Hello, Delilah!  Thank you for inviting me to discuss my new release!  Love in Mission City: The Four Seasons is my fourth box set in the Love in Mission City world.  The box set has five short stories that all appeared previously in other anthologies.  Four seasons and five stories?  Well, four seasons and a bonus story.  I have a tale to share, though, about how this came about.

As you may know, 2024 was my year of saying Hell yes to every opportunity that came my way.  Let me tell you, there were a lot.  I joined some shared worlds, I poked my head down rugby rabbit holes, and I wrote about gay rockstars.  I also signed up for about twenty anthologies. Yep! Twenty.  That number was split between charity projects and for-profit ones.

I hit the ground running with several stories coming due within weeks.  Undaunted, I had fun with Plot Whisperer as she whispered plots to me.  I put my head down and wrote the stories.  The second story I wrote was Christmas Courtship.  The story of two men meeting — and falling in love — at a Christmas market.  Okay, so winter.

At that point, I was starting to think about what I would do with the short stories once the anthologies were delisted and my rights reverted.  To that point, I’d sort of been doing things haphazardly.  Kind of all over the place.  I had my first box set, which, of the five stories, only had two that were at all linked.  Readers still enjoyed the five stories, but they lacked cohesion.  My second box set was two novellas that were connected. So that worked.

My third box set started a little chaotically, but the final novella drew everything together nicely.  Readers have appreciated that.

Which brings me to this latest.  I had a Christmas story.  I’d signed up to write an autumn/bonfire story.  Okay, two seasons.  Beyond that, I had two more planned in Mission City — an office romance and an instalove.  Why not set them in spring and summer?  Okay then…done.  Except, I wrote: Christmas, Summer, Autumn, and then Spring.  In my head, I had to hold what I’d written and what I was going to write.  Plus, I had to integrate the stories into an existing world.

I managed.  I did give the box set to a couple of ARC readers who are familiar with Mission City to ensure I did everything okay — which, apparently, I did.  The bonus story was one I wrote for a charity anthology that didn’t have a home.  Interestingly, I’m not even certain which season I set it in — that was one of the more rushed projects, and at only 5k words, I had to get in and out quickly.

The stories range from 5k to 15k.  The total is about 55k — which is generally (although not planned) — the length of my boxsets.  I want readers to feel like they’ve received some value for their hard-earned dollars.

That’s it!  The story of how I got my stuff together and put out a cohesive box set.  I have three more coming, and I’ve already sat down and mapped them out.  The New Romance Café has moved away from anthologies and are doing multi-author themed series.  My two rugby books were part of the first one.  I’ve signed up for three more (because, of course I did) and we’ll see what my brain puts out.

Okay.  Thank you for letting me visit!  I love sharing the writing/marketing process with your readers.

Contest: As a special thank you, I would love to gift copies of my first two boxsets: Love in Mission City: The Shorts and Love in Mission City: The Boyfriends Duet.  Just let me know – do you prefer themed anthologies or boxsets or does there have to be a cohesive throughline?  Just drop a comment – Random will select a winner!  Good luck!

Love in Mission City: The Four Seasons

Love in Mission City: The Four Seasons includes five short stories…

Mission City is tucked in the charming Cedar Valley in southwestern British Columbia. If you love heartwarming, contemporary small-town gay romances, then come home to Mission City and fall in love with the men who live there. Romance shows up in the unlikeliest places. And trouble has a way of finding them…

Christmas Courtship

Johnson takes great pride in his homemade apple cider, and the Christmas market is the perfect place to find new customers. As he scans the holiday craft booths, his eye is caught by some exquisite fairy figurines and he’s intrigued. But Henry, the artist, is excruciatingly shy. It will take all of Johnson’s charm, and a little holiday magic, to make this more than one fleeting encounter.

Christmas Courtship is a 12k gay holiday romance short story with a quiet artist, a boisterous cider-maker, some nosy matchmakers, the magic of Christmas, and a zany border collie named Zeus. The story previously appeared in the anthology Mistletoe and Markets.

Anything’s Pawsible

Carter can’t resist saying hi to every cute dog he sees, but his neighbor’s two, Sheffield and Rosebud? Totally adorable. So’s their grouchy owner, even if Byron seems to avoid human contact. Carter will just keep on being himself, and maybe even a man who has given up on love will find he has space in his life for some sunshine.

Anything’s Pawsible is a 15k instalove age-gap, opposites-attract, grumpy/sunshine gay interracial romance short story with a curmudgeon accountant, a Gen Z writer, and two of the cutest dogs ever. The story first appeared in the anthology Just Add Love.

The Office Hotshot

Successful architect Knight assumed he could trust his sister-in-law to complete the interior decoration on his latest project, as she always has. Instead, in walks a flamboyant, cheerful stranger who announces he’s her maternity leave replacement.
Orlando’s just out of school, and he wants to make a good impression in this dream job, but something about uptight Knight pushes all his buttons. Seducing the boss definitely isn’t a great idea, but he just can’t help himself.

