It’s been twenty-five years since English teacher Alyssa Harris was on the dating scene, but romance is too old-fashioned for love in the digital age. Tennis coach Collette Roberts doesn’t think so and sets out to sweep Alyssa off her feet.

Bouquet of Love was previously published in My Secret Valentine: Three Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2022).

The Wild Hunt is under new leadership: the Fury of Vengeance, who wants to bring back the horror of the old days, when gods and fey terrorized mankind. Gwyn, former leader of the Hunt, now serves as its herald but is desperate to get her old job back before the entire modern world finds out about the Hunt’s existence.

Holly has always wanted to be a cop, but her chaotic fey ancestry makes conforming to rules an actual pain. She’s recruited by a secret agency designed to round up supernatural criminals in Houston and banish them. When the Hunt targets a prisoner she’s sworn to protect, she and Gwyn must fight together, or the entire city could burn. And after meeting Holly, Gwyn wants more in her life than just her old job. All that stands in their way is an unforgiving force of nature…and the immortal host at her back.

In this fresh take for grown-ups on the classic Nancy Drew series, crime-solving duo Taylor and Marilee investigate suspicious activity at a small East Texas nursing home.

Taylor, a semi-retired lawyer, and Marilee, whom she met in college, reunite in their eighties with a bang. They bond over the return of their college friend Edith, a doctor working in Africa who returns to the US for medical treatment and ends up in rehab at a local nursing home not far from Taylor and Marilee.

But when Taylor and Marilee visit, all is not as it seems. Several long-term patients have been victimized by a cybercriminal, and local law enforcement seem as uninterested as they are inept.

With the help of two high school seniors, amateur sleuths Taylor and Marilee must solve the mystery of who is taking advantage of wealthy residents so they can spend more time dealing with their romantic feelings, which have evolved during their sixty years apart.

Suri Daniels, a beautiful and troubled woman, is the descendant of a family of supernaturally gifted women, known as the Blessed, and literally holds keys to gateways between the earthly plane and seven powerful gods. A series of tragic losses and a stipulation in her grandmother’s will has her returning to the family’s home in New Orleans, unaware that she will need to step into the role of Orisha priestess and escape the attention of a powerful demon. To top it all off, she must accept the help of a Cambion—Lyla Jefferies, a dark supernatural being she has spent her life avoiding. What’s worse? She can’t help being drawn to Layla in ways she doesn’t understand.

Being the child of a top-tier demon and a human isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For the past two hundred years, Layla Jefferies has lived a life of quietude. When an unknown force draws her out of seclusion, the pull is too strong to ignore. Layla is tasked to assist with protecting the gateways and saving Suri from becoming a vengeful demon’s avatar. Falling in love with her is definitely not part of the plan.

Layla and Suri are brought together by fate to defeat the darkness threatening to tear their world apart. What they don’t expect to discover is a love that might set them free.

Content advisory: Opening chapter includes a depiction of sexual violence and rape.

Dear Reader,

I wrote The Blessed to honor the resilience, strength, and faith of my community’s ancestors. To tell a story, in my own way, of their survival in a world that treated them as less than the lowest of creatures. A world that continues to methodically strip away our sense of selves as humans and our culture as a people. Layla is the embodiment of all People of Color, particularly Women of Color, in this country and the suffering they have endured, which was violent, painful, and has lasted for generations. I choose to honor all those women like Layla, her mother, and grandmother who survived and rather than turn to violence themselves, chose to stand tall and lift their community up.

The Blessed begins with an act of physical violence to represent how some People of Color were brought into the world. Just as we survived our violent past, so does Layla. Just as we did not allow what was wrought upon us to break us, to take away our capacity to love and cherish others the way we were not, Layla also does not let her circumstances break her. She turns that violence into the resolve to help her community. In the process, she finds a love that strengthens her even more.

You may feel discomfort when reading Layla’s beginnings as it mirrors the pain of the past. Atrocity and its generational impacts should not feel comfortable or easy. But her story is ultimately an uplifting one of family, faith, culture, and love that I believe you will enjoy. I hope you see The Blessed as honoring the struggles of my ancestors and accepting the blessing of life, faith, and love that they have bestowed upon me as a result of their survival.

