Princess Smile

by Adele Royce

📚 book 3 in the Truth, Lies and Love in Advertising series

This is how it all started. Princess Smile is the prequel to Camera Ready, narrated by lovable but flawed Jane Mercer. Jane struggles with her self-image while reaching for the stars in the cutthroat world of Los Angeles advertising. As she claws her way up to the position of Director of Accounts at the ad agency, Warren Mitchell & Associates, her career goals force her into fierce competition with her colleagues. When Jane is coerced to comply with a client’s unreasonable and sordid requests, she frantically seeks an escape.

Enter the savagely handsome Craig Keller, managing partner of rival agency Keller Whitman Group. Jane has admired him from afar, and he’s taken a sudden interest in her, offering a prestigious high-paying position along with a long list of benefits that only existed in her wildest dreams. Jane is willingly lured into Craig’s professional and romantic web, quickly learning that his money, attention, and affection come with an even higher price—one she is not sure she can pay.

A high-stakes tale of ambition, friendship, secrets, brutality, and desire, Princess Smile is a must-read for the contemporary woman.

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Selected praise:

“Princess Smile is an engrossing read that keeps us cringing and cheering with Jane Mercer as she strives to make her mark in the advertising industry. Is she good enough? Is she pretty enough? Are the other women she encounters friends or competitors? Is advancement worth enduring harassment? Why is she more attracted to the dangerous bad boy than the nice guy? Women who have worked in the corporate world will see themselves in Jane and fall under the fast-paced spell of this novel”

—Lori Swick, author of Comfort and Mirth and Dreaming—The Sacred Art

“Jane Mercer is a girl who would like the world to believe she’s got it together when nothing could be further from the truth. On the outside, the world she inhabits is exciting, fast-paced, and full of career potential. Adele Royce’s Princess Smile paints an unforgiving portrait of Jane as she emerges into womanhood, complete with dishonest guys and some who love her.”

—Renee Ebert, author of Until the Darkness Goes

“In this enthralling first book of the Truth, Lies, and Love in Advertising series, author Adele Royce deftly lays bare the anatomy of Jane Mercer’s treacherous insecurities. Your heart will ache as Jane seeks solace from her humiliation and pain in retail therapy, alcohol, and a dangerous liaison, all to quiet that voice always whispering to her that she will never measure up. Princess Smile is hard to put down, and even harder to forget.”

—Rebecca Augustine, author of Love Without a Cause: Create Inner Transformation, Renew Your Thinking, and Be Love in a World That Doesn’t Deserve It

A Desperate Frame-up

by George Bixley

📚 book 16 in The Slater Ibáñez Books series

Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of Los Angeles, rooting out insurance fraud, not afraid to use whatever means necessary to get things done, and not about to hold back with his fists. A queer antihero for a new age, Slater walks the line between ordinary life and the frayed fringes of society, keeping his balance with the back-channel support he gets from his idiot cop ex-boyfriend, Conrad, and regular squeeze Andy.

Hired by a desk jockey to stalk her ex-husband and dig up dirt, Slater shadows the brawler Harold and his kid, trying in vain not to get too close and get made. Harold’s pushback sends Slater into a more compelling mystery, about Lance, a crypto bro who’s gone missing with a whole lot of dough. Working undercover on a film set, Slater tangles with aging child actors, the surreal world of reality television, and a bare-faced frame-up orchestrated by a cold-blooded player. As he struggles to stay one step ahead of an arms smuggler and the feds that are in pursuit of him, Slater also has to figure out how to navigate his burgeoning “narrative complex” love affair, and how to renegotiate his relationship with Andy. Never hesitating to slap a lowlife around, Slater follows Lance’s faint trail, trying to determine whether he’s alive somewhere enjoying his hoard or planted in a shallow grave in the mountains, all the while trying not to wind up there himself.

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Selected praise:

“With Slater I waffle between concern for his bad habits and getting turned on by his raunchiness. Rarely do we meet a character … so in touch with his id.”

