Books Tagged With potential trigger - traumatic past

Word Count: Click here to reveal10,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Clockwork mummies, thieving deities, airship pirates, psychic queens, mechanical scarabs, unrepentant scoundrels, mysterious museums, trickster djinns, suspicious werewolves, abducted scientists, fearless spies, and vengeful gods... All this and more wait inside the pages of Clockwork Cairo. Featuring stories from: George Mann, Gail Carriger, Nisi Shawl, Tee Morris & Pip Ballantine, David Barnett, Rod Duncan, Tiffany Trent, P. Djeli Clark, Jonathan Green, E. Catherine Tobler, Chaz Brenchley, K. Tempest Bradford, Benjanun Sriduangkaew and others...

Word Count: Click here to reveal120000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Slave. Assassin. Bodyguard. Draven has played many roles within the notorious Sapphire Guild, but one man has always controlled his destiny. After the man who shaped his world betrays him, Draven exacts his revenge and flees, pinning all his hopes on a promise of sanctuary made long ago. Director Cameron Asada is responsible for the safety of every psion affiliated with the Institute for Psionic Research. When a vid-clip of a psion destroying an industrial installation goes viral, the citizens of the Federation demand action. With anti-psion sentiment spreading too fast to contain, the last thing Cam needs is for a dangerous figure from his past to show up, drug-addicted, psi-damaged, and seeking to redeem a reckless promise Cam never should have made. Sheltering Draven could cost Cam everything he’s worked for, but Cam owes the man his life, and Draven might be just what Cam needs to protect his people from an increasingly hostile government. When it becomes clear that it may take more than a job offer to secure Draven’s trust, Cam finds himself walking a dangerous line as he struggles to reconcile his conflicting loyalties. Can Cam be the man Draven needs? Or is everything he’s worked for destined to go up in flames?

Word Count: Click here to reveal53000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A family forged in battle. Amora Medina-Jackyl knew one thing well—vengeance. She’d inflicted pain without mercy to those who deserved the punishment. She’d lived by one motto her entire existence-- family was to be protected above all else. An ancient cult murdered her parents and siblings when she was little more than a child. The Order of Angelus hadn’t understood the Hell they’d brought down on themselves that one brutal night. Amora was many things in her four centuries. A daughter and a sister, a mother, yet she was best known as a killer. When she finally meets her end, Amora will have hundreds, maybe thousands of lives to answer for. Her only wish is to find one moment of peace. She denies her need as much as she fights to protect it. When the one woman who can bring her serenity comes into her life: can Amora destroy century old walls to let her in? Lies and conspiracies tear at the fabric of sanity—of what’s right. Can truths come to light that change the reality of a family who’s known only the taste of revenge and loss?

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: When your only goal is to save the world who's there when you need to be rescued? Boss Most of my life I'd been the savior and sought when anyone found themselves in trouble. It could be to atone for sins of my past or because I was a natural caregiver. Whatever it was I didn't understand how to do anything else. My Outreach Program cared for everyone in the city who needed help and I wouldn't say I hadn't made enemies, but when the protector needed protection I wasn't prepared for Dolan Sharp. Dolan No one did anything for free or out of the kindness of their hearts. That wasn't how the world worked and it was always survival of the fittest. I didn't care what anyone said about the man named Boss. When I witness Boss in action, what I thought I'd believed shattered and I didn't know how to handle that. There's always threats at every turn, it's just a matter of when they catch up with you, but when one jaded man and another with a seemingly deep death wish have to work together who's going to survive the aftermath? (TW: Mentions of childhood sexual, physical and mental abuses. Passive Suicidal Ideation, self-harm and mental illness. These are mainly off-page, but there are details flashbacks and conversations of said acts. Yet if these are triggering for you, please feel free not to read the story. Your self-care and mental health are more important. Thank you.)