Forever thankful, always grateful, abundantly blessed,

Anne Shade

Melissa Hart is a shy, mousy introvert, afraid to step out of her comfort zone until she dons a mask and leather as the dominatrix persona Mistress Heart. Living a double life, she develops an intimate relationship with a mysterious client who chips away the wall separating Ms. Hart from Mistress Heart to show Melissa the woman she really is. 

Golden Hughes had one goal, to turn her passion for dance into a professional career. Then tragedy strikes and Golden sets her dreams aside for a regular job and steady paycheck. Now that she has everything she needs, her passion for dance is reignited in burlesque performance, putting her in the path of two unique and sexy women.

Zoe Grant has spent most of her adult life putting her wants and needs on the back burner to focus on raising her daughter, her career as a beautician, and expanding her family’s natural hair care products business. When a woman running from a painful past comes to the salon for a life-changing haircut, Zoe finds what she wants and needs in the most unexpected way.

Three friends, each on their own path, discover love could lead to happily ever after.

Chloe knew her future would be boring. Every job pales in comparison to the family legacy: hunting monsters and banishing ghosts. But that birthright belongs to her mother and sister, leaving Chloe forever outside looking in. Until her sister dies without warning. Chloe gets the family magic, a lack of self-confidence, a grieving mother, a sarcastic spirit guide, and room for nothing else, especially love. And lately, someone seems to be summoning ghosts and protecting monsters, and all clues point to one very famous face: Helen of Troy.

Helen has spent hundreds of years running a sanctuary and rehab for the last mythical creatures on earth. And she has a huge chip on her shoulder about that whole Trojan War thing. Neither she nor Chloe has time for the other’s philosophy or to see if their growing attraction is more than skin-deep, not when there are some monsters that won’t be sent to the Underworld without a fight.

Since she took her first trip to the little island of Nosy Bé off the coast of Madagascar, Elise Porter has been drawn back to it time and again. When a mysterious vendor sells her an antique, jewel-encrusted oil lamp, Elise is thoroughly surprised by the mystical appearance of a beautiful and scantily clad woman offering to grant her three wishes. Naima is a Jinni, and she has a wish of her own. A cursed princess’s spirit, who also happens to be the Jinni’s wife Aliya, has taken residence within Elise and needs to be brought forth to free them from their curse.

When Naima is summoned by a human who not only possesses her lamp but also the spirit of her long-lost wife, she can’t believe her luck. After centuries dreaming of the moment when she and Aliya would be reunited, the reality of what freeing her could mean for Elise has Naima wondering if the price of freedom is worth the sacrifice.

Elise and Naima must fight their growing feelings for each other as Elise wages an internal battle with Aliya, and they receive assistance from a very unlikely source.

Ava Prescott has had one goal in life, to carry on the Prescott legacy by taking the reins of Diamond Unlimited Wealth Management. Her father’s determination to uphold the company’s wholesome family image propels Ava into a reluctant fake relationship with Kyle, a man she’s sure is a threat to the business. When her father is the victim of a suspicious accident, Ava believes Kyle is responsible and has no choice but to run.

Paige Richards saw enough violence to last a lifetime during her years as a counterintelligence specialist. She’s ready for some peace on her ranch in Oklahoma and is paying the bills as a private investigator. Paige takes a case to locate and bring back runaway heiress Ava Prescott. It seems simple enough, until she stumbles upon a bungled kidnapping attempt and her peaceful life is turned upside down. Now she must use every skill she has to secure Ava.

As they try to figure out who is out to hurt Ava and her family, Paige and Ava fight to stay one step ahead of the threat and resist their growing attraction. But ignoring their feelings may prove impossible when their hearts and lives are at stake.

Gisele del Amanecer’s days look the same from the outside: work, home, and the occasional one-night stand that she hides from her nosy older sisters. But Gisele is a mage, and that means pain invisible to outside eyes. Each act of magic can be agony, but she loves the power, the bond with the unseen, and how only her will keeps the magic from consuming her. She can master any task, including saving her family and homeland from Firellian invaders—until she’s ordered to hunt another mage, one who may be her equal in power and commitment. One she might risk everything for.

