K. Evan Coles's Blog

'Color You In' , EMS Station 1 Book 2, is live on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited, paperback coming soon. Yay! ARCs went out last week to readers and I’m just really thrilled to be able to share Gus and Madoc’s story at last.

Why are the hot guys always straight?

EMT Gus has his sights set on a promotion to paramedic. He doesn’t care that his new rookie partner thinks he’d do the job better. Or that the straight, married dad is all wrong for him.

Madoc restarted his career to make a better life for his daughter. He hates having to play the new rookie all over again. Especially when he can’t stop thinking about his new partner, no matter how hard he tries.

The partners strike up a friendship, but when crushes become real attraction and Gus bonds with Madoc’s child, will Madoc be ready to stop playing it straight?

Color You In is a 98.5K rivals-to-lovers MM romance. In it you’ll meet an ambitious EMT with a crush on his straight, married partner, a cute single-dad who’s gotten used to playing it straight, a curly-haired kid with designs to paint the world with purple sparkles, and the sweet HEA they all deserve.

Buy or Read on KU

I also wanted to make you aware of Queer Romance is Resistance , an excellent BookFunnel story collection that celebrates the spectrum of identities and loves.

From the time I learned to read, books have been my favorite escape. And whether I was aware of it or not, the stories I’ve chosen to read over the years have been an expression of my efforts to know who I am and where I fit in the world.

As a mixed race person, finding that place in stories where I ‘fit’ has not always been easy and there simply aren’t always characters in stories that look like me or live my experiences. That’s why seeing ourselves in the books we read is critical and why I strive to write books with diverse, inclusive characters that make readers feel seen and heard.

Queer Romance Is Resistance is about bringing you stories that do the same, ranging the spectrum of identities and loves. Read queer romances with us and celebrate stories, the authors and readers, and everyone out there who needs to feel seen, loved, and find the place they fit.

See the books in the collection here

Hopeful Hearts, Book 4 in the Stealing Hearts stories, is live!⁣
⁣
Hopeful Hearts is an age gap sex-buddies-to-lovers novel. In it you’ll meet a grumpy nurse practitioner recovering from heartbreak, a bright-eyed robotics genius who thinks epic romance is epically dumb, a huge wily dog in need of an owner, a 400-mile LDR, and a deliciously satisfying happily ever after.⁣
⁣
Tropes:⁣
💛 Age difference
💙 Grumpy meets Sunshine
💛 Long Distance Relationship
💙 Sex Buddies Become Lovers
💛 Slow Burn
💙 Found Family
💛 We don’t deserve dogs⁣
⁣
Blurb:⁣

Some hearts are made to be hopeful.
⁣
Ian Byrne never expected to meet a guy on the train. Especially not a robot-building whiz kid like Tris Santos, fifteen years younger than Ian and in so many ways his opposite. But they strike up an effortless friendship, the spark of attraction between them burning hot over chat screens when Tris moves away. ⁣
⁣
Now, Ian can’t imagine his life without Tris. Can’t believe how deeply he feels for a man he doesn’t even see in person. Ian thinks Tris might be the right guy but … is it too much to hope that Tris might feel the same?

Buy or read through Kindle Unlimited https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKR379QP/

Looking for a sweet holiday read with sizzle and a focus on second chances? Healing Hearts, Stealing Hearts Book #2, has you covered and it's on sale for $.99.

Tropes:
✨ Second Act
✨ Food Truck Romance
✨ Age gap
✨ Interethnic romance
✨ Friends to lovers
✨ Found family
✨ Second chances at love

Some hearts are made to be mended.

Zac Alvarez never expected to start his life over at forty-five, but his recent divorce means doing just that. Luckily, his career as a nurse in Boston keeps him busy and he has friends who understand Zac’s need to be as careful with his heart as he is with his diet.

Acting on a whim one fall afternoon, Zac buys lunch from a food truck and meets Aiden Marinelli, a bold young chef who is taking the city’s food scene in new directions. Aiden is only thirty, a fact that doesn’t sit well with Zac, but both the chef and his food prove impossible to resist.

As the winter holidays draw near, Zac begins to emerge from the protective shell he’s built around himself. A chance encounter with his ex-husband shakes his newfound confidence, however, and he pushes Aiden away.

Now, Zac must decide if he is brave enough to go after what he wants and mend not only Aiden’s heart but his own.

Buy or read through Kindle Unlimited https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B082RXNN12

When I started plotting Stealing Hearts #4 earlier this year, I asked my newsletter subscribers if they'd like a serialized story or a whole book. The overwhelming response was 'a whole book please!' and thus I respected the vote.

An ARC went out to my subscribers with my heartfelt thanks and now Hopeful Hearts is available for pre-order.

Blurb:

Some hearts are made to be hopeful.

