Gay Romance by Keira Andrews

Home of happily ever afters

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  • Contemporary
    • Amish
      • A Forbidden Rumspringa
      • A Clean Break
      • A Way Home
      • A Very English Christmas
      • Leaving Zebulon
    • Adventure
      • Ends of the Earth
      • Honeymoon for One
      • Arctic Fire
      • Beyond the Sea
      • The Chimera Affair
    • Sports
      • Kiss and Cry
      • Cold War
      • The Next Competitor
      • Reading the Signs
      • Love Match
      • Synchronicity
    • Lifeguards of Barking Beach
      • Flash Rip
      • Swept Away: A Flash Rip Story
    • Valor
      • Valor on the Move
      • Test of Valor
      • Valor: The Complete Duology
  • Holiday
    • Festive Fakes
      • The Christmas Deal
      • The Christmas Leap
    • Only One Bed
    • Merry Cherry Christmas
    • Gay Romance Holiday Collection
    • Santa Daddy
    • In Case of Emergency
    • Eight Nights in December
    • If Only in My Dreams
    • Where the Lovelight Gleams
    • A Very English Christmas
  • Paranormal/Fantasy
    • Wed to the Barbarian
    • The Barbarian’s Vow
    • Kick at the Darkness
    • Fight the Tide
    • Rise: A Gay Fairy Tale
    • A Taste of Midnight
  • Historical
    • Kidnapped by the Pirate
    • Semper Fi
    • The Station
    • Voyageurs
  • Audio
    • Amish Series
      • A Forbidden Rumspringa
      • A Clean Break
      • A Way Home
    • Contemporary
      • Adventure
        • Honeymoon for One
        • The Chimera Affair
        • Ends of the Earth
        • Beyond the Sea
      • Sports
        • Kiss and Cry
        • Reading the Signs
      • Lifeguards of Barking Beach
        • Flash Rip
      • Valor
        • Valor on the Move
        • Test of Valor
        • Valor: The Complete Duology
    • Holiday
      • Festive Fakes
        • The Christmas Deal
        • The Christmas Leap
      • Merry Cherry Christmas
      • Gay Romance Holiday Collection
    • Paranormal/Fantasy
      • Kick at the Darkness
      • Fight the Tide
    • Historicals
      • Voyageurs
      • Semper Fi
      • Kidnapped by the Pirate
      • The Station
  • Free
    • Rise: A Gay Fairy Tale
    • Swept Away: A Flash Rip Story
    • A Very English Christmas
    • Synchronicity
    • Voyageurs
    • A Taste of Midnight
    • Leaving Zebulon
  • Translations
    • French
      • Un faux petit ami pour Noël
      • Lune de miel en solitaire
      • Rumspringa Interdit
      • Un Nouveau Départ
      • Trouver Son Chez-Soi
      • Le Vœu de Noël
      • Vaincre les Ténèbres
      • Combattre la Marée
      • Quand l’amour brille de mille feux…
      • Huit Nuits en Décembre
      • Transfert à Ottawa
      • Au Pied du Sapin
      • Passion en Arctique
      • Si ce n’est qu’en rêve
      • Par-delà l’océan
    • Italian
      • Luna Di Miele Per Single
      • Il Patto Di Natale
      • Rapito dal Pirata
      • Segni d’intesa
      • In Capo Al Mondo
      • Beyond the Sea (Italian Translation)
      • Sogno di Natale
      • The Next Competitor (Italian Translation)
      • Valor on the Move (Italian Translation)
      • Test of Valor (Italian Translation)
      • Contro La Tenebra
      • Contro La Marea
      • Semper Fi (Italian Translation)
      • Rise: Una favola gay
      • Una Passione Proibita
      • Una Nuova Vita
      • La Strada Verso Casa
    • German
      • Kalter Krieg
      • Im Notfall
      • Geisel des Piraten
      • Codename: Valor
      • Testphase: Valor
      • Jenseits des Ozeans
    • Brazilian Portuguese
      • Além do Oceano

FREE! Four days only!

