Oops - we forgot our anniversary.

Oh, the irony.

I make a living by telling stories about romance, love, and relationships. I’ve been doing this for almost ten years now, so it would be fair to assume that romance is a big part of my life.

Except I forgot my anniversary yesterday. Oops.

My husband and I started dating when we were teenagers, and as of yesterday, we’ve been married for 22 years. (We're Dating for 29, if you’re curious.)

If I’m being honest, our wedding day wasn’t all that exciting. We went to the courthouse on a Thursday after work, signed a paper, and said, ‘I do. ' Then, we went for Italian food before going home because we had to work the next morning. And a honeymoon? Didn’t happen. We had goals to meet, and that didn’t include taking time off work and spending money we didn’t have on a trip—honeymoon or not.

Is this a romance story you’d expect from a romance writer? Eh, probably not. But it is real, and I think there’s something special about that.

It also plays heavily into how I approach my books.

Many moons ago, I needed a tagline for my business. After brainstorming with some of my author buddies, I settled on Ordinary people finding extraordinary love. That’s beautiful, and it encompasses my stories. The romances my characters experience, whether blue-collar or billionaires, all feel real. Sure, they may take private jets sometimes or have babies that sleep through the night, but the love between my hero and heroine is always true. Raw. Relatable (I hope).

I’ve been married for over two decades, and while we may forget our anniversary, it’s okay. Why? Because I don’t need to be reminded that my husband loved me on the day we married so long ago. He reminds me every single day.

He replenishes my favorite Ski pop before it runs out. He changes the sheets because that’s one task that ends with me raging (my arms are too short!). He consults with me before agreeing to things the boys (our sons) want to do, remembers to order my salads without onions when I’m on a deadline and can’t leave my office, and reads articles about things I know he doesn’t find interesting but also knows that I do—so that he can bring them up later and we can talk about them. Most importantly? He doesn’t say a word about my messy truck. (Let me live my life. LOL)

Yes, I, in turn, do the same for him.

Romance isn’t always in the big things, like remembering a date on a calendar. It can be in the little things, too. ♥️

I get asked a lot if my life and the people in it influence my stories. Absolutely, they do. There are bits of me in every heroine, bits of my husband in (most) heroes, and elements of my best friend in the besties in my books. I even see similarities in some of my characters and my children. (Especially my youngest son and Ethan in The Sweet Spot.)

This is true in my new release, Pulse.

The banter. The way Dahlia pushes Troy’s buttons. Troy’s ferociousness in protecting her … and how he tries to get her to lift weights. Oof.

Pulse is live now on Amazon and free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. The audio will be released at the end of May (it’s being recorded now).

If you love an age gap, workplace romance, between a grumpy, grey-eyed bad boy in a suit and the woman he’s sworn to protect with a dash of romantic suspense—check this one out this weekend.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.

xo,

Addy

USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke delivers a spicy, age gap, grumpy sunshine, workplace romance in the first book in the brand new Landry Security series.

Troy Castelli acts like it’s my fault that we’re cooped up together in a room with one bed overlooking the ocean. I didn’t ask for a stalker to break into my house and then send me a threatening email detailing my demise. And I sure as heck didn’t request that my boss send Troy and his uber elite bodyguard skills to accompany me out of town—although I’m not mad about it.

A paid tropical vacation with a grumpy, gray-eyed bad boy in a suit isn’t exactly a burden.

But it is a giant test of my willpower.

Troy’s alpha protector tendencies drive me wild. His arrogant smirk gets under my skin. But it’s his not-so-innocent touches, heated looks and touch-her-and-die vibes that are the final strike that ignite our explosive chemistry.

The longer we’re together, the more his broody exterior slips, and I get a glimpse of the real man beneath the sculpted muscles. I’m determined not only to unearth his mysterious past but also to make him realize what we have is more than just a fling in paradise.

That is, unless my stalker gets me first.