Alyssa Cole's Blog

Book #2 of the Reluctant Royals series, HOW TO FIND A PRINCESS, is out in just a few weeks! On release day, I’ll be in conversation with Rebekah Weatherspoon at 7:00 ET. We’ll chat about writing queer romance, boats, and lots of random but entertaining things (since that is always what happens when we hang out).

The event is “ticketed” in that you buy a book from your participating bookstore of choice and receive the link to the event—as well as...

I was honored to be invited to do the keynote for the Spring Fling conference, and though we all attended from the comfort of our own homes, it was wonderful getting to virtually see people!

Here is my speech (I did ad lib a bit, but this is the [unedited] written version):

Hi everyone and thank you for coming to this virtual Chicago Spring Fling, and to the hardworking organizers for having me. I’m not going to talk for long. I’ll talk, and then we can do a Q&A.

The last few months...

Inspired by a tweet from Deanna Raybourn, I wrote a short story about the life Bulgom Pamplemousse von Bearstein, Johan’s teddy bear in A Prince on Paper. [Note: this is flash fiction and it has not been edited.]
CW: grief, anxiety

My name is Sir Bulgom Pamplemousse von Bearstein.

I don’t remember my life before Jo-Jo—my human. My first memory is of Laetitia tucking me against a crying wriggling pink thing with a cap of fine orange hair—I didn’t like this, non. But the pink thing seemed to...

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It’s release week for An Unconditional Freedom, the last book in the Loyal League series! Below is the Author’s Note for anyone who’d like to read it without having to commit to the whole book.

Author’s note:

Writing any book has some level of difficulty, but among the books I’ve written thus far, An Unconditional Freedom is lovingly called “the book that broke me.” That’s not exactly accurate—it was the world that existed as I tried to create Daniel and Janeta’s story that broke me.

When...

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Amazon: https://goo.gl/7RGnXV 

iBooks: https://goo.gl/Zrp5WL 

Kobo: https://goo.gl/YvRtEw 

It’s finally here! Hamilton’s Battalion, a romance anthology featuring stories from Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, and me! We are so excited about this book! Below you’ll find an excerpt from my story, That Could Be Enough.

Summary:

Mercy Alston knows the best thing to do with pesky feelings like “love” and “hope”: avoid them at all cost. Serving as a maid to Eliza Hamilton, and an assistant in the woman...

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Hey! In case you missed it last week, Kianna Alexander, Lena Hart, Piper Huguley, and me have another anthology coming out! Our last anthology was linked by novellas about Juneteenth, and this newest antho features suffragettes finding love while changing the country for the better. The anthology will be released on November 1st (if you’d like to be alerted when it’s available, sign up for my newsletter here or an anthology-specific newsletter here), and in the weeks leading up to the releas...

Here is the handout from the “Writing, Researching, and Marketing Your Non-regency Romance” panel we did at #RWA16. I will add a bibliography of helpful books eventually, but for now I’ll just add the best tip given during the panel, when someone asked Ms. Bev about receiving rejections from agents and editors who wanted her to change the setting of her historical: “Don’t let them stop you.”

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I realize that I never posted the cover for my upcoming historical espionage romance, An Extraordinary Union!

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I know I’m biased, but man do I love this cover!

As the Civil War rages between the states, a courageous pair of spies plunge fearlessly into a maelstrom of ignorance, deceit, and danger, combining their unique skills to alter the course of history and break the chains of the past . . .

Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. Trading in her life...

(Disclaimer 1: this post is a general discussion of the romance industry. Personally, I’ve been lucky enough to work with an awesome agent and attentive editors and publishers, but many, many marginalized authors have not.)

(Disclaimer 2: I know that publishing is hard for white romance authors, too, and that they also face rejection and income issues. Please read with the knowledge that this discussion takes that into account, but is specifically concerned with how there is an even higher ba...

Welcome to the second edition of Fangirl Fridays, the post in which I present the awesome writers (and their awesome books) that generally leave me in this state while I’m reading:

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Today I’m fangirling over Falguni Kothari, whom I was lucky enough to meet at my local RWA chapter. Falguni is hilarious, and her books exhibit her trademark sense of humor, as well as angst, sexual tension, and just all around you-need-to-read-ness.

Take it way, Falguni!

What kind of books you write?

Hey Al...