Nadya and Shay have built a quiet life together away from the island city-state of Storm’s Quarry and their outlaw vigilante identities, the Iron Phoenix and the Shadow Dragon. When that idyllic life is shattered by the arrival of desperate news from home, Nadya and Shay make the difficult choice to return to Storm’s Quarry.

They find Storm’s Quarry razed, the blood of the Duke drenching its stone, and the fragile peace with the powerful Kingdom of Wintercress destroyed. With their home in need of its masked protectors once more, Nadya and Shay join the resistance, infiltrate enemy lines, and seek the aid of an old foe in a mad plan to save the city that endangers both their lives and their future together. But in the final battle for the fate of Storm’s Quarry, even their powers may not be enough.

Veterinarian Trip Beaumont likes being a big fish in a small pond. There’s hardly an animal she can’t heal or a woman she can’t charm within fifty miles of Pine Cone, Georgia—except for the irritating and elusive new cop who keeps leaving parking tickets on her truck. 

Officer Jamie Grant has never liked rule breakers, but she’s especially incensed when she discovers Trip owns the truck that is constantly parked illegally. She’s searched carefully for a quiet, eclectic community to settle down with her drug-sniffing—albeit gastric-challenged—canine partner, Petunia. Instead, she finds herself on a collision course with the woman who stole her college girlfriend and broke her heart after an ill-conceived threesome.

Sue Jones is a spacebus driver from a nowhere colony. Yearning for adventure, she pilots a shuttle into uncharted regions—and crash-lands in a harsh world. Kara is an alien whose people are Outcasts who have been banished to this world and survive in Rings above the storm-swept surface. 

When Kara rescues her and brings her to the Rings, Sue soon learns that the Outcasts believe humans belong on the surface. As Sue discovers her protector’s secrets, Kara struggles to keep Sue safe and her own feelings at bay. Can love bridge the gap between worlds and heal the deepest of wounds?

A car lies crashed below a Welsh mountain road. One of the young women inside it is dead, the other badly injured, with no memory of who she is or what just happened. All she has is a bus pass showing her photograph and a name she doesn’t recognize.

As she struggles to recover from her injuries, a startling revelation shatters everything she thought she knew, forcing her into an uneasy alliance with Detective Bronwen Pryce. With danger closing in from all sides, the two women must work together to uncover the truth—even if it kills them.

A contractor gets a special treat when her wife packs her lunch. A sexy romance short.

Previously published in A Is for Amour, ed. Alison Tyler (Cleis Press, 2007); republished in Radical Encounters (Bold Strokes Books, 2009).

Kaia Sorano is a police officer in the dangerous and gang dominated streets of Chicago. She thinks she's prepared for anything, but when she responds to a bloody domestic violence call, only to find her high school sweetheart is the victim, she knows she has to find a way to help.

When Adrienne Contreras's mother moved her to the south side of Chicago at seventeen, she quickly saw her safe life and idealistic love with Kaia replaced with poverty, crime, and violence. Now twenty-seven, Adrienne is dating Gianna, a high-ranking member of a brutal gang. She has the streets figured out, but the first rule is to never talk to cops, even one she used to be in love with.

As their attraction grows into love, Adrienne and Kaia struggle to see past the changes in each other and escape Gianna and the gang, who have threatened both their lives.

Outside a hospital in Ottawa, a heartbeat returns long enough for a good-bye. Downtown, a man steps into shadows of the past to help those who have died find their way free from their memories. In Niagara, an icewine vintage is flavored with the truth of what happened on a dark evening of betrayal. In British Columbia, the snow itself can speak to someone who knows how to listen. 

The past echoes through these queer tales—sometimes soft enough to grant a second chance at love, and other times loud enough to damn a killer—never without leaving those who’ve heard it unchanged. 

Of Echoes Born is the first short story collection from Lambda Literary Award finalist ’Nathan Burgoine.

