After scraping together enough money, and applying for the correct permit, she has set up her new ice cream trike in the affluent market town of Wilmsford. Unfortunately, her permit-approved spot puts her right outside the Gelato Parlour. Owned by Juliana Martin-Sinclair, the meticulous woman who puts the ice into ice queen. What will happen when these two very different ice cream aficionados collide?31,400 words

    Until he meets Tork. Tork is clever and funny. He makes origami models and reads Dickens. Tork has green hair and makes Adam's heart race with longing. But Tork is homeless and not at all impressed with Adam's attitude.Can Adam see past his fear and arrogance? Can Tork give Adam a chance? Can two such different men turn the world upside down and find out what really matters? Read to find out their story.Content Warning: the story includes reference to and description of self-harming.* * * * *A story from Boughs of Evergreen: A Holiday Anthology

    Spending her days painting, she's turned her back on more than her past, she's let go of all her hopes and dreams for the future and while this new life is a struggle, she's determined not to let anyone tempt her into changing course. But Scarcity wants to know her - Teresa's the only other lesbian in this tiny dot on the map after all, and Scarcity's position in life feels increasingly precarious. She's coming of age and coming out into a world that seems more hostile than welcoming. Things at home aren't all they could be and the more experienced Teresa might be able to offer her a helping hand, and a safe place in which Scarcity can truly be herself. Teresa's frightened of her though. The girl stirs up too many feelings in her, and she doesn't want to be reminded of needs that are going unfulfilled. It would be much easier if Scarcity would just leave her alone - on her own, Teresa can't repeat her worst mistakes. Unfortunately, what she's doing can barely be called living, and when Scarcity insists on being part of her life, Teresa may have to re-evaluate everything she thinks she knows about herself and the choices she's made .

    I’m straight . . . I think. I also have a mountain of student loans and a smart mouth. I wasn’t serious when I told Pari Sadashiv I’d marry her. It was only party banter! Except Pari needs a green card, and she’s willing to give me a breather from drowning in debt.My off-the-cuff idea might not be so terrible. We get along as friends. She’s really romantically cautious, which I find heartbreaking. She deserves someone to laugh with. She’s kind. And calm. And gorgeous. A couple of years with her actually sounds pretty good. If some of Pari’s kindness and calmness rubs off on me, that’d be a bonus, because I’m a mess -- anorexia is not a pretty word -- and my little ways of keeping control of myself, of the world, aren’t working anymore.And, if I slip up, Pari will see my cracks. Then I’ll crack. Which means I gotta get out, quick, before I fall in love with my wife.

    She’s just waiting until she turns eighteen and has enough money saved to run away from her unbearable life with her grandparents. Gracie has everything Tember never knew she was missing—a good education and a loving father, who is supportive of her sexual orientation and even tries to set her up with girls. When he introduces the two girls, Gracie’s blue eyes and strong character immediately catch Tember’s attention. But a summer romance is not Tember’s style, especially since she’s about to run away.

    She pushes herself to rebuild her family’s legacy while battling the PTSD that threatens to overwhelm her.Local saddler and horse trainer Riley Johnson knows that to get along in a small town, one simply has to make the best of what life hands out. Riley’s philosophy is to keep life as uncomplicated as possible. And falling in love with Sorla is as complicated as it gets.As Sorla’s dream is realized, Riley’s predictable, safe world begins to unravel. Secrets are revealed as prejudice and ignorance run wild. Having only ever walked through life alone, Riley must now learn to trust another, as danger dances ever closer.

    This year, I decided I’d do one for Gansey. Like the 300 Fox Way piece, it takes place the December before The Raven Boys begins."-Maggie Stiefvater

    She is exhausted with fame and the superficiality of her life. She is fed up of people around her just wanting her face, her body, her money and her fame.Lucy is lonely and just wants to be seen for herself, for who she really is. She creates a fake profile online to find real friends who don't want her for all the wrong reasons.She never expects to find a real intense soul connection with someone in the build up to Christmas.Lucy's new girlfriend is coming home for Christmas. Can Lucy find a way to finally tell the truth?