The Office Hotshot is a 15k word gay romance short story with a successful architect, a quirky younger interior designer, and a cantankerous photocopier. This story first appeared in the anthology On the Clock.

Pumpkin Spicy

Clay is at the Fall Market selling his super-secret pumpkin spice. When a handsome man keeps coming around to chat, he’s intrigued. Ashton is a mystery Clay definitely wants to solve before he sells his last jar.

Pumpkin Spicy is an 8k sweet gay romance short story with a shy stranger, nosy friends, and a chance meeting that might just lead to a happily ever after. This story first appeared in the anthology Light My Fire.

Returning to You

Cullen walked away from Gil to marry the woman he’d gotten pregnant, and Gil encouraged him to do the right thing. Now, years later, Gil answers the door and finds Cullen on his doorstep. The man Gil once loved is now widowed, a single dad, and ready to beg him for a second chance. Is it too late, or does Gil have the courage to risk his heart again?

Returning to You is a 5k gay second-chance romance short story with a single dad and a successful-but-lonely lawyer who find their way home. This story first appeared in the anthology Second Time’s A Charm.

Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mission-City-Four-Seasons-ebook/dp/B0FG13HX2P
Universal Book Link:  https://books2read.com/FourSeasons
Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237518407-love-in-mission-city

About the Author

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.

Personal links:
Website: https://gabbigrey.com/
Newsletter sign-up: https://sendfox.com/gabbigrey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbigrey/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gabbi-grey
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15456297.Gabbi_Grey
Amazon Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Grey/e/B07SJVFX1M
Audible Profile: https://www.audible.com/author/Gabbi-Grey/B07SJVFX1M
Facebook (page): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGabbiGrey

Okay, I’m actually a cat person, but I do cohabitate with five dogs. Yes, they’re loving and have their own unique personalities, but I actually prefer cats because they’re…assholes. I laugh at their disdain of their human slaves. However, dogs are special, too. Most of my family prefer dogs because they come when they’re called and are affectionate, and not just when they’re being fed treats. They’re loyal. Yeah, I’m pretty sure my cats would eat me if I didn’t keep their food bowl filled. I just think cats are smarter and rule the roost. I respect that.

However, today is Dog Appreciation Day. I know there are a lot of dog lovers out there!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me about your wonderful, loyal, furry friend.

I learned of missionary teacher, Maria Fearing, this year while posting Black Presbyterian facts during Black History month. Once again, I came away awestruck by the resilience and determination of another 19^th century African American woman who refused to let circumstances or the dictates of others determine her destiny.

Maria was born enslaved on the William O. Winston Oakhill Plantation in Gainesville Alabama on July 26, 1838. She served as a house slave there.  She learned bible stories and about missionaries in Africa alongside the children of her owner. Thus, were planted the seeds for what she hoped and dreamed to do with her life if she gained her freedom.

After emancipation, her father, Jesse, took the surname Fearing for his family from a former owner. She learned to read and write when she was thirty-three years old and became a teacher through the Freedman’s Bureau School in Talledega, Alabama.

In 1891, Maria responded to an appeal for volunteers from the presbyterian African American missionary, William Sheppard, to work in Luebo, the Congo (now Zaire). However, she was rejected by the denomination because of her age, fifty-six. Undaunted, she went anyway as a self-supporting missionary in 1894, thanks to her own finances and support from the women of a local congregational church.

She labored in Luebo for two years before finally receiving full missionary status and a salary. While there, she learned the Baluba-Lulua language and helped to translate the Bible into it. She also founded the Pantops Home for Girls. The Home provided shelter and support for orphaned girls and girls she helped rescue from enslavement. She continued there for more than twenty years, finally retiring from the mission field at the age of seventy-eight.

She returned to Selma, Alabama, where she taught in a church school until age ninety-three. She never married or had children and died in 1937 at the age of ninety-nine. For her achievements, she was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000.

In her poem, “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou describes herself with the line “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” Maria’s story proves that not all slaves left their hopes and dreams to be fulfilled by future generations. Once freed, she lived out her hopes and dreams in her own time. She made her life her legacy.

In the face of societal attempts today to erase the achievements of people of color and women of all races from American history, I’m proud to be among those spreading the accomplishments of women like Maria Fearing far and wide.

Contest: For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, leave your impression of Maria and/or other women like her that you know of in the comments.

Put It In A Book
Inside Stranded: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology

Trapped in a book by a sorcerer for rejecting his sexual advances, an ex-slave’s daughter discovers her one hope of rescue – a nosy thief.  

Excerpt:

A multiple volume encyclopedia stood on shelves at chest level in a far corner. Morlu would want his wealth within easy reach. Sekou pulled down the first volume and rifled through the pages. Paper currency of all types fluttered to his feet like leaves whirling from the branches of bombax trees in winter.

