This cover is so cool! And it’s always so good having Alice here.

Rainbow Desire – an Anthology will release October 1 in the LGBTQ romance.

Rainbow Desire is a celebration of life and love in its kaleidoscope of exotic rainbow colours. The stories within the book also reflect its vibrant shades of romance from light to dark. I hope you will enjoy the wealth of narratives in this glorious LGBTQ+ anthology.

Love Comes in Many Shapes, a story by Alice Renaud in Rainbow Desire

Bryony, a shifter mermaid, has run away with sexy witch Maia, and now they’re living the dream in Las Vegas. But Maia is hiding a secret. When her ex, a super-hot warlock, turns up, Bryony can’t fight her attraction to him. Will she choose him? Or Maia? Or both?

https://books2read.com/u/mYZPQd

Unlike the other mermaids, Bryony had her own changing room. She’d insisted on it as part of her contract with the hotel. It was little more than a broom cupboard, but she could close the door, and that was all that mattered. No one could see her change into her aquatic shape. No one could discover that, unlike the girls in swimsuits giggling outside, she was the real deal. A shape shifting mermaid from the Morvann Islands in Wales.

She checked the clock on the wall. Twenty-five minutes to go. Damn, she’d cut it a bit fine. She kicked off her sandals and peeled off her shorts and T-shirt. Her skin was darkening, turning a pearly grey, and thickening. She wiggled her fingers and toes, as if that would make the webs grow faster. She wished there was a way to accelerate the shifting process. Perhaps she’d ask Maia to do some research. One of the books of spells she’d brought from London might contain the answer.

A rap on the door. “Ten minutes!” the stage manager called out.

“Coming!” Bryony could feel her tail pushing at last through her buttocks. Her curly brown hair retracted into her skull. Her nose was flattening, leaving only a single nostril that she could close at will.

Finally, she was ready. She opened the door. The other mermaids were already lining up, shuffling forward on their fake fish tails. Bryony padded along the corridor on her webbed feet to join the back of the queue.

“Off you go, ladies.” The stage manager lifted the black curtain, revealing the ladder that climbed the side of the tank. The lights were dimmed, to hide their entrance. One by one the fake mermaids shimmered up the rungs of metal and dived into the aquarium. Oohs and aahs rose from the invisible audience in the theatre.

Bryony grabbed the ladder and made her ascent, a lot slower than her colleagues. Webbed hands and feet were not designed for climbing. At last she made it to the top and plunged headlong into the cool water.

The lights brightened. A stunned silence greeted her. She was used to it. She didn’t match most people’s idea of a mermaid. She swam to the bottom of the aquarium and pressed her face to the glass.

The vast room was full of people, lined up on the rows of seats, or around tables in the bar area. And Maia sat in the front row, less than a yard away. A huge smile lit up her lovely face. Her blue eyes sparkled. “Now that’s the best mermaid I’ve ever seen!” she said in a loud voice.

She did this every night. “We French call it la claque, ma cherie,” she’d said. “Friends posing as theatre goers, who clap and cheer to encourage the rest of the audience.”

The warm glow in Bryony’s chest spread through her limbs. Maia always had her back. She was lover, best friend, and cheerleader rolled into one. “My girl,” Bryony whistled, in the language of the merfolk, and blew her a kiss.

Bio

Alice lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she’s a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and time-travelling witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in the Sea of Love fantasy romance series, inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second and third books, “Music for a Merman,” and “Mermaids Marry in Green,” are out now. Both the Sea of Love series and Mermaids Marry in Green won their categories in the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award 2020. Alice has also contributed short stories for the BVS anthologies “Mystic Desire,” “Desire Me Again,” and “Cowboy Desire,” all available now, and “Rainbow Desire” on pre order. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!

Why I don’t like football (soccer)

In the UK, football (or soccer as it is called in the States) is the best-loved sport of all, for men and women alike. “I don’t like football” is not a popular opinion.

Why do I not like football? Oh, let me count the ways.

– It takes over the entire country.

As soon as the England football team enters a major tournament, the madness begins, and increases as the team progresses through the stages. The newspapers are full of it. The TV is full of it. Beloved programmes get cancelled to give way to the all-important matches. When the England team reached the final of the Euro tournament in July, the government even declared that children should be allowed to arrive late to school the following morning, so they could stay up and watch the game. What kind of priorities does that set for the youngsters? The government even declared that employers should allow their staff to arrive late at the office. Ha ha. My employers are a US firm and if they schedule a meeting at 9 am they jolly well expect us at 9 am, soccer or no soccer.

– It’s agony to watch

The better the team does, the greater the tension. Because England have not won a major football tournament since 1966. And we know they’re going to lose. Eventually. Usually on penalties, which is painful to watch.

– It drives grown men (sometimes women) mad

Even the males who try to remain sane catch the fever eventually. Then they stay up late to watch the match. You do too, out of solidarity. Then they get upset. They sometimes even cry, or go mad and trash the city centre. This does not happen with any other sport.

– It’s all about the boys

The England women’s team does better than the men, but you never hear about them. It’s all about the men. Unlike in, say, tennis, the female stars don’t get any of the recognition or money that the boys receive. How is that fair?

The female team deserves our attention and praise. They’re good and they get on with the job. Plus, it can still be hard for gay athletes, but several top players are gay, and true role models.

So, football? (soccer?) OK… if you treat it like a sport, not a religion, and if you give all players the same praise and attention, whatever their gender or sexual orientation. And if you promise to stop crying. We lost the Euros. There’s always the World Cup.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceRenaudAuthorRomance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicerauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_Renaud

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaud

Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B

Website: https://nomadauthors.com/alicerenaud/alicebooks.html