The Gigantic Inflatable Snowman. We thought that ‘Frosty’ would lead to our demise. That 20-foot monstrosity had me questioning our decision to move into this seemingly quiet neighborhood on a cul-de-sac. Was I ever wrong. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever made. This book is dedicated to the memories and life-changing events that took place during our stay on Altamont Court. The people, the traditions, the holidays and the celebrations of life and love are all captured within these pages. Take a journey with me and read about the mayhem and mishaps that come into play when you mix together a potpourri of characters that live within a stone’s throw of each other. Take an eco-friendly, high-strung type A neighbor, a demanding Italian Matriarch, men who are the embodiment of the words “More Power,” a troop of loving and mischievous kids and mix in two gay men who are hell-bent on making a home out of a charming half-million-dollar fixer upper and you have the residents of Altamont Court. My name is Trent and Ken is my partner. This is our journey and our way of giving thanks to those who shared it along the way. Whether you are a weekend warrior who can't wait to get his hands around the next "improvement project", a stiletto-wearing Texas woman who wields a gun in flawless makeup, or a queen from the city who eagerly awaits the next big sales event at Neiman Marcus - this memoir is for you. Pour a drink, sit back, relax and enjoy - and if you don't, then the words of a truly classy character and dear friend come to mind, "What the F&%$’s wrong with you?" Yes, it's that kind of party - bless our hearts.trentpines@gmail.comwww.trentpines.com

    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.

    Meet 'Bob the Book, ' a gay book for sale in a Greenwich Village bookstore, where he falls in love with another book, Moishe. But an unlikely customer separates the young lovers. As Bob wends his way through used book bins, paper bags, knapsacks, and lecture halls, hoping to be reunited with Moishe, he meets a variety of characters, both book and human, including Angela, a widowed copy of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, and two other separated lovers, Neil and Jerry, near victims of a book burning. Among their owners are Alfred and Duane, whose on-again, off-again relationship unites and separates our book friends. Will Bob find Moishe? Will Jerry and Neil be reunited? Will Alfred and Duane make it work? Read 'Bob the Book' to find all the answers...

    After Amos betrayed him, forced him out of Lucas’s life and ended his career, Brett vowed to never to never to speak with, much less help Amos, until the end of eternity. But Brett can’t deny his need to save Lucas, the one guy he’s never been able to get out of his system, even if it means working for Amos.The trail is cold, with Lucas missing for more than a month. The cops are clueless, unable to find even a hint that the young man was abducted instead of just wandering away. When Brett latches onto a trace of evidence, it looks like he’ll find Lucas, but the clue doesn’t pan out the way he thinks it should.Lucas can’t take the abuse any longer. He’s at the end of his chain, literally. If he could escape into the mountains, he would, but the sick bastard attached a manacle to his leg, exerting his control physically. Lucas is desperate to escape his captor; all hope has vanished, crushing his spirit. Lucas dreams of a savior, but Brett walked away a long time ago, and he’s the only man strong enough to save Lucas.

     Hawk has been blessed by the goddess Athena for more than a hundred and forty-four years to fight the evil that permeates the earth, the Keres female spirits death-army. When a new plague of victims arises, a flock of five Birds of Prey move to Atlanta to eradicate the enemy. Second in command, Hawk has seen his fair share of the enemy’s handiwork. What he doesn’t expect is to patrol one night and find a mortal fighting tooth and nail with one of his own enemies—the Keres’ army of Blood Demons. Aaron is just trying to get through college, he really is. But, try as he might, his grades are still slipping, so he has to spend late nights in the library instead of partying. After a late night walking home from the library, he finds himself attacked by a grim-faced man who tries to dig a hole into Aaron’s chest with wicked looking claws. When a gold-eyed sexy stranger comes to help him out, he doesn’t expect to get nabbed for seeing too much and end up in the middle of a war he didn’t ask to be invited to. But once he’s in and spends more time with gold eyes, does Aaron really want to go back to the way things were before?

    Grayson Taylor is convinced that a summer fling with the bartending cowboy is a quick remedy to mend his broken heart. Soon his plans to return to big city lights for a dream career don’t seem as attractive as the cowboy with dimples lying in his bed. When Grayson’s charred past reappears, can he learn that forgiveness costs less than pride and admit he is the one who needs to be healed?Cowboy Izaac Scott drove into town with little more than boots on his feet, a well-loved baseball cap on his head and a cross-country journey on his mind, but he’s not sightseeing. He’s running from the ghost of a first love. Will the doctor be the one to help Izaac realize that true love can heal the past or will the cruel spurs of life jab him in the heart again?This New Adult Contemporary Romance Novel twists and turns like a bull rider at the rodeo. Hold on for the ride!

    He has yet to become the literary voice of his generation. And he most definitely has not met Mr. Right. Now, stuck in a dead-end publishing job, and nursing a broken heart, Andrew is resigned to a life of anti-fabulousness...until the night he meets dark, hunky Frank DeBenedetto. With his confident way of taking care of things and his shy demeanor in the bedroom, Frank wins Andrew over. But problems arise when Frank turns out to be the son of the Maria's top boss, and he's engaged to Anna Franco -- daughter of "Crazy Tommy" Franco -- a woman who does not take to catching her fiance in the act of becoming a "made man."Suddenly, Andrew's once-boring life is heating up with enough action to fuel ten novels...if only he can keep his very cute butt intact and his man from ending up on a Most Wanted poster. From a couple of "sensitivity-trained" cops to a persistent FBI agent...from guys with nicknames that all have to do with pain to a Mafia princess whose hair is nearly as big as her mouth...from ex-lovers, drag queens, and suspicious doormen to a cast of other characters as zany as New York itself, "The Night We Met" is a frantic, nonstop, madcap romp through a wild romance no reader will be able to refuse.

