BRUTAL AMBITION COVER REVEAL!

It’s finally time for the big reveal! I’m sooo excited to share this cover with you. I hope you like it!

𝐁𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭.

I used to fantasize about meeting a masked madman who would love me endlessly and obsessively. He would look after me in a world where no one else did. He would manipulate all the strings that held up my life until I had exactly the one I wanted.

And then one night I met him.

Only he wasn’t the hero I always imagined he would be.

When we left the forest together that night, I thought I’d escaped the villains relatively unscathed, but my true villain was the man whose arms I felt safest in.

He was the one who would tear me apart.

Now I know the only way to save myself is to stay far away from Killian Walsh.

But no matter how fast I run, he won’t stop chasing me.

He knows the best thing he could do for me is set me free.

But he’s too selfish to do it.

He calls me reckless, but I think he’s crazy.

Because Killian Walsh will let the flames consume us both before he will ever let me go.

𝘽𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 is a full-length secret society romance that contains dark subject matter some may find triggering. This story is a spinoff of the Coastal Elite series, but can be read as a standalone. The timeline of this book is the same timeline as the fourth Coastal Elite book, Surrender.

Cover design: Covers by Combs

Release date: April 29, 2024

And you can read a brief excerpt here: https://rb.gy/0e4h1l

Brutal Ambition Coastal Elite Variant Cover + Release Day

I am so, so excited to release this next book. I’ve had the best time writing it, and I think you guys are really gonna love it.

𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬…

Brutal Ambition is a spinoff of my Coastal Elite world, but it can be read as a standalone even if you haven’t read those books (but you should. In my opinion, Even if it Hurts is one of the best books I’ve ever written, lol). The hero is friends with Dare and Silvan (the hero of Surrender), but there were elements of Dare’s college experience (and Silvan’s, Sophie mentioned a particular group he was part of but didn’t know many details about it) I’m personally interested in exploring more that just don’t play the biggest part in the Coastal Elite books. Dare and Silvan have their own things going on and their own stories to tell, but I wanted to also tell a story that was centered more on the secret society they’re both in.

Because it’s a secret society, and, well, that’s interesting. At least, to me!

I’ve dabbled with secret society story ideas for years but it wasn’t until this one that I really found the one I wanted to sink my teeth into and write a book for. And I’ve absolutely loved telling Brynn and Killian’s story. I got to weave so many things that I love into this book, and I can’t wait to see what you think.

Brutal Ambition will be releasing April 29th. It will be a live release on Amazon (and in KindleUnlimited) so there won’t be a pre-order. I will just upload it and hope Amazon puts it through quickly!

The main cover reveal is coming, but first, I wanted to share this one.

Since this is a Coastal Elite spinoff (this book takes place during the same timeline as the fourth Coastal Elite book, Surrender) and I have a whole set of Coastal Elite discreet covers, I wanted to have a cover designed that fit right in with those. 🙂

I hope you like it!

The main cover reveal will be here before you know it, and the book will be here shortly after!

Untouchable hardcover signing exclusive

If you follow me on various social media platforms (I believe I shared it on Facebook/in my reader group and Instagram, and it was in a video from my Authors Rocking Little Rock signing on Tiktok) you may have already seen this, but I thought I would make a post here as well. 🙂

This exclusive hardcover edition is only available from me at book signings.
I don’t do many signings, but these are the ones I’m presently signed up for/where I will have this available (you can always check my appearances page for a list of upcoming signings). They are available in limited quantities while supplies last.

I also have this accessibility form for anyone who isn’t able to attend signings due to medical reasons, you can read about that HERE. This form will be closing Friday, April 26, 2024 which is another reason I wanted to post it here in case anyone didn’t see it on Facebook. I want to make sure people who are selected (randomly) are notified before the Lift4Autism auction is over in the event they want to bid on it.

Like I said, this collector’s edition will only be available from me at signings, but I did donate a copy to the Lift4Autism auction. Bidding on auction items will be Monday, April 22 8:00 am EST through 5:00 pm EST on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

SURRENDER is LIVE!!

If you haven’t met Sophie and Silvan yet, now you can!