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Time Didn't Heal All Wounds and the Scars were About to be Ripped Open Stevenson When I'd moved from Homicide to the Cold Case Unit my friends headed, I'd thought it would be a new start. The minute my marriage fell apart I'd lost my purpose. Years passed and I hadn't found myself until I'd helped my friends catch a serial killer, but I'd also found friends and family. As I'd searched for a case among dusty boxes, a decades' old murder and missing person case caught my attention. The autopsy report send me to the M.E.'s office and the man I'd avoided for months. Doc Making death my job didn't allow for normal friends, but the dead needed an advocate and it was the only purpose I'd known. Being an Medical Examiner was all I'd had for decades and I didn't know what to do outside my job. I had a group of friends, all worked in law enforcement and forensics, but one thing was missing. Short, adorable middle-aged men weren't getting swept off their feet. When my secret crush, needed my help with a case to the detriment of my sanity I said yes. All I had to do was not be my weird self and blurt out everything in my head. When a missing person case turns out to be more than it appears can Stevenson keep Doc safe from a twenty year old threat? (TW: Mentions of childhood sexual, physical and mental abuses. Passive Suicidal Ideation, self-harm and mental illness. These are mainly off-page, but there are details flashbacks and conversations of said acts. Yet if these are triggering for you, please feel free not to read the story. Your self-care and mental health are more important. Thank you.)

Word Count: Click here to reveal106000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When two broken men find redemption together, will one survive to accept it?
 Chance 
Everyone assumed I was a magnet for trouble, or maybe I searched it out on my own. By the age of forty, I almost destroyed my life. The tragic event that changed my entire perception of myself is haunting me. When a friend is in danger, I volunteer to keep them safe and momentarily distract myself from my problems. Yet my demons keep hunting me down.
 Bart
 For twenty years since my divorce, I'd completely cut myself off from all physical connection with another person. PTSD has taken everything from me, and a time bomb lives in my head—ready to go off at any moment. For the most part, I've learned to control it. When Chance needs help learning a healthier coping mechanism, I offer my assistance, but when he’s healed, will I be able to let him go like I'd promised? 
Nothing had prepared two traumatized men for each other. Can they heal and find redemption, or will the danger around them take one from the other before they realize they have more than their demons? 
(TW: Mentions of childhood sexual, physical, and mental abuses. Passive Suicidal Ideation, self-harm, eating disorders, and mental illness. These are mainly off-page, but there are detailed flashbacks and conversations of said acts. Yet if these are triggering for you, please feel free not to read the story. Your self-care and mental health are more important. Thank you.)


Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Dead men can’t love. Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky. While fighting PTSD, memories of a horrid childhood, and a prescription drug addiction, Bo is paying for his mistakes. Using his pharmacy license for the good guys provides the sort of education he never got in school. Undercover with his hard-headed partner, Bo learns that not everything is as it seems in the world of pharmaceuticals. When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats.

Word Count: Click here to reveal56782 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: History says a famous villain died on the gallows on October 1, 1788. But what is the real story? And how do two contemporary men fit into this re-telling of history? M/M erotica wrapped in mystery The reticent undercover detective Thomas Fitzgerald is already deeply in love…with a man who has just met him in an “alternate reality.” Tight-lipped and uptight as he is, a confession is out of the question. And Burns, not quite the same man he fell in love with, is afraid that his caped hero may misunderstand his own “insta-love.” How can two stubborn men find that elusive connection between then and now? This is where time-travel, enters the story—a unique wynd in Edinburgh becomes the bridge that connects past, present and even perhaps the future. Follow two lovers across a bridge spanning more than two centuries as they struggle to reconcile not just the convenient lies of history, but also the truth about their own conflicted relationship. This full novel is the conclusion to the six-novella Burns! Mystery series and can be read as a stand-alone. Please note that the title has changed, from A Rainbow Bridge.

Word Count: Click here to reveal67000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Murder, betrayal, love… ​Moving home after his father’s death effectively forced Sheriff Mat Dempsey back into the closet, but he’s happy enough. Right? Bitter and dispirited after years investigating homicides, Niall Hamarsson heads for the only place he’s ever called home. A body is discovered in the waters off Piedras Island and Mat’s first priority is investigating the murder. He doesn’t need the help of the ex-detective, what he wants from the man is entirely different. Detective Niall Hamarsson remembers Mat Dempsey, but he’d prefer to avoid him. Too bad Mat is one piece of his past Niall can’t escape… Their chemistry is electric, and two heads are better than one, but will Mat’s pride get in the way? Conspiracy Theory is a dual POV about a broody introvert and a somewhat patient Sheriff. It’s hard to come in from the cold when that’s all you know. Hamarsson and Dempsey is a series following the same couple as they find their way to their happily ever after.