    During that time, their families have grown to accept what the twenty-nine year old reformed player and her fifty year old lover mean to each other. Theirs is not just another kinky May-December affair. But a ghost from Rémi’s past rises up to threaten what the two women have found together. Can they put these demons to rest or will their love, as erotic as it is powerful, scatter like ashes to the four winds? Warning: This story contains explicit, kinky sexual acts between two consenting adults with a motorcycle acting as occasional voyeur. Number 3 in the How Sweet It Is series by the Lambda Literary Award finalist author of Bliss and Every Dark Desire. Start from the beginning with A Taste of Sin, Hungry for It, then Return to Me (a short sequel to Hungry for It), then Insatiable Appetites. All (except for Return to Me) are standalone, full-length novels featuring different couples in the group of Miami-based friends.

    She knows better than to give in, even when her old best friend shows up in town again—and they have the same spark as ever.Of course, it doesn’t help that Brooke is bisexual, single, and the entirety of Mountain Crossing is intent on the two of them getting together.Silent Night is a 35,000-word sweet small-town childhood-friends-to-lovers Christmas romance novella, following a musician with auditory processing disorder who just wants some peace and quiet, and her childhood best friend who’s a happy small-town baker and painter. Features meddling family who tries to push the two together, constantly running into one another, and cute Christmas fluff for days. Content warnings for open-door sex scenes, queer girls trying their best not to get together, loving family who are really obvious in their attempts to get them together, and Daniel always talking about food.

    She’s always had enviable curves, but nearly naked wasn’t quite the look she’d been going for at her ex’s wedding.She’s rushed from the altar under the best man’s designer tux jacket. Hayley’s expecting a blast of icy disapproval from sexy, sophisticated Niccolò Rossi—his usual reaction to anything she does. What she gets is a kiss that nearly melts what’s left of her polyester nightmare gown.It’s impossible on a million levels. Exuberant engineer Hayley and buttoned-up lawyer Nico have never seen eye to eye—but skin to skin? Oh, mio…. So when Nico shows up at her flat on Christmas Day to give her a fabulous gift—himself—Hayley’s delighted to do the unwrapping. But it’s just a holiday fling. By New Year’s Day, she’ll come back to her senses…unless Nico’s sensual skills tear away all her resolve.

    She might be more than successful, her body more than sinful and enough offers from the right kind of girls to satisfy anyone, yet there has always been something missing. Until Jo re-appears one day. In need of a friend. --------------------------------------- A short story I wrote earlier this year after catching sight of someone I hadn't seen in fifteen years, the instant recognition that makes you question your sanity.

    The magic’s drying up; the girls are spoiled brats, and guardian angels poach the council’s best clients whenever they can.When her boss assigns her a VIP case, Claire assumes it’s more of the same. But Frankie, her client, seems to be the deserving underdog of the olden days. And Tamiel, the guardian angel who pops onto the scene, swears she’s there to protect Frankie, not to steal her. It doesn’t hurt she’s smokin’ hot.As the case starts to unravel, Claire is forced to examine her own prejudices and desires. Is she heading for certain ruin, or will she grab her happily ever after in this lesbian urban fantasy?Length: 35,000 wordsThemes: action · demon · fairy godmother · Fallen Angel · guardian angel · lesbian · Los Angeles · supernatural · urban

    There’s nothing she enjoys more than being out in the mountains leading adventure tours. On a well-deserved break over Thanksgiving weekend, she’s DJ-ing karaoke at the Dew Drop Inn when Audrey Adams takes the stage to sing the greatest middle finger break-up song ever, dedicated to her ex-girlfriend. It’s a perfect night that culminates in a transcendental experience in bed…before Audrey rushes out in the morning. Monday morning, the holidays are in full swing when Audrey’s worst nightmare comes true. After the most memorable night of her life, she’s thrust together with the one woman who she hasn’t been able to forget—on a strictly-professional consulting project for her family’s business. Meanwhile, Toni can’t believe her luck. Now she has the unexpected chance to win Audrey over, and she sets a goal to be someone worthy of this woman’s love and respect. Will they crash and burn like a bad karaoke performance—or will they be singing a duet before the holiday season is over?

    . .…tiara tiaras and all.Holly's biggest client insists on having a Skype call on Christmas day to secure a deal of a lifetime, which is fine with her, because this year she's going to make a new tradition. ; Celebrating Christmas alone with her cat at her snowy remote family cabin as family and friends go their separate ways to celebrate the holiday.When things everything start starts to go array, Holly has to call on her hunky neighbor for help in order to secure the her deal of a lifetime. Will it all work out or will Holly pull the quilt over her head waiting for Christmas to be over?