June 17, 2021 by Keira Andrews Leave a Comment

Check out the gorgeous new covers for my steamy and heartwarming Amish series! Dar Albert has outdone herself again in refreshing the look for Isaac and David’s books. PLUS, you can grab A Forbidden Rumspringa FREE for the next four days only:

AMAZON.COM  |  AMAZON UNIVERSAL 

When an illicit romance blossoms between carpenter David and his apprentice, Isaac, it escalates into an unrestrained passion—and shocks their insular community. A captivating love story about two Amish men who could lose everything by following their hearts.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: book deals, coming out, contemporary gay romance, first time, free read, gay amish romance, hurt/comfort, jane austen levels of pining, virgin

FREE book deal this weekend!

September 17, 2020 by Keira Andrews Leave a Comment

Deal alert!  A Forbidden Rumspringa is back in KU and FREE on Amazon for FIVE DAYS ONLY:

AMAZON.COM  |  AMAZON UNIVERSAL 

The whole trilogy is now back in Kindle Unlimited by popular request. It’s been a few years, so if you’re a KU subscriber now’s your chance! I know some people are hesitant to try an Amish romance, but this ain’t your grandma’s “clean” Christian Amish romance! Not that there’s anything wrong with that–it’s just a completely different genre. I assure you my books are full of explicit MM sex. 😀

Whispersync the audio

Grab A Forbidden Rumspringa free this weekend and you can Whispersync the audio for a bargain! It’s been a dream come true having Isaac and David’s journey released in audiobooks, and John Solo does an amazing job.

Remember, book one is FREE on Amazon only until Monday, September 21, 2020! Grab it now:

AMAZON.COM  |  AMAZON UNIVERSAL 

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: audiobooks, book deals, coming out, contemporary gay romance, first time, gay amish romance, hurt/comfort, jane austen levels of pining, kindle unlimited, new adult gay romance, news, sale, virgin

Free for five days only!

May 31, 2017 by Keira Andrews Leave a Comment

When two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything? Find out in A Forbidden Rumspringa, which is free at Amazon for the next five days only! You can also borrow it (and the sequels) in Kindle Unlimited.

Get it free until midnight PST on June 4, 2017:

amazon square border amazon_global

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: book deals, coming out, contemporary gay romance, first time, free read, friends to lovers, gay amish romance, jane austen levels of pining, kindle unlimited

Now in Kindle Unlimited

January 23, 2017 by Keira Andrews Leave a Comment

For the first time, you can borrow my Gay Amish Romance series and post-apocalyptic shifter series Kick at the Darkness via Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited!

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These series are pretty much two ends of the romance spectrum since I like to mix things up. I hope you enjoy Isaac and David, and Parker and Adam. More is coming in both of these series in 2017 and 2018.

Buy or borrow now at Amazon:

Amish #1: A Forbidden Rumspringa
Amish #2: A Clean Break
Amish #3: A Way Home
Kick #1: Kick at the Darkness
Kick #2: Fight the Tide

Happy reading! <3

books like tv in head

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: action/adventure, book deals, coming out, contemporary gay romance, first time, friends to lovers, gay amish romance, hurt/comfort, jane austen levels of pining, kindle unlimited, new adult gay romance, news, werewolves, zombie apocalypse

Isaac & David’s First Christmas

November 18, 2016 by Keira Andrews Leave a Comment

Celebrate the holidays with Isaac and David!

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A Very English Christmas was first published in the Wish Come True charity anthology last year, and now it’s available as a standalone. Taking place after book three, A Way Home, Isaac and David are still getting used to life in the outside world, and this is their first Christmas together as a couple. Join them as they discover Santa, decorations, and the magic of the season. Especially mistletoe. 😀

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A sexy and sweet holiday romance with Isaac and David

Living in the “English” outside world, Isaac and David have left behind the rigid, isolated Amish community where they first discovered their forbidden love. Staying with Isaac’s older brother in San Francisco, they yearn for a home—and bed—of their very own.

