Books Tagged With where - general - small town

Word Count: Click here to reveal16981 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Flamboyant book café owner Luca Moretti and geeky doctor Gus Hansen have been together for six years when the Supreme Court ruling makes same-sex marriage legal in all states. On June 26, 2015, Gus gets down on one knee and Luca screams yes. On their wedding day, shortly before the ceremony, Luca’s mother explodes in anger, calling him a freak. The reason? He’s wearing a white veil, sprinkled with crystals. Their relationship has been strained for a long time, and her words trigger traumatic memories. Instead of walking down the aisle, Luca runs. Away from his mother. Away from Gus. Gus counts down the minutes when Luca’s mother comes knocking. He realizes something’s wrong, but when he goes to talk to Luca, his husband-to-be is nowhere to be found. Can Gus find Luca in time and manage to convince him to come back and get married?

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

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

Summary: Their plan was perfect…until the world stopped. After the Navy boots him out, Tristan is screwed. Without an honorable discharge or a college degree, his job prospects are grim. If only he knew a service member who was willing to get married, make Tristan a dependent, and transfer his GI Bill. Such as, say, a former coworker who’s single, gay, and wants his family off his back about his refusal to settle down…and who maybe feels guilty for his role in Tristan losing his career. Casey has never liked Tristan, but the plan is irresistible. In fact, it’s perfect. Now Tristan has health insurance and a place to live, and he’s going to school. Meanwhile, Casey’s conscience is assuaged, and he’s still sleeping his way through town while his family is none the wiser. The guys stay out of each other’s way, and it’s all good. Right up until a pandemic locks everything down. Suddenly it’s just Casey and Tristan…and maybe that’s not such a bad thing. In a time when they’re both desperate for strength, support, and human contact, they find them in the most unexpected place: each other. But when feelings come into play, is it something real? Or just two lonely men making the best of terrifying times? And how in the world do Casey and Tristan tell the difference? Until the World Stops is a 72,000-word standalone gay romance. CW: COVID-19 A note from the author: As the events of 2020 have unfolded, in particular the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve debated when and how to incorporate that reality into my work. It’s not something I want to make light of or capitalize on, but it has become a part of our lives, and one that doesn’t look to be going anywhere any time soon. There comes a point when—if I’m to write about life—I need to write about the ugly parts too. For that matter, writing is how I process the world around me, and as time has gone on, I’ve found myself needing the catharsis of looking this reality in the eye and putting it into words as best I can. Most importantly, however, this is a time when we all need hope and even moments of peace. While pure escapism is important to me, so too is finding that hope and peace when everything feels so bleak. So it’s with that in mind that I give you a couple of guys finding a little bit of light when all the world feels dark.

Word Count: Click here to reveal62000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Humans off the paved road are nothing but vampire food. Eli Stark owns the only grocery store in Last Hope, and he does what he can to feed the people in the human settlement, but the food scarcity is real and most don’t have money to spend. When there is a change of members on the town board, things get even worse. Thano Moonlight is the leader of the supernatural beings ruling the area around Last Hope. For the last ten months, they’ve ruled the human settlement as well, but it’s time to hand over the reins. If the humans want to make their lives harder, they should have the power to do so, but he’s reluctant to leave Eli behind. When things turn critical in the town, Thano takes Eli to The Moonlight Ranch, but Eli can’t just abandon the people in Last Hope. They rely on him to make sure there is food to buy. If he has to choose between being with Thano or saving an entire village from starving, he should choose the village, right?

Word Count: Click here to reveal29689 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When he sees entrepreneur Mitch O’Shea whirling around an empty building, contractor Ben Behr is enchanted. Even though his two brothers are gay, Ben always thought he was a ladies’ man until he met Mitch. Despite his feelings, Ben knows San Francisco native Mitch is totally out of his league. What could Ben possibly do to get out-and-proud Mitch to notice him? Turns out Mitch is just as attracted to Ben. As they compete in car rallies, camp in the Sierra Navada foothills, and tour the bars Mitch owns in the city, they realize how stifled they’ve been their entire lives. Maybe looking over the fence and jumping it to explore what’s on the other side are good ideas. When these two seemingly opposites get together, will Ben and Mitch find out they have the world at their feet and might even have love in their hearts?

