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So a lot of you are wondering about Ian’s book��

It is still coming. I’ve been working on it in the background, but my focus has been on my self-published books and I’ll tell you why.

(Brace yourselves, I’m about to put on my business hat. This will be a long post.)

The HORNET series is with a publisher. I make only 35% of cover price on ebooks. My publisher set the price of the ebooks at $3.99. 35% of $3.99 is a little less than $1.40 per book. Which would be fine if the series sold well, but��

It doesn’t.

(And that breaks my heart, but it’s the reality of the situation.)

To comfortably pay my bills, I need to make (give or take) $3000 a month. To make that, I have to sell over 2100 books a month, but each new release in the HORNET series has sold worse than the last. Honor Avenged has only sold 3,936 ebooks and 61 paperbacks total since its release in 2020. It’s made me $5,348.59.
Would you pour your heart and soul into your job if you knew you’d only make $5,000 over two years?

Because HORNET *is* my heart and soul and I can’t do it half-assed. It’s a more than full time job when I write one of these books. It takes over my life for 3 to 6 months.
But I also can’t survive on my royalties from this series alone. With all the recent craziness in my life, I’m not in a stable enough financial position to not worry about how much money a book will make me.

So, this year, I made the business decision to focus on self-publishing, where I make a lot more money. For comparison: Northern Escape released a full year after Honor Avenged. To date, it alone has made over $20K. Northern Deception made more in its first 3 months and Northern Salvation made more in one month than Honor Avenged made in two years.

Bottom line: HORNET doesn’t make money. And what little it does make, I don’t see for a long time. After a book releases with my publisher, there’s a 5-6 month delay before I see any payment coming in from it. This is my only job, guys. I currently have no other means of income. I can’t wait 5-6 months to pay my rent and now I also have a car payment again. (Adulting. Ugh!)

I know it sucks when your favorite author doesn’t release the book you’ve been waiting for. I’m a reader, too. I get it. But as an author, sometimes I have to make decisions based on the numbers and not on what my readers want next. I’m sorry. I wish it wasn’t that way. I wish I had the financial freedom to write without worrying about how much money a book will make me.

So, yes, Ian’s book is coming. I’ve been working on it in bits and pieces and I still love the HORNET world, the characters, the story. But I have no idea when it will release because even after I turn the book in to my publisher, they could hang on to it for a year or more before they decide to publish it. (It’s happened before!) Once they have it, it’s out of my control.

But, unfortunately, I can’t even give it to them until I’m in a better place to take that financial hit. I hope you understand.

It’s come to my attention that despite Amazon updating Northern Salvation, some people are still getting the version with missing chapters. This is frustrating because I’ve done everything possible to fix the issue, and it’s showing up correctly on my end.

Amazon asks that you check the following, so the updated content reaches your device:

�� Is the device connected to wireless internet (Wi-Fi)?
�� Are automatic book updates turned on? Refer to their Help page on how to turn on automatic book updates:

If you still have an issue, you can contact the Amazon Kindle Support team at:

Or you can email/DM me, and I’ll send you a link to download the correct version of the book. I hate to disappoint you guys, so please reach out and give me the opportunity to fix it!

So�� I accidentally uploaded a test file rather than the actual finished manuscript for Northern Salvation. ��If you preordered, you only got a partial, unfinished manuscript. I’ve already uploaded the correct file and it’s now live. I asked Amazon to push it out to everyone, but don’t know if they will/ how long that will take. If you don’t want to wait, you can go into your Kindle now and manually update it.��

You can check to see if you have the right version by looking for the quote by Robert W. Service at the beginning of the book. If you have the quote, you’re good. If not, you need to update.

The updates are now live, so anyone who buys or borrows it from KU now should get the right book.

I’m so sorry! I don’t know how I mixed up the files, and feel like such a dummy right now.

UPDATE: I just finished a chat with Amazon, and they are pushing out the correct version of the book to everyone who preordered. Remember, if you have the quote by Robert W. Service at the beginning, you have the correct one. Please let email me at [email protected] if yours doesn’t update, and I’ll send you the correct book.

I’m so sorry but I’m not releasing Northern Deception yet. I’m still not happy with it and it’s not going out into the world until it’s something I can be proud of. This book has been stressing me out for several months now because it’s just not any good. I tried to fix it, but I don’t think it’s fixable as-is. At this point, the best thing I can do is start over with it.��I’m also canceling all of my current preorders. Going forward, I won’t offer preorders on my indie books.

