I have a new book releasing next week. Funnel of Love is the fifth book in the Games We Play series. Or, as Douglas Adams might have phrased it, "the fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Games We Play trilogy." Because really, I wrote one trilogy and now I'm writing/releasing several additional books that all take place in the same town and in which a lot of the same people show up, but which are, to be accurate, not really part of the trilogy. I'd like to say that everything after book three belongs to a sort of spin-off series, except that's not really true. For instance, in Funnel a lot of the action revolves around a wedding that occurs within the course of the book. Like A LOT of the action. This is the same wedding we first get a glimpse of in the epilogue of book three, Two Truths and a Lie.
I won't lie. It's a lot of fun to write multiple books that cover the same events from various viewpoints. It's a lot like time travel...or, as they say, like deja vu all over again.
Two Truths and a Lie
Games We Play, Book Three
by PG Forte
Paranormal/Erotic Romance
35K
Retail Price: 1.99
Excerpt
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“Where’s your glass?” Brenda asked as she joined Gwyn at a table in the hotel’s dining room. “I liberated a bottle of champagne for us.”
“So I see,” Gwyn replied, eyeing the bottle in her cousin’s hand and hastily covering her water glass before Brenda decided to top it off. “But none for me. I’m good. Why don’t you keep that for yourself?”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Brenda poured more wine for herself, then set the bottle down. “So, they really did it,” she observed, gesturing toward Luke and Kristy.
“Yep.” Gwyn grinned as they touched their glasses together in a small toast. “They sure did.” For a moment the two women watched their cousin dance with his bride. “I suppose you’ll be next?” Gwyn asked.
Brenda shrugged. “Me and Max? Maybe. We’ve talked about it, but I think we’re going to take things slowly this time around. You know, as a change.”
“Probably a good idea, all things considered.”
“Yeah. What about you? Do you think you’ll marry?”
Gwyn sipped from her glass. “The way things stand now? I’m not counting on it. Not unless they make poly marriages legal.”
“I’m sorry.”
Gwyn looked at her in surprise. “Why? I’m happy. They’re happy. It’s all good.”
Gwyn certainly looked happy—all flushed and serene. Brenda cast a suspicious glance at Gwyn’s glass. “You’re not drinking.”
A small, very secretive smile curled Gwyn’s lips. “I wondered when you’d notice.”
“Wait. Are you…?”
Gwyn’s grin widened. “Maybe,” she answered coyly. “But keep it to yourself, all right? We’re not making any announcements yet.”
“Wow. So can I ask— No. Never mind.”
“Which one is the father?”
“Well, yeah, actually. Now that you mention it.”
Gwyn shrugged. “I have literally no idea.”
“Oh.” Brenda thought about that for a moment. That was a degree of uncertainty that she’d never be comfortable with. Lucky for her, she wasn’t Gwyn. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yep. I am perfectly okay with it.”
“That’s good. Are they?”
Gwyn nodded. “Absolutely. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Another thought occurred to Brenda. “Have you told your mother?” All three of their mothers, plus Luke’s and Brenda’s fathers, had attended the wedding. They had to be around here somewhere.
“No.” Gwyn turned to her, looking absolutely wild-eyed. “No, I haven’t. And you can’t say a word to your mother either.”
“You can’t keep it a secret forever.”
“I don’t intend to. But you know what they’re like, and I don’t want to ruin Luke and Kristy’s day with my drama.”
“Point taken,” Brenda said with a sigh.
Neither of them spoke for a moment; then Gwyn sighed and shook her head. “Okay, that’s enough. Out with it. What’s wrong now?”
Brenda frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“What did we tell you about keeping things to yourself? You think I can’t tell when something’s bothering you?”
“You’re gonna be one of those pain-in-the-ass moms, aren’t you? The kind who always know when their kids are hiding something?”
“Yep. Probably.”
“Well, it’s nothing,” Brenda said. She shook her head before Gwyn could object. “No, I mean it. I was just thinking about something I learned recently. About Max.”
“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
“Really, it’s no big deal, it just turns out Murphy wasn’t originally his last name.”
