Confused Little and a Grumpy Dragon – Pre-Order Secrets and Kisses Now!

The cover for Secrets and Kisses is finally ready to show you and I love how it turned out.

I love all these covers, but Boyd glaring at everyone from the cover is too cute. He’s such a grump with the locals but he’s a softie when it comes to the cute librarian Stefan.

He’s even willing to bribe his cute little with the good gossip, which delights Stefan.

They’re so funny together and I love how his thoughts are so different than Talon’s. But seeing him work through figuring out his little side is sweet too. His real-life example of what a little is has been Kenzie, and he doesn’t feel anything like Kenzie, so we’re just going to say that Stefan is slightly confused with where he fits into the Daddy and little world.

If you want to see more Kenzie shenanigans and to see what he and the librarian have been reading, Secrets and Kisses will be live on December 8th.

And if you’re curious and can’t wait…check out the first chapter of Secrets and Kisses.

Secrets and Kisses by MA innesBuy on Amazon

Blurb:

Stefan
Magic. As a librarian, Stefan knows there’s magic in books and imagination, but it isn’t until he moves to the mountains of North Carolina that he realizes people can come with magic too…well, the locals at least seem to come with magic…and fascinating relationship dynamics he thought were just on TV and in books.

Boyd
Dragons. Somehow, the council gave Boyd the job of telling the new librarian that dragons and mages are real. He’s not sure who he pissed off to be the one to scare the adorable librarian into leaving town, but he’s not happy about it. A man as sweet and shy as the town’s new librarian can’t have any idea about what the locals are hiding or what kind of thoughts Boyd has been having about him, can he?

When people aren’t as innocent or grumpy as they seem, a curious librarian and a slightly grumpy dragon will learn that love is even stronger when there’s a bit of magic involved.

Why Do I Write? Why Did I Want to Become a Writer?

Why do you write? Why did you want to become an author?

I’ve gotten variations of this question a lot and it boils down to a few reasons that can be summed up in a few different ideas: it was very practical, it was so much fun, and it was a way to show my family I wasn’t as stupid as they thought.

After my divorce when my kids were still in early elementary school, I had traditional skills to fall back on as a career. I’ve sold insurance in several states and I’ve been a teacher, but managing traditional full-time jobs with young kids wasn’t easy. (As I’m sure a lot of you know.)

For a long time, I was very lucky and my ex and his new wife helped out a lot, but as both of their mental health deteriorated, their ability to help me did too. (oh the drama I could tell you) But that left me doing all of the heavy lifting and trying to decide the best way to handle our future since staying around my ex wasn’t good for them or me any longer.

Right around the time all that drama was getting stirred up, I was talking to one of my sisters and we were discussing different career paths that would let me be home more with the kids. I mentioned writing and she kind of groaned saying it was time for me to put up or shut up about it.

I might’ve mentioned wanting to write since I was a teenager.

It always felt like a very big, impossible dream, though. Authors were people who were published through publishing houses and wrote about highland warriors or dirty billionaires. Neither of those were remotely like the ideas stirring around in my head. But as I started poking around what being an author would look like (because I’m a planner in everything but the actual writing), I realized there were independently published authors. (and that some of the authors I was currently reading were self-published…that was such a surprise lol)

That led me down a wonderful rabbit hole of research and questions to figure out, but the more I discovered, the more reasonable it actually felt. So I did it. I wrote my first book. I made a list of all the random things I’d like to write and just dove in. It was a novella and I’ve learned so much since then, but it’s been the best decision of my life and one of those turning points that changed everything.

I’ve had the time to be there for my kids and to prove to my family that my dreams were not ridiculous and that I am smart, too (I come from a whole family of everyone being Type-A overachievers with stupidly high IQs so they’re not always very nice.)

I love that I’ve been able to be there for my kids and to show them that you can make your dreams a reality, and I love that I get to play with the people in my head for a living. I can see myself doing this for many years to come (although it’s weird figuring out what things will look like now that both my kids are in college), and I’m very grateful for every reader who helped me along the way.

You guys are the best.

As for what I would say to a new author starting out on this journey…you can do it…research, plan, read, and have confidence. There is room for everyone, so dive right in.

Everyone starts somewhere and like I recently told someone close to me in my real life, every author starts somewhere and just putting those words down on paper for the first time makes you amazing.

Why Do I Write? Why Did I Want to Become a Writer? by Shaw Montgomery - authorshawmontgomery.com

Is That REAL? – Sharing Some Products Featured In The Christmas Mac-n-Cheese Mystery

Is that real?

I get this question more than you would think and not just about naughty things. Toys that I mention or apps or even emojis…I always get asked if I made it up or if it was real.

So…my mac-n-cheese goodies in The Christmas Mac-n-Cheese Mystery.

Yep, everything is real.

If you need mac-n-cheese goodies in your life or in your stocking, here are some of the fun presents that Ruslan got from Dante. (But I have not ordered these personally because there wasn’t time.)

