Lissa Reed

Writer/Raconteur, Knitter, Soup Obsessive, Nail Polish Enthusiast, Owned Catter. Author of the Sucre Coeur Series from Interlude Press.

[interludepress]

Coming Feb. 12: SUCRE COEUR Digital Boxed Set!

Interlude Press will launch a new line of digital boxed sets February 12th with author Lissa Reed’s delicious celebration of love, laughter, friendship and pastry—the SUCRE COEUR series!

Fans of Craig, Alex, Sarita, and Maritza can savor their entire Sucre Coeur romance series in one sweet bundle with a special bonus curation of Craig’s favorite recipes. This boxed set includes the following full-length novels, plus a collection of confectionery recipes developed exclusively for this series set!

The SUCRE COEUR series is our first digital boxed set, featuring complete series and exclusive new content with a discounted complete series price of $8.99 at your favorite digital retailer.

Add it to your Goodreads TBR shelf at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43383568-sucre-coeur.

Preorder at the IP Web Store, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Kobo.

SUCRE COEUR includes:

DEFINITELY, MAYBE, YOURS: Seattle-based baker Craig Oliver leads a life that is happily routine: baking cupcakes for an enormous family reunion, managing Sucre Coeur for its frequently absent owner and closing out his day with a pint at the local pub. He has a kind heart, a knack for pastry and a weakness for damaged people. Habitual playboy Alex Scheff is looking to drown his sorrows, but instead discovers that he may have a weakness for Englishmen who carry cookies in their pockets. Can a seemingly incompatible pair find the recipe for love in a relationship they claim is casual?

CERTAINLY, POSSIBLY, YOU: Sarita Sengupta is in her last semester of grad school and has finally realized she doesn’t have a career plan, a girlfriend, or a clear outlook on life. She works as a pastry shop’s head decorator, but is otherwise drifting without direction until a friend’s birthday party ends with her waking up in the unexpected company of Maritza Quiñones, a pretty ballroom dancer whose cheerful charm and laser focus sets Sarita on a path to making all of the choices she’s been avoiding.

ABSOLUTELY, ALMOST, PERFECT: Craig Oliver and Alex Scheff lead a charmed life. Craig is part owner of Sucre Coeur, the bakery he’s loved and managed for years. Alex is an up-and-coming Seattle photographer. Their relationship has been going strong for a year, and everything is absolutely perfect—right up until Craig receives a wedding invitation from his long-estranged brother. As Craig grows tense over seeing his brother for the first time in years, Alex can’t control his anxiety over meeting Craig’s family. At the wedding in an English hamlet, boisterous Scottish mothers, smirking teenage sisters, and awkward ex-boyfriends complicate the sweet life they lead.

[lissareedbooks]

Hi, folks. So my bakery romance trilogy is coming to a box set near you. With a digital booklet of recipes inspired by the series - some have been available online before, some were only available on postcards or in the backs of books, a couple are new...I’ve gone through and cleaned them all up and put them all in one bonus booklet you can get if you buy the digital box set. FUN TIMES, EH? You get fluffy romance, found family, a bit of angst and familial conflict, an MC finding love while struggling with undiagnosed mental illness, silly jokes, cuddly tea times... AND DESSERT RECIPES. What in the world is not to love? Go on, treat yourself. In every possible way.

[interludepress]

Cosplay With IP and Win!

We’re looking for a few good Halloween costume ideas. We have a lot of characters to draw from—and we want your ideas, drawings, aesthetics or even pictures of costumes inspired by IP and Duet characters! A mermaid? A diner chef?  A shapeshifting super hero? A drag queen wrestler? Share your inspiration and win discounts and credit at the IP Web Store. Here’s how to play:

Base a costume on any IP character, and share it with us on Twitter using the hashtag #CosplayWithIP. It can be a drawing, a description, an aesthetic post or  a photo of a costume you come up with. Post it by 8pm ET on October 30th.

Every entrant will receive a 25% discount at the IP Web Store, and one winner selected by our authors will receive a $25 gift card for the IP Web Store. Winner to be announced on Halloween.

