I am always delighted to share a wonderful release especially when it is dedicated to charity
Love Bytes welcomes Gabbi Grey today to share her thoughts on working on the Love is All Anthology
Welcome Gabbi 🙂
My Yearly Pride Tradition
When Xio Axelrod approached me in early 2022 and offered me a slot in the charity anthology she edits every year, I was over the moon. To be chosen? To be offered a chance? I was all-in. Love in All Volume 5 was that project.
This year will mark my 5th time participating, and I’m just as excited to be involved. I see the list of authors and I get a little thrill that I’m amongst them. And I’m happy to share the anthology with you today.
I’m a homebody by nature – I’m happiest when I’m at home and hanging with my dogs. Even venturing out to spend time with family is a challenge – and I love them. I managed to do a book signing this month. I would point to my books and say COVID was very good to me. My first full-length novel was published in August 2020 and everything else at the table was subsequently published. The pandemic provided me with permission to stay home. I was blessed and I know it. I work from home, I write at home, and I didn’t lose anyone close to me to that dreaded disease. Not everyone gets those wonderful things in their lives.
So Xio offered me an opportunity and I grabbed it! Over the years, I’ve written two MM novellas and an MM short story. Last year I dabbled my toe into sapphic and I returned there this year. The anthology is always a mix of pairings. All queer. A celebration of the rainbow that is Pride.
We’ve raised a lot of money over the years and I’m honored to have been just a small part of that. Signing up again this year was a no-brainer. In fact, I have the anthology in my writing schedule every year. As long as Xio does these, I’m in.
I’ve done a huge number of other charity anthologies. Some are LGBTQ exclusive while others are primarily MF and I’m bringing queer stories into that space. Whatever I can do to help raise money. Thousands of dollars. All I have to do is sit in my home, with my dogs as company, and write stories. My stories are always standalones, but they often tie back to a series I’m working on at the time.
I wish I could do more to help these charities, but writing is the best way for me to contribute. I’m certain the other authors in these anthologies are just as civic minded (although some certainly get out and show more engagement in their communities). I do what I can.
I’ll always be grateful to Xio for this opportunity. I’m also grateful to those along the way who help us get the word of the anthology out to the world. Available just for this month – grab your copy before it disappears forever.
Synopsis
Get ready to swoon with Love Is All: Volume 9!
This limited-edition anthology features novellas and short stories by nine award-winning and bestselling authors, including Victoria Denault, A.D. Ellis, Merry Farmer, Gabbi Grey, Regina Kyle, R.L. Merrill, Connor Peterson, Sophia Soames, and Xio Axelrod. Slow burns, instant connections, and happy-ever-afters all await you.
All proceeds from the anthology will benefit PFLAG, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.
Love Is All: Volume 9 is only available for a limited time.
Links:
Xio Axelrod
Xio Axelrod is a USA Today bestselling author of different flavours of contemporary romance. She also writes what she likes to call strange, twisted tales. Xio grew up in the music industry and began recording at a young age. When she isn’t writing stories, she can be found in the studio, writing songs, or performing on international stages (under a different, no-so-secret name). She lives in Philadelphia with one full-time husband and several part-time cats.
Gabbi Grey
USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.
A.D. Ellis
A.D. Ellis is an Indiana girl, born and raised. She spends much of her time in central Indiana as a teacher in the inner city of Indianapolis, being a mom to two amazing teens, and wondering how she and her husband of nearly two decades haven’t driven each other insane yet. A lot of her time is also devoted to phone call avoidance and her hatred of cooking.
She loves chocolate, wine, pizza, and naps along with reading and writing romance. These loves don’t leave much time for housework, much to the chagrin of her husband. Who would pick cleaning the house over a nap or a good book? She uses any extra time to increase her fluency in sarcasm.
A.D. uses she/they pronouns.
R.L. Merrill
Whether she’s writing contemporary romance featuring quirky, queer, and relatable characters or diving deep into the supernatural to give readers a shiver, R.L. Merrill loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after closing the book. Ro writes inclusive romance for the Happily Ever After collective, contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe, and pens horror-inspired tales and music reviews for HorrorAddicts.net. A mom, wife, daughter, and former educator, you can find her rocking out in her Bronco with Great Dane pup Velma, being terrorized by feline twins Dracula and Frankenstein, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more…
Sophia Soames
Sophia Soames is a Scandinavian, UK based, Author of contemporary MM romance. She writes stories of everyday people with kids and families living real life fairytales.
Connor Peterson
Connor Peterson is a USA Today bestselling author of LGBTQ+ urban fantasy and dark, paranormal romance, local to the Philadelphia, PA area. The madman behind Deathspell and Temptation in Neon, Connor has also contributed to the story cycle Red Phone Box – published by Ghostwoods Books – and the anthology Nocturnal Embers – published by Crimson Melodies Publishing. He is also an active participant in the Philadelphia writing community,
Victoria Denault
Victoria Denault loves ocean air, seventies music, strong heroines and flawed heroes. She is a former journalist, stand-up comic and corporate marketing minion. Victoria is a Canadian and former Californian who currently lives in a 225-year-old house with her husband, their Chihuahua Maximus and more spiders than she cares to think about.
Merry Farmer
USA Today Bestselling author Merry Farmer lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Justine and Peter. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized she didn’t have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. Her books have reached the top of Amazon’s charts, and have been named finalists for several prestigious awards, including the RONE Award for indie romance.
Regina Kyle
Regina Kyle knew she was destined to be an author when she won a writing contest at age ten with a touching tale about a squirrel and a nut pie. By day, she writes dry legal briefs, representing the state in criminal appeals. At night, she writes steamy romance with heart and humor.
A lover of all things theatrical, Regina lives on the Connecticut coast with her husband, teenaged daughter and two melodramatic cats. When she’s not writing, she’s most likely singing, reading, cooking or watching bad reality television.
