I’m thrilled to share that Caged Jaye has gotten an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Rainbow Awards! Thank you to the generous judges for taking the time to read and give input on all of the nominated books. Check out what they had to say about Jaye…

“It was a very very dark read, and I had to interrupt it a few times because it was unbearable at times. What really made me reach the end were the characters. Jaye is an innocent man who goes through horrific things and he is able to find his strength. Cash, his protector, is not a black or white character, and he’s not positive or negative. He’s very hard to label, and I loved that. Even though I like a little bit of romance and I hoped against hope that there was going to be a big moment, there wasn’t, but it’s ok, because the “relationship” at least felt real. The setting is dark and for someone like me who loved the prison series Oz it was quite entertaining (even if I hate myself for feeling this). Anyway the fascination I had with this book is that it wasn’t trying to sugarcoat Jaye’s situation and that the character has a great survival instinct, he was a great fighter.Not a book I recommend if you want a light read.”

Check out the Caged Jaye story page at ForbiddenFiction.com with blurb, excerpt, content labels, buy links, reviews and more… The continuation of Jaye’s story can be read in Arctic Absolution. The 3rd book in the series, Restitution, merges the disparate worlds of Caged Jaye and Arctic Absolution. It has been written, is currently in the editing phase of production and is coming soon!

It’s cover reveal day for bare, my forthcoming novel to be released November 15th! Please stop by one of these awesome blogs to enter the giveaway and for a look at the cover, the blurb and an excerpt from the book…

Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews

The Blogger Girls

MM Book Escape

Thank you to the blogs for participating!! Add bare on Goodreads by clicking here…

This upcoming Thursday, September 29th (also my birthday! Woohoo!) will be the official cover reveal day for my next release, bare! Stay posted here for links, or check out ForbiddenFiction.com, or stop by one of these AWESOME blogs (and huge thanks to them for participating): Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews, The Blogger Girls, & MM Book Escape.

I’m also thrilled to announce the release day for bare – November 15th, 2016! It’ll be here before you know it. I’ll be doing a blog tour for the release, which will last from Sunday, November 13 – Friday, November 18. As part of the tour, I’ll be doing an Author Chat on November 17.

I’ve been dealing both with health issues and a crap-ton of life events piled on top of one another lately, so I’m doing my best to stay on top of everything (though I am running ever so slightly behind). Bare is a whole lot of fun, so I’m really excited to share it with all of you.

This post is a mixed bag of news and updates on my personal life, which pretty accurately represents how things have been going lately. It’s been a little of everything, all tossed together.

I’m doing well, and I mean that sincerely. The thing about being raised in an abusive environment, to the extent that you can’t even see that you’re being constantly abused, is you can’t see other things too. Once you break free, you notice parts of yourself and your reality that have always been there, blending into the woodwork. For instance, I’ve realized I have wiring in my head telling me if I get home after work and I don’t bust my ass either a) exercising, b) writing/editing, or c) cleaning the house – while also taking care of my kids, pretty much to the point of exhaustion and preferably accomplishing a, b, & c in the same day, I’m a total failure of a human being. Now, I know why this is. My narcissist mother hammered it into me pretty hard that I’ll never be good enough and I’m a lazy disappointment, hence the constant killing myself for no apparent reason. And I was burning out fairly spectacularly last winter because of this. You can’t constantly push yourself as hard as humanly possible without something breaking. Because I can finally recognize the reasons WHY I feel this way and why I have these instincts, I’ve been working to rewire myself in healthier ways.

That means giving myself permission to relax. I may go for a walk with my daughter, or accomplish little if I’ve had a stressful day at work. I’ve been working on my spiritual health every day, because of losing my brother and because my mother always used her God as a weapon against me. I’ve disconnected a little with social media to reduce stress (I use Twitter the most to share news). I’ve been taking time to listen to my own needs instead of always and only doing for others. Some of this may sound like common sense to you, but to me it’s been the biggest revelation of my life to know I’m allowed to take time and energy to care for myself. It’s made me happier than I’ve ever been, even as a child.

This has translated to a shifting of gears with my writing. I don’t write every day anymore. I didn’t write a thing for weeks. This freaked me out at first and added to my stress, but I’ve gotten back to it since and I am still getting stuff done. I’ve got a work in progress that’s at the 18k mark and going strong. I’ve got another one at 50k+ that I honestly may abandon completely.

Looking back, I notice now, too, broad phases in my work. For a while there, a lot of my novels were about actively striving, struggling and surviving. Right now, they all seem to be about recovering and healing. I think this a good thing. I love taking my characters closer to a better place and reflecting my own efforts to knit intangible things back together after someone else ripped them apart.

