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Nora Phoenix

Nora Phoenix

Steamy MM Romance Author

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Travel Tour Continues

June 29, 2023 by Nora Leave a Comment

Day 3 of my WWII Tour

We started the day in the radar museum, located at the location of the main German radar station in Normandy. They sent intelligence to Berlin and to Hitler in Berchtesgaden. And by the way, they did pick up on the invasion but because the square mileage of the invasion fleet was so gigantic, their warning was dismissed on the early morning on June 6th, thinking it was a false alarm. Thankfully.

We had the unbelievable luck that it was re-enactment weekend here, meaning a load of French volunteers were playing German soldiers, showing what daily life was like for them at the radar station. They were the nicest men (NOT Nazis, just to be clear but history buffs who also play Frenchmen or British, American, or Canadian soldiers, depending on what kind of re-enactment it is) They knew a lot about all kinds of details and even though most of them spoke little English and no German, we managed in French. Like I said yesterday, I understand far more than I speak, especially if they speak slowly, which they did. I learned a lot and it resulted in some amazing pics, as all of these bunkers are usually empty… They also had some amazing antique vehicles, like an old BMW motorcycle, a Horch radar-vehicle (Horch was the same guy who later developed Audi), and two beauties of old Peugeots.

Our second stop was Arromanche, a beach town, where we visited the Museum of Debarkation. Arromanche was the location of one of the two famous “Mulberry harbors”, which were harbors built on the spot from pre-fab materials brought from England. They were necessary so ships could unload men and materials, which they did in unprecedented numbers after June 6 1944. This innovative engineering brilliance had never been tried before, and even though the Germans caught some of the plans, they didn’t understand what the ultimate goal was and never managed to prevent them.

The museum explains how these harbors were built, how they functioned, and much more. It’s a brand new, professional museum and very informative, thought it lacked some of the charm of the older, more amateurish museums.
If you look out over the sea at the shoreline of Arromanche, you can still see the leftovers from one of those Mulberry harbors, the only remnants left. This was British ingenuity at its finest, and in hindsight, these harbors have been crucial for the war effort, especially for the British and Canadian sectors. The Americans were able to offload through the port of Cherbourg, once conquered.
We walked around the town for a bit, stopped a little further along the coast for a view of the anti-tankwall (a stone wall the Germans built to prevent tanks from landing on the beach and rolling straight onto the shore) and called it a day. The weather was humid and hot, and they’re expecting severe thunderstorms tomorrow. We’ll see. Plenty of museums still left on our list if the weather sucks…

Day 4 of my WWII Tour

The weather forecast was crappy and in hindsight, accurately so, and so we decided to hit a lot of museums today and spend most of the time indoors. A smart decision, as we got quite some rain throughout the day.

Our first museum was “Dead Man’s Corner” near Carentan, named such because the body of a fallen US tank commander sat in the turret of his tank for days before being removed after D-Day. That same spot was the headquarters for the German paratroopers and later on, became HQ for the 502ndParatroopers regiment of the 101st Airborne. The museum mainly shows the life of the German paratroopers there, and it’s small but well done.

Literally around the corner is the D-Day Experience museum, which is also small but offers a lot of personal stories, pictures, and effects from US soldiers and paratroopers who fought in that area. Fans of the series Band of Brothers (which includes me) spotted some familiar names…

Next up was the Utah Beach Landing Museum, which is located at the same spot where the first men to land on Utah beach encountered fierce resistance from a German defense post called Widerstandsnest 5. Due to strong currents, they had landed more than a mile away from their target and within range of the very defense post they’d tried to avoid. This museum is big, but I really liked it, as it gives you an excellent idea of what the situation was like on Utah Beach on D-day. It has a lot of personal effects, a B-26 Marauder, some tanks and flak (German anti-aircraft guns), and more. Around the museum are several monuments dedicated to various branches, regiments, and specialist groups within the armed forces.