Hey, guys! I wanted to drop in and give you a quick update on Northern Deception. Since I was so late getting it done, I had to shift things around a bit. I’ve spent the last few days figuring out how to make it happen in a timely manner without biting into Northern Salvation’s release. I briefly considered releasing both books on the same day, but I want to give each book its own time to shine! So I put Northern Deception in the August 23rd release slot with a preorder, and Northern Salvation will release a month later on September 28th without a preorder.

If you had a preorder for book 3, Northern Salvation, then you’re good to go. You’ll just get Northern Deception instead on release day. And, of course, you can always cancel the preorder if you’ve decided you don’t want the book.

Thank you for being so patient with me. This year has been a RIDE, but I finally got my shit together again. It’s almost here guys! I’m so excited for you to read Nate & Freya’s story!

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I screwed up. I’m sorry.

You may have noticed an email recently from Amazon stating that all preorders have been canceled for Northern Deception. It was a hard decision, but I couldn’t in good conscience release the book. Life’s been getting in the way the last few months, biting into my writing time, and Northern Deception is still nowhere near the quality of book I normally release. I’m not comfortable putting it out there yet.

My plan is to still release it this month, but it will be closer to the end of the month. I completely misjudged the amount of time I needed to polish it to my satisfaction.

I know you guys have been patiently waiting for the next book and I’m so sorry to have let you down. Self-publishing is a whole different beast than releasing with my publisher, and I’m still figuring out what works and what doesn’t. I slipped up this time. I’ll do better next time.��Thank you for bearing with me!

-Tonya

P.S.��Northern Salvation is still on track to release on time in August. For whatever reason, it hasn’t been giving me the same trouble as Northern Deception.

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Los Angeles, California

When the 907-area code first popped up on Ellis Hunter’s phone, he was busy. The kind of busy that left a guy naked in bed with a beautiful woman, indulging in one of his favorite activities.��

Had he not been otherwise occupied he still wouldn’t have answered because no way in hell would he ever return to Alaska. SoCal suited him just fine, thanks. He loved the year-round sunshine. Loved the beaches. Loved all the lonely, rich women who hired him to train their dogs.

The second time his phone rang, the dog he was supposed to be training let out a squeak that might have been a bark if Peanut the Purse Pooch was any larger than�� well, a peanut. He didn’t hear the squeak because he was fully invested in getting her owner, Mrs. Marina Cavendish, naked.��

This was his second training session with Peanut. The first didn’t go well. The Chinese Crested puppy was spoiled, stubborn, and had more attitude than should fit in her tiny hairless body. Mrs. Cavendish thought it was cute, but Peanut wouldn’t be a five-pound puppy forever. Once fully grown, she could weigh up to twelve pounds, which yeah, was still a small dog, but a badly behaved twelve-pound dog could cause just as much damage as a large dog. Sometimes more.

Peanut was going to be a tough nut�� ha ha�� to crack.

When Mrs. Cavendish called him this morning for a second session, he’d come prepared for war, armed with treats and his trusty clicker. At least until Mrs. Cavendish answered the door wearing nothing but a slinky robe and high heels. She made it perfectly clear she had no interest in more training for Peanut and only wanted to get into his pants.

Who was he to say no?

Christ, he loved his job.

They landed on a cloud of a bed upstairs and he was just about to peel back the robe to get a peek at the intriguing surgically enhanced globes underneath when Peanut’s squeaking became a growl. And then a yip of pain.

Ellis bolted upright. A gray-haired man loomed in the doorway and Peanut shivered under a nearby chaise lounge. Did that fucker just kick her?

He saw red.��

Nobody hurt an animal on his watch.��

Nobody.

He lunged off the bed and caught the man around the throat, driving him back against the wall. “What did you do to her?��

The man, obviously not used to being at the receiving end of abuse, sputtered and clawed at the hand around his throat. “W-what?”��

“The dog. You like kicking around small creatures, huh?�� Ellis crowded into him, making sure the scrawny bastard realized how much bigger he was. At six-four he was bigger than most men, but he towered over this guy. “How’d you like it if I dropped you to the floor and kicked you in the ribs until you pissed yourself?��

The man’s eyes darted between him and Mrs. Cavendish, who had also jumped up from the bed and was now tugging on Ellis’s arm. She was little more than a gnat buzzing around him. Ineffective but annoying.

“Stop it. Ellis, stop!�� she screeched. “That’s my husband. You’re hurting him!��

“Knew it,�� Mr. Cavendish said between gasps. His face was turning an alarming shade of red. He had at least thirty years on his wife and could very easily keel over from a heart attack.��

Ellis loosened his grip. Bastard deserved some pain for hurting a puppy, but no way was he going down for this guy’s murder. Wasn’t worth it.

Want to find out what happens next?

