Just in time for Labor Day! I've released Waiting For The Big One, the first book in my LA Love Lessons trilogy on Radish, the serial fiction platform. If you like your fiction in bite-size pieces, this is the place for you!
It's been a lot of fun re-writing it to fit the serial model. What was weird, however, was creating a new cover WITHOUT ANY TEXT! I'm a writer. I want to use my words. lol But I have to admit, I think it did turn out pretty nicely. It looks like a movie poster, doesn't it? Although, again, WITHOUT A TITLE. Argggh!
In any case, I'm making this particular series available through Radish's "Freemium" pricing model, which means that if you don't mind waiting an additional week for each episode to "unlock", you can read the entire book for free. Of course, if you REALLY hate to wait--something my heroine, Gabby, would totally understand--you could just pick up the whole book right now at any of the usual vendors. But where's the fun in that? :)
Depending on how things go, I'm also looking to re-release Games We Play, Oberon, and possibly the Inked in OakTown series on Radish as well. And, as of right now, I'm planning to make those series exclusive to Radish. Tell me what you think in the comments below!
You can follow me on Radish for updates: https://radishfiction.com/users/pgforte
I'm also hoping to revive my newsletter next month. We'll see how that goes. September is a big travel month. Again. If you want to subscribe the link can be found here: http://www.pgforte.com/newsletter.htm
In the meantime, in case you haven't read Waiting For The Big One (or, if you have, but it's been awhile) here's an excerpt:
It was one
of those perfect mornings, the kind that only ever seems to happen on a Sunday.
You know the ones I mean, don’t you? Just before noon, all lazy and warm.
The city
of Los Angeles was steeped in sunshine, snuggled about as deep into the weekend
as it could get. It seemed like everyone was laid back and happy, except for me
and the dozens of other drivers who were trying to move west along Hollywood
Blvd, headed toward Fairfax, going nowhere fast.
They’ll
tell you Pisces is a patient sign, but you can’t really label the fish. We’re
complex people. We combine the best and worst of all the other signs. And the
truth is, I hate to wait.
So, there
I was, stuck at yet another red light, when it hit me. It wasn’t just me who
was waiting and it wasn’t just now. All of Los Angeles was in the same boat,
all of us, all the time, waiting for the big one.
For most
of us, that means our big break, our shot at seeing our name in a star on the
Walk of Fame. It’s the role that’ll lift us out of obscurity. It’s the hit
that’ll soar to the top of the charts. We’re all hopeful romantics--like
Kathleen Turner, in Romancing the Stone. We’re always certain it’ll
happen with the next deal we make, the next audition we go out on, the next
person we meet.
Take me,
for instance. Any day now, with just a little bit of luck, I could go from
being plain old Gabby Browne, aspiring actress and dog walker, to Academy Award
Winner, Gabriella Giacomo.
And if
fame doesn’t get us, no doubt the earthquake will. That’s the other thing
everybody’s waiting for, the big eight point, nine point, ten point shaker that
scientists say is bound to occur. The one that’ll rock this town to its knees.
Even hopeful romantics have to admit it seems inevitable. How could any place
with this much surface glamour not be doomed?
But this
morning, I was waiting for something a little more personal. I was waiting for
The Big O: the elusive, G-spot, ultra orgasm, the kind I’d heard about, read
about, yearned for, but had not yet experienced.
Don’t get
me wrong, it’s not as if I’d never had an orgasm or anything. But, to date,
they’d all been the standard issue, plain vanilla kind. Nice, but nothing I
couldn’t give myself any day of the week if I wanted. What I was hoping for was
something more life-altering, soul-searing, rock-my-world passion. I knew it
was out there, waiting for me. All I needed was the right guy to help me find
it.
I knew he
was out there, too. He was my Twin Flame, my Split Apart, my Tantric Soul mate;
the man who would love me madly, passionately, loudly. All night long. They say
good things come to those who wait, and I was certainly counting on that being
true, but he was taking a long time to get here, and I was growing impatient.