After that, we headed to the Normandy Victory Museum, which was surprisingly interesting, mainly because of the vivid way they had rebuilt scenes from the war in Normandy. Focusing on more than just D-Day, they showed stories from the French resistance, the impact of the war on civilians, and more. They used “dolls” combined with accurate clothing, a lot of details in terms of equipment and stuff, and very specific backgrounds that really made the scenes come to life.
We still weren’t done and hit the Museum of the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux. This was the weakest one out of all of them, partially because it was older and contained information that is now known to be incorrect, but also because it offered mostly generic stuff and few personal stories.

And last up was something that had nothing to do with WWII but reached much farther back the Bayeux tapestry, which is over 1000 years old and tells the story of the Battle of Hastings (1066 – William the Conqueror). The thing is massive, and I was deeply impressed by the level of detail. I had to use a Google search picture here since you can’t take photos inside.

All in all it was a long and busy day with loads of information and impressions, but I loved it. Tomorrow, the weather should be better again, and we’ll be visiting some outside places again, including the American cemetery at Coleville.

Filed Under: All Posts, Nora's Musings

A Three Week Tale

June 23, 2023 by Nora Leave a Comment

I’m in the middle of a three week treck to visit historical sites, museums and more of WWII. One of my best friends and I have been planning this trip forever!

I wanted to share some of the adventures with you, and if you’d like to see more photos you can join my reader group on Facebook.

Day 1 of my WWII Tour

We drove from The Netherlands to Bayeux in Normandy, a gorgeous, old city with a spectacular cathedral in the center. This will be our home this week from which we’ll explore all the WWII history of Normandy. It also has a famous tapestry, which we’ll check out later this week.

After checking in into our Bed and Breakfast, we walked around in the city center for a bit and saw the cathedral. As always when visiting a church, I lit a candle in remembrance of my dear friend Susi Hawke, who is so deeply missed. Yesterday marked a year since she passed away, and not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. By lighting a candle for her wherever I visit, it feels like she’s traveling with me, and that’s a lovely thought…

The local cat here is super fluffy and loves to be pet!

Our Bed and Breakfast is lovely, and I impressed myself by how much of the French of our hostess I understood. Speaking is difficult, as my head is already full with Dutch, English, and German, but I understand it just fine if they don’t go too fast.

Day 2 of my WWII Tour

We had a fantastic first full day here in Normandy. The theme of the Day was the “Atlantic Wall”, the defenses the Germans had built along the entire coastline from France all the way to Norway. These consisted of massive fortifications like pillboxes, bunkers connected by trenches, clematis, and much more. Luckily for the Allies, not everything was fully finished in June 1944…

Museum of the Atlantic Wall in the “Flachturm” (flat tower) in Ouistreham

We started in Ouistreham, where we visited a German “Flachturm”, a defense tower with anti-aircraft guns on the roof. Several stories high, it had a formidable line of sight on the beach and any incoming ships.

Next up was the beach of that same town, where some of the old defenses are preserved, namely “dragon’s teeth”. They’re much smaller now and small in number, but these were built all along the coast to prevent landing crafts from landing.

Then we headed to the famous Pegasus Bridge, which was a crucial bridge over the Caen Canal that British paratroopers secured early on D-Day in a brilliant operation. The original bridge has been removed and preserved in a museum, and there’s a new, similar bridge over the canal now. That museum also showed one of those gliders the British used to land on D-Day, and holy crap, you need balls of steel to get into those. Mad respect.

The Hillman battery consist of the remains of a German stronghold of several bunkers, connected by trenches, a few kilometers inland from the coast, but with view over the sea. Their guns had enough range to hit the beaches.

Hillman battery

And our last stop was a similar complex, though much bigger and better preserved and restored, called the Merville Battery. The original plan to capture this counted on 600 British men, plus a lot of weapons and support. Because the British paratroopers landed all over the place, they ended up with only 150…but still got the job done. Half of them perished, but the battery was silenced in the crucial hours of D-Day, where it could have hit the men storming the beaches.

The weather was perfect and we had a fantastic day and a great start to our trip.

Filed Under: All Posts, Nora's Musings

New Series and Cover Reveal

March 2, 2023 by Nora 8 Comments

[UPDATED] Now that The Foster Brothers series is done, it’s time to announce the new series I’ll be writing this year. I’m almost giddy with excitement, not kidding. I’ve been plotting this for a while, and now I can finally share. Please welcome…

Forestville Silver Foxes

Forestville is a small town in Washington, about an hour out of Seattle, and it’s as idyllic as a small town can be. With endless trees, snowcapped mountains, and the Skykomish river, it’s picture perfect.

