His mother is gone and no one will say what happened to her. His father has always been abusive physically and emotionally. No one has ever stood up for him. He is smaller than average, making him a target for torment, but has had to learn how to fight for himself. He has the soul of a healer— naturally gentle and empathetic— but has learned not to trust as any time he has given himself emotionally he has been smacked down. Despite the way he is treated, he has never been allowed to leave and has nowhere to go as he has no education, money or friends/family to fall back on. When his father finds out MC1 is gay (not that he has had a chance to act on it), MC1 is bashed and left for dead miles from home.MC2 (maybe twenty-eight to thirty-two years?) is a loner who has his own demons in his past (maybe ex-military/ex-con?). He is a natural alpha— protective and dominant. He finds MC1 and cares for him as he heals. Contrary to his promise to himself to stay detached, he feels a pull to MC1 and hates the sadness and despair in the eyes of his charge. He fights himself and MC1 as he finds he badly wants to earn MC1’s trust. Who knows what can happen after that?They are both capable of so much if they can find the right balance. I see the opportunity to have some emotional, hot scenes as they each give in to their natural instincts.I’d love a HEA for these two battered souls.Photo Description: Two men embrace against a dark background. They stand, heavily shadowed, one in front of the other, chest to back, with arms entwined. They are tender, but at the same time appear desperate and vulnerable.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.

    After graduating from art school Nate left the Midwest for sunny Southern California, not quite sure what he hoped to find. It was almost certainly not falling in love with another man. His whole world and assumptions about himself begin to slowly turn upside down on one hot summer day. Seeking respite from the heat and his loneliness at Venice Beach he has a chance encounter with a handsome blond surfer. Jez is friendly, easygoing, and just a little bit mysterious. Openly gay, Jez offers Nate a place to stay, and the two men become fast friends. Nate makes new friends, adjusts to his new life, but his unbidden attraction to Jez keeps growing. In their moments of closeness Nate realizes that he wants Jez more than just a friend, but it might be too late. To make Jez his, Nate has to face not only his own fears and insecurities, but his mysterious mate has secrets of his own. Warning: Al fresco man-love, a scene-stealing old coot, and a relentless California sun.

    Figuratively speaking, at least.Enter Sonny Valentine, a go-go dancer at Blue's sister club, Silver's. Levi has secretly admired Sonny from afar for years, but there's one problem–he can't stand Sonny and the feeling is entirely mutual. When Levi learns Sonny is to play the third part in a scene he considers his worst nightmare, he figures things can't get any worse.But when preparations for the scene from hell collide with tragic events in his personal life, he finds his fast growing, red hot attraction to Sonny the one thing left between him and a bullet.

    They've been eyeing each other for months now. The sexual tension between them is so intense, they're shocked their teammates haven't noticed yet especially with their unconscious desire to touch as much as possible. They can't help but undress one another with their eyes but whenever they get into talking range they always end up taunting each other about who's the best quarterback and always end up pissing each other off. Please, Author, tell me how these two get together and make a relationship work when they play for separate teams, live in separate states and work in a 'man's' industry where being gay is a career killer. How have they managed to hold back their desperate desire for each other when they're both possessive and jealous of anyone who touches the other and all they want to do is fuck like bunnies? P.S. Contrary to my last sentence, I don't want this filled with lots of sex. I want to feel the sexual tension but with very minimal sex (sex would include anything that allows them to get off, FYI - handjobs, bjs, frotting, etc.). I would like a sweet but intense love story. No girl bits, cheating, menage, open relationship or too much talk of other sexual conquests. Unless they are boasting on the field. I would like banter, please, and lots of it. I wanna see them pissed off to the point they aren't sure whether to punch the other or kiss him. *We all know who these guys are but names need to be changed to protect the innocent.*Photo Description: Two brawny quarterbacks share a post-game moment on the field. They’re well-known adversaries, but is the tension between them simply rivalry...or is it something more?This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Download the story, read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 6.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay-for-you; first time; athlete; bromance; football; sports; opposites attract; enemies-to-lovers; frottageWarnings: noneWord Count: 16,058

    His only real contact with other people is with his (small?) family, and he uses his horse to fill in for the emotional contact that he misses. As a direct result, he is an extremely good dressage rider though most people at his barn think that his horse is wasted on him and he doesn’t ride at all. One day, someone (the love interest) else sees him riding and realizes that 1. He really is a good rider and 2. He should be competing. Conflict and romance ensue.Photo Description: A tall, thin man dressed in a navy blue and white hoodie, rides a black stallion in an outdoor arena lined with short hedges. The horse, accented with white polo wraps and black and white bridle, trots along the arena rail.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" 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.

