Today we welcome Mara Malins who is here celebrating her new release, INKcompete box set.
True Romance by Mara Malins
When I started to write the INKomplete series, I knew I wanted something more than the kind of literature that dominates the bestsellers. My world wouldn’t have the controlling billionaire or the uber-interested (but sometimes stalker-ish) love interest to sweep my hero/heroine off his/her feet. That was the stuff of fantasies.
I wanted truth.
I wanted relatability.
I wanted real aspirational partnerships with everyday problems.
I wanted to explore romance at every stage of life and how it changes as we mature.
With that in mind, I started from the beginning and wrote INKarnate. This was a story about young love. About passion and desire. The obstacle standing between my two protagonists, Matt and Emily, was the rather mundane issue around communication; neither communicates their feelings—or even admits them—in an honest way. I felt this was a good place to start in my exploration of “true” romance.
After that, I wanted to tackle the next stage of life; parenthood, so INKapable came next. Joe and Nathan’s obstacle was a little weightier—how do you build a trusting relationship when you’ve been hurt badly before? How do you let your guard down when you have children relying on you to protect them?
Then I wanted to write about something that’s in the post for all of us; the deterioration of health. In INKurable, the third story of the INKomplete series, Phee has cancer and she has to deal with that, how her friends react, and her growing feelings to her surgeon. It was a real toughie to write, but I feel the relationship between Phee and Pete, her surgeon, comes together naturally. They struggle together as a team.
Finally, I rounded off the series exploring the theme of grief; Blakey is a widow and his story in INKonsolable deals with him overcoming his guilt in moving on from a long-term marriage and initiating a mature, late-blossoming romance.
Each of these stories, I feel, is relatable, truthful, and—perhaps most importantly—full of romance. Not the glamorous kind, or even the “mysterious” kind, but the kind of romance that leaves you feeling hopeful. Not everybody needs, or even wants, a billionaire or a man so overwhelmed with love that he stops being his own person.
Sometimes, you just want to read about something real.
About the Set:
Welcome to INKomplete, a studio renowned for its tattoos, talent, and totally tempting tattoo artists. Every design tells a story, every artist has a tale. One studio, four tattooists, and a whole load of heat. Enjoy these hot and steamy reads that explore the sometimes sweet but always erotic relationships between ink and kink.
Book 1 — INKarnate: When Emily begins an apprenticeship at the renowned tattoo studio INKomplete, she didn’t realise she was stepping into a world very different from her middle-class upbringing. But not everybody is happy about her dipping her toe into new waters. Famous tattoo artist, Matt Jones, knows she doesn’t belong.
Book 2 — INKapable: After her husband walked out on her, leaving her to provide for their daughter alone, Joe has no intention of relying on a man for anything ever again. As a successful tattoo artist, she can take care of what’s hers. The only thing she needs is a little fun every now and again. And if a gorgeous man offers her exactly what she needs, if they both know what they’re getting into, it can’t get messy, can it?
Book 3 — INKurable: Phee has breast cancer. As heart-breaking as it is, she’s determined to be strong so her friends don’t worry. They’re a family, so if she hurts, they hurt, and she can’t allow that. But when lines start to blur between her and her handsome surgeon, trying to hold everything together suddenly feels like the real fight.
Book 4 — INKonsolable: It’s been five years since Blakey’s beautiful wife Elizabeth died and his grief is just as sharp today as it was back then. But now he’s desperately lonely too. As he becomes closer to his friend Aisleyne, Blakey fights it with everything he has. How could he even think about moving on? No, friendship is all he has to offer. That will have to be enough.
If you want to read about something real, preorder here!
Preorder Amazon.com
Preorder Amazon.co.uk
Preorder Kobo
Preorder Apple
Preorder B&N
About the Author:
Mara Malins is an English writer who tackles all genres. She battles spreadsheets by day and drinks a lot of wine by night. She lives in Manchester with her menagerie of two cats, two turtles, a long term partner, and a disobedient garden. If you want to know when her next fiction is released, follow her at Twitter on @MaraMalins