To honor the retirement of Coach Keeler, Forestville High School is holding its first ever school-wide reunion. It’s bringing back alumni who left town a long time ago, like the famous twins Tomás and Tiago Banner, the world’s first super male models. They’re reunited with their old friends, Auden (now the sheriff of Forestville) and Marnin, and the rest of the class of 1993. Forty-eight years old, these men are hot silver foxes…looking for love (even if they don’t realize it yet!).

Forestville Silver Foxes will be a contemporary small-town MM romance series with the classic Nora-mix of heat, swoon, unique characters, and all the feels.

We’re going to kick things off with Tiago. His return to Forestville stirs unexpected feelings in him, and those are only reinforced when he meets Cas, a contractor.

Check out the gorgeous cover of their book, Renovating the Model! That’s Tiago on the cover, and my, my, isn’t he hot? * fans herself *

Photographer: Wander Aguiar
Cover Design: Golden Czermak from FuriousFotog

Here’s the blurb for Renovating the Model (subject to change), which will release April 20.

Preorder Now

Everyone knows my face. No one knows the real me.

All people see when they look at me is a beautiful man, a supermodel, half of the world’s most famous twins. No one sees the man underneath.

When I return to Forestville, the small town I grew up in, for my high school reunion, I impulsively decide to stay.

I’m now the proud owner of a house, an absolute fixer-upper. Never mind that I have two left hands.

Thank god for Cas, the local contractor, who agrees to help me out. We come from completely different worlds and are almost twenty years apart, yet we somehow connect.

Cas sees me, the real me.

We hook up…

Then become friends…

With benefits (courtesy of a snow storm)

And a fake relationship (long story)

But when fake becomes real and pretending turns into feelings I can’t deny, I’m left wondering if what we have stands a chance.

Renovating the Model is the first book in the new Forestville Silver Foxes series, a contemporary small-town MM romance series featuring hot silver foxes and the men who fall in love with them. Each book can be read as a standalone.

I hope you guys are as excited about this new series as I am! And no worries, I also have the next book in the No Regrets series planned for this year and hopefully more dragons as well.

Filed Under: All Posts, Cover Reveal

MM Romance Reader Survey 2022 Results

October 10, 2022 by Nora 24 Comments

If you were one of the 5715 readers who filled in the MM Romance Reader Survey 2022: thank you SO much. As MM authors, we’re so freaking happy with this number of responses, and it’s given us a lot of food for thought. In this post, I’ll share some of the main takeaways with you. Please note that readers could skip any question they didn’t want to fill in, so not all questions have been answered by all respondents.

We had 5715 responses, which was absolutely phenomenal (we had 2000 responses in 2020). A lot of MM authors shared the survey with their readers through social media and newsletters.

That being said, this is still a small number of the total number of MM romance readers, though definitely a sample large enough to draw conclusions. The results will be skewed toward our more active readers, as we only reached readers already connected to us on social media or through newsletters.

We had a few questions that gave trouble. The question on ranking social media didn’t give the option to say readers didn’t use a platform, so that’s definitely something to change for next time. The question where readers had to indicate which percentage of authors were automatic buys (Which percentage of each type of author do you read?) confused some readers, as to them “favorite authors” and “one-click buy/read” were the same. We’ll also word that differently a next time. And we had some small issues, like the tropes and subgenres not being exhaustive (though that’s near impossible considering how many tropes there are…).

Demographics

The demographics of MM readers haven’t changed much since 2020, which is when we did the previous survey.

Age Spread Demographics

And this was the result in genders for those that chose to answer the question.

Gender Demographic

And for sexual orientation (respondents could pick more than one choice here since these are not mutually exclusive in all cases).

Sexual Orientation Demographics

Reading Habits

We already knew that MM readers are prolific readers, and this survey confirmed that again. 38% reads 3-4 books a week, and 23% 5-6. Add to that the 19% that reads more than 7 books a week, and the picture is complete. Around 53% read mostly MM romances and 27% read only MM. Again, these numbers are not fundamentally different from 2020. 75% of respondents have a KU subscription and 64% have an Audible subscription.

