Books Tagged With when - season - spring

Word Count: Click here to reveal138,550 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (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 three different points of view: William Matheson’s, covering the majority of the events from 2002 to 2009, including his work at the WBIS and his relationship with Theo Bascopolis, a former rent boy. A Christmas story, told from Patrick (the Antichrist) Mulcahy’s POV, takes place in 2004. Two other stories are future fic and are from Mark Vincent’s POV, one about his anniversary and the other about his birthday. An additional story is included, the missing epilogue from Complications, featuring Rebecca Goddard, Matheson’s onetime secretary, who’s actually not the dumb blonde she appeared. Is It You? – Wills meets Theo Bascopolis and wonders if he could be the one. Sway – Wills goes along with Theo’s assumption that he can’t dance. This Simple Phrase – Wills and Theo spend their first Christmas together. Goodbye to Love – Wills returns home to the apartment he shares with Theo to find his lover has left him. Wills intends to discover why. To Be Loved – Wills has asked Theo to marry him, and they celebrate their first Easter as engaged men in Cambridge with Wills’s family P.S. I Love You – Wills and Theo get married and welcome a new addition to their little family. Dedicated to the One I Love – In 2004, same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts. For their first anniversary, Wills decides to take advantage of that and takes Theo to Cambridge so they can be legally married. Happy Anniversary, Baby redux – It’s Mark and Quinn’s anniversary, and Mark muses about how they got there. The Very Best Christmas Ever (So Far) – Pat Mulcahy, aka the Antichrist, has turned his life around and now lives with the Mathesons. On the trip to Washington, he meets someone who just might make this the best Christmas ever for him. When Complications Arrive at Your Door – This is the missing epilogue from Complications. Rebecca Goddard, daughter of the former WBIS doctor, has decided making herself scarce after Mark Vincent discovered her part in the events that went down in 2004 is a good idea. Five years later, she’s no longer looking over her shoulder, but maybe she should be. Trick or Treat – It’s Halloween, and Wills and Theo take their children trick or treating. Happy Birthday, Baby Redux – Mark Vincent has a birthday coming up, but his husband is out of town and won’t be there to celebrate with him. In addition, it’s snowing.

Word Count: Click here to reveal25,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A recent graduate of the NYPD’s cadet academy, Jimmy McSwain dreams of anything except being a cop. He’s got bad history with them, and it’s not a rap sheet. Years ago, his police officer father was gunned down during an off-duty incident, leaving Jimmy bitter that his killer was never found. Now, grown-up, trained in the art of law, Jimmy decides to embark on a new career: that of private detective. But you just can’t get your own license, you need experience. What happens will lead Jimmy into a part of New York he doesn’t know, realizing he’s the stranger in a neighborhood that lives by its own rules. Skeptical about his job is his mother, Maggie McSwain, but there’s nothing she can do to stop her headstrong son from entering this shadowy new world. As a warm May settles over the city, a twist of fate has Jimmy taking on his first case, one that is a time bomb ready to explode. What he can’t leave behind is the memory of his father, and the silver shield which he earned only out of respect. Can he live with his decision?

Word Count: Click here to reveal44000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Eric and Ellison Gant, better known as Sin and Saint, were opposite sides of the same coin. They epitomized the nicknames given to them by their friends in the band Executioners. One thing Sin and Saint did well was fight, and being inseparable meant they had a lot of disagreements, but one thing they agreed on was that Sheriff Camden Pelter was theirs. The older, stoic man didn’t agree, yet they were determined to change his mind. jCamden Pelter had the daunting job of turning the Powers Sheriff Department around. The residents of the Georgia town didn’t have much faith or respect in the deputies serving them. That’s where he came in, and he was determined to do his job. That was easier said than done with two annoying brothers, Sin and Saint, who dogged his every step. No way in hell was he getting mixed up in the chaos that were the Gant Twins. Now if only if he could get them to listen and realize they didn’t have a chance of changing his mind.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! At the conclusion of SCANDALOUS LIES, Noah Sanders made a startling discovery, one that turned his already conflicted motives into further turmoil, the mystery of his past growing as dangerous as the undertow of the ocean. In Cane’s Inlet, located on a barrier peninsula along the Jersey Shore, the lucrative summer season is fast-approaching, as is the Opening Night celebration of the Medusa Lounge, where Noah has secured a job. But working alongside the Hatcher’s at their exclusive resort is complicated by his own investigation into the scandal that might connect them. With a family secret uncovered during a surreptitious visit to their mansion, Noah’s quest to seek the truth behind his mother’s deathbed confession takes on sudden credence. With the aid of his new lover, Demetri, as well as Cane’s Inlet busybody Cilla Cane, the questions only deepen. When another murder shocks the coastal village, Noah realizes that what’s happening no longer concerns only himself, but perhaps all of Cane’s Inlet. With a mystery dating back to the village’s founding and the raising of the old pirate ship Medusa, no one is safe from being exposed, or from a desperate killer. For Noah, the truth might come at a price higher than he’s willing to accept. SINISTER MOTIVES is the second part in a trilogy that will lay bare stories of the past, and in the end, no one will escape the web of deceit that has defined Cane's Inlet for more than one hundred years. Scandalous, sinister, suspicious, the Cane's Inlet Mystery is a tour-de-force tale of two families, one secret, and, ultimately, one man's discovery of his own true self.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60634 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Old crimes, new devils To some men, peril is a turn-on. What is it about danger that arouses these men? This time around, bigger-than-life Scot Rory Drummond and smoke-eyed cop Alex Dominguez find more than enough to keep them aroused. When Rory and Alex find their ideal getaway—a remote aerie in the Highlands—they also find a few devils have poked leathery wings into their heaven in the form of kidnapping, extortion, and murder most foul. On the trail of a missing man, they find a Jacobite tower hiding clues to recent violence…a 300-year-old elbow of the devil…and a graveyard whose crumbling bones cover old secrets worth killing for.

