Books Tagged With author - australian

Word Count: Click here to reveal18000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: In 1947, James “Jimmy” Bacon becomes involved in a violent workplace altercation fuelled by a PTSD-induced rage. His boss, a fellow war-veteran, tells him to take a few months off work, have a holiday, go somewhere warm, and get his head together.   Jimmy decides to take a coastal steamer to the northernmost outpost of Australia, Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, to visit the grave of his oldest friend, Sandy, killed during the Japanese bombing of the city in 1942. Upon arriving, he discovers that Sandy’s death is not as simple as military records seemed to indicate. After learning that Sandy’s grave contains only an arm with no distinguishing features, he starts asking questions around town in order to find out what really happened to his mate.   The more he asks, the more he discovers that Darwin is less about post-war reconstruction and more about drugs, gambling, and the excessive consumption of alcohol. It’s a lawless city where 95% of the population is male and prostitution is banned, creating a thriving underworld where rough frontier-town blokes and men from the armed forces are doing more with each other than having a beer and passing the time of day.   While digging deeper, Jimmy discovers a terrible truth, arousing the interest of men who would do anything to keep the past a secret—men who consider his life of little value. Jimmy is forced to rely on quick thinking and his army training when death comes looking for him in the dead of night.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: NATE AND THE NEW YORKER Nate once had the love of his life, but he’s met Cameron, a New York millionaire with an eccentric cross-dressing butler. Cameron is keen to share his world of classy restaurants, Broadway shows, and fabulous parties, and while Nate’s friends see the makings of a fantasy romance, it’s Nate who has to learn how to open his heart again. But is Cameron simply second best? NATE'S LAST TANGO Nate’s life couldn’t be better. He’s living with his rich boyfriend, Cameron, in New York while being wined and dined all over the city. But when Nate decides to visit his friends back in Sydney, Cameron suggests they break it off for a while. Cam’s cross-dressing butler is not impressed, and with the help of his lesbian aunt, they drag Cameron down-under to sort out his relationship and take in the sights of Mardi Gras! With Nate at a loss to what went wrong, he faces the dim reality that love may have run its course. https://youtu.be/p3zjFttpjXc

Word Count: Click here to reveal77000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: When we’re both needy and tactile AF, it’s no wonder everyone thinks my best friend and I are an item. But that’s so not what’s going on. Cassius Britton, the mouthy basketball player for the Minnesota Eagles, is my soul mate. He has been since he shared his gummy bears and let me have all the red ones. Because that’s the kind of person he is—selfless and sweet. But he’s so much more than that. He’s the man who rescued me from my homophobic parents. He’s the man who brought me and my sister into his family home and wrapped us in love and sunshine. All of that, and so much more, makes us soul mates—which doesn’t mean he’s meant to be mine. And when I become a dad and have to balance being a cop in our small town while dealing with grief, of course he steps up, because that’s who Cassius is. But when I need to get married, when I need a man to step up and be by my side, maybe Cassius is too close. Too much of a risk. Because how can I possibly marry my best friend and not start to fall, especially when the secrets between us are so explosive, they’ll either burn us to the ground or set our hearts free forever?

Word Count: Click here to reveal80000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Some things you can’t just blurt out… right? When you’ve shared a kiss with your best friend and it blows your mind—and other parts of your body—it’s inevitable that everything changes. That’s the way it now is with me and Jayden Moore, my best friend who thought he could rock my world with no consequences, all while throwing me his signature grin. But this is Jayden we’re talking about. He gets himself into unexpected trouble no matter what, and when visiting Australia, I’m compelled to make sure he doesn’t get eaten by a croc or try to steal a kangaroo. Like the glutton for punishment I am, I follow him. And that’s all great until my desperation and big mouth send our worlds spiraling. Apparently, we’re now officially a couple. And because of course it goes one step further, I’ve now got my very own fake fiancé. Being in the media is one thing, but being inspiration for others creates a whole new set of guilt and problems. But we’ll tackle it together and find our way back to how things were. And if that’s not possible, just maybe Jayden and I can find ourselves with a brand-new label. One that’s real, and one I don’t run from. That’s the thing with Jayden: he has a way to extract my secrets. Whether he’s prepared for them or not.