Ian Byrne is done with love. Or so he’s been telling himself since his life crashed and burned. Ian got through his depression with help from friends and his career as an orthopedic nurse, as well as a big shaggy dog that’s not really his. And if most days Ian feels just all right, he thinks that’s fine.

He never expected to meet a guy on the train. Especially not a robot-building whiz kid like Tris Santos, fifteen years younger than Ian and in so many ways his opposite. But they agree that epic love is a myth and strike up an effortless friendship, the spark of attraction between them quickly igniting and burning hot over chat screens when Tris moves away.

Now, Ian can’t imagine his life without Tris. Can’t believe that what started as a fling became so much more and how deeply he feels for a man he doesn’t even see in person. Ian thinks Tris might be the right guy; that he might be ready to risk his heart one more time. But … is it too much to hope that Tris might feel the same?


Hopeful Hearts is an 85.1 K age gap sex-buddies-to-lovers novel. In it you’ll meet a grumpy nurse practitioner recovering from heartbreak, a bright-eyed robotics genius who thinks epic romance is epically dumb, a huge wily dog in need of an owner, a 400-mile LDR, and a deliciously satisfying happily ever after.


Content Advisory: This book contains a character coping with serious depression and contains references to homophobia and disownment. Happy ending absolutely guaranteed.

Pre-order at Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKR379QP/.

The first two books I published, Wake and Calm, which I co-wrote with Brigham Vaughn, are five years old in 2022 -- my mind is blown. Coincidentally, both books are featured in Amazon's Monthly Deals for November. Each book is on sale for $1.99 and you can grab the set for only $3.98.

You can find out more about both books here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098DTRKL9

Wake and Calm are also available on Kindle Unlimited if you're a subscriber and like to read that way.

Noah’s got the vampire life figured out. Danny’s done with interspecies dating. When fate throws them together, will everyone make it out alive?⁣

I have a new book out … finally! I’m so happy to be able to share Overexposed at last. Writing has often been a sanity-saving activity for me and this book was no exception. Being able to immerse myself in a new world that was different from any other I’ve written in the past was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed writing urban fantasy even more than I expected.

The idea for Overexposed was born from the Working Stiffs COVID-19 Anthology and what started out as a 20K word short about a vampire who works for the NYPD became a paranormal mystery romance that spanned over 92K words. With baking. Because yes.

Overexposed features a crime scene photographer who thinks he’s got his vampire life figured out, a bakery owner who’s sworn off dating fangers, an unfortunate number of murders, more mayhem than anyone asked for, and a hard-won, deeply satisfying HEA.
⁣
I’d love to hear what you think.

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that I’m working on a new Stealing Hearts story and I’m happy to report it’s coming along nicely–probably because I enjoy reading the age gap and grumpy/sunshine tropes and find them very fun to write as well.

I plan to make this story available to my newsletter subscribers as a gift before it’s released into the wild–keep an eye out for it!

I can hardly believe that 2021 is almost over but I’m happy to move forward and am truly grateful to have you with me. Please know I’m wishing you all the wonderful things in 2022.

In this post, I have for you:

* pre-order info for Overexposed, my paranormal mystery/suspense novel
* the results of a poll I sent out in my newsletter about serialized stories
* an update on a new Stealing Hearts story
* assorted other ramblings 🙂


Overexposed Pre-Order
Overexposed, a paranormal mystery/suspense romance, is my first long work in the non-contemporary genre. I’m super excited about having tried something new with my writing!

Overexposed releases on January 25 and is available on Amazon for pre-order as of this week. I’d love it if you checked it out.

Summary:

An unexpected chapter in a vampire’s guide to staying alive.

As the only vampire employed by the NYPD, crime scene photographer Noah Green isn’t popular. He’s worked alongside humans for decades and knows how to stay focused and avoid attachments with the bleeders around him … but hasn’t done much to avoid a certain West Village bakery owner, who has no idea Noah can’t eat the bread he buys.

Baker Danny Kaes is done hooking up, at least when it comes to fangers. He’s too busy running Nice Buns, the Filipino bakery he owns with his sister, to dwell on the dramas of dating, and if he misses the thrill of sharp teeth on his throat, he still knows he’s better off with his own kind … like the CSU hottie who stops into the bakery before sunrise.

While working a string of suspicious deaths, Noah finds Danny at a crime scene, traumatized after discovering a body. Worse, Danny’s also put himself in the killer’s crosshairs and needs a safe place to hide. Surprising even himself, Noah offers Danny his couch, knowing he’ll have to come clean about being a blood eater.

Days bleed into nights as the killer closes in, leading Noah and the cops in a mad scramble to protect Danny from dangers he can’t imagine. But Noah can’t protect himself from his feelings for Danny, or how they’ve made him question everything he thought he knew about how humans fit into his carefully ordered vampire life.

