Tirza Schaefer: Romance Author & Goddess Facilitator
Blurb
Damon and Bone, two US Navy Seals have taken their leave from serving their country and decide to go on a road trip to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. The tyre of their Harley bursts along the coast and they find a house overlooking the sea with an enchanting lady eager to help.
Roxy is not afraid of the two dangerous bikers but feels safe with them. Unless you count her attraction to them both. She had thought she had left love long behind. However, she is happy to try out her new food creations on her willing victims who also offer to do repairs around the house as payment for her hospitality.
Little do these three know before long, Roxy will need a lot more help than all of them had ever thought. Roxy has to face her dark past and the freshly retired Seals have a call back to action. But the greatest challenge is Roxy's preconceived idea of what true love should look like.
Will her worldview stand in her way of allowing all her dreams to manifest?
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The Book's Creation
It was in 2019 I was invited by some fellow authors to take part in an anthology project containing contemporary romance novellas. I accepted and thus, became part of a project with eleven fellow authors, distributed over two books, Summer Heat and Summer Sizzle. The rules were as follows:
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Maximum word count 16.5K
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No cheating
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HEA (happily ever after) or HFN (happy for now)
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Full story, no teaser
My romantic stories all come with a guarantee of no cheating and HEA, so that wasn’t a problem. I’m not too fond of teasers myself so I wasn’t going to do that anyway. The maximum word count was a challenge with the story I had in mind. After some drafting and cutting down, condensing and leaving details out, I finally made it and both books were a success in the six months in 2020 they were available.
When the books were delisted again and rights reverted back to the authors for publishing elsewhere, I decided that it wouldn’t make much sense to publish a summer novella right before Christmas. Instead, I wanted to wait until spring and add more details and extra chapters to the story which, when I had done so, came to just under 23K now, adding another 6K words to the novella.
So A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN was published in April 2021 as an Extended Version on its own and has within a month of its publication been nicknamed the “Cake Story” by friends and fans because of the slice of cake on the cover which is as much a symbol of the deliciousness of living in your own little slice of heaven, right here on earth, as well as being a reference to the female MC, Roxanne, who is a passionate cook and still has to learn a few little tricks from a friend to perfect her already superb cake baking skills to a celestial level.
Moreover, Roxanne has to examine her own worldview to not stand in the way of and sabotage her own happiness and happily ever after once she has tasted the sweetness of kissing not one but two sexy as sin Navy Seals. Just like baking that perfect cake, creating your perfect life is an inside job, after all.
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Damon looked up as Bone entered the hospital room. His friend had taken a while longer to ship stateside but now he was here and on leave, just like him. Only Damon couldn’t choose to walk around. The doctors had insisted on keeping him at the hospital for way longer than Damon considered necessary. Then again, he wouldn’t have stayed at all.
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“Please, get me out of here, man, before I turn into a complete pussy!” he shouted across the room.
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Bone grinned and walked towards him, a basket filled with fruits in his hand.
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“What am I? Your nana that you need to bring me a fruit basket?”
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“It’s not from me, it’s from the Missus,” Bone explained.
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The entire base referred to the commander’s wife as The Missus. She was much younger than him and hot as hell. But once you got to know her better, she turned out to be fiercely devoted to her husband. A very caring woman, she had taken it upon herself to make up for the fact that she could not conceive any children by looking after the entire base. She worked tirelessly to ensure everyone was as happy as was in her power to provide. She ran wives meetings, taught them life skills, cared for the men who were injured or suffered from psychological issues of some kind and now, she had given Bone a basket to take to Damon.
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“Why didn’t she come herself?” Damon asked gruffly.
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“You know the commander doesn’t like her to be alone with you. For some reason he thinks you’re the only chip in her armour,” Bone said.
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“Man, I apologised. I didn’t know she was his wife when I hit on her and I never treated her with anything less than the greatest respect ever since,” Damon groaned. “Besides, she loves him. The sun shines out of her ass as soon as he’s in sight. She’d never even consider flirting with anyone else.”
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“I know that, you know that, she knows that. But the commander seems to think differently, so let’s humour him, alright?” Bone sighed heavily and let himself drop on the side of Damon’s bed.
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“I want my mum,” Damon complained and pouted.
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This made everyone burst out laughing. When the noise had died down, Bone threw the fruit through the room, gifting each man a piece. Two were left and they ate them in companionable silence. When they were done, Bone edged closer and lowered his voice.
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“Look, I’ve been thinking,” he began.
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“Yes, I want to marry you,” Damon grinned but Bone didn’t start laughing again, so it had to be something serious.
