Tag: cleanromance (Page 1 of 4)

Countdown: 9 days! (Dec. 2, 2025)

November 24, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

To the release of my debut historical fantasy romance!

I was invited to write a novella for an anthology with five other authors. The only requirement for my story was I had to include 6 words:

Medallion

Betrayal

Flag

Traitor

Voyage

Lawless

I chose to set my story in Persia, circa 400 BC

What it’s about:

The ancient kingdom of Bithynia is in turmoil. Their beloved king has died. His only child and heir is young, female, and unmarried.

Shadi has been raised to take the throne, but her council doubts her fitness to rule. They want her to marry–a man of their choosing. But Shadi has plans and dreams of her own.

They plan a contest, a series of challenges to test the strength, wisdom, and courage of the men who flock to the capital, hoping to win her hand.

But there is one man, constant, protective, and true, though he is not one of the contestants.

During the contest, her people are threatened, Shadi must act. And her faithful Captain is by her side.

Is the greatest treasure in the coveted crown? Or is it hidden deep in the heart of a hero?

Find it wherever books are sold on December 2,

The Best Laid Plans, Gigi Lynn Style

September 8, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

A summer of romance writing detours (and a little longer, winding post)

It’s been a summer! For you too?

_{Photo by Maksym Mazur on Unsplash}

This post is part explanation and part promise.

First a quick 2025, recap. The explanation part.

I began the year publishing two regency romance novels. Dear Lord Wycliffe, Book 2 of my Rebel Hearts Series.

A month later, I released Under a Honeyed Moon, a stand alone novel, only slightly related to my first series, Illusions.

Such a good beginning to the year, right?

I immediately went back to work on Brothers’ Tangle, Book 3 of the Rebel Hearts series. I planned a May release.

DETOUR #1. I accepted an invitation to submit a novella to an anthology. So I paused Brothers’ Tangle and began a fantasy pirate story. (Let’s call it Captivated. It became part of my secret historical fantasy romance series).

I fell in love with these characters, but soon realized that story wanted to be more than a novella. So I paused Captivated and started a whole new historical fantasy romance novella for the anthology.

And The Lily and the Hawk came into being. (Part of Treasures Untold Anthology, releasing December 2. Available for Preorder on Amazon).

Whew! Back to Brothers’ Tangle, which I finished the beginning of May and released the first part of July!

I was on a roll, so I began Book 4 of the Rebel Hearts Series, let’s call it Delia’s Story for now.

I planned to swing back and finish Captivated right after.

DETOUR # 2. An idea came out of the blue. What if I wrote a new, stand alone regency romance to pitch to an editor at the writers’ conference in August? I only had 2 1/2 months. It would be difficult, but I wanted to try. I wrote 1/3 of what we’ll call Angel. I was giddy.

Imagine an embarrassed emoji here. I love Angel. It’s so fun. But as I wrote, it became book 1 of a very tightly interwoven trilogy. I couldn’t use that for my first pitch. So I paused. That makes 3 paused books.

Captivated (fantasy romance)
Delia’s Story (regency–final Rebel Hearts book)
Angel (Book 1 of a brand new regency series)

Instead, I began an entirely new novel (Let’s call this one, Huntley Hall, for now). I wrote frantically through June and July. I had only a few chapters left to finish.

And DETOUR #3 happened. My brother-in-law passed away after a long battle with cancer. I put all writing aside for funeral and family time. I also missed the conference, but the most important things must come first.

DETOUR #4. With the time away from writing, I had to leave Huntley Hall unfinished. I had to move on to a multi-author project I had been invited to write in. It’s just a small novel. And something a little different and special.

The challenge? It must be submitted by October 2. (I can’t say much about this project–Sorry. I’m under contract). For now, we’ll call it Medieval Tale. And it will be released at the end of 2026.

What this means, as of today, my list of partially finished books now number 5–

Medieval Tale (part of multi author project)
Captivated (historical fantasy romance with pirates),
Delia’s book (final regency in the Rebel Heart’s Series),
Angel (new regency romance series, book 1), and
Huntley Hall (my nearly completed regency to be pitched, likely in the spring at another writer’s conference).