Vale has been subjugated her entire life—to the point where she thinks she deserves it, but she is determined to save others from that fate. Magic has been her one bright spot, but now she’s forced to use that power to kill in the name of the Firellian Empire. Escape or rebellion is out of the question unless she can guarantee the safety of her fellow captives, but how can everyone make it out alive while surrounded by enemies? Perhaps with the help of another mage, someone who bonds with magic like Vale does, someone who might want her for herself instead of for her power. But war always demands a sacrifice.

Eve Monroe couldn’t ask for a better life. She’s free of an unhappy marriage, her event planning business is a success, and she’s surrounded by the love and support of her family. Then Lynette walks into her life and her intense dark eyes and easy charm have Eve longing for a love her heart has always desired, but she’s too afraid to admit to.

The last thing Lynette Folsom is looking for is love, especially with a closeted lesbian. She’s gone down that road before and has nothing but a broken heart to show for it. When she meets Eve, she begins to wonder if love behind closed doors can really work.

Two women. One choice. Will they be able to overcome their doubts and fears to embrace their deepest desire?

Winning the heart of your secret Valentine? These award-winning authors agree—there is no better way to fall in love.

In I Met Someone by Julie Cannon: Hayes Martin shares everything with her BFF Claire Wheeler. Well, almost everything. Hayes has kept a secret from Claire for years, and she can’t take it anymore. Tonight is the night she comes clean and risks it all to gain everything she’s ever wanted.

In Taking a Risk by Erin Dutton: Police officer Jo Forsythe thinks she could find the love and family she’s been longing for with Kayla McCall. Kayla’s focused on running her business, and if she was looking for love, it wouldn’t be with Jo. Can Jo win the hearts of both Kayla and the small town that’s so protective of her?

In Bouquet of Love by Anne Shade: It’s been twenty-five years since English teacher Alyssa Harris was on the dating scene, but romance is too old-fashioned for love in the digital age. Tennis coach Collette Roberts doesn’t think so and sets out to sweep Alyssa off her feet.

Zara del Amanecer’s purpose in life is to do her duty, whether as a noble or a scout. She never shirks her responsibilities, especially with missions as simple as this one: to reconnoiter the border with the Firellian Empire and report anything suspicious. Easily done, even with a new recruit conscripted from prison. Never mind that Veronique the thief ignites unfamiliar feelings in Zara, from furious loathing to overwhelming desire.

Roni can’t stop imagining how passionate Zara would be if she thought less about duty, or even if she cared more about survival. Because the Firellians have a new magical weapon no one suspected, and they’re not about to let anyone who’s seen it get out alive. In the sights of an empire planning invasion, Zara and Roni’s principles might not be the only things sacrificed.

Book 2 in the Sisters of Sarras Trilogy

Praise from Publishers Weekly: "The second lesbian fantasy romance in Wright’s The Sisters of Sarras trilogy takes to the military for a delightful character-centered story about trust and loyalty. Sarassian Commander Zara del Amanecer is socially awkward and ultra-rational. As punishment for a recent faux pas with a Colonel’s daughter, her scouting squad is the first in an experiment in using prisoners as recruits, putting flirty, smart-mouthed thief Veronique “Roni” Bisset under Zara’s command and setting the stage for their opposites-attract romance...Series fans will not be disappointed."

Janesse Crawford spends her teenage and young adult years trying to balance her tomboy, girl-loving side with being the picture-perfect daughter her mother wants. It’s difficult, and Janesse is full of self-doubt, but she manages to find a way to make it work. Then Janesse meets sexy, confident Maya Lawson, who is everything she didn’t realize she wanted, and her world is turned upside down. But Janesse makes a choice and doesn’t look back.

Thirty years later, Janesse is married to a man who loves her, has raised two wonderful children, and has a successful career doing what she loves. But when a chance meeting with Maya brings her past rushing back, the lie Janesse has been living comes crashing in on her. She let Maya get away once, but her second chance at true love could cost her the picture-perfect world she’s spent a lifetime building. It’s not too late for Janesse to blossom into the woman she’s always wished to be. But on her path to self-acceptance, she will risk everything—and possibly everyone—she loves.