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Northern Escape is now available on audiobook!

Get yours here:

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**Post originally published on USA Today’s Happy Ever After Blog**

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In Romancelandia, there are all kinds of heroes. Bad boys. Players. Billionaires.��Soldiers. But one hero we don’t see enough of?

The nerd.

Where are all the glasses-wearing, number-crunching, computer savvy, Dungeons��and Dragons playing nerds?

Sure, there are a few here and there. Marz from Laura Kaye’s Hard Ink series comes��to mind. (He’s one of my personal favorites.) Parker from Cristin Harber’s Titan��series. Ozzie from Julie Ann Walker’s Black Knights, Inc. And I’ve heard Megan��Erickson writes some panty-meltingly hot gamer nerds, though I haven’t had the��pleasure of reading any of her books yet. Still, for every nerd hero, there are about a��gazillion billionaire playboys. What I want to know is where are the nerdy��billionaire playboys? (OMG, I would so read that. Someone write that. Please.)

As a proud nerd myself, I’ve written a few geek-tastic heroes—Harvard from Fragmented Loyalty��and Reece from Wilde at Heart—but I still feel��like my kind is under-represented in Romancelandia. I wondered if I was alone in��wanting more nerds, so I took an informal Facebook poll of my readers and writer��friends. And you know what? I’m not alone. Save for a few holdouts for the always popular��bad boys, most readers wanted to see more adorkable heroes in romance.

Nerds may not be the dominant alpha male like a lot of the other heroes in romance,��but judging from the responses of my Facebook poll, they captivate nonetheless. Why? What��makes them a romantic hero that readers want in their beds every night?

Brains and wit are attractive�� just as attractive as the wounded bad boy or��brooding warrior. I mean, who doesn’t want a hot and intelligent man who can carry��on a stimulating conversation and keep them satisfied in bed? As one of my readers��put it, she wants “a nerd on the streets and a freak in the sheets.��

So here I am, wrapped up in my Doctor Who blanket, pleading with my fellow��romance writers to let your heroes�� inner nerd shine. Geeks deserve love too!

Besides, haven’t you heard? Nerdy is the new sexy.

Check out my nerdy heroes below: Harvard All I want is to leave my past of criminal hacking behind. Oh, and ditch the blackmailer who has been dogging my every move for the last three years.The plan: Hack my way into being part of Class Alpha, a training program for a secretive organization that rescues hostages the government can’t or won’t go after. Save the world and make enough money to pay back my blackmailer—solves all my problems, right?The complication: Sweet, nerdy, and unbearably sexy Eric “Harvard�� Physick. Harvard is my ideal man, but he’s also my instructor. Seriously a no-go, except we can’t seem to keep our hands off each other.My blackmailer isn’t willing to let me off the hook, though, and a series of freak accidents—deadly accidents—sends Class Alpha into a tailspin. And the more I get to know Harvard, I start to realize his past is just as troubled as mine.Am I the cause of this chaos…or is he? Reece

He has everything under control. Except her.

Reece Wilde put everything in his life on the backburner to protect his brothers and their struggling company, Wilde Security. With a major contract on the line, Reece can’t afford any mistakes…like getting caught in a red-hot, X-rated moment with wild child Shelby Bremer, who’s more trouble than he can handle. Now he’s being blackmailed.

Shelby’s mile-long impulsive streak gets her in more trouble than she’d like to admit. Between her sister’s wedding, her coffee shop set on fire, and getting down and dirty with the groom’s brother, things are definitely coming off the rails. With both their careers and their safety on the line, Reece is determined to keep them both safe…even if it means a Vegas-style shotgun wedding. But gambling on a wild card—and a wild soul—is risky…and sometimes, it can get a guy killed.

Do you have a favorite nerdy romance hero? If so, drop him in the comments. I’d love to read more geek love!

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So, boys, let’s get right down to it, shall we? Why did you join the military? And what made you choose your branch?

GABE: Because my father’s an admiral, it was just a given fact I’d go into the Navy. He’d have skinned me if I’d gone to any other branch. And I knew I wanted to work among the best operatives in the world, so getting on a SEAL team was always my goal. I started conditioning myself for BUD/S before I even hit high school.

JUDE: My oldest brother, Greer, pretty much raised me and the rest of my brothers after our parents died and decreed we were all getting a college education. The military was the only way we were gonna be able to afford that. Greer and Reece went Army, Vaughn went Navy, and Cam went Air Force. I figured why not make it a full set?

GABE: So you became one of Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children?

JUDE: Better than a squid.

GABE: Seems someone’s forgotten the Marines are a department of the Navy.

JUDE: Yup. The �����’s department.

