Because of it, he can’t hold a job. Combined with some bad luck, it's prevented him from keeping steady employment. A huge debt looms over him, and alone he shoulders the care of his alcoholic mother and three younger sisters. When a housekeeping position opens, Jake’s so desperate he leaps at the opportunity. On landing, he finds his new boss, Patrick Stanford, a fussy, arrogant, rude… and blind man. Born without sight, Patrick is used to being accommodated, but he’s met his match with Jake, who doesn’t take any of his crap and threatens to swap all the braille labels on his groceries and run off with his guide dog unless he behaves. Jake gets a kick out of Patrick. Things are looking up: the girls are starting their own lives and his mum’s sobriety might stick this time. He’s sacrificed everything for his family; maybe it’s time for him to live his life and start a relationship with Patrick. When his mother needs him, guilt makes his choice between family and Patrick difficult, and Jake must realize he’s not alone anymore.

    I was told not to send you another text, but I never was any good at listening. I love and miss you. I always will.When I lost my partner of eight years, I felt like my world was crashing down around me. In order to feel some relief from the overwhelming emptiness, I’ve found myself sending him texts every year on his birthday, even though I know he will never answer. It makes me feel like there’s a piece of him still alive, at least in my heart.I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number. I apologize for not responding sooner, but I was at work.That is, until someone responds to my text. Jace is charming, sweet, and everything I could ever want. But how can I accept someone new in my life when Daniel’s only been gone two years? Even so, Jace starts to consume my world. It feels like I can finally breathe as he helps me understand that my life doesn’t have to revolve around my grief.Soon, I find myself laughing again as he pulls me away from the hopeless cycle I’ve been caught in, and I love spending time with him, whether it’s playing video games together or discussing our comic book alter egos. But I still need to let go of this guilt and allow Jace to show me that I can love another without replacing what I’ve lost. Jace rewrites my entire world with every word and smile he gives me, and it’s becoming harder to not give in and hand him my heart. Maybe Daniel did respond after all.The Last Text is a 37k word novella about overcoming loss, finding hope, and friendship that leads to new love.

    The more famous he becomes, the more he hides. The only person he ever let see the real him rose with him from nothing to the very top.They were the king and queen of Hollywood— and then she wanted a divorce. The only way to survive his depression is to bury himself in work. If he can be a character, maybe he won’t have to remember himself. A gay role can’t be any different than playing a straight one, can it?But instead of finding solace in the character, he finds it in his costar. Hale becomes his best friend, his lifeline, the light in his darkness. Quell is forced to examine everything he thought he knew about himself while filming intimate scenes with Hale that feel more real than anything ever has before.He’s lived his entire life following the script. What would life be like unscripted?

    His life is perfect until he gets a phone call that brings it all crashing down: a car accident takes his parents, and now he must return to Austin to raise three teenage brothers he barely knows.During the funeral, Ben meets Travis Atwood, the redneck neighbor with a huge heart. Their relationship initially runs hot and cold, from contentious to flirtatious, but when the weight of responsibility starts wearing on Ben, he turns to Travis, and the pressure shapes their friendship into something that feels a lot like love. Ben thinks he’s found a way to have his old life, his new life, and Travis too, but love isn’t always easy. Will he learn to recognize that sometimes the worst thing imaginable can lead him to the place he was meant to be?

    He hates his soul-killing office job, but he loves volunteering at a local community center. The only fly in his ointment is the dance instructor, Laurie Parker, who can’t seem to stay out of his way.Laurie was once one of the most celebrated ballet dancers in the world, but now he volunteers at Halcyon Center to avoid his society mother’s machinations. It would be a perfect escape, except for the oaf of a football player cutting him glares from across the room.When Laurie has a ballroom dancing emergency and Ed stands in as his partner, their perceptions of each other turn upside down. Dancing leads to friendship, being friends leads to becoming lovers, but most important of all, their partnership shows them how to heal the pain of their pasts. Because with every turn across the floor, Ed and Laurie realize the only escape from their personal demons is to keep dancing—together.

