Laurel Hoffman, an associate professor of women's studies in Berkeley, struggles to stay on track for tenure while caught up in the last throes of a crumbling relationship with a senior colleague. When she hears of a hotel being renovated and a secret room full of papers about women who once stayed there, she knows she has a potential career-saving article. Stefanie Beresford, the hotel owner, is not exactly receptive when Laurel approaches her about researching the hotel’s history, but that doesn't stop her from flirting with the alluring academic. She doesn't need the distraction, but for the first time in her life she wants to take a chance on more than a fleeting encounter. While Laurel can't deny her powerful feelings for Stefanie, she fears she's risking her heart as well as her future if she acts on her desires. But can a simple encounter between two rational adults really be all that dangerous?

    Can she let go of her reckless ways long enough to conform? After all, she is a Wiley and with that name comes a legacy. Cassidy Harland is a little surprised that she came within an inch of picking up a gorgeous stranger in a bar while on vacation, but weeks later when she runs into that stranger again she is shocked to find out she’s the new head of the company.

    Cajoled into accepting an invitation for a seven-day cruise to celebrate her ten-year high school reunion, she comes face-to-face with her past when the woman of her dreams haunts her days on the warm seas, even as she struggles to keep a secret that tears at her heart.Sierra Connor works for the travel agency responsible for booking her high school reunion cruise. She doesn’t want to attend the reunion in the first place because one woman will be there—the one who always made her feel whole but then disappeared and left Sierra’s heart and soul crushed without so much as a word. She knows love is for people who can trust, and she’s not one of those people.It was only one touch, ten years ago. Forced together once more, will the memory of that one touch ignite a new future? Or will their old hurts quench the flame?

    But she does just that. The urban comforts of New York quickly seem light years away when her journey is hampered by cars that won’t start, locks that won’t turn and a strange dog that has decided that Libby would be the perfect owner.Quinn Barnett is in no mood for damsels in distress. Her reasons for partaking of New England’s fall colors are deeply personal and painful. She’s promised to do one thing on this trip, and falling in love isn’t it. Once her mission is accomplished she’s moving on—if only she can start some cars, unlock some doors and get that bothersome stray to leave her alone. The golden shores of a beautiful New England lake and the glory of October’s sunsets should create the perfect stage for falling in love, unless two stubborn women decide to keep the wrong promises.Bella Books proudly presents this refreshing, new voice in lesbian romance! Marianne Garver’s charming first novel features an unforgettable Cupid in a setting readers will wish they could find on a map. Editor: Katherine V. ForrestCover Designer: Linda CallaghanGenre: RomanceWinner, Golden Crown Literary Award.

    Doesn’t it?After a devastating professional embarrassment, Cory Lance has been banished from the courtroom. As part of her penance, she volunteers with an organization that works to free the wrongly convicted, and soon she’s saddled with a case certain to set her up for another big defeat. To top it off, she’s battling a strong attraction to her client’s sister, a woman with unreasonable expectations.Serena Washington has learned to compartmentalize the negative pieces of her past, except for one—her brother, Eric, who is on death row for a murder he insists he didn’t commit. Loyalty drives her to enlist help from an organization with a reputation for unparalleled success, but Serena’s optimism is shaken when she learns the attorney assigned to the case has a reputation for cutting corners. Her whole world is shaken when she begins to fall in love with her.

    Blue-collar boi Joey Lang is too insecure to even approach her—that is until her well-meaning but meddling best friend Lisa decides to break the ice and makes Joey a life-coaching appointment with Elaine. A session meant to bring clarity only leaves them both feeling more confused about their purpose in life and love.Will Joey be able to find the strength to chase the woman of her dreams, and even if she does, will Elaine be willing to risk the life she loves for the woman who could be the love of her life?

    The last thing she expects is to find her team being led deep into the mist-shrouded jungle by a woman who has spent the past fifteen years working as a mercenary soldier and interpreter for shady characters in Indonesia and East Timor. To make matters worse, Ash Evans proceeds to hit on her five minutes after they meet. Although friends accuse Charlotte of being uptight, she simply has standards, and they don't include hooking up with brazen flirts like Ash. She can't wait until the helicopter returns to take the distracting and far too sexy guide out of her sight.But things aren't going her way. Torrential rains wash half the camp into a ravine, and when one of the scientists goes missing, the team is forced away from the helicopter rendezvous location on a journey deep into the unknown. Compelled to share a tent with her nemesis, Charlotte soon finds her determined reserve no match for the feelings Ash ignites.

    With a best-selling memoir, a blockbuster movie about her heroic efforts to save three other climbers, and a successful career on the motivational speaking circuit, Danica has convinced herself that her life can be full without love. When Chase Crosley walks into Danica's field of vision everything changes. Danica is suddenly faced with questions she's never pondered. Is there really one love that transcends all concepts of space and time? One great love that joins two hearts so that they beat as one? One moment of recognition when twin flames join and burn together? Will Danica and Chase be able to overcome the barriers standing between them and find forever? And can that love be sustained, even in the face of cruel circumstances and fate?

