Book Tropes for Samantha Youngs' Midnight Moorings

 

TITLE: Midnight Mooring (Scottish Isles Series #4)

RELEASE DATE: Oct 29, 2026 in kindle unlimited, paperback and audiobook.

COVER DESIGNS: By Hang Le

COUPLE COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: By Wander Aguiar

UNIVERSAL LINK: https://geni.us/midnightmooring

 

TROPES:

• Brother's Best Friend
• Heroine (and Hero) in danger
• Friends-to-Enemies-to-Lovers
• Forced Proximity
• One Bed
• Small Town

Micro Tropes

• Secret 'Love' Tattoo
• He Washes Her Hair
• Touch Her and d!e
• She Moves In With Him When She's Injured
• He Takes Care of Her When She's Injured
• Dirty Talking Hero

 

BLURB:

For years I’ve been secretly in love with my brother’s best friend. Forde Dallas is the most commitment-phobic man I know and when our mutual attraction destroyed our friendship, I left for six months in hopes of putting some distance between us.

 

When I return home to our small Scottish island, Forde has undergone a transformation I’m not ready to believe in. Suddenly he wants to settle down and is determined to win back my love and trust. 

 

However, I’m preoccupied with the suspicion that one of my ex’s might be the man the police are hunting for in relation to horrifying crimes. For weeks I’ve been piecing together the puzzle that leads to him. When Forde stumbles across me in the middle of a dangerous mission to uncover the truth, we’re forced together by a chance of fate.

 

As we’re thrown into the shocking realization I may have solved a national man hunt, someone lurking in the shadows starts targeting us both.

 

Determined to live my life despite everything I’m facing, the one thing I’m not prepared for is Forde’s persistence. He’s there, supporting me, protecting me, and setting my world on fire with his passion. Even though we share a complicated history, I can’t help but want to explore the searing connection that’s existed between us for years.

 

But just when I think Forde and I have finally found something real together, we’ll have to face our biggest fight yet. Because someone hiding among us doesn’t believe we deserve our happily ever after…

 

 

Tour Stop/Giveaway: The Weight of Cold Things

 

While searching for her missing boss, a Wyoming Deputy Sheriff accidentally discovers a secret facility and conspiracy of silence surrounding a series of mysterious deaths in Deadhorse, Alaska. 

The Weight of Cold Things

by Lisa Towles

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Arctic Noir

Wyoming Deputy Sheriff Gree Gooding has one mission: find her missing boss. The trail leads four thousand miles north—to Deadhorse, Alaska, an oil-drilling outpost clinging to the edge of the Arctic Circle. A place where daylight is rationed, where the cold can kill in minutes, and where her husband AJ, a petroleum geologist, vanished six months ago.

The clues don't just point to her boss's disappearance. They reach back into Gree's own past— to the Wyoming ranch she left behind, to the family secrets buried in its soil, and to the grief frozen like permafrost inside her.

When the investigation cinches around a decades-long cover-up — a black ops program called Arc Dominion — Gree realizes someone's been waiting for her. Someone knew she'd follow the thread. This was never about a missing sheriff. It's about the conspiracy AJ died trying to expose — and whether she can finish what he started.

The cold doesn't forgive.
It doesn't forget.
And it's about to give up its dead.

For fans of Yellowstone and The X-Files — where neo-Western grit meets a decades-long government conspiracy buried beneath the Arctic ice.

 

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

 

Prologue

Winter, 1974 - Prudhoe Bay, Northwest Alaska

 

They gutted an iceberg with two sticks of dynamite, forty years ago when the shabby construction camps rose on the iconic Dalton Highway. Oil was struck in Prudhoe Bay in 1968, setting off an irreversible string of events: an ecological nightmare, an eight-billion-dollar pipeline transporting crude oil 800 miles south from the North Slope to Valdez, and passage for seventy thousand oil workers to the most menacing outpost on earth: Deadhorse.

A stolen scrap of bread. Chronic insomnia. Drug abuse. One worker snapped, nicking dynamite from the munitions depot, flailing his arms, all the while forgetting how fast the detonating cord burns to the quick. The shock wave bulleted shards of ice in every direction, thrusting the assailant twelve feet in the air in a whirl of fire and black smoke. He became the first prize, the Number One. His victim, the second man, escaped.

It took two days for the particles to clear the air, finally revealing an exquisite, dome-like crevasse in the ice the depth of five residential garages — one after the other in a long, hollow train. Except this garage had no yard outside because nothing grew in this place but resentment. No gas grill on a redwood deck, no family huddled in the adjacent house. Only the unrelenting cold and ice: on the floor, walls, ceiling. He loved it that way, the Caretaker, the exclusivity of his access and the singularity of his dark secret.

That spring, the suited men came in droves sporting fine clothing and city shoes to explain the gravity of their problem, which later evolved into their pitch. Well, their problem had just solved itself, hadn’t it? No one knew about this place and nobody but him would ever find it. Some secrets were just not for sale.

 

 

Chapter 1

Present Day December 18 - Inglewood Ranch, Cody, WY

 

I could feel it in my bones, this unspeakable energy of change. Not a buzz, it was more like a low hum I could almost hear when I closed my eyes and got real still. I’d woken with it today, of all days, this visceral knowing that despite the regularity of my errand, it would have a disruptive impact on my life, such as it was. My work in Jackson, a five hour drive from our family ranch in Cody, was an odd arrangement to begin with, and the two-bedroom condo I rented near the Teton County Sheriff’s Office was uninhabitable without AJ. Even still, there was something else in the air today. Cholo, our ranch hand and my lifelong friend, sensed something too, though it wasn’t his way to articulate his thoughts. Instead, he put cinnamon in the coffee, his quiet way of offering comfort. I could smell it the whole way in from the barn.