“You’re kidding? Christ. Do we even know what to call him? Or is that always going to be subject to change? I swear I’m gonna teach my kid to call him Uncle Whatshisname.”
“Would you calm down? I didn’t say it wasn’t his name. As it happens, Murphy was his mother’s maiden name, and his parents gave it to him as his middle name—so it’s real enough. But as it turns out, his father’s last name was Walsh.”
“Are you kidding me? Max Murphy Walsh?”
“Maxwell, actually.”
“That is not an improvement. Seriously, what kind of parents would saddle their kid with a name like that? And, hold on a minute. He’s a Walsh? No way.”
“Who’s a Walsh?” Luke asked as he joined them. He picked up the champagne and topped off his glass. “What are you two going on about now?”
“We’re talking about Max,” Gwyn told him. “Apparently Murphy isn’t his real name after all.”
Brenda glared at her. “It is too his real name. Didn’t I just tell you that it’s his mother’s maiden name? Given the circumstances, I should think you’d be totally in favor of kids being given their mother’s last name rather than their father’s.”
“Were we talking about me? I don’t think so. And if this is the way you keep secrets—”
“Would you stop it, both of you?” Luke shook his head. “Can’t I get one day without the two of you arguing with each other?”
Gwyn sniffed. “Don’t exaggerate. We don’t argue every day.”
“That’s right,” Brenda agreed. “We go whole weeks sometimes.”
“Let me see if I have this straight,” Luke said. “Max’s last name is Walsh—same as our great grandfather. So, are you saying he’s our cousin? Because if that’s the case, Brenda, then you definitely win. Incest is way kinkier than anything Gwyn or I have come up with. At least so far.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. No, that is not what I’m saying,” Brenda protested. “I mean, sure. It’s possible that several dozen generations back, we might have had an ancestor in common, but that does not count as incest.”
“Well, but it would make sense if he was related, wouldn’t it?” Gwyn asked. “Because of the curse? Max’s father was a Walsh, and he really didn’t prosper here, did he?”
“Stop it.” Brenda glared at her cousin. “It doesn’t make any sense at all. Besides, we all agreed we don’t believe in that stupid curse. Are you saying you’ve changed your mind?”
“Maybe? We’ve all changed our mind about the stone being real, haven’t we?”
“She does have a point,” Luke said. “But it’s all good, right?”
“Really? Curses are good now?”
“Sure. Because, obviously, that means Max was one of the wild geese—same as us. Now that we’ve all returned—”
“And been reunited,” Gwyn added. “With all our loved ones.”
“That means the curse is finally broken.”
“The imaginary curse that none of us believe in?” Brenda rolled her eyes. “Wow. Imagine my relief.”
Luke grinned. “Hey, whether we believe it or not, I’m still happier knowing it’s off the table. In fact, I’d say it calls for a toast.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Gwyn said. “In a manner of speaking, anyway.”
“To us,” Luke said.
“To the future,” Gwyn added as she rested a hand on her belly.
Brenda raised her glass and smiled at them both. “Fine. Have it your way. To the wild geese and to all who love them.”
Funnel of Love
Games We Play, Book Five
by PG Forte
Paranormal/Erotic Romance
55K
Special pre-order price: only .99
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mvoerj
Atlas Beach be big enough for both of them?
Baker Rocco DiLuca is not a happy camper. He’s just found out that his baby sister is getting married—to his former best friend—and he's not invited. But that's not even the worst part. They’ve hired someone else to make their wedding cake!
He knew he and Kristy hadn't exactly been speaking to each other, but he hadn't realized they Weren’t Speaking to each other! Now he has to figure out how to repair their family feud, or forever keep his distance. Unfortunately, his best hope for success is the woman he considers his competition.
Stephanie Sands thinks the Chamber of Commerce’s mentorship program is a great idea! She’s not ashamed to admit that her boutique bakery, Sugar Kink, isn't quite making it. Yet. But the mentor she's been assigned, Rocky D, isn’t just traditional, he’s positively medieval. It’s no wonder his sister wants nothing to do with him!
Can they put aside their differences (and the insane attraction they feel) to help each other out? Or will their dreams fall as flat as a failed souffle?
Release Date: July 21, 2022
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