[interludepress]

Coming in January ...

You met Will and Lennox a couple of years ago in Zane Riley’s Go Your Own Way. Will, the sweet kid planning his escape to college, and vexed by his high school’s resident bad boy. Lennox, a flirtatious firestorm who may be hiding what makes him tick.

Their story continued in 2016—entering a relationship despite their differences, despite a disapproving father—and forcing Lennox to come to terms with his past just as Will is grappling with his future.

In January, Will and Lennox’s story comes full circle…

In the New Adult series that began with Go Your Own Way, Will Osbourne and Lennox McAvoy must now face the challenges of a long distance relationship that will determine their future. Despite the fulfillment of his childhood dream, Will is suffocating in too-loud, too-dirty, too-busy New York City. Lennox, who has always relied on Will for guidance, is thriving in Boston without him. As Lennox embraces his promising new life and rediscovers old family, Will searches for a future of his own that won’t tear them apart.

Need to catch up with the Go Your Own Way series?

Get the Go Your Own Way and With or Without You multi-format eBooks for half-price now until November 18th, when When It’s Time is available for pre-order.

[interludepress]

Now Available for Pre-Order: “If the Fates Allow: An LGBTQ Holiday Anthology”

During the holidays, anything is possible—a second chance, a promised future, an unexpected romance, a rekindled love, or a healed heart. Authors Killian B. Brewer, Pene Henson, Erin Finnegan, Lilah Suzanne, and Lynn Charles share their stories about the magic of the season.

Gracious Living Magazine Says It Must Be a Live Tree by Killian B. Brewer

Determined to make his first Christmas with his new boyfriend magazine-perfect, Marcus seeks the advice of lovable busy bodies, the Do-Nothings Club. When he learns that his boyfriend, Hank, may have ordered a ring, Marcus’ attempts to transform his home into a winter wonderland get out of hand.

True North by Pene Henson

Shay Allen returns to her hometown in Montana for the holidays with her best friend Devon with the intent to return home to L.A. by New Year’s Eve. Instead, the weather traps them in the small town, but the there’s a bright spot: her old crush Milla is still in town.

Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille by Erin Finnegan

As the one-year anniversary of his lover’s death rolls around on Christmas, Jack Volarde finds himself at their old haunt—a bar called the Casa Blanca, where a new bartender helps him open up about loss, and see brightness in a future that had grown dim.

Halfway Home by Lilah Suzanne

Avery Puckett has begun to wonder if her life has become joyless. One night, fate intervenes in the form of a scraggly dog shivering and alone in a parking lot. Avery takes him to a nearby shelter called Halfway Home where she meets bright and beautiful Grace, who is determined to save the world one stray at a time.

Shelved by Lynn Charles

When library clerk Karina Ness meets a new patron, lonely business owner, Wesley Lloyd, she puts her own love life on hold and begins a holiday matchmaking mission to connect Wes with her uncle Tony.

Price: $16.99 print / $6.99 multi-format ebook

Release Date: December 1, 2017

Details: Trade paperback, 6"x9"

Pages/Words: 246 // 70,800

ISBN: 978-1-945053-47-4 print // 978-1-945053-48-1 eBook

US/Canada: If you purchase the print edition of If the Fates Allow before December 1, 2017 from the IP Web Store, you will automatically receive the multi-format eBook for free with your order.

International: Order the print edition by February 1, 2018 from your favorite book retailer and receive free multi-format eBook by submitting a copy of your receipt to [email protected].

About the authors:

Killian B. Brewer lives in his life-long home of Georgia with his partner and their dog. He has written poetry and short fiction since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. Brewer earned a BA in English and does not use this degree in his job in the banking industry. He has a love of greasy diner food that borders on obsessive. Lunch with the Do-Nothings at the Tammy Dinette was published in January, 2017. His debut novel, The Rules of Ever After, is available from Duet Books, the young adult imprint of Interlude Press.

