Don’t forget…

…that I have books available in the Kindle Unlimited program, so if you’re a KU subscriber you can read the books below for free!

UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS | HIS STEADY HEART | ONE MORE CHANCE

Unexpected Christmas is for you if you can’t wait for the holidays. His Steady Heart if you. like me, is a fan of age-gap romance. One More Chance if you want two-for-the-price-of-one books about second chances, because who doesn’t love second chances? 😁

One More Chance is a box set containing my previously published books Cinnamon Eyes and Promise Me We’ll Be Okay, and it’s currently only available in KU, but will be released widely soon if you’re not a KU-user. I’ll post buy links as soon as I have them 🙂

New box set and Kindle Unlimited

I have a surprise for you! My fabulous publisher JMS Books and I have collected two of my previously published stories into a box set, and put it in Kindle Unlimited. It will be KU exclusive for the first three months and after that it will be released wide, so don’t despair if you’re a non-Kindle reader.

Which books am I talking about?

Cinnamon Eyes and Promise Me We’ll Be Okay. The stories are loosely connected but not an actual series, but I thought it would be fun to put them together in a box, because box sets are awesome and it’s a great value for money. Especially if you’re already a KU subscriber!

Blurb:

Two stories about second chances, correcting mistakes, and finding your way back to the one you love by best-selling M/M romance author Nell Iris, collected together in an exclusive box-set for the first time.

Contains the stories:

Cinnamon Eyes: Cory’s struggled with severe depression. Desperate to rebuild his shattered life, he seeks out his best friend Asher who he was in love with at fifteen, but who didn’t know it. Asher’s relationship with his father is difficult and now that Pops has cancer, Asher fights to be allowed to help. When they meet after sixteen years, Cory’s feelings are as strong as ever. But does Asher feel the same?

Promise Me We’ll Be Okay: It’s been sex-hundred and ninety-five days since Jude’s fiancé Vincent ended their engagement and broke Jude’s heart. Two years later, a traumatic event made Vincent realize he’d made a terrible mistake and now he wants Jude back. Their chemistry is as explosive as ever, but will they be able to work through the real issues? Can trust once broken be rebuilt?

Amazon link

 

---

But wait. There’s more! My May-December story His Steady Heart is also available in the KU program now. This book isn’t exclusive to KU though, so it’s still available to buy through all the normal book stores, but if you’re a KU subscriber and haven’t read it, now you can for no extra charge! 🙂

Amazon link

---

That means I now have three titles available in KU. So if you’re a subscriber and haven’t read them, now’s the time 🙂

Unexpected Christmas | His Steady Heart | One More Chance

Inspiration

Do you ever wonder where authors get their inspiration from? 

Ever since the early eighties, a Swedish artist called Thåström has been one of my absolute favorites. He started his career as a singer/lead guitarist in a punk band and after that he had a couple different bands before he went solo. He sings in Swedish (with few exceptions), and I’ve loved him since my early teens, well over thirty years.

In 1989 he released his first solo album, and on that record was a song called Flicka med guld (Girl with gold). I love that song, and it has a deep personal meaning to me for reasons I don’t want to share, but suffice to say, it’s very important to me.

The song is about a girl with golden brown eyes; the lyrics reads like a poem, and the music, the acoustic guitar and his raw voice, speaks right to my heart. And that song, was the original inspiration for Cinnamon Eyes.

I originally wanted to name my story The Boy with Cinnamon Eyes, in reference to the song the MC Asher has written about the other MC Cory (see the lyrics in the picture above), a direct reference to A Girl with Golden-Brown Eyes, but my publisher asked me to change the title (because of valid reasons) so I shortened it.

My lyrics and Thåströms lyrics are nothing alike, of course, aside for my title being inspired by his title/song, but then I took it and made it my own. Or rather, I made it Asher’s.

Those lyrics has stayed with me for 30 years, and I suspect I’ll love them as much, if not more in another 30 years.

Below is the original Swedish lyrics and the translation. It’s a literal translation and it loses all its poetry in this version, but at least you’ll get an idea what I’m talking about.

Also: Thåström the artist was actually my inspiration for Asher’s looks, too. Wanna see?

And if you want to hear the song, even though it’s in Swedish:

---

Blurb:

Cory’s had a rough year struggling with severe depression. He’s desperate to rebuild his shattered life and break away from his demanding family. When his therapist encourages him to do something for himself, he knows exactly what he needs. I want to see Asher again. The best friend Corey ever had who, at fifteen, held Cory’s heart in his hands without knowing it.

Asher’s had a troubled relationship with his father since he came out. Now that Pops is sick, he’s fighting for his right to help or even find out about his father’s health. Then there’s the complication of an ex-boyfriend unwilling to let go.

