ASIN B06Y42KLKW moved to the most recent editionCharlie Murray lives and breathes her work.She's ambitious and knows what she wants.The one thing Charlie hasn't made time for is a relationship but all that changes when being single starts affecting her career.In the wake of a sudden loss, Charlie must reevaluate her life.On her first night back on the dating scene, Charlie meets Erica who instantly grabs her attention.The connection is obvious but will their age and lifestyle differences make it impossible to pursue?

    But Cassidy wanted bigger and better. She wanted to be thriving amongst the hustle and bustle of London; something her sleepy town of Plumstoke lacked. Finding the perfect store for her dream to flourish was easy, what was hard was moving to a whole new city and leaving behind the one person she thought she’d never be without. Allie. When her mother passes away suddenly; she’s forced to head back home alone to deal with the hardest goodbye a person ever has to say.Allie Campbell, resident sweetheart, has been pushing through loss after loss. When she watched Cassidy—the woman who should have been her wife—drive away three years ago, Allie never thought she’d see her again. Sadly, the most dreadful of circumstances has brought her back. Can Allie be the friend that’s needed, the shoulder to cry on, the hand to hold? Will Cassidy realise that she doesn’t want to let go this time?

    Length: 80,600 wordsTrust, respect, and love. Three little words—that's all. But these words are powerful, and if we ignore any one of them, then three other little words take their place: jealousy, insecurity, and heartbreak.Schoolteacher Gemma Hughes is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Disorganised and clumsy, she soon finds herself in the capable hands of the beautiful Dr Maria Moran. Everything goes wonderfully until Gemma starts doubting Maria's intentions and begins listening to the wrong people.But has Maria something to hide, or is it a case of swapping trust for insecurity, respect for jealousy and finishing with a world of heartbreak and deceit? Can Gemma stop her actions before it's too late? Or will she ruin the best thing to happen in her life?Given her track record, anything is possible...

    To top it off, her first case pits her against Lennox Roy, a gorgeous yet fierce prosecutor with a reputation for cajoling juries and breaking hearts.Lennox comes from a family full of bleeding hearts who believe in second, third, and fourth chances, but she’s seen firsthand the damage leniency can do. She has no patience for a softy like Wren Bishop, no matter how sexy and brilliant she might be. But when they face off over a mysterious arson case, their attraction ignites a passion that leads them to question their assumptions about the law, the truth, and each other.

    She goes to Bonaire to write, but mostly ends up diving while gripped with a case of, well, not exactly writer’s block, but perhaps writer’s trickle. Words are coming, just slowly and painfully. When a mom and son move into the rental across the yard from her, at first she thinks it will make things worse. And, in terms of writing, it does, at least for a while. But getting to know Ash and Jake is definitely worth it.Ash and her ten-year-old son, Jake, have been through a rough couple of years. When a windfall comes her way, Ash decides that they need a reset, and she takes Jake on the diving trip he’s always wanted. The across-the-yard neighbor is entirely too attractive, friendly, and competent, making Ash feel bumbling in comparison. But the more she gets to know Morgan, the less she wants to keep her distance.As Ash and Morgan dive together, spend time in their shared yard, and bond over being Jake fans, the vacation fling starts to seem like more.

    Trying her best to hold it together in Chicago, she is battling both the effects of her mother’s death and the betrayal of her ex-girlfriend. Opting to throw herself into work and the gym, she at first ignores an invitation from her largely absentee father to take some time off at his estate in Texas. He may be the Chairperson of Foster Oil & Gas, but it doesn’t change the fact that he was never part of her life. Besides, she’s up for a big promotion and sees it as the solution away from her one-way track into deep depression. In many ways, Natalie Silva is the complete opposite of London. Where London is pale, Natalie is sun-kissed. In that dark space deep down where London is filled with regrets and bitterness, Natalie radiates warm light. As a Texas native and sort-of Southern belle, Natalie is compassionate, kind and raised with a healthy dose of Southern hospitality. She’s followed her passion for baking throughout her adult life and it’s led her to being a co-owner of Mission Bakery – A popular bakery and food truck she manages with her lesbian aunts and the occasional help from her best friend’s precocious daughter. After a years-old heartbreak, the one lesson she has taken through her life is to never fall for an outsider. You know the type – The mysterious, attractive out-of-towners who offer equal promise of passion and complications. London and Natalie are less than impressed with each other upon their first meeting. But fate and Texas have a very different and much more sensual plan for these two polar opposite women. In the sultry-hot summer heat, they will learn just as much about themselves and their lives as they will about each other…And it might just be everything they want.