Word Count: Click here to reveal84000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Some things you can’t take back. If you say those words, get caught glancing at his bulge, or share a heated kiss, it’s game over. The “no take backs” rule strikes, and there’s no way you can backtrack. That’s the way it’s always been with me and Nate Griffin, my old best friend who thought he could change the rules. It doesn’t matter that time and distance have pulled us apart. I’ve finally figured myself out and yanked my head out of my backside. Now, if only I can drag myself out of the closet and be the man I want to be for Nate… But I’m a pro basketball player who has no desire to be a poster boy. Not only that, Nate and I don’t even live in the same country. Nate, big-hearted guy he is, takes it all in his stride, and I can’t help but wonder if just maybe he’s too good for me. But hell if I can resist him. It all boils down to: Do I want to take anything back when it comes to Nate Griffin?

Word Count: Click here to reveal72000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Pining for your best friend sucks ass—and not the good kind of sucking. But I can’t back away, and I definitely can’t let go. Eddie Phelps is too damn important to me. He has my heart and soul. Well, he and his daughter, a ten-year-old who one day will run the world. It’s not like I can even blame Eddie for mixed signals or anything. He’s done everything right. He always does. Honestly, that’s part of his problem. But I won’t put pressure on him. That means it’s down to Eddie to see how freakin’ awesome a catch I am. I just have no idea how exactly I’ll get him to do that. Sure, I’m a professional basketball player. But once upon a time, so was he. It’s going to take something huge to get him to see beyond my age *cough immaturity cough*. But since Eddie isn’t one for making wrong moves, I’m not sure a grand gesture will work. That leads me back to pining, and hoping somehow, someway, he’ll see me as more than a joker. More than his best friend—even though I’m a kick-ass one. Maybe someday, he’ll know I’m exactly the person he needs to make the move on.

Word Count: Click here to reveal40000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: A bar owner who’s not looking for a relationship. A lost soul who’s afraid to trust. When Elijah and Seb meet, sparks fly. But will either of them find the courage to take what they want? Pouring his all into his business, Elijah is perfectly content running his bar. With its prime location and its infamous drag shows, Bar QK is the place to be. Elijah is used to meeting new and sometimes interesting people, but it’s rare anyone catches his interest for anything longer than a five-minute conversation. It takes a wandering, unfiltered surfer, who’s tired of the chase and dog-tired of people taking advantage of him, to spark long-buried interest in Elijah. While kindness runs through his veins, Seb doesn’t believe in fairy tales. He has a past he’d rather forget and has no real expectations for his future. He believes it’s safer to not make assumptions about anything or anyone; that way, he’ll remain safe. It takes his elusive, aloof boss, whose mixed messages are more confusing than Ikea furniture instructions, to show Seb that opening his heart can be worth the risk. When Elijah and Seb find themselves working on a common goal, the high stakes may be just the nudge they need.

Word Count: Click here to reveal32000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Pansexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: When a cute nurse needs to be saved during his shift in the Pride kissing booth, he’s rescued by a man he least expects. Now he just needs to figure out how to achieve the future he wants, one that will lead to a happily ever after and a place he can call home. Ian Haughton is a loveable, hardworking nurse. He’s ready for a change and wants to escape and start afresh in the small community of towns he’s grown to love—Kirkby being at the heart. When the new annual Pride festival launches in this small-town community, Ian is happy to be involved but reluctant to be the lips needed to draw in the crowds at the kissing booth. That is until one man’s lips save him from an uncomfortable moment and end up turning his world on its head. With miles separating Ian from the future he so desperately wants, he has no idea how he can make it all work out, especially when someone appears to be driving a wedge in his plans. Some surprises are unexpected, while some revelations come with the sweetest of first—and last—kisses. Our First and Last is a feel-good sexy M/M romance in Becca Seymour’s bestselling True-Blue series. It can be read as a stand-alone novella, but it’s recommended you read book four, Thinking It Over, first so you have a better understanding of the wonderful characters in this world.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50700 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Two straight guys sharing a sleeper…harmless…nothing’s likely to happen…is it? When Michael Broadhurst invites a total stranger to share his sleeper on the overnight train, he’s asking for trouble—not that his life could get any more complicated than it already is. After years of working on outback properties, Gazza Kelly is finally heading back to the city. With his criminal past behind him, Gazza has no plans until he’s invited to spend the night with a guy he’s never met before.