When Cory and Asher meet again after sixteen years, Cory’s feelings are as strong as ever. But does Asher feel the same?

M/M Contemporary / 34 679 words

JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Google Play  |  B&N  | Kobo  | Smashwords | iTunes | Scribd

 

 

#FlashbackFriday

“I want to see Asher again.”

Cory’s had a rough year struggling with severe depression. He’s desperate to rebuild his shattered life and break away from his demanding family. When his therapist encourages him to do something for himself, he knows exactly what he needs. I want to see Asher again. The best friend Corey ever had who, at fifteen, held Cory’s heart in his hands without knowing it.

Asher’s had a troubled relationship with his father since he came out. Now that Pops is sick, he’s fighting for his right to help or even find out about his father’s health. Then there’s the complication of an ex-boyfriend unwilling to let go.

When Cory and Asher meet again after sixteen years, Cory’s feelings are as strong as ever. But does Asher feel the same?

M/M Contemporary / 34 679 words

JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Google Play  |  B&N  | Kobo | iTunes | Scribd | Smashwords |

“I wrote the song after my boyfriend broke up with me. He said I was emotionally unavailable.”

“This is a true feel good story, so if you are looking for angst and excitement this is not your story. On the other hand if you are looking for a fairytale love story with true love spiced up with some family drama and heartfelt reconciliation, this story is definitely perfect for you. Highly recommended”

– Love Bytes

Excerpt

I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was even taller than I remembered, and every angle of his body was as sharp as his jawline. Narrow shoulders ended in a bony, ninety-degree corner. Prominent collarbones were visible in the wide neckline of his black T-shirt, together with tufts of black hair.

His hips were slender and his legs long, and everywhere I looked, he was straight and angular. Except for a slightly rounded belly. I wanted to reach out and put my hands on the soft-looking flesh, stick my hands under his T-shirt and find out if he had hair on his stomach, too.

“Cory.”

His voice rasped along my body, making me quiver all the way to my toes. I dragged my gaze upwards, knowing I stared shamelessly, but unable to stop.

“Cory,” he said again, took a step closer, and grabbed my chin between his fingers. Nudged it upward, forced me to look him in the eyes.

I tried to avert my gaze, afraid of my reaction if I looked directly at him.

“Cory,” he whispered a third time. “Look at me.”

My lips trembled, but I did as he asked.

Pale green eyes bored into me, peering all the way into my soul. I drew in a shuddering breath, and the confession spilled out of me. “I’ve missed you.”

The words hardly escaped my lips before I was wrapped up in his strong arms. Our bodies fit perfectly together, with my head right under his chin. I wound my arms around his waist. As I did, his shirt slid up, and my hands came in contact with naked skin.

Warmth rushed through my fingertips and heated up my body. My appetite had vanished as the depression set in, and I’d lost nearly thirty pounds over the last year, leaving me constantly cold. Here, in his embrace, was the first time I wasn’t freezing in a long time.

One dollar? ONE DOLLAR??

Wohooo, today you can buy my book Cinnamon Eyes from my publisher JMS Books for less than a dollar! Ninety-nine cents!! That’s a steal guys! If you haven’t read it yet, now’s the time to buy it.

But only today, so hurry over and clickety-click the link.

Praise for Cinnamon Eyes:

Jules at The Novel Approach gave it 4 out of 5 stars

“Cinnamon Eyes is full of emotion, and features two main characters whose love absolutely jumps off the page. Friends-to-lovers stories are my jam, so I’m picky about them, but this one was well-done and heart-warming.”

Melanie M at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words gave it 4,5 out of 5 stars

“The author’s writing is smooth, her storytelling is wildly romantic while still being real, and the ending is everything you will want it to be.”

Kirsty at Joyfully Jay gave it 5 out of 5 stars

“I was particularly impressed by Nell Iris’ understanding of Cory’s depression. I am a firm believer of characters’ experiences being a close to real life as possible and as someone who has struggled with depression for much of my life, I could really identify with Cory. From the outset of the story, Iris makes her reader conscious of the fact that Cory’s positive mood is not a lasting one and that his recovery journey is not complete. I think it is really important that Iris recognizes that individuals attempting to get well have different ways of coping when their emotions become overwhelming.”

“Cinnamon Eyes is a romance that will melt readers’ hearts, without being saccharin sweet because of the real-life issues that Iris handles with such sensitivity. This may be the first book I have read by Iris, but it won’t be the last! A full five-star recommendation.”

NeRdyWYRM at Gay Book Reviews gave it 4 out of 5 stars

“I think Nell Iris may have succeeded in accomplishing something I once thought was impossible. This read has reversed my usual (and usually complete) loathing for short stories.”

“The connection between these two sweethearts was epic.”