Pene Henson has gone from British boarding schools to New York City law firms. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, where she is an intellectual property lawyer and published poet who is deeply immersed in the city’s LGBTQIA community. She spends her spare time enjoying the outdoors and gazing at the ocean with her gorgeous wife and two unexpectedly exceptional sons. Her first novel Into the Blue (Interlude Press, 2016) received a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Romance. Her second novel, Storm Season, was published by Interlude Press in 2017.

Erin Finnegan is a former journalist and a winemaker who lives in the foothills outside Los Angeles. Her novel Luchador was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2016, and along with her 2014 debut novel, Sotto Voce, received both a Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year award and a PW starred review.

Lilah Suzanne has been writing actively since the sixth grade, when a literary magazine published her essay about an uncle who lost his life to AIDS. A freelance writer from North Carolina, she spends most of her time behind a computer screen, but on the rare occasion she ventures outside she enjoys museums, libraries, live concerts, and quiet walks in the woods. Lilah is the author of the Interlude Press books Spice, Pivot and Slip, and the Amazon bestselling Spotlight series: Broken Records, Burning Tracks and Blended Notes.

Lynn Charles’ love of writing dates to her childhood, when thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and joys poured onto the pages of journals and diaries. She lives in Central Ohio with her husband and adult children where a blind dog and his guardian cat rule the roost. When she’s not writing, Lynn can be found planning a trip to New York or strolling its streets daydreaming about retirement. Her novel Black Dust (2016) was named a finalist for a Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year award. Her other novels include Beneath the Stars (2017) and Chef’s Table (2014).

Cover design by C.B. Messer.

Find it on Goodreads.

[lilahsuzanne]

Hey so I’m pretty excited about being in this!

Just a little

[mypopculturesummer]

Vacation reading the work of @lissareedbooks (from @interludepress) on the Maine coast.

[lissareedbooks]

Ahhh! Thanks for tucking us into your travel bag! Enjoy!

[nikolaijanak]

Hey guys, looking for a new book to read?

Look no further!

I know you came to this blog to see my stuff, but I’m here today to plug my friend’s stuff! Lissa Reed just published her book Absolutely, Almost, Perfect, and it’s fantastic.

Quick summary: Craig and his boyfriend, Alex, are invited to Craig’s childhood home in England for his estranged brother’s wedding. What follows is family drama, a too-cute ex-boyfriend, lots of laughs, and enough wedding stress for everyone.

Reading this book feels like watching a fun rom-com in your pajamas with a hot cup of tea. It’s sweet, it’s romantic, and the writing style is charming and funny. The whole book is a joy to read. I can’t recommend it enough.

The characters are likable and believable, especially the main characters, Alex and Craig. The two men’s personalities contrast each other on almost every front, but they also complement each other beautifully. You’ll be rooting for their relationship all the way through.

If you like drama, sappy rom-coms, and fluffy romance, you’ll love Absolutely, Almost, Perfect. You can find it on Amazon, or from the Interlude Press website.

(And while you’re there, check out the two prequels, Definitely, Maybe, Yours and Certainly, Possibly, You.)

[lissareedbooks]

[alysia-constantine-blog]

REVIEW: Absolutely Almost Perfect by Lissa Reed

Absolutely Almost Perfect by Lissa Reed (August 3. 2017); 256 pages. Available from Interlude Press here.

The third book of Reed’s charming Sucre Couer series, Absolutely Almost Perfect returns to the love story of Alex Scheff, a nervous and acerbic American photographer, and Craig Oliver, a level-headed British ex-pat baker, though this installment leaves behind all the previous settings (the Sucre Couer bakery, Seattle) for the Oliver household in England when Craig brings Alex home to meet his family and celebrate the wedding of his brother.