Word Count: Click here to reveal67000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Wherever August Morrison and Ricardo Torralba go, chaos is sure to follow. The authors certainly know this, since their “standalone book” has now turned into a series with no end in sight, because…UGH. These two. We give up. Anyway. Detective David Chandler had no clue what he was getting into when he and his partner decided they were going to nail August for murder. They didn’t realize it was one of the few murders August didn’t commit, or that their homicide investigation would lead them into the middle of a mob war. Cavalcante underboss Pedro Silva knew asking August and Ricardo for help was a terrible idea. Just mentioning their names is bad for Pedro’s blood pressure. Owing them a favor? Oh Lord. He still asked, though, because he was out of options, but he can’t say he didn’t know he’d regret it. Neither man expected things to blow up this badly. Now they’re both on the run from the mafia, the cops, and everyone in between… except for August and Ricardo. On one hand, that means they have two expert assassins in their corner. On the other, it means they have the biggest troll on the planet heckling them at every turn. And sticking them in a safehouse together. With only one bed. And if August or Ricardo make one more comment about how Dave and Pedro should just hook up already… Cop vs. Capo is 67,500 words long, and is book 4 of the Hitman vs. Hitman series. CW: combat PTSD, alcoholism, on-page violence, discussion of abuse of a sex worker

Word Count: Click here to reveal66300 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Winner: 2014 Rainbow Awards Renegade biker. Drug runner. Recovering addict. Wanted by the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. But he isn’t a crook, he’s the law. SNB Agent Bo Schollenberger’s solved his cases using his brains and not a gun, and with his partner, not alone. Now he’s handed a tough new case involving designer drugs that turn users violent. One false move could end his life as he immerses himself into a motorcycle gang to locate the source. His fate depends on how well he can impersonate someone else. Someone named Cyrus Cooper. Cyrus is everything Bo Schollenberger isn’t, including the badass enforcer for a smuggling ring. He establishes pecking order with his fists and doesn’t take shit from anybody, not even the undercover agent who comes to help his case. Simon “Lucky” Harrison’s always been the best, whichever side of the law he was on. Former trafficker turned SNB agent, he damned well ought to be undercover in this motorcycle gang, instead of hanging around the office going crazy with new policies, new people, and “inter-departmental cooperation” that sticks him in a classroom. Yet he’s passed over for the SNB’s biggest case in decades in favor of the rookie who shares his bed. A man Lucky thought he knew. When survival depends on a web of tangled lies, lines blur, worlds collide, and a high stakes game turns friend to foe. Lucky knows the difference between Bo the agent and Cyrus the outlaw, but does Bo? (

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Welcome to Brawlers Bar… A quick pit stop for a comfortable bed to sleep turned into an eight-year stay. Vincent “Crave” Butler hit the road the day after college graduation and hadn’t looked behind him since. He’d swore to never stop moving, but the night he drove into Powers, Georgia changed the course of his life. He’d hit a bar called Brawlers with its rundown exterior and pride flag beside the door, the next day he had a job. Second in command to the Head of Brawler security, Crave found the place he didn’t have to run from. No one would call Crave sane. He lived to make people as uncomfortable as possible just for his own twisted amusement. That all changed when a certain cute as fuck bartender walked in for an interview. No one wanted Twitch Harrison around. He was small, femme and annoying on his best days, downright abhorrent on his bad ones. When college turned out to be a no-go, and the parents canceled his credit cards he’d needed a job. Walking into Brawlers, the roughest gay bar in his hometown, was like a game of pick the thing that didn’t belong—him. The two owners, Scary and Tank, hired him on and four years later he was still that thing that didn’t belong. No one made it more apparent than bouncer Crave Butler who didn’t hide the fact he barely tolerated Twitch’s presence. Crave threatened every man who thought they’d get the pretty Twitch but would Twitch rather be in their beds than his? Only one way to find out and he hoped Twitch was ready for forever because that’s what Crave was determined to have.

