contemporary

Word Count: Click here to reveal21534 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Josh has stepped back into the closet for a guy, but how long can he stay there? Life in a college town suits Josh Cassidy. He has good friends and neighbors, and the bookshop café he runs with his family is thriving. As the winter holidays begin, Josh finds himself enamored with police officer Alex Curiel, an old friend who has recently moved back to town. The trouble is, Alex isn’t ready for the world to know he’s attracted to men. At Alex’s request, Josh agrees to closet their relationship, though the secrecy quickly becomes a burden. When Josh realizes he is falling for Alex, his ability to hide his feelings from the world begins to slip, and he’s forced to decide if love is enough to keep him hiding behind closed doors. A Hometown Holiday is a 21.5K sex-buddies-to-lovers MM novella. It features a bookshop owner with a fondness for jazz music, a closeted cop who could be Mr. Right if only he’d give himself a chance, and the warm, fuzzy HEA that both guys deserve.

Word Count: Click here to reveal91,0000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The bigger you become, the harder you fall. Sebastian Saunders is a rising rock star. Jay Ruttman is a Premier League football player. Their year-long relationship is hot commodity. Hounded by the press and fans alike, the lovers struggle to keep their private lives private. Flying high in the charts and having Jay by his side, Seb is finally living his dream. But Jay’s new, promising career is threatened when a horrific injury on the pitch has him side lined—not only in the game but also in his relationship with Seb. Jay’s crippling self-destruction spirals out of control, tearing them apart. To move forward, both men must learn to leave their past behind—not so easy when it keeps coming back to haunt them. Can their hard-fought relationship survive the ultimate test? This is the concluding part to the District Line series where the full-time whistle could signal an end to their turbulent journey… or is it just the beginning?

Word Count: Click here to reveal18600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Rio and Caden have been together for a few years now. It’s a rare weekend they get to spend alone. When Rio suggests they get away to Tahoe for the weekend a few weeks before Christmas, Caden is too excited to even think of saying no. They start their trip and even though they think they’ve planned for every emergency, they can’t control what Mother Nature has in store for them. When the car in front of them spins out in the newly fallen snow, they stop to help and soon find out that Caden’s not as alone in this world as he had originally thought. A few more planned surprises make for a special weekend for these hard-working guys who really deserve a weekend getaway.

Word Count: Click here to reveal22000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Javier Fernandez is a climate scientist living in a research station near the South Pole. Since his husband was killed in a car crash, he’s preferred to be alone, and is less than thrilled to have a junior scientist thrust upon him by his rich patron. Col Steele is a trans man fleeing a bad break-up. He is ready for the next step in his career, and eager to spend Christmas anywhere but at home. When a crack in the ice separates the two men from safety, they are forced to come to terms with their own losses and each other. About the Escape From the Holidays series: For the second year in a row, Mischief Corner Books is putting out a winter holiday collection – ten stories revolving around various December holidays: The end of year holidays can get overwhelming for anyone. Things to do. People to see. Last minute work obligations to take care of. Sometimes it’s just easier to escape from it all, running away from the responsibilities and expectations, or ignore the underlying disappointment from relatives who don’t see eye-to-eye with you. Because escaping the holiday grind can lead to new, unexpected paths, and breathe new life into one that’s been stuck in a rut. Giving something to run to instead. Sometimes, getting away from it all lets you know what you really have. Sometimes, taking a chance on the unknown leads to what you really want.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: It’s never too late for a second chance at love… or is it? Rayne Sadler left the tiny town of Holiday Pines and his childhood sweetheart, Emilio Rives, to make a name for himself in the world of interior design. For twelve years, he never looked back. Now he has the successful career he wanted, but no one to share his life. Emilio isn’t happy when Rayne returns to Holiday Pines to renovate the local playhouse. The town wants to stimulate the failing tourist industry, but Emilio has no interest in reviving the ashes of his relationship with Rayne. Yet shared memories and experiences are powerful things. As the playhouse is restored to its former glory, the friendship between Rayne and Emilio slowly returns as well, and their chemistry is as powerful as ever. Rayne has designs on Emilio’s heart, and he sets out to prove it. Will the magic of Christmas thaw Emilio’s heart, or will it remain as cold as mountain snow?