—Chester Henry, author of Cryptic Paisley

“Slater’s sex drive and penchant for punches never cease to amaze. Long live the hothead!”

—Christopher Church, author of The Landers Mystique

The Satin Squeeze Play

by George Bixley

📚 book 19 in The Slater Ibáñez Books series

Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap.

Hired by engineer Ben to find out why he’d been blackballed by a potential employer, Slater tries to uncover a nebulous nondisclosure agreement that Ben says he’s never seen. Sleazy lawyer Sybil is no help, and Slater digs into her grift with wannabe film director and card-room boss Dragan. An excursion to Santa Fe uncovers more dirt, and a trip to a tiny island in the Pacific leads to Slater scrambling to save his own neck. As he closes in on the truth, Slater gets entangled with the mesmerizing redhead Graham, clashes with boyfriend Pike over his sex habits, and endures a tragedy that takes out an old friend. What he ultimately unearths leaves him frustrated and Ben enraged—but Slater devises a final scheme that will either outsmart the mastermind or send them all to the hoosegow.

Freelance investigator Slater trolls the dark side of Los Angeles, rooting out insurance fraud, not afraid to use whatever means necessary to get things done, and not about to hold back with his fists. A queer antihero for a new age, Slater walks the line between ordinary life and the frayed fringes of society, keeping his balance with the back-channel support he gets from main squeeze Pike, business partner Max, and operatives Andy and Etta.

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For Position Only

by Adele Royce

📚 book 2 in the Truth, Lies and Love in Advertising series

For Position Only, the sequel to Camera Ready, is an evocative tale of one man’s sin and redemption—woven into the fabric of the advertising business, where lies run rampant and the truth is manipulated.

Craig Keller is LA’s preeminent ad man: wealthy, powerful, and a notorious playboy. At least, that is what he’d like everyone to think. In reality Craig’s business is plummeting at the hands of blonde bombshell and spurned ex-girlfriend Hayden Towne. He is also haunted by the gruesome death of his brother, which occurred under suspicious circumstances.

Craig’s only chance to salvage his career is to propose a partnership with longtime rival Warren Mitchell, his former mentor, whose business Craig cavalierly took down in the past. Although Craig’s advertising prowess can catapult Warren’s business to the top of the market, Craig’s womanizing reputation comes with a price. Craig is specifically warned to avoid Jane Mercer, Craig’s ex-lover, and Warren’s agency partner.

Craig has privately carried a torch for Jane for years—despite her visceral hatred of him. Her presence is a painful reminder that he lost the one woman he always wanted because he treated her so badly. As the barriers between them slowly break down, Craig is now faced with the ultimate dilemma: if he dives into a relationship with Jane, his livelihood is in jeopardy. If he rejects her, he will miss out on his one true love.

Adele Royce’s website

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Selected praise:

“Craig Keller is that tall, gorgeous, sexy, and ridiculously rich S.O.B. that really could sell the chrome off a bumper. Though our friends and families warned us to avoid him at all costs, Royce’s leading man reels us in against our will with his sophisticated charm and professional finesse. Once firmly under his spell, we witness the underside of his tortured soul. We root for him as he tries to work out his own salvation, taking every wrong turn along the way. But, after he turns his back on love, he inadvertently learns to love himself. For Position Only is an emotional roller coaster of glamour, greed, loss, love, and transformation.”

—Lori Swick, author of Comfort and Mirth and Dreaming: The Sacred Art

“The powerful story of a man’s inspiring, introspective journey of ruthlessness and remorse, romance, and redemption, set against the frenetic backdrop of the high-powered Los Angeles marketing and advertising world. Adele Royce captures the souls of her characters. I only put this book down when I had to.”

—Don Daniels, former president, South Florida Writers Association, and author of Rhyme and Punishment

“Adele Royce, in For Position Only, takes us not down the primrose path but through the dark night of the soul. We ache for the man whose heart, newly awakened after tragedy years ago, now bleeds in pain for the love of the woman of whom he believes himself unworthy. This unforgettable journey of two beautiful and damaged souls, drawn to each other in the depths of their broken hearts, will captivate you with its exquisite beauty.”

