Category: Author’s Alley
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The Weight
She came home from her mother’s house at nine-thirty on a Tuesday with a face that said she was fine and hands that said she was not. Finn could tell the difference. He’d learned it — the way her jaw went slightly tight, the way she set her keys down instead of dropping them, the…
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What My Writing Process Actually Looks Like
People sometimes imagine authors writing in beautiful candlelit silence while inspiration floats gently through the room like a Jane Austen ghost carrying emotional support tea. I regret to inform you this is largely propaganda. My actual writing life usually involves: Especially writing romance….. Because good romance isn’t really about kissing scenes or attractive people dramatically…
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First Aid
She was trying to open a can of tomatoes when the lid slipped and cut her palm. It was small — a thin, stinging line across the heel of her hand — but Mara gasped and immediately started doing what she always did: minimizing. “It’s nothing. Don’t.” She was already heading to the sink. But…
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Why We’re All Emotionally Addicted to the Enemies-to-Lovers Trope
There’s a reason readers lose their minds over enemies-to-lovers. Actually, several reasons… Some psychological. Some emotional. Some probably linked to humanity’s collective inability to process attraction in a healthy and uncomplicated manner. Because let’s be honest: nothing in romance hits quite like two people who absolutely should not want each other… wanting each other anyway.…
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Deleted Scene from The Billionaire’s Curvy Match
The first thing Grace noticed was the silence. Not the peaceful kind. The dangerous kind. The kind that existed only in billionaire houses where everyone was paid enough not to make noise. She stood barefoot in Ethan Reed’s kitchen at two in the morning wearing one of his oversized shirts while rain slammed against the…
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The Nickname
He called her *starling*. Not always. Mostly when she was being particularly herself — too much, too loud, too wide-open with her feelings in a way she’d spent her twenties apologizing for. He’d look at her across whatever room they were in and say it like an observation. *Starling.* She’d asked him once, early on,…
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Grayson Wolfe?!? Who?!
If Grayson Wolfe walked into a room, you would notice him immediately. Not because he’s loud. Quite the opposite…. Grayson is the kind of man who speaks softly enough that everyone else instinctively lowers their voice too. Billionaire energy, but specifically the dangerous kind. The kind that comes from control instead of performance. He wears…
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The Drawer
It started as a joke. “You should just leave a drawer at my place,” Camille had said, three months into whatever they were, pulling a wrinkled shirt from her overnight bag. “Like a normal person.” Remy hadn’t said anything. He’d just looked at her with that look — the one she’d learn to call his…
Sonia M. Rompoti, MSc, Bsc 