A new question we asked was how long people have been reading MM, and this one was fascinating to me because it shows the growth of the genre. 28% has only been reading MM for 1-3 years and 27% for 3-5 years. That demonstrates how much the genre has grown in the last five years.

Another new question was which subgenres they read in MM, and this also offered some fascinating insights.

Subgenres In MM

Readers were crystal clear that they don’t have specific requirements for point of view and tense. 45% also didn’t care what the heat level was as long as the book was good, but 38% preferred high heat. I think that confirms what we as authors have noticed as well. As for angst, 19% preferred high angst, including relationship angst, 16% were fine with high angst but only external, 47% preferred medium angst, and 18% wanted low angst.

Tropes

We asked for favorite tropes as well as tropes readers were getting a little tired of. Both lists are too long to show, but here’s the top 5 of preferred tropes:

  1. Friends to lovers
  2. Grumpy and sunshiney
  3. Enemies to lovers
  4. Bisexual awakening
  5. Fated mates

And the top 5 of tired tropes:

  1. Mafia
  2. Daddy kink
  3. Billionaire
  4. Professor – student
  5. Instalove

Random Stuff

Lastly, some random interesting tidbits we learned:
• The blurb and a recommendation from another author were the two most important factors in a reader deciding to try a new author (75% and 57% respectively)
• Announcements about new releases and teasers from upcoming releases were the two most popular things in author newsletters (91% and 67%)
• Facebook remains the most used social medium, followed by Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. A lot of readers also use YouTube and Snapchat.
• 33% of readers never leave a review, 22% do it most of the time, and 19% only if they loved the book.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think of the results? Do you recognize yourself in these?

Filed Under: All Posts, Uncategorized

First Teaser from Loathed – Lagan

September 6, 2022 by Nora 4 Comments

It’s funny how real characters can become to you, isn’t it? Whenever I write a series, I feel like these men become family to me. And I gotta tell you: I’m so happy to be spending time with the Foster brothers again…

It’s time for Lagan’s story, and it’s a beauty. Lagan is a paralegal, but he’s also a part-time law student. In itself already a challenging combination, but even more so because one of his professors, Killian Evans, absolutely despises him. Well, that feeling is mutual.

But as we all know, the line between fierce hate and fierce attraction is a blurry one, and Lagan and Killian are about to discover this as well…

Expect lots of banter in this one, an age gap, my usual dose of hurt/comfort, and two men who find out that they have much more in common than they thought. Loathed – Lagan will release October 16, so preorder now.

Below, you can read a first little excerpt.

Killian waited until everyone else had left, then crossed his arms and sat down on the edge of his desk. “Did you get your paper done?”

Lagan raised his chin. “Yes. I submitted it twenty seconds ago.”

“I’m sure I don’t need to warn you that the chances of you getting a passable grade based on the work you did during class are abysmally low.”

Lagan’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing. “And here I thought you’d be judging the papers on their quality, not on how long each student spent on them or how long before the deadline they were uploaded.”

Killian’s cheeks heated, which annoyed him to no end. How did this man have the power to make him blush when nothing and no one else could? “Of course I will. I merely advising you that the chances of success are small.”

Lagan shrugged. “I haven’t failed a class yet.”

“That depends on your definition of failure.”

“All my grades have been passing. I haven’t had to redo one single exam or paper.”

Now it was Killian’s time to shrug. “If that’s what you call succeeding. Personally, I would set the bar a little higher.”

“Passing is passing. I wish I had the time and the energy to go for an A+ and everything, but alas. I have a full-time job and a life.”

“As does everyone else in this class, and yet they somehow seem to manage. No reputable law firm will want to hire you if you graduated from law school with such a low average.”

Lagan quirked an eyebrow, putting his hands on his hips. “You mean like Roberts, Smith & Reed? The highly rated law firm I work for right now?”

After Lagan, we have one story left: Nordin’s. OMG, I cannot wait to write that one. It will be SO much fun! Nicked – Nordin is up on preorder already as well and will release in January.