One message I really want to get out there to everyone reading, and something I wish I would have known years ago, is that no one – NO ONE – is automatically granted permanent permission to be in your life. Not a spouse, or a parent, or a sibling, or another family member, or a co-worker, or a friend, or a neighbor. If someone is actively making you feel shitty, get away from them. Find a way. Find a safe place and go there. If someone tells you you’re a bad person for trying to stop feeling shitty, get away from them too! There is one hell of a lot people out there who just want things to stay the way they are, because change is scary and takes work. They will fight you on your efforts to save yourself. Don’t pay them any attention. Keep your eyes on the goal and do for you. You’ll quickly discover who truly has your back, and it will probably surprise you to find out who that is.

Now, I do have three books written and in the works with Forbidden Fiction. The one most likely to be released next is titled, “bare.” It’s sexy, funny, exciting and different than everything I’ve done so far. The cover has been designed and there will be more information to come very soon.

I’ll be taking part in the blog anniversary of On Top Down Under Book Reviews in October and will be sharing a post on ‘bare’ on the 10th that will have a very unique giveaway. Some of you may know from my Facebook posts, but Officer Vargas in the Twin Ties novel, Double Heat, was based on a real guy who is a friend of mine. He’s straight and married to a lovely lady, but has been fascinated by my writing for years. For a while there, he only referred to me by my email address (lynn@lynnkelling.com) after he sent me fanmail and I responded. So I wrote him into the story. He gives me ideas (via my hubby, actually) for gay plot bunnies and encourages me to expand Officer Vargas’s storyline in the future. In fact, Officer Vargas will appear soon in a novel outside of the Twin Ties universe (new crossover alert!). The giveaway on October 10th will be a paperback copy of Double Heat autographed by myself AND Officer Vargas. He’s even hinted that he might share a photo of himself signing the book, so stay tuned on that (his idea, by the way!) and be sure to visit On Top Down Under Book Reviews.

My genderqueer novel, Becoming Kerry, and a third installment to the Arctic Absolution series, Restitution, are also on the way soon.

The book I’m currently writing takes things in a threesome sort of direction. There’s a significant age difference factor and there’s a theme of people working as hard as they can to overcome mountains of hardship in order to just live and be happy. It incorporates several scenes I’ve had burned into my brain for years but hadn’t yet found a place for them to live, so I’m excited and enjoying myself.

Thank you as always for reading. Sending Jedi hugs and good vibes to all,
Lynn

Hello, friends. I’m offering up a weird confession today to help give a glimpse into what it’s been like to recover from childhood emotional abuse—an incredibly private battle that is not typically shared with anyone, usually because skeptics and deniers are plentiful due to abusers’ devious skill at pretending to be other than they truly are. I have written a lot of abused characters, but after living enmeshed with lies for so very long, truth is an astonishing breath of fresh air. By acknowledging these things, I’m hoping to help others identify their own inner struggles and ways to combat the destructive forces imposed on us against our will. Please remember, even if no one else is fighting for you, you can always be your own hero. I’ll be here to cheer you on.

Continue reading →

My awesomesauce publisher, Forbidden Fiction, always has several books and short stories serializing as free reads for members at a given time. Right now, I have TWO novels serializing with FREE chapters being posted every week—From Temptation and Whatever the Cost! The free reads are available for members of the site, but it’s free and easy to sign up, so what are you waiting for?? It’s a great way to check out new authors and sample some of the amazing fiction being released from people who believe steaming hot stories shouldn’t skimp on plot or quality writing.

Also happening NOW—20% OFF ALL GLBT ebooks ONLY at Forbidden Fiction’s shop site: FantasticFictionPublishing.com

Read From Temptation for FREE…

Read Whatever the Cost for FREE…

From Temptation’s Blurb: Kyle Roth is no longer safe–not from his lover, not from his friends and, especially, not from himself. Questioning the choices that led him to a life of submission to the potentially dangerous Dominant, Ben Knox, Kyle sees no other way out than through old vices. Just when Kyle assumes all hope is lost he is saved by the persistence of an old enemy, Gabriel Hunter. Worse yet, a secret past withheld from Darrek–Kyle’s friend and Gabriel’s partner–threatens to destroy them all! (M/M)

Whatever the Cost’s Blurb: Liam and Jacen are roommates–and elite prostitutes working for a secret organization, The Company. They spend their lives making fantasies come true for spoiled, dangerous clients. In the midst of daily risk of emotional and physical damage, their friendship has been an island of sanity and safety. When The Company orders them to do a job together requiring them to cross the no-sex boundary that has kept them friends, Liam and Jacen must examine how they really feel about each other, and how far they are truly willing to go. Is this the life they want? Used to offering up their bodies without protest to the mercurial whims of others while fiercely guarding their hearts, the true meaning of love and consent is a challenge neither has ever faced before. (M/M)

In the past, I’ve shared sad and upsetting news about my personal life here with you, friends and readers, but today I’d like to share some that’s much more hopeful and wonderful (because doesn’t the world need a little bit more of that?)