I’d gone out before first light, watching the fluff of gray dawn cover my beloved Inglewood, hoping to shake the image of a recurring dream and to brush AJ’s quarter horse, Rain. At first, it was to console him, knowing horses had unique and profound ways of grieving. Lately, though, the cold vigil seemed more about me. Rogue, the word had been coming to me since AJ’s death — a blurry dream-hand opening to a tiny piece of paper on which a single word was written. Was it him reaching out from his watery grave? What did it mean?

Cholo passed me a cup when I reached the kitchen, shutting out the ten-degree wind chill behind me. I unzipped my coat and sipped quietly just inside the door, letting the hot coffee slide down my throat, waiting for whatever his face was preparing.

“Been three weeks now.”

I nodded, three weeks since Sheriff Peter Barrett disappeared — my boss, mentor, now another silent ache in my heart.

“I heard about the fire,” he added. “How many is that now?”

“Does it matter?” I asked him. “Seven.”

“You think they’re connected. Don’t you?”

I shrugged, pretending. But any sane person would. “I’m not an arson investigator. Bryce at the State Fire Marshal’s Office is looking into it.”

“Really?”

 I laughed. “Come on. Bryce has a good team working for him. I know two of those guys.”

“They haven’t been out here since Thanksgiving.” Cholo stared back, thick brows angled over large, black eyes.

“I know, okay? What do you want me to do? I’m not the sheriff.” The words caught in my throat.

“You never know about people,” he said with that quiet wisdom I’d never seen in anyone else, like he understood the longings in my heart for answers that hadn’t yet come. Peter Barrett, Jackson’s most beloved sheriff, vanished three weeks ago today.

 Cholo was right about Bryce, too. Interagency politics aside, I’d need to call and follow up on the arson investigation they said they were running. Add it to the growing list.

He took a long sip, still watching me.

“Well, spit it out already,” I said.

“I can’t take you to the airport.”

“It’s alright, I’ll get an Uber.”

 Cholo’s jaw was set tight but his eyes were uncertain, like he was trying to think of an excuse but couldn’t do it.

“What’s the big deal?”

“Woody’s gonna take you.”

“Woody!” My voice cracked like a whip. I set the cup on the counter with a clunk and rezipped my coat. Ah…the cinnamon. Son of a bitch.

“He wants to talk to you.”

“Does he now?” I grabbed the warm mug for reinforcement and sucked down the last three gulps. “Does he want to talk about how he stole two of our horses, stole money from me? He robbed us, Cholo, all of us. And by doing so, he broke something precious.” I didn’t like the sound of that word, precious. Made it seem like Woody was important to me, and despite the intrusive logic of that truth, there was no place for Woody here anymore.

“He says he’s sorry.”

“Not to me he didn’t. Besides, sorry’s just a word.” Already mad at seven in the morning, great. I zipped my coat and turned my back to him, facing the door. “A real apology is a change in behavior.” My eyes were wide as I waited for him to take my challenge. To come to Woody’s rescue, explain how the drugs made him do it or the excuse-of-the-day.

Still fuming, I left via Uber at 7:30 a.m. without another word to either Cholo or my dad. Woody could kiss my ass as far as I was concerned. I’d have to pay for my cold heart, of course. The world has a quiet way of keeping score.

 

***

 

By 3:00 p.m., I was standing on the corner of Wave and McClellan Streets in Monterey, California. Eleven hundred miles away in historic Cannery Row, a sliver of sea was visible between the brownstones on Lighthouse Avenue. The sun felt warm on my face and bare arms. Mid December in California, I’ll be damned. A premonition, I couldn’t put my finger on it, made me take notice, warning me to be careful. Something bad was coming.

Ash was right, I was loath to admit. There were holiday decorations and tacky music everywhere, but it just didn’t feel like Christmas in a hilltop penthouse overlooking the ocean, waves beneath me reflecting a cloudy sky. The beauty of California’s coast was unmistakable, but in my heart, Christmas was indelibly marked by snow.

“Is that you?” Cholo asked me later, answering his mobile on the third ring.

“I guess. Some version of me, anyway.”

“What are you doing out there, Gree? You hate California.”

He knew, of course; we’d discussed it back and forth for weeks. Why go now, why go at all? After being on and off the market for ten years, my mother’s condo had finally found a buyer. I came here to sign papers, to once again acknowledge the sting of her death and bring my feet one step closer to the present. But that wasn’t what he was asking. Like all Cholo’s questions, they were part real world and part spirit world. I knew what he meant. I just wasn’t sure I was willing to answer yet.

“How’s Dad?” I deflected.

“He’s concerned about how it will look to the community, you leaving town after Peter’s disappearance.”

“I don’t recall asking his opinion.” He was right, though. It was too sudden, but it would be a short trip. Besides, everything was broken right now anyway.

“No, but he’s always willing to share it, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” I laughed.

“He’s splitting wood right now,” Cholo said.

“Great idea for a man who just had a heart attack.”

“Come on, it was a mild one. He didn’t even know he was having it. Besides, it’s gonna be zero tonight. We’ll be using that wood.”