Advance praise from Publishers Weekly: "Burgoine assembles 12 queer supernatural tales, several of which interlock...The best tales could easily stand alone; these include 'The Finish,' about an aging vintner whose erotic dalliance with a deaf young man named Dennis gets complicated, and 'Struck,' in which beleaguered bookstore clerk Chris meets Lightning Todd, who predicts his future wealth and romance. A pair of stories set in 'the Village,' a gay neighborhood, feature appealing characters and romances and could be components of a fine Tales of the City–like novel."

Lucy can’t hold the secret any longer. Twenty-six years ago, her sister did the unthinkable. 

Portland, Oregon, 1989: Lucy Mustin, living somewhat happily, pumping out wedding cakes for starry-eyed heterosexuals while she, a lesbian, can’t legally marry, is called upon to travel to Santa Cruz to help her autistic sister, Alice, care for their Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother. She knew the call was coming sooner or later. She’d just hoped it would be later. Mother issues. The possibility that resolution might be lost to dementia is a heartbreak she doesn’t feel like feeling. 

Santa Cruz, California, one week later: a trip to the family bakery ups the ante tenfold when the Loma Prieta/World Series Earthquake, racking up a whopping 7.1 on the Richter scale, traps the sisters below ground. There, Alice reminds Lucy of a promise made to their mother many years ago, a promise she plans to keep.

Olivia Dawson is in a personal and creative rut when her interior design team nets a contract that could change everything. Olivia grabs the chance to reignite her passion, to step outside her comfort zone, and to achieve national exposure if she delivers everything the client expects.

Savannah Quinn fled a broken heart and started fresh in a new city, at a new job, without any of her past in the rearview. Her new position as corporate liaison to Olivia and her team is exactly the distraction she’s looking for. She doesn’t have to settle into her empty apartment if she’s never there, right? And she can’t be betrayed if she never asks for forever.

Long days in strange cities bring Olivia and Savannah closer, but keeping their growing attraction separate from their professional relationship feels impossible. When Savannah has to choose between Olivia and her career, she makes a choice that could change both their lives.

Gia Malone wants one thing and one thing only: to be the best surfer in the world. Her biggest obstacle is the annoyingly perky Elle Britton. Not only is Elle number one in the rankings, she’s also a fan favorite. But there’s a lot about Elle that Gia never noticed, like her surprising sense of humor and picture-perfect mouth. 

Elle Britton is tired. After tournaments, fan meet-ups, and nonstop media requests, all she wants in the world is a little peace and quiet. But with Gia Malone closing in on her ranking, she has to surf her best. When the media picks up the story of their neck and neck status, Elle finds herself forced further into the spotlight, this time alongside Gia, the knockout with the killer shred and sexy smile. 

It’s not long before there’s no denying the chemistry on and off the beach. But only one can win…

Advance praise from Publishers Weekly: "The stakes are high and emotions run hot....Brayden sets up a flirtatious tit-for-tat that’s honest, relatable, and passionate. The women’s fears are real, but the loving support from the supporting cast helps them find their way to a happy future."

Artist Clay Cahill retreats to her hometown of Pine Cone, Georgia, when she’s betrayed by a woman she thought cared and the pressure of the New York City art world becomes too much. Setting paints aside, she takes a job at her grandfather’s garage seeking the restorative comfort of small town life where women are sweet and life flows as slow as molasses.

Manhattan art gallery owner River Hemsworth is preparing for a show when she’s informed her aunt has bequeathed her a local gallery in Pine Cone, a place where the idea of fashion is anything with a Carhartt label. En route to review inventory and unload the property quickly, River wrecks her car and Clay comes to her rescue.

If River can convince Clay to start painting again, she may be able to pull off the show that will make her career and quench the desires she never expected to feel again.

At seventeen, Lane Hudson had her heart broken by the first woman she ever loved. Fifteen years later, Alison Bickford is back and they’re working the same music festival in rural Georgia. Her feelings are complicated and regrets weigh her down. When the line between past and present, memory and reality starts to blur, Lane knows the spark hasn’t died. 

She only has twelve days to win back Alison’s heart. That is if she can gather the courage to try.