    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.

    He thinks he’s too awkward to live, maybe a little too shy and, very much to his frustration, simply ‘all knees and elbows’. A walking disaster zone. Tripping up stairs or running into glass doors, that kinda thing. And he’s got the biggest crush on his roommate’s older brother, Tabby, who seems to be completely out of his league. Not only is Tabby beautiful, he’s also elegant and confident, kindhearted and sort of just ‘perfect’.Tabby knows what he wants out of life, always had, and much to his parents disappointment, he continues pursuing the things that make him happy instead of pleasing them. He lives by mottos such as:‘Choose kindness and laugh often’, and ‘Do small things with great love’.When a tragedy strikes, Tabby realizes that life is more fragile than he ever wanted to admit. While he knows what he wants, Tabby isn’t fearless. The thought of losing his newfound friendship with Harlie terrifies him, but imagining all the wonderful things he’s missing out on, if he keeps chickening out, is even more painful.Perhaps he could talk Harlie into a spontaneous road trip… See if he can overcome his fears?And if fate is kind enough, he might get a chance at something very, very special.* * * Dear Author,My roommate’s brother is visiting again and sleeping on our couch. I tiptoe around and pray I don’t run into anything or cause a clatter that would wake him. All knees and elbows, that’s me— while he’s all strength and grace. Looking at him, I can’t help my wistful sigh. He’s beautiful, but that’s not it. It’s his gentle smiles and kindness. Unlike everyone else, he doesn’t treat me like I’m one stumble away from being declared a walking disaster zone.Unfortunately, he also treats me like a kid brother. He ruffles my hair and calls me ‘kiddo’. I wish I wasn’t so awkward. I wish I was sexy so he’d want me the way I want him. I wish I was the one he dreamed about as he slept on the couch.Photo Description: The photograph shows a black-and-white close-up of the face of a pretty, young man. His eyes are closed, and he appears to be sleeping, content.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

    When her black-sheep grandson, Adam Prescott, turns up on the doorstep, Ben has to take in the stray human as well. Adam, hurting and betrayed by family, boyfriend and Fate, needs to have his faith in others restored, and Ben decides he is the one to do it.Having gone through an acrimonious split with his boyfriend, Adam has no home, no money, no job and nowhere to go, except his grandmother's house. The son of an abusive, violent father, there's a lot of anger and resentment in him, demons he must exorcise. When he learns an unpleasant truth about his father, Ben helps him come to terms with it, and to find a new direction for his life - together, Ben hopes. But then Adam's ex-boyfriend shows up, offering him the world on a platter if only Adam will come back to him.Christmas may not be a time of celebration for Ben.

    One phone call brings a handsome, witty volunteer to his side. Harley coaxes the dog out, but with a price: the awakening of persistent cravings Tynan’s fought to subdue. "Looks like there’s about six puppies on the way." In all his years with the animal rescue, Harley never knew meeting a cute guy could be a perk of his position. Tynan's snappy style and soft heart immediately intrigue him. As he struggles to figure out if Tynan's even into men, he realizes Diamond is pregnant - and that Tynan won't be able to foster her alone. "Living together is going to be an exercise in frustration." Harley's looking for a place to stay and Tynan has a room to spare, so they agree he'll move in and help take care of Diamond. But will Tynan come to accept that his feelings for Harley are more than respect? And when tragedy strikes, will their friendship be able to survive? Crushed is the first book of the Foster Puppies gay romance series. This 200-page novel is a light yet emotional read with lots of heat. It has a happily ever after ending and can be enjoyed as a standalone or as part of the collection.

    Caught selling dope on campus, he got a twelve year prison sentence and with good behavior, would get it cut to six. He’d kept his nose clean, and kept to himself, avoiding conflict and trouble.Corrections Officer Mike McClintock, the newbie at the prison, fresh out of the academy, finds himself inside a state penitentiary, caught up in the gossip, battles and claustrophobia of being locked inside a level two California state prison.When the two men meet inside, both Jesse and Mike feel the heat of attraction, but Jesse doesn’t want to jeopardize his release time, nor anger other inmates jealous. And Mike could risk his job, and his life, if he acts on his desire to be with Jesse.Can two men from opposite sides of the law find love in the most unlikely of places?They’re both in for a wild time. And as for Jesse James, he was Born to be Wilde.

    He tries his best to hide it, but there's only so much a guy can do. God help him if Hansen finds out about his jealousy.A fluffy short story following the events of Equilibrium.Warnings:1. Minor spoilers for Equilibrium, particularly in the area of the HEA or not question. But the story stands alone, if you prefer to start with this as a sampler. Go for it!2. This story contains superpowers, uncomfortable emotions, NC-17 m/m sex practices, and vegan cookies. It is not for children, vegan haters, or witch hunters.

    For Brandon going home isn't easy, but in order to move forward with his life with Zach, he needs to pay a visit to his first love, Avery.

    Now with a pending divorce, recently promoted Matt's life is about to take an entirely new direction.Matt's first case as detective turns out to be a challenge. Desperation sets in when all leads in the child serial killer case leave the police department empty handed. Paul Whittington, psychic and medium, may be the only solution in finding a break in the case. Matt and Paul are forced to work together. But when a work relationship turns into something more, it challenges everything Matt's known about himself, his life, and desires. Then, a turn in the case could put everything at risk.In the end, can Paul win over Matt's resistance and claim him as his own?