Surrender is as re-release of Sophie’s Surrender, but I know some people missed that one when it was briefly available last year. The re-release also includes a bonus scene from Aubrey’s POV the night of Silvan’s party (where Sophie and Silvan’s story starts).

If you’re more of a standalone reader and not so much a series reader, you can still read Silvan and Sophie’s story. It works as a standalone, just stop when their story is over and don’t go on to the Coastal Elite bonus story at the back of the book. That isn’t about Sophie and Silvan and won’t make sense unless you’re caught up on the series and familiar with the other characters’ dynamics. 😊

SURRENDER

SURRENDER (discreet paperback)

I do have audiobooks in the works for Contempt and Surrender, but they won’t begin recording until summer (one of the narrators was booked up until then) so I don’t know yet when those will be ready for release, but I’ll update when they are.

The next book in the Coastal Elite series is Deception, but there’s no release date on that yet and there won’t be for a while as I’m still writing it, and my plan is to finish writing the series before I even release Deception so I can release everything closer together and keep the wait between books minimal.

My next release is Brutal Ambition, which is a Coastal Elite spin-off. The hero is friends with Silvan and Dare, but you don’t meet him in the series. You’ll meet him for the first time in Brutal Ambition and that book is separate from the series, just a friend of theirs so the world is the same. Obviously, I have a lot of writing to do, lol, so I won’t be online as much for a while.

I hope you enjoy the story, and I look forward to telling you more of it. ♥

SURRENDER Cover Reveal + Audio news

COVER REVEAL!!

I’m so excited to share the cover of Silvan and Sophie’s story with you! 🙂
If you read Sophie’s Surrender last year, you’ve already read Sophie and Silvan’s story, but the Coastal Elite re-release includes exclusive bonus content. Sleeping Beauty is the bonus scene in this book, it’s from Aubrey’s POV and follows her and Dare (who you may remember had a cameo appearance at Silvan’s party in the beginning of the book) the night Sophie and Silvan met. Obviously, Sophie got caught by Silvan and never made it to Aubrey so we didn’t see how the scene played out in their story, but I thought that would be a perfect opportunity to give a little catch-up with our Even if it Hurts characters. It’s a long scene, the size of around 6 to 7 of my regular chapters, and it’s only available in Surrender.

And for the discreet version…

Laura and I opted to leave her name off the cover of the discreet version (it will still be on the interior title page) for the sake of uniformity. I offered signed “extra special” editions of the Even if it Hurts discreet cover with raised glossy title font, and I’ve always planned to make those for the rest of the series, too, I was just waiting for Contempt and Surrender to release so I could do those and Undertow at the same time. But adding another name to the cover (and spine) might have potentially complicated the raised glossy features (because the title font at least on the spine would have had to be smaller to fit both of us), so we just did it this way to avoid potential complications.

And in audio news, Contempt and Surrender are getting audiobooks!

Unfortunately, the female narrator I want for Contempt (and the Surrender bonus scene) is booked through July. But she is fantastic (it’s the same narrator I hired for Even if it Hurts) and since Contempt also features a couple of characters from Even if it Hurts (like Anae and Hannah, and she performed them in so well in EIIH that I couldn’t imagine anyone else reading for them), I’m determined for her to be my female narrator for Contempt.

That does mean recording won’t even begin until mid-summer, and since it will be duet narration like Even if it Hurts, the post-production/editing process will take a bit longer, too. But I’d rather wait a little longer and have the best possible audiobooks. I’m sure you would, too. 🙂

Surrender will be releasing February 8th, and there will be a short pre-order ahead of time (for the ebook) just so Amazon can get the book page up and running ahead of the release.

The Best Man is LIVE!!

My super spicy little standalone is now live on Amazon!

𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗯

The man I love is not for the faint of heart.

He’s an artist, a maniac, a brilliant sculptor capable of molding the most delicate clay into something beautiful and unbreakable. He teases that he makes magic, but it’s not a joke to me. He is a magician.

He will break you apart and rebuild you, and only then will you know true freedom.

He will give you what you never knew you needed, whether you want him to or not.

He will make you his.

If you’re me, anyway.

I thought I knew what love was, but he opened my eyes to depths invisible to anyone who doesn’t know him.