I guess I shouldn’t complain. The fact that they were staying in the same house, after such a long standoff, was nothing short of miraculous and I had nothing to do with it. Maybe the rock of resentment got too heavy to haul around anymore. I was dying to know who thawed first, but I’d never ask. You didn’t do things that way out here. Not in Wyoming, not in this family.

 

“Could you make sure he’s got a jacket on? For God’s sake keep an eye on him. If left to his own devices he’d chop wood in a—”

“Gretchen.”

It was my dad’s voice now, Ash Gooding, former Sheriff of Park County, who to this day insists on calling me by my birth name instead of the nickname my mother gave me.

“How’s sunny California?”

It was meant as an insult. Everyone in town got lots of mileage from the fact that I wasn’t a native of Wyoming, even though I’d lived there since I was five.

“It’s midnight, Wyoming time. What are you doing up this late? Do you miss me that much?” I joked to an awkward silence. I rambled on for a while, telling him about the dark orange sunset I’d seen from the balcony after signing a four-inch stack of papers. Hadn’t they ever heard of digital copies? Apparently, this mortgage company insisted on paper-everything. Ash listened. I heard the clinking of ice in his glass. Would this be his third or fourth by now? I decided not to mention the wood chopping.

“You didn’t tell her?” he mumbled to Cholo. “Mmm.”

“Tell me what?”

A murmur of conversation in the background. Maybe his hand was covering the phone. And maybe this was what Cholo was hiding from me this morning.

“Dad, what is it? Tell me.”

“I can’t. Gotta show you. Guess we’ll have to wait till you get back.”

 

 

Sonofabitch. I knew my dad, and that meant no manipulation or psychology would wriggle out of him whatever he was keeping from me. After signing over ownership of what had been my mother’s dream home, I left the key with the bankers and took with me a cedar box of my mother’s mementos, which I would undoubtedly squirrel away somewhere and forget about for the next decade. All the better, right? Avoidance, since AJ’s death six months ago, had become a sort of new religion. Didn’t avoidance almost always turn to cancer somewhere down the road?

When I got back, I didn’t bother going home first before looking for Ash. He’d planted an evil seed of dread and apprehension, and he knew it too. Maybe punishing me for something; he’s a Gemini after all. I flew into Cody from San Francisco instead of Jackson, where I’d worked for the past twelve years as deputy sheriff under Peter Barrett, one of the kindest men I’d ever met. Why did I feel like Ash’s secret had something to do with him? The buzzing in my bones this morning...maybe that was the warning. Jesus, no. Not that. The vague comfort of the word missing was too hard to give up.

Three in the afternoon to Ash Gooding meant five o’clock somewhere. There's this ratty bar on the edge of town called Stagecoach, Ash’s favorite. Drafty as hell with dusty floors, swivel stools, and random darts scattered on the floor looking for their board, threatening tetanus. Weird part about it was that the owner isn't a wrinkled prune of a man but someone belonging on the cast of Below Deck, a body intended for board shorts, tanned legs and a white polo shirt hauling up ropes with three-ply triceps. He was trying to be unassuming in a plain brown t-shirt stretched out at the neck, pretending he didn't care about his looks. His artificially whitened smile betrayed the deception - laughing eyes with something sinister behind them, a joke no one knew about but him.

“How’s it going?” the guy asked.

I exhaled. “G&T, please. Been a long day.”

“Coming up.”

When Runway Model set down the glass, I suddenly didn’t feel like talking. The weight of air travel, of the milestone I’d crossed and today’s sad anniversary, burned behind my eyes. They watered as I took the first swallow. I turned on the stool to look around. Ha, I knew it.

“Ash,” I said, walking across the creaking floorboards. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Drinking here alone, that’s what.”

“What's wrong with that?”

“You can come to my house in Jackson and drink with me. Wouldn't that be nicer?”

He laughed. “Not necessarily. Besides, too long a drive.”

“Look, you can stay here and punish yourself for Mom's death all you like. I know what day it is.”

The slap of the men’s room door distracted us from the tension. It was a sad old story with no ending. I smelled Cholo’s Irish Spring soap behind me. I turned, my left arm involuntarily reaching for him, tugging the frayed edge of his Carhartt jacket.

“Well.” I stood back a ways. “You two got real chummy in the one day I left town.” They were looking sideways at each other in some silent communication. Ranchers at a bar in the middle of the afternoon; it didn’t make sense. “What’s the deal?”

Cholo nodded. “You’d better sit down.”

 

Lisa Towles believes stories hold the world together - and the best ones expose what we hide even from ourselves. She builds that belief into her main characters - Mari Ellwyn, Angus Mariner, Kurt Farin - each one drowning in dark secrets, running from unthinkable truths. The award-winning author of 14 mystery thrillers, her books pull readers into worlds of global espionage, fringe technology, and shadow governments. Her titles include Terror Bay (NYC Big Book Award), Codex (BookFest First Place), The Ridders (American Fiction Award), and her E&A Series thrillers Hot House and Salt Island both reached Amazon Kindle #1 Bestseller. Her next thriller, The Weight of Cold Things - described as Yellowstone meets The X-Files - publishes in August 2026. When she's not writing, she interviews authors on her Story Impact Podcast and coaches writers on how to be visible and memorable to readers. Follow her to get notified of new releases.

