Thanks for joining me in the Author’s Lounge! I couldn’t resist hanging out for a while since that’s practically a description of my brain as an author. But first, let me introduce myself…

Hi. I’m Mercy. I write stories. Why? Since childhood, I lived for books that took me to new worlds, or explored life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. In the beginning, I devoured everything from Little Women to Nancy Drew—and then I started stealing my mom’s romance novels. That’s where it all begins. Have you ever had stories rattling around in your head, just begging to come out? Me, too. More about that later. Let’s get to my new book first.

What is your book all about?

They say we have to kiss a lot of frogs to find our prince. For Maggie, her frog turned out to be a toad. Curvy Kisses is a story about how dreams don’t always turn out the way we planned, but there’s always the possibility of turning our life around if we have a little faith. That the concept of ‘home’ can be a person, not just a place. And that laughter can soothe even the biggest hurts. Licking her wounds after her marriage fizzles, Maggie tries to go back to a place where she remembers being happy. A chance meeting with an old friend leads her to wonder how many chances we get to find true love?

Who is your target audience for this book?

Like many of my books, Curvy Kisses revolves around a curvy main character—a body type that isn’t often represented in mainstream reads. But more and more we find ‌women want characters that resonate for their physical attributes, age, or abilities. When given an opportunity to write a short story for a collection called Curves On Demand, I jumped at the chance to represent for ‘the big girls’. Outside of those physical attributes, Maggie’s story is universal. While I often write stories with steam and angst, in Curvy Kisses, I wanted the sweetness of unexpected reunions, and the closure of saying goodbye.

What do you hope readers get out of your book?

One of the first things you learn as a writer is that not every story is for every reader. You have to find your people, and not worry about the ones who aren’t your ideal reader. It’s easier when you begin with the things you love in books. For me, it starts with smart or sexy banter. Preferably both! It’s the will they or won’t they? The battle of wills. And hey, if you throw in a couple of precocious pets as sidekicks, I’m sold!

With all my books, I hope readers walk away with a sense of hope. There’s a certain grace in seeing that we’re all perfectly imperfect, and it’s reassuring to read about someone else’s challenges and insecurities, and feel ‌you can have your happily ever after, too. When you see a review that specifically mentions those things, you know you’ve written something in a way that resonates with your readers. That’s the sweet spot for me. When my words have created a situation or feeling where a reader can identify with in their own life or world.

Tell us about you.

I was a reader long before I was a writer. I’ve always been a storyteller, but it wasn’t until I started following (ok, stalking) some indie authors online that I realized it was possible to be a writer as well. Indie publishing is alive and well, and accessible to those with the dream of seeing their words in print. There’s still some belief that you need to be traditionally published to follow your dream of being a ‘legitimate’ author. The reality is that millions of people enjoy stories from indie authors every day. It’s a competitive market, but it’s accessible to everyone. If it’s your dream, get online, join author groups on FaceBook, Discord, Twitter, anywhere that writers gather. It’s an incredibly generous community with a lot of people who started small and are willing to share their experiences.

As for me, I call myself a corporate refugee. I’m a champagne-drinking, book-loving, music-humming, beauty junkie fluent in Schoolhouse Rock. My employees say they can track me by my humming. You’ll find I have a tendency to sneak the names of my pets and friends into my stories. In fact, my pen name is a mash-up of my cats Mercy and Simon. With my love of music, I make Spotify playlists for all of my books to help support the narrative lyrically. I love sinking into a book and setting a mood with music to help tell the story. 

While I started my journey writing steamy romance, as a reader I love to escape into urban fantasy. Ilona Andrews, Anne Bishop, and Devon Monk are all authors I adore for their ability to wrap both the light and the dark into stories that make you feel good. For romance, you can’t beat old school Judith McNaught, Jude Devereaux, or Jayne Anne Krentz. And for more modern romance, I’m a huge fan of T L Swan, and Tracey Ellen. Reverse harem, sci-fi romance, paranormal romance—I’ll continue writing all those things in future stories, but for now you can check out my sweet, contemporary romance, Curvy Kisses, releasing October 7th.

The Stalkerazzi zone… For more fun and sexy reads, follow me in all the places. If you’re a fan of arcs, I offer them up to newsletter subscribers and members of my Facebook group first. If you just like to lurk, follow me on Instagram and TikTok for snippets and teasers. And cat memes. There are always cat memes. Have Mercy!

Follow me for all things here!