Western & Cowboy Genre

Word Count: Click here to reveal100641 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: 2018 Top Ten Gay Romance brings together the best-selling short stories published by JMS Books that year. From first love to true love, from submission to sensual, from heat to sweet and everything in between, the couples in these stories are sure to keep you turning the pages as you fall in love with them. With stories by Addison Albright, Laura Bailo, Kris T. Bethke, Sarah Hadley Brook, Nell Iris, Shawn Lane, K.L. Noone, Deirdre O’Dare, J.M. Snyder, and J.D. Walker, this head-over-heels collection goes beyond bedtime reading. Whether happily ever after or happy for now, there’s an ending for everyone in here! Contains the stories: The Contingency Plan by Addison Albright No Rulebook for Flirting by Laura Bailo Hero Worship by Kris T. Bethke Motorcycle Man by Sarah Hadley Brook Unexpected Christmas by Nell Iris Hitting It Big by Shawn Lane Leather and Tea by K.L. Noone Doggone Love by Deirdre O’Dare Commanding Officer Thomas by J.M. Snyder No Snarkasm in Love by J.D. Walker

Word Count: Click here to reveal37,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sheriff Avery O’Rourke has tried to obey his strict Christian faith and lead a “normal” life. In 1923 in a rural East Texas town, “normal” means heterosexual. A cholera outbreak has made Avery a young widower, so he is married to his job. When a murder investigation forces him to confront his truth, will he finally be able to accept being gay? Veterinarian Garland Sands has returned from Europe to take over his father’s practice. Struggling with shellshock (PTSD) and heartbroken by the suicide of his French lover, he resigns himself to a quiet, solitary life as a country vet. But the murder of the town doctor brings the sheriff to Garland’s doorstep looking for help with the investigation. Seeing Avery awakens dormant feelings. Can he love a man who hates what he is? This isn’t the lavish 1920s of The Great Gatsby. This is the flip side of that coin—rural East Texas. No electricity. No indoor plumbing. No flappers. In 1923, the timber barons have left and racism, homophobia, and sexism thrive. A Little Sin is a realistic mystery with unlikely heroes and a timeless romance between lovers caught in a world where their love is forbidden. This book contains steamy sex scenes and is intended for adults only.

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

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

Summary: Escape with Leo and Zak in outback Australia as they discover it sometimes takes time, distance, and interfering family to amalgamate. After five years of living in the UK, it’s time for Leo to return home to his dad’s stud farm in outback Australia. He has no idea what to expect when he arrives. He didn’t exactly leave with balloons and banners. Nope. His farewell involved destruction and his own heart split in two. He knows seeing the man who’s always held his heart, Zak, is going to be awkward. The older farm manager made his feelings pretty damn clear when Leo hightailed it out of there. Leo quickly figures out life is going to get complicated and a whole heap more exciting as his trip home becomes so much more.  Amalgamated is a fun and steamy M/M short story in Becca Seymour’s Coming Home collection. Stand-alone romances complete with heat, wit, and happily ever afters. 

Word Count: Click here to reveal78500 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A small mining town, lost. New lovers fighting for their future. An Army sergeant with secrets of his own. With Belkin’s Pass overrun by vampires and wolves, Josh Stanton, his lover, Dex, former saloon girl Glory, and US Army Sergeant Walker Maxwell, are forced to flee to the abandoned Fort Emmerick. There, they make plans to take the battle to Balthazar’s cave in order to stop his plot to turn every human into a vampire. But much stands in their way. Josh must learn to control his ability to raise the dead. The few survivors need to be trained to fight. And they will need a greater number of soldiers in order to triumph over Balthazar and the people he has turned. Their final, desperate battle will soon take place across the unforgiving landscape of Venom Valley, and the outcome will decide the fate of the entire country.