You can meet and get to know the Foster brothers in Jilted – Jaren and Hired – Hadley. Both are in KU and available on audio.

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Erwan Doyle – Dragon’s Mate

May 4, 2022 by Nora Leave a Comment

Meet Erwan Doyle, crown prince of the Doyle clan. After being locked up in a castle for two hundred years, Erwan is climbing the walls. Literally. He likes his three younger brothers, but they drive him crazy. And with little to do but read and watch TV (thank god for the internet!), he’s going stir crazy.

His father and uncle don’t like him for some reason, and even though he’s the crown prince, they keep him out of everything. He’s forbidden to fly or to use his magic, and his father controls everything he does. All he’s allowed is hunt every few days.

Until he finds a wounded omega and brings him back to the castle, which triggers a whole chain of events…and brings an alpha to his doorstep that has his heart racing.

He’s attracted to Rhene instantly, which is a big problem because his father can’t know Erwan is gay. But how can he hide it when their attraction is so strong?

But the bigger question is this: what will Erwan do when they discover secrets from the past that have big implications and Rhene’s life is threatened? Will he choose his family…or the man who’s stolen his heart? Will give it all up for another alpha and a wolf at that? Find out May 31 and pre-order Dragon’s Mate today!

Filed Under: All Posts, Character Interviews, Uncategorized

Rhene Hightower – Dragon’s Mate

May 3, 2022 by Nora 2 Comments

Meet Rhene Hightower, pack alpha of the Hightower pack. Rhene is the classic cocky alpha, confident in his ability to lead his pack, though he’s grateful for the help from his second in command, an omega named Sivney. Hobbies? He’s got no time for those, too busy building and leading his pack. His two brothers may think Rhene is a bit of a playboy, he takes his responsibility as pack alpha very seriously.

Even though both his brothers have found mates, Rhene is not in a hurry to find someone. He imagines that at some point, he’ll probably find himself a sweet omega who will bear his alpha heir and a beta to complete their trio. After all, all the pack members have poly relationships.

Until one of the omegas in his pack disappears. When Rhene goes looking for him, he stumbles across a castle, hidden in the woods he’s roamed a thousand times. Where the hell did that come from?

He goes to investigate…and that’s when he meets Erwan, another alpha. But Erwan is no wolf, and it takes a while for Rhene to figure out what he is. A dragon. An honest to god dragon, a species Rhene didn’t even know existed. That in itself is a miracle, but even stranger is the attraction between them.

A wolf and a dragon and both alphas? How on earth could that ever work?

Rhene is about to find out…and that’s just the beginning of their problems because it turns out the dragons and the wolves have a history… Don’t miss this exciting new series. Pre-order Dragon’s Mate today!

Filed Under: All Posts, Character Interviews, Uncategorized

The Fastest and Slowest Books I’ve Written

April 15, 2022 by Nora 1 Comment

I write my books in a program called Scrivener, and one of the fun things is that it keeps statistics about how much you write each day. That means I can see from each of my books how long it took me to write them. Of course, that made me curious one day to see which books took me the longest and which I wrote the fastest. Wanna make any guesses?

My Fastest Books

Now, to make it fair, I’m only looking at full size books. Of course, this still isn’t completely fair since my books vary in length between 60k and 108k, which is almost twice as long. But calculating that to a fair comparison would involve way too much math to make it fun, so whatever. 

My fastest book ever was Professor Daddy (then called Kissing the Teacher), which I cranked out in 10 or so days. Pretty insane, but the muse was strong and loud for that one.)

Coming in second was New Daddy at Forty-Seven, which only took me 15 days all in all, and Captain Silver Fox was only 16 days. In all fairness, both books are on the shorter side. Generally speaking, stand alones are much faster to write than series because you don’t have overarching plot points and characters to keep track of.

Firm Hand was a fast one, too. I remember starting that one by hand because I didn’t have my Mac with me while traveling through Australia, and Vicki (my PA) had to type those pages out, haha. Once I had that idea, it was so strong that I had to write it.