—Rebecca Augustine, author, Love without Cause: Create Inner Transformation, Renew Your Thinking, and Be Love in a World That Doesn’t Deserve It

“The heart of the story is round two in the rocky romance between the deeply conflicted Craig and the elegant and talented Jane. The main characters are tremendously vivid. Although the story is told from Craig’s perspective, and he is an overpowering personality, the reader will find his parents, coworkers, and friends both fascinating and lively. The story’s female villain is deliciously evil. The ad agency setting rings true, especially the preparation behind launching a successful advertising campaign. The author has obviously been there and brings the reader along. Get yourself some really good chocolate, turn off your phone, and settle in for a tasty treat of a read.”

—CarolJean and Philip Kier, authors

Trail of the Blue Agave

by George Bixley

📚 book 17 in The Slater Ibáñez Books series

Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of Los Angeles, rooting out insurance fraud, not afraid to use whatever means necessary to get things done, and not about to hold back with his fists. A queer antihero for a new age, Slater walks the line between ordinary life and the frayed fringes of society, keeping his balance with the back-channel support he gets from main squeeze Pike, business partner Max, and operatives Andy and Etta.

Pulled in on a case by a colleague from his former life in the landscaping world, Slater uses illicit surveillance gear to track a stolen blue agave to a seedy dive bar, where the patrons are not what they seem. Working undercover at a shady tequila factory, he starts to figure out what’s really going on, and uncovers a deeper grift preying on newcomers in Koreatown. Frustrated by his inability to shut down the racket, Slater collaborates with some of the victims, temporarily distracting himself by playing best man at a wedding, only to face an inadvertent turn of events that might send him to the hoosegow for good.

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Camera Ready

by Adele Royce

📚 book 1 in the Truth, Lies and Love in Advertising series

Camera Ready offers a compelling version of a love triangle at its center, as L.A. executive Jane Mercer follows a tortuous path toward her version of the American dream.

Jane finally has her life together. She is vice president of accounts at the advertising agency Warren Mitchell & Partners. She has a stable long-term relationship with classical violinist Derek Lowell and a bright future full of family, close friends, and success. But a surprise encounter with Craig Keller—managing partner of Keller Whitman Group and a powerful advertising magnate—stirs up emotions from her disastrous liaison with him two years earlier. This meeting and an unexpected photo of the two in a popular tabloid topples her secure world, threatening to destroy everything she’s worked to gain.

As Jane anxiously watches, Keller Whitman Group buys out her employer, resulting in the savagely handsome Craig becoming Jane’s new boss. In addition to his alluring yet reprehensible behavior, he now has authority and control over her. Jane feels her autonomy stripped away as Craig ties her promotion to a consensual relationship with him. Worse still, Jane’s visceral attraction to him still burns, despite her wishes to keep him in her past. Forced to face up to her emotional bondage to Craig, Jane must find inner strength to live with integrity—or risk sinking into the morass of decadence and greed that is Keller Whitman Group.

Adele Royce’s website

Connect with the author

Selected praise:

“Riveting, vulnerable, wicked—the Truth, Lies and Love in Advertising series is fun, Fendi, and all the other f-words in between.”

—Doug Elfman, author, journalist, and award-winning critic (former writer for Las Vegas Review-Journal and Chicago Sun-Times)

“An enticing peek into the inner workings of an advertising agency against the delicious backdrop of Los Angeles, California, Camera Ready is a high-stakes tale of professional and romantic conflict. The intense chemistry between Jane Mercer and Craig Keller sets up a sizzling dilemma—a fast-moving read that you won’t want to put down.”

—Beverly Melasi Haag, President, Melasi Publications Inc.

“A captivating yet unsettling foray into the world of advertising, where glossy high-fashion campaigns obscure the power, sex, and corruption underneath. You will root for Jane Mercer as she negotiates her way through the pitfalls of her career, and ache for her as she watches her dreams shatter. A sweeping story of cataclysmic chain reactions set off by one bad decision, Camera Ready is both suspenseful and fun to the very last page.”

