At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. But let’s get real. Walking the fake-it-til-you-make-it road to independence and self-respect isn’t easy. Especially since my mom’s a deadbeat alcoholic, and most of my family expects me to turn out just as worthless. Oh, and I’m close to losing my college swimming scholarship, so let’s add “dropout” to the list.My BFF has invited me to stay at her beach house on the shore of Lake Michigan. That’ll give me one summer to make money and figure out what I want to do with my life. So of course I decide to have an affair with my BFF’s married, closeted dad. Because that always works out.Now I’m homeless, friendless, jobless. Worthless. Just like my family expects, right? Except there’s this great guy, Jace, who sees it differently. He’s got it all together in ways I can only dream of—he’s hot, creative, insightful, understanding. He seems to think I don’t give myself enough credit. And if I don’t watch out, I may start to believe him.

    Trinity also never expected his body to react or his heart to race when the young man momentarily regained consciousness and stared up with beautiful dove gray eyes.As Brennan Demarcus lay on the ground preparing to die a beautiful blond-haired angel appeared and looked down on him with concerned ice blue eyes. His body shuttered involuntarily as he closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered thinking was that maybe dying wouldn’t be so bad as long as he could fly around the heavens with someone as lovely as the angel that had appeared to take him to meet his maker.

    An amazing life, a nice house he shares with Tyson, his boyfriend of eight years. Urban learns the hard way that life is full of unexpected surprises and people aren’t always as happy as he thinks. Unexpectedly single and heartbroken, Urban knows he can only take it one day at a time. A daunting endeavor while he still shares a house with the man responsible for shattering his heart.Before Urban can even begin grieving, let alone moving on, Tyson makes a shocking revelation that spins his world around for an extra loop. Can this new surprise show Urban that life isn’t about endings but about making memories and sharing limitless new beginnings?

    A lifetime of insecurity leads him down dark paths. His childhood friend, Cole Fujiwara, a former major league pitcher, embodies all of Sloan’s hidden aspirations. Cole is physically fit, attractive, intelligent, and successful. Seemingly perfect. When Sloan shows up on Cole’s NYC doorstep needing a place to stay, their reunion is anything but simple. Sloan has always been drawn to Cole, but now, even though there’s a girlfriend on the periphery, the attraction seems mutual. One night, inhibitions slip away. But both men are hiding a multitude of secrets. Salvation could be found within each other’s arms. But only if they let it. Cutting Cords is the first book in the Cutting Cords Series previously published by Dreamspinner Press. This series must be read in order. HEA guaranteed at series end. Content Warning: contains body image issues, drug use and cutting.

    Imagine his surprise when Eva turns out to be Evan -- tall, lean, too attractive and completely in mourning Evan Monroe.Evan's expecting a quick visit from his lover's uncaring nephew, but when Gray shows up at his door he finds much more than that. Between the instant attraction and an ill-advised, Margarita-fueled kiss, Evan isn't sure what to make of the Montana rancher, especially with Bill so recently and suddenly gone. With emotions running high and interfering friends and family sticking their noses into things, can the two men find a way to accept life's lemons and make lemonade?

    Unable to trust his own temper, he leaves Cory although it breaks both of their hearts. Even if Cory can forgive him, Tristan can never forgive himself. Cory is determined to prove that Tristan has nothing to fear and that, together, they can find a way to put the past behind them. Then an old guilt of his own arises to weaken his resolve.Somehow in this morass of jealousy, remorse and grief, Sam must find a way to reunite the couple he inadvertently tore apart. But the ghosts of Tristan's difficult childhood threaten to keep them separated despite Sam's best efforts. Now Sam must be more than a friend to the two if he is going to bring them back together. He'll do whatever is necessary, and if his plan happens to lead to a bit of fun for all three of them… surely no one can blame him for enjoying it just a little.But if Sam succeeds, will it mean the end of his own chance for happiness?Word Count: 68,409

    Guilt for walking away unscathed...and for secretly loving Simon's partner, Wade. Unable to bear the pain, Dylan left the Lazy G ranch to rebuild his life elsewhere.A year later he reluctantly responds to his sister's plea to come home, where he finds the Lazy G falling apart. And so is Wade. Wade has stopped caring about the ranch, about everything that should matter most to him.Though there's more ranch work than one man can possibly handle, Dylan throws himself into the task. Wondering how he's going to find the strength to pull Wade out of the fog of grief when his own is still as raw as a fresh wound. Wondering when Wade will finally see that his second chance for happiness is standing right in front of him.

    An ex-cop, he buried his heart years ago. Ben works the same streets, selling himself to pay for college. The victim of a horrible crime, he decided to Just. Not. Care.When their chance meeting leads to an unlikely attraction, will the ghosts that haunt them bring them closer, or separate them forever?Caution: This is the first in a three part series, and you WILL want to come back for part 2. Hot men WILL have sex, and I can guarantee hot angst in my stories.