Word Count: Click here to reveal68,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Casey Olson has always known he was destined to be a Navy SEAL, and the best day of his life was when he was accepted into training. The worst day was when a snapping bone ended his dream. After three combat tours in five years, Logan Carter left the Marines and self-destructed. Now he’s sober and, thanks to a forgiving ex with friends in high places, has a promising job as a civilian contractor. All he has to do is stay on the rails and out of a bottle, even when his demons won’t leave him alone. Logan likes his job, and he really likes the gorgeous man at the next desk. Casey tries not to check Logan out, but who is he kidding? From the start, despite their best efforts, neither man can resist the other. Sizzling chemistry leads to sex so hot they can both almost forget why they’re stuck in this office to begin with. It would be perfect, except Logan can’t stop reliving wars he’ll never forget and Casey can’t stop grieving the SEAL he’ll never be. And they’ll never have a future together until they can make peace with their pasts.

Word Count: Click here to reveal29672 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It wasn’t supposed to be REAL! Bigfoot doesn’t actually exist. Yetis, shifters, creatures of the night…none of those exist. Right? Right? There’s nothing about perky—some might even say twinkie—Oliver Hughes that would make a skeptic like Sensational News’ (Never Fake! We Swear!) reporter Wilson Banks think otherwise. But while pursuing soundbites for a tabloid story about Bigfoot, Wilson witnesses something he wasn’t meant to see. In Wilson’s new reality, is there room for love with someone whose dreams are as big as his…er…feet? This fun novella has a paranormal twist, a hint of mystery, and a flavorful dollop of romantic comedy. Mix it all together for a satisfying HEA! Keywords: shifter, Bigfoot, comedy, fun, California, mystery, twink, reporter, tabloid Weekend at Bigfoot’s won 1st place in the Gay Paranormal Romance category and was a 4th tier runner up in the combined Best Gay Book category of the 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards!

Word Count: Click here to reveal67,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In the hottest summer on record, Iron Lake reservoir is emptying, revealing secrets that were intended to stay hidden beneath the water. The tragic story of a missing man is a media sensation, and abruptly the writer and the cop falling in love is just a postscript to horrors neither could have imagined. Best Selling Horror writer Chris Lassiter struggles for inspiration and he’s close to never writing again. His life has become an endless loop of nothing but empty pages, personal appearances, and a marketing machine that is systematically destroying his muse. In a desperate attempt to force Chris to complete unfinished manuscripts his agent buys a remote cabin. All Chris has to do is hide away and write, but he’s lost his muse, and not even he can make stories appear from thin air. Sawyer Wiseman left town for Chicago, chasing the excitement and potential of being a big city cop, rising the ranks, and making his mark. A case gone horribly wrong draws him back to Lancaster Falls. Working for the tiny police department in the town he’d been running from, digging into cold cases and police corruption, he spends his day's healing, and his nights hoping the nightmares of his last case leave him alone.

Word Count: Click here to reveal31,490 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: On his thirtieth birthday, barista Jimmy Patterson decides to get rip-roaring drunk after his roommate-boyfriend abandons him at a bar in the tiny California foothills town of Stone Acres where they have relocated from San Francisco. Jimmy is immediately rescued by the burly owner of Stonewall Saloon, who has had his eye on Jimmy since the first time he came in months before. Jimmy's fine with being saved but wants to know the bartender's real name since the guy has worn name tags with an assortment of names every time Jimmy has spoken to him. After Jimmy nicknames him Guy, the bartender decides to turn guessing his first name into a game, giving Jimmy a guess a day for a week and promising to wine and dine him during that time. If Jimmy's guess is wrong, he owes Guy a zing-zow, knock-your-socks-off kiss. Jimmy agrees since this sounds like a slam-dunk, win-win deal. While he searches for cringe-worthy given names, Jimmy is distracted by the destruction of his shopping mall coffee shop. He is also beset by the town council that doesn't want him to buy an historic bank building in Old Town Stone Acres to set up another coffee shop. The celestial high of being romanced by Guy and the abyss of business worries don't seem like the road to happily ever after. However, Jimmy and Guy might be in for a big surprise.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: When his lover Jason’s drug addiction spiraled out of control, TV celebrity chef and cookbook author Adam de Leon walked away from him. Adam also abandoned his renowned restaurant in San Francisco to start a small bistro in the Sierra Foothills. Five years later Adam is battling the conservative leaders of Stone Acres, California, to open a new restaurant in historic Old Town when Jason turns up on his doorstep—a recovered Jason, now going by the name David and claiming he's overcome his addictions. What’s more, he begs Adam to take him back and says he’s ready for their happily ever after. Adam has enough on his plate with problems plaguing the opening of his restaurant. And now he’s having a hard time deciding which to follow—his head or his heart. Rainbow Award Honorable Mention book 2016.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50,139 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: They have to find him…but how? A former member of an elite military special forces unit, Leo Bailey can handle anything life throws at him. Except maybe approaching a certain gorgeous, purple mohawk-wearing, heavily pierced artist. Not without his three eye-rolling wingmen along to push him in the right direction. One look at the mouthwateringly muscled, military buzzcut-sporting man with the endearing blush, and Vincent Noland is in love. Or at least in lust. Love comes later. Then marriage…and sweet, adorable Oscar. Life is perfect—the stuff of fairy tale happily ever afters—except for Arthur Fletcher, whose unsettling reactions to them threaten to upset the happy balance of their lives. But it isn’t Arthur who throws their lives into turmoil. A freak event causes Oscar to go missing and leaves both men frantic to rescue their son. As they piece together the clues, they discover that Oscar isn’t somewhere. He’s somewhen. And Arthur Fletcher holds the key—or rather the glass beads—to their one chance of finding Oscar. Will Leo’s training, Vinnie’s determination, and Arthur’s knowledge help them rescue Oscar, or is the little boy doomed to spend the rest of his life at the mercy of a primitive civilization? Could there be a third possibility? Keywords: time travel, lost child, happy ending, novel, ebook, print, paperback

