Q&a With Gretchen Powell

By the time I return home from a business trip, it is past midnight. However, my wife, Celeste Beaumont, isn't home. A man's shirt that isn't mine is lying on the couch. When I call her, she tells me that she's working late at the office. "Whose shirt is it on the couch?" I ask, cutting straight to the point. She playfully scolds, "Who else would it be? It's a gift for you, so hurry up and try it on." I skeptically put it on and immediately feel how tight and uncomfortable it is across my shoulders. "This is an L, babe. I've always worn XL." Celeste runs a clothing company. She's the one who handles all my clothes and even uses my body measurements for her menswear line. There's no way she doesn't know my size. The line goes quiet for half a second before she thoughtfully says, "It's from my new menswear collection. "I had pieces custom-made for you and Felix, so I must've grabbed the wrong piece. I'll swap it tomorrow." A beat later, her voice carries a little sob as she continues, "Babe, I've been so exhausted without you these past few days. I've missed you so much…" It's past midnight. As I listen to the undeniable weariness beneath her affectionate, playful words, my heart aches in distress. I can't help chiding myself for overthinking. However, after hanging up, realization hits me. Her brother, Felix Beaumont, and I are about the same build. He's always worn XL.

After coming home from buying fresh produce at the farmer's market, I began prepping the ingredients and making lunch. As soon as I was done with my tasks, my husband, Jeremy Tate, came home. "A pipe in Chloe's home has burst. Hurry up and help her out. It's difficult enough for a single mother like her to handle such problems." I took off my apron and went to Chloe's place to unclog her pipes. Then, I mopped up the stagnant water before proceeding to comfort her frightened child. Once I finally dragged my exhausted body home, I saw Jeremy handing over my daughter's sweater to Chloe. "Don't stress yourself out, Chloe. It's not like Eliza can still wear this anyway. This sweater is perfect for Lily." As I stared at the sweater, I suddenly spoke up. "Let's get a divorce, Jeremy." He looked at me in disbelief. "You want a divorce over an old sweater?" "Yeah. Precisely."

Betrayed. Abandoned. And Avenged with Triumph. When I married Damian Carter, I believed in forever. In loyalty. In love that withstands time, success, and hardship. I was the woman who stood beside him when he was nothing, who helped him build his empire, who sacrificed everything so he could become the man he always wanted to be. And when he finally got there—when he was rich, powerful, untouchable—he threw me away like last night’s mistake. He didn’t just cheat. He rewrote our story, twisting the truth until I was nothing more than a pathetic, useless wife clinging to his fortune. The world believed him. My own family doubted me. I lost everything. But they were all wrong about me. I didn’t break. I didn’t shatter. I rebuilt. With the help of a man who saw me for who I really was, I built my own empire. I exposed Damian’s secrets, stripped away his power, and took back everything they said I never could. And when he came crawling back, whispering apologies, asking for another chance—his voice trembling with regret—I simply smiled. Because I wasn’t that woman anymore. And more than that, I had finally found a man who never needed to lose me to understand my worth.

Alice is a werewolf nerd who loves and thrives in knowledge, but she lives in a pack called the Dauntless Pack, where strength is more cherished than knowledge. To be initiated into the pack as a full member, one must be a warrior. After being defeated in a duel ceremony,* Alice is rejected and humiliated publicly by her mate, Alpha Clark, for her lack of strength. *The rejection coupled with the defeat, rusticates Alice out of the pack. Left on her own, Alice goes in search of the Genie Pack, a werewolf pack heard is a citadel of knowledge. She hopes to be accepted there since she also heard that the pack values knowledge over strength. When she reaches the Genie Pack, her hope is fulfilled when Alpha Jay, the Alpha of the Genie Pack, her and makes her one of the teachers in the Pack's college. As time goes on, Alice and Jay become friends, bonding over their love and obsession for books. Their friendship grows into something more as they begin to realize their sizzling feelings towards each other, sizzling feelings that friends aren't supposed to be having for each other. However, a possible rift threatens their blossoming love as Alpha Clark, Alice's former mate comes back to reclaim Alice. The stakes are raised even higher when Jay's runaway mate returns, pleading and doing everything in her power to have Jay back. Will the blossoming love between Jay and Alice win over these challenges? Or will it be snuffed out before the both of them even get the chance to be together?