Overexposed is a 92+K paranormal mystery MM romance. It features a crime scene photographer who thinks he’s got his vampire life figured out, a bakery owner who’s definitely sworn off inter-species dating, an unfortunate number of murders, more mayhem than anyone asked for, and a hard-won, deeply satisfying HEA.

Serialized Stories: The Nays Have It
In my last newsletter, I asked my subscribers if they would enjoy receiving a new story in a serialized format with new content once every 1-2 weeks. The vast majority of respondents prefer to receive a single, complete book rather than a serialized story and I will respect the peoples’ vote! 🙂

If you are a subscriber and voted, thank you for taking the time to share your opinion with me–know that I appreciate hearing from you.

Keep an eye out for a new Stealing Hearts story in the first couple of months of 2022 featuring the grumpy/sunshine and age gap tropes. I plan to make it available to my newsletter subscribers first before it’s released into the wild–consider subscribing if you’re interested!

Take Care Of You
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I’d love to hear about them if so–don’t hesitate to hit me back with a comment. This year I’m resolving to take better care of myself in terms of stress. My anxiety has been pretty gnarly this year, and I want to make a conscious effort to chill out more and distance myself from things that ping those anxious feelings.

Until we meet again, I’m sending love and light to you all, and hugs for a peaceful 2022.

– K.

Hello, friends! Well, my day job almost ate me this year and I’ve been absent way too much. I have been writing all along, however, and getting ready for a couple of releases, an activity whichhas me feeling honestly great. Keep an eye out for Overexposed , a paranormal mystery/suspense romance, as well as a contemporary story not yet titled but planned for the Stealing Hearts universe.

I did want to share some fun news about The Rainbow 2020-2021 Awards because three of my book babies received Honorable Mentions and two were Runners Up in their categories. I am was floored.

* Hooked On You – Honorable Mention
* Healing Hearts (Stealing Hearts #2) – Honorable Mention, Gay Contemporary Romance Runner Up
* Open Hearts (Stealing Hearts #3) – Honorable Mention, Bisexual Contemporary Romance Runner Up

These titles are available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited if that’s how you roll.

One of the criteria for submitting books to the Rainbow Awards is a donation to an LGBTQ charity and this cycle saw almost $10,000 donated to various charities. A total of 348 titles were submitted and nearly 100 volunteers located on three continents managed them. I am genuinely inspired by those numbers and hope you are as well. In case you were interested, my donations were made to Boston Pride, the Bisexual Resource Center, the Ali Forney Center, and the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.

Please feel free to check out the full list of winning titles, runners up, and honorable mentions and find a ton of wonderful reads!

http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2021.html

Happy Pride Month, beautiful humans!

I’ve joined forces with friends Brigham Vaughn and EDesigns Activewear for a grand giveaway to celebrate Pride.

Prizes up for grabs

* Prize #1: a pair of rainbow high-waisted leggings with pockets (size: small/medium)
* Prize #2: two signed Brigham Vaughn paperbacks of your choice + swag
* Prize #3: an Edesigns Activewear gift certificate worth $70
* Prize #4: two signed K Evan Coles paperbacks of your choice + swag

Entry Details

To enter, you have to be signed up for the Coles & Vaughn and EDesigns Activewear, newsletters which you can do by filling out this form:

https://forms.gle/nEhAfeyuVKKbKQcv8

Just enter your name and email, then choose which prizes you’d like to win and don’t hesitate to sign up for every prize, if you like! Four winners will be chosen at 12:00 EST on June 30th and notified by email.

*By entering this contest, you agree to be subscribed to both the EDesigns newsletter and the Cole & Vaughn newsletter. And if you’re already signed up for our newsletters, no worries–feel free to enter anyway and we’ll make sure we don’t spam you with multiple mailings.

Good luck--may the odds be ever in your favor :)

Available through May 31 at https://rjscott.co.uk/bonus_scenes_collection

Family and found family are a couple of my favorite tropes. I love both reading and writing about the bonds people form that give them a sense of belonging, and you might imagine how excited I was when an opportunity to join in with some fellow authors to celebrate the tropes came along. (Spoiler: very)

The Family & Found Family Bonus Scene Collection features short stories from fourteen authors (including meeee), each a new scene from already published or soon-to-be-published works. The collection is free but only available for download through May 31, so claim your copy when you can. My story, Radishes and Revenge, is a Hooked On You bonus chapter and I had an utter blast writing it.

Participating authors: BA Tortuga, Beth Bolden, CF White, Charley Descoteaux, David C. Dawson, Emy Calirel, Jacki James, JP Sayle, K Evan Coles, RJ Scott, Susan Scott Shelley & Chantal Mer (co-authors), Talia Carmichael, V.L. Locey