 

Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Bluesky * TikTok * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Enter The Weight of Cold Things Giveaway Here

Tour Stop: Enticing Journey by Vanessa Fewings

Title: Eternal Craving

Series: Eternal Desires Book 1

Author: Vanessa Fewings

Genre/Tropes: Forbidden Love; Enemies-to-Lovers; Vampire Hunter x Vampire; Human x Vampire; Star-Crossed Lovers; Fated Love; Obsessive Devotion; Eternal Love

Release Date: August 5, 2026

Cover Design: Stuart Bache

Publisher: Vinci Books

Immortality was my rebirth. Eternity may become my damnation.

I crossed Spain and England hunting the men who destroyed my life and left me hollow with grief and rage. Then she found me. Sunaria was darkness and temptation wrapped in immortal beauty, a woman with ancient secrets and the power to transform me into something terrifying. Reborn as a creature of blood, hunger, and ruthless power, I now walk a brutal hidden world where vengeance is survival and love is the most dangerous weakness of all.

Revenge brought me back from death. It may cost me what little humanity I have left.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from Blossom’s Bookshelf - “The chemistry is believable, the emotional moments are genuinely moving, and because the characters are so richly developed, every loss and every victory carries real weight. I laughed, I smiled and, yes... I cried.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Goodreads Review - “...gritty, emotional and honestly devastating in places. This was fantastic honestly and I am so glad it's not a standalone because I need moreeee!!

Vanessa is a British-American, internationally bestselling author of the Enthrall Sessions and the Eternal Desires series, an epic vampire romance. Her novels blend romance, emotion, and intrigue, earning readers around the world and translations into multiple languages.

Known for creating compelling characters and emotionally rich stories, Vanessa has also seen two of her novels optioned for film.

She lives in California with her rescue foxhound, Sherlock.

 

HOSTED BY:

Book Tour Stop/Giveaway: Cops in Space by Gail Koger

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Gail Koger will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Once upon a time, I was a “normal” teenager. Now I’m a galactic cop with a deadly predator as my boss. I get to deal with flesh eating monsters, alien babies, hunky warlords, space battles and not so bright bad guys. Plus, the fate of the universe rests in our hands. What could possibly go wrong? Did I mention the baby? (It’s a boy).

Read an Excerpt

Jaxor let out a hungry wail.

Crap. I pulled his bottle out of my side pocket and held out my arms.

Qa’a plucked the baby out of the bassinet and handed him to me. Jaxor’s tentacles wrapped around my wrist as I popped the bottle of milk in his mouth. “Such a hungry little guy.” I looked up at Kaelen. “We’re gonna need more milk.”

“Xylar will provide for him,” Uncle Zarek said.

I frowned. “Who?”

Uncle Zarek gestured at the glittering blue light blossoming in front of us. “His father.”

The light faded and there stood an enormous Askole warrior in battle armor. His tentacles squirmed wildly about his snakelike features as his gaze locked on Jaxor.

“Your son is unharmed, but very hungry,” I said.

The Askole warrior carefully picked Jaxor up and a short tug of war ensued. The little guy wasn’t going to let go of the bottle or my wrist. I winced when he stung me. “Do not sting Aunty Lexi,” I admonished.

“His mother died with honor.” Kaelen inserted and helped peel off Jaxor’s sticky little tentacles.

Xylar held Jaxor against his chest like he was the most precious thing in the galaxy. “I welcome you to our clan, Lexi. I will accept you as my mate.”

“Uh. What?”

Kaelen pushed me behind him. “Lexi is my mate.”

“She is not wearing your ownership band.”

“Ownership band?” I squawked.

Uncle Zarek suddenly stood toe-to-toe with Xylar. “Lexi is blood of my blood and not yet twenty-one. She has bonded with Kaelen.”

“Jaxor marked this female as his mother. That mark allows me to claim her,” Xylar stated with absolute finality.

About the Author:

I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Glendale Police Department and to keep from going totally bonkers – I mean people have no idea of what a real emergency is. Take this for an example: I answered, “9-1-1 emergency, what’s your emergency?” And this hysterical woman yelled, “My bird is in a tree.” Sometimes I really couldn’t help myself, so I said, “Birds have a tendency to do that, ma’am.” The woman screeched, “No! You don’t understand. My pet parakeet is in the tree. I’ve just got to get him down.” Like I said, not a clue. “I’m sorry ma’am, but we don’t get birds out of trees.” The woman then cried, “But… What about my husband? He’s up there, too.” See what I had to deal with? To keep from hitting myself repeatedly in the head with my phone, I took up writing.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1598719.Gail_Koger
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Askole
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Colettiwarlordbooks/
Website: http://www.gailkoger.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gkoger58/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gail-koger
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CQQ89NS/ref=asap_bc
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/822596
Bluesky: http://gailswarlords30.bsky.social

Guest Author Day with kelli A. Wilkins: Celebrate Summer with A Deceptive Match

 

           Celebrate Summer with A Deceptive Match – A Spicy Contemporary Romance

By Kelli A. Wilkins

www.KelliWilkins.com

Happy Summer everyone!

To celebrate the summer months, I’m posting a “Summer Romance Series” of blogs. Today I’m sharing a look at my spicy summer romance, A Deceptive Match.

A Deceptive Match is a contemporary romance set in the world of professional wrestling. Watching wrestling has been a tradition in my family for generations (all the way back to my great-grandmother), so I wasn’t entirely surprised when I got the idea to write a wrestling romance. Nowadays, wrestling is more popular than ever, and I’m glad it’s getting the attention it deserves.

