Historical - America Genre

Word Count: Click here to reveal70000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It’s 1985, but different.... Frank Hope is a troubled high school senior. Being gay in a small Texas town in the eighties is hard enough, but Frank’s also fighting to win back his ex-boyfriend, trying to graduate while hating school, and struggling to care for his sick mom. Despite his cynical nature, he tries to remain, well, hopeful. Everything he desires seems beyond his reach—until a newfound ability promises financial success and prestige. But success always comes with a price. What is Frank willing to sacrifice? Kasimir is—humans would call Kasimir a demon. Kasimir’s people refer to themselves as the Eternals, who are engaged in a centuries’ long conflict with the mortals from another world. But Kasimir, sensitive and idealistic, can’t hate humans because he fell in love with a human boy named Frank while watching him through an interdimensional window when they were children. Now, as a priest scholar specializing in the study of humans, he’s set on finding his old crush. However, his boy has grown into something feared by all beings of the Eternal Realm. Taking place in an alternative 1985 where demon essence fuels everything from mopeds to the space shuttle, this story of star-crossed lovers combines elements of fantasy and dystopian genres with gay romance while weaving together themes of surviving past trauma, breaking obsessions, and the transformative power of love. Warning: period homophobia, hate speech, suicidal ideation, past suicide, explicit language, sex, violence, child abuse, drug abuse, smoking

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

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

Summary: One rash decision will lead him down the path toward revolution... Nathaniel Hill, eldest son in a well-connected and respected English family, is offered two choices by his father after being caught in a compromising situation; public shame to force his good behavior, or to sever his family ties and leave on the first ship for the colonies in America. Rather than endure the life his father expects him to lead, he makes the choice to begin anew where he knows no one. Landing in Boston, Massachusetts in 1772, he uses what money he has to purchase a tavern for a bargain price from a desperate seller, and sets about scraping together a life in a city he quickly realizes is on the verge of complete catastrophe. Though he attempts to remain neutral in the politics ripping at the city's foundations in the years that follow, he is destined to fail. A musket, a British officer, a rebel spy network, and a dashing Frenchman are fated to disrupt his carefully-held neutrality.

Word Count: Click here to reveal15300 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When Jack ended up at college in a small town in the middle of the Iowa cornfields, September 1981, he figured it would at least be better than being home. He had no idea how his life would change, in that time and place. Sean was a townie, on the opposite side of the town-and-gown divide, but attraction knows no boundaries. And when personal tragedy brought them together, it was the beginning of something extraordinary. 15,300 words. This story was written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group Hot Summer Days event. It is a free download.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal2600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Jake is a trapper working high in the mountains of Wyoming Territory, usually not seeing another human from one month to the next. Recently, however, he’s had an unexpected guest – an Easterner named Edwin, who pitches in to ensure that Jake has enough supplies to survive the coming winter. As the evenings draw in, Jake works on knitting a blanket, adding a bit of love (and maybe even magic) into every stitch, hoping to entice Edwin to join him under its warmth…