I don’t know how I lived for so long in the cold, cruel world without him.

Now, I need him to breathe, and he needs me the same way.

Call it sickness, call it obsession.

Tell me I’m brainwashed, that he’s more villain than hero.

I don’t care.

I’m in love, and this is the story of how he made me his.

This is a high spice standalone dark romance with a morally flexible “hero” and is intended only for a mature adult audience. If you require content warnings, please make sure to read the author’s note at the beginning of the book.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙈𝙖𝙣

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3txIgE9

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CRJ33LKS

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CRJ33LKS

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CRJ33LKS

Amazon IN: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CRJ33LKS

(Also available in #KindleUnlimited)

The Best Man on Vella

Last month I wrote a little something just for me.

A lot of my books have started out that way. There’s something particular that I want to read, but I can’t find it on the market anywhere (and even if I find something similar, it isn’t written to my tastes, maybe the wrong type of hero or heroine), so I have to write it for myself so I can read it, lol. It’s obviously nice to be able to do that, but I haven’t had time to do it much lately. I’ll have to remember to leave some gaps in my schedule going forward so I have a little room for playing with new ideas.

Anyway, this is a very quick, very spicy read. It probably won’t be for everyone, it’s a bit more sexually adventurous than my average book with a much higher percentage of spice, but just like with all my books, the spice isn’t gratuitous. It’s there for a reason. This particular story just required much more of it.

I had a great time writing this story, so I hope you have a great time reading it! It’s very spicy. There is dubcon. There’s a sweetheart heroine and an overpowering, mastermind hero who requires submission. I have a nice detailed author’s note ready for the ebook and I couldn’t fit it in the Vella note space, but suffice it to say, this is not a man you customize or control. You come along for the ride he wants to take you on or you stay out of his car. He calls the shots. He knows what he’s doing. There is no room for negotiation.

I love playing with power dynamics and dominance, so he was quite a treat for me. The dynamic between him and his heroine is also my favorite, so it was nice to revisit it.

So I wrote this story for myself just for fun, I had no plans to share it when I started writing it, but then I decided to because I know some of my readers will likely love it as well. I figured it already exists whether I share it or not, I may as well make it available for them. Anyone who’s not interested, no biggie, just don’t read that one.

Right now, the story is only available on Kindle Vella. I believe Vella is still a US only platform, and usually I would also put the story on Radish so everyone else has access, but because I’m publishing this book next month, I’m not able to do that with this one. The timeline is too tight, I wouldn’t have been able to get it all posted and be sure I could also get it back down in time to publish it. So early access is only on Vella, but if you want to read it and you’re not a Vella reader, no worries. I will be releasing it as an ebook and in paperback in January 2024. 🙂

Read THE BEST MAN on VELLA NOW

CONTEMPT is LIVE!!

The third book in my Coastal Elite series is finally here!

BLURB

𝙈𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙧…

I had a plan to get through senior year. Get good grades, stay busy with clubs, don’t forget to carve out time for Mom and Hannah, and most importantly, stay far, far away from Landon Atwater.

That plan collapsed at the end of summer when my mom announced her surprise engagement… to Landon’s father.

Now, I have to live with the jerk who has spent years tormenting me. At school, I could make sure we weren’t in the same classes and turn the other way if I saw him in the halls, but avoiding him gets a lot harder when I’m living in his seaside mansion.

Especially because he doesn’t want to be avoided.

Landon has always loved taunting and controlling me, but now he has the ultimate advantage and he’s not afraid to use it. Landon is the chaos machine that could blow up this newly minted family—and my mom’s chance at happiness—and, unfortunately for me, he knows I won’t let him.

I was prepared to be on my guard at school, but I didn’t plan to spend senior year avoiding capture in my own home.

Unfortunately, it seems Landon has a plan of his own.

And no lock on my bedroom door is going to keep him from accomplishing it.

Contempt is book three in the Coastal Elite series! Readers first meet Parker and Landon in book two, Undertow. Contempt is intended for a mature adult audience, and anyone requiring trigger warnings is urged to read the author’s note at the beginning of the book.

