As 2015 draws to a close, I’m eagerly anticipating something new and exciting from my publisher, Dreamspinner Press: the Dreamspun Desires line of gay “category” romances. The first book, The Millionaire Upstairs, hits the stands on January 1st, and my own installment, First Comes Marriage, follows on January 15th.
Let me backtrack a bit. For those of you who might not know (I didn’t know this myself until a few years ago), a “category romance” is also sometimes called a “series romance.” The term comes from the old tradition of publishing a certain number of books on a monthly basis in a certain category. You remember these. When I was a kid, they were the Harlequin and Silhouette romances that were shipped, 4 books a month, on subscription.
Category romances were sweet, funny, standalone stories with a 
feel-good happy ending. Full of romance tropes (millionaires, exotic locations, mistaken identity, arranged marriages, you name it), these babies were shorter than the average novel, all the covers looked alike, and some were numbered like magazines. They became a genre unto themselves.
Fast forward to the Romantic Times (RT) conference in Dallas of this year, by far the biggest general romance conference in the world. I was having something to eat with Poppy Dennison, Dreamspinner Press’s PR guru, and a number of other Dreamspinner writers. I was complaining about how writing angsty romances (Blue Notes Series, anyone?) takes a lot out of me. I said I ![MillionaireUpstairs[The]LG](https://lovebytesreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MillionaireUpstairsTheLG.png)
wished I could write a warm, fuzzy romance like the ones I used to read as a kid. Poppy asked, “Why don’t you?” She then proceeded to tell me about an idea she had to create a line of gay category romances for Dreamspinner. Fast forward a bit more than six months, and Dreamspun Desires is already at the top of the Dreamspinner bestseller list with its subscription option (available in ebook and paperback).
My book, First Comes Marriage, takes a few tropes and turns them on their head. Marriage of convenience? Check. Billionaire playboy? Conniving stepgrandmother? Check.
Jesse Donovan, the billionaire heir to his grandfather’s boat building business, must get married or he’ll lose control of his company under the terms of his grandfather’s will. Chris Valentine is a struggling novelist working as a barista in New York City. When handsome, charming Jesse proposes, Chris thinks it’s a joke! Chris finally gives in and marries Jesse. But the more time they spend together, the more Chris comes to genuinely care for New York’s most eligible “straight” bachelor. But this marriage is just business, isn’t it?
I hope you’ll find these stories as appealing as I have. I liked writing First Comes Marriage so much, I’m working on another tropey romance! I’ll leave you with a taste of First Comes Marriage. Hope you enjoy it.
See you in 2016. Happy New Year and happy holidays, everyone! -Shira
Excerpt from Chapter Three:
Dinner wasn’t very busy at the coffee shop, so none of the nearby tables were occupied. “It’s good to see you, Jesse,” he said, unsure if he should offer his hand.
Jesse seemed unfazed. He took Chris’s hand and patted him on the back as if he were an old friend. “Can I order you anything?” He gestured to a chair and they both sat.
“After a day spent making coffee,” Chris replied, “I’m more inclined to go for the hard stuff.”
“We can get a drink somewhere, if you’d like,” Jesse said quickly.
“No, really. I’m good.”
“Good.” Jesse settled back into his seat and gazed down at his cup. Where before he’d seemed only slightly uncomfortable, today he seemed downright uptight.
“So,” Chris said when the silence grew longer. “What’s up?”
“I… I have a business proposition for you.” A slight hesitation. Not quite a stutter, but Jesse definitely looked nervous.
“Business? Thinking of buying a publishing company to add to your collection?” Chris joked.
Jesse laughed and pushed his glasses up with his forefinger. “N-no. But you might think this is a lot stranger.”
“Try me.”
“I need to get married,” Jesse said, as if this explained everything.
“Good for you. I hope you’ll both be happy.” Chris shoved the image of Jesse with one of the women from the gossip pages from his mind. He hoped Chris wasn’t going to ask him to write their vows.
“Sorry,” Jesse said, clearly frustrated. “I know it’s a strange topic. Let me rephrase that.” He inhaled an audible breath and said, “I…I want you to marry me.”
Chris was sure he’d misheard. “You… what?”
“I want to marry you.” No hesitation this time, and Jesse’s eyes shown with a look of keen determination. As if he’d shifted from geek to overdrive.
“Good one!” Chris laughed and shook his head. “Next you’re going to tell me I’ve been nominated for a Pulitzer.”
Jesse blanched where Chris had expected a good-natured laugh in response. “I’m not joking.” He set his glasses on the table and leaned in, giving Chris the impression that he’d unwittingly stumbled into a business negotiation and Jesse ran the show.
Chris swallowed hard. “Jesse, you’ve totally lost me here. We’ve known each other a whopping two weeks, you’re straight, and you tell me you want to marry me… I mean… are you fucking nuts?”
Shira loves a great happily-ever-after and never writes a story without one. She’s happy to write what her muse tells her, whether it’s fantasy, sci fi, paranormal, or contemporary romance. She particularly loves writing series, because she thinks of her characters as old friends and she wants to visit them even after their stories are told.
In real life, Shira sang professionally for 14 years, and she currently works as a public sector attorney advocating for children. She’s happy to have made writing her second full-time job, even if it means she rarely has time to watch TV or go to the movies.
Shira writes about the things she knows and loves, whether it’s music and musicians, the ocean, or the places she’s lived or traveled to. She spent her middle school years living in France, and tries to visit as often as she can.
Shira and her husband spend as many weekends as they can aboard their 36′ catamaran sailboat, “Lands Zen,” at the Carolina Coast. Not only has sailing inspired her to write about pirates and mermen, her sailboat is her favorite place to write. And although the only mermen she’s found to date are in her own imagination, she keeps a sharp lookout for them when she’s on the water.
You can hear Shira singing Puccini’s “Tosca” by clicking here: http://www.shiraanthony.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/tosca-visse-darte-exceprt1.mp3
I’ll read these and love them as long as I still get my angsty – LOVE Blue Notes!
LOL Andrea! I’ve got more than a few more angsty stories to write. 😀