Word Count: Click here to reveal78000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Reading Loving Artemis by Janet Mason  is a full-body immersion into the 1970s, with the smells of joints and musk oil, the tastes of beer and lip gloss, and the sounds of motorcycles roaring down a highway. It captures perfectly the days when young queers searched library catalog cards to find “homosexual” books, when teen lesbians felt they were the only ones in the world. More than a coming-of-age story, more than the love story of Artemis and Grace, the novel is also an illuminating and thoroughly enjoyable journey through the decades. I cared about these characters and loved seeing their lives come full circle by the book’s end in the 21st century. – Kathy Anderson, Bull and Other Stories   Loving Artemis, An Endearing Tale of Revolution, Love And Marriage (Thorned Heart Press, August 2022) by  Janet Mason is a novel that comes just as the hard-won right of marriage equality is being threatened. Loving Artemis appeals to a wide readership, with particular interest to the LGBTQA+ audience. As a love story and a coming-of-age narrative, it holds universal appeal. It is also an important slice of American history -- enticing to those who have lived through it. It also attracts a younger audience who want to learn about the events that led to marriage equality. Artemis found the love of her life when she met Linda, but their passionate relationship fizzles when Artemis lands herself on the other side of the law. Pulling the pieces of her life together, Artemis rekindles her relationship with Linda, and together they raise a daughter. Meanwhile, Grace, running from her past, starts a life with Thalia. At a pride parade, Grace spots someone who reminds her of Artemis, who she was briefly involved with in her youth. Old feelings are rekindled. A lifetime of rejection, abandonment, and fleeing rears its head, Now she must come to terms with her past, put her relationship with Artemis to rest--or risk losing everything. Artemis and Grace embark on a journey of revolution, love, and marriage and discovery that love finds us when we least expect it. Janet Mason is an award-winning creative writer, teacher, and occasional blogger for such places as The Huffington Post. Her book, Tea Leaves, a memoir of mothers and daughters, published by Bella Books in 2012, was chosen by the American Library Association for its 2013 Over the Rainbow List. Tea Leaves also received a Goldie Award. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books – New York and Lisbon) was featured at the 2018 Frankfurt Book Fair. Adelaide Books also published her novel The Unicorn, The Mystery late in 2020. She lives and writes in Philadelphia. Her novel Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of revolution, love and marriage was published by Thorned Heart Press in August, 2022.

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

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

Summary: Coming back to New York to see her ailing father, Lizzie Ferguson did not expect to find him healthy and newly married to a much younger woman. She, also, didn’t expect to connect with an old lover and childhood friend or be accused of killing her father. But, life has a way of knocking you to your knees when you least expect it. Stiles Long had always regretted that the killer, from his first case as a Pinkerton Agent, had got away. Now, in New York it was happening again. The Hotel Astor Bar was a meeting place for men who enjoyed the company of men. And, some of them were being brutally murdered. When one of the suspects from the original case appears at the hotel, Stiles is torn between his desire to stop a killer and kiss the man senseless. [embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyVKUkxX7lQ&feature=youtu.be[/embed] Two different cases, but some of the faces overlap from one to the other. Stiles and Lizzie are in a race to discover who the killers are before another body gets added to the count.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: After a series of tragic events, Goose Tucker’s guardian angel Jefferson tells him the choice to live or die is his, but also warns the time to decide is limited. Goose’s beloved Patrick is always in Heaven when Goose arrives there. They pick up right where they left off on Earth, continuing their love story that began in Tennessee. Goose longs to be wherever Patrick is, but there are no guarantees the two will land on a similar fate. Goose still has unfinished business back on Earth with Shelby, Rip, Carrie, and Wilbur. They need him, he is told, and this makes his decision, Heaven or Earth, happily ever after with Patrick or being there for those left behind, all the more difficult. How can he choose?

Word Count: Click here to reveal52000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Ever since Robert Belton gambled away the money to stake his claim in the Klondike gold fields, he’s been stranded in Seattle working as a prostitute. When an attractive customer needs help hauling provisions to the frozen north, Robert eagerly volunteers. Dr. John Fauth is only searching for one thing, and it isn’t gold. He needs platinum for the prototypes of his revolutionary inventions, and if he doesn’t find it in the Klondike, his university career—and his research—is over. Getting to the Klondike is a grueling, dangerous journey, and just hours after leaving Seattle, John and Robert find themselves in over their heads. John is carrying an invaluable device that his competitors will do anything to get their hands on. And as the cold nights and mutual desire pull John and Robert closer together, they discover that they have much more to lose than gold or platinum. This 52,000 word book was previously published.