I took my knowledge of the wrestling world (the good, the bad, and the controversial) and used it as the base for the story. As I considered various plots, I decided the premise would be: a reporter spends a month on the road with wrestlers and writes an in-depth story on the business. The catch? The reporteris a woman named Danni (short for Danielle) and she’s matched up with an uncooperative wrestler named Vinnie Valentine.

Vinnie is forced into this arrangement by his greedy, manipulative boss, Nick August. Vinnie is recovering from a knee injury and is at a crossroads in his career. Nick isn’t subtle about taking away Vin’s championship belt (and his livelihood) if the magazine story doesn’t go well.

And so begins a long and hot summer where Danni and Vin are on the road together, traveling from hotel to hotel and arena to arena. If you’ve ever spent time traveling in a car with someone you don’t get along with in the middle of summer, you can imagine the conflict between these two characters! Things get off to a bad start, and Vin isn’t thrilled to play “babysitter” to a woman reporter because he knows it will ruin his reputation with the other wrestlers.

Danni is out of her element and forced to adapt to a world she knows nothing about. Her own insecurities and worries make the situation even worse and she inadvertently causes lots of trouble for Vin. As the book progresses, Danni gets a first-hand look at how the wrestling industry works, from what goes on backstage to how the wrestlers interact with each other, the fans, and theiregotistical boss.

And this wouldn’t be a romance without some heat, right? Although Danni calls Vin an arrogant caveman, she finds him attractive. Despite his best intentions, Vin finds himself drawn to Danni, but he is hesitant to get involved with her. They’re both carrying lots of baggage from past relationships and fight the desire they feel for each other. In addition to the “heat” between these characters, I added details to the story to enhance the summer romance feel. It’s August and they’re trapped in a warm car, Danni is wearing short skirts, Vin gets all hot and sweaty during his matches… You can imagine the rest!

I don't want to give away too much of the plot or share too many spoilers, but over the course of the summer Vin and Danni open up to each other and realize they have more in common than they once thought. Danni comes to Vin’s rescue on a few occasions and even finds herself in the center of a wrestling storyline. Vin uses his charm and humor to break through Danni’s aloof exterior, and they begin a very heated and passionate affair.

I know wrestling isn’t a “traditional” sport like baseball or football, and when I wrote the book I realized that romance readers might not understand—or even like—wrestling. So I used my knowledge of the wrestling world as way to show Danni (and readers) “the ropes” of the business.

Since Danni’s a reporter, she asks a lot of questions, and Vin gives her easy-to-understand answers. These details help readers who know nothing about wrestling follow along with the terminology and let them visualize the action as it takes place in the ring.

A Deceptive Match also introduces readers to Vin’s best friend, Everett Kinkade. Ev is Vin’s former tag team partner, and he appears as a prominent secondary character. Ev offers advice to Vin and Danni and plays counselor (and matchmaker) when the need arises.

Ev has the reputation of a ladies’ man and he’s the hunky wrestling heartthroball women dream about—but he’s hiding a big secret. I fell in love with Ev while writing the book and decided he needed his own story, so I wrote A Secret Match. (I talked about that book in another blog.) A Secret Match is not a sequel to A Deceptive Match per se, but it features the same wrestling world and has lots of crossover characters, including Vin and Danni.

A Deceptive Match is one of my favorite books. I loved creating the conflict between Vin and Danni and showing how hurt and vulnerable each of them are. And I had fun writing the wrestling scenes! A reader told me you “could see the action taking place on the page and feel the excitement and adrenaline.” Those are great compliments—especially from a non-wrestling fan.

A Deceptive Match received great reviews and I’m happy that readers love the book. It’s got everything a good wrestling storyline needs: heroes, heels, action, drama, humor, betrayal, suspense—and in this case—hot love scenes. I hope you’ll check it out and fall for Danni and Vin as hard as I did.

 

A Deceptive Match

Falling for the wrestler she had been assigned to interview wasn’t part of Danni’s plan, until Vinnie Valentine pinned her heart in a flash.

Disgruntled with her job as the office assistant for a national sports magazine, Danni Stone impersonates a reporter to prove herself to her boss. Her assignment? Spend thirty days on the road with Vinnie Valentine, a sexy professional wrestler.

Life isn’t going well for the Heavyweight Champ. Vinnie is struggling with a manipulative boss, prepping for the most important match of his career, and feuding with his arch-enemy, Thorn. The last thing he needs is a nosy reporter following him around—even if she is hot.

Thrown together in close quarters, Danni can’t help falling for Vinnie, and she unwittingly becomes a key player in his title match. Their mutual attraction grows, and late one night, they give in to the lustful feelings they’ve been fighting.

As their relationship deepens, Danni considers telling Vinnie her secret. But before she can confess the truth, Vinnie discovers she isn't the reporter she claims to be. Her lie threatens to ruin everything between them. Will their relationship be destroyed by her deception or will their love win out?

Read reviews and order A Deceptive Match here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-deceptive-match

Don’t miss the follow-up book, A Secret Match: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-secret-match

I hope you enjoyed this “Summer Romance Series” blog. Visit my site www.kelliwilkins.com to learn about all of my books, read more blogs, and get links to my social media.

Happy Summer,

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Look for a new short story coming in August! Kelli’s story “Neighborhood Watch” will be included in the upcoming Witches Save the World: Covens, Cauldrons and Curses Gone Right anthology.