But things, as they often will do when family is involved, do not go perfectly. (You know this; the title hints at this.) To start with, Alex must deal with meeting the family of his love. Anyone who has done this knows how terrifying it can be–probably more so when visiting that family also means having to navigate a foreign culture. Plus, Craig’s very attractive ex is floating around, still in the family’s good graces, and Alex is going to have to contend with meeting him, too. But wait, there’s more! Craig gets along with all his family (his feisty mother, his steadfast father, even the younger twin girls who, like most teenagers, are, well teenagers), with the glaring exception of his oblivious-to-mean-spirited prankster older brother. They’ve had a contentious, bitter relationship since Craig was born, one that has only gotten worse with time.

To top it all off, there’s a wedding in the mix, with all the stress and family weirdness that tends to bring on.

As I began by saying, the books in this series are charming. The characters–especially, but not only, Alex and Craig–are completely realized and so well-drawn I feel as though I know what they’ll say and do next (I usually don’t, but the feeling itself is significant to me). Craig himself is charming (Alex more closely harmonizes with my taste for the acerbic and sweetly bitter (”being a native of the US East Coast will make a person distrustful of the effusiveness or polite restraint preferred in other regions); put that way, I now see that our taste in coffee (strong to the point of bitterness) reflects our social tastes as well).

Great characters aside, what really grabs one about this book is the plot; once I started, I was heroin-level hooked by the drama and urgency of the goings-on. At the heart of this book is love, with dose of reconciliation. Though Alex and Craig are certainly the center of gravity here, it is how a family comes to fit together that matters: anger, jealousy, forgiveness, joy, care and protectiveness all wrap around them and sometimes, as it often is, it’s an ill fit, but it still manages to hold.

[lissareedbooks]

[azraeldoesnotdispute]

Absolutely, Almost, Perfect

I am soooooooooooo late on this (I’m told acute appendicitis is a valid excuse), but here it is! My long awaited review of the final (SOB) book in Lissa Reed’s amazing Sucre Coeur series!

Can I take a minute and cry because it’s over? I don’t want to leave Craig and Alex behind!!! Shut up, I know they’re on my bookshelf, but I want to see all of their adventures. I knew it was coming, but I wasn’t prepared.

Absolutely, Almost, Perfect shoves you right back into Craig and Alex’s life, where Alex is battling his anxiety over the Wedding Of The Year where he’s to travel to the U.K. and meet all of Craig’s family. Let’s be real, who wants to do that? (Other than the travel part.) They go, because that’s what you do when your boyfriend’s best friend is marrying your boyfriend’s estranged brother. We get to see family dynamics and meet a whole bunch of women who, frankly, would scare me a bit if I were to meet them. The character development that comes with this book is spot on, a natural involvement from the past books, being able to see Craig show his human, not-perfect, side and Alex step up in a way he never thought he would be able to. This story wraps up the series in the most perfect way, and yet leaves you wanting to know more about these perfect characters.

Ugh, it’s so hard writing this without giving away spoilers, but honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this series and I will forever cherish these wonderful characters. As always, I can’t wait to see what Lissa has in store next, and to see what new characters she’ll give us!

TL;DR: GO BUY LISSA’S BOOK HERE and you, too, can live happily ever after.

[lissareedbooks]

Appendicitis is absolutely (ahahaha) (sorry) a valid excuse! Thank you, Az! So happy you enjoyed it!

There’s a GoodReads giveaway happening for 12 more days, if anyone is interested in a chance to win a print copy! I have to say, having this cutie in my hands in print is pretty darn nice...

[interludepress]

Now Available: “Absolutely, Almost, Perfect” (Sucre Coeur, Book III) by Lissa Reed

“A very funny, romantic, real story about what being a family really means.” —NetGalley review

Craig Oliver and Alex Scheff lead a charmed life. Craig is part owner of Sucre Coeur, the bakery he’s loved and managed for years. Alex is an up-and-coming Seattle photographer. Their relationship has been going strong for a year, and everything is absolutely perfect—right up until Craig receives a wedding invitation from his long-estranged brother.

As Craig grows tense over seeing his brother for the first time in years, Alex can’t control his anxiety over meeting Craig’s family. At the wedding in an English hamlet, boisterous Scottish mothers, smirking teenage sisters, and awkward ex-boyfriends complicate the sweet life they lead.

