Tag Archives: Vinni George

#WOTR24 – #Review – Love on the River: A Charity Anthology

A 2024 Writers on the River Charity Anthology with stories from A.D. Ellis, AJ Renee, Amanda Zook, Brandy Slaven, C.A. Harms, Danielle Keil, Darie McCoy, H. D’Agostino, J.M. Walker, Jade Waltz, Jamie K. Schmidt, Jen Talty, Joel Shoemaker, Kate Hawthorne, M.J. Haag, Mellanie Szereto, Miranda Lynn, Molly McLain, Nikki Landis, and Vinni George

Goodreads

Amazon

Review by Twinsie Kelly

I honestly don’t know where to start with this review. I have many anthologies and I will be the first to admit that I have never read every single story within. Well, I made a decision not to do that again. I read and read and read…..

Every.

Single.

One!

This is a decision that I do not regret in the slightest! There are so many great stories from all sorts of different genres and tropes. I have read stories from a handful of these authors (Nikki Landis, Miranda Lynn, Darie McCoy, AJ Renee, Brandy Slaven, Mellanie Szereto, JM Walker, and Jade Waltz), but I have not read stories from the remaining. I fell in love again with the writing of the authors mentioned above but boy do I have a bunch more that I am going to have to start stalking…just sayin!

Some of these stories are a bit of a teaser and will continue on and others may only be here for the anthology. However, there is a disclaimer at the beginning of each story so if there is a trope that is a hard no for you or perhaps has a trigger that you feel you should pass up, you have fair warning. I have to say, even with the warnings/disclaimers, I am happy to keep touting that I read every single one!

Now the real problem is that I don’t know which author to read next! There are not enough hours in the day. What a conundrum!

H. D’Agostino – Let Me Love You

A.D. Ellis – Reconstructing His Heart

Vinni George – Isaac and Andre

MJ Haag – Demon Sky

C.A. Harms – Starting Over

Kate Hawthorne – Flip a Coin

Danielle Keil – Between Pages and Hearts

Nikki Landis – My HERO Biker

Miranda Lynn – The Mating Cabin

Darie McCoy – Thrive

Molly McLain – It’s Always Been You

AJ Renee – The Boy Who Left (A St. Fleur Short Story)

Jamie K Schmidt – Beach, Please

Joel Shoemaker – A Mai Tai at the Edge of the Universe

Brandy Slaven – Second Chances

Mellanie Szereto – Mom I’d Love to Marry

Jen Talty – Harper’s Heart

J.M. Walker – Time Will Tell

Jade Waltz – Project: Adapt: Refresh

Amanda Zook – Healing a Gold Star Heart

#WOTR24#CharityAnthology #CoverReveal – Love on the River Anthology

🌷IMPORTANT ATTENDING AUTHORS ANNOUCEMENT 🌷
Love on the River: A Charity Anthology

Love on the River is available for pre-order now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPYWFTFL

Brought to you by 20(ish) of your 2024 attending authors, Love on the River is a MASSIVE book with one thing in mind…LOVE. And money for Thistle Farms, of course. 

Our author line up is subject to change, but currently includes stories from: A.D. Ellis, AJ Renee, Amanda Zook, Brandy Slaven, C.A. Harms, Danielle Keil, Darie McCoy, H.D’Agostino, J.M. Walker, Jade Waltz, Jamie K. Schmidt, Jen Talty, Joel Shoemaker, Kate Hawthorne, M.J. Haag, Mellanie Szereto, Miranda Lynn, Molly McLain, Nikki Landis, and Vinni George.

Love on the River will ONLY be available to purchase from April 1 – July 31, 2024 (ebook and paperback). Don’t miss out on this one of a kind collection of stories and be part of Writers on the River history!

Thank you to all of our contributing authors for their time and work, to Eric McKinney for donating a GORGEOUS photo for the cover. But most of all, thank YOU for reserving your copies and helping us raise money to donate to Thistle Farms in 2024.