Word Count: Click here to reveal82679 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Everyone deserves to be loved. But with constant abuse from his step-father and his mother’s contempt, Christian Goodley isn’t so sure. Being gay in high school is hard enough. Also being the black sheep in the family with only one friend in the world makes life damn near impossible to bear. But when Christian’s path crosses with a new teacher his senior year, a ray of hope brings new life and meaning to his world. Damien Duvel, a recent college graduate and History teacher, forges a bond of friendship with Christian that the young man so desperately needs. As their relationship evolves and matures the rumor mill in the school starts turning. Hushed whispers and sidelong glances turn to outright accusations. For both Christian and Damien it would seem that fate had brought them together. But with so many factors conspiring against them, it is unclear whether they can tow the fine line they walk without stepping away unscathed emotionally or physically.

Word Count: Click here to reveal96460 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Christian Goodley did the unthinkable and now he’s left everyone to suffer the consequences of his actions. His family returned home from church, only to find him laying on the floor, in a pool of his own blood. At the hospital, Vivian got the devastating news about her son. With the family trying to put the pieces of their lives back together, Vivian is having stomach pains and after an important phone call, returned to the hospital. There, she received two additional pieces of information that forever altered the course of her life. Consequently, Vivian set forth a plan of action to undo years of her wrongdoings. While Vivian was focused on her plan and protecting her life-changing secrets, tensions start to brew between Cordell and his stepfather. This unfolds a past of abuse, lies and betrayal that in turn, leads to an ultimate showdown that threatens one of their lives. Because of his web of lies and secrets, Damien’s personal life is a disaster. His professional life, on the other hand, couldn’t be better. He is selected to represent his school at a national teaching conference. While on this trip, he accidentally stumbles across evidence that questions everything he knows to be true. Is Damien’s mind playing a dirty trick on him or is this newfound information actually reality? Crimes of the Heart 2: The Aftermath, is a story of secrets, lies, betrayal and redemption. Just how far would a remorseful mother go to protect her flesh and blood?g

Word Count: Click here to reveal158103 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: How would it feel to wake up every day, not knowing who you really are? How would it feel to know that the only family you have is your mother and baby sister? How would it feel to know that your mother is lying to you? Everyone around you is lying to you. Meet Raphael. Three months prior, fate allowed Raphael come in contact with a man that claimed he knew him. That chance encounter triggered a series of reoccurring dreams, filled with people he didn't recognize. He thought he was going insane; the dreams felt real. Upon the advice of his friend, he even sought out a psychiatrist. He was desperate for the truth, but the truth isn't always kind. Raphael and his friend went on a vacation to celebrate their college graduation. In Atlanta, Raphael saw another man that he felt he knew, but was afraid to approach. Seeing that stranger was the key he needed to solve his own investigation as to who he really was. Realizing what he had done in his past frightened him. He was tired of being lied to; he was tired of being hidden. Raphael took actions into his own hands. He was coming to Orlando. He was coming to gain his old life back. His family was going to be in for the shock of their lives. He had resurrected. Join Raphael and the crew on this final journey, as this web of secrets, lies and betrayal comes to a head. Someone must—and will—pay!