 

Kelli's 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.

 

In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.

Cover Reveal: A Strange and Terrible Wonder by Nichole Louise

A Strange & Terrible Wonder
Nichole Louise
Publication date: August 18th 2026
Genres: Adult, Historical

Eleanor Dare, daughter of Roanoke’s Governor John White, has no choice but to accompany her overly ambitious husband Ananias and her idealist, yet inexperienced father to England’s new colony. Manteo of Croatoan wants nothing more than to cast off his association with the English and return home. Haunted by memories of an unexplainable event, he sets out to find the truth about what was brought to Roanoke by the English two years before as a weapon against the Spanish.

Based on real people who vanished from history, Eleanor and Manteo form a taboo friendship as they work against unseen forces to end the violent and otherworldly attacks upon the settlement. In the midst of this survival scenario, both Eleanor and Manteo—once powerless and marginalized in England, emerge as unlikely leaders of the ravaged colony.

Blending 16th century science, occult, and the impacts of early colonialism, A Strange and Terrible Wonder reimagines what became of the Lost Colony.

Author Bio:

Nichole Louise is a speculative historical fiction writer and book reviewer (NicholeLouise.com). Raven Rock (2023), a prequel to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, was recognized by Writer’s Digest, the Historical Fiction Company, and the CIBAs. Her articles and book reviews have appeared in the Journal of the American Revolution. Her second title, A Strange and Terrible Wonder (2026) is a historical folk horror tale exploring the Lost Colony of Roanoke. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, gaming, and volunteering at Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram

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Tour Stop/Giveaway: Aidan and the Alien Invasion by Damian Serbu

Title: Aidan and the Alien Invasion

Series: Arrival, Book One

Author: Damian Serbu

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 07/28/2026

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 286

Genre: Sci Fi, Sci-Fi, futuristic, new adult, aliens, college, coming of age, geeks, nerds, interspecies, slow burn/UST

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Description

Aliens seize control of Earth, descending without warning, cutting off communication systems and crushing military resistance. Aidan and his friends flee home from Chicago to rural Michigan, but learn the aliens control the entire planet.

Their leaders have dark intentions that Aidan and his friends uncover when they fall in with a revolutionary faction of aliens who desperately seek to save humanity. Human aid to the revolutionaries’ cause is essential but dangerous. As secrets and surprising histories are revealed, Aidan adds to his own chaos when he drifts into an unlikely romance.

As if ADHD and dealing with young adulthood weren’t enough stress, Aidan has to navigate his role in the conflict, as well as embrace his heart’s desire with an unexpected ally.

Excerpt

Aidan and the Alien Invasion

Damian Serbu © 2026

All Rights Reserved

Chapter One

Visitors

“What the heck!” Jarvis exclaimed as he stared at the television when Aidan walked into the common area. “Have you seen this?”

Aidan glanced at the TV, wondering why his quad mate called his attention to some disaster movie he decided to watch in the middle of the day. Aidan ignored him and went to the fridge to grab an energy drink. He glanced out the window at the Chicago skyline, glistening in the afternoon sun.

Aidan squinted into the bright light, confused to see a Star Destroyer instead of an airplane heading for downtown. Maybe Ellie had a point last night when she told him to stop watching so much Star Wars.

“Dude!” Jarvis shouted, startling Aidan and turning his attention away from the window and back to the TV. Aidan grew alarmed at Jarvis yelling at him, for the first time he could ever remember. “Look!” Jarvis jabbed his finger toward the screen over and over.

Aidan walked over and stood behind Jarvis, who let his arm fall to his side as he sat on the couch, mesmerized.

Okay, so the movie impressed Aidan with its realistic scene. Everything appeared as if they watched one of the major news networks reporting on an alien invasion of Washington, DC. The news logo was prominently displayed in one corner with the time of day, the scroll across the bottom ran with the latest news, and in a tiny inset box, the anchor talked in a somber tone about the main event on the screen.

Speaking of Star Wars, most of the TV screen showed a lame rip-off of a Star Destroyer hovering over the US Capitol and stretching all the way to the White House. Shaped in the same triangular fashion, the movie Jarvis watched only bothered to change the appearance with a smooth, shiny gold surface and no other extended pieces of ship, guns, or protrusions. So they went with a golden Star Destroyer phallic kind of shape.

But the newswoman looked scared shitless. Seemed realistic. Aidan was impressed the movie producers got an actual anchor to appear in the film, and she could act well enough to sound believable.

“What are we gonna do?” Jarvis asked Aidan, his usual authoritative voice quivering.

“Huh?”

Jarvis pointed to the TV again. “We need to get out of here. But where can anyone be safe? They’ll come here too. They could go anywhere.”

“Have you been drinking?” Aidan asked. “What movie are you watching, anyway?”

“Dude!” Jarvis screamed even louder. “That’s not a darn movie! Real, dude. Real. Happening now.”

Aidan scrutinized the television more closely, and his heart raced. He grabbed the remote and hit the guide button to verify his fear. Jarvis was watching the actual news, not a movie.

“Holy fuck! They really invaded Earth? Are you sure? What are we going to do?” Aidan took his turn to shout in alarm as he dropped the energy drink.

“I asked you those questions already!” Jarvis launched off the couch. “Okay. Stay calm.” He pointed toward the spilled drink on the carpet. “Clean up, dude. No. Scratch that. We gotta go. Now.” He returned to his more staid and thoughtful self, but his body language gave off a sense of urgency.