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

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

Summary: Lizzie Ferguson isn’t your typical 1912 woman! She does not intend to ever marry, her lovers could be male or female, she was a Pinkerton Agent, carries a Derringer in her handbag, her best friend is Stiles Long (The Pinkerton Man Series), and she will do anything to solve a case. Including dressing in rags and scrubbing toilets in a male brothel. You can read some of her adventures with Stiles and Michael in the Pinkerton Man Series. Now, she’s beginning her own adventures and she’s not afraid to do anything it takes to catch a killer.

Word Count: Click here to reveal12000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Coming of age in the 1950’s, Edward Colson is an introverted senior at an all-male boarding school in Norfolk, VA. Edward’s academic brilliance, mild temperance and his suspected attraction for other boys have made him the target of Paul Maxwell and the Broadbent Brothers, a group of bullies, who for the past five years have made it their personal mission to torment and ostracize Edward. As the entire student body and faculty of Norfolk Academy prepares for the school’s annual Halloween carnival, Edward’s tormentors find him alone and more vulnerable than he’s ever been before. But the tables are soon turned when Edward’s big brother, Anthony Colson, a hulking all-American athlete and officer in training at the U.S. Naval Academy, pays an unexpected visit to his old alma mater, catching his little brother’s bullies in the act.

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

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

Summary: What's one more deadline? Ulysses Lenkov is on the verge of finishing his PhD when his ex-girlfriend shows up with a problem. It's been six months since the murder of her husband, Hugh, and Livia is plagued by strange noises in the night, poor sleep, and a magic book that may be cursed. The more Ulysses delves into the events that led her back to Madison, the more concerned he becomes. Ulysses's boyfriend Sam Sterling, jealous and unhappy about Livia's return, suspects that she may not be telling them the whole truth. In the meantime, he's starting to worry that he may not have left Dionysus as far behind as he thought—with odd effects for him and Ulysses. When Ulysses's academic advisor suggests their relationship is a problem, magically speaking, he's suddenly forced to make decisions he never wanted to face: break up with Ulysses to keep him safe, or stay together despite the risks. As Ulysses's defense bears down on them, the questions start to stack up. What really happened to Hugh? Does his death tie in to secrets from deep in Sam's family's past? And will Ulysses be able to figure it all out before he winds up a victim?

Word Count: Click here to reveal44,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Hawk is alone, hiding from the world, living in a tiny, rickety cabin his grandfather built. He has few supplies and fewer yet of the skills needed to survive on his own, but because of what he did, because of what his father caused him to do… well, there’s just no other choice. But then one day “Ghost” shows up. A large lone wolf who begins to “take care of” Hawk. He brings him game, he protects him from predators, and he even pulls him from a raging river. He is Hawk’s only friend and Hawk begins to talk to ghost as if he is human and can understand. Except Ghost isn’t human. Yes, Ghost has filled a void in Hawk’s life, and he is very grateful, but he is a wolf and Hawk needs the company of a human. In fact, Hawk is desperately lonely, to the point he even tells Ghost he longs for the touch of a man, the first time he has ever said such a wicked thing out loud. Then one full-moon night a large, beautiful naked man breaks into the cabin and grabs Hawk, looming over him like he wants to eat him alive. At first Hawk is terrified, but then he realizes the stranger has Ghost’s amazing golden eyes...  

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

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

Summary: Two men, one watch… When Alex and Charlie first met, they instantly clicked. Throughout the years, their bond progressed from friends, to lovers. But when Charlie’s father passed away something inside him died too. Alex’s worst fear has come to fruition and their relationship may be over. He knows his heart won’t survive without its other half. Things spiral out of control and Charlie’s erratic behavior leads to an intense argument, during which they’re forcibly pulled apart. When Charlie comes to, he finds Alex is missing. Frantically, he searches for him. But when he finds him Charlie’s surprised that Alex doesn’t remember who he is or anything about their life. Will this unfortunate incident strengthen their relationship, or will it be the end for them? Only Time Will Tell is an Erotic, MM, Time Travel/Sci-Fi  60,000 word stand-alone Romance for those over 18.