Finally,
the light turned green and I made it to where I was trying to get—The
Body Electric—for my first workout of the week, and definitely my favorite.
Power Yoga
with Derek Novello was never an easy class, but with Derek calling the shots,
getting whipped into shape was almost a pleasure. I hurried up the walkway
toward the two-story Hollywood Deco building, smiling in anticipation, enjoying
the trickle of the fountain in the courtyard, the tinkle of the wind chimes in
the topiary, the sweet scent of sandalwood.
“You’re
late,” a voice growled the minute I set foot inside the deserted anteroom.
I froze
for an instant, heart pounding in my chest, as I recognized Derek’s
dark-chocolate voice. Then I turned, making one of those slow, graceful pivots
I’d been practicing.
Derek has
the kind of chiseled features the camera loves. Even now, with his thick, black
brows drawn into a frown that had them almost meeting over the bridge of his
classically perfect nose, his face was sensual, expressive, intense.
He was
looking yummier than ever today, with his
two-hundred-push-ups-every-morning-before-breakfast arms folded across a tight
black tank, putting all those lovely muscles on an in-your-face display. The
black workout pants he wore, on the other hand, were disappointingly loose, at
least in front. But experience had taught me that when he turned around...ooh,
baby. They’d likely mold to his glutes in a way that would make my own pants
grow damp.
Was I in a
rush for him to turn around? Uh-uh. ‘Cause he’s also got the fiercest brown
eyes, the most delicious looking lips and, oh, I thought with a tinge of
sadness, if only we weren’t friends.
“Traffic,”
I explained, trying to rein in my runaway lust, trying to resist the urge to
run my fingers through the dark waves of his short hair. I’d always made it a
policy never to mix sex and friendship. It was something Derek knew full well,
though he continued to tempt me. “You wouldn’t believe all the cars on the road
today.”
“So?
There’s always traffic, that’s no excuse. Besides, you only live twelve blocks
away. You jog, you hike, you exercise—give me a break, Gabe. Are you really
going to tell me you couldn’t walk that far? You could get here on time if you
wanted to.”
I sighed,
feeling even more regretful. The truth is he looks even sexier when he gets
worked up, and since he’s a Scorpio, that happens a lot. “Don’t be silly,
Derek. This is LA—no one walks here.”
Derek
rolled his eyes. “Go get dressed.”
Sexy or
not, I hate it when anyone’s annoyed with me. It’s a Pisces thing. We want
everyone to be happy. Luckily, I knew just how to make Derek’s day.
“I’m
sorry, Sensei,” I murmured in my breathiest, most contrite sounding voice. I
dropped my chin, laced my fingers together, and peeked up at him adoringly,
like the blondest damned geisha you’ve ever seen. “Won’t you please forgive me?
I promise it’ll never happen again.”
A muscle
twitched at the corner of Derek’s mouth, showing me how hard he was trying not
to smile. “It better not. You know the rules. Don’t expect me to make
exceptions for you just because we’re friends.”
Well, that
was ridiculous. Scorpios always make exceptions for their friends.
That’s still the best way to tell when they’ve written you off. But as I bit my
lip and took a step closer, I knew that wasn’t the case with us—yet. There was
a hot, hungry look in Derek’s eyes, though he was still pretending to be
indifferent to my act. ‘Course that all went to hell in an eye-popping,
jaw-dropping hurry when I flashed him the twins.
“Damn,” he
muttered, blinking appreciatively as I tugged my top back into place. I gave
him a wink, then turned on my heel, and marched off toward the lockers.
“You still
have a few minutes before class starts, Der,” I called over my shoulder. “You
might want to use the time to rearrange that package of yours. It’s bulging.”
WAITING FOR THE BIG ONE is available at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo and NOW on Radish! This title is also available as an audiobook through Audible
