In her eagerly anticipated new collection, Ochsner deftly examines the harrowing moments after a life or love slips away and discovers that the human heart can be large enough for anything.A Russian couple come to accept their infertility by bidding farewell tot he ghosts of the children they never had. A disgruntled husband buys a talking bird that he hopes will restore love to his marriage. Twin sisters learn to prepare bodies for burial in their Hungarian parents' funeral home, but when faced with a death of their own, they must learn to prepare the soul. Glowing with warmth and sparkling with imagination, these stories are rendered with a deep understanding of human resilience as well as an unerring belief in small, daily miracles.

    These stories hold the readers enthrall from the opening sentence itself, bringing the various characters to life in vivid detail.

    

    The only obstacle is her attraction to the woman she has vowed to destroy.Young Cate Canton dreams of becoming a designer and running Seraphim, the Boston fashion house her late mother started. Born into a loving family, and with everything to live for, she loses it all when misfortune and tragedy strike. In the aftermath of betrayal, Cate vows to reclaim her destiny. Fueled by revenge, she becomes a ruthless businesswoman with her own successful fashion empire, plotting to one day take over her mother’s business by any means necessary.But one person stands in her way—Dita Newton, the beautiful, gifted designer who now runs Seraphim. Cate will need to crush her lifelong adversary to succeed, but Dita strikes back in the most unexpected way—by stirring Cate’s fragile, hidden heart. A contemporary high-stakes drama between two driven, passionate women.

    She is stunned when she sees Mary in the lesbian leather bar known for sexual promiscuity.Mary gets cornered by three predatory women in the bar and Jackie comes to her rescue, which leads to an erotic encounter between the two of them.Mary and Jackie try to ignore each other after the encounter but their attraction to each other is too strong. As their sexual relationship starts becoming romantic, will the two women be able to conquer their fears to have something more.

    

    

    Soul mates from preschool, Dana Ryan and Keri Flemons are separated by tragedy when they are eight years old. Twenty years later, fate throws them together again. Dana is a retired pro-soccer player and a rookie sports photographer, and Keri has reluctantly assumed control of a professional football team after her father's untimely death. When Keri offers Dana a position as a photographer for a team project, an opportunity that would make her career, Dana is faced with the challenge of working with the woman whom she holds personally responsible for most of the heartbreak in her life. Despite their rocky history, as time passes their attraction grows—until the past resurfaces to threaten the shape of their future.

    Includes:"Michael's Little Sister" / C. S. Adler"Dancing Backwards" / Marion Dane Bauer"Winnie and Tommy" / Francesca Lia Block"Am I Blue" / Bruce Coville"Parents Night" / Nancy Garden"Three Mondays in July" / James Cross Giblin"Running" / Ellen Howard"We Might as Well Be Strangers" / M. E. Kerr"Hands" / Jonathan London"Holding" / Lois Lowry"The Honorary Shepherds" / Gregory Maguire"Supper" / Lesléa Newman"50% Chance of Lightning" / Cristina Salat"In the Tunnels" / William Sleator"Slipping Away" / Jacqueline Woodson"Blood Sister" / Jane Yolen

    Whether he's dropping into the lives of two teachers―and their love lost and found―in "Nine Inches", documenting the unraveling of a dad at a Little League game in "The Smile on Happy Chang's Face", or gently marking the points of connection between an old woman and a benched high school football player in "Senior Season", Perrotta writes with a sure sense of his characters and their secret longings.Nine Inches contains an elegant collection of short fiction: stories that are as assured in their depictions of characters young and old, established and unsure, as any written today.

    Offers a selecttion of the master of human comedy's short stories from the 1930s and 1940s.

    A beautiful California beach house. The love of her life. But her world crumbled beneath her feet the moment she found her best friend in bed with her fiancé.Desperate to escape her harsh new realities, Katlynn flees to her Massachusetts hometown of Wellesley, to spend Christmas at her sister's cottage. Finding a new love was the last thing on her agenda, but when Katlynn reconnects with an old friend, everything she thought she knew about herself and her future is called into question.Iris' life changed the minute her mother got sick. With her quiet, cozy world in Wellesley suddenly turned upside-down, there's no room for more complications -- especially not the resurgence of a college crush she thought she'd put out of her mind long ago. But when she finds herself spending the holidays next door to her old classmate Katlynn, Iris can't ignore the chemistry between them.As the two women navigate their separate heartaches, will they crack under the pressures of life around them? Or can their new bond save them both? A steamy contemporary lesbian romance novella with a satisfying HEA ending you’ll love!

    Rosie is woken a few short hours later, at 1am, and taken to the maternity unit by police escort to collect the infant and take her to a place of safety.But it soon becomes clear that Sarah is suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms. Knowing that separation is inevitable, Rosie tries to maintain a professional distance but that’s easier said than done.

     Colorado, 1992. Tegan entered her freshman year of college with an open mind. But when an innocent roommate back rub turns into her first girl-on-girl make-out session, she isn’t sure if she’s ready for the world to know she’s attracted to women. After a chance encounter with a hunky male classmate, Tegan’s brain swims with the bisexual possibilities. Gemma knows who she is, but she doesn’t expect Tegan to shout from the rooftops about their new relationship status. With the prying eyes of friends and jealous rivals, however, secrets may not stay hidden for long. Girl Love Happens: Season One is a boxed set of the first six episodes of a lesbian romance series infused with 1990s’ nostalgia. And, the boxed set contains bonus scenes you won’t find in the individual episodes. If you like tumultuous love stories, simmering chemistry, and colorful casts of characters, then you’ll love T.B. Markinson’s smart, sexy series. Buy Girl Love Happens to start the captivating romance series today!

    She is used to calling the shots in her London life but a move to Scotland changes everything.When she meets a beautiful, younger woman, Libby, who sees the world quite differently, her life is turned on its head. Everybody loves Libby but will she be able to win Brogan's heart?A slow-burn, romantic tale of new beginnings, hope and family.Please also note that this book contains some hot and steamy sex scenes and a little angst. You have been warned.This novel was first published under the title of Reclamation in July 2020. First Comes Love is the edited and extended republished novel of the original work.