Books Tagged With who - occupation - artist

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Small-town security guard, Gill Martin, has lived in Mystique Pointe his entire life. His dating prospects are non-existent and he doesn’t particularly like his job, but at least it’s better than unemployment. Besides, he hasn’t got any better ideas. Big-city artist, Tommy Hearne, knows exactly what he wants out of life: a successful art career and a successful relationship. He also knows that living in Liberty City is his best chance for pursuing both. Unfortunately, for him, neither of these pursuits seem to be panning out quite to his liking. When Tommy and his misfit band of friends roll into town for the Laissez Faire, Mystique Pointe’s annual music & art festival, worlds definitely collide. A fiery tryst sparks more than just a lust connection, but what happens when the weekend is over?

Word Count: Click here to reveal60869 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Storms pass and, in their wake, new beginnings can be found. Talented young artist Jonty Trelawn paints the sea as self-inflicted punishment. For almost a year he has hidden away from life, survivor’s guilt consuming him, but the time has come to move on. He conceives the idea of a charity art auction in support of the local lifeboat station and the men and women who saved his life. He hopes the tribute to his family will release him from the sea’s invisible chains. Carpenter Jed Curnow is bound to the water in a different way. As deputy coxswain of the Govenek, the local lifeboat, his world revolves around the close-knit crew. He thinks nothing of risking his life to save others. Saving Jonty is less dangerous but just as important to him. He wants nothing more than to give Jonty the love and security he needs. Jed’s dominant personality calls to Jonty’s more submissive nature but will he ever allow himself to be happy? It’s up to Jed and his best friend Marmite to help Jonty put his tragic past behind him and live for the future.

Word Count: Click here to reveal1250 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A broken heart leads to sensual dark magic. An erotic short.

Word Count: Click here to reveal87329 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Texas artist Tucker Williams arrives in New York City for a gallery showing of his work and finds the city blanketed in snow. He meets free-spirited underwear model Calvin McIntire on the steps of the Midtown library and is captivated by a wild beauty that manages to compete with the demons that occupy his soul and fuel his work with their lust for blood and erotic imagery. Unable to deny a new inspiration, Tucker sublets a studio and finds the city’s energy almost as addictive as Calvin. Tucker is obsessive, barely holding on to sanity as his art consumes him, and Calvin is dealing with demons of his own, trying desperately to protect his soul in a business where only his appearance has value. They each prove to be the perfect remedy for the other’s personal brand of crazy until, in the midst of stress and exhaustion, they discover that a promise Calvin needs is the one thing Tucker can’t give him, and their heaven turns to purgatory. Can both men find a path toward wholeness in Tucker’s beautiful but chaotic Texas home? In order for them—and their passionate relationship—to thrive, they’ll need to adapt, share their psychoses, and find a true balance between New York City and rural Texas.

Word Count: Click here to reveal51000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: You can never escape from yourself. When Darach McNaughton returns to his home town, the one thing he isn’t looking for is love. But when he meets the mysterious Brice Drummond, his investigative instinct isn’t the only thing aroused. After a gang beats Brice Drummond, leaves him for dead, and needing to use a wheelchair, he ends up in a witness protection program. His only company is a beautiful cat aptly named Princess. He creates beautiful pieces of art, but allows no one into his life—until a handsome policeman appears out of nowhere. On a snowy night, Darach McNaughton returns a crying cat to its owner and is immediately curious about the beautiful man with the tattoos. Bit by bit, Darach uncovers the shocking truth about Brice’s history. Can he get past what he discovers? Can Brice let someone into his life? Or will the past catch up with them both and tear their fledgling love apart?

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

Summary: Fitz Gaffney finally has some breathing room. His mother’s out of town, his piano coaches have backed off, and he’s spending his time in a music conservatory where he only has to be adequate for an entire year before all his responsibilities comes crashing back in again. Along with his new free time comes the realization that he’s lonely, but his first attempt to make new friends goes horribly awry. Fitz’s new — but possibly imaginary — friends, Evan and Serge want to help him find happiness. His used-to-be-step-brother Ari Scheffield wants to help him gain confidence and a little much-needed cool. His housekeeper Marguerite wants to keep fowl in the back yard for butchering because Duck confit is expensive and she has pillows to re-stuff. And his possible new boyfriend Garrett wants to prove he didn’t mean for their first date to end with Fitz lying unconscious in a Dumpster. All Fitz wants is someone to care about him, but suddenly there seems to be a glut. How’s a shy guy to know what’s real when he’s confronted by crazy ghosts, a less than truthful boyfriend, and relatives with hidden motives in Rhapsody For Piano and Ghost.

Word Count: Click here to reveal84000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Time for distractions? Hardly. A chance at making the playoffs? It’s a dream for NHL forward Taylor Cunningham that just might come true. If he can keep his eyes on the ball—ahem, puck. And study for midterms. Dakota Cotton, eleven years his senior, isn’t just a distraction, though—he’s everything Tay’s ever wanted. Dakota has no interest in introducing someone who might not stick around to his four-year-old son. Been there, done that, with the divorce to prove it. But there’s something about Tay that hits all of the right buttons and has him wanting to take a chance. As things heat up between them, and the pressure to succeed hits an all-time high, will they risk a shot at happiness or choke?