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

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

Summary: Note: These erotic novels were originally published with Samhain Publishing through my pen name, Dani Worth. Only the cover has changed. The content is the same. (Compilation of two books. Book one is MMF.) AFTER THE CRUX (Book One) Seventeen years after the Crux Virus wiped out most of the world’s population, Ross is doing what he can to keep his small community in what was once New Mexico safe. He’s made a habit of collecting survivors. They’re all family, especially Jenna and Dorian. Now, at thirty, Ross hopes to find a love of his own on supply runs, but his heart has long been snagged by his two best friends. Alone with his tangled emotions, Ross is about to discover that his friends have their own ideas about their relationship…and everything is about to change. SOLE SURVIVORS (Book Two) Chase Hawthorne is on the run from a ghost. The shooting that took his little sister and scarred him left far deeper scars on his brother Tripp’s soul. Driven to pull up stakes and head for the most haunted place in Louisiana, Chase hopes to prove to Tripp there is no ghost of their sister beckoning from the afterlife. When they come upon upon a young woman fighting off raiders, the Hawthornes don’t hesitate to help the first female they’ve seen in years. Chase tries to ignore his instant attraction, hoping Tripp will feel something, too—and emerge from his frightening depression. Keera has been alone too long, and scarred, difficult Chase makes her feel things she never thought she’d feel again. Tripp may be the needier brother, but it’s Chase she wants. Letting people too close comes with risks. Both Keera and Chase must accept the possibility that there’s more to life—and love—than simple survival.

Word Count: Click here to reveal98523 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: One witless vampire. One cursed witch. One last chance... Felix is a vampire—a fierce creature of the night who strikes terror into the hearts of everyone unlucky enough to become his prey. Or at least, that’s what he thought was true, until he met John. John is completely unimpressed with Felix, much to his dismay. Felix becomes fixated on proving his ferocity to John—and when that doesn’t work, he strives to make any impression on him at all. John is a witch, and as all witches know, vampires are notoriously stupid creatures who only have the power to hurt those who fear them. Besides, he’s under a curse much more frightening than any vampire. Felix’s desperate attempts to impress him annoy John at first, but gradually, they become sort of endearing. Because of his curse, John has pushed everyone in his life away. But Felix can’t be hurt, so there’s no harm in letting him hang around. Felix is technically dead. John has nothing left to live for. But together, they might have a shot at life.

Word Count: Click here to reveal80,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Arizona started a new life when his birth daddy, Gaston Bondurant, found him living with a foster family and facing criminal charges for assaulting his abusive stepfather. Plucked from the squalor of rural Acadiana, Arizona was thrust into New Orleans high society and an elite New England boarding school. Home for the summer, Arizona sets out to find his younger brothers and sister, who were scattered to different places when their family was torn apart. Along the way, he reunites with his tenth grade sweetheart, Preston Montclair, who still holds a torch for him. But Arizona is struggling to figure out the man he’s supposed to be. He’s got an obligation to his daddy, who wants to mold him as his heir, but he’s also got a responsibility to his wayward siblings. It feels like he’s swimming against the rapids, trying to do both while figuring out if he belongs with his boyhood love or an educated man who can help him with his dream of being a famous writer.

Word Count: Click here to reveal95000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: 1973 – At 53 years old, Bill, hadn’t expected to run into Bobby when he signed up for that medical convention in Houston. Fair to say they didn’t exactly part on good terms last time. Twenty years later, is Bill ready to finally admit his feelings, his sexuality, and to gather his courage to conquer his old lover and friend once more? A second chance romance with flashbacks to young love, addressing the struggles of coming out in an unwelcoming environment and building the life you really want.

Word Count: Click here to reveal94887 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Questioning, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: Twenty days. Nothing will ever be the same for these friends again in exactly twenty days. TJ’s past transgressions are coming back to haunt him in a big way. But the big question still remains – what exactly did TJ do? On the other hand, Elijah’s trip to Florida will turn his life around and have him standing on stable ground, but will it last? Will Elijah’s secrets finally catch up to him? While these acquaintances are going through their everyday routine, unbeknownst to them, a storm is brewing in the background. In the days following the passage of this storm, the pieces of the puzzle will start to fit together as the entire buildup of this book finally takes shape. How is Seven connected to both TJ and Elijah’s unfortunate events? Everybody is playing a dangerous game but at what cost? In the final analysis, lives will be shattered. People will be exposed. Death will be upon us. Join TJ, Elijah, and Seven in this meticulously crafted second entry to this series, as the group of friends embark upon challenges that will shape the rest of their lives. And then on the twentieth day, the chain reaction of all these dangerous games will go up in flames! Who goes to jail? Who will receive devastating news? Most importantly, whose door does death pay a visit to?