Slow Hand was a quick one as well. I finished it in 23 days, which is amazing if you consider this book ended up at 110k originally. I had one day where I wrote over 12k words on that one…in one freaking day! Those boys were talking a lot. I love it when that happens. 

My Slowest Books

The White House Men books took me long, especially the last four, purely because of all the research and the plot lines I had to keep straight. The same was true for the last few books in the Irresistible Omegas series. SO many things to wrap up and so many characters to keep track of…

An odd one is Coming Out on Top. I originally started writing this one back in December of 2017, intending it as the second standalone after the No Shame series. The story was called Outcast back then, based on a premade cover I bought. But I got stuck with the story in a bad way, and I abandoned it in January 2018 after much debate. I didn’t pick it back up until almost two years later, in December of 2019, and finally finished it in January of 2020 (it originally released as Snow Way Out). I’m SO proud of how that one turned out, but it needed time to percolate, I guess. 

Filed Under: All Posts, Nora's Musings

Meet the Foster Brothers

April 13, 2022 by Nora 2 Comments

Sometimes, the idea for a book starts with visiting a place, like what happened to me when I visited Boston back in 2016. That lead to the No Shame series.

Sometimes, it’s a random thing that pops into my head, like the idea for Firm Hand that came to me while driving through Australia.

Sometimes it’s a cover that inspires it. The Ignite series was born when I saw the premade cover for the first book and knew I had to have it and write that story.

And sometimes, it’s all three of those.

The Foster Brothers

See The Book

I spotted a premade cover series with four covers, and I fell in love with them right away. So I bought them, and then they sat on my hard drive while I waited for inspiration to hit. I played around with some ideas and decided I wanted to do something with brothers, but I couldn’t figure the whole picture out yet.

Then I visited Chicago and Seattle in August of 2021, and inspiration hit. I wanted to make the story about foster brothers, guys who met in a group home in a rough neighborhood in Chicago, then adopted each other as family and moved to Seattle. And the name was obvious too: the Foster Brothers.

Jaren, Hadley, Lagan, and Nordin grew up together in foster care in Chicago. They became brothers by choice, and now they share a bond nothing can break. But what happens when they fall in love?

Two books plus a free prequel are out so far, and readers are loving this new series! It’s a little lighter and fluffier than my last few series, but I was in the mood for something a little less angsty.

Free Prequel: Marked – Myron

The series starts with a free prequel about Myron, a grumpy tattoo artist who has some trouble being taken seriously because he’s a tiny twink in a world filled with manly men. Not that he cares. He’s single, independent, and determined to keep it that way. But when he makes a bet with his rival, Abel, and their one-time hook up becomes more, Myron start to realize that maybe being alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…

Marked – Myron is a hot little shirt story with grumpy meets sunshiney, opposites attract, first time gay, size difference, and a happy ending to die for. It’s loosely connected to the Foster Brothers, as Myron works in the tattoo shop of Reid, one of the main characters from Jilted – Jaren. You can grab it for free here.



Jilted – Jaren

The first book in the series is about Jaren, the only straight guy among his brothers. He’s got it all: a great job, a beautiful life, and a gorgeous fiancée he’s about to marry. Until it all comes crashing down and he’s left at the altar. Jobless and heartbroken, he has no choice but to accept an offer from Reid, his ex-fiancée’s brother, to stay with him temporarily. But when they grow closer, something unexpected happens. Maybe Jaren isn’t so straight after all? And maybe, just maybe, getting jilted was the best thing that could’ve ever happened to him…

Grab Jilted – Jaren here!

And Jilted is out on audio as well, narrated by the fabulous John Solo. Start listening today!

Hired – Hadley

And Hired – Hadley just released last week! Hadley doesn’t want love or a relationship. He’s more than happy with hooking up. Relationships always end up in disappointment, his brothers being the one exception. When Hadley agrees to fill in for a friend as the personal assistant to Sebastian LeClerc, he regrets it. Sebastian is a grumpy dick, though more to others than to Hadley. He’s also hella hot and sexy, and the attraction between them is hard to resist. But Sebastian needs Hadley and Hadley yearns to be needed, and this thing between them seems inevitable. But it’s just a fling, right?

Start reading Hired – Hadley today!