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: A few days before Christmas, David Weathers finds himself hopping a plane to his childhood home in Florida and doesn’t know why. His parents are gone, he has no siblings, yet something draws him on. David can almost feel the magic in the air, but then he discovers Jared Acosta, the man who broke his heart twenty years earlier, has moved three doors away. Reluctantly David accepts Jared’s invitation to dinner, only to find that twenty years may not be enough for some wounds to heal. Soon David seeks advice from his mother’s best friend Marisol, a vibrant, wise woman who believes in second chances. Can she convince David to take a chance on the man who is working so hard to be near him now? Will he be able to forgive a past that left both him and Jared unlucky in love?

Word Count: Click here to reveal5200 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Oliver volunteers for Crisis at Christmas to help the homeless. The last thing he expects is that he'll meet someone.

Word Count: Click here to reveal21000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The Australian bush. A Christmas with friends. A chance to mend a broken heart. Steve Hayes is spending Christmas break away with a group of friends. He's determined to put his two-timing ex-boyfriend in the past and enjoy his week away. Steve is equally terrified and happily surprised to find that Corey Oh, the guy he’s been admiring from afar, has been invited along too. But Steve knows there's no way someone as wonderful as Corey, who could have any man he wanted, would be interested in him. Can a misadventure with a Christmas pudding help Steve's dreams come true? Note: This is a re-release. The original story has been re-edited and expanded by the addition of a 5k word epilogue.

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

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

Summary: Patrick and David are friends who run a gay bookstore, and life seems simple and safe enough until the day when unexpectedly he walks in – six feet tall, gorgeous and built like a dream. But Homosapien isn’t welcome in their world; he’s a professional wrestler, and everything he does is fake. So he can’t really be gay, can he, or interested in either one of them? Can they even trust a single word he says … ?

Word Count: Click here to reveal5618 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary:

Gavin and Matthew just want to get home to enjoy Christmas Eve in their safe, warm apartment. Should they walk or take a cab? But will either option do the trick when Victor, suffering from his holiday blahs, is determined to undermine this happy twosome at every turn?

Years ago, Victor made the unfortunate mistake of coming out to his family on Christmas. Why couldn’t he have picked a random summer day? Can Victor’s husband Bryan pull him out of his gloomy mood in order to give the popular Gavin and Matthew the merry Christmas they deserve?

Keywords: writer with holiday blahs/blues killing off characters...or not, Christmas, fun sweaters, short story, supportive family