Which was good, because Aidan prepared to lose his shizzle. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Two major problems.” Aidan and Jarvis stared at each other across the couch as Aidan spoke in an increasingly high-pitched whine. “We don’t have a car. And they’re almost here.” Aidan pointed toward the window.

Jarvis and he turned their attention to the skyline, where the supposed airplane of earlier flew at a slow rate toward downtown Chicago, coming close enough to show them the truth. An enormous gold triangular-shaped craft loomed on the horizon. It matched the spaceship taking over Washington, DC.

Jarvis clutched Aidan by the shoulders. “Pack a bag. Fast. Take whatever you need. Like we got two minutes to get out of here.”

Aidan loved a man in charge, even if the particular man commanding him was straight, so he launched into motion without thinking. He hurried to his room, grabbed his backpack, and threw in his computer, a couple of sentimental items from the top of his desk, and his favorite clothes from a drawer. The flurry of activity helped alleviate a little of his ADHD reaction to a major stress event. His mom’s voice in his noggin also reminded him to take deep breaths. He’d crammed in as much as possible and scanned his belongings when Jarvis yelled from the living room.

“Now, dude! Aidan?” Jarvis ran into Aidan’s room and pulled on his arm. “We gotta go.”

Aidan followed Jarvis into the common area as they sprinted toward the door, but Jarvis lurched to a stop.

“Wait.” Jarvis stared down at Aidan. “Where are we going?”

“Shit!” Aidan screamed. “I was following you. I assumed you had the next move figured out! You plan months in advance. You have your life all dialed in for, like, the next thirty years!” He knew he sputtered along like an unhinged lunatic, but rising to an emergency never was one of his strengths. He pointed at Jarvis. “You sounded like you had a plan. I thought you had a plan!”

Jarvis jabbed a finger toward the window. “Well, I forgot to factor major alien invasion into my future. I’ll recalibrate for these visitors, but for now, I doubt we have time to do much more than get out.”

Aidan nodded as they stared with vacant, fearful expressions at each other.

“We don’t have a car.” Aidan shrugged. “I doubt the El will get us far enough away. Uber. Taxis.” Aidan shook his head. “Not gonna work. I mean, I assume they all roared out of town or got riders already. I got nothing.”

Jarvis nodded agreement. “Yeah. Me neither. But staying here seems like a super bad idea.”

“Why?” Aidan asked. The safety of the residential hall and ignoring the crisis had a certain allure suddenly.

“Why?” Jarvis shot back. “Why? Aliens!”

“I know. I know. But are we fleeing because of danger or because we think we should flee?”

Jarvis squinted at Aidan. “You gotta make sense if you want an answer.”

“I mean, are they Sigourney Weaver nasty aliens or E.T. coming for a visit and some tea? How do we know if we should panic?”

“How would I know?” Jarvis’s eyes grew enormous.

Aidan pointed to the TV. “What’d the news say?”

“Oh. They said the spaceship appeared over Washington without communicating to the people below. There are no signs of massive explosions or blowing the crap out of the Capitol, like in a disaster movie. But the spaceship is hovering over everything, and all electronics have fizzled out. None of them work: no cell phones, no satellite communication, no computers, like, nothing but a few people calling from old-school landlines.”

“Landlines?” Aidan scrunched his brow.

“Phones. Don’t you ever watch old movies?”

As if on cue, Aidan’s phone rang with the “Imperial March” from Star Wars as his ringtone.

“Well, that’s fitting,” Jarvis muttered as Aidan grabbed his phone.

“Yes!” Aidan yelled as he looked down at Ellie’s smiling face. “She always knows what to do. Always.” He held up the phone and showed Ellie’s picture to Jarvis.

“Answer!” Jarvis ordered him.

Aidan tapped the screen and held the phone to his ear. “Ellie! What the fuck? Have you seen?”

Her calm voice on the other end immediately took Aidan’s blood pressure down several points. “Yes, I saw. I can’t imagine many who haven’t. I need you to listen to me and get control of yourself.”

Aidan took a deep breath. “I’m in control.” Shit, his voice quivered.

“You sound about ready for a major panic attack. Don’t lie. Is someone with you, in case you freak?”

Aidan nodded his answer.

“She can’t see you,” Jarvis said aloud.

“Right.” Ellie chimed in from the phone. “Aidan, who’s with you? Can he help?”

“Oh, yeah. Jarvis. You know, my roommate.”

“Let me speak with him.”

“You already are. I put you on speaker.”

“Jarvis, you can hear me?”

“Yep. Shoot.” Jarvis grabbed the phone from Aidan’s shaking hand before he dropped it.

“You two need to haul ass downstairs, fast. Don’t take the elevator because electrical systems are starting to fail like in Washington. Did you see the news? I assume the same will happen in Chicago and anywhere else these assholes go.”

“Yes, we know.” Jarvis answered again. Aidan decided to stay quiet and concentrate on remembering to breathe.

“So,” Ellie continued, “hit the stairs like you’re running a race, and I’ll pick you up in the alley. The alley out back, near the kitchen. Guys, roads are packed. People are fleeing. We have like two seconds to get out of downtown before this place goes to shit.”

“Gotcha.” Jarvis hung up and handed Aidan his phone. “Follow me.”

Jarvis opened the door and hurried into the hallway, where they saw a group of people waiting for the elevator. Aidan started to move, but Jarvis grabbed his arm.