Word Count: Click here to reveal89000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: For three gay men in love, opening the closet door could be a risky move. Sheriff Casey Barlow has a slick, media-savvy challenger out to beat him in the upcoming election. Casey's damned good at his job, but he hasn't kissed the right asses, and early polls suggest voters like his opponent's style. Coming out now, let alone revealing his relationship with two men, could sink any hope of keeping his badge. Scott Edison has a real shot at the NHL. He's playing the best hockey of his life. Whenever he can, he travels home to his gruff sheriff and their laid-back cowboy, but there are no out gay players in the NHL. As a rookie working his ass off to be called up, he can't afford to make waves. Will Rice always figured he'd live alone, managing Graham and Annmarie Slater's cattle ranch, but a hot, young hockey player and a compact, muscled lawman rearranged his plans. Even though he's older and lanky and ordinary, he's been sharing their lives and their beds. He doesn't need to be out— isn't sure he ever wants the Slaters to know about him. Life's good the way things are. Then Graham and Annmarie are killed in a hit and run that may not be an accident. As Will grieves, and Casey investigates, the coming changes will shake all their lives. ** this is a re-edit and expansion of the story in the "Hunting Under Covers" anthology

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

Summary: Charlotte Miller is tired of feeling like a failure. She may have gotten herself fired, her love life has imploded…so when she gets the call that the annual Summit Springs Christmas Bazaar, which helps support her family’s farm, is in trouble, she heads home to try to save the day. Maybe her luck will change and she will be happier for the holidays. Too bad her car decides to break down on the way. Naomi “Lars” Beckett is too busy with the tree farm she runs and Christmastime to worry about a stranded hottie like Charlotte, but when they get snowed in together at an old cabin, she figures that’s what she gets for trying to help. On the surface these two seem to have nothing in common, but opposites do attract, especially with the magic of the season, and they find they have more in common than they think. Once they’re back in the crazy mix of family, well-meaning town folk, and trying to make things just right for Christmas though, will they be able to make something together that lasts longer than old wrapping paper and holiday leftovers? Christmas Bizarre is a small town, opposites attract, lesbian romance set in fictional Summit Springs, Colorado.

Word Count: Click here to reveal36000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The right man for a longtime cowboy might be a city slicker. Joe I've been going into Max's Place for twenty years, but tonight's different. There's a stranger at the bar with city-fancy clothes, wide shoulders, and the face of a fallen angel. I'm just an ordinary cowhand. Being gay's the most noteworthy thing about me, so I don't expect much. But when his eyes light on mine and he invites me to ride in his classic '67 Mustang, I figure what the hell. If he's a serial killer, what a way to go. And if he's not, then a couple of my cowboy dreams might finally come true. Sylvester I grew up here in these Colorado foothills, but I haven't been back since I was ten. Now I've inherited my grandfather's neglected ranch, and I can't decide whether to sell it or stay. I stop in at the only gay bar in fifty miles, wondering if I can have a decent life as an out gay man in this county. And there coming in the door is the kind of tall, lean, working cowboy who pushes all my buttons. I don't know if Joe will be a reason to stay or a one night stand, but I'm going to have fun tonight. Cowboy Dreams is a 36,000 word novella about two solitary men in their 40s figuring out how unexpectedly well they fit together, in bed and out of it. **All royalties from this book through December 2025 will be donated bi-monthly to Nova Ukraine - a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine**

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

Summary: Maverick “Mackey” Keyes keeps the rodeo cowboys safe on his watch and he knows how to make his bullfighting team walk the line. He might be starting to feel his years, but he’s a pro, and he’s not afraid of anything that might happen on the arena floor. Sidney Scott knows how to go with the flow, so when his dream job passes him by, he grabs the chance to work the bull riding circuit as a TV producer. He’s going to do the job right, traveling with the show, even if he hears some rumbling from the riders. Mackey and Sid butt heads more than once, but when it really counts, they manage to get on the same page. When Mackey is injured, Sid steps up to help, and things take a far more personal turn. They might have been able to ignore the growing attraction between them at work, but a long road trip over the Christmas holiday and time away from the other cowboys lets them find something together that neither of them expect, but both of them need. Cowboy Protection is an opposites attract, rodeo romance featuring a bullfighter and a corporate suit, with a side of holiday magic.