🕯️Links and Dates:

E-BOOK PRE-ORDER –  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPYWFTFL

PAPERBACK ORDERS – https://forms.gle/oarzp1rzBKB1XjHJ7

RELEASE DATE  April 1, 2024

LAST DAY TO BUY  July 31, 2024

🕯️About the Anthology:

2024 is YEAR 9 for Writers on The River and that feels like a great time to break some donation records. Healing With Words is only $22,000 away from donating over $100,000 dollars to Thistle Farms and we’re hoping this anthology can help get them not just over the $100k hump, but also over HWW’s personal goal of a $25,000 donation. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this anthology will go to the charity. 

🕯️About Healing with Words:

Healing With Words is a 501(c)(3) not for profit established for healing survivors of abuse, addiction, trafficking and prostitution. We feel the best way to spread love is to share the love of reading. Through the written word, persons can find an escape and a form of entertainment. Our mission is to bring together readers, authors, and survivors in a positive manner that affects change and relief from negative influences.

🕯️About Thistle Farms:

Thistle Farms is a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. We do this by providing a safe place to live, a meaningful job, and a lifelong sisterhood of support.

#WOTR23 #AuthorSpotlight – Vinni George

Vinni George

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Hi, I’m Vinni George! I’ve been a romance reader since I snuck one of my grandmother’s Harlequins when I was in middle school. I started working in the industry as an editor and still edit for others, even though I’ve started writing my own stories. I write MM/LGBTQ contemporary and shifter romance (both with and without MPREG), and I published my first novel, Hold the Door, in April 2021. Hold the Door was a finalist and runner-up in Gay Contemporary Romance in the 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards. Outside of writing, I’m a title-holding burlesque performer and pin-up model, and I love to cook and travel. I live in Ohio with my husband and son.

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

The subsequent books in a series are always harder for me. The first book has the benefit of being exciting and new, and there’s a certain kind of energy that fuels that.

When writing a series how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?

When I writing a series, I usually map out the main chat for each novel and the tropes and general meet-cute scenarios at the beginning so I know where I’m heading and know how things are going shake out and that I won’t be replicating the same thing over and over again. For me, a sense of place is really important, so I make sure the settings are changing, even if the location of the story doesn’t. That kind of world-building keeps me excited and engaged.

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?

My biggest piece of advice is to just do it. Write every single day even if it’s a haiku or a journal entry. I have a piece of art on my wall that says, “Create something today, even if it sucks,” and those are words I live by.

On a typical day, how much time do you spend writing?

Since I’m also a full-time editor and full-time mom, I usually get only two to three hours of solid writing time in…if I’m lucky. But I prioritize my writing early in the day, so I know I’ve put words on the page even if the wheels fall off the bus for the rest of the day.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special.

Absolutely, without a doubt, my favorite character that I’ve written is Hank, a.k.a Summer Sausage, the aging drag queen from Revolving Door, book two in my Open Doors series. He was based heavily on several friends in the drag community and the late, great Leslie Jordan. He’s a side character but a scene stealer, and he’s just the best.

If any of your books were to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it? What book and who?

This is a really hard question. I’m really bad at finding celebrity face casts for my characters. Outside of Leslie Jordan, who would have been the ONLY choice to play Hank from Revolving Door, I’m just not sure.

What is your definition of success?

Oof. my definition of success has changed a lot over the years, and I feel like it’s something that is constantly evolving for me. I used to work in sales for a big three publisher, and then, my definition of success was always reaching some external quantifiable number or percentage. Since I’ve left the corporate world my definition of success is more about happiness and being able to balance the various facets of my life so I feel all are getting the attention they deserve. Some days I feel really successful and other days not so much, but on the whole, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and that feels pretty darn successful.

What are your social links?

All my social and buy links can be found here https://linktr.ee/vinnigeorge.

 

Want tickets to Writers on the River #2023?

They are available starting November 4th at Writersontheriver.com

$45 VIP sell out quickly – 12-1 VIP hour, 1-4 General Admission time. You get a filled VIP bag and admission to the after party is included.

$25 Early Access – 12-1 VIP house, 1-4 General Admission time. You also get a filled VIP bag but NO admission to the after party.

$10 General Admission – 1-4 General Admission time. You can purchase a bag but it is not filled with VIP swag. There is no admission to the after party included.

$35 After party – 7-11 After Party with food and cash bar. Dj with a photobooth is also included in the fun.