Now the Promise part of the post:

Because of detours, the summer of 2025 looks like a writing fail. Do not be deceived. I am primed for a fabulous end to 2025 and an exciting beginning of 2026. I promise these 5 novels will be worth the wait.

Would you like a sneak peek of a new Regency Romance

August 5, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

Of one of my works in progress, my secret project?

Working title: The Earl of Huntley Hall

This little snippet, all of chapter one, is free. It doesn’t even require you to join my newsletter.

Though, honestly, I’d love you to join my newsletter. I write once a month and give you updates, announcements, bonus materials such as free stories, bonus epilogues, and sneak peaks like this one. Sometimes, I add a game or contest. Often I give you links to other authors’ books (usually free). It’s just a fun way to stay in contact.

But today, since I’m trying to find the best way to deliver free, exclusive material to my newsletter subscribers, this is a test. And you can read without any requirements.

Just go to the menu bar at the top of the page and click on free romance reads.

There is a password, which for this test is Romancemasterkey. Type that in, and click on The Earl of Huntley Hall.

It should take you straight to that first chapter.

Let me know if you experience a problem. I test this stuff, but I don’t trust it.

Happy reading, and please let me know what you think.

A Secret Project

July 22, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

It’s still a historical romance

It’s secret, but since you’re reading a blog post, I think you deserve to be in on it.

So, here’s the story.

In April, I finished Brothers’ Tangle, Rebel Hearts Regency Romance, Book 3. (Available on Amazon)

You’d think the obvious next project would be the 4th book in that series. But apparently, I can’t pull off predictable. So, I started working on a novel I began more than two years ago. It’s an entirely new regency romance series. The Heavenly Honeywells.

And I am so excited about these three sisters, one of whom must marry well. (Read that as he must have money).

Anyway, I began at the first of May with Sebastian and Angelica, and I was loving these characters and their story. All was well.

But then I looked at the calendar, and the scheduled writing conference I am attending the first week in August. Out of the blue, I had a thought. “What if I took a completed manuscript to that conference and pitched it to some agents and editors?”

At best, that would be an exciting new opportunity. At worst a good learning experience. Suddenly, I knew had to try.

But when I looked at Angelica, I decided the entire series needs to be finished before I should attempt to pitch it (if it’s even right for traditional publishing). So, I decided to start something totally new. (Yes. I realize that now makes three historical romance series and one historical fantasy romance that I am working on).

Writers are crazy.

I went to bet one night, the last week of May, wondering what I should write and woke the next morning with an idea.

The only hitch was that I only had two months to write an entire novel. I have never written a novel in so short a time. But, I began.

Can I do it?

All I can say now is that I am working like crazy. And in 5 weeks, I have written 3/4 of Christiana and William’s story. Both these characters start in pretty difficult circumstances, but together I think they’ll transcend all the challenges and find true love.

Cross your fingers that I can finish and polish this manuscript in the next three weeks. And send good vibes my way. I’ll keep you updated.

And thanks for reading and for encouraging me. You are the best!

Announcing a New Romance Novel Release

July 12, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

Brothers’ Tangle, Book 3 of Rebel Hearts Regency Romance Series

The bold, dashing Captain Archibald Broadbent courts Philippa with an audacious, debonaire determination. To Miss Philippa Moreton he seems the logical choice. He is exciting, funny, and she likes him.

Then, on the way to the house party where she expects him to propose, she meets his brother.

The dour, secretive earl of Thornwood often seems to detest Philippa, but he needs her insight to help him catch the assassins that threaten England’s stand against Revolutionary France. He distracts her from his brother’s courtship with perplexing questions and fascinating puzzles.

Danger looms when she becomes embroiled in Lord Thornwood efforts to catch British traitors—and when she becomes entangled in the irrational demands of her heart.

Brothers’ Tangle is a delightful regency romp with sweet, sparkling banter, adventure, and a twist on the love triangle trope. Perfect for fans of smart, courageous heroines, sizzling chemistry, and a swoon-worthy happily ever after.

Romance With Words

February 24, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

Or confessions of a Word Nerd

When my son, Tristan, was in High School, he and some of his friends on his Lacrosse team had a “game.” They used a scale from 1 to 6 to rate each other’s word usage. If one of the boys used an unfamiliar or seldom used word, the other boys would rate it. To receive a 6 was the highest compliment.