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Summary: Shepard Smokey Colson - When a man I revere and his wife are killed in a freak auto accident in Greece, something feels off about the accident. He’d been my savior when I was at my lowest, and if it hadn’t been for Saber, I’d have likely not lived to see the sunrise the day after being dishonorably discharged from the Army. That great man put me on the path toward a new life and saved my old one in the process. My sense of honor and gratitude push me to go to Georgia to offer support to his son, Parker Howzer, and any assistance I can to help him through his grief. What will it take to repay my debt to Saber? I didn’t anticipate it might take my heart. Parker Buckley Howzer - With one phone call, I’m an orphan again, but this time, there is no one to love me through the pain. On top of that, someone is looking for something belonging to my parents that they believe I possess. How can I find it when I don’t even know what to look for? I didn’t expect Shepard Colson to burst onto the scene like an avenging angel from heaven. He somehow knows I’m in danger and vows to keep me safe, but at what cost to both of us? Whether I’m ready or not, my life as an unknown chef is about to change, but I didn’t anticipate just how much. This fictional story is approximately 89,000 words in length and ends with a happy for now. It is the third book in the series entitled, “The Lonely Heroes Series.” I hope you enjoy it.

Word Count: Click here to reveal50,100 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A small Western town quietly invaded, the residents bitten and turned in the night. A young man finally coming to terms with the immense and unusual power he wields. A friendship tested and evolving into something deeper. Vampires are taking over the frontier town of Belkin’s Pass, led by an ancient and evil vampire named Balthazar. No one has recognized the evil taking root… until tonight. Josh Stanton is a wanted man. He’s lived on the outskirts of the town’s social circles all his life, and, after a tragedy caused by his own hand, flees into Venom Valley, feeling he has no one to turn to for help. Not even Dex, his best friend and a man he secretly loves. Dex Wells has loved Josh for longer than he can remember. But as a town deputy, he’s torn between his feelings for Josh and his duty to the town. When Josh is in trouble, Dex races to Josh’s aid ahead of the Sheriff, needing to hear the truth about his situation… and perhaps confess the depth of his feelings. Glory, a half White, half Apache saloon girl, and the only survivor from the nighttime attack on the One-Eyed Rooster, strikes out on her own. She has no plan, yet, but vows to avenge those she’s left behind. Together, these three unlikely heroes must come together to fight back against the vampire Balthazar. If they fail, his evil will spread across the West and, eventually, the rest of the country.

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

Summary: Baker Jax Martinez works odd hours making cupcakes and cookies in his New York apartment. It’s a skill he learned from his grandparents, who raised him in a bakery of their own, and he’s never wanted to do anything else. His strange schedule makes it hard to have friends and a social life, but he’s an introvert so the occasional Sunday dinner with his best friend January is enough for him. Sawyer McMahon joined the army to leave behind everyone and everything he knew after losing the cowboy he loved in a horrific rodeo accident. After nearly losing his own life as a soldier overseas, he’s not sure what’s next for him. His old rodeo buddy Hawk Destry, who has had to deal with a disability of his own, offers Saw a place to stay for a while in New York and he takes it, hoping Hawk can help him get his recovery on track. It’s an instant friendship when Jax finds an excuse to rescue Saw from an overwhelming moment, and they discover quickly that they want to be more. Their issues and quirks seem to fit together in a strange and complicated way, but neither of them has thought much beyond the present moment. Could they actually have a future together? Or are they destined to be just friends?

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

Summary: Diamonds in the Rough is an opposites attract, single dad, insta-family romance featuring a rancher cowboy and a New York City manny looking for a summer job. When Asher Allen heads west to become the nanny to a family in New Mexico for the summer, he’s expecting three kids who’ve lost their parents. He’s expecting to have to step in and save the day so their uncle, the cowboy who took them in, can get back to work on the family ranch. What he doesn’t expect is to fall so hard for New Mexico. And for his new boss. Sebastian Martindale is about to give up and make a run for it when Ash arrives. His niece hates him, he never gets enough sleep, and he can’t juggle three small kids and the mountain of work that needs to get done. Despite his total exhaustion he’s skeptical when his mom hires a nanny, but once Ash shows up, Bastian isn’t sure how he’d managed without the man. Together, Bastian and Ash have to navigate the children's grief, the first day of school, helping the kids understand they have a home right where they are, and falling for each other at the same time. Can they work it all out and polish up the diamonds in the rough they find?

