Tag: self published

new release

Out Now!

Kristbethke

Rebuilding Charlie is live! It’s now available to buy or borrow here.

We’re so excited that this book is out in the wild. As I said the other day, we love this book. We loved writing it, we love the characters, and we can’t wait for readers to get a chance to fall in love with Charlie and Teague, with small town of Fairville and the Black Dog Inn and the host of secondary characters.

As I also said, there’s some heavier themes in this book. You can find the whole list of content warnings here or check out the preview of the book. We did our very best to handle those things with care. And there’s plenty of funny and sweet and hope and love to balance all that out.

One day at a time, one cupcake at a time, I was determined to win him over.

Charlie Caldwell has hit a breaking point. With more than just his mental health on the line, he makes the decision to move across the country to work for his best friend, leaving his brother and niblings behind. A new start isn’t going to fix him. His dysmorphia isn’t going to magically go away. But his hope is that being in a new place and going no contact with his toxic mother will at least allow him to breathe. 

Teague Mulligan might look like a lumberjack, but he’s really a marshmallow. And he likes it that way. He’s a doer, a fixer, and his wide shoulders are big enough to handle any problem. He’s always going to put himself between the world and the people he loves. But when he first meets Charlie, Teague doesn’t make a great first impression. Fortunately, he gets a chance to apologize and explain. Though Teague is immediately attracted to Charlie, he recognizes the other man has built walls around himself. Teague vows to go at Charlie’s pace, even if friendship is the only thing he can have.

The more they get to know each other, the more the attraction blooms. But Charlie’s past trauma keeps him from leaping. As much as he likes Teague, he knows the road blocks his mental health puts in the way. But Teague is as patient as he is kind, and as the days go on, trust is built. Slowly and surely, Charlie lets Teague in. Neither Charlie nor Teague were looking for love, but day by day, and cupcake by cupcake, love is exactly what they find.

And if you’d be so kind, and are so inclined, please leave a review. It’s so helpful for visibility. We really appreciate it!

Uncategorized

Worth It…Again

Kristbethke

Ten years ago, on this very day, I became a published author. If you’ve been here for any length of time, you might be familiar with my story. Heck, it’s a familiar one for many an author. But for those of you who are new here, let me sum up:

I fell in love with writing at the tender age of ten. Thus began my dream of publishing stories. And even back then, I leaned toward romance (I read far above my age level, I know I’m not the only one!) and always wanted to tell stories of people falling in love. First it was teen romance, and then more Harlequin style stories (like the ones I craftily stole from Oma). Eventually, I also fell in love with fantasy and PNR. When I stumbled into MM romance long about 2009, the stories in my brain shifted as well. But it took my four more years before I finally wrote a story that I thought might be worthy of publishing.

That story was Worth It a short second chance romance about a Christmas tree farmer and the man he loved. I was thrilled when it was picked up, enamored with the process, excited to be a part of the event. It was the beginning of my career and I haven’t stopped since.

Ten years and nearly forty stories later, I’m still here. When the press that shall not be named did what they did, and I got all the rights back to all my titles, I republished them quickly. Except for that first short story. I was a far different writer, and a different person in 2019 than I was in 2013. Better in both aspects, I like to think. And that short story, didn’t quite fit any more. I decided it would keep it in my back pocket and maybe revamp it one day.

Today is that day. Not only has it been re-edited more in keeping with my author’s voice, but an additional 8K words have been added. It’s now twice as long as it was before, bringing it to a novelette length. There’s more of Jack and Ryan, which is awesome, and has a beautiful new cover, done by the amazing Morningstar Ashley. And I thought, what better way to celebrate my tenth anniversary than by republishing the story that started it all.

If you read the original, some minor plot points have changed and, as I said, a whole bunch of new content added. But at it’s heart, it’s till a story about Jack, a man who let’s the love of his life go to pursue his dreams, and Ryan doing exactly that, all while knowing he was coming back for Jack. It’s about how they can move forward with their lives now that they’ve found each other again. And yes, it’s mostly fluffy, with a lot of love and very little angst. With a bit of Christmas magic thrown in.

Jackson Bennett and Ryan Hennigan met and fell in love while Ryan worked on Jack’s family’s Christmas tree farm. Back then, Jack broke his own heart by convincing Ryan to leave and pursue his future. Ryan went, but only after Jack agreed to reunite when Ryan graduated from college. Now, five years later, it’s time, but Jack is convinced Ryan won’t show—and when he does, Jack is certain Ryan can’t possibly want to stay. Ryan, however, has no intention of being anywhere other than in Jack’s arms. Loving each other is easy, but finding a way through challenges to a future together is worth it.

Buy or borrow here!