—Rebecca Augustine, author of Love Without Cause: Create Inner Transformation, Renew Your Thinking, and Be Love in a World That Doesn’t Deserve It

“Camera Ready is a delightful page-turner, beginning with chapter one. The novel pulls the reader right into territory that is all at once dangerous, tantalizing, and fun. But beyond the fashion, friendships, and fast-paced corporate work world, there is evidence of a glass ceiling still firmly held in place by a complex system of “good ol’ boy” structures. Camera Ready is a must-read for the twenty-first-century woman.”

—Lori Swick, author of Comfort and Mirth and Dreaming—The Sacred Art

The Tired Canary

by George Bixley

📚 book 15 in The Slater Ibáñez Books series

While navigating a torrid affair with Pike, a hookup from a past job, Slater gets brought in on a case by Chila, an insurance company staffer. Like flexing a disused muscle, the romance dredges up things long forgotten, and Slater upends his life—moving house and making radical changes in his bad habits as he falls deeper into what he calls his “narrative complex” with Pike. On the insurance job Slater soon decides he’s been misled, as his client’s explanations start to look more improbable. Tracking down the beneficiary, Slater wades into the world of LA’s classic nightclubs and big bands, tangling with a femme fatale, a slick crooner, and a seedy crypto bro. When he uncovers the real reason Chila has him bird-dogging her target, he’s forced to choose where his loyalty lies. Slater manages to concoct intricate vengeance on the one who messed with him, but will his angry machinations mean he’s the one who winds up in jail instead?

Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of Los Angeles, rooting out insurance fraud, not afraid to use whatever means necessary to get things done, and not about to hold back with his fists. A queer antihero for a new age, Slater walks the line between ordinary life and the frayed fringes of society, keeping his balance with the back-channel support he gets from his idiot cop ex-boyfriend, Conrad, and regular squeeze Andy.

✉ Get the Slater Ibáñez newsletter

Selected praise:

“Slater’s sex drive and penchant for punches never cease to amaze. Long live the hothead!”

—Christopher Church, author of The Landers Mystique

“With Slater I waffle between concern for his bad habits and getting turned on by his raunchiness. Rarely do we meet a character … so in touch with his id.”

—Chester Henry, author of Cryptic Paisley

The Saucer-Heads

by George Bixley

📚 book 18 in The Slater Ibáñez Books series

Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap.

Hired to track down Finley, the missing boyfriend of tech worker Truax, Slater soon discovers that the job isn’t really what he was asked to do. The search for Finley leads him to an arcane book and the flying-saucer subculture, where a deep dive takes Slater out into the Mojave Desert, leaving him unsure of the precise boundaries of reality itself. With input from Doris and his operatives, and begrudging help from his romantic partner, Pike, to weasel him out of a jam, Slater cuts a dogged path to sort out what Truax really wants, and what Finley is really up to, all the while juggling high explosives, navigating his deepening narrative complex with Pike, and never failing to throw that punch.

A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of Los Angeles, rooting out insurance fraud, not afraid to use whatever means necessary to get things done, and not about to hold back with his fists. A queer antihero for a new age, Slater walks the line between ordinary life and the frayed fringes of society, keeping his balance with the back-channel support he gets from main squeeze Pike, business partner Max, and operatives Andy and Etta.

✉ Get the Slater Ibáñez newsletter

Selected praise:

“Slater is the quintessential bad-boy protagonist, and I so enjoyed the ride. Really easy to get lost in this fast-paced mystery that has plenty of fun twists and turns, hot sex, and a peek into LA’s darker side.”

—an Amazon reader

“Great poolside or beach reading. The protagonist is sleazy, but has … a heart in the end. A real page turner!”

—Adam J.

“Slater’s sex drive and penchant for punches never cease to amaze. Long live the hothead!”

—Christopher Church, author of The Landers Mystique