Welcome back to the blog, Gabbi! Today one of my favorite authors of M/M romance is here to share her newest book baby, If Only for Today.

He came looking for solitude. He might leave after finding love.

Jared Langford is a happy man. The desk clerk at the Deerbourne Inn knows everyone in his cozy town in Vermont. He is accepted and loved by the community, but he’s missing someone special in his life.

Devastating news has brought journalist Xander Fortier to Willow Springs for some much-needed rest. He’s photographed every major conflict in the world for the last ten years, but being stateside has forced him to reassess the solitary life he’s been living.

Something in Xander’s gruff demeanor calls to Jared’s caring nature. Soon the men are spending time together, but Jared’s kisses might not be enough to keep Xander from leaving. Can the men find a happily ever after if they only have today?

Excerpt:

Humming as he entered his apartment, Jared toed off his shoes and padded into the kitchen.

Xander sat on one of the bar stools. He had photographs spread across the entire island. Glancing up when he saw Jared, he scooped them all up into a messy pile.

“I’d love to see them. I assume they’re yours.” If he didn’t miss his mark, his guest pinkened a bit.

“Yeah, they’re mine.” Xander glanced at the microwave. “Sorry, I meant to have this cleared up. Time got away from me.”

“No worries.” After placing the cloth bags on the counter, Jared made his way to the island and sat on the stool next to his temporary housemate. “Show me.”

“Okay, but first you tell me what you were humming.”

Now it was Jared’s turn to pinken. “Uh, a song about not giving up my shot?”

Xander’s eyebrow arched. “Oh, really? You were thinking you’d get a shot at this tonight?” His hand swept up and down his body.

Jared followed the hand, greedily taking in the man’s entire body. “A man can dream, right?” Was that too bold? He’d been gathering his courage all afternoon. He vacillated between believing Xander was simply being a gentleman, giving his room to Callum and Elijah, and wondering if ulterior motives existed. The wall between the two rooms wasn’t thick. And the rooms were mere steps apart. How easy would it be to sneak into Xander’s room tonight? To snuggle up? To beg for more? With Xander’s consent, of course. It had to be wanted on both sides, and Jared’s desire formed only half the equation.

Xander leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Jared’s lips. “Put away the groceries and I’ll help with dinner. Afterward, I’ll show you my shot.”

Well, that cleared up some of the confusion.

Get your copy today!

Amazon US:  https://amzn.to/3fOsviy

Amazon CA:  https://amzn.to/31LG1LP

KOBO:  https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/if-only-for-today

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-only-for-today-gabbi-grey/1138919955

iBooks:  https://books.apple.com/us/book/if-only-for-today/id1556170342

Gabbi lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black.

A few questions for the author:

Tell us about your inspiration for this story.

My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, has had a series going on for almost two years now called Deerbourne Inn.  My first story appeared last year as book 18.  The book is a gay romance with one hero being a visiting professor from Scotland and the other hero being a ghost.  I hadn’t planned to write a paranormal, but it turned out that way.  During my time in Willow Springs, Vermont (the fictional town where the Deerbourne Inn is located), I encountered the desk clerk from the inn.  Jared struck me right away, especially because he’s been in almost all of the books.  I just knew I wanted to give him a happy ending.  I was able to do that in my new sweet gay romance, If Only for Today.

Tell us about your journey from aspiring writer to published author.

I started writing my first romance in my senior year of my undergrad degree.  Over the years I came up with many stories and wrote in fits and starts, never taking the process seriously.  I was off work for most of 2012 and I figured, if not now, when?  I dedicated myself and typed ‘The End’ for my very first book.  I was elated.  Then came the hard part.  I knew nothing about publishing, but intuitively understood it wasn’t about just sending off the manuscript to my first choice of publishers.  I joined the Romance Writers of America and branched out into other support groups for writers.  I took grammar seminars, learned about story structure, and figured out point of view.  All the while, I kept writing.  Book after book after book.  Without any notion of them ever getting published.  I couldn’t not write.  In 2019 I submitted a short story to The Wild Rose Press and they published it.  The next year my first gay romance got the nod.  This book will be my third and I’m already working on the fourth.  Those other books?  I plan to edit them and put them out…someday.

What’s your favorite part of the writing life?

My favorite part of the writing life is the actual writing.  Well, okay, and the preplanning.  For my current work-in-progress, I’m delving into my character’s emotional wounds.  Figuring out what makes them tick, why they do what they do, and how they’re going to finally fall in love.  I’m not a plotter, per se, but I love figuring out my characters in depth before I delve into telling their stories.  My least favorite part?  Editing.  The bane of my existence.

What do you do for fun when you’re not writing? 

This is a tough question.  Pre-pandemic I haunted my local Starbucks and, well, wrote.  But I also had my therapy dog with me, so we made plenty of friends.  My local Vancouver writing group met once a month, and I had other groups of people I joined a couple of times a month.  As an introvert, each interaction was tiring, but well worth it.  Since COVID?  Truly I’ve hunkered down and focused on my writing.  I’ve written several books and plan to keep at it.  I’m also polishing off older stories and getting them edited and up to snuff.  This question was supposed to be about what I do when I’m not writing?  Well, there’s my day job, but the less said about that, the better.

Do you have any particular writing quirks? A special object, snack, music, etc. that helps you with your writing process?

Before COVID, I was of the staunch belief I had to be in a restaurant, coffee shop, or library to write.  I’d never written a word at home.  Now?  Well, I’d be sunk.  And getting nowhere fast.  Today it’s about being comfortable.  Not an object, per se, but the setting.  I have a desk, an ergonomic chair, my 17-year-old cantankerous cat, Arabella de Bergerac, and my five-year-old Chinpoo, Ally.  (And I still sneak out to Starbucks drive-thru to get my tea lattés.)

Authors always seem to have a teetering To Be Read pile. What’s in yours?  

Oh, where to start?  I primarily listen to audiobooks, so Lucy Lennox’s new Aster Valley series is near the top of that teetering pile.  Riley Hart’s Finding Ian is there as well.  The Wild Rose Press has a new series called The Wylder West and I’ve got several of those audios to listen to as well.  Yeah, I’m set for the next couple months.

Finally, thank you so much for hosting me, Sadira.  I’m hoping romance lovers who haven’t tried gay romances before will check out my sweet story.

Follow Gabbi Grey on all the socials!

Website: https://gabbigrey.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gabbi-grey

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15456297.Gabbi_Grey

Amazon Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Grey/e/B07SJVFX1M

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbigrey/

Facebook (page): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGabbiGrey

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GabbiGrey