Word Count: Click here to reveal16000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A different kind of home invasion... When Adam Tyler's sister announced she was pregnant, Adam decided to move from Portland, Oregon, to Phoenix, Arizona, to fully embrace the uncle experience. However, he didn't count on the move being delayed until three days before Christmas--and three days before his sister's due date. And he definitely didn't count on finding a scorpion in his bedroom. Cue the panicked calls to exterminators. A different kind of knight to the rescue... Garrett Strong doesn't consider himself at all remarkable--his ex certainly didn't think so--and Garrett's pest-control business is circling the drain. Although Adam is his first new client in months, that isn't the only reason Garrett goes above and beyond for him. He feels a real connection to the younger man and intends to do everything in his power to make sure Adam feels safe and welcome in Phoenix--venomous intruders notwithstanding. An Everyday Hero is a short and sweet opposites-attract, age-gap rom-com featuring a fish-out-of-water geek (who still manages to get a bit soggy), a stand-up blue-collar guy (who can't see his own worth), unexpected additions to the holiday festivities (some less welcome than others), and more than one serious discussion about the true meaning of the word hero.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Victor has loved El and En since high school. The problem is, they love each other and only see him as a friend. Victor leaves town, unable to cope with watching them together, but now he’s back—and his heart still feels the same. El and En have had feelings for Victor for a long time, they just haven’t said anything. After all, a poly relationship isn’t something society looks upon kindly. But that isn’t going to stop them, not now they understand what missing Victor is like. They want their third, no matter what anyone says—they just have to find out whether Victor is up for the challenge. Together again, individually, the three men know they’re meant to be a trio. The thing is, who will say so first? And will the dynamic work if Victor joins a stable couple? Can Victor fit in and have the relationship he’s dreamed of with the two men who have held his heart in their hands for what feels like forever? Find out in Together. Together was previously published in Beautiful Skin: A People of Color Anthology. Content has not changed.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The Minneapolis/Saint Paul 77th police precinct has been labeled as a group of misfits. It's unfair. In reality, they have loads of talent. Paranormal talent. Except, of course, no one knows that. Their job? Chasing and capturing all those creepy crawly things that go bump – or worse – in the night, and sending them back to their realms. In other words, they keep the people of the city safe and totally unaware that doors to other realms even exist. Nick, their boss, is the keeper of those cosmic openings. He is the only one who can find, open, shut, and more importantly, seal other-worldly realm doors, preferably with its scary and sometimes homicidal inhabitants on the other side. Vicious hungry monsters waiting for Nick to mess up. Or for an opening Nick misses. From a single tear comes an unspeakable horror. A dangerous vampire. Ferociously brutal, he is a killing machine. A creature so lethal it will take Nick’s entire team and absolutely all their power to hunt him down to send him back. And the last thing Nick needs is another partner. Especially one as sexy as Arrain. But Arrain intends on being more to Nick than just a partner. Much more. Something Nick cannot allow. Not with the devastating secrets he harbors. Except Arrain has a few secrets of his own and one thing he knows. Nick is next on the vampire’s list. The handsome monster wants not only to seduce the talented Door Keeper, but to suck his power over doors right out of him. If that happens, the world of humans is doomed. Can Arrain make Nick trust him in time to save him?

Word Count: Click here to reveal25640 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Christmas used to be a time of joy for me, but since my mother's death three years ago the holiday has lost all meaning, becoming nothing but a harsh reminder of what I've lost. I've become bitter and skeptical of everyone around me, and the cold aloofness has kept me from being hurt that deeply again. But this year the thought of yet another blue Christmas alone sends me on a path that will change my life forever. Trigger Warning: Attempted suicide.

Word Count: Click here to reveal65000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It’s recent college graduate Zach Greenfeld’s favorite time of the year and he’s just received a temporary gig planning Lighthouse Bay’s Christmas parade. Not only does it speak to his penchant for organization, it also puts him face to face on a daily basis with his unrequited crush—Holland Stone. But his new job starts off in disaster when the most important float—Santa’s sleigh—gets damaged. Holland needs to win the Lighthouse Bay Christmas parade float competition in order to grow his new dollhouse-making business. The prize is an article in a major city newspaper, and nothing beats free advertising. Except, eager to help the adorable parade organizer, he volunteers to help fix Santa’s sleigh, leaving no time to work on his own float, and putting his prize at risk. Damaged floats, snowstorms, and a last-minute parade emergency force Zach and Holland closer than ever. All they need is a little bit of Christmas magic to help them realize they belong together. Christmas Lane is a sweet, May/December, small-town Christmas romance with an HEA!

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: A product of his past, Black spends half his time saving lives and the other half taking them. Every day, a hard choice must be made and he’s the man to make it. Long ago, he vowed to never love again; one-night stands with a willing body was all he ever needed. But along came Quill, and Black’s life is irrevocably changed. He never expects something as simple as Quill’s persistence to alter the way he not only sees the world, but how he lives it. Quill has bad taste in men and equally horrible luck. Growing up wasn’t easy, surviving is even harder. When his past and present collide, he’s convinced he’ll finally witness his own destruction. But when an unlikely antihero steps in to protect him, his life is turned on its head. He’s spent months flirting with the man of his dreams and hoping he’d take notice. But it turns out, being on Black’s radar isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and his idea of protection varies greatly from Quill’s. Unknowingly sharing the same goal—burying their own pasts deeper than the fires of hell can reach—they’re both unaware that jumping into that fire will do more than ignite their feelings, it could lead to their own demise. Will Black and Quill be consumed by the flames, or from these ashes, will they find their own happily ever after?