Word Count: Click here to reveal68000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Cameron has given up on romance, after a difficult childhood made it hard for him to trust enough for intimate relationships to develop. But mostly he's happy with the life he's built for himself. When two paranormal investigators show up at the home he recently inherited, claiming he may be in danger, he sends them packing, convinced they're nothing but con men. Until several incidents prove they're telling the truth. The past Cameron tried so hard to leave behind is coming for him, and it's angry.

Word Count: Click here to reveal74271 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: AURA’s offices have been quiet since the mage tower incident—as quiet as they can be for an agency dedicated to policing holes in reality—and the department heads have been free to turn their attention back to mundane matters. The return to quiet bureaucracy gives AURA’s Director of Research, Kai Hiltas, the time to turn his energy to a new issue—a young drow with unusual and dangerous powers named Ryld. Though his shadows always lurk at the edges of his vision, Ryld does his best to live peacefully and not let them hurt anyone. He has his work, his apartment and a succession of minders assigned by AURA who are, ostensibly, there to keep him safe in his new world and to prevent him from causing any scenes with his shadows. Most of the time, the arrangement works. But one disastrous incident causes Ryld’s minder to leave him unattended and lost—the precise thing he was hired to prevent. To replace the faithless minder, Kai suggests Hank, a half-goblin accountant recently in the middle of a string of terrible luck, while Kai works out how best to get Ryld the magical training he so desperately needs. For his part, Hank truly likes Ryld and insists he would be happier working as Ryld’s companion rather than as a controlling minder. As Hank and Ryld slowly come to terms with sharing space—and eventually more—Kai’s search for a teacher for Ryld takes them out west on the invitation of the Elvenhome’s aelfe queen and right into the lap of inter-elven feuds, ancient prejudice, conspiracies and trafficking rings. What should have been a pleasant visit soon turns into more than even forever-scheming Kai can handle.  

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

Summary: Note: This edition of Saving Sonny James is out of publication. It will soon be re-release in a new bundle, coming from Changeling Press. Watch for the new listing summer 2019. Vasquez and James Book Four Luki Vasquez and his still newlywed husband are back home after pulling off a harrowing desert rescue of their teenage nephew Jackie. But the events of the last couple of years have begun to catch up with Luki—loving Sonny James and letting Sonny love him back has left gaps in his emotional armor. In the gunfight that secured Jackie’s rescue, Luki’s bullet killed a young guard, an innocent boy in Luki’s mind. In the grip of PTSD, memories, flashbacks, and nightmares consume him, and he falls into deep, almost vegetative depression. Sonny devotes his days to helping Luki, putting his own career on hold, even passing up a European tour of galleries and schools—an opportunity that might never come again. But when Luki’s parasomnia turns his nightmares into real-world terror, it breaks the gridlock. Sonny realizes what he’s doing isn’t working, and he says yes to Europe. Enter Harold Breslin, a dangerously intelligent artist’s promoter and embezzler whose obsessive desire for Sonny is exceeded only by his narcissism. When Harold’s plan for Sonny turns poisonous, Luki must break free of PTSD and get to France fit and ready in time to save his husband’s life.

Word Count: Click here to reveal83,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Reeling from the news that his parents are divorcing, Pete Morgan starts his junior year at college cynical about love and commitment. Although his new openness to one-night stands does wonders for his sex life, fighting his romantic nature proves harder than he’d anticipated. He soon finds himself pining for a glamorous senior, Aidan, who doesn’t mind taking Pete to bed but shows no interest in commitment—at least not with Pete. And Pete’s attempt at a “friends-with-benefits” relationship with sophomore Jed leaves Pete feeling empty. One bright spot in Pete’s year is Matthew, an easygoing graduate student who assists Pete in making his first film. Matthew has some baggage too, and has sworn off relationships and sex altogether, so Pete feels safe to enjoy their friendship. But he falls for Matthew anyway, not able to fight his growing conviction that Matthew is the perfect guy for him. Even if Pete can accept that he made a mistake when he turned his back on relationships, that doesn't mean Matthew will feel the same. With a few life lessons under his belt, Pete’s ready to take a chance on love. As he finds the courage to bare his heart to Matthew, he can only hope that Matthew will take a chance with him.

Word Count: Click here to reveal81,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Shy guy Jed Carter has always felt invisible next to his charismatic older brother, Kent. Kent’s master plan for Jed is simple: University of Virginia, fraternity, business, sports, and ladies’ man. None of it is Jed, except for playing on the rugby team, which he joins in defiance of soccer-loving Kent. Jed comes out in his sophomore year and starts seeing Pete, an attractive junior, who uses him for sex and videogames. Jed wants more—in life and in love—and starts making his own plans. First on the list: getting to know Charlie, the handsome guy working at the local videogame arcade. Charlie Ambrose has always felt like an oddball, and not just for his tendency to stutter. Being gay sets him apart from his African-American community, and as a “townie,” he doesn’t fit in with the college crowd. Charlie’s inspiration is his cousin, Morocco, who’s transgender and doesn’t give a fig about fitting in. Art is Charlie’s passion, and when a local videogame designer discovers him, Charlie’s living a dream. The only thing he’s missing is love. But the last person Charlie expects to find it with is a cute, white U.Va. rugby player named Jed.

