As a paramedic, AJ puts others’ needs above her own; in her personal life, she keeps everyone an arm’s length away. That distance disappears when a chance run-in with actor Melanie Cooper leaves her sticky, angry, and fed up.Melanie Cooper has just signed her last movie. The media keeps portraying her as cold and hard to work with, and Mel has absolutely nothing more to give. As she begins to imagine a new life, a challenging part of her past comes back on the scene, determined to cause problems for Mel.After a series of coincidental meetings, AJ battles her desire for control while Mel struggles with trust. Despite the challenges and complications, Mel finds herself drawn to the Beckett ladies, and AJ can’t deny their connection, either.Falling in love has never been so sweet.Genre: RomanceCover: Cath Grace DesignsEditor: Kat JacksonWords: 86,000

    Real estate guru Krista Wyler is soon at the mercy of the Arizona desert when she learns she has inherited her family's business, Wyler Ranch. Her aunt is dying and her uncle is no longer capable of making decisions. Krista reluctantly moves in, but her plan is to sell the ranch as soon as possible. Rae Jarrett, the strong, stubborn vet who has cared for the ranch as well as the horses, objects to her selling and offers her aid. Krista resists the help as well as her attraction to the mysterious vet, but decides instead to turn the ranch into a dude ranch. Soon city folk are knocking at the door ready to pay good money to get a chance to herd the Wyler cattle across Arizona. The plan seems full proof until Krista herself, along with Rae, has to set out on the trail with them. The journey leads to a life changing adventure neither woman could have foreseen and will never forget.

    When they meet, there is a connection for them both. But can they overcome their fears, regrets and an old love to find a future in each other?BadSquirrel's Page on The Athenaeum

    Unsure what to do with the rest of her life, she moves home with her mother in the Cotswolds.Journalist Harriet Powell ditched London after getting sacked and divorced within six months of each other. She hopes to find peace in the village, but after meeting Josie, Harry's world will never be the same.While the two don't see eye to eye on the professional front, it's hard to deny their connection, even if Josie's mum is determined to set Josie up with anyone who isn't Harry. Can the two conquer their personal and professional struggles to let the other in?Best-selling lesbian romance author T.B. Markinson teams up with Clare Lydon and Harper Bliss to bring lesfic readers a touching trilogy set in the Cotswolds. Grab your copy of the first book of The Village Romance series that's the talk of the summer.85,000 words

    Victoria, for reasons of her own, impulsively challenges Jac to seduce Lauren, her co-worker and a young woman Jac’s never met. Under the terms of their bet, Jac has exactly one month to get Lauren into bed or she has to pay up. Though Lauren is straight and engaged, Jac begins her campaign confident that she’ll win the bet. But Jac’s forgotten that if you sow an onion seed, you won’t harvest a peach. When her plan goes awry, will she reap the bitter fruit of her deception? Or will Lauren turn the tables on the thoughtless gamblers?Lesbian RomanceLength: approx. 54,000 words

    Still reeling after an unexpected divorce, Mel believes she has missed her chance to find love. All she wants is to make her business a success and regain her independence. She locates the artist who inspired her move so she can commission more paintings for her new inn.Pamela Whitford runs a gallery in a small seaside town, planning events and supporting other artists while neglecting her own talent. Since being deserted by the love she thought was forever, she refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her again. But Pam can’t resist the struggling new innkeeper, and she agrees to paint for her even though it means opening herself up to creativity and the vulnerability that goes with it.Can they learn to trust again and discover a second chance at love?

    There aren't many prospects for true love, but she keeps hoping she'll find it somehow. She dreams of owning the small movie theater she manages, but that takes money, which is hard to get when you live paycheck to paycheck.Victoria Thayer has fallen for a woman more interested in her money than her heart for the last time. When she runs into Riley, the first girl she ever had a crush on, at their high school reunion, she's hoping there might just be a chance for the kind of relationship she's always wanted. But Victoria can't help wondering if Riley too is only after her money, and Riley can't seem to forgive the fact that Victoria was part of a group of kids who used to bully her.When hopes and dreams are on the line, will true love find a way?