    I was told not to send you another text, but I never was any good at listening. I love and miss you. I always will.When I lost my partner of eight years, I felt like my world was crashing down around me. In order to feel some relief from the overwhelming emptiness, I’ve found myself sending him texts every year on his birthday, even though I know he will never answer. It makes me feel like there’s a piece of him still alive, at least in my heart.I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number. I apologize for not responding sooner, but I was at work.That is, until someone responds to my text. Jace is charming, sweet, and everything I could ever want. But how can I accept someone new in my life when Daniel’s only been gone two years? Even so, Jace starts to consume my world. It feels like I can finally breathe as he helps me understand that my life doesn’t have to revolve around my grief.Soon, I find myself laughing again as he pulls me away from the hopeless cycle I’ve been caught in, and I love spending time with him, whether it’s playing video games together or discussing our comic book alter egos. But I still need to let go of this guilt and allow Jace to show me that I can love another without replacing what I’ve lost. Jace rewrites my entire world with every word and smile he gives me, and it’s becoming harder to not give in and hand him my heart. Maybe Daniel did respond after all.The Last Text is a 37k word novella about overcoming loss, finding hope, and friendship that leads to new love.

    A year later when his best friend, Liam Robertson, takes a job in New York City, the last thing he expects is to be asked to go, too. Mateo’s decision to remain in Halifax and, consequently, his rejection of Liam’s declaration of love, shatters their friendship. Broken and angry, Mateo tries to redefine family and friendship in the face of these two overwhelming losses. Years pass and, as the novel opens, Mateo has come of age. He’s twenty-nine and a rock star on the literary scene. He is, for the most part, living a happy life, surrounded by the people who matter to him most — Simon Denault, his partner of five years; Melinda Borden-Grey, his feisty older sister; Zane Grey, Melinda’s even-tempered husband; and his precocious nephew, Xavier. Until a call in the middle of the night puts Mateo on a collision course with his past, and leads to two life-altering reunions — one with his dying father, Peter; the other with Liam, who has quietly returned home. Unfolding over seven arduous days, The Flowers Need Watering is a story of one man’s struggle to understand the meaning of family — a penetrating meditation on loss, truth and betrayal, and, ultimately, the redemptive value of forgiveness.

    Tammy and Jamie are soul mates, but their love is thwarted for years by bad timing, fear of ridicule, and the damage that lingers long after childhood.

    When he is rescued at last from the Venezuelan jungle, he is physically and psychologically shattered, but he slowly begins to rebuild the life he should have had before an innocent kiss sent him into hell. His childhood best friend David has lived those years with overwhelming guilt and grief. Every relationship David has tried has fallen apart because of his feelings for a boy he thought dead. When Zach is rescued, David is overjoyed--and then crushed when Zach shuts him out. Two years later, David returns home, and he and Zach must come to terms with the rift between them, what they feel for each other, and what their future could hold. But Zach has secrets, and one of them might well destroy their fragile love.

    No, he says, and hotfoots it across the lawns of the family estate. KT isn't his own worst enemy anymore; there's a new candidate for the title. Suddenly, Kendall's on the lam, trying to outrun a murder rap. Helping -- by locking KT naked in their motel room -- is his cousin Turn. KT has some issues: he manages to censor himself only when he lies, he's been in love with cousin Turn since forever, and he really would rather kill himself than get more rest at another clinic.

    When everything becomes too much he is taken home to hide, back to the small Irish town he grew up in and to the home he once shared with Rory.Rory Kendrick watches the news, sees every hour of the disaster unfold and somehow just knows that Lachlan was in the middle of it all. What he doesn’t know is that Lachlan will be forced to come back home to hide and to heal. Lachlan needs a friend, not a lover, but sometimes the lines are just too blurred to make any sense.

    And definitely no falling for his new roommate-tattooed bad-boy Max, who may or may not be a drug dealer.Most of all, it means no working at a porn store. But Christian's aunt has cancer, and her beloved Rear Entrance Video will go bankrupt if Christian doesn't take over managerial duties. Soon enough, Christian finds himself juggling sticky twenty-five cent peep show booths, a blackmailing employee, and a demanding professor who likes to make an example of him.And then there's Max, who doesn't know anything about the store, but hates Christian's preppy sweater vests and the closet Christian forces him into when they're together. Max just wants Christian to be himself-even though Max is keeping secrets of his own. Christian struggles to find the impossible balance between his real life and the ideal one he thinks a teacher needs to live . . . all while trying to keep his aunt's dream alive without losing his own.