Starred review from Publishers Weekly: "Shade imbues this optimistic story of lifelong self-discovery with a refreshing amount of emotional complexity, delivering a queer romance that leans into affection as much as drama, and values friendship and familial love as deeply as romantic connection...Shade’s well-drawn Black cast and sophistication in presenting a variety of relationship styles—including open relationships and connections that shift between romance and friendship—creates a rich, affirming, and love-filled setting..."

In Our Words: Queer Stories from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Writers is a thoughtfully curated collection of short stories at the intersection of racial and queer identity. Comprising both the renowned and emerging voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color authors, across multiple countries, and diverse in style, perspective, and theme, In Our Words reflects the complexity and diversity of human experience.

Adella del Amanecer is from a noble family whose pride comes from dedication to the kingdom of Sarras. She works long hours as a diplomat and barely has time for her sisters, let alone romance, a fact that makes her nights feel longer than her days, especially when she thinks about the lovely bard on the corner.

As an ex-spy for the Firellian Empire, Bridget Leir has fled from crises and corruption until settling in Sarras, where she can hide as a bard. When a chance meeting with a beautiful diplomat leads to romance, Bridget’s new life feels filled with promise, until Sarras investigates Firellian rumblings of war. If the truth comes out, the Sarrasians—and Adella—will never believe Bridget’s spying days are done, and worse—Adella will be accused of sleeping with the enemy. It’ll be the gallows for them both.

Praise from Publishers Weekly: "Wright sets up the Sisters of Sarras lesbian fantasy romance trilogy with solid worldbuilding, a delightfully awkward couple who bridge social realms, and an entertaining adventure that leaves plenty of room to grow....By the end, Wright has established strong personalities for Adella’s two sisters and taken the suspense plotline to the brink of war between Sarras and the Firellians, setting up strongly for the next volumes. Readers will be pleased."

Harlem, New York, 1925 is a mecca of cultural and creative freedom, where masquerade drag balls are all the rage and the music, dancing, and loose prohibition laws unite people from all walks of life.

Dinah Hampton came to Harlem for better opportunities for her family but ends up working as a nightclub chorus girl to help make ends meet. Among the nightlife and danger, she finds love in the most unexpected way.

When a scandal rocks Celine Montre’s family and sends them fleeing from New Orleans to Harlem, the gorgeous Dinah Hampton helps her to discover that there’s more to life, and love, than she ever thought possible.

When a notorious gangster sets her sights set on seducing Celine, Dinah and Celine are forced to risk their hearts, and lives, for love.

Lady Sylph’s only concerns should inheriting her title, marrying well, producing an heir, and lording it all over the peasantry. It’s what her father insists upon, and she never knew she needed anything or anyone else until her magic comes, an ability her class is not supposed to possess.

Thana never coveted the title of monarch’s pyradisté because her knowledge exceeds her ability. She hopes the royals will never depend on her, but then the palace’s pyramids go haywire. On top of that, a beautiful, spoiled noblewoman needs her help to conceal a new power.

Could Sylph’s ability and Thana’s magical mystery be related to a new kind of crystal being smuggled into the kingdom or a possible pyradisté coup? They’ll have to work together and overcome their biases, admit their feelings, and maybe surrender to their fierce desire before time runs out.

Beast: Former hip-hop artist Ebony “The Beast” Trent has wrapped her persona around herself like a protective wall of bitterness. Belinda Jansen is confident, intelligent, sexy, and—to Ebony's fascination—not the least bit intimidated by Ebony’s beastly demeanor. Can Beauty truly tame The Beast?

Awaken: Local celebrity chef Chayse Carmichael has achieved a level of success she’d only imagined while learning to cook. But when free-spirited Georgia peach Serena Frasier walks into her restaurant, Chayse realizes that success doesn’t always bring happiness if you don’t have someone special to share it with. Does love at first sight truly exist?

Stiletto: Music mogul Cass Phillips barely has a moment to sleep, let alone build a relationship. But an unexpected encounter with shoe designer Faith Shaw leads her to believe that maybe fairy tales do come true. Can true love really conquer all?

Six women find themselves in their own real-life fairy tales when true love finds them in the most unexpected ways.

Praise from Publishers Weekly: "Shade twines together three sensual novellas, each based on a classic fairy tale and centering black lesbian love....The fairy tale connections put a fun, creative spin on these quick outings. Readers looking for sweet and spicy lesbian romance will be pleased."