Illustrator and writer's Carolyn Marie Castagna's first shared short story.A small icicle hanging from a roof peers inside a window at a small reading room, and learns about magical human qualities, and the importance of the one most special human feeling.

    He certainly doesn't expect to end up working as Jake's assistant for five frustrating, thrilling, and crazy years instead of in front of the camera.It all works until Jake realizes Aaron has become the focus of his life, a life that's threatened when Aaron actually leaves him to start a relationship with someone else. Though it breaks his heart, Jake realizes he has to set his beloved muse free to have any chance of winning Aaron back.Reprint: This short story was originally published in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Size Still Matters.

    a long break. He'd rather be alone than have his heart broken again. So, he keeps the crush he has on his sexy neighbor Matt a secret and spends his nights alone. But soon Matt discovers Leo's feelings and they begin a relationship that quickly grows too intense for both of them. To make it work, they'll both have to risk heartbreak and learn to trust.

    When he loses a bet to her and the penalty is to go out on five dates with men she’s chosen from Guys4Guys.com, he thinks that’s bad enough. Finding out she used a thirteen-year-old picture of him to score a date with a young guy who looks like a rock star? Epically bad.Jay thought he wanted to fall for an older man. But his last boyfriend left him feeling humiliated and determined to stick to guys his own age. When he realizes he’s been conned into a date with exactly the kind of man he’s sworn to avoid, he’s ready to walk away on the spot. Only Devin’s swift apologies convince Jay to accept dinner to make up for the deception.“The date doesn’t count for the bet unless you get a goodnight kiss.” After one not-a-date dinner with Jay, Devin isn’t worried about his sister’s rules. He just wishes he could convince Jay to go out with him for real. Jay wants no part of Devin, but Devin wants every part of Jay . . . so he asks Jay to help update his look for the rest of his dates. But once Jay’s made Devin over into the perfect date, will he be able to let him go?------------Dear Author,I lost a bet with my sister. I was so sure the Broncos would win. Now it is time for me to pay up. She has decided I need a man in my life. She submitted a profile for me at Guys4Guys.com and set up five dates. I haven’t been on five dates in the past five years. And if the thought of five first dates isn’t scary enough, check out the photo she put in my profile.Yes, that hot, young, guy really is me… thirteen years ago! To be twenty-two again. I miss my thirty-two-inch waist and six-pack.Photo Description: A good-looking, young blond man leans back against exposed pipework. He is shirtless and his jeans look a little old-fashioned with their light wash. His arms are huge and he sports a six-pack, although he’s already looking the tiniest bit soft around the waistline. As if that six-pack might not quite be there in ten years…This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" 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.

    If he scores a coveted interview with the reclusive striker for the Denver Blaze, he could take himself from sports blogger to mainstream sports authority.Riley Grayson has no interest in interviews or in outing his private life to the public. He wants to be known for the scoring he does on the field and not in the sack. But Max is a temptation he can't resist. Taking a chance, Riley and Max discover they have more in common than passion for soccer and hot sex between the sheets.Just as they begin to trust each other outside the bedroom, Max is put in a no-win situation: write an article about Riley exposing accusations of drug use, or risk destroying his own credibility. If he does, he'll lose Riley. If he doesn't, he'll lose everything he's worked hard to achieve.16,000 words

    He doesn’t have time to date, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have needs.Instead of trying to find a date, Jordan makes an appointment with a prostitute—something he’s never done before—and his companion turns out to be his high school crush, Gabe! Panic would ruin everything, including the chance at something real that Jordan suddenly craves.

    But ten years after high school, he’s still just as miserable and just as in love with the boy who lived down the street as he ever was. Now on a trip home for Christmas he finds out that running away from your problems isn’t always the best way to deal with them, and that for mending a broken heart, sometimes there’s no place like home.

    Other than coaching high school football, the only excitement he gets is playing poker with his close friends every other Saturday. That is until he opens the door to the hottest pizza delivery man he's ever seen, and man, does Zac want a piece of that pie.Eric Stanton spends long hours as an intern at one of the largest hospital in San Francisco. To help keep a roof over his head, he also has a part-time job as a pizza delivery driver. When a gorgeous customer tries to flirt with him, Eric's too tired to reciprocate.Just when Eric wonders if he'll get a second chance with the guy, an order is placed requesting him personally. Tired or not, perhaps things are looking up.