    Hanna, an English teacher at the local high school, falls for Jo. Literally. She falls over right in front of Jo one morning in the school's foyer.17,200 words; novelette

    The only problem? Penelope is straight. Penelope Bennett has been picking up the pieces of Diana's failed and flawed flings since high school and wants for her best friend to find happiness; but is certain that is not with her. A two-month long overseas work excursion puts twenty-four years of friendship to the test when Diana returns home with more than just a new cultural experience and Penelope must decide once and for all if there's a possibility for more between them.

     It was supposed to be a simple trip into town. Once a year. Get supplies. Ignore the jeers and jibes from townsfolk who didn't want to understand her. Ignore how everything reminded her of Suzanne. She wasn't expecting Jeane. A damsel in distress out on the prairie? A broken down wagon and three men who meant no good closing in on her? Belle knew frontier life could be harsh, and sometimes that meant dealing with rabid animals. Only now she's stuck with Jeane. And the more time they spend together traveling back to her homestead, the more she can't get this woman out of her mind. The more she starts hoping, against all reason and hope, that maybe she can find something like what she had with Suzanne. Two women, alone together on the frontier where they can truly be themselves, learning to love again. Pioneer Hearts is a 68,000 word western about two women coming together to deal with life on the harsh American frontier, and learning that maybe there is more to life than survival!

    And who could blame her? Caitlyn is smart, generous and the kind of beautiful that makes Bailey’s stomach do backflips, then front flips, then somersaults. Needless to say, Caitlyn’s perfect in every way…well, she would be if she wasn’t Bailey’s high school English teacher. On graduation night, fueled by liquid courage, Bailey does the unthinkable and confesses her love to her former teacher. She’s all in and hopes Caitlyn will be too. Who cares if there’s an obstacle…or two…or ten in their path? True love conquers all, doesn’t it?

    Violetta's agreement is reluctant, sure the only women who might want have a screw loose. She feels her suspicions are confirmed when it is an anonymous bidder who wins the date, and things go from weird to weirder after that. This is a novella of 30,000 words.

    But even after three decades, she has never been able to get past the devastating end of her relationship with the beautiful and brilliant Ruth Abramson. As Elizabeth approaches her 30th college reunion, she must face the woman who long ago acceded to the demands of her father, a famous Russian dissident, and married the young man who’d been chosen for her. It doesn’t make it any easier that Ruth, now divorced and living openly as a lesbian, is the class luncheon speaker.As the two women face one another and attempt to reconcile their past, Elizabeth finds she must wrestle with a number of issues she has avoided confronting. And she must carefully decide whether she is more distrustful of Ruth or of herself. Is she headed for another fall with this woman? Or does she want to get close again, so she can be the one to walk away?When it comes to reuniting with the love of your life, it’s not always easy to know the difference between getting back together and just getting back.Length: approx. 73,000 wordsThemes: 1970s · chosen family · family · Jewish · lesbian · marriage equality · older lesbian · publishing · reunion · Russian Jews · second-chance romance · women's college

    In many ways, Israel's story is reflected in Eithan's who finds himself ultimately alone and unloved in a sea of condemnation.Avilan, speaking directly to her beloved country, is saying, "I love you enough to speak truth as I see it." Avilan writes about Israel with the love and pain stemming from the realization that not all that we love is perfect, but we can't help loving it, or him, or her.This book almost reads itself, so sure-footed is the pacing, the ease of being drawn in despite some unease about what is written; I admire the way the author does not intrude on her characters (and thus her readers) with the pointed finger of too much message forcibly delivered. A reader's ease and ability to identify with each main character is to have witnessed Avilan's magic literary show.As a reader, one leans into this character or that one, or all of them, as readily as one turns the pages. One of the hallmarks of a well-designed and well-written story, for me, is whether the characters stay with me long after the book is done. Do they ever! Read this book at your own peril and your own pleasure because it will make you feel. And you will remember the people from A Small Country About to Vanish." By Historical Romance author T. T. Thomas.

