He’s on the corporate fast track as an executive problem solver, yet he can’t help feeling hollow. Yearning for a life spent outdoors makes no sense if he wants to flourish in this city, nor does losing his cool with clients when they make bad decisions. Only leaving the East Coast behind for three months can save his business reputation. His exile in Seattle has unexpected upsides. Jon’s rented home has a garden where his true passions blossom. It’s overgrown yet idyllic—perfect if he didn’t have to share it with another tenant. Tyler might be as cute as hell, and their landlady adores him, but Jon can’t let himself fall for someone who seems lazy. Three months could be enough time to see Tyler clearly, but choosing which to nurture long-term—love or a business career—might take Jon longer than one summer.

    They share a gorgeous house in Antwerp, go out with their friends every weekend, and count down the days to their dream wedding. But their happy ending is shattered one late night, and just like that, Ollie is left bereft and alone.The months that follow are long and dark, but slowly Ollie emerges from his grief. He even braves the waters of online dating, though deep down he doesn’t believe he can find that connection again. He doesn’t think to look for love right in front of him: his bisexual friend Thomas, the gentle giant with a kind heart and sad eyes who’s wanted him all along.When Thomas suddenly discovers he has a son who needs him, he’s ill prepared. Ollie opens up his house—Sam’s house—and lets them in. Ollie doesn’t know what scares him more: the responsibility of caring for a baby, or the way Thomas is steadily winning his heart. It will take all the courage he has to discover whether or not fairy tales can happen for real.

    However being a nerd can have its downsides, particularly when you're constantly being targeted by the school bully Taylor Raven and his cronies. As Scotty tries to navigate his final college years with the aid of his best friend Olive, he also finds himself on the radar of the mysterious and intimidating Vincent Hunter, toughest guy in the Sixth Form. Is Vincent really as bad as he seems? Will Scotty's darkest secret ever be revealed? Can he ever just finish his last few college years in peace? But most importantly... will any guy ever find the reasons to love a nerd like him?

    And in the natural order of the universe, he should not be losing to dorks. Losing is a thing Japanese pop star Ryuu Shiwasuda does not do – certainly not gracefully. Image is everything to hot-headed Ryuu. Sure, his macho bluster is only a cover for shyness and social awkwardness, but he takes it (and himself) very seriously. So when gratingly cheerful punster Hiro Takahashi delivers the ultimate insult of letting Ryuu win at a video game, Ryuu is cut to the quick, and vows swift vengeance. Can’t be too hard to beat a dork like Hiro, right? Wrong. As Ryuu chases after his elusive victory, he’s forced to add more and more items to the list of “things to beat Hiro at” – and is shocked to find that Hiro’s quirky charm is sparking never-before felt desires in him. Ryuu’s life and career have no place for a male lover. But he’s already in too deep. Can he risk going all in? And what does he stand to lose if he doesn’t? Length of Volume I: 55,000 words Six easy steps. Three volumes. Don’t miss the other books in the series! Volume I: Step One: Tetris Step Two: Fun and Games Volume II: Step Three: Innocence Step Four: Perspective Volume III: Step Five: Love Step Six: All the Rest

    An irresponsible brother. A protective friend. An anonymous lover. An assassin, nicknamed the Mako Shark after the sheer violence of his hits. Miko is deadly. And damaged.Miko is in love.Excerpt: The server shifted his weight, nervously asking, “Is everything all right, sir?” when it was very much apparent that everything was not all right.Miko stared unblinkingly at his dinner, seeing dead gray flesh floating in a plate of blood where there was only filet mignon with a side of steamed vegetables. He was trembling, his face pale and glistening with sweat. “I am a vegetarian,” he said quietly, finally turning away from his plate.“But…you ordered it. Rare, sir. Extra rare.”Gripping the steak knife in his shaking hand, Miko managed to stammer, “On a separate plate.”“Yes. I’m…I’m sorry, sir. You are correct. It’s my mistake. I’ll bring you—”“No. Please, the check. The check.”“Of course.” He departed with a bow.Miko released the knife and draped his napkin over the plate, his stomach turning. The napkin remained bleached white, failing to soak up the inches of gore that were not actually there. He loosened his tie, then pushed the plate away and slowly brought his hand into his coat pocket where he kept his nine millimeter. And his sanity.The waiter arrived with the check just as Miko slipped a little red candy between his lips, closing his eyes and pressing it against the roof of his mouth with his tongue. Spicy, sugared relief flooded his senses and he sighed languidly. “Thank you,” he said. His English was not particularly clear even without having his mouth full, but Miko did not care whether the waiter understood him. Or if he understood what his error could have cost them both.