Word Count: Click here to reveal19,936 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Wyatt Calder is trapped -- in a rundown neighborhood, in a dead-end job, by the endless string of trouble his brother drags to their door -- and it seems he’s destined to slowly fade away within the aging walls of Picket House, longing for his neighbor. That is, until his upstairs neighbor Abel Walters dies on the staircase just outside Wyatt’s door. Saalik has spent most of his existence asleep and waiting for the next person to discover his bottle and claim their wishes. And the last four years playing prized possession to Abel Walters and spying on the downstairs neighbors. But he has a plan. And, like every plan worth planning, it has taken patience. But if life as a Jinn has taught Saalik nothing else, it’s taught him that. When a break-in sends Wyatt out his second-story bedroom window and into his dead upstairs neighbor’s apartment, he finds more than a place to hide. He discovers a magical solution to all his troubles. Or does he? Because really, when is life ever that simple?

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 reveal22312 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It is time to go to my son. Nen waited to hear those words from the Vasilissa for fifteen rotations, since that time the snow wouldn’t stop falling. But now that he’s about to meet Anani, the love of his life, again, he’s afraid. What if Anani doesn’t feel the same anymore? Anani, the guardian of the water element, was only seventeen when he was banished from his mother’s court. Heartbroken he couldn’t be with the one he loved, he lost control over his emotions and his power. No matter what he tried, the snow wouldn’t stop, and as a last resort, he was sent away. When they finally meet again, Anani is hopeful but disillusioned. The law that kept them apart hasn’t changed. How will they be able to find their happily ever after? And what happens when the snow starts falling again?

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

Summary: Everywhere Aiden goes, he sees the same handsome stranger—and promptly makes a klutzy, ridiculous fool of himself. Over and over again, their crossing paths spell humiliating doom for poor Aiden. Jason is intrigued by the lanky brunet he keeps chancing upon, and the more he learns the more he wants to properly meet the guy. When they do finally meet, groceries—and hearts—go flying, but can they turn their never-ending meet-cute into something real?

Word Count: Click here to reveal3491 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Athena loves her wife. She loves Maria’s smile and sculptor’s hands and tender dominance. She loves being Maria’s model, posing for the creation of art. She’s happy to stay right where Maria’s arranged her, taking pride and pleasure in remaining just so. And as she stays so perfectly still, her submission becomes more and more pleasurable -- and distracting. But if Athena can wait without moving, she’ll earn her reward ... and find the sweetness of release in the art of surrender.

Word Count: Click here to reveal11000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Cameron Wheeler’s life is all mapped out: he’ll finish business school, return home to Vermont, get a job, and marry his high-school girlfriend. He’s packed away what he really wants—a career as a musician—because he knows it’s never going to happen. But Cameron's well-planned life is turned upside down when he walks into a musty jewelry shop in LA and meets the mysterious Apollo, who tells him to “follow his soul, not his past.” Apollo's magical presence spurs Cameron to discover and follow his true path, in life and in love.

Word Count: Click here to reveal8000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: One weekend away will change everything. At twenty-five, Jeff Wilder is dissatisfied with city life and unsure of his future direction. The only thing he really cares about is his monthly visit to his grandfather in the country. His exact opposite, Danny Amaro is an artist and a free spirit. He believes in taking chances and living life to the full. Over one weekend, Danny gives Jeff a glimpse of what life could be like if he opens himself to change. Can a new friend, shared passion, and marmalade, be the ingredients to set Jeff in a new direction? Note: This is a short story of approximately 8k words and is available free to Nic Starr’s newsletter subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive your FREE copy.

Word Count: Click here to reveal47,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Currently out of publication. A New Zealand Romance Fog at Wellington's airport leads two men to an impromptu road trip. Destination? Could be love! Kiwi Nathaniel Dunn is in a fighting mood, but how does a man fight Wellington's famous fog? In the last year, Nate's lost his longtime lover to boredom and his ten-year job to the economy. Now he's found a golden opportunity for employment where he can even use his artistic talent, but to get the job, he has to get to Christchurch today. Heavy fog means no flight, and the ticket agent is ignoring him to fawn over a beautiful but annoying, overly polite American man. Rusty Beaumont can deal with a canceled flight, but the pushy Kiwi at the ticket counter is making it difficult for him to stay cool. The guy rubs him all the wrong ways despite his sexy working-man look, which Rusty notices even though he's not looking for a man to replace the fiancé who died two years ago. Yet when they're forced to share a table at the crowded airport café, Nate reveals the kind heart behind his grumpy façade. An earthquake, sex in the bush, and visits from Nate's belligerent ex turn a day of sightseeing into a slippery slope that just might land them in love.