Word Count: Click here to reveal56423 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Two young men try to reunite across the divide of ocean and against the tide of history. (A novel in The Renegade and the Runaway universe) Owl…it’s the name given to Grant Fletcher by his close friends and allies, the Tuscarora Indians of North Carolina's Ocracoke Island. His best friend is Sky, a native son. When Grant is forced to leave the island—when his family comes to "rescue" him from the only home he's ever known—he must also leave Sky. His new father takes him to the tall dark city of Edinburgh, center of enlightenment, and of sinister shadows too. When the story opens, he's twelve and Sky is fifteen. But reality has a way of making boys into men, very fast. Sky is a native of an emerging country...America...an indigenous segment of the New World that its new settlers are trying to eradicate or to marginalize. What happens when this young Indian strikes a fateful bargain with a colonial icon named Daniel Boone? When he teams up with an African man once held in an iron collar? Owl & Sky is a story of young love, a continuation of the universe that began with “The Renegade and the Runaway” series (Unkilted and Unbroken, c. 2019 by Erin O’Quinn). This current novel shares many of the characters in that series.

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

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

Summary: A feisty widow, a bold lawman, a haughty rancher Rancher Cord Aldana and Deputy Sheriff Wilder have a dark secret: they’re lovers in a time when such love is against the law. To give them both cover, Cord orders a bride, sight unseen. But when she arrives, the infuriating Belle refuses to honor her contract. She’s also the most enticing woman Cord and Wilder have ever met. After leading them on a merry dance, she makes a sinful—and irresistibly seductive—offer. One neither man has the will to refuse. Just when this scorching triangle is set to explode, a gang of outlaws, a New York City crook, and a bounty hunter all converge on their small New Mexico town. It seems Belle’s misdeeds have finally caught up with her…

Word Count: Click here to reveal76800 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Simon the Elf wants to tell you the true story behind Jolly Ole St. Nick. Yeah, he’s a vampire. But that alleged gift giver and lover of children hides more than that fact from you. And what about Mrs. Claus and Rudolph? Venture into a world of enslaved elves, enchanted animals, and death wrought by Santa himself. With his sharp wit, Simon will lead you into the darkest realms of Christmas in Santa is a Vampire by Simon the Elf, with Damian Serbu. Warning: Simon cusses a lot. But you would, too, if Santa held you captive.

Word Count: Click here to reveal133,317 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sidebars are stories set in the Spy vs. Spook/Mann of My Dreams universe. The stories in this book are told from the points of view of Nigel Mann, Bryan Sebring, Jack Matheson—Wills’s dad—a pair of jeans, Michael Shaw, and finally, Wills begins to tell his story. Solo Tu—Nigel Mann, known as the CIA’s own Mr. Freeze, and Portia Sebring, the Ice Princess of the NSA, might seem like a match made in the Arctic, but it’s exactly what Anthony Sebring wants for his daughter. This story starts the Sidebars, taking place in 1958. Chasing Rainbows—If they’re lucky, Sebrings find not only their “one” but their own HEA. However, not all are lucky. Bryan Sebring knows who his “one” is, but the stubborn man is reluctant to face facts. Bryan has the one; will he ever have the other? How to Handle a Gay Son—Jack Matheson learns Wills, his beloved oldest son is gay, and we see how he handles it. The Lick Me, Suck Me, Fuck Me Jeans—Wills’s jeans explain how his owner becomes pretty much irresistible while wearing them. Where Have You Been, Willie Boy?—Michael Shaw has been William Matheson’s best friend since they met in the sixth grade. Things change when they start college, helped along by those lick me, suck me, fuck me jeans Wills had been given for a birthday present. But Michael isn’t gay, and he won’t let anyone label him as queer, not even for his best friend. But will his determination drive away the one man he values above all others? Into the Lion’s Den—The first of Wills Matheson’s stories. We see his relationship with Michael Shaw, with his family, and eventually with the WBIS and Mark Vincent, who becomes his boss.