    THIS IS A NEW EDITION."Don't think you're untouchable…you or your son." Then a dial tone..Shrewd, hardened New York homicide detective Jasmine (“Jazz") Steele’s just come back from a grisly crime scene involving the body of a brutally-beaten young girl, the second she's investigated this week. That was horrendous, but with these eight words, ending ominously in “your son,” Jazz’s immediate fear is for her vulnerable nephew, Chase, who’s already been through hell in his seven short years. In Kimberly Amato’s hard-boiled yet deeply emotional police procedural, no one is spared tough breaks and turbulent anguish. A lesser cop than Jazz would barely be able to cope.A year ago, a gruesome car accident claimed the lives of her only brother and his wife, making her the de facto mother of 7-year-old Chase. The sudden household change ended in the loss of her life partner and still best friend, chic police psychologist Frankie, not to mention the dashing of Jazz's lifelong dreams of becoming a successful mystery novelist. Now every day is a battle against Chase’s demons—and her own.Quick reconnaissance reveals the call wasn't a clever joke courtesy of Hadley, Frankie's droll actress roommate, nor was it Victor, the wry police department coroner who happens to be Jazz's confidante. Further detective work shows the caller wanted Jazz to find him—along with the fresh dead body he left for her in a Harlem warehouse.With a shadow on Chase and the aid of Frankie's grace-under-fire, not to mention Victor's brandy-fueled heart-to-hearts, Jazz--who has more 'tude than even the toughest investigator, male or female--navigates the cruel streets of New York City while struggling to keep custody of the only family she has left, doggedly in search of the elusive, psychopathic murderer who seems to be summarily killing off women who look suspiciously like someone close to Jazz... and she's not willing to lose yet another person she loves. Fans of the exciting new wave of hard-boiled women sleuths created by writers like Megan Abbott, Laura Lippmann, Lisa Lutz, and Vicki Hendricks will be attracted to the author’s take-no-prisoners style, and her unflinching attention to harrowing detail.Yet lovers of traditional mysteries will appreciate the web of fierce loyalty tempered with fearful caution that links Jazz’s tiny but hardy support system—Victor, Frankie, and Hadley, not to mention Chase himself. Somehow or other, Amato manages to mix all the excitement of an action thriller with the swirling emotions of a mainstream psychological novel.Those with a weakness for badass female cops like Mary Shannon of In Plain Sight and Olivia Benson of Law & Order SVU will revel in Jasmine Steele's gritty determination laced with compassion. Readers of lesbian mysteries will be reminded of Sandra Scoppettone’s Lauren Laurano and Laurie R. King’s Kate Martinelli.And it's also a great read for fans of resilient heroines of psychological thrillers like Liz Keen of The Blacklist and Carrie Mathison of Homeland, who will love Jasmine Steele's fearlessness, tinged with the very real emotional roller coaster of love turned to grief. "(Amato) makes Detective Steele a winning female character, and... introduces comic relief at just the right moments. This is very fine writing by a lady who knows the idiom!"-- Grady Harp, San Francisco Review of Books

    When she lands a job looking after the horse, it is like it was meant to be, and she thinks that bringing the rescue animal back to health might be as healing for her as it is for the horse. What she doesn't count on is Josie Tearney, owner of the horse, and the most startling, intriguing woman Colette has ever met. The attraction, it turns out, is mutual, but the last thing Colette thinks she deserves is a relationship with someone who's grounded, competent, and whole – all the things Colette isn't. Josie, who runs her own business making witchy teas and essential oils, is as planted on the land where she lives as is her garden – which makes her strong, centred, stable – and lonely. All her friends have moved to the city, and she's not at all sure that Colette won't leave as abruptly as she arrived. Josie lost her mother when she was young – and she won't take the risk of being abandoned again. But healing can happen when you least expect it, and the heart, that most magical part of ourselves, knows how to lead the way.