    Skylar hasn't uttered a single word since his mother died eleven years ago, a senseless tragedy he's grateful he doesn't have to talk about.When Skylar's father mysteriously vanishes one summer afternoon, Skylar is placed in the temporary custody of his only remaining relative, an estranged grandmother living on an Indian reservation in the middle of arid Arizona.Adapting to a brand new culture is the least of Skylar's qualms. Because Skylar's mother did not die a peaceful death. Skylar's mother was murdered eleven years ago on the Nettlebush Reserve. And her murderer left behind a son.And he is like nothing Skylar has ever known.

    I came back in pieces to find out who I really was...It took me nearly ten years, two tours in Afghanistan and losing a leg to come to terms with who I really am.Two years after coming back from war, I can say that I’m finally content. I’m as fit as ever, my prosthetic leg allowing me the freedom to move and exercise as if nothing has changed. I own a small bakery in the centre of Cambridge, and I have a loyal circle of friends that I can always count on.And yet...Yet, there’s something missing. A part of me craves the intimacy, the deep connection to another human being. But another – bigger – part of me is terrified of letting anyone in.My internal conflict didn't stand a chance when I met Jay. He stormed through my defence walls like a hurricane, wrapping around me with gentle force until I had no choice but to surrender.Surrendering has never felt so good.Will Jay want to stay when he sees the real me? When he sees the nightmares and insecurities clawing at my soul? When he realises the burden I come with may be heavier than we both can carry?My name is Amir Gopal and this is my story.Author's Note: I did a ton of research about amputated limbs, soldiers, the military and, of course, baking. I read some heartbreaking stories, but I also read stories that inspired me and lifted my spirits when I felt stuck.I desperately wanted to do all these people justice. But at the same time, I wanted to show the softer side of the story, not focus on the initial battle to get your life back that nearly every veteran experiences coming back home.I really hope I succeeded showing the respect I feel for every single person who’s fought for their country.Cookies is a feel-good, happy book. It's a curl-on-the-sofa-on-a-rainy-Sunday-afternoon kinda book.I wanted to make people smile, and gush, and desperately want a brownie or five. Hopefully, I succeeded. Enjoy! xx

    His wife is a stranger, his dead parents just a photograph, and his home an unfamiliar, shabby place that smells of dog.At a local support group for amnesiacs, Connor meets Nate, a fellow sufferer of retrograde amnesia. Nate has no memory, and no idea how he came to lose it, but he remains easy going, and Connor quickly considers the foulmouthed, chain-smoking Nate a friend. But, when Nate makes a pass at him, Connor starts to question everything he’s learnt about himself. Is he really a happily married 32 year old, or are secrets being kept from him?Who is the mysterious ‘Coop’ whose cryptic emails are still in his inbox? And why, on the day of his accident, was he driving with another man in his car? A man whose life, and death, are still a touchy subject at home.

    Long ago, he joined the Metropolitan Police to escape his father’s tyranny and protect people like himself. Now his father is dead, and he’s been fired for punching a suspect. Afraid of his own rage, he returns to Trowchester—and to his childhood home, with all its old fears and memories. When he meets a charming, bohemian bookshop owner who seems to like him, he clings tight.Fintan Hulme is an honest man now. Five years ago, he retired from his work as a high class London fence and opened a bookshop. Then an old client brings him a stolen book too precious to turn away, and suddenly he’s dealing with arson and kidnapping, to say nothing of all the lies he has to tell his friends. Falling in love with an ex-cop with anger management issues is the last thing he should be doing.Finn thinks Michael is incredibly sexy. Michael knows Finn is the only thing that still makes him smile. But in a relationship where cops and robbers are natural enemies, that might not be enough to save them.NOTE: The Trowchester Blues series features stand-alone titles that can be read in any order.

    That’s the way I want it. Making you feel like we know each other—like we could go grab a beer sometime—is part of my job. Maybe the most vital part. It doesn’t hurt that I’m easy on the eyes, single at 35, and born richer than sin. My aesthetic matters much more than it should, but all the better for my worthy cause. And it’s a worthy cause. I’ve made an art out of making you feel good, and my influence makes you want to be good. Good like me. You think you know me, but you don’t. Everyone has secrets. Mine could cost me everything.So I’m a fortress. No one’s ever even gotten close. Until tonight.  See that man, the tall guy dripping on the bow of my yacht? The one I just pulled from the ocean? He’s the one who’s going to cost me everything.***Book Two, Adore, will release November 11th.