Since my brother Matt passed away, I’ve gotten signs from him—regularly and consistently. I believe everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. I believe a lot of people think signs/spirits/etc. is all bullshit and lies, because I’m related to several people who do! And that’s fine. They’re entitled to think that, and so are you. My personal belief is that there is an afterlife, and we can receive signs or messages from our loved ones after they leave if we stay open to it. (I struggle to understand why you would choose to think otherwise, especially if it’s your child/sibling/spouse/etc who has died, but I digress). Most of the rest of my family of origin do not believe this or are not open to it, so I also think that’s why I get so many signs from my brother. (For the record, I have had other experiences with spirits and ghosts, some alone and some in the company of my husband). Some signs from Matt are really blatant, like the Mother’s Day card from him I mysteriously found around last Mother’s Day, weeks after he passed when I was desperate for a piece of his handwriting. I’ve come across long-forgotten childhood mementos in the process for looking for something else entirely. When I went to fetch our Easter decorations, I found myself holding an essay I wrote about him when I was 14 titled “Boasting ‘Bout My Brother”.

Besides these “discoveries”, my husband and I have each experienced phenomena we can’t explain, like seeing someone out of the corner of our eye who isn’t there, hearing the door open and close when it’s triple-locked and no one ever came inside, or hearing footsteps come running down the stairs when the kids are sound asleep (I checked) and I’m downstairs alone watching TV. My children and I have also asked him for things, then gotten a direct physical response (help finding lost objects, or suddenly meeting an old friend I’d been thinking about but hadn’t seen since I was young).

We live in the house I grew up in. We bought it from my parents and its where Matt spent most of his life. There are a lot of memories there. My kids both sleep in bedrooms that used to be Matt’s at one point or other. It makes sense to me that he visits us there.

I’ve spoken to a popular local medium more than once, and gotten messages through her that are obviously from him, capturing his personality and circumstances of his death in ways she could never have known. I know he’s fine and watching over us. He’s promised he will always send us these “signs”. He’s told me he’s visited me in my dreams and he explained step-by-step through the medium what he was feeling & experiencing over the course of the 24-hours before he died in a freak slip-and-fall accident. I even know which of my deceased relatives waited with him in ICU as he lay dying to help him cross over (and it’s not who I expected!)

This weekend, I had two new “events” happen. Saturday evening, I was in my bedroom getting ready for bed and some artwork we have hanging up caught my eye (full disclosure—it’s an intricate illustration we bought at the Haunted Mansion in Disney). It has a quote within it and I forgot what it said, so I went to read it. It’s actually a poem about things that happen when ghosts are present and *as I’m reading it* the cabinet door on my dresser popped open. The last time I’d touched that door was at least 7 hours earlier. Directly above that cabinet is where I keep my memorial necklace with Matt’s fingerprint, which I wear every day. It was equal parts scary, exciting and hilarious (my brother definitely had/has an odd sense of humor!)

The next day, Sunday, an hour after the kids were in bed, hubby and I were watching Game of Thrones and chatting when a nerf gun bullet sitting on the ottoman directly in front of us rolled itself over for no apparent reason. We both saw it happen. Hubby poked it like it was a snake, but it didn’t move again. The first thought for both of us was how Matt loved more than anything to have nerf battles with our kids when he visited.

I love when this stuff happens, and these little messages from beyond, letting me know he’s still with me. It feels like actual magic. My brother’s life and soul has always been dedicated to family, and being there for those he loves whenever and however he can (especially if he can make them laugh in the process). He has gone way over the top with his expressions of dedication more times than I can count. Of course that wouldn’t change even if he’s here in a different form now. Take this as a reminder to be open and observant for signs from your own loved ones who have passed, because you just never know… They’re with you, whether you look for them at your side or not.