Loathed – Lagan

The third book in the series will be Loathed – Lagan, and it’s up on preorder for release on September 16. Yes, I know, that’s a ways off, but I do have the first dragon book planned in between, Dragon’s Mate, as well as the second (as of yet untitled). And the last book in the Foster Brother series will be Nordin’s, and boy, that one will be so much fun… I can’t wait to write it.

Writing the first three books in the Foster Brother series was wonderful, and I couldn’t be happier to see readers enjoy them as much as I do. These men are truly something special…

Filed Under: All Posts

Deleted Scenes: Yay or Nay?

February 25, 2022 by Nora 16 Comments

Before there was Netflix (I know, I’m old, haha), I used to binge-watch a lot of TV series and would have to wait eagerly for the DVD boxes to come out. Two elements were always my favorite: the blooper reel and the deleted scenes. The first was laugh-out-loud funny, of course, but the second was even cooler. It offered even more of my favorite characters…

Then, and I still don’t know what changed it, I slowly started feeling differently about deleted scenes. I came to realize that there’s a reason they’re deleted. Sometimes, it was because network shows run on a tight time frame and they were just too long. But other times, I found myself watching them and agreeing that it was for the better they’d been deleted. As much as I love the Lord of the Rings, for example, the extended version is really, reallllllly long. 

In book box sets, I loved deleted scenes as well. Again, why wouldn’t I, when they offered more of the characters I loved so much? But here, the same thing happened. I would read them and then agree that yes, they didn’t belong in the book. Only rarely did I feel a deleted scene should’ve been included in the original book. I still love them, don’t get me wrong, but I could almost always see why they weren’t included.

I only have one box set with deleted scenes, the No Shame box set. My other box sets only have bonus materials in the form of extra chapters (for example in the Irresistible Omegas box sets) or sometimes even a whole novella (like in my Ignite box set). Part of that is because I don’t often have deleted scenes anymore. The No Shame series was my first series, so I’ve learned a lot since then and my writing process has become more efficient. I usually detect much earlier when a scene isn’t working so I can still change course.

But even when I released the box set for my No Shame series, I debated long before including some deleted scenes. In the end, I decided to put them in. Funny enough, the most important reason was because I felt they don’t belong in the original. Well, some of them. Two of the deleted scenes were taken out because I decided to start the fourth book, No Shame, at a different point in the timeline. But I’d already written two scenes when I realized it didn’t work, so those offer truly a behind the scenes view that doesn’t change the original story. 

The other two, I still feel I was right to take them out. Don’t get me wrong, they’re both hella sexy and I did use some paragraphs of them later on, but they didn’t really fit the vision for the series. 

So why did I decide to include them? Maybe because some readers will feel differently about deleted scenes and will love the extra time with their favorite characters. And maybe because I wanted to show that there are reasons why authors take whole scenes out, even when they’ve spent hours crafting them. It hurts to “throw away” words like that, but there’s usually a good reason. 

But now I’m curious how you feel about deleted scenes: yay or nay? Do you love them, hate them, or couldn’t care less?

Filed Under: All Posts, Nora's Musings

Why So Many Open Series at the Same Time?

February 18, 2022 by Nora 2 Comments

But Nora, why are you starting a new series when you haven’t finished the No Regrets series yet? I’ve been asked this question and variations on it a number of times lately, and so I thought I’d explain a bit to you about how my release planning works. 

1. Characters Need to Talk

This is sometimes hard to understand for non-writers, but characters don’t always “talk” when they need to. If I don’t have a clear idea for a story and the characters aren’t revealing themselves to me, I can’t write their book. It’s as simple as that. Oh, technically I could, but it would take me much longer and I don’t think the final results would be as good. A good example is the spin off series from the Irresistible Omegas. I’ve been wanting to write it since that series ended, but the idea wouldn’t come to me. I didn’t want to write more of the same. I needed something different, an idea strong enough to carry a whole new series. And so I had to wait until that idea took shape, and only then was I ready to write it. 

2. I Need Variety

As an author, I need variety as well. Take the White House Men series, for example, which I wrote pretty much back to back. That was tough at times because it wasn’t an easy series to write, both emotionally but also because it’s so plot heavy. That’s why I released No Surrender in between because I needed a break. I can’t write a whole series one after the other anymore. It’s just not as fun for me, and believe it or not, but I still want to keep writing fun.