Word Count: Click here to reveal96200 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When tailor Marvin Gottschalk abandoned New York City for the brash boomtown of silent-film-era Hollywood, he never imagined he’d end up on screen as Martin Brentwood, one of the fledgling film industry’s most popular actors. Five years later a cynical Martin despairs of finding anything genuine in a town where truth is defined by studio politics and publicity. Then he meets Robbie Goodman. Robbie fled Idaho after a run-in with the law. A chance encounter leads him to the film studio where he lands a job as a chauffeur. But one look at Martin and he’s convinced he’s likely to run afoul of those same laws—laws that brand his desires indecent, deviant... sinful. Martin and Robbie embark on a cautious relationship, cocooned in Hollywood’s clandestine gay fraternity, careful to hide from the studio boss, a rival actor, and reporters on the lookout for a juicy story. But when tragedy and scandal rock the town, igniting a morality-based witch hunt fueled by a remorseless press, the studio brass will sacrifice even the greatest careers to defend their endangered empire. Robbie and Martin stand no chance against the firestorm—unless they stand together.

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The Legend of the Ghost Train Today, people say that on a quiet night in the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, you can hear the far off shriek of a locomotive whistle and the rumble of the train’s cars as they clamor across the tracks. The legend claims the train moves through the valleys and mountains searching for lost souls that need a lift to the other side. In the early Twentieth Century, railroads were not only a way to transport people, they also carried all types of goods across the country. Lumber from the forests of Tennessee, coal from the mines of Kentucky, and tobacco from the fields of Virginia were just a few of the industries that depended heavily on the railroad system. Even the Vanderbilt’s built a train system to carry the products needed to construct the great Biltmore Estate. The Legend of the Ghost Train series will carry you off to a simpler time before WWII and the Great Depression. It’s about the love between two men that wasn’t spoken of and ghosts of past loves that still linger in the mountains. Some haunt the living looking for a loved one. Some want revenge for wrong doings. And, others are evil and will stop at nothing to repeat the past and kill again. Jesse Lawson was never afraid of the strange and unusual dreams he had. But lately, they were becoming darker leaving him with a need to discover why he was having them. He believed he would find answers at the site of logging camps in The Great Smoky Mountains. His great grandfather had lived and died there, and Jesse was sure it was Jackson Douglas haunting him. Carter Thompson never knew his great great uncle George Thompson, but he inherited his land, home, and money. George had come here to America to find work in the lumber camps. Meeting Jesse Lawson was about to turn his world upside down. Jesse’s dreams somehow involved Carter, and the more they searched the closer they became. George left journals that could clear up many mysteries, including Jackson Douglas’s death. Now it seemed that something was trying to destroy Carter and Jesse’s growing attraction to each other. Whoever it is will stop at nothing to keep them apart, even if they have to repeat the past to do it.

Word Count: Click here to reveal49000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: New lovers torn apart. An ancient evil consuming a small town. Unlikely heroes running out of time. Dex Wells, former deputy of the prairie town of Belkin’s Pass, has been taken captive by the wicked vampire Balthazar and held in the caves above Venom Valley. He knows he is being kept as bait, a way to lure Dex’s lover, Josh, into the caves in order to capture him. As Dex tries to escape, he realizes he’s not the only prisoner Balthazar keeps chained in those dark depths. Josh Stanton can raise the dead. It’s a power he’s always had within him but never understood. Now, he’s trying to become more skilled at wielding that power, and using it to battle Balthazar and rescue Dex. But there’s still a bounty on Josh’s head for a murder he did not commit, and he ends up back in Belkin’s Pass with Glory, a half White, half Apache former saloon girl watched over by a Native American spirit. Two members of the US Army arrive and, with no lawmen left in town, take Josh into custody. It’s up to Josh and Glory to convince these men the truth about their small town and find a way to save Dex before Balthazar turns him into a vampire as well.