I’m so excited to be able to say that Only the Lonely (Twin Ties series) has officially been released! This is a dark, emotional story, but after going through 3 novels’ worth of Evan’s journey with him, I knew I owed it to him to capture the toughest period of his life. That’s what this novella does. The demons he faces here are a big part of who he is and why he acts the way he does. There’s a lot I personally relate to in what he struggles with, so I know how honoring the entire span of a nightmarish process is really key in appreciating the peace and happiness of a happy ending. I was never going to really know Evan unless I went with him through the trials of his fourteenth year of life, and I believe you’ll also have a greater appreciation not only for how far he comes over the course of the series by reading this, but also for what too many people like him have to live with through no fault of their own. Evan didn’t chose his circumstances, but he’s the one who has to walk that path. Recognizing the strength it takes to do so is a gift we can give him, and his kindred spirits.

Find out more at the story page, including content labels, excerpt, buy links and more…

Goodreads page…

Only the Lonely (prequel novella in the Twin Ties series) is released this Tuesday, May 17th! Please check the content labels on the story page for possible triggers before reading. This is not a romance, but does give crucial insight into Evan’s life before his brother and twins Alek and Luka were part of it.

**SALE: Only at FantasticFictionPublishing.com all ebooks are 15% OFF during the month of May AND you can get the 3 ebook set of the Twin Ties series novels at a reduced rate in ALL ebook formats!!**

Blurb: Evan Savage is a young teen desperately searching for something to hold on to and a way to be noticed. Living in rural Whippoorwill, Pennsylvania, his only family is an absentee father who leaves Evan alone for days at a time while away for work. Friendless and bullied at school, with only a nearby preacher named Jimmy to look out for him; Evan gratefully accepts attention wherever and however he gets it. Sometimes it feels like part of him is missing, and every day the void consumes more of Evan’s ability to fight back against his circumstances. While looking at himself in the mirror within a recurring dream, his reflection keeps reaching out to him with happiness he doesn’t feel, from a world different than his own, though much less tangible. Anonymous sexual encounters with strange men satisfy Evan’s need for company and reassurance that he’s someone worth wanting, as well as test his boundaries. But, faced with the growing temptation to slip away for good, it’s up to Jimmy, and Evan’s dream-world counterpart, to try to keep him there.

~* 4 STARS from The Blogger Girls *~

“Stop and grab this little insight into our young Evan’s adolescence. It is guaranteed to make you love him and Jimmy more…and want to further pound his clueless father into the ground.” —Susan, The Blogger Girls

Thanks to the Blogger Girls for the awesome review! Please follow the link to read the full write-up…

Only the Lonely is a prequel novella to the Twin Ties series and it’s released on May 17. This week, 2 incredible reviews came out for it from On Top Down Under Book Reviews and Hearts on Fire Reviews…

~* 5 STARS for Only the Lonely from Hearts on Fire Reviews *~

“Besides being the queen of stories that push conventional boundaries, I also firmly believe that no one does prequels quite like Lynn Kelling either… Now that I’ve had the chance to devour a little bit of prequel Evan, I have an irresistible urge to re-read the original trilogy – I loved it that much! For fans of the series, this is a must read” – Wendy, Hearts on Fire Reviews

~* 4 STARS for Only the Lonely from On Top Down Under Book Reviews *~

“In a lesser author’s hands it could have been gratuitous. It wasn’t, because it’s Lynn Kelling and she’s a strong, empathetic writer who loves her characters. It touches your heart and makes you want to wrap Evan up. …Recommended for people who are as addicted to Lynn Kelling’s writing as I am, who are probably hooked on this series – or would like to be – and those who can read it and think, ‘Shit, how am I reading this?‘ but continue on because they just have to. Because it’s powerful stuff.” — Kazza, On Top Down Under Book Reviews

Only the Lonely is available for Pre-order NOW! Add it on Goodreads here…

And just posted over at Top 2 Bottom Reviews is a new review of Arctic Absolution, with thoughts on how I break MM readers’ “safe rules” in the course of the book, and why it worked for this reviewer. Check it out at the link…

~* Roxy Reviews Arctic Absolution *~

“Lynn Kelling and her publisher have earned the title of Must Have’s by Roxy… Talk about well written and completely interesting set of men…these are them. Lynn did a fabulous job and I’m in love with her characters. I can’t wait to read another one…so, I’ll just go and do that now.” — Roxy, Top 2 Bottom Reviews

Huge thanks to all of the reviewers!! I’ve been making huge strides in my personal life, as far as my mental health and happiness is concerned, and I’ve been channeling that energy into writing the 3rd book in the Arctic Absolution series. Jaye and Dixon deserve peace and their happily ever after, so that’s what I’m going for.