Pardon my excitement, but... I'm so close to being done.

I'm at the big reveal where Ivy finds out who she is.

It's intense. A little scary. I hope I get it right.

But...aaaahhh!

Anyway, it looks like I'm on schedule to finish it this month. Then it's time for edits, beta reads, etc.  Eeep!

Thank you so much for your patience!

Just a reminder, if you haven't pre-ordered, now is the time. Once I move into formatting, etc, it will be too late to get the book before release and the only way to get the book with the awesome illustrations (and to get the fancy hardcover) is to order thru backerkit or direct from me.

Heya.

It's 10:58pm as I start writing this. Five minutes ago, I just finished a scene in I CHOOSE THE BEAR that's probably the beginning of the third act.

They're also just now getting ready to hit the sack.

That's kinda...slow??? For me? If you've been reading me for a while, you know I don't do closed doors and I love a good, hot sexy read, but Jonas and Ivy have some stuff going on.

I mean, they met... unofficially...when Ivy's current boyfriend was chasing her around the car, making her think that all the good men were either gone or taken.

Or they were bears.

Jonas has to break the news of this new reality to her before they get too hot and heavy, right?

Plus, Ivy's coming to grips with the fact that she's got a secret of her own...if she could only figure it out.

So, it's taking some time.

BUT! The book is wrapping up nicely.

And that being said...

I was invited to participate in Printopia and although I had a lot of fun with Booktopia last year, those of you who read my tale of ice, injury and woe know I have been through the wringer this year. FYI, the hand surgeon thinks I have a partial tear of the FCR in my wrist which would explain the pain. I've been in physical therapy for a little over a month and it's helping a lot.

Because my graceful self keeps getting injured and other fun stuff, I'm behind on finishing my Booktopia project, so I wasn't sure if I could participate.  I reached out to Backerkit and they've told me that as long as I'm communicating with my backers, I'm good to join in on Printopia.

But the question remained. What could my project be?

Then my wandering eye fell on the half-finished story peeking out at me from my computer. Because I always have three or four projects going on. (Don't look at my patreon. Or hey, go ahead...look. I don't mind.)

There it was. Or rather, there he was. Donner. The hulking, brooding Atagarian shifter who stalked his way onto the page of A Prime's Passion. The asshole wants to know when I'll finish his book. Fine. I'll finish his book. And you get to be the first to know!

So, here I am, throwing myself on your mercy and telling you that I'll be cheating on you with another project. I hope you'll at least consider following it. I make for fun updates, at least.

And now that you read through all my writing-drunk rambling...how about a tiny little snippet of what I wrote today?

I Choose the Bear

 

“Mate,” I repeated, growling it out despite my best efforts to regain control. “Mate means something in my world, Ivy. When we talk about taking a mate, it’s for life. That is what you bring out in me.”

She said nothing, just watched with those deep, solemn eyes and the ground threatened to crumble under me. If she’d just say something— 

“You’re probably thinking I’m crazy.” Since she wouldn’t talk, I would. The silence was pulsing around us, huge and weighted, and I couldn’t stand it. “We don’t know each other that well—” 

Except I did know her. 

She was strong and smart and brave, willing to risk her own safety and throw her fears to the wind because she saw a couple of bear cubs struggling to get to the safety of the shore, even when she was terrified of water. 

She was funny and thoughtful and kind, willing to take on a fucking bear when she saw one approaching a woman she’d thought was helpless. 

She was steel and satin and softness and I wanted her more than I wanted my next breath. 

“But we can figure that out,” I said, biting back the words that wanted come out. “We can—” 

“Jonas.” She showed that strength and cleverness again, somehow sliding out of my grasp—no, the bear snarled. But before we could panic, she was stepping into me and wrapping her arms around my neck. “Just shut up and take me to bed already. If I was going to run, don’t you think I would have done it by now?” 

 

Just an quickie update, and an excerpt to thank you for your patience.

The book is really moving--I had to go back and rework a few minor things after the plot decided to throw a curve ball at me. The book is already almost full-length for the industry standard as far as romances go but it's still got some ways to go before I'm done, which means... yay? More story for you!

I'm hoping I'll be done in May and can get edits done in June, then the ebook out to my backers. The print book, of course, takes longer--formatting won't take long, but there's proofs to order. Since I had the cover professionally done, I don't anticipate there being problems but I never say never.

I hope to have a book in hand to show you guys by sometime in August.

Okay, now let's look at an excerpt!

Excerpt

 “Ivy, damn it!”

He caught my arm before I made it ten feet. I stood there, staring toward my cabin. Even when he moved in front of me, I didn’t look up to meet his eyes. Maybe it was childish but the distance between us now left an odd, empty ache in my chest and if I saw that shuttered expression for even another second—

“I’m sorry.”

The gentle tone managed to do what the awkward stares and Jonas’s distance hadn’t.

It lit the fuse to my temper—and that eradicated the empty, awful ache in my chest.

Jerking my head up, I gave him a wide-eyed look. “Oh, well…that’s dandy. We’re all good now, Jonas. You ready to go to place and fuck? Or would you rather go to yours? Is it closer?”

He went rigid. “That’s not—”

I knocked his hand off my arm. “You don’t get to ignore me for an entire evening, then apologize and think that just makes it all better.”

“I’m not expecting it to make it all better,” he said. He moved in front of me when I tried to go around him, blocking me. “If I was thinking straight, I would have canceled the date after some news I had earlier, but I…”

Wide shoulders rose and fell and he lifted his face to the sky. “Fuck. I had this thought that if I could just see you, everything would be better. But that was selfish and you deserved better. I am sorry.” He lowered his head and met my eyes.

This time, despite the frustration and hurt I felt, I looked into his eyes—really looked.

It wasn’t distance, I realized.

The misdirected anger melted.

I closed the distance and cupped his face in my hands. “Talk to me, then. Let me help, even if it’s just by listening.”

Brow furrowing, he shook his head. “You don’t want this mess in your head, Ivy.”

“Have you noticed the mess that’s followed me since we met? Stalker guy who killed his mom and if it wasn’t for a bear…who happens to turn into a human and back, by the way, that stalker guy might still be trying to chase me around his dumb car.” I tried to smile and inject some levity.  “And now I’m hiding out here until it’s safe to go home. And I miss my birds.”

Jonas growled, his eyes going black. “I want to kill him. For making you sad even for a moment, I want to kill him.”

“That’s kind of extreme.” It was. And yet it made my heart melt.

“Okay.” Voice still growly, he said, “I’ll kill him because he’s a threat to you and you won’t be safe until he’s dead.”

“I can keep myself safe.”

Something softened in his eyes. “Yes. You can. You’re strong. We saw that the first night.”

The glow came into his eyes and I touched his cheek. “When your eyes glow like that…is it because the bear closer to the surface, or however you put it?”

“Yes.” Jonas lowered his brow and touched it to mine. “We want to take care of you, but we like that you don’t need us to.  A strong mate is a good thing.”

I stilled. “Mate?”

Jonas groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. “Can you forget we said that?”

“Um, no…?” My heart lurched in my chest and I caught onto his biceps, feeling strangely dizzy. Mate…that sounded more…permanent than girlfriend.  Didn’t it?