GABE: Hah. Real original, devil pup.

JUDE: [snorts] Aw, go balance a ball on your nose, seal.

Now, now, boys. We love all men in uniform here at Entangled. Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force. It doesn’t matter.

[They both stare at me like I sprouted a second head, then look at each other. Jude bursts out laughing. Gabe smirks.]

JUDE: [elbows Gabe in the side] She thinks it doesn’t matter. Obviously, she’s never dated a Marine.

GABE: That’s because she has some sense.

O-kay. Moving right along now. You both left the military as fairly high-ranking officers. Why not stay on and make it your career?

GABE: That was my plan but�� [He taps the head of the cane leaning against his chair.] I was in a car accident and had to take a medical retirement. I was no good to them with a bum foot.

JUDE: My time came up. It was either give them another four years or call it quits. I called it quits. [He shrugs, then flashes his trademark grin.] I needed a change and figured my brothers could use another hand around the Wilde Security office.

Do either of you ever miss the military?

JUDE: Nope. I like working with my brothers. Well, mostly. I definitely like being able to go home to my Libby every night. [He wiggles his eyebrows at me.]

GABE: [after a long moment] Not that long ago, I would have said yes. But no, I don’t miss it. I have a good team now and they’re getting better every day. And Audrey. If I had stayed with the Navy, I wouldn’t have her and my life would be really damn colorless.

Ah, yes. Let’s talk about your leading ladies, Audrey and Libby. Tell me about the first time you met her. Was it love at first sight?

GABE: I wouldn’t call it love, no. But interest? Definitely. As hard as I tried to ignore it, there was an instant chemistry between us. But we were in a completely fubar situation. The first time I met her, she came running out of her brother’s apartment building like her ass was on fire and freaked when she ran into me. I had to keep her quiet, so I knocked her out.

JUDE: [laughs] Smooth move, Casanova.

GABE: [glaring] I didn’t have a choice.

JUDE: I bet she paid you back for that.

GABE: And then some. [He narrows his hazel eyes.] And you can’t talk, pal. You didn’t do much better the when you saw Libby again after eight years.

JUDE: Are you kidding? I was amazing. I swept her off her feet.

GABE: Your brother told me she punched you.

JUDE: [Scowls] Dammit, Vaughn. [His grin quickly returns] Okay, she did punch me and I one hundred percent deserved it. But that wasn’t the first time I saw her. The first time, I was in Officer Candidates School and her father was my instructor. I saw her having lunch with him one day and fell head over ass in love right then. Seriously, I was a goner the moment she walked into the restaurant in her strappy sundress and sandals.

What characteristic first drew you to your leading ladies?

GABE: What first drew me to Audrey? [He laughs.] The woman has spine. She was in a terrifying, impossible situation when we met and she handled it better than some of the guys I trained with would have. She amazed me. Still amazes me.

[Aww. At this point, I go all melty for Gabe.]

JUDE: I’m a sucker for a nice set of legs.

[Gabe and I both scowl at him.]

JUDE: What? It’s the truth. Libby had these gorgeous tanned legs in an itty-bitty sundress and I was a horny college kid with a handful of beers in me. Did you expect some deep, philosophical answer? [He hesitates, then sighs.] But when I met her again after not seeing her for eight years? It was the way she looked at me, all fire and indignation, right before she punched me. I knew right then that I still loved her and chased after her like a kicked puppy when she walked away. I couldn’t help myself. It was kind of embarrassing.

All right. Let’s get to the fun stuff now. Which is better, bed or shower?

JUDE: Shower. There’s something about the way the water slicks back Libby’s hair and streams down her body…it drives me insane. I can’t keep my hands off her.

GABE: Bed. The shower’s a good time, no doubt about it, but I like to take my time and explore every inch of Audrey’s body.

Whew. Lights on or off?

JUDE: On. Or off. Or in the daylight. Whatever makes Libby happy—I’m there to please.

GABE: On. I want to see all of my beautiful Audrey’s body as I make love to her.

Tattoos or Piercings?

GABE: Tattoos.

JUDE: Both.

Give me your favorite pick-up line.

GABE: I don’t do pick-up lines.

JUDE: Personally, I’ve always been partial to “Do you wash your pants in Windex? Because I can sure see myself in them.��

GABE: Are you serious? [He laughs and his smile is gorgeous!] Audrey would chew me up, spit me out, and then do a jig on my remains if I tried a line like that on her.

JUDE: [He gives a dreamy smile.] So would Libby. Man, I love that woman.

Well, there you have it, ladies. SEAL vs. Marine. Which one lights your flare? Tell me in the comments!

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