Word Count: Click here to reveal69000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: How do you find love when someone doesn’t want you to be happy? Patrick Edwards is dealing with a double whammy. Unwanted attention from his housemate’s boyfriend is making him feel uncomfortable in his own home, and he’s facing uncertainty with his employment as an administrative assistant at the local elementary school. He finally breathes a sigh of relief when a friend puts him in contact with Simon, who has a vacant room. Simon Dawson is a paramedic who doesn’t hesitate to help Patrick. After all, no one should live in a house where they don’t feel safe. Simon develops feelings for Patrick, but doesn’t act on them—Patrick’s moved from a bad situation and doesn’t need his new housemate hitting on him. However, a weekend away changes everything when Simon realizes Patrick returns his feelings. But someone doesn’t want Patrick and Simon to be happy. A series of strange letters arrive at the house, and things will get a lot worse before the two men get their happily ever after.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Troubled pasts, fresh starts, new love. Forced to leave home as soon as he finished high school, Bailey McCreedy's focus has been on earning enough money to survive. All he needs is a roof over his head and to keep his small mobile lending library running. Books are Bailey's escape, and he loves to share the joy of reading with those who don't have access to them. Tom Brooks's upbringing is very different to Bailey's, with a loving family, a good education, and a high-flying job--that is, until things came crashing down. Tom opens a coffee shop, struggling to build his business and reluctant to accept help, operating under the misguided belief that he must pay penance for his sins. Watching Bailey work with the street kids opens Tom's eyes to the reality that accepting help is not a sign of weakness, and that he is so much more than his past mistakes. But as Bailey falls for Tom, with his charming manner, obvious care for others, and group of successful friends, Bailey's own sense of self-worth threatens to tear them apart. In the face of intensifying challenges, he's reluctant to confide in Tom, afraid he's not good enough. A bright future will require Bailey to heed his own advice--people aren't defined by their failures or inability to live up to the expectations of others. It's time for Tom to pay it forward, and Bailey needs to accept the help and love that Tom offers.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: All his working life, Kurt lived in a world of secrets. Those secrets killed his best friend, Nick. One secret, though, will tear his world apart – the one he’s keeping from himself. December, 1988: For Kurt Nash, CIA operative, a trip to Pemberton in Australia’s south-west to scatter Nick’s ashes should have been routine, except for the guilt plaguing him, and the trauma of the events that nearly killed him as well. When he encounters Lucy, Nick’s fiancée, returned to celebrate Christmas with her brother, Don, Kurt realises the time has come to tell Nick’s story. But Kurt will discover that opening up can be like lighting a fire in a forest. After all, when a forest fire burns, it is hard to predict what will catch and which direction it will turn. But as Kurt begins to find himself hidden under all the layers of secrets, will his growing friendship with Don and Lucy be enough to enable him to deal with those secrets? Will he be strong enough to come to terms with what he has been hiding from himself?

Word Count: Click here to reveal82600 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Questioning, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: A school in turmoil over its senior play, a sly career as a teenage gigolo, an unpredictable girlfriend with damage of her own, and a dangerous housebreaker tied up downstairs. Any of these would make a great plot for budding filmmaker Eric's first movie. Unfortunately, they're his real life. When Julien, a handsome wannabe actor, transfers to Eric's class, he's a distraction, a rival, and one complication too many. Yet Eric can't stop thinking about him. Helped by Eric's girlfriend, Mary, they embark on a project that dangerously crosses the line between filmmaking and reality. As the boys become close, Eric soon wants to cross other lines entirely. Does Julien feel the same way, or is Eric being used on the gleefully twisted path to fame?

Word Count: Click here to reveal115000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Gay, Genderqueer, Lesbian, Non Binary, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Frontiers have always attracted the Other - where they find that the Other is always already there. These 22 stories explore what happens when queer characters encounter weirdness on the edge of the worlds they know. Authors include: Julie Bozza, J.A. Bryson, Dannye Chase, S.E. Denton, Miguel Flores, Adele Gardner, Roy Gray, KC Grifant, Peter Hackney, Bryn Hammond, Narrelle M Harris, Justin Warren Jackson, Toshiya Kamei, Catherine Lundoff, Bunny McFadden, Angus McIntyre, Atlin Merrick, Eleanor Musgrove, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Lauren Scharhag, Sara L. Uckelman, and Dawn Vogel.

Word Count: Click here to reveal14000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Escape with Shaun and Mitch in outback Australia as they discover it sometimes takes time, distance, and interfering family to help them realign. After eight years of living in America, it’s time for Shaun to return home to his family’s farm in outback Australia. He has a decision to make: continue working his dream job with NASA or move back for a corporate job and his family. He thinks his decision is easy. He thinks he’s going to have a fun two weeks at home catching up. He also thinks seeing his best friend, Mitch, will finally allow him to move on from that one hot kiss they shared the day he left. Shaun realises he’s truly screwed as what he thinks and what he knows don’t always align. Realigned is a fun and steamy M/M short story in Becca Seymour’s Coming Home series. Stand-alone romances complete with heat, wit, and happily ever afters.