Word Count: Click here to reveal92000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In a world that is still getting used to shifters, where everyone thinks omegas are second class citizens, nature photographer and omega Braden Payne lets everyone think he’s a beta. That way no one gives him a hard time and he doesn’t have to live a repeat of his failed relationship. But when his car breaks down in the remote Blackwood forest in Western Australia, without the medication that lets him hide who he is, he’s faced with what he fears most: an unmated alpha. Government forest guardian and alpha Coll MacDubhar is tired of illegal loggers, foolish tourists and people who underestimate the wilds of Western Australia. He discovers Braden lost and in need of medical assistance in the forest he protects and knows something’s not right. But there’s hidden depths to Braden that capture his interest, and no decent alpha would walk away when Braden’s unwelcome past comes to visit.

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

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

Summary: Christmas is a time of love, second chances…and getting stuck on a project with the one coworker who drives you insane. Adam Reynolds loves working as a graphic designer for Roland-Wainwright, but he could do without being tied to so-called marketing genius Jason Edmond. The man might know his way around a campaign, but he’s boring and far too demanding. Though, Adam has to admit that the man is incredibly sexy and maybe there is a little mystery about what he does when he’s not wrapped in his form-hugging suit all day. Jason ecstatic to be selected to work on this unique marketing campaign for Roland-Wainwright, but he’s not looking forward to dealing with Adam’s know-it-all attitude. Okay, so maybe the guy creates visually stunning graphics that are so far ahead of his peers…and maybe he is occasionally distracted by Adam’s sinful mouth. Jason and Adam must find a way to work together to complete the campaign without killing each other. And if they succeed, the prize at the end stands to change both their lives in ways they never imagined.

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Genderfluid, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Big-hearted Danny finds interaction difficult and must keep his world small in order to survive. By day he lives in an abandoned swimming pool and fixes electrical devices to trade for supplies, but by night, alone, he hunts sharks—a reckless search for the dangerous men who prey on the vulnerable. A search for his best friend’s killer. A chance meeting with an American boy selling himself on the streets throws Danny’s lonely existence into disarray. Micky is troubled, fragile, and Danny feels a desperate need to protect him. Though from what, he doesn't know. As Danny discovers more about Micky, he realises that what Micky needs saving from is the one thing Danny has no idea how to fight. To save Micky, Danny must risk expanding his world and face something that scares him more than any shark ever could: trusting he will be accepted for who he is. If a freezing winter on the streets, a sadistic doctor, and three thousand miles don't tear them apart first, that is.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: “I like my men available now and gone in the morning.” Currently in personal security, Oscar sees his future as forever closeted and single. His lovelife can never be more than a series of hookups with men who want the same. No repercussions and no emotional involvement. Definitely not a client. But it’s lust at first sight when he meets the ultimate temptation, HRH Prince Tobias. Oscar was supposed to be guarding that body not getting to know it better. Intimately. For a week. “Seducing the bodyguard was easy. Moving on and forgetting about him was impossible.” Toby can’t stop thinking about his first time with a man. The instant attraction between him and the gorgeous bodyguard was impossible to ignore. With his anything’s-possible attitude, Toby can only see why they should be dating. In this sizzling high-heat romance two men reassess what they want in their futures. Among other things this high-heat, low- angst book features: * Two men in their thirties. * A bisexual prince charming. * A temporary secret boyfriends arrangement. * The International Year for Indigenous Languages. * A Cornish pasty. * A very romantic happy ever after. Approx 50,000 words. Standalone novel, there is no cliffhanger, no cheating, and there is a happy ending.