    When Mario gets the bright idea to buy a POS house together to flip, Carter swears he’s out of his mind.Unfortunately, Mario Gutierrez is hard to resist. After one weird conversation at a bar, and one meaningful look across their empty beer bottles, Carter isn’t sure he’s not the one flipping for his friend.They’re both tops, so to make this work, one will have to give in and roll over. Carter will have to come to terms with his past before he can look to a future with his best friend.

    Without a decent payday in months, she's close to calling it quits, and if she doesn’t come through, her reputation — and the prospect of more customers — will be ruined.Between an insolent spell book, an old friend too sick to run her favorite tavern and a new guy in town who is the object of every maiden’s desire, Gretchen scrambles to keep everyone happy.Trip trap, trip trap, this troll packs a mighty punch.A potion cocktail has unintended side effects with massive ramifications and Gretchen has no idea how she did it. If she doesn’t fix it, she’ll be forced to hang up her witches hat and serve drinks for the rest of her days.Check out these hilarious high fantasy with stories each month for a new spin on a classic tale.

    Instead he’s hopped from hotel to hotel, collecting pens like a child in a fairytale might leave a trail of breadcrumbs hoping to find his way back. But now he has an assignment, an article titled “5 Ways to Rediscover New York.” Being back on his home turf is daunting—until he meets Claude Desjardins, a gay romance translator staying in his hotel who, after a night of near passion, leads Joe on a treasure hunt through Manhattan, writing clues on Joe’s skin using hotel pens. But it isn’t just New York Joe needs to rediscover.

    Jake Marsden has been going to a local anxiety support group meeting for months. He’s made some progress, but it's a slow, frustrating journey. Then a shy glance from a gorgeous newcomer across the room promises to make him forget about his problems for a while. He worries that dating will be a challenge until he can deal with his fear, but there's no way he can pass up the opportunity to get to know this man. Chance Ritter doesn't want to go to the group, but his best friend and college classmate drags him there for his own good. When the handsome, dark-haired man across the circle stands and talks, Chance can barely look away. He daydreams of something he doesn’t believe he’ll ever have because he’s afraid to take that kind of a risk. Drawn together from the moment their gazes lock, they may be able to overcome the past and take a chance on each other. Taking Chances is a full-length, stand-alone contemporary gay romance novel with two gorgeous, anxious college students, a stuffed dinosaur, a shockingly ugly truck, and a guaranteed happy ending. (Warning: There are references to past violence in this story, though none occurs during the course of the book.)

    They're an odd couple who can barely find anything they have in common . . . except for the fact that they're smitten with one another. Kody has a dangerous job in a dangerous place, and Miles is used to a life of comfort, and they don't make sense as a couple, but they can't let each other go. No matter how much disasters and hard times find them, they're drawn together over and over again. This is a non-shifter male pregnancy gay romance book. This book contains sexually explicit content not suited for those under the age of 18. The book is approximately 50,000 words, has a happy ending and does not end in a cliffhanger.

    For him, learning to walk again is accompanied by trying to find a purpose in life. A job with the local landscaper, however, planting flowers and getting dirty, helps Bran rebuild his confidence, and meeting music teacher Donald Frost opens possibilities for a future Bran never imagined.Getting kicked out of his religious, ultra-conservative family at the age of sixteen, Don worked hard to be more than his parents condemned him to be. He teaches music at the local high school and sings at his uncle’s church, satisfied that his life is the best it can be. Then Bran comes home, and Don decides it’s time to grab his own happiness.When the two men meet, it’s instant attraction, changing their lives forever...Genres: Gay / Contemporary

    Six months of too many missed shifts at the hospital, too much booze, too many men. Matt knows he's on the verge of losing everything, but he's finding it hard to care. Then Matt meets Aaron. He's gorgeous, intelligent and apparently not interested in being picked up. Still, even after seeing Matt at his worst, he doesn't turn away. Aaron's kindness and respect have Matt almost believing he's worth it-and that there could be life after Joe. But his newfound happiness is threatened when Matt begins to suspect Aaron is hiding something, or someone...