Clever, Dibia. But not clever enough.

Sekou chuckled and rifled through volume after volume. By the time he reached Z a pile of money lay on the floor. He scooped the cash into his swag sack, laughing quietly at his haul.

He thrust the last volume back into place, knocking a slender manuscript off the shelf.

The Story of Aziza.

He recognized the title of the book with which Morlu had taunted him. He picked it up, fanned the pages with his thumb. A sigh drifted past him. Startled, he crouched and looked left then right. Only the night breeze disturbed the silence. He fanned through the pages again. This time a scent – light like rain, sweet like honey – graced the air.

He stared at the face of a withered old hag on the book’s cover. The image had repulsed and fascinated him. The gaze in her eyes shone with intelligence and defiance, so unlike the villagers lionizing the dibia at this moment.

Sekou opened to the flyleaf. There the image of a black beauty stared back at him. Her skin was as smooth as the hag’s was wrinkled, but the same intelligent defiance shone in her eyes. He traced the outline of her chin jutting forth with pride.

“So, ladies…” He feathered his fingers along her full lips then examined the woman on the cover again. “To which one of you does this story belong?”

Buylink: Amazon – https://amzn.to/3dLd9rM

Pluto Demoted Day!

Science nerd here, so I had to mention this special holiday! This is the day in 2006, when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto from “planet” status to “dwarf planet” status. I remember my outrage (okay, so maybe it was a bit milder, we’ll say “dismay”) over the change. I was raised knowing there were NINE PLANETS in our solar system—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto! Suddenly, there were just eight, and poor, tiny Pluto was pushed out of the circle of cool kid planets. Due to that change, there are now five officially recognized dwarf planets in our solar system—Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

Another cool fact about Pluto…? It’s named for the god of the Underworld, and it has five moons of its own with very cool names: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx.

Report Card

Last week…

1. I completed edits for two authors!
2. I continued reading entries for the Burn: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology!
3. I swam every day except for one stormy day!
4. I completed some small paintings.

This next week…

1. I have no manuscripts to edit for other authors at the moment. I am waiting for one to arrive, hopefully this week.
2. I’ll turn my attention back to Ignition and try my best to finish it by the end of the month.
3. I’ll finish reading the Burn: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology entries!
4. I have an echocardiogram scheduled this week.
5. I’ll continue to work on organizing & cleaning up my art room.
6. I’ll swim every day the weather cooperates, although the weather is rapidly cooling! — I might not have many days left to enjoy the pool. 🙁
7. I’ll paint when the mood (or insomnia) hits me.

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs:

1. Memory Game: Some of My #100Day Faves (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Gabbi Grey: My Gay Cinderella (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a FREE story!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Just a Girl and a Dragon — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Word Search: Heroic Qualities (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Sliding Puzzle: Orb Fisher (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. I love Fridays! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: The Black Moon — Win an Amazon gift card!

Tonight is special to astronomers and those who follow the moon cycles for certain rituals. Tonight’s a Black Moon. It’s a rare-ish event—a 2nd new moon in the same month.

A new moon is always a time for restarts/resets. A time to grow or sluff off the old for the new. When it’s a black new moon, it’s super-charged with mystical energy.

How can you try to harness it? Stand outside to soak up the darkness. Prepare a Black Moon essential oil or moon water and set it outdoors to “soak up” the energy. Perform a ritual where you burn a paper or a bay leaf outside with a written intention for what you want to throw off and manifest anew. I’ll be preparing moon water and burning a cutout of a handprint with my wish for continuing recovery.

 For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me whether you want to participate in a renewal ceremony of your own tonight!

Especially now that school is back in session!

The kids have had their first full week of school since it started back up. They’ll be ready for a break. Ha-ha. Mama has a chore list a mile long awaiting them. Okay, it’s not that bad, but I have some things I, too, want them to help me with out at the pool. It’s funny to me how eager and joyful they are about getting into the pool at the start of summer, but how quickly they get bored with it. I’m still out there every day, scooping up leaves, watching the chlorine, brushing the surfaces… Yeah, I’ll guilt them into helping sometime this weekend.

But, I know, their lives are just so hard, getting up early, doing homework…interacting with their friends… So hard.

Just wait until they’re juggling part-time jobs, too, like their college-girl older sister who is also on the dance team and an officer in her sorority. She’s had to maintain a high grade point average to hold onto scholarships. Now, that girl has learned how to hustle.

Anyways, I don’t really have anything to talk about. I’ve already finished up one editing gig this morning. I have another to wrap up this evening. Then I intend to take a break and watch some Asian reels—that is, after I hit the pool. The water temperature is already dropping. Give it a couple of weeks, and I’ll be gasping as I force myself to dip my toes in.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether Fridays still mean something to you! And do you have weekend plans?

As an incentive to give the puzzle a try, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what’s in those orbs! Have fun with this!