Word Count: Click here to reveal29000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Lesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Herding cattle and drinking Australian beer aren’t pastimes that particularly appeal to an ‘indoor girl’ like Clara, but she’d be damned if she’d let her cheating ex-boyfriend have the vacation they were meant to share. So, to salvage some piece of her self-respect after a bad break-up, she finds herself riding a horse along the Oodnadatta Track for five days. When Clara arrives, she can’t help but feel an intense attraction to Evelyn, the drover who guides their group through the immensely unique landscape between Coober Pedy and the Anna Creek Station. Clara’s never been one for a no-strings-attached fling, but cowgirl Evie becomes increasingly difficult to resist. In combination with the exquisite outback, soulful horses, and overly cheerful tourists, Evie may just be exactly what Clara needs to escape her own pessimism.

Word Count: Click here to reveal30000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: A race against time and nature, to save the man he loves… Owen Hewitt thought he had weathered every storm life could throw at him, but the last twelve months have tested him like never before. His six-year relationship with Sebastian Carmichael, the love of his life, is crumbling under the weight of Owen's injury-induced depression and chronic pain. Once a vibrant and active partner, Owen now feels like a burden, believing he's holding the younger Sebastian back. Desperation sets in when Sebastian, seeking solace and clarity, retreats to their holiday house on the Tasmanian coast. The distance between them feels insurmountable, and Owen fears it's the end of their love story. But as nature unleashes its fury in the form of a devastating tsunami, the end of their relationship might be the least of their worries. Riding the Waves is a story of love's endurance against all odds. It has themes of natural disaster, rescue romance, hurt/comfort, and the dynamic of an age-gap relationship. Riding the Waves is an expansion of Sebastian & Owen, a story that was briefly available in 2016. The story now includes Sebastian’s point of view.

Word Count: Click here to reveal21800 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Lesbian, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: Life in Bellasford is seldom peaceful for succubus, Rose. A fun night out to celebrate her girlfriend's birthday takes a sinister turn as a mutual friend is found near-dead, drained of her life energy: the hallmarks of a succubus feeding. With the Succubus Moon drawing near, suspicion falls on Rose and her long-missing mother, Ella. Investigation leads to more victims drained of energy and no clear suspect in sight. Racing against time, Rose, Lisa and their friends Alexis and Jamie seek to unravel the mystery before more innocents are attacked or something worse happens. They know the energy is being taken for a reason and could place a great deal of power at their adversary's fingertips. Rising Moon is a F/F romantic urban fantasy novella of around 22,000 words, which contains strong steamy content and language.

Word Count: Click here to reveal81000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: It’s not my milkshake that brings Kieran Kendall to my yard. Okay, maybe it’s a little bit my milkshake. But I also like to think it’s my dazzling personality and my magical… uhm… you get the idea. Since meeting Kieran, my first, second, and admittedly third impressions of him have changed radically. Not surprising, since he was a prize D during at least two of those encounters. What I should be doing is running from the college basketball star who checks so many of my dream-guy boxes. But do you know how hard it is to find a hot guy who’s as smart as he is talented? And I’m not just talking about his talent on the basketball court. Heck no. It’s easy to get distracted by him, because of him, yet as far as he’s concerned, I’m the one who’s a distraction and throwing his carefully constructed plans out of whack. I should be sorry. I should also be better at guarding my heart. But Kieran Kendall is under my skin, and getting him to break his rules is far too much fun.

Word Count: Click here to reveal55000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Can a boy from the country and a guy from the city ever make it work? Adam Chambers has never seen eye-to-eye with his father and is reluctant to take over the family’s property-development company. To clear his head and work out what he wants to do with the rest of his life, Adam leaves his responsibilities in the city and heads out to see the country. He isn’t much closer to deciding what to do with his life when he arrives at one of Australia’s largest events, the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and meets Joey Callaway. Since Joey’s father’s tragic death left Joey the family’s debt-ridden pub, Joey has struggled, desperate to turn the business around and give his mum the life she deserves. A break away from the pressures of running the pub is just what he needs, and a hook-up with Adam is the perfect way to forget about his troubles. The one-night stand might just be an opening act. If Adam and Joey can follow the music in their hearts, perhaps they can heal each other and create a melody that will last a lifetime.