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories , doesn’t want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories—literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her.

Alma wants her characters to rest in peace. But they have other ideas and soon begin to defy their author: they talk back to her and talk to one another behind her back, rewriting and revising themselves. Filomena, a local woman hired as the groundskeeper, becomes a sympathetic listener to the secret tales unspooled by Alma's characters. Among them, Bienvenida, dictator Rafael Trujillo's abandoned wife who was erased from the official history, and Manuel Cruz, a doctor who fought in the Dominican underground and escaped to the United States.

I'm only a little ways into reading it but it's super interesting! You can check it out here if you want to learn more. 

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE BLAME GAME

In today’s teaser scene, there was a bit of an emergency which led to news of their involvement hitting JockGossip.

Shea rubbed his face. “Given Kate’s job title, I can probably guess. The news hit the gossip sites?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn it! This is exactly what I was afraid of, Dom!”

“What the fuck was I supposed to do?” Dom argued. “Just leave you there to fend for yourself?”

“Well, yeah,” Shea said. “It’s what anyone else would have done.”

Dom gaped at him. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

Dom stared, trying to wrap his brain around what Shea was saying. “Are your other clients really that shitty and heartless?”

“No. For the most part they were perfectly nice people. They just had lives and careers that could be ruined if it got out they were hiring someone for sex.”

“Yeah, I get that part,” Dom snapped. “Believe me.”

Because fuck, he certainly didn’t want people getting wind of that. Not that he thought they’d done anything to be ashamed of, but it made his skin crawl to imagine people discussing his personal life that way.

Judging him.

   

 Dom knew exactly how they’d react. How unhappy management would be. How much his coach, Michael Gilbert would blow his top.

Dom didn’t want to deal with any of that.

But when it came down to right and wrong, it was wrong to treat anyone so disposably.

Dom looked Shea in the eye. “I will never deny that I’m an asshole who looks out for my own best interest but there’s a line I won’t cross and if I could make the decision I made last night all over again, I’d do the exact same thing.”

The Blame Game will release on August 30th so now is the perfect time to pre-order it!