As they experience Santa Claus and the bright lights and merry carols of modern Christmas for the first time, can they make their secret holiday wishes come true?

Note: This gay Christmas romance features family togetherness, holiday cheer, sexual exploration, and creative use of mistletoe.

Short story length: 10,590 words

Buy the book for just $0.99:

amazon square borderARe borderB&N borderApple borderKobo borderSW border
>>International Amazon buy link for UK, Europe, Canada, etc.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: contemporary gay romance, gay amish romance, holiday romance, make the yuletide gay, new release, news

What happens when Amazon incorrectly price matches your book?

May 26, 2015 by Keira Andrews Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when Amazon screws up a price match, here’s a cautionary tale. I learned a few things:

1. It’s important to have a distinctive title.

2. It’s important to ensure the authors’ names are not similar (especially if the titles are).

3. It’s important to remember that Barnes & Noble is sloppy.

In April, I released A Way Home, the third book in my gay Amish series. Several days after release, a friend mentioned that I was shooting up the $0.99 chart at Amazon.

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That would have been great if I’d priced my book at $0.99, but it was $4.99. Except it suddenly wasn’t. All I could do was email Amazon, since there is no phone or live chat support (which really needs to change). About twelve hours later I received a response.

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No, sadly you did not solve my problem, because Saturday was five days away.

2YHYD

I also learned not to take KDP support’s first answer when they tell you they need time to look into a problem and will get back to you within the week. You must persist to have your issue solved quickly. Now, I realize the KDP staff are busy, and I appreciate their hard work. But I had not changed my price, it was release week, and this is my living. It stood to reason that if the book had been price matched, they should and would be able to tell me that immediately. I triple checked all the other listings, and it was $4.99 everywhere.

After a largely sleepless night, I was checking other sellers again when my eye caught the name “Rebecca” in the URL for the Barnes & Noble listing. I peered closer, and saw that my URL said:

B&N mistake screenshot

Er, what? I searched for Rebecca Andrews’s book, and guess what? It’s — wait for it — $0.99.

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I realized Amazon’s bots had gotten confused thanks to B&N’s sloppiness. I immediately contacted Amazon again, and by noon they’d returned the price to normal. I was very relieved, needless to say. Several friends sweetly wondered how Amazon would repay me for the loss in royalties, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen, since their bottom line is: “Please note that we retain discretion to determine our retail prices.” So even if it’s their mistake, too bad, authors.

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It is what it is, and we don’t really have a choice unless we don’t want to sell our books on the biggest worldwide platform.

When I pressed them as to why this had happened since my book was never priced anywhere at $0.99, they told me they’d had a system problem that led to automatic price matching without human approval, and the rep was very apologetic. I hope it’s been fixed now, but in the future I’m still going to do my best to create titles that are unique. I knew “A Way Home” wasn’t sparklingly original, but I hadn’t even thought to look at the names of the authors with similar titles. I certainly will in the future! I’ll also be checking my B&N URLs carefully.

The same thing happened the next week on Amazon UK with the price dropping to 99p, and again I was told they’d need days to look into it. But when I responded again saying that wasn’t acceptable since this was clearly an error, they changed the price back that day, and said it wouldn’t happen again.

It likely wasn’t a bad thing in the end to do a brief sale at $0.99, but in the future I’d like it to be my choice when I change the price on my books. It’s much less stressful that way!

p.s. I have to give a shoutout to Draft2Digital, who were quick to respond to my email about the B&N cockup, and worked to have it fixed quickly on the B&N site. Great service!

