Contemporary Books

Two BFFs decide to spend Valentine's Day together and discover the true love they've been seeking in all the wrong places. 

Previously published in The Perfect Valentine, ed. T. Szymanski and B. Johnson (Bella Books, 2006).

Graduate student Rachel Cole is feeling the weekend blues and heads to her favorite lesbian hangout, looking for Ms. Right Now. She is immediately attracted to a brown-haired, brown-eyed, flannel-wearing soulful singer named Bobby Layton. But when Bobby introduces himself to Rachel, Rachel questions things about herself—things like her own sexuality and her very identity. Could she be falling for this sweet boy?

Bobby Layton lost a lot when he came out as trans. And he's sworn off dating lesbians because dealing with hate from the straight world is hard enough. Who needs the drama? But something about wild girl Rachel Cole keeps him coming back.

Love may be enough to take them to unexpected places beyond their expectations.   

Taylor Crenshaw is a lifelong Democrat, but her parents are staunch Republicans. To make matters worse, her ultraconservative father has just been elected president. Although she prefers to live her life openly, her father would rather she stay in the closet. When she meets Robby Rawlins, will she choose to give in to her father’s demands or follow her heart?
 
Robby Rawlins works at an antique store by day. She spends her nights anonymously skewering politicians in her blog. President Terry Crenshaw’s anti-gay rhetoric gave Robby plenty to write about during a contentious campaign, but a chance meeting with his daughter leaves her at a loss for words. Getting the scoop has always been Robby’s goal. Now it might come second to getting the girl. Unless she can find a way to do both.

Self-made business owner Dale McGuire has always enjoyed two things in life: women and fast cars. Now in her mid thirties, she’s restless and can’t work out why. Then one day a ten-year-old boy turns up, claiming to be her son, and her simple ordered world turns upside down.
 
Rebecca Harper bears the emotional scars of her father’s crimes, and now she has two rules: never let anyone get too close, and never admit weakness. Thanks to an anonymous egg donor, infertility didn’t stop her from having her son Jake. Now pregnant for a second time, she’s horrified when Jake brings home the woman he believes is his other mother.
 
When distrust turns to understanding and passion, can Dale and Rebecca, two women bound by fate, make a family neither expected?

With the holidays over and the New Year beginning, Chloé Deveraux and Amelia Winters are finally in a position to concentrate on themselves and their new love. Chloé hopes that she and Amelia can finally stop worrying and start living.

The course of true love is never easy, however, and Chloé and Amelia struggle to keep their love strong in the face of mounting complications. Family conflict and a woman from Amelia’s past conspire to keep the two lovers apart. These problems, combined with Chloé’s desire to leave Amelia’s art dealership, may act as the ultimate blow to their tenuous romance. Can Chloé and Amelia overcome these threats, or is it time to move on?

Sequel to A Palette for Love

Jay "Flash" Reynolds has a brilliant future as a trauma surgeon until a truck on a rainy night changes her life. Assistant chief medical examiner Olivia Price is more at ease with the dead than the living—at least the dead never lie. All she needs to do is listen to their stories. What she doesn't need is a surly new resident who would rather be somewhere else.

Two women, one with a damaged body, the other a damaged spirit, challenge each other to dare to live again.

When campaign organizer Trevor Connelly comes to Indianapolis to help local advocates fight their Republican state government’s religious freedom law, she finds that’s not her only challenge. Librarian Gail Moore would rather avoid both politics and romance, but with Trevor, she finds it hard to resist either.

Can two women from different worlds overcome their misgivings and find true love?

Darcy Flynn, a former police officer in East Quay, works as a night guard and a private investigator. Framed for a bad shooting while on the force, she is set on finding out the truth about what happened.

Sabrina Hawk, a successful accountant with an impressive client list, still suffers the aftereffects from an assault during her college years. Victim-blaming on campus was bad enough, but she loathes the authorities for mistreating her.

Darcy notices Sabrina often works late, and the elegant blonde stirs her innate protectiveness. Sabrina finds herself able to relax around Darcy. A mutual attraction develops, but then Sabrina’s office is subjected to several break-ins. Wary of the police, she hires Darcy to investigate. Darcy fears Sabrina’s reaction once she learns Darcy was a cop—a cop who left the force in disgrace.

Animal rescue worker Iris Mallery thinks she has created a stable and secure home for herself, but when her small town is battered by an earthquake, Iris needs to rebuild not only her own life, but the lives of the displaced dogs and cats now filling her shelter.
 
The quake’s effects are personal for Iris, but not for seismologist Casey Radnor. Casey is a scientist above all else, logical and disconnected from the natural disasters she studies. When she rescues a stray dog from some rubble, she finds herself caught up in the lives of Iris and the others affected by the quake, despite her best efforts to remain professional.
 
The beautiful San Juan Islands in Washington State become the epicenter of both the earthquake and the collision of Iris's and Casey’s hearts. Can love bind the shattered fragments together again?

In this sequel to Escapades, Mel O’Brien has a string of bad luck with women but is determined to take another chance with Susan Maloney who’s new to the women’s community in which Mel lives. Susan Maloney moved to Maybon Tir looking for a new start after a bad breakup. She is determined to stay single and happy.
 