Word Count: Click here to reveal65,255 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Is there a time limit on love and forgiveness? Fifteen years ago, Manny didn’t show up to take Wes to the Shelby High School prom as he promised. Instead, Wes found Manny’s letter jacket at their meeting spot without a note or any explanation. From college to his current job in Monterey, California, Wes has carted the jacket around as a memento of his teenage love and rejection. This year he decides enough is enough. He’s attending the high school class reunion, returning Manny’s jacket, and going home free to find the real love of his life. When Manny sees Wes at the reunion tour of the new high school facilities, he’s determined not to let his teenage lover leave without them clearing the air and possibly getting back together. Through reunion activities such as a quiz bowl, meet-and-greet meals, and a formal banquet with a prom-like ball as well as outside activities like the quinceañera of Manny’s niece, Wes and Manny work through the lies and misunderstandings of the past. With so much to reconcile and forgive on both sides, will they end up together? Or go their separate ways with only memories of the past?

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

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

Summary: Trevor Carson’s life changed the day his father died. After working as a small-animal vet in the big city, Trevor’s now back in his remote hometown, trying to keep his dad’s practice afloat while he figures out his next step. He expected he’d want to sell up and flee back to civilization as fast as possible, but the town is beginning to feel like where he belongs. Except every day he spends there is a day away from his partner Michael, back in the city. As Christmas approaches, with a much-anticipated visit from Mike, Trevor’s going to have to decide what “home” really means. (This warm, established-couple holiday romance is a lightly-edited rerelease of the 2011 story. Content warning for veterinary-related pet loss. 14,000 words.)

Word Count: Click here to reveal30081 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Aidan Williamson, just another Police Scotland constable in a tiny Highlands hamlet, is plucked from his routine life into a case of murder most foul. Still wincing from the wounds of a recent separation, Aidan keeps his emotional life tucked in his trousers, out of sight, until he encounters Kenneth Logan—a man in self-isolation at Devil’s Point. There’s a secret buried in those soul-deep eyes. How long before the rookie detective gives in to his almost sensual attraction to all that’s profoundly mystifying? And who will survive the killing field in a place Scots call The Demon’s Penis?

Word Count: Click here to reveal57000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: This is a republished story that has been completely rewritten and re-edited. It also has new content and added chapters. This is the start of a nine-book series. Tragedy brought him back home. Can love convince him to stay for good? Jaron McAllister thought nothing would ever change in the small town where he grew up. The same bullies would harass him for being gay, and no one would really care. Still, Pickleville is a better environment for his six-year-old son than the rundown neighborhood in the city. Despite his low expectations, he finds that Pickleville isn’t the same old tired farming town and some people missed him after all. Warning: Contains scenes of bullying and a violent hate crime.

Word Count: Click here to reveal8260 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Stuck in a snowstorm with a hot daddy. Where’s the downside? Josh Ainsley is one of those teachers who go above and beyond. When he agrees to deliver a day’s worth of homework to a student’s house, it’s not exactly out of character or out of his way. So what if the student’s father is a hottie? Operation homework drop turns into a rescue mission when he gets caught in a snowstorm and subsequently snowed in with one sexy dad. Who says good deeds go unrewarded?