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: contemporary gay romance, gay amish romance, publishing

Adventures in Amazon algorithms part three: erotic romance in the Christian category

April 23, 2015 by Keira Andrews 1 Comment

I’ve previously posted here and here about the challenges of publishing gay Amish romance on Amazon without being put in the Christian/inspirational categories, even though I pointedly do not choose these categories or keywords.

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Okay, it’s not that bad, but dealing with loopholes in Amazon’s system is an exercise in frustration for me and the service reps. After I uploaded  A Way Home, the third book in my gay Amish romance series, earlier this week, I immediately emailed KDP support to have the Christian categories removed. As usual, they were very quick to reply, which is one of the great things about Amazon — they are very responsive.

image1(1) image2Wow! Could it be that easy? Could it?

patti

More than a week later, I’m still rocking the Christian Books & Bibles category, inspirational romance, aaannnd gay erotica:

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One of these things is not like the others. But it’s the others that don’t belong. Last time it took weeks for Amazon’s tech teams to be able to override the system. I feel bad having to bug them about this, but I hate having misleading categories on my books. Ah, the mysteries of Amazon. I shall continue to battle the beast…

tmhnks

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: contemporary gay romance, gay amish romance, gay romance discussion, general romance discussion, publishing

Adventures in Amazon algorithms part deux

January 26, 2015 by Keira Andrews 2 Comments

As the author of a gay Amish romance series, here’s the problem with the term “Amish romance.” To most of the world–and most vitally to Amazon–an Amish romance is automatically Christian/inspirational. I have nothing against Christian romances, but that’s not what I write. For starters, I think most Amish romances have approximately 100% less sweaty mansex than my books do.

While some of my characters might be religious, I am not. There’s no Biblical moralizing in A Forbidden Rumspringa or A Clean Break. The characters struggle with issues of faith, but these are not inspirational Christian books where we’re all going to learn a Very Important Lesson from Jesus.

Gosling-No
A few months ago I struggled to get book #1 into the correct Amazon categories. The key issue here is Amazon’s mysterious algorithms, and making sure my work finds the right readers. Even though I purposefully hadn’t chosen the “Amish” category, my book ended up there. Eventually I honestly just gave up because Amazon could not seem to figure it out.

Here we go again

For the past month, I’ve been trying to get Amazon to put both my books in the correct categories that I chose for them when I uploaded the files. They belong in Gay Romance, not Christian Books and Bibles. And it’s not that Amazon is arguing that fact, but it took WEEKS for their “technical team” to fix the problem. Naturally they fixed it on book #2 only, so I had to reply to remind them I needed the categories corrected on both books.

This part of the journey shines a spotlight on the biggest weakness in Amazon’s customer service, which is always courteous and usually timely: the inability to reply directly to the CSR who’s helping you. I received a polite response from another rep telling me their technical team would look into having the categories fixed on book #1. I replied (fruitlessly, I know) that this famed technical team had JUST FIGURED OUT THIS PROBLEM AND PLEASE GO ASK THE OTHER CSR I’M BEGGING YOU OMG.

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But no, instead of the left hand talking to the right, it took two more weeks for book #1 to also be removed from the Amish category. I’m not sure exactly why it’s so difficult and technical to override the system and get a book into the correct categories, but apparently it is. Amazon also provided this info:

Please be aware that the incorrect category path reflected for your book, due to the series title, “Gay Amish Romance”. In future, if you are publishing a new book in the same series, please make sure that remove the word “Amish” from the series title, to avoid the “Amish” category.

So even though I choose Gay Romance and Gay Fiction as my categories (you chose two primary categories for each book), having the word “Amish” in the series name overrides that and automatically throws the book into the Amish category, which segments it into Christian Books and Bibles, and Inspirational Romance.

dnw
Now, it’s a little late to be changing my series name. In this day and age of SEO, I chose the series name because it tells readers in a glance what these books are about. It may not sing, but it gets the job done. There’s a reason a Harlequin book that in the past would have been called something like Tuscan Seduction is now The Italian’s Inexperienced Mistress. 

