An award-winning start on the Broadway stage led him to the silver screens of Hollywood, where his star began to rise, and his heart fell hard for professional baseball sensation, Manuel Guzman. But there was no script for living out loud with the man of his dreams in the world of 1964. Then Richard disappeared without a trace. Forty years later, Michael Spencer discovered a journal in his grandmother's attic that would change his life forever, and quite possibly, solve the mysterious disappearance of Richard Lewis Bancroft. Original Prompt:Dear Author,They met while vacationing on a tropical beach, can their summertime romance last?Photo Description: Two very muscular, tanned men are naked on the beach. One is lying down, his left knee bent, his head (to the right) in the lap of his lover. The dark-haired, kneeling lover is leaning over him, hands to either side of his shoulders, about to kiss him upside-down.Download the story, read it here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 2 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition. __________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, family secrets, lies, angst, HEA, intolerance, sacrifice, romance, emotionalWord Count: 31,889

    Since then he’s found a kind of peace running a rural bar. The last thing Jake Tyler expects is his former team to turn up with grim news. Jake’s ex-brother-in-law has escaped from prison and is heading Jake’s way. The team is here to protect Jake, whether he likes it or not – a decision reluctantly shared by their leader, Jake’s ex-lover Mitch Mitchelson. Mitch is angry and hurting. The man he trusted – the man he adored more than anything – abandoned both his team and Mitch. Jake never gave Mitch a chance to help or come to terms with his desertion. Regardless of mission protocols, Mitch isn’t about to open his heart again to that kind of pain. But the strong attraction between them can’t be denied. How are they ever going to work together when Mitch still resents Jake’s disappearance, and to Jake, the team represents everything that destroyed him in the first place? And meantime they wait for Riley to find them... and to settle the threat once and for all.

    Being a seventeen-year-old kid in high school with blue hair, piercings, a mostly all black wardrobe, and an obsession with zombies and video games, he doesn’t exactly blend in. But he never wanted to. His two dads raised him to always stay true to himself.Bastian Hunter prefers structure and predictability. Suffering from a rare disease, every day is a challenge for him, and he prepares for the future by excelling academically and denying who he really is. Everything changes when he meets Noah, the unpredictable variable in the equation he’s built his life around, and feelings he's hid for so long begin to surface.Being gay in high school isn’t exactly rainbows and butterflies, and Noah has definitely faced his fair share of bullies. Moving to Port Haven, Oregon opens up new possibilities for him, and he starts falling for the quiet, brown-eyed boy from his English class. Too bad the attraction is one-sided… or is it?

    Leaving behind his father's cattle ranch in favor of the posh, gaslit streets of Perdana, Jason is determined to climb the social ladder and forget his country roots. If only his father had gifted him with a more upscale slave.Kale's been a country slave his whole life. All he wants is to keep his head down and live as comfortable an existence as possible. Unfortunately, his dramatic master despises him and makes life difficult at every turn.Humbled by his first breakup, Jason grows to appreciate his ever-faithful slave and soon discovers that Kale is everything he's ever wanted. Now he needs to prove to Kale that his love is genuine.Kale, meanwhile, tries to convince himself that he simply feels the devotion of a slave to his master, but his actions prove what his mind is unwilling to accept: he's falling in love. When Jason's future happiness is in jeopardy, Kale sets himself on a course to make Jason's dreams come true, even if it means facing up to the fact that, for the first time in his life, he loves someone else more than he loves himself.Measure of Devotion is a bittersweet love story set in an alternate world and contains sexual content and adult language.

    He meets a gentle, insecure magician named Gene, who's come to work on the crumbling mansion's moldings. He doesn't expect to fall in love.Note: This story first appeared in "Christmas Delights," a collection of Male/Male gay romance stories set in and around the Christmas season.Length: 9,615 words Heat level: sweetThemes: Christmas, magic, gay romance, sweet romance, historical fantasy

    Before long his aggressive attitude gets him shipped off to play in the minor leagues.Furious, he takes to the ice with equal amounts of skill and scathing sarcasm, which doesn’t win him any friends—except for good-natured alternate captain Daniel Arou. He won’t take any of Vic’s crap, and he won’t take no for an answer.But Vic’s troublemaking is pulling his career one way while Dan’s talent is pushing his in the other. However much they scorch the sheets, they might soon be separated by more than Vic’s fear of being hurt.Inside Scoop: This book contains scorching gay sex and a heaping helping of no-holds-barred snark between hot hockey heroes who don’t pull their punches.

     What is that supposed to mean? Those are the words Lucas Daniels hears before stumbling through the brass doors of the elegant Club Dyavol, a club that seems to appear out of nowhere. The club is his last hope of getting a job to escape his predatory stepfather’s home. Who would dare enter a vampire’s sanctuary uninvited? Count Konstantin “the Wolf” Volk may be weakened by a curse, but he is still a primal predator. And when he sees a young man venture into his club, bypassing all of his magical and physical protections, more than just his curiosity is aroused. Is there more to this meeting than simple chance? NOTE: THIS NOVELLA SERIES HAS CLIFFHANGERS! EVERY BOOK WILL END ON ONE. THAT'S MY NATURAL WRITING STYLE. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE CLIFFHANGERS, WAIT UNTIL THE WHOLE SERIES IS PUBLISHED TO READ. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT! X. Aratare writes gay paranormal romance with witches, vampires, magic, and mystery. Though some books may venture into dark territory, they will all have happy endings.