Word Count: Click here to reveal20000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The death of Oakley’s sister has left his family broken and buried beneath their grief. In an attempt to get out from underneath their pain, they rent an isolated cottage in the Cotswolds. For Oakley, it’s an exercise in futility. He doesn’t see much hope for things to get back to the way they used to be, and he’s bored and restless as he waits out the time until he can return to the city and university. All of that changes when he meets local boy Bobby, and the connection between them is instant. Within a few days, Oakley is ready to walk away from everything to stay with Bobby. However, Bobby has problems of his own, and they might be more than the budding romance can survive. But they might also give Oakley a new perspective on his own situation.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: This Witchy Boys omnibus contains all six sexy stories, perfect for dark, cold nights. Follow the adventures of Thackeray the demon-hunter and his witchy partner Matt through Præsidium, Tattoo You, and The Full Moon Husband. Visit an Appalachian folk-witch in Bourbon Barrel Blues, a medium trying to solve the mystery of a witch's hotel in Moonlight Motor Inn, and as for Blood Magic and the Mini Zombie Apocalypse... well, that title says it all.

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

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

Summary: Frank's family taught him that his wolf was dangerous, unwanted. Now his best friend’s brother wants him in bed and on stage. But giving into his wolf's need for love could risk the quiet life Frank has created for himself—and his heart. Settled in the small town of Waycroft Falls, Frank is content to be a lone wolf among the white picket fences and dollar book bins until he finds himself sniffing his best friend's brother. Tom smells like hot apple pie and his Broadway smile has Frank lolling his tongue. But when the visiting actor learns Frank's secret and plies him with hot kisses to get him to star in his play, Frank can’t help but wonder if Tom is only acting. Tom ran away from family obligations to be a Broadway star. If he could make it there, he could make it anywhere…but he didn’t. Trudging home to Waycroft Falls to open his sister’s new performance space brings him face to face with a werewolf—a werewolf that would be perfect for Tom's shoestring production of Beauty and the Beast. Staying in Tiny Town USA would be worth it if he can somehow convince the sexy wolf to expose his furry condition on stage and howl privately in Tom’s bed. Wolf Around The Corner, a paranormal semi-finalist in Passionate Ink's 2017 Sexy Scribbles Contest, is a full-length fairytale romance with a side of wolf shifter. If you like your romance with gorgeous men, humor, and small town magic, you’ll love Wolf Around the Corner! Buy your copy now and settle in to watch the drama unfold!

Word Count: Click here to reveal20000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Zeke is a hermit in his late forties who lives a quiet life in a small cabin in the Western Montana mountains, a few miles outside of Thompson Falls. He’s gotten used to being alone since the end of the world, and has everything he needs. Everything but someone to talk to. Nathan is a younger man on a cross-country trek, searching the country for someone... anyone still alive. Saddled with a ghost from his old life and a case of OCD, he stumbles upon Thompson Falls and a pack of rabid dogs. Rescued by Zeke, he has to figure out how to be human again. And with Christmas just a week away, both men have to figure out if there’s something left to be hopeful for, and if they might have a future together.

Word Count: Click here to reveal53305 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Two shattered hearts, one small town, and a love they never expected to find again. Taran Losing Royce shattered me. My husband, my best friend, gone too soon because I missed the signs—missed how deep his pain went. Now it’s just me and twelve-year-old Rory, my son, my heart, and I’m doing everything I can to give him the life he deserves. But no matter how many shifts I work, it never feels like enough. Getting denied the loan to start my own bakery? It’s just another blow. I wanted to create something stable for my son, a future for us. But that dream’s slipping through my fingers. Then Royce’s best friend Wynter walks back into my life looking every bit as lost as I feel. He disappeared shortly after the funeral. I should be furious with him, but every time he’s near, I feel things I haven’t felt in years. Wynter My return to Aspen Ridge was supposed to be a fresh start after a hard-earned military retirement, but instead, I found my wife pregnant with another man’s child, leaving me with a broken heart and a future I never anticipated. Now, everything I used to know about my life is gone. And here I am, standing in front of Royce’s husband again. The man I swore to look out for, and yet I failed him too. Life has dealt hit after hit to Taran. He's strong, but I can see the cracks forming. As the snow falls and Christmas draws near, something between us is starting to thaw. It’s terrifying, but maybe we can heal each other’s wounds. Because second chances don’t come around often. And in this small town, maybe we’ll find the love we never thought we’d have again.