     Juliet represents the road less traveled. Will Lena take it? Lena Newman is 17, her best friend’s a cheerleader, her boyfriend’s a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that’s before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian. Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested. "It feels real without being tedious, and heart-warming without being sappy. It's not all roses, and it's not all doom and gloom. It's great.” - Jon "Just Juliet is the story I wish I could have given to my parents to read when I was 16 so that they knew what I was going through." - Caro M.

    Taylor Kent, now a celebrated artist, has spent the years trying to unsuccessfully forget the young woman who walked out of her life. Best friends forever, neither woman ever had the courage to speak of the passion they felt for one another. Now, an unusual but desperate request will throw the old friends together again. This time, will they be able to voice their unspoken desires, or has time become their enemy?

    It's lust at first sight for blackjack dealer Rae Sutherland and aspiring Vegas singer Cori Romero.

    “Oh my God!” To the outside world, Lauren’s marriage is picture perfect, but she is hiding a secret. Beneath the smile lies an unquenchable yearning: Lauren craves intimacy with a woman. Until now, these desires have been mere fantasy, harmless daydreams. What Lauren could never have known was that a chance encounter on a train would change her life forever. She also had no reason to suspect that money missing from her family business would cause her to question her sexuality, or unravel her father’s deepest, darkest secret… Likewise, Gillian a former model, turned forensic accountant, had no way of knowing that her life was going to be turned upside down when she agreed to help Lauren’s mother unearth the mystery behind the missing money. While Lauren begins a journey of self-discovery that will have far-reaching consequences. Gillian must learn to lay the ghosts of her troubled and traumatic past to rest. Will Lauren and Gillian get the happily-ever-after that they both desperately crave, or will their personal histories prove too difficult to overcome? A secret can be exciting ... it can also be a prison.

    Now twenty-eight and a star in the Chicago improv scene, Stevie puts career first. No one’s going to get in the way of her New York City dreams. When her friends beg her to tag along to go see Constance Russo, a deaf psychic, Stevie begrudgingly agrees, as long as no one makes her get a reading. American Sign Language interpreter Bernadette Thompson has two priorities: caring for her mother and working with her best friend, Constance Russo. But when the headstrong Stevie Adams accidentally stumbles into her life, Bernadette feels an instant connection that’s so intense it frightens her. They can’t seem to stop bumping into each other, or deny their attraction. When Stevie’s goal of starring in New York becomes more than a pipe dream, will competing desires prove their love to be everlasting or a fleeting act?Cover Artist: Jeanine HenningGenres: Contemporary / Romance Tags: Children / Families, Big City, Age Gap, CelebrityWords: 86,000

    That is, until Emma Pearson, a new transfer from North Carolina, decides to enter the picture. Emma is quiet, moody, and beautiful: a dangerous combination that fascinates Charlotte beyond her comfort zone. Girls aren't supposed to like girls. At least, that's what Charlotte has been told her whole life. But when strange new feelings begin to emerge, Charlotte has to decide what she's willing to risk to discover love -- and ultimately, herself.

    Her ex is a nightmare and her boss is a pervert, the last thing she needs is her budding friendship with fellow single-mom Rhia throwing her entire life into confusion.But as their ten-year-old daughters Teagan and Piper spend more and more time with each other, Rhia and Sabrina become close. Rhia thinks she’s deluding herself by lusting after a straight woman, and Sabrina has never considered herself to be anything but straight before.

    Used to working out her problems in her work, the successful syndicated cartoonist plans a solo summer vacation on a houseboat, hopeful that the separation will resolve her doubts about her future with Shannon. But Shannon's frequent calls demanding some resolution only heighten her turmoil. Marine biologist Dr. Jamie Hughes sees Puget Sound in ways few other people do. The hours she spends diving its depths and running her laboratory absorb all of her focus and time. When Jamie meets the obviously distressed Dana at a friend's, she offers her scientific detachment to help Dana sort through her problems. Worrying about Dana's present is easier than examining her own past. It seems like an ideal way to help Dana sort out her future, but as the summer heats up, the distance between Dana and Jamie is anything but comfortable. Kenna White (Romancing the Zone, Braggin' Rights) explores unexpected passion, unexplored possibilities and unforeseen complications in this novel of summer on Puget Sound.