    Quinn, however, has apparently decided to make an exception to his usual open-bed policy. He may be an unrepentant connoisseur of one-night stands, but he's not going to disappoint a sweet kid like Aaron by giving him a hot night and then leaving while the sheets are still warm.After Quinn takes a job at Aaron's family horse farm, Aaron spots both the demons and the decency that drive Quinn's frequent brush-offs, and it makes Aaron want him even more. But Quinn is determined that Aaron won't go home with a man who doesn't deserve him, so he starts sending likely candidates Aaron's way. It takes a grim act of sacrifice for Aaron to realize exactly why Quinn's been so skittish, and he’ll have to keep a firm grip on the man of his dreams to keep Quinn from shying away.

    Most of the townsfolk of South Pass City treat him as a simpleton because he’s deaf, but that’s not his only problem. Something in Elijah runs contrary to nature and to God. Something that Elijah desperately tries to keep hidden.Harlan Crane, owner of the Empire saloon, knows Elijah for what he is—and for all the ungodly things he wants. But Crane isn’t the only one. Grady Mullins desires Elijah too, but unlike Crane, he refuses to push the kid.When violence shatters Elijah’s world, he is caught between two very different men and two devastating urges: revenge, and despair. In a boomtown teetering on the edge of a bust, Elijah must face what it means to be a man in control of his own destiny, and choose a course that might end his life . . . or truly begin it for the very first time.

    When the holidays found them alone together and sharing a mutual attraction, they couldn’t help breaking a few regulations. And nearly breaking some furniture in the process.Years after their short-lived fling, Senior Chief Flint returns to SEAL duty and finds himself under the command of the man he’s never been able to forget: Lieutenant Commander Walker. And Josh hasn’t forgotten David, either. Rules be damned, they can’t keep their hands off each other.Despite their discretion, another SEAL catches on and threatens to expose their relationship, forcing Josh to bend to a blackmailer’s demands to avoid strife within the team just before a dangerous mission. David is the last man he can confide in…and the first to pick up on Josh’s tightly screwed-down stress.When a life-or-death decision calls Josh’s leadership into question, coming clean could cost him what he values most. His coveted trident…and the man he loves.WARNING: Contains a pair of Navy SEALs who don’t like playing by the rules, scorching-hot sex between two Alphas who like to be in charge, cursing as only Navy men can curse, lots of camouflage and badassery in the wilds of North Korea, and enough emotion to sink a battleship.

    It’s picturesque, idyllic and tranquil – but Harrison is far from happy. His parent’s marriage is strained to say the least and on top of that, his boyfriend, Daniel, has been mentally and physically abusing him for years. After he finds himself with one bruise too many, Harrison has had enough. But when he plucks up the courage to finally end his violent relationship, Harrison’s life is changed forever when Daniel is found murdered in the most bizarre circumstances. Detective Sergeant Blake Harte has moved to Harmschapel after his own relationship ended in tatters. But moving to a quiet village after working his way up the ranks in a city brings its own set of problems and Blake soon finds himself at odds with new colleagues who aren’t used to his style of policing. But when he is called upon to investigate the mysterious and impossible murder at Halfmile Farm, Blake finds himself facing the most challenging case of his career. So how can Daniel have been shot in a locked shed that nobody could possibly have escaped from? Is anybody really Untouchable?

    We were always inevitable.When Drew meets Ezra, he doesn’t expect much. A one-night stand and a quick goodbye in the morning. That’s how these things usually go. Only there’s nothing usual about Ezra and the connection that forms between them.When Ezra meets Drew, he doesn’t expect much. A distraction and parting as strangers after a night of meaningless fun. That’s how these things usually go. Only there’s nothing meaningless about Drew and the relentless spark between them that just refuses to disappear.When Bas meets Ezra… things get complicated. As if being hopelessly in love with his best friend isn't painful enough. Throw in an unexpected friendship that develops with the one-time hookup of said best friend, and the results are messy at best.But sometimes beautiful things emerge from messy and complicated beginnings, and where two isn't enough, three might be just perfect.