    She just wants to be in love. Sound simple? Well, there's a catch. She wants to be deeply in love with someone who is also deeply in love with her. Jenny must face the past and the present when she discovers her lover's infidelity and her first love walks back into her life. Her life becomes even more complicated when old feelings surface for her first love -- the woman who broke her heart as a teenager, then entered the church and became "Sister Rachel". In her third published book, Mavis Applewater brings to the printed page a perfect combination of heat and romance, with just the right amount of adventure.

    At a party hosted by her best friends, she meets Alexandra, slightly older, beautiful, and athletic in a way Nicole could never be.Sparks fly, but their differences, coupled with the stress of meeting the family, drives the two apart. But the stubborn Alex isn't ready to give up, in spite of Nikki's fears.

    Young Cash Tate takes the job—a summer break from the city and her girlfriend troubles. Cash is irritated by and enamored of this self-sufficient rancher woman who refuses to treat her as an equal, and she vows to earn her respect. While Cash struggles to win a place in Maggie’s heart, Maggie fights her unwelcome desire to take Cash into her arms. Not one to give in to forces of nature, particularly when they’re female and fifteen years her junior, Maggie is determined to suppress her feelings. But one soft summer night, with the prairie breezes swirling over her skin like the breath of an impatient lover, Maggie Tanner has to decide whether to deny her yearnings or ride the wind.

    Her co-workers are surprised when Coal turns out to be female. Coal, used to the reaction, quickly earns the respect of the crew with her work ethic and skill with horses. Coal uses the strenuous work and friendship of the ranch hands to try and forget her broken past. Melissa Conway, owner of MC2, offers Coal a place to live in her home. They both are shocked to find they are linked in a way neither of them imagined. Mary Leah, Melissa’s sister, arrives at the ranch to recover from a recent tragedy. The attraction between Mary Leah and Coal is instant and mutual. Can the three women survive their personal dilemmas? The love and friendship they develop certainly helps but will it be enough to bring them together. Ride along with the MC2, for boot scootin’, butt kickin’, dirt eatin’, rodeo adventures, with a love story thrown into the mix.

    Lake, winner of the Ann Bannon AwardKennie McClain is a security guard who, unbeknownst to her tenants, owns the Allen Arms where she works. She’s still recovering from the loss of her partner three years earlier and has moved from upstate New York to Portland to escape the tragedy. In her off hours, she rehabs apartments and nurses a broken heart.Lily Gordon, a nationally-acclaimed painter, lives in the Allen Arms penthouse. She’s beautiful and accomplished – and haunted after her lover ditches her. Sparks fly in a big way when Kennie and Lily finally connect . . . but then in one shattering moment, Lily betrays her, and Kennie’s world comes crashing down, leaving her untrusting and in deep emotional pain. Can Kennie ever rise above these losses and risk her heart again?

    When a meeting with her birth parents goes horribly wrong, Julia escapes on a hastily planned road trip and winds up breaking down in a Colorado town so small the cows outnumber the people. Completely out of her element, she takes a temporary job as a ranch hand at Bennett Ranch. She only has to survive long enough to get her car fixed, and then she’s out of there for good. Her bad luck continues when she meets the ranch owner, Elena Bennett. Elena is unhappy, abrasive, and annoyingly breathtaking. But the longer Julia stays, the more the ranch starts to feel like home, and her feelings for Elena become impossible to ignore. She’s spent years building her defenses high and running from her past. Could a love worth staying for be the key to breaking down her walls?Genre: RomanceWords: 78,000

    So, she figures trying a love spell her grandmother left her won’t hurt. Worst case: her life will stay the same. Best case: her fellow second-grade teacher James Friedlander will fall in love with her, and they’ll live happily ever after.Except…oops!Ava accidentally places the spell on her principal, Libby Lubbock. Libby is wrestling with her own issues in the love department, namely the fact that she’s deciding whether to give her ex a second chance after the ex cheated. Libby is beginning to think she’s the type who is better off single.The spell can be undone, but it requires Ava and Libby getting to know each other better. Lots better. Libby agrees to the undo because no way does she want to fall in love with Ava if she can help it. However, perhaps the last paragraph in a letter Ava's grandmother wrote is right: “Why all these crazy steps? My great-great grandmother, the witch, strongly believed that things happen for a reason. This time with the ‘wrong person’ will help determine if the wrong person might be the right person, after all.”Can Libby and Ava cast a love spell that has nothing to do with abracadabra magic and everything to do with the magic of true love?*** This novella is 24,000 words.