    But when the king and Ren’s half-brother, Crown Prince Hellic are brutally murdered, Ren is accused. Now, he is forced to flee the city together with the mysterious prisoner Anik who may know how to survive in the wild, but who seems to have an agenda of his own, one that may spell danger for Ren.Ren’s accuser now sits on his family’s throne, and things are about to get much, much worse. It may be time to seek help in unexpected places.

    He’s surrounded by music, fame, wealth, women throwing themselves at his feet. He has everything…Yet he has nothing. Life as one of the world’s most sought after rock stars is tiring, oppressive and lonely. He spends every day being who the world wants him to be, who his manager tells him to be, who his mother expects him to be… all the while fighting against who he really is. Truth is, he’s used to it. He’s actually gotten pretty good at pretending… at living the lie.Until Jake Reed, his ex-best friend and the only person who’s ever made him ‘feel’, waltzes back into his life as the band’s new head of security. Jake wants Sawyer – always has, always will. Now, he just needs to get Sawyer to admit that he feels the same…

    They should be studying, but soon their focus wanders to the pursuit of the impossible. Together, they just might find where they belong.

    If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?But what if it is?

    His every desire is within arm's reach, except the one person Devin has always wished would be his in the end. All it takes is one conversation to open his eyes to a new possibility, one moment to change what Devin believes about friendship and love and one person to change the rules of the game.Sam Marshall has been fighting his feelings for his friend and roommate for two years. When an opportunity presents itself, he makes his move, only to be faced with the very real fear that what he sees in Devin, the potential waiting to be realized, may be more than their friendship can handle.

    Too bad he's given the nurse the impression he's some kind of daredevil. It couldn't be further from the truth. Gage is a college journalism instructor writing a series of guest columns that require him to jump into new experiences -- a fun bucket list, but one that does nothing to convince Ben he's not an adrenaline junkie. Fresh off his latest heartbreak, nurse Ben Griggs is wary when one of his patients shows an interest in him -- especially when that patient showed up in the ER after a motorcycle accident. Ben's ex was a biker, a friend with benefits, and he dropped Ben cold when someone more interesting came along. Ben isn't the kind of guy who can hold the interest of an adrenaline junkie like Gage Evans for long. The last thing he wants is to lose his heart to the wrong man again. The more Ben gets to know Gage, the harder he is to resist. He can only hold on for the ride and keep his guard up as much as he can. But Ben's lack of trust seriously gets in the way of building a relationship, and Gage will only be patient so long. Can he trust Gage enough to give his heart, or are they destined to have a fling that goes nowhere? This is a spin-off from the Ashe Sentinel Connections series, where Ben appears briefly in the book "Hard Press." It can be read as a standalone. A previously published alternate cover version of ASIN B01M0DE5N4 can be found here.

    But with the sudden deaths of his cousin and uncle, Sebastian’s position changes. He is determined to fulfill his new responsibilities with grace, even if it means remarrying, and even if the attractions of women, so often lauded by poets, fail to interest him.Captain William Carlisle, newly returned from India, is elated when he meets Sebastian. Nobody knows of his inclinations, but his harrowing experiences in battle have prompted him to reach for the type of companionship he longs for. He thinks Sebastian might feel an attraction as well, but to his dismay, he discovers that Sebastian is courting his sister Dorothea.After a semi-arranged engagement and a disconcerting romantic tangle with William, Sebastian escapes London to look after his manor, only to face mysterious thefts, a headless ghost, and the arrival of his fiancée, her brother, and his family. Sebastian’s new estate sits on the south coast, England’s most vulnerable location, and Napoleon has set his sights on conquering the area. Amid this growing turmoil, Sebastian must sort out his feelings for his fiancée’s brother and keep his home safe . . . and determine if he has the courage to reach for his own happiness in the process.

    His grades sucked. Making friends? Out of the question thanks to his nervous breakdowns and unpredictable moods. Still, Vince thought when Maggie Atkins took him in, he might’ve finally found a place to get his life—and his issues—in order.But then Maggie keels over from a heart attack. Vince is homeless, alone, and the inheritance money isn't going to last long. A year ago, Vince watched a girl leap to her death off a bridge, and now he's starting to think she had the right idea.Vince stumbles across a website forum geared toward people considering suicide. There, he meets others with the same debate regarding the pros and cons of death: Casper, battling cancer, would rather off herself than slowly waste away. And there’s quiet, withdrawn Adam, who suspects if he died, his mom wouldn't even notice.As they gravitate toward each other, Vince searches for a reason to live while coping without Maggie's guidance, coming to terms with Casper's imminent death, and falling in love with a boy who doesn't plan on sticking around.