Well, I guess the technical team will be getting another workout trying to corral the system in a couple months when I release book #3. I imagine it going something like this:

Have you had any struggles with Amazon categories? I’m all ears.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: contemporary gay romance, gay amish romance, pet peeves, publishing

Adventures in Amazon algorithms

September 8, 2014 by Keira Andrews 3 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my gay Amish romance ending up on the inspirational romance and Christian books and bibles bestseller lists. I removed the word “Amish” from the product tags. But lo and behold, the book was still showing up in the Christian categories. So I emailed Amazon.

The first rep explained:

The category “Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Amish” was added automatically because you had added “Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Inspirational > Amish” in the Kindle store. Books categories will be added automatically according to the category that you select from the Kindle store.

The only problem is that I didn’t add that category. Nope! So I contacted them again. Rep #2 replied:

I’ve checked and can see that the category Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Amish was added automatically because you initially had a keyword or tag as ‘Amish’.

When you add certain keywords or tags, your book would be listed in certain sub-categories automatically depending upon the keyword. In this case, as you used Amish as a tag and as it is a keyword for Romance > Amish, the above category was automatically added.

By the way, both reps were very nice, and the responses to my queries were prompt. So, even though I’d deleted the tag “Amish,” the system was still wanting to use it. I was told that they’d remove the categories and it could take 72 hours. That timeline has now passed, and as you can see, I’m still rocking the Christian charts as of Sunday, Sept 7.

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Not that I have anything against Christian books and bibles, or inspirational romance, but for those readers:

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I don’t want to upset customers, and I want to reach my target audience. So far I haven’t had any outraged reviews from readers who expected an inspirational romance, so maybe I should just make it my goal to be on the gay erotica and Christian books and bibles charts simultaneously for as long as possible! 😀

Have you had any adventures with Amazon that you’d like to share? Let me know!

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: contemporary gay romance, gay amish romance, publishing

This is not an inspirational Amish romance

August 26, 2014 by Keira Andrews 4 Comments

It seems that if you write a romance featuring Amish characters, it is automatically classified as “sweet” (i.e. no sex) and “inspirational” (i.e. Christian). During the pre-order period on Amazon, A Forbidden Rumspringa has simultaneously ranked on these bestseller lists:

Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Erotica
Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Amish
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance >Inspirational > Amish

Er, that’s quite a combination, Amazon! For the record, A Forbidden Rumsprina is not sweet or inspirational. There is explicit sex, and while religion plays a major role in Isaac and David’s lives, this isn’t a Christian romance. I suppose I might be reaching a whole new audience thanks to Amazon’s algorithms, but I hope it won’t end in backlash from unsuspecting readers. I did add a note in the blurb that there’s copious butt fucking and no authorial bible thumping (I might not have used those exact words), so we shall see. I’ve been fiddling with the keywords as well.

Pre-order now:
All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
iTunes | Kobo

 
a-forbidden-rumspringa-web-copyWhen two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything?

In a world where every detail of life—down to the width of a hat brim—is dictated by God and the all-powerful rules of the community, two men dare to imagine a different way. At 18, Isaac Byler knows little outside the strict Amish settlement of Zebulon, Minnesota, where there is no rumspringa for exploration beyond the boundaries of their insular world. Isaac knows he’ll have to officially join the church and find a wife before too long, but he yearns for something else—something he can’t name.

Dark tragedy has left carpenter David Lantz alone to support his mother and sisters, and he can’t put off joining the church any longer. But when he takes on Isaac as an apprentice, their attraction grows amid the sweat and sawdust. David shares his sinful secrets, and he and Isaac struggle to reconcile their shocking desires with their commitment to faith, family and community.

Now that they’ve found each other, are they willing to lose it all?

Find out September 3, 2014!

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: contemporary gay romance, gay amish romance, new release, news

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keira@keiraandrews.com

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