The following book contains mature contents. I laid beside her and turned her body to make it face mine. I slid my one hand under her waist and pulled her even closer to me until there was no space left between us. I hugged her feeling a lot of things; love, care, pain, hate. “Gabriel?” she whispered. “Yes love.” “I Love You!” There. She said those words to me. If she'd said to me before yesterday then I would've been the happiest and most probably the craziest person on earth. I would declare a holiday in the entire city, I would take her in my arms and kiss her until we both run out of breathe, but today, it was different. I felt only pain. “Zayla?” She did not speak. She was already in her wonderland. “I don't want to love you anymore Love.” ------------------------------------------------------------ Her past was a Werewolf, her present is a Lycan. Her past broke her heart, her present deceived her feelings. Stuck in between Worse and Worst, Then and Now, yet she goes for the odd option; end her life and finish everything at once. "Everything will be fine as long as I'm gone." Experience the life of Zayla; a girl for whom luck never favored and no good cards were ever dealt to her, as she is torn in between a Werewolf whom she loved immensely and was her pride and a Lycan whom she trusted blindly and went against all the prejudice. ... Be ready for Pain, Hate, Betrayal and a Love like no other.

We have many perspectives on life. One thing here is about marriage. Throughout Matteo's life he believed in his vision that we should no longer marry or be married, because he had a bad experience with his own parents as well as with his other aquaintances. But, Calix is the opposite of Matteo's view. She is hundred and one percent sure that the married life is happy and genuine, also she sees and witnessed those married couples lead to their 'happily ever after'.

Sirius remembers being born. He knows who he is. He knows the Commander will come. He remembers before. He knows the future. A hybrid dog/wolf serving the British Military? Look closer. He will pay the debt he owes humankind. Then he will take his rightful place. The first book is his history. The Lycanthrope. The King who needs a Queen. The second book is his future. He will make many sacrifices and face many battles. Sirius must win For the sake of the Immortals, For the sake of humankind For the sake of the Earth.

She left him after that steamy night, and she was confident he would never look for her because he never saw her face because of the mask she wore. But what if fate suddenly pulls its strings and bring them back together? ----- Autumn Aurello did something three years ago. For the sake of money, she did pole dancing in front of someone she admired, not expecting she would give in to the way he stared at her, and to the way he caressed every inch of her skin. After that steamy night, she left him, moved on from that night and got herself a boyfriend. She became a successful painter in those three years and went to Manila. When she came back, she planned to surprise her partner, waiting inside his room only to witness his adultery. Taking her broken heart with her, she hurriedly left his unit but accidentally broke his flower vase. She didn’t have any choice but hide in the next unit which had its door opened. And it was a decision she regretfully made. Because in front of her is Dr. Knoxx Silva, the man whom she had a one-night stand with three years ago. Now that their paths crossed, fate never separated them from each other, especially when Knoxx asked her to become her date in his parents’ anniversary and things took a turn when the supposed-to-be anniversary turned into their engagement party. Now, what will happen to them? Will Knoxx find out about their steamy night? Or will their sudden wedding make him get his mind off from that night?

"My plan was reckless but simple: find a pure-blooded werewolf, seduce him, and let him mark me. TONIGHT." Flora Graham is cursed—a hybrid without a wolf, doomed to die before her eighteenth birthday unless she’s marked. For five years, she believed her boyfriend, Donovan, would be the one to save her. But on their anniversary, he shattered her heart, choosing his fated mate over her. With time slipping away, Flora makes a desperate choice. One night. One stranger. One bite to break the curse for good. But the werewolf she seduces isn’t just anyone—he’s Alaric Blackwood, the powerful Alpha of Moonvalley Pack. When he marks her, the curse vanishes… only to return three days later, stronger than before. The Moon Goddess has punished her, but for what? Now, with her life hanging by a thread, Flora must uncover the dark truth behind her curse before it’s too late. But as she searches for answers, Alaric refuses to let her go. Why does he act like she’s his? And what if the one destined to save her… is the one she’s trying to escape?

When Italy's Most Dreaded Capo discovers his true identity, the world is thrown into disarray. A bloody war erupts between werewolves and the Mob. The dice has been cast, and the Capo must decide whose family he actually belongs to. The werewolf clan (where he was once a Beta) or the Mob clan (where he is now a Capo)? Is he his Alpha or his Don? His Mate or His Moll? His past life or the one he has grown to love? It's a conundrum with no way out without spilling a lot of blood and losing loved ones. ************************************************* Ryder's eyes were partially closed as he held a pistol to his head. That was the end of it. He's probably finished. He was not afraid of death. But this was a particularly painful time since it was his Beta who was holding the pistol to his head. Jason, who used to be his wingman, was now going to be his assassinator. "Do it," Don Carianno urged, irritated by his tardiness. Jason pressed the gun's point harder on Ryder's temples, but his fingers wavered around the trigger. He couldn't pull it off. "Remember what we've gone through, man. Jason, you and I have a long history. You're not going to be able to accomplish it. You can't get rid of your Alpha..." ****** This is the second book of ONCE ABUSED, NOW LOVED. Although it may be read as a stand-alone, it is highly recommended that you first read the first book to have a better grasp of this one. BOOK 1 - ONCE ABUSED, NOW LOVED. BOOK 2: ONCE A BETA, NOW A MAFIA.