New bonus content, pre-order links, and an upcoming appearance!

Hello! I have three bits of fun news to share:

1. At long last, the 7,000-word story I wrote as a pre-order offering for Ship Wrecked is up on my Bonus Content page! (Just scroll down a bit; it’s listed under “For the Spoiler Alert series.”) “Crush” explores the Gods of the Gates‘s cast’s fateful trip to a Napa Valley vineyard, during which Carah “I Swear Because I Care” Brown and Summer “Sweet, Smart, and Sly” Diaz finally acknowledge the attraction they’ve been hiding for a long, long time. The story is hot and tender and full of profanity, just like Carah herself. 🙂 I hope you absolutely love it!

2. At First Spite, the first book in my new Harlot’s Bay series, is now up for pre-order!

Here’s the premise of the story: Athena Greydon is engaged to Harlot’s Bay pediatrician Johnny Vine…until his interfering older brother Matthew, also a pediatrician, convinces Johnny to dump her a month before the wedding. For Romance Novel Reasons™, she ends up living in a ten-foot-wide Spite House that’s sandwiched between the two brothers, a mere brick wall away from her ex-fiancé and only a four-foot alleyway distant from his older brother. Whereupon she engages in a bit of well-deserved payback…only to find herself attracted to the very same man who ruined her life: Dr. Matthew Vine the Freaking Third. Dammit.

At First Spite comes out on February 20, 2024 and is available for pre-order at AmazonAmazon UKBarnes & NobleiBooksKobo, and Google Play, as well as Love’s Sweet Arrow and The Ripped Bodice! (For more vendors carrying the U.S. edition, please click here, and to add to Goodreads, click here.)

3. Since I live in Sweden, I don’t participate in many live events, but I made an exception for the first-ever Steamy Lit Con (formerly RomCon), a romance book convention for authors and readers that celebrates diversity in our genre! Steamy Lit Con will be held August 18-19, 2023 in Anaheim, California and will include panels, signing sessions with 200 authors (including me), and other fun events. I would love to see you there!

Ticket sales are live and can be accessed through the Universe website.

FYI: If you attend and want me to sign some books for you, you can pre-order them through the on-site bookstore, Meet Cute Romance Bookshop. When checking out, just put “Pick up at Steamy Lit Con” in the comments, and you’ll be able to claim them at the on-site bookstore during the event!

That’s all the latest news! Take care, and I’m wishing you a lovely rest of your March. ♥

Hugs,
Olivia

Short Story Alert!

A quick heads-up: I just posted a new short story on the Bonus Content page of my website! “Untrue Love” is an armful of feathers in story form—fluffy, lightweight, and warm. It’s not connected to any of my published books, it’s a wee bit witchy, and I hope it’s exactly what you want to read for a few minutes of joy. ♥

On and Off the Page

A picture of Olivia Dade as a relatively young child, maybe 7 or 8, in a ruffled white shirt and mauve vest and skirt. She is smiling, with very chubby cheeks.
Me, around the time I began reading romances

One of the great joys of romance novels is their fundamental optimism. They reassure us that obstacles—everything from lingering childhood hurts to zombie apocalypses—can be overcome. That love can find us even under the most unlikely, humdrum, or harrowing circumstances. That happy endings are still possible, even in a very imperfect world filled with very imperfect people.

I’ve read romances since the age of seven or so, shortly after my mother pointed out the stack of dog-eared books in her closet and declared them off-limits. The next time I found myself unsupervised in the vicinity of her bedroom, of course, there was no stopping me. I basically dove headfirst into that pile of paperbacks.

I emerged transformed.

Continue reading

A Baby, an Engagement, & Sex Emojis: The Lovestruck Librarians Epilogue

Lovestruck Librarians

Tonight, I finally remembered that I hadn’t posted the epilogue for my Lovestruck Librarians series yet. So at long last, here it is!