Things seem to be going Mel’s way until Susan’s ex, Dorinda, shows up in town, determined to take Susan back. Will Mel be able to win Susan’s heart? Or will she crash and burn once again?

Can the truth really set you free? Genevieve Applegate is tired of her stagnant life and she’s ready to make a change by going after her dream job in New Jersey. The listing seems ideal when Genevieve scans it, but a big surprise comes at her interview: Out Shore Magazine is an LGBT publication. She’s willing to work around this detail with an innocent lie, one she’ll keep from her longtime boyfriend as well as her new boss, Harper Davies. Out Shore has been Harper’s main focus since her heart was broken years ago, but Genevieve may be the one to change that with her fresh perspective and charm. While both women enjoy what they learn about each other, Genevieve is most surprised by what she learns about herself. Pretending to be a lesbian has never felt more honest.

Johnnie Hamilton has conquered a lot in life. An anxiety disorder, loss of her business, and homelessness have been difficult to overcome. But Johnnie has come through the other side to find success as an artist. Now, however, she’s lost her creative drive and she’s struggling to produce.

Elaine Taylor has an interesting job. She’s a “creative practitioner,” known to awaken her client’s creative side by using many different approaches, including a sensual or sexual approach. Most of her clients are male and she likes it that way. Women are the last thing she wants in her life, having lost the most important woman she’s ever known, her wife.

Fearing she’ll lose all she’s worked so hard for, Johnnie takes her friend’s advice and calls a lone number on a business card, steps into Elaine’s office, and shakes up both their worlds forever.

Shelly White is a coding genius who has mastered the IT world but hasn’t quite mastered dating. While she searches for Ms. Right with the help of Samantha Monteiro’s matchmaking agency, Shelly embraces her inner nerd, and when one of her newest ideas turns into a creative goldmine, she hires PR exec Claire Moseley to help her professional dreams become reality. But is Claire the girl of her dreams in more ways than one?
 
Being raised by four brothers has made Claire tenacious. Her assignment to Shelly’s high-profile project focuses her desire to prove her worth, even though she secretly fears she’s out of her depth. And she absolutely, positively isn’t going to let her growing attraction to Shelly White derail her career.
 
When passions and ambitions overlap, Shelly and Claire must decide whether mixing business and pleasure can result in a perfect match.

Sarah O’Shaughnessy, a high school counselor, is very good at taking care of others. What she hasn’t mastered is how to take better care of herself. Four years after the death of her wife, Sarah’s life has settled into a safe, solitary rut. That is, until the arrival of a new student and her mom.
 
Lauren Emerson and her teen daughter, Kat, move back to Lauren’s hometown in Central New York, fleeing her unsupportive husband and Kat’s traumatic bullying experience. Lauren is determined to create a better life for them both. She soon discovers that the compassionate Ms. O’Shaughnessy is someone in whom she can confide.
 
The newly forged friendship between Sarah and Lauren provides support and encouragement, yet neither is prepared for the undeniable attraction that ignites between them. When the future looks like nothing they had planned, will they find the courage to go where love leads?

What to do when a tiny little lie is the one thing that keeps you from winning the girl of your dreams?

Still being a virgin is Ashley’s dirty little secret. That, and the fact she’s hopelessly in love with her best friend Leah. When Leah needs help extricating herself from an awkward one-night stand, Ashley runs to the rescue. An innocent touch turns electric, and Ashley has to come clean about her charade or risk losing the woman she loves.

Trigena Gillmore is about to become a mother, but she never wanted children. Her wife, Dr. Karri Gillmore, PhD, is pregnant. Karri’s been dreaming about being a mom for as long as she can remember. Trigena is so in love with her wife, she agreed to the insemination to make Karrie happy. Trig thought she had plenty of time to get used to the idea of being a parent, but Karrie got pregnant on the first attempt. The baby is only a few months away, and Trigena’s fears run deep. The stress has made everything more difficult, and Trigena must keep it all inside. She can escape it all, but the loss might be too much.

"In this romantic journey, the main characters must find their fresh start if they are to survive the stresses and turmoil of a renewed life together....New Life is a thought-provoking story with charming main characters who seem more real because of their struggles." –Lambda Literary Review

Myra Owens runs a therapeutic riding program for returning soldiers. She won't risk getting hurt by becoming personally involved with her riders until Ainslee Harriot challenges her to take a chance on love.

Risk Factor was previously published in Sweet Hearts (Bold Strokes Books, 2015).

Princess Rozala of Denbourg enjoys her reputation as a wild child, especially when it annoys her father, the King. When Roza’s latest girlfriend brings scandal to the palace doors, her father sends her to Britain, in the hopes that time with her cousin Queen George and the new Queen Consort will finally make her face her responsibilities.

After overcoming personal demons and quitting the high-stakes world of finance, Lennox King is content to keep her life simple. As the new director of a hospice charity, she uses a strict business approach to help the charity grow and prosper.

When Roza comes to work at the charity under orders from the Queen Consort, babysitting a spoiled princess is definitely not on Lennox’s agenda. But when passion flares between them, will Lennox’s past stop their relationship in its tracks, or will a twist of fate bring a new future that neither was expecting?