    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

    When I opened my eyes all I could see was the sexiest pair of feet I've ever seen. By the end of the week, those feet were leaving prints in the sand right next to mine as we walked hand in hand. For the past year, our feet have had to travel long distance to see each other, but now our feet are walking our new home. Today is our anniversary, and it's only appropriate we spend the day worshipping the feet that have brought us together. ***I would like to have a sweet, sexy love story with a HEA. Please no cheating or ménage!Photo Description: A black and white photo of two guys, nicely built, lying on their backs on a couch, each with his head on opposite armrests. Their eyes are cut out of the top and bottom of the photo frame, so you can't see their faces. Both cocks are in full view as one is fully naked and the other's underwear is only partially on. The naked partner looks as if he's in the midst of slowly pulling off his partner's underwear. Their bodies are slightly draped over each other and each has the other one's foot in his mouth. The whole scene is very seductive.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Download the story, read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 9.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: hurt/comfort; foot fetish; long distance relationship; culinary: bakerWarnings: foot fetishWord count: 32,541

    Show no mercy. Trust no soul. And vengeance shall be yours ...Prince Chien is determined to claim his birthright — the Throne of a Thousand Swords — denied by his wicked aunt, Empress Mai. He has successfully turned her two equally wicked sons, Prince Minh and Prince Tuan, into dueling each other for the throne. Hiding a vial of EverBloody, Prince Chien attempts to poison their foods at the banquet. No matter who win the duel tomorrow, both wicked princes will die.One cut to the skin, and blood will flow relentless. Prince Chien will make his aunt suffer every second in watching her beloved sons die a slow painful death. Afterward, he will take her head and the crown that sits upon it. Only then will he have successfully eliminated all the traitors who helped kill his mother and his younger sister in the palace coup thirteen years ago.Only one person stands in his way — General Bao. Prince Chien has skirted around court intrigues, planned successful assassinations, and demurred himself as a dunce prince. But love is the one thing Prince Chien never thought he would had to face. Whoever said that those who embark on a journey of revenge should dig two graves was not wise enough to realize love could do exactly the same thing. Original Prompt:Dear Author,Take no prisoner. Show no mercy. Trust no soul. And vengeance shall be yours…Photo Description: Blonde, winged man in han-style clothing, holding swordThis story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Download the story, read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 6.

    Leland isn’t just his boss, though. He’s the son of the company’s CEO. And Brian has fallen in love. Hurt by too many stolen kisses and nooners at seedy hotels, Brian finally broke off their secret affair two weeks ago. Leland isn’t ready to let Brian go and he isn’t above seducing Brian — again — to give them both what they really want for Christmas: each other.This free short story was originally written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's 2010 holiday event and appears in the event's Stuff My Stocking: M/M Romance Stories that are Nice and… Naughty anthology.

    Things get worse when his high school bully, captain of the football team and meathead extraordinaire, Ric Saunders, shows up for an appointment at the chiropractic clinic where Alex works. Things go from bad to worse in a comedy of errors that leaves Alex's head spinning. Has Ric turned into a crazed stalker, ready to pick up the bullying where he left off eight years before? Or has Ric got something else in mind this time?

    With bootleggers running amuck and countless speakeasies materializing every day, how can two men possibly hope to make a difference? Especially when they can't even trust their own bureau?If dealing with hoodlums wasn't enough, a ghost from Nathan's past threatens to destroy everything Harlan and Nathan hold dear.Original Prompt:Dear Author,Please tell me why this man is armed and dangerous and who it is he belongs to. I really would like to know if he is defending his beloved or about to shoot him for cheating.Photo Description: A rugged, muscular man provocatively holds one arm up beside his head as he looks down at you. His other arm is across his chest, and in his hand is a gun. The words I am my beloved’s are tattooed across his forearm. He looks sexy and dangerous.Download the story, read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 8.__________Genre: Gay Historical Romance (1925)Word count: 18,779

    He’s met— and had— many a man. None of whom he’d want to share five hundred kisses with. If you don’t like someone, you just don’t like them. End of story. No amount of kissing will change that. Dylan Halsworth doesn’t believe it either. But Chris and his arrogant, always right, dare I be wrong attitude has Dylan challenging him to try it. And who knows, maybe watching his most loathed neighbor suffer through five hundred kisses with the same man is worth it. He’d sit back, crack open a Mountain Dew, and have a good laugh . . . But . . . shit . . . there is one slight snag in his plan. Chris has chosen Dylan with whom to prove his point . . . * * * This story was originally written as part of the Goodreads “Love’s Landscapes” anthology, 2014. This second edition has new scenes, scene expansions, scene alterations, a revised ending, reformatting, and--thanks, Natasha!--a new cover. Big thanks to all those involved in both its original and second edition developments.

    They’ve laughed, fought and cried together. Through it all, their love never wavered. However, something recently occurred that has shaken them to the core. What happened and how do they pull through it?Please give this couple the happy ending they deserve. :)Photo Description: Two men embrace lovingly. The taller of the men holds back tears as he grips his hand into the others long, dark hair. His face is etched with emotion, resting his chin in the crook of the others neck, his beard rough from lack of care. His eyes are haunted, behind them a story that has sparked a great sense of feeling inside him; his lips quiver, holding back the words he needs to say.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.

    Windows down and moving across the country to accept a job promotion, Devlin catches the scent of the one person he never expected to find again. To save the one he lost years ago, Devlin finds himself in more trouble than just breaking the council's decree. This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Read the story here or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 1.

    He’s stuck in the office while Randy’s ex Crabtree enjoys Ethan’s husband’s holiday antics. When it’s clear Ethan feels left out in the cold, Crabtree tries to mend fences by suggesting Ethan make Randy’s fun and games a main event at the casino instead of a backroom sideshow. This way Ethan can have his cake and eat it too, especially since Randy’s the one jumping out of the center.Randy knows Crabtree’s motives are never entirely pure and that the gangster can easily twist Ethan’s thinking. Playing naughty elf isn’t worth it if it’ll cost him his cozy holiday with his husband, and as The Twelve Days of Randy spin slowly out of control, Randy fears his perfect Christmas will come crashing down around him. It’s going to take a Christmas miracle to untangle this mess.Luckily, miracles are Herod’s specialty.