Price: $16.99 print / $6.99 multi-format ebook Details: Trade paperback, 6"x9” Pages/Words: 256 // 69,500 ISBN: 978-1-945053-26-9 print // 978-1-945053-39-9 ebook International: Order the print edition by October 3, 2017 from your favorite book retailer and receive free multi-format eBook by submitting a copy of your receipt to [email protected].

Available from the IP Web Store, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, Book Depository, Indiebound and other book retailers.

About the author:

Lissa Reed is a writer of fiction, blogs, and bawdy Renaissance song parodies. She traces her early interest in writing back to elementary school, when a teacher gifted her with her first composition book and told her to fill it with words. After experimenting with print journalism, Reed shifted her writing focus to romance and literary fiction and never looked back. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Absolutely, Almost, Perfect is the third book in her Sucre Coeur Series.

Connect with Lissa at lissareed.com, on Twitter @lissareedbooks, and on Tumblr at @lissareedbooks.

Cover art by CB Messer

[lissareedbooks]

Hello! Hello HI hello hi-ooooooo!

So! My third book is OUT! And in my incredibly un-humble opinion, it’s the best of the Sucre Coeur series, or at least it is the funniest. Oh, heck. I’m going to go for broke and say it is BOTH of these things.

My virtual book tour kicked off today at The Novel Approach, and I talked about my feelings on ending a series. There’s also a Rafflecopter there for a chance at a $25 IP/Duet gift card or one of 5 eBooks, so it’s worth checking out.

Give it a whirl, and thanks for your support!

[interludepress]

Now Available: “Absolutely, Almost, Perfect” (Sucre Coeur, Book III) by Lissa Reed

“A very funny, romantic, real story about what being a family really means.” —NetGalley review

Craig Oliver and Alex Scheff lead a charmed life. Craig is part owner of Sucre Coeur, the bakery he’s loved and managed for years. Alex is an up-and-coming Seattle photographer. Their relationship has been going strong for a year, and everything is absolutely perfect—right up until Craig receives a wedding invitation from his long-estranged brother.

As Craig grows tense over seeing his brother for the first time in years, Alex can’t control his anxiety over meeting Craig’s family. At the wedding in an English hamlet, boisterous Scottish mothers, smirking teenage sisters, and awkward ex-boyfriends complicate the sweet life they lead.

Price: $16.99 print / $6.99 multi-format ebook Details: Trade paperback, 6"x9” Pages/Words: 256 // 69,500 ISBN: 978-1-945053-26-9 print // 978-1-945053-39-9 ebook International: Order the print edition by October 3, 2017 from your favorite book retailer and receive free multi-format eBook by submitting a copy of your receipt to [email protected].

Available from the IP Web Store, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, Book Depository, Indiebound and other book retailers.

About the author:

Lissa Reed is a writer of fiction, blogs, and bawdy Renaissance song parodies. She traces her early interest in writing back to elementary school, when a teacher gifted her with her first composition book and told her to fill it with words. After experimenting with print journalism, Reed shifted her writing focus to romance and literary fiction and never looked back. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Absolutely, Almost, Perfect is the third book in her Sucre Coeur Series.

Connect with Lissa at lissareed.com, on Twitter @lissareedbooks, and on Tumblr at @lissareedbooks.

Cover art by CB Messer

[lissareedbooks]

Look! It's out! And you can get it EVERYWHERE!

[ingatestone-blog]

History of Ingatestone

Ingatestone is a small town in Essex, England, with a population of about 4500 people. To the immediate north lies the village of Fryerning, and the two form the civil parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning.

Ingatestone sits within an area of Metropolitan Green Belt land, twenty miles (32 km) north east of London. The built-up area is largely situated between the A12 and the Great Eastern Railway. Today it is an affluent commuter town. Due to its rural yet well-serviced setting, the demographic is a mixture of young and old, skilled and unskilled, with a lure for the commercial and agricultural worker.

[did-i-tell-you-about]

Ingatestone Hall, Essex

[moriahgemel]

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE.