“Don’t forget your bag.” Jarvis pointed to Aidan’s backpack, sitting inside their doorway.

“Yeah, yeah.” Aidan slung the backpack over both his arms and adjusted the straps to fit on his back as Jarvis hurried down the hall.

“Where are we going?” Aidan asked Jarvis because they moved away from the growing throng at the elevator.

“You want to be in the elevator when all the power goes out?” Jarvis asked him as he pulled on his arm to hurry Aidan along. “Did you hear a thing Ellie said?”

“I listened but can’t process very well. But no, I don’t fancy getting stuck in an elevator though.”

A few other students pushed past them in the opposite direction, but one looked at them for a second, then spun to follow after they passed him.

Jarvis slammed open the emergency staircase door and rushed into the stairwell, Aidan following close behind. Far below, they heard an emergency alarm sounding because someone had opened the exterior fire exit. Others ran down the stairs with them, a group of jocks pushing past as they leapt two stairs at a time without concern for shoving into people.

“Fuckers,” Aidan muttered under his breath as he concentrated on going fast without falling. His backpack must weigh ten thousand pounds, and he already had started to sweat.

Jarvis, taller and speedier, stopped at every landing to make sure Aidan was following. He carried his larger bag in one hand and did not seem to exert any effort whatsoever to move fast. At each floor, additional students packed onto the landing, pushing bodies more and more tightly into the stairway. Aidan stuck to the edge to lessen the feeling of claustrophobia beginning to set in. The white wall’s brightness felt more open visually than getting stuck in the middle of a crowd of panicked people, even though he knew they could just as easily smash him into the drywall as much as a body.

On the third floor, with Aidan feeling the breeze from outside rushing into the building, a woman moved slower with her foot in a cast. With one hand, she gripped the stair railing as she hopped down one step at a time, while the other hand held tight to two crutches.

Jarvis hurried down to her. “You need help?”

“I’m good,” she answered. “Protect yourselves.”

Unconvinced, Jarvis stayed beside her to block people from blasting into her, so Aidan took the cue and remained two steps behind him to create more space and make sure no one fell into either one of them. A few people bumped into his backpack before swerving around him and then Jarvis. Jarvis took the crutches from her, handing one to Aidan. Aidan’s heart thundered in his chest with fear, wanting to get out of the building faster but knowing he, and Jarvis more so, could never live with themselves if they abandoned her.

The last two flights felt as if they took an hour to traverse, but their efforts paid off with people slowing and going around them with more care.

Aidan noticed his armpits sweating as if he’d run a marathon and hoped he had remembered to wear deodorant today. How weird, he thought, to worry about body odor when he needed to concern himself with trying to survive.

At the bottom on the first floor, Jarvis held the door open for the crutches woman as she and Aidan got to the bottom. They emptied onto a side street to find the sidewalks bustling with people and the roads full of honking cars because traffic moved at too slow a pace.

“Thanks.” Tears welled in her eyes.

“You got someplace to go?” Jarvis asked.

Before she could answer, a group of girls raced over. “Penny!” two of them shouted in unison. Another grabbed her arm to lead her away with the group.

“Wait!” Aidan shouted after them. “Don’t forget these.” He held up one crutch as he took the other from Jarvis and handed them to one of the other women.

“Oh, yeah!” Penny smiled wearily. “Thanks again.”

Two of the women pulled Penny along, one explaining as they walked away, “We tried getting in, but too many people were streaming out.”

Jarvis tugged Aidan’s arm. “She said the alley, remember?”

“Penny?”

“No. Ellie. Focus.”

“Right. Alley. Fast.” A drip of sweat trickled down his side from his armpit.

Aidan stayed close behind Jarvis as they went as fast as possible through the people toward the corner. As with the staircase, people bunched onto the sidewalks going in every direction, most seeming to follow some decorum of not shoving into people or trying to harm their fellow humans, though Aidan spotted a few who pushed into folks and shoved through the crowd. Aidan had expected chaos and found, to his surprise, a more respectful atmosphere, unlike movie versions of panic where everyone trampled each other in a mad dash to save themselves. A few selfish jerks cared for no one else, but the majority attempted to survive with a certain amount of dignity.

Jarvis and Aidan rounded the street corner, a car horn blaring so loud Aidan’s ears hurt. Fewer people rushed along the side street, Aidan assumed because these roads did not lead to paths out of the city. A couple of yards ahead Aidan could see their next turn, free of cars, yet darker and narrower.

Proving, as always, how one must always listen to Ellie, Jarvis and Aidan sped into the alley to find a row of parked cars but a lane otherwise free of traffic. Up ahead, Aidan breathed a sigh of relief to see the red brake lights on an old black SUV.

“There!” Aidan pointed to the two-door SUV and ran forward, taking his turn to tug Jarvis along. Aidan yanked open the passenger door and threw in his backpack before jumping into the vehicle. After an awkward shove with his left foot against the door frame and hanging onto a seat belt with his right hand, he landed face-first in the back seat with his limbs flailing everywhere. By the time he faced forward, Jarvis sat in the passenger seat with his bag in his lap.

The minute Jarvis slammed the door shut Ellie revved the engine. “Fasten your seat belts,” she said, as if she were a flight attendant preparing for takeoff.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Damian Serbu is an author of gay horror/speculative fiction. After over twenty years of teaching history at the collegiate level, he now writes full time. He lives in the Chicagoland area with his husband and two dogs.

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