    Maybe there’s something—or someone, missing. But dating is hard enough for vanilla people. Emile doesn’t just have to find someone he wants to date—he has to find someone he wants to kneel for.Jay likes playing soccer, reading poetry, and handsome men in tweed vests. Men like Emile, who Jay can’t forget after they connected on a rainy July night. Their encounter awoke a powerful urge in Jay to take, command, and control that has haunted him ever since. Jay had hoped that starting college would distract him, but that hope died when he showed up for the first day of his literature class and discovered Emile was his professor.When Emile tells Jay they can’t be together, Jay is still determined to figure out a way for the two of them to explore what they share. And Emile craves Jay’s gentle dominance too much to resist him. Jaywalking includes an age gap, a professor-student relationship, BDSM, a very polite dog, explicit sex, and a happy ending.

    They might make a connection if they can get past their differences—and their fears.At age fourteen, James Maron decided to prove he wasn’t gay despite vast evidence to the contrary. Now at thirty-two, he’s getting ready to send his son to college and wondering what he’s supposed to do next. Outside his son, his life consists of an IT job he hates and watching telenovelas with the women in his apartment building. Gabriel Juarez is the CFO of a technology giant. He has looks, charm, fantastic wealth, a workaholic personality, and a string of boyfriends who only stick around because he’s too busy to tell them to leave. A bad laptop/projector interface causes James and Gabe’s paths to cross. Friends, family, and coworkers jump to match Gabe with a nice guy, and James with anyone. But are they too different? Everyone will have to tread very carefully to keep things from ending before they start.

    Marigold Shelley is filthy rich, and her newly found grandson, Isaac Shelley, is poised to inherit her huge estate, complete with a priceless wine collection. Cary concocts a plan to con both of them into selling the crown jewel of that collection to him at a bargain price. Since Isaac is young, single, and gay, part of Cary’s scheme to get close to the Shelleys includes seduction. But Isaac isn’t the sheep he appears to be. He isn't even the grandson he appears to be. Isaac is, in fact, running quite the con of his own. These two masters of the confidence game are pitted against each other, and both are after the ultimate prize—a chunk of the huge Shelley fortune. It’s only when a third cunning player comes in and is ready to outwit them both that they must band together and beat their opponent or see all they’ve worked for slip from their grasp one ruby-red drop at a time.

    "Kevin Fraser has a good life-a good job, good friends and a nursing degree within his grasp. There's not a lot of excitement to be found in Asheville, but so what? He doesn't need excitement. Or love, for that matter. Until a big man with an Elvis fixation and the voice to match shows up in his ER and changes his point of view.A diabetes diagnosis isn't the end of the world, just one more problem Owen Hicks doesn't need. It hasn't been easy finding his place in the Cherokee tribe, his family and the world at large since he came out. On top of that, learning to manage the disease that killed his mother is a daunting challenge. He counts himself lucky that the nursing student he befriended in the hospital is willing and able to help.As their fast friendship deepens into something both of them want-yet fear-pressures from without and within stretch their bond to the breaking point. The only way to find the strength to love each other is to find the courage to let go...and hope love is strong enough to bring them together again.Warning: This book contains medical drama, relationship drama, sex, silliness and a Cherokee Elvis. Sorry, no fried banana sandwiches. Thank ya very much.

    In the past, he made the mistake of crossing Tony Torroda, one of the most powerful talent agents in LA. Now, at the brink of failure, he must turn to Tony for help... the last thing he would ever want to do.

    Written for the M/M Romance Group's "Hot Summer Days" anthology.Jonah Beckett has been in love with his older brother's best friend, Laurie, since he was thirteen-years-old. When his boyfriend, Dirk, breaks up with him for refusing to put out, Jonah uses his heartbreak over the situation as an excuse to ask Laurie to teach him all about sex before he starts college in the fall. Problem is, he made Dirk up, and Jonah has no idea what will happen when Laurie finally finds out the truth.~*~Cover design by L.C. Chase.Download the story, read it here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 1 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition.