Contempt (Coastal Elite, #3)

Amazon
Amazon UK
Amazon AU
Amazon CA

Discreet paperback

Haven’t started the series yet?

Even if it Hurts (Coastal Elite, #1)
Discreet Paperback
Undertow (Coastal Elite, #2)
Discreet Paperback

The next book in this series will be the re-release of Sophie’s Surrender, titled just Surrender. Silvan and Sophie’s story won’t change, but there will be added Coastal Elite bonus content in this edition. Not just a bonus chapter either, Sleeping Beauty is a 15k+ word (like 6 to 7 of my usual chapters) scene written from Aubrey’s POV.

Surrender will be book four in the Coastal Elite series, and the last book before Hannah’s story begins to be the main focus. ☺️

Sophie’s Surrender…

Lately I have been tagged in and spotted posts in several reader groups asking about this, so it occurred to me I should make a post about it here for anyone looking!

Sophie’s Surrender was a limited release. It was only available for three months earlier this year. My co-author and I wanted to release it early as a COMPLETE standalone because when the story releases in my Coastal Elite series, it will be book four.

Some of her readers may not be reading my Coastal Elite series (and some readers prefer not to read series at all) so we released it for a limited time and marketed it as a complete standalone to make it accessible to everybody.

In its permanent home, my Coastal Elite series, the book will have a new Coastal Elite cover (and a discreet version for those who prefer them), but the story has not changed, so if you missed Sophie and Silvan’s story earlier this year, don’t worry! You’ll be able to read it in SURRENDER (Coastal Elite, #4).

The re-release will include the same story that was in Sophie’s Surrender AND added Coastal Elite bonus content: a short story called Sleeping Beauty which features previous Coastal Elite characters and shows you what they’re up to now.

Surrender doesn’t have a release date yet because I have to release Contempt (Coastal Elite, #3) first, but both books will be released before Halloween. I will announce release dates once I have them, and both books will be released pretty close together so you’ll have no lack of Sam Mariano words coming!

2022 Wrap-up

Wow. I worked my butt off this year.

I love these end-of-year wrap-ups because they give you a chance to pause and really look at all you’ve accomplished in a given year.

I didn’t feel like I accomplished much this year because there’s always more I want to do and that leaves me constantly feeling behind, but look at this shelf. This is a whole career’s worth of work, and I did all of it in 2022.

I didn’t do it all myself, of course. Some of this is collaborative work. To the left, the beautiful hardback editions of Filthy Elites that Mystic Box did (along with the artwork that went with my book), the gorgeous edition of Even if it Hurts that Bookish Buys made for their September box, the stunning hardcover and paperback special editions of Untouchable Cover to Cover did for their Frozen Dreams box, and the lovely special edition of Untouchable that Dark Heart Romance Book Box did in June.

Stitches got an anniversary edition this year (which includes the short story featuring our throuple that is in A Valentine’s Day Treat so you have all the Seb/Moira/Griff words all in one place).

I combined my Christmas stories in The Christmas Collection so you could have them all in one bundle.

I finally made my Irreparable duet available in paperback.

Irreparable Damage
Irreparable Lives

This year’s bestseller Descent got a gorgeous discreet cover to match its people cover.

I also wrote a dark, steamy book featuring a stalkery obsessed hero with one of my best friends.

Bully God was where I debuted Gemma and Hayden’s story Undertow, and then it released on its own with a beautiful discreet cover option. (And now it’s available in audio!)

Dare and Aubrey were first introduced in Filthy Elites, then got their solo release Even if it Hurts which has my very favorite discreet cover I’ve ever seen. (We’ll see if next year’s Coastal Elite discreets give them any competition.)

Finally, Resisting Mr. Granville. Probably my last forbidden romance (other than any I already have planned in other series) but definitely one of the hottest books I’ve ever written.

I made the USA Today bestseller list this year.
I published my 30^th book this year.
I also went to ApollyCon and Shameless this year and got to meet so many of my awesome readers.

Overall, I think I can say it was a pretty successful year.

I couldn’t have done any of it without you, so thank you.
Thank you so much for reading my books, for sharing and telling your friends about them. For all you do to make book world a generally awesome place. You’re the best!

So, now, I can say Happy New Year.

See you in 2023!