Word Count: Click here to reveal31368 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary:

While Shax recovers from a near fatality, his shipmates have been busy. He's rather proud of them for taking the initiative and finding them a lucrative cargo run. His pride turns to outright horror, though, when he finds out what sort of cargo. Frogs. The one thing in the universe that incites mindless panic in Shax. Unfortunately, he also soon discovers that a healthy fear of frogs doesn't prevent frog-driven disasters.

An unlikely series of overlapping mishaps hurls the Brimstone back to an even more unlikely point in history for a couple of demons and a fallen angel in a spaceship. Somehow they need to repair and refuel, and puzzle out how to get home. Time travel has never been so messy.

Word Count: Click here to reveal35000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Josiah Nelson left the family home where his father’s bullying and his own fears made life a penance, swearing never to return. Now he has a funeral to arrange, another joyless Christmas holiday to survive, and a ranch to sell, before he can finally wipe the last dust of his childhood off his shoes and settle into his lonely big city life. When he arrives in his hometown, Wyatt Ames is still there, still out and proud and everything Josiah secretly wanted when they were growing up. He can’t help feeling a tiny, fragile hope that this time, things might turn out differently. Especially when Wyatt seems set on teaching him that home isn’t the house you live in. It’s the place where your heart belongs. This is a re-edited, rerelease of a book originally published by MLR in 2011. The book has been substantially expanded and improved in this edition.

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

Summary: Boston in 1888 is quite urbane, but unfortunately for Gil Porter, that isn’t the same thing as being understanding. When his sexuality is exposed by the scandalous suicide of his lover, Gil is exiled to the small town of Mercy, Texas, by his domineering father, George, who believes life on Vernon Porter's ranch will cure Gil of his “unnatural” desires. Grieving and ashamed, Gil is determined to keep his distance from everyone until he can return home. To his surprise, he finds acceptance at Bent Oak Ranch, especially from Matt Grayson, the handsome son of the ranch foreman. Knowing he must fight his attraction to Matt, Gil courts a local girl, but an unexpected encounter with Matt leads to his discovery of Matt’s feelings for him. Torn between Matt and his desire to be “normal," between returning to his old life and building a new one in Texas, Gil is faced with a choice—appeasing his father or becoming the man Matt knows he can be.

Word Count: Click here to reveal70,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Childhood friendship. Adolescent longing. Adult passion. Is their timing finally right? Preston Fawkes is ten the first time he meets Konrad Schnell, the fifteen-year-old rising star of the San Antonio Polo Club. Captivated, Pres vows to learn the game at the hands of his newly acquired friend and mentor, even though his rancher father disapproves. Konrad Schnell is also a rancher’s son, but his parents see their son’s full potential as a high goal polo player and do their best to give him every advantage. But Konrad has a secret that could jeopardize everything. He’s a gay man living in the heart of Texas and his parents—and everyone in his world—would disown him if he were to come out. Preston’s hero worship soon grows into something deeper, but the friends are separated when thirteen-year-old Preston goes off to boarding school in England. When they reconnect three years later, they finally get to explore their true feelings. As adolescent passion turns to adult realities, they face new consequences at every turn. When the stars seem about to align and they’re ready to begin their lives together, fate alters their plans. Will they remain star-crossed forever or will destiny bring them back together?