“Listen. Our contracts are up for renewal and I know you don’t feel it anymore, same as I. So I was thinking, why don’t we spend some time on the road, like we always wanted to, you know, get a couple of Harleys and go up the coast, clear our heads, meditate and shit and figure out what the hell we are supposed to do now.”
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“You wanna meditate?” Damon grinned.
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“Hey, that’s real good for you,” Bone said.
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“So is yoga,” Damon grinned.
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“Yes, it is,” Bone said.
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Damon squinted.
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“If you’re asking me for pink yoga pants for your birthday present, I’m gonna shove them up your ass!” he stated.
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“Pink doesn’t suit me,” Bone remarked drily. “That’s more your colour.”
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“Fuck you!”
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They both chuckled again.
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Teaser
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Reviews for A Little Slice of Heaven
Sexy, sweet, fun and steaming hot! This little novella is all of it and more.
Damon and Bone, two US Navy Seals, best friends and brothers in all but blood, decided that "enough is enough" after one mission gone awry, and took their leave from serving their country to live the rest of their lives in peace. As peaceful as it gets that is while riding off on a Harley on an impromptu cross country road trip.
Settling down would be great, with a good woman by their side. But the guys don't really expect that to happen, since their dream of a home would imply both of them together with one lovely woman. And not many good women would be up for that. So the road trip would have to do.
Until the tyre of their Harley bursts along the coast and the two find themselves knocking at the door of a house overlooking the sea. Not only is the lady of the house enchanting and eager to help, but she also serves them one of the best lunches the guys have ever had and invites them to stay over in her place until their bike is fixed.
Roxy. That is the name of the charming woman to whom Damon and Bone instantly feel attracted. She's sexy and fiery and with a heart of gold, next to being an awesome cook that is, so of course the guys try their luck to see if she'd be willing to have them.
But Roxy isn't a one-night stand type of woman and despite being attracted to the two hot bikers, she's not interested in any type of hot stuff. She's more than happy to experiment and try out her new food creations on her willing victims who also offer to do repairs around the house as payment for her hospitality. But that's where she draws the line.
Love is something she left long ago behind and is not willing to try out again. But when the dark past comes knocking at her door, the freshly retired Seals may become a lot more than just visitors passing by.
If they can deal with Roxy's past and if Roxy, in turn, can accept their idea of a happy ever after.
How much would each of them be willing to adjust to find that little slice of heaven they can share, I'll leave for you to find out.
But I'll tell you this. Their tale is one sweet and sensual story peppered with funny moments, great bromance and steamy hot scenes.
The characters are great and their dynamic fabulous, while the story itself is just as delicious and sweet as that little slice of heaven on the cover. A short little read that will make you both smile and sigh and occasionally fan yourself once in a while. :D
I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it to all in search of a great little romance with all the feels.
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The Magic Book Corner, International Book Blogger
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A Little Slice of Heaven is steaming hot and passionate, yet also sweet, soft and caring. The story centres around two Navy SEALs - Damon and Bone - as they resign from their military careers and decide to travel the country together. A minor incident places them in the path of Roxy, a single woman living in a remote seaside house.
The attraction is instant, and sparks practically fly off the page as the three of them meet, all by chance. But Roxy isn't one of those to give in to sexual urges on a whim, especially not towards two men she doesn't know. However, as the days pass and the men wait for their bike to be repaired, things progress, and Damon and Bone are faced with more than just her past to deal with. And the ending to this story is highly satisfying, but I will not say more.
What I will say, though, is that A Little Slice of Heaven is a fantastic tale, full of heartfelt bromance, sweet moments of love, and smoking hot steamy scenes. The characters are wonderfully fleshed-out despite the short word count, and the smut is healthy and wholesome, rough and tender all at once.
I definitely recommend this to any erotica/romance fans out there who like a bit of reverse harem in their lives!
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Catrin Russell, Author & Graphic Designer
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A Little Slice of Heaven is a phenomenal short but very hot read that combines badass heroes and a sexy woman starting a hot affair with tender and sweet caring, protectiveness and courage – not only on the men’s part. In fact, I was impressed by the strong will, the brave spirit and the morally sound personality of Roxy, the sexy innkeeper who will not let anything stand in the way any longer of fulfilling her dreams.
This is certainly a woman a man can easily fall in love with and that makes it so believable that our two Navy Seals do. The fact that she’s hot as hell and can cook up a storm certainly helps but it takes a lot more than being a “good wifey” to impress such men. Roxy is an intelligent woman who cares and feels deeply, has an unerring sense of justice and does the right thing, even if her life is in danger as a consequence.