3. Readers Need Variety

I’m not the only one who needs variety. Readers need it too. Some won’t read mpreg, for example, so if I just write mpreg for six months, I’d lose them as readers. Or they’re just not fan of a particular trope/series/set up, etc. so they won’t pick up certain books. By switching between different series and stand alones, I keep everyone happy.

4. Sometimes, Ideas Strike

Sometimes, my whole schedule goes out the window simply because inspiration hits me hard. I had not planned to write the 47 Duology, for example. But when I saw those cover pictures, the story was just there in my head, and I knew I had to write it. I’ve learned to give in to these moments because usually, they result in some pretty amazing books… (Firm Hand was another one of those spur of the moment ideas, just saying)

I guess it all comes down to this: I try to plan but life happens and ideas strike and characters can be annoying little shits, so I adjust where needed. And you as readers get to go along on that journey with me!

Filed Under: All Posts, Nora's Musings

Cover Reveal Irresistible Omegas Spin Off

February 16, 2022 by Nora 21 Comments

OMG, I can’t tell you guys how excited I am to finally reveal this! I’ve been sitting on this news for months, and it was SO hard not to say anything. Many of you have been waiting and waiting for the Irresistible Omegas spin off. I had planned it for 2021, but it didn’t happen because I just couldn’t get the right story in my head. 

And then in the fall, it hit me.

Dragons.

Wolfs couldn’t be the only ones with magic, right? There had to be others. Others who had maybe stayed hidden for a long time, fearing discovery and its consequences. Others who had their own code to live by and who long ago had formed an alliance with the wolves.

Dragons. 

I am so excited to announce that the spin off from the Irresistible Omegas is launching this May, and it’s called Irresistible Dragons. The first book is called Dragon’s Mate, and here’s the gorgeous cover for you guys, made by Vicki Brostenianc. The model is Rob T, and the photo is from Eric McKinney/6:12 Photography. 



Now, I bet you’re wondering: how does the second pack fit in? Well, this blurb will answer that question for you:


One dragon. One wolf. Two alphas. Fate must’ve messed up.

After spending the last two hundred years locked up in the family castle with his three younger brothers, Erwan is climbing the walls. Literally. He’s a dragon who isn’t allowed to fly, forbidden to use his magic, all to stay hidden from the rest of the world. How will he ever find his mate like this?

But when he finds an injured omega in the woods around the castle and brings him home, the spell that kept them hidden is broken. Erwan wants their dragon clan to re-enter the world, but his father is dead set against it. 

When wolf pack alpha, Rhene, comes a-knocking to demand the omega back, Erwan is shocked by what Fate whispers in his ear. Then again, the same is true for Rhene. Neither one of them imagined their mate quite like this. 

Two alphas? A dragon and a wolf? A man whose patience has been stretched thin already and one hothead? Uh oh. At least it makes for some highly combustible sparks.

Soon, they discover they have bigger problems. Others have felt the dragons’ magic stir again as well…

Dragon’s Mate is the first book in the Irresistible Dragons series. This is a spin off from the Irresistible Omegas series, but you don’t need to have read that to enjoy these two as they fight, bicker, and stumble their way into love. 


Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? Man, we’re gonna have so much fun with this series, and I can’t wait to start writing it (I already secretly wrote the first chapter, haha… I was too stoked to wait!) Dragon’s Mate will release May 18 and you can preorder now.

Even though the Irresistible Dragons is a spin off from the Irresistible Omegas, you don’t have to have read that series to enjoy this. I mean, you totally should read it because it’s amazing and super hot and one hell of a ride, but you’ll be able to follow this new series without issues if you haven’t read it. 

In case you do want to read or reread, I have some more awesome news because the third box set with the last four books of the series is now available as well. It has some hawt bonus chapters…and the first hints at what’s to come in the spin off series. You can find the first box set here and the second here. 

Now, who’s excited for this series? I mean, dragons. Seriously.  

Filed Under: All Posts, Cover Reveal, Latest news

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