The epilogue is about the length of a long chapter, and I had SO MUCH FUN with it. Based on fan feedback, I wrote it from the perspective of Angie, the bawdy, outspoken heroine of My Reckless Valentine. It includes an engagement, a pregnancy, and an extensive discussion of sex emojis. Yes, really. 🙂

One final note: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the readers who’ve followed this series. I’m more grateful and honored than I can say. The Lovestruck Librarians books celebrate love and the power of female friendship, and they’ve brought me so much joy. I hope they’ve done the same for you. ♥

P.S. The link for the epilogue is below, and it’s a PDF. Enjoy!

Epilogue

Links to All the #notRWA17 Threads!

I’m so sorry I haven’t posted this before now! The wonderful S.S. Jaxon gathered a list of all the #notRWA17 threads several days ago, but I was too distracted by a novella-in-progress to put the links on my blog right away. At long last, though, here they are!

Thank you again to all the presenters (and giveaway authors, commenters, and lurkers) who made our virtual conference so special. ♥

pages of a book curved into a heart shape


Not RWA Wednesday Schedule

Wednesday, July 26th:
No Dukes Allowed: Writing Unusual Historical Romances (Sandra Schwab)
Writing Tips from Soaps & Bollywood (Suleikha Snyder)
Demystifying Reviews (Ana Coqui)
Are Two Heads Better Than One? Tips on Working Collaboratively (Racheline Maltese)
Super Series Plotting: How to Plan a Series & When to Let the Plan Go (Michelle Boule)
Beyond Big Bang Theory: Writing Realistic STEM Characters (Abby Ryan)


Not RWA Thursday's Schedule

Thursday, July 27th:
Dark Art of the Blurb (Ainslie Paton)
Beyond Alpha: Writing Heroes Who Break the Mold (Emma Barry)
The Virtual Artist’s Toolkit—Tips & Tricks for Effective Description (Erin Satie)
Preserving Romance at the Browne Popular Culture Library (Steve Ammidown)
True North: Character Development in Romance (Mia Hopkins)
10 Tips to Meet Your Daily Word Count (Nicole McLaughlin)
10 Steps to Hitting a List (Zoe York/Ainsley Booth)


Not RWA Friday's Schedule

Friday, July 28th:
Salty, Sour, Bitter & Sweet: A Tasty Case for Writing Older Heroes (Mia West)
Reviving the Muse: What to Do When Your Creative Well Has Run Dry (Sandra Schwab)
Beyond Diversity 101: The No Fucks Edition (Suleikha Snyder)
Writing Romance While Single & Dating in a Swipe-Right World (S.S. Jaxon)
How Wishing (and Research) Makes Things Happen: Worldbuilding in Contemporary Romances (Stacey Agdern)
Navigating the Query Trenches and Beyond (Rachel Pudelek)
From Dispatch to Death Investigations: Law Enforcement from the Inside, Part 1 and Part 2 (Christina Alexandra)
Ways to Introduce that a Character is Trans (& Pitfalls to Avoid) (Xan West)


Not RWA Saturday's Schedule

Saturday, July 29th:
Plotbunny with Purpose (Sasha Devlin)
I Write Like Who? Using Librarian Skills to Market Your Book (Kelly Maher)
How to Woo a Blogger (Books and Joe)
Working 9-5 & 5-9 (Don’t Quit Your Night Job) (Maggie Wells)
The Care & Feeding of Magical (Author) Creatures (Sasha Devlin)

My Romance Romp Podcast (AKA Ramble-thon 2017)

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Kini and I in the offices of The Frederick News-Post (Kini’s the adorable one on the right).

Yesterday on Twitter, a lovely writer friend mentioned listening to the podcast I recorded in January with reader, reviewer, and podcaster extraordinaire Kini. Several other people then asked for the link and listened to the interview too. Which, incidentally, made ME click the link and listen, since I didn’t remember what I’d said! 🙂

Anyway, it occurred to me that I’d never posted the podcast link on my blog and website, so here it is: the Romance Romp podcast! I’m Episode 7, and there are many other wonderful episodes too.

If you want to listen to me chat with Kini about romance as both a reader and writer, or if you want to hear why I have such a hard time reading or writing alphahole heroes, or if you simply want to know what it sounds like when a grown woman giggles for an hour and twenty minutes, this podcast is for you!

(Note: Do I really sound like that? I guess I do, huh?)