I also loved the character development from starting out with careful flirtation and slowly growing into something more. The way Damon and Bone, the two Seals, are portrayed, as sometimes crude and naughty, yet at the same time, never overstepping the line and being mindful of Roxy’s feelings and convictions, as well as being prepared to give their lives to protect her, shows the best in what is a healthy masculine in my view, men who can lead, be themselves, and yet, are respectful and protective of those weaker than themselves.
The two men of honour are also very kind towards others and the way the trio work to bring together another couple is just totally sweet and truly the cherry on the whipped cream on the icing of that sexy cake! And the final scene in the bar is just… delicious! I love how Tirza Schaefer always manages to combine exorbitant levels of steam with sweetness and mutual respect. In her writing, deep feelings are as present in the steamy scenes as sexual tension is in the most loving moments. I find this to be a very special trait I have not really come across in the writings of many authors which makes it all the more special to me with this one.
This book might not be the biggest diamond in Schaefer’s collection but it is an almost flawless one. So get it and read it yourself. You won’t regret it, I promise.
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Tuari Eagleswing, Reader
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A Fun, Steamy & Exciting Read!
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This book is a fun, steamy and exciting read. I love a bit of action, both in a romantic sense, as well as otherwise. So for me, this book has it all. And the characters are downright loveable. The Seals, Damon and Bone, made me smile more than once, and the interaction with Roxy is so sweet. They give her all the space she needs (without lacking steam) she needs to come to terms with her heart's desire that really doesn't match her pre-conceived ideal of what "true love" is all about. I so enjoyed this book and it wasn't because of my tea that my temperature went up by several degrees.
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I also enjoyed the supporting characters and their interaction with the MCs and with each other. Each had a very distinct personality (including the evil villains, both mentioned and actually appearing), which is also true for the MCs, so I got totally invested in them and the story, practically leaping off the pages and seeing it all unfold in my mind's eye.
Absolutely loved this little gem and recommend it highly to anyone who is in search of a quick, steamy, yet romantic read with some action, some laughs, some angst and a lot of love!
Sekhmet, Reader
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Sexy and sweet as chocolate cake!
I love Tirza’s books because they are like a warm hug on a cold day, the literary equivalent of cashmere in winter, or a summer afternoon in a shady hammock. Nothing really bad ever happens. There are serious issues to be dealt with by some of her characters, but the men are wonderful, supportive and understanding, and the women independent and strong yet not averse to some rough (but ALWAYS consensual) handling. The author has hit upon a magic formula yet each book is different. Like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, one never really knows what you’re going to get. The three main ingredients are always there though: strong women, hot, tough-as-nuts men, and lush romance.
This novel is a great example of a true storyteller at work. Roxy doesn’t need Damon and Bone. She is determined to deal with her problems herself but she is very happy when they show up. Not expecting their appearance to change her life forever, she is happy to help them after some mechanical issues. Over good food and wine, they all discover a mutual respect, lust and understanding which leads to love.
Insta-love haters, leave now. Polyam romance deniers, there’s the door. Cynics? Why are you even reading this? There is no MM romance in this story, but Damon and Bone have a bromance going on which is lovely to read, created by years as Navy SEALs and having to trust each other. The way they confess their love for Roxy is adorable. These two toughies are as soft as marshmallows inside and not ashamed to admit it. Fighting off evil men with their sights set on Roxy, or willingly tasting the delectable treats Roxy has for them, both food and body-wise, these two men know how to take care of business. Roxy is a lucky woman indeed.
Finally, Damon and Bone; surely the best names ever for soldier romance heroes. Just saying…
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Jayne Lockwood, Author
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Hot romance and hot sex instantly develops between two men and one woman. The two men are also navy seals who must fight dangerous thugs to protect the woman they now love and share between them. Interesting story, hot sex. A fun read.​
Monica, Reader
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A Little Slice of Heaven!?
Who doesn’t wish for it during the time we spend here on earth? A place to be at peace, loved, safe. A place to call home, to come back to after being away.
No wonder that’s what best buddies and ex-Navy Seals Bone and Damon are looking for, after one of them had been severely wounded, then honourably discharged from service. Closer than brothers, these two men had shared everything while deployed. Now, they embark on a motorcycle road trip to find themselves and their happiness.
Is a flat tyre the sign of fate they’ve been waiting for, especially if it leads them to the doorstep of a damsel in distress, who can cook like a goddess?
But will the two knights in shining armour be able to prevail against the dark, hidden secret they’re forced to face? Will fighting once again be the only option, and will it assure their HEA, or will all their hopes and dreams crumble to dust beneath the unknown enemy’s feet?
I really enjoyed reading this sweet novella. Well deserved five shining hearts!
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Janina, Reader
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