    His twin—Aidan’s other half, Nadia—died tragically young, leaving him with nothing to get him through his days but his job at the prestigious Grand Heights Luxury Apartments and the flowers he lays upon her grave. When Aidan is assaulted on the job by a tenant, it’s the graveyard he turns to for strength and solace.Patrick loves being assistant groundskeeper at the sprawling cemetery where he tends graves and offers a bit of comfort to mourners. When he sees a sad young man lingering over an old grave, his curiosity is strangely piqued for reasons he doesn’t understand. He’s never done this—struck up a friendship with a mourner. But soon that friendship blossoms into a romance.It’s not going to be easy for the pair. Aidan is so damaged, like petals crushed in an angry fist, and even with Patrick’s warm heart and Irish charm, it might not be enough to bring him back from the edge.

    He craves friendship but his self-destructive tendencies cause problems and he pushes people away. Every day he collects glass for the sculptures he makes and every day he dies a little more inside. Until he meets Thomas. Thomas is shy but sure of himself in a way Sasha doesn’t understand. He makes it his mission to prove to Sasha that everyone deserves to be loved, and doesn't give up even when Sasha hurts him. Their friendship becomes more than Sasha ever thought possible. And when Sasha is forced to confront his past he realizes that accepting he is worthy of the love Thomas gives him is the only way to obliterate the darkness.

    But since when do I say no to bad ideas? Adam: It’s not like I wanted to fall in love with Ben. When we first met in college, I thought he’d be like every other hot jock who’d made my life hell in high school. It's not my fault he turned out to be sweet, funny, and insanely talented. We moved to New York after college to break into the music business and of course Ben got signed by a major label—they’d be stupid not to want him. But even though he’s a famous popstar now, he still wants to be friends with a nobody like me. Honestly, if he didn’t want me falling for him, he should have been less goddamn perfect.Well, except for the part where he’s straight. Did I forget to mention that?In my defense, responsible decision-making has never been my strong suit. Case in point—collapsing on stage, guitar in hand, after discovering my then-boyfriend, now-ex was cheating on me, and downing a bottle of bourbon in response. But I’m cleaning up my act—no more hiding in the closet and no more bad life choices. But that also means no more waiting around for the day Ben magically decides he likes di…sgustingly sappy guys with secret crushes on him (aka me).So why did Ben have to pick now to make me question everything I thought I knew about us? “I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want you right now. When I see you, something inside me lights up.” Ben: It’s not like I planned this. I was on tour when Adam collapsed back in New York and he wouldn’t even let me come home early to visit him. But that’s Adam for you—brilliant, breathtaking, and pathologically afraid of vulnerability. All I wanted was to be there for him—and him coming out didn’t change that in the slightest. Yeah, I couldn’t help seeing him a little differently. And no, I couldn’t quite explain why I was suddenly noticing the curve of his back, the freckles on his cheeks, or wondering what his lips tasted like. But whatever weird awakening I was having, Adam needed support, not more confusion.And then I kissed him. Whoops.And I know it’s fast. I know it’s unexpected. I know my label would be livid if they found out I was dating a guy. But I also know—deeply and inexplicably—that this could be something real. I just have to convince Adam of the same thing. Beautiful, broken Adam who looks at the world through 14 layers of irony. Adam, who’d rather get an appendectomy than admit that he needs someone. Adam, who still doesn’t know all of my secrets.So do I convince him to risk everything—on me?Adam’s Song is Book 1 in the 8 Million Hearts series. While each book can be read on its own, they've even more fun to read together. Adam’s Song is a 120,000 word m/m romance full of snark, sweetness, and a healthy serving of steam. Friends-to-lovers and hurt/comfort themes. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.

    He keeps it all close and works out a life he could have if he could ever let someone keep him long enough for him to build up a treasure trove of small wonders all his own.Small Wonders is Courtney Lux’s debut novel of a Southern boy escaping his roots and unexpectedly finding hope in his future.