I live for this BOOK. This whole series, actually, but this final book in the Sucre Coeur trilogy by Lissa Reed tickles all my fancies. And for you, today, I’m going to offer you a partial list of these fancies (mostly spoiler free–you can get most of this info from the blurb or previous books in the series).

Small town homecoming? Check. 

In England? Check. 

Wedding prep? Check. 

Family drama? Check. 

Hilarity and sweetness? Check. 

Frank and shame-free portrayal of mental illness and medication? Check.

Embarrassing childhood bedrooms? Check.

Slightly awkward and inappropriate flirting? Check.

Diversity all over the place? Check.

Baby animals? Check.

And that’s just the stuff I am willing to talk about as spoiler-free. Imagine what we can talk about once you’ve read the book and we can squeal about [redacted] or when Craig decides to [redacted] and gets [redacted] or how about Alex getting [redacted] in the [redacted] or when Chloe throws [redacted] or when the [redacted] make [redacted]. OR HOW ABOUT MY FAVORITE PART, WHEN CRAIG AND ALEX [REDACTED] IN THE [REDACTED] WHILE THEY ARE [REDACTED].

(None of those are even the sexy parts)

But truly and sincerely, I am a big fan of Lissa’s writing. I’m a big fan of her characters. I’m a big fan of her baking, Lissa please make delicious cookies and beautiful books forever. They are all rich, and sweet, and absolutely something I want to experience over and over.

Pre-order the print copy of Absolutely, Almost, Perfect by Lissa Reed before its August 3 release at the Interlude Press webstore (CLICK) and receive the multi-format eBook free! Or buy it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other book retailers, and send in your receipt and OH WAIT YOU GET THE EBOOK FREE ANYWAY (details at CLICK). Or just buy the eBook if you want, up to you (CLICK). Did I mention (CLICK)?

[lissareedbooks]

[julianwinters]

GREAT ROMANCE BOOKS: Definitely, Maybe, Yours (Book 1 of Sucre Coeur Series) by Lissa Reed

“It’s been several weeks. More than one month, less than four. Who’s counting? It’s the longest one night stand in recorded history, kept determinedly casual with a rigor that would make Casanova envious.”

Follow Lissa … @lissareedbooks

[lissareedbooks]

[hazelandglasz]

This Book Will Make You Want to Watch All Your 1990s British RomCom All Over Again - My Advanced Review of Absolutely, Almost, Perfect, by Lissa Reed

Do you know what happens in a week from now (besides International Breastfeeding Day and the 32nd birthday of Brent Kutzle)?

This beautiful book comes to light, and honestly, the short version of my ARC review is: pre-order it now, you can thank me later.

The long version?

Keep reading

[lissareedbooks]

This is...amazing, and I'm just so pleased you enjoyed the book, and are so kind and generous about it! It was important to me to wrap up Alex's story with him now knowing he's been coping with anxiety his whole life, and handling it. I'm glad that's something that is appreciated! And I'm very, very delighted to have caused loud, public laughter. Ahahahahahaha. Thank you, Noemie!

[lissareedbooks]

Happy, happy, happy birthday to Interlude Press, who was kind enough to take a chance on a story pitch that basically went, “Like, there is a lot of baking, and almost everyone is queer in some way.”

The Sucre Coeur Series - including the Absolutely, Almost, Perfect pre-order - is available to you today for half-off in Interlude’s multi-format eBook bundle form! Get the lot of them using coupon code WEARE3 and lay in a stock of muffins, cupcakes, and pretzel rolls to snack on while you work your way through the first two books while you wait for the third to appear in your inbox. It’s a win for us all!

Well, maybe not your jeans size. Sorry.

[interludepress]

Five Stars… a very funny, romantic, real story about what being a family really means.

NetGalley review of Absolutely, Almost, Perfect by Lissa Reed

Absolutely, Almost, Perfect (Sucre Coeur, Book III) is available for pre-order now from the IP web store and will be available to order everywhere on August 3rd.

(via interludepress)