The silverware set

My Mac and Cheese Stainless Engraved Spoon Fork Set

Just Give Me The Mac-n-Cheese And No One Gets Hurt

"Mac And Cheese Gift Macaroni Cheesy Noodle T-Shirt

Mac Daddy Shirt

Mac Daddy T-Shirt

Mac n Cheese Ornament

Mac N Cheese 3" Christmas Tree Ornament

The original socks I’d found to put in the book have disappeared off Amazon, but that just wasn’t what I wanted to see, so we did the next best thing and made a brand-new mac-n-cheese design just for you guys.

So if you really wanted Ruslan’s socks check these out.

Mac n Cheese from Cuties n Kink

Mac n Cheese from Cuties n Kink

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and good luck shopping this holiday season. (I really wish my kids were more passionate about mac-n-cheese because that would’ve made Christmas shopping a lot easier this year.)

(links in this post are affiliate which means I earn some money if you buy something after clicking the link.)

20Books Convention and What the Future Looks Like

For the past couple of years, one of the conventions I’ve been going to is with other authors. It meets in Vegas in November, and that week is filled with classes and random discussions. It always gives me a boost and makes me so much more productive once I’m home, but one of the conversations that always crops up is what the future looks like.

Newbie author? What does working full-time as an author look like to you?

Established author? What does your next step look like?

Kids in college and a backlist? What does the future look like for you?

I’ve always liked playing What If and figuring out what something might look like. On a road trip one time way back before everyone had satellite radios in their car and fancy phones, I planned out surviving the apocalypse with my ex lol.

So planning a happy future for myself isn’t hard.

I’m in my mid-forties right now, so let’s explore what life might look like in ten years.

I want to have a house I had built just for me with a hidden pantry and a slide that goes from the main floor to the basement (or second floor to the first…I’m flexible). I want to have fun vacations every couple of months. And I want to be playing grandma to my son’s kids and driving him nuts. (I might have to be patient on that one, but I can’t wait to see him as a Dad. I’m going to have so much fun making him insane.)

I want to be writing books and playing with new ideas and tropes. I want to still be writing about some of my favorite characters (Wouldn’t it be fun to see what Kevin and Bryan are up to in ten years?) and I want to have written a sci-fi series with new aliens and space adventures.

What do you want to be doing in ten years?

Are you just dreaming or have you started making plans for how to get there?

The Oblivious Professor and the Younger Daddy – The Christmas Mac-n-Cheese Mystery Now Available!

Ruslan, Dante, and the mac-n-cheese are finally here.

The Secret Santa Daddy series is back and the books are sweet and funny and perfect for Christmas.

Mine is The Christmas Mac-n-Cheese Mystery and it takes place at the college with some fun new characters. The idea is based on a club at my son’s college. I knew I had to find a place for it in a book somewhere and this just seemed perfect.

Ruslan is one of the professors in charge of the Mac-n-Cheese Club on campus and he’s slightly oblivious to all the attention he gets from students…especially the adorably mischievous Dante from one of the master’s programs.

This book has a slightly clueless little with a thing for mac-n-cheese, a younger Daddy who loves to cook, and some fun new friends. I can’t wait for you to meet these two. Have fun with them and I hope this is the start to a great holiday season for you all.

Check out the first chapter if you’re curious.

Buy on Amazon

The Christmas Mac n Cheese Mystery by MA Innes - Gay Romance Book CoverBlurb:

Ruslan knows that the best student organization on campus is the Mac-n-Cheese Club…and that’s not just because he’s the professor in charge of it. He’s also a little and an expert in mac-n-cheese. But as the holidays approach, he’s found another reason to love the club…his new Secret Santa.

Dante knows that the best student organization on campus is the Mac-n-Cheese Club because it’s led him to the most adorable little ever…and the most clueless. So when flirting isn’t helpful in the slightest, he knows it’s time to bring in the heavy hitter…Santa.

When a rigged game of Secret Santa helps a little open his eyes, it’ll take mac-n-cheese and a little romance to bring a stubborn cutie out of his shell.

Warning: This story has so much mac-n-cheese in it you probably should stock up before reading it.

Finishing My First Patreon Exclusive Story – What Should I Write Next?

Needing Me, my first Patreon story, is coming to a close with chapter 21 to be posted on October 26th.

I’ve been releasing that book a chapter or two at a time, and while it’s been longer than I expected, I had so much fun working on Kent and Sinclair’s story.

Sinclair was so busy overthinking what to do, he kind of forgot that just because he’s the Dom doesn’t mean he gets to make all the decisions about his curious friendship/relationship with Kent…and Kent had to learn that if he wanted something, he had to go after it.

Writing this has been so much fun, but I’m excited to show you what else I’ve been poking at. Over on Patreon, I’ve got the start of two different stories, Watching Me and Trading Me. They each have different kinks and very different characters, but I can’t figure out which one should come next, so I’m letting you guys decide.

Watching Me has voyeurism, water sports, and an adorably clueless neighbor, and Trading Me is about an author who decides to trade work-in-progress chapters and books in his backlist for someone to do housework around his place (it wasn’t really his idea and midnight margaritas were involved).

So if you’re curious about what’s going to come next on Patreon and want to have a say in that, head on over, join at any tier level, and take a peek at the start of the different story ideas.

Just remember, they’re unedited at this point and we’re going to have to work on a few details like names. Oh, and these are just the first parts of the story, so no sexy times yet. I can’t wait to see which one you’re curious about.

Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments, and let me know if you have any questions.