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

Summary: First Rodeo, The Cowboy and the Dom, Book One When a killer strikes, Texan and former rodeo cowboy, Sam O’Reilly, loses his older brother. Unbeknownst to Sam, James was also the lover and sub of a sophisticated New York City Dom named Thomas Ward. Sam comes to the city determined to stay until he can bring the murderer to his own brand of justice, while Thomas’ more ordered mind is hoping for a legal solution. Neither man expects their connection to the other, but having each lost someone irreplaceable, their hearts are crying out for comfort almost as loudly as their bodies are screaming for each other. Some yearnings refuse to be ignored, but transcending their differences to explore the fragile connection between them will prove to be a steep a hill to climb--the first of many. As Sam and Thomas take the first tentative steps on the rocky path that might lead to a relationship, the killer steps out of the shadows...And this time, his sights are set on Sam. Note to our readers: Each of the three books in The Cowboy and the Dom Series has a fully realized, romantic ending. However, the overarching suspense element will leave readers on a cliffhanger after books one and two, to be fully resolved in book three.

Word Count: Click here to reveal426 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Sometimes the best thing about living in New York is leaving it. When January Bell takes a risk on a business trip to Denver and introduces himself to the hot as fire cowboy across the bar, he has no idea what he’s in for. Hawk is like nobody he’s ever met, and Jan finds he is intrigued enough to want more than just one night with the deceptively complex man. Hawk Destry is working hard to wring every moment he can out of his bull riding career. He’s used to beating the eight second clock, but a life-long degenerative disease is causing him to slowly lose his sight and he doesn’t have a lot of years left in the sport. None of that seems to matter, though, when Hawk meets January, who treats him like he’s worth more off a bull than on one, and who’s willing to work just as hard to be with him. The two men have to deal with the distance, unexpected challenges when Hawk visits New York, family on both sides, and neither of them sees any of it coming. Eventually even Hawk’s dangerous job is thrown into sharp relief when tragedy strikes. How will January and Hawk find their way when they’re flying blind?

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

Summary: A young gay man escaping a dismal future as stipulated by his father. A cow hand forced into parenthood through a series of losses. What does the universe have against them? Jason Langston has lived the life of an Army brat from the day he drew his first breath in a military hospital. After years of anxiety over his sexual orientation, Jase finally accepts he’s gay, though he knows his family will never support him. As graduation from high school draws near, Jase is given an order: enlist in the Army to follow in his father’s footsteps. Jase knows he’s not cut out for Army life, so he decides it’s time to spread his wings and fly before his fate is sealed—forcibly. Daniel Johnson strives to live a simple life, but it seems fate is conspiring against him at every turn. After an unsuccessful attempt at a career in the military, he returns to Holloway, Virginia, and takes a job running a cattle operation for an old friend… something familiar and comforting in a world of pain and disappointment. One day, a green kid arrives in Holloway, Virginia, and life is flipped on its ear for both men. Jase is unfamiliar with life on the farm, and Danny is fighting the draw of the younger man at every turn. Why would destiny put these two men in the same place at the same time? Is Jase the final straw to break Danny for good, or is Jase the answer to the prayers of… The Broken Man?

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

Summary: What happens when a little lost cowboy brings a professional bull rider and a software designer together? First comes utter contempt. Second comes judgment. Will understanding and attraction soon follow? Matthew Collins has spent far too many years away from his family, competing on the professional bull riding circuit. When his marriage hits the skids, his wife leaves him and takes their three-year-old son with her. Matt finally gets his son back some three years later, only to realize he has no idea how to care for a six-year-old boy. One day, Matt loses track of the boy while ordering supplies at the farmer’s co-op, and a handsome man with gorgeous eyes and a protective stance helps the boy search for his father. Matt meets the man of his dreams... though he doesn’t know it. Freshly graduated from college, Timothy Moran returns to a rural area of southern Virginia to spend the summer before embarking on a job search. Tim wants to repay his aunt and uncle for their kindness after a tragic loss, but some of the chores at Katydid Farm are more than Tim ever imagined himself doing in a lifetime. During a perusal of the local farmer’s co-op, Tim encounters a little boy with a big cowboy hat who’s lost. When he assists the young boy in finding his father, Tim meets... The Bull Rider.