I don’t have a rating system, but I admit when I hear such a word, I savor it for hours afterward. I roll it around in my mouth like a delightful piece of candy.

Do you?

Now, I don’t believe that the biggest, most unique word is the best choice when I write. In fact, the opposite is true more often than not. I don’t want to try to impress readers with an overblown vocabulary. I want to communicate. I want to tell stories.

And I want those stories to resonate in your hearts. I want to capture and share the characters’ lives, struggles, hopes, interactions, and mostly their journey to true and lasting love.

I’m looking for the “right” word, even the “best” word. That’s the one that is going to carry meaning from my heart to yours.

When it works, it’s magic.

Do you have a book that has been that kind of magic for you? One that has made you feel what the character feels? Once that has drawn you into their world?

Do you have a passage in a book that took your breath away?

I want to hear about it, find it, and read it so I can feel the same magic. Let’s talk about words.

Letter Writing

January 27, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

A lost art?

Since my latest book, Dear Lord Wycliffe is epistolary (all except the epilogue is written in the form of letters), I’ve been thinking a lot about letters.

Letters have greatly influenced me over the course of my life. For two years, I wrote and received letters from the man I eventually married while he was living across the country. I learned things about him that I don’t think I would have had we only talked face to face. Or at least not as quickly.

My mother, almost to the day she died, wrote letters. She wrote to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She wrote notes to her neighbors, those who were older, alone, or sick and suffering. She did this while battling cancer for the final time.

I have many of her letters, and I prize them.

I can’t deny the immediacy of texting. Email is useful. But I’m sorry that we don’t often put pen to paper and write to people we care for.

This is only one reason why I wrote an epistolary novel. Dear Lord Wycliffe is set in 1793 London and Arpinge/Folkestone in Kent. Two friends who share their experiences, their successes, their foibles, their romances. We also visit Paris and The Hague through letters from Lord Wycliffe. Through these letters, we experience the French revolution, adventure in England, and mostly Romance.

I hope you enjoy my newest romance, and perhaps you’ll feel inspired to write a letter to someone you love.

Finally, New Romance Release

January 10, 2025 / Gigi Lynn

The best laid plans, and all that. I have experienced this in a real way for the last six months.

In June, (in three weeks), I wrote a romance novella, a prequel for a new series. It is a romance, I promise. But it is set in a historical fantasy world. (Think Greece in 200-300 BCE, but a fantasy version of that time and place).

I couldn’t believe how much fun it was to write, and how quickly it came together. I am excited to write the rest of this series. And to share it with you.

But first, I needed to publish the second book in my Rebel Hearts Series (IT”S AVAILABLE NOW!–Can you tell I’m ecstatic). Check out Dear Lord Wycliffe.

Buy Here

So, I’m able to check one item off my list.

But there’s more on that list. I needed to finish book three in the Rebel Hearts Series. (It is 1/2 way written). I was a woman with a plan and all things were going my way.

But first, I always take a few weeks off in July to spend with family. Independence day is huge in our family.

Then instead of life according to my plan, a crazy version of life just came rushing at me. Covid, house sale, house purchase, moving, renovations, and the holiday season. My writing has been, shall we say, less productive, less regular, shorter in duration for six months.

But I am an author. And January is a new year. I am back at work and excited for everything that is to come.

And, I just happen to have another regency romance due for release in the next month. It’s much later than I anticipated, but it’s almost ready to go.

First draft of the cover of my upcoming Regency Romance

(And remember, I still have Book 3 of Rebel Hearts I’m working on and that delightful new project and the series it begins).

I have a plan. Cross your fingers.

Writing To Avoid Writing

September 1, 2024 / Gigi Lynn

I could do laundry, but why when there is romance tumbling around in my brain?

_{Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash}

You know how it feels when have to do something important or necessary? Sometimes that thing is difficult or distasteful. Not always though. Sometimes you actually want to do that thing, but you feel nervous about it.

So, you put it off. Everything else suddenly clamors for your attention. Wash the dishes, yes! Change those sheets? It will feel so good when you climb into bed tonight.

Read that book? You deserve a little break.

And doing those other tasks seems easier. At first.

You are working hard. You are productive. But there is just that little twinge of anxiety. And the longer you avoid “the thing,” the worse the anxiety gets.

Yes. I hate to tell you, but this happens in writing, too. Sometimes, I get a little stuck in the middle of a book. Sometimes there is a scene that I know is going to be fabulous, but I’m nervous to start writing it. (Because I want so badly for it to be fabulous).

I’d love to tell you that I am disciplined, and I just push through.

And sometimes I do, but I have been known to get caught up in avoidance behaviors.

There. I said it.

But let me tell you a little secret. Sometimes when I’m avoiding the main work in progress, I will write something else. I wrote both Smoke and Shadows and Veiled In Mist when I hit a wall in my main works.

Each time, after I finished writing a fun, delightful novella, I was ready to return and finish the main project: The Lies We Tell and The Masks We Wear, respectively.

So, right now I am working on Brothers’ Knot, Book 3 in my Rebel Hearts series. I love the main character, Philippa. But she is really struggling to figure out what will bring her happiness. These two brothers are causing her some serious confusion.

And she keeps changing the course of the book, so I’ve spent a little time this last month avoiding her. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I wrote the first draft of a historical fantasy romance. It is the prequel to a new series that I now see I must write. (Don’t worry, not yet).

I also wrote a bonus epilogue for Dear Lord Wycliffe, Book 2 of the Rebel Hearts series. This epistolary novel will be released this month. Watch for that!

But never fear. My avoidance anxiety is just about at its peak. I’m ready to return to my main work. Philippa is now ready to learn some things about life and about herself. And she will find her way to love too–very, very soon!

So, what do you do when you’re avoiding? And how long can you avoid before you force yourself to do the thing?

Romantic Tropes?

August 25, 2024 / Gigi Lynn

Not at First.

How do I write romance?

First, I always start with a character (or two). I don’t decide on a trope up front. In fact tropes are never part of my planning process.

While writing the Illusions historical romance series, I found myself wondering, what would have made Amelia’s mother marry Mr. Hatton? And Lady Cecily Ballantyne was born. She met Mr. Hatton while she was looking for a way to support her five-year-old daughter, Amelia.

I didn’t realize I had a Pygmalion or “My Fair Gentleman” thing going until I had written four chapters. Mr. Hatton was An Honorable Man.

But that Pygmalion theme became the basis of their bargain. He would provide work, and she would help him refine his manners so he could enter society. It became a match made in heaven!

Lady Cecily had an intriguing best friend, Lady Jaminna (Minna) Capener.

She was already married and the mother of a young son when we met her in An Honorable Man. But she was such a delight that I wanted to find out how she met and married her miserly husband.

If there is a little bit of ‘The Matchmaker‘ or “Hello, Dolly” in there, I only saw it after I’d already written chapter one. But once I saw it, I embraced it. They are perfect for each other.

Lady Corinna Capener made her first appearance in Minna and the Miser. She was a serious minded thirteen-year-old. The younger daughter of the miser in that story. And she was especially interested in influential women in history.

AI inspirations cover (cover reveal next week!)

So when I began writing her novel, Dear Lord Wycliffe, (an epistolary novel), it was her need for information that guided her actions, not any idea of a trope. If she had grown into a “bluestocking” while I wasn’t watching, what could I do but go with it?

And if Lord Wycliffe is a little older than she is, say thirteen years, that isn’t really enough years to be considered a May/December romance. He just needs to be convinced of that.

AI Inspiration Cover only

Now, I’m in the middle of writing Philippa’s Story, Brother’s Knot. (October/November release). During a dinner party in Dear Lord Wycliffe, we met Captain Archie Broadbent. I planned that he would be the main male character in Philippa’s book. Really!

But then on the way to a house party, she met his brother, Lord Thornwood. I would never plan a love triangle trope. Not in a million years.

But here I am with Philippa torn between two men. And involving herself in a little intrigue on the side. And I’m having the best time.

So what trope will I be writing for Delia? She’s next. I don’t know. That’s not where I start. Romance always begins with the characters.