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

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

Summary: It Takes Two to Write a Love Story A writing retreat brings Caitlin and Iris together at a secluded cabin in the mountains. Caitlin is a successful romance novelist and Iris is a struggling veterinary nurse who seeks solace in her diary. They're both deeply romantic souls who share a love of writing. Soon, they realise their paths have crossed before. It has been eight years since they met at a friend's wedding. They spent the night talking and dancing, followed by an unforgettable night of passion. The memory had woven itself into their souls; a bittersweet reminder of what could have been. Although life led them in separate directions, neither of them has forgotten that night. Then and now, destiny has brought them together. Will they repeat the past? Or will they finally surrender to their feelings and transform them into something more powerful?  

Word Count: Click here to reveal44920 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Whatever your romance reading preference -- gay virgin, opposites attract, friends to lovers, or simply fun how-they-met stories -- this collection contains a variety of sweet, contemporary, short gay romances, sure to make you smile. Rewritten and re-edited, these stories were previously published singly and are available now in one collection! Contains the stories: King Kong vs. The Skinny Pirate Born to Be Wild The Straggler Now and Forever Moving On Moving Along Dropping Quarters Nevermore Photo Shoot Okay, Then Preface I love short stories. Sometimes a brief “snapshot” taken from a couple’s larger story is all that’s wanted. The narrative of “how they met” is the focus of six of the shorts in this set—quirky tales ranging from meeting at a charity fundraiser, to college kids pranking each other, to a mishap at a XXX adult video arcade. Also included is a story featuring a well-established couple’s wedding dilemma, a friends-to-lovers tale, a coming-out-of-the-closet drama, and a continuation short that follows one of those how-we-mets. Rounding out this collection is an account revisiting the main characters from my full-length novel, ’Til Death Do Us Part. All of these stories are contemporary, although one has a bit of paranormal flavor to it. Heat ratings range from “fairly sweet” to “rather steamy.” Excepting the final story, all were originally written in 2008 and early 2009. One (“Photo Shoot”) started out as a prompt word ficlet that I later fleshed out to a more complete story. Each has received a thorough overhaul, some more extensive than others. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them. Keywords: short story, short stories, collection, meet cute, slice of life, kindle unlimited, ebook, print, paperback

Word Count: Click here to reveal95000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: March 1891. A parliamentary committee arrives at Larkspur Hall to assess Lord Clearwater’s suitability to become an earl. Prince Albert Victor will announce their decision at a society dinner on Archer’s thirty-second birthday. However, the MP with the authority to advance Archer to the title is the same man who caused Edward Hyde never to speak again. When the parliamentarians arrive to inspect the Larkspur Academy, Edward comes face to face with the man he had arrested for making unnatural advances. A man who was never tried for his crime. Silas Hawkins and the academy men band together to ensure Edward sees justice done while protecting Lord Clearwater’s reputation and each other. Using their skills in chemistry, physics and deception, they embark on a game of secrets and subterfuge where the unspoken causes the loudest outcry. “The quiet ones have the loudest voice. Them as say most by speaking in silence.” Fiona Hawkins, 1881 Speaking in Silence is the fifth book in the Larkspur Mysteries series, and touches on themes of victimisation and suicide. Like all books in the series, it is inspired by actual events from the late 1800s. With themes of friendship, bromance, male love and revenge, the story is more of a ‘how dunnit?’ than a ‘who dunnit?’ and like all of Jackson’s mysteries, contains humour, while mixing fact with fiction.

Word Count: Click here to reveal94,010 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Demisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Love, served straight up. Malcolm Elliott has been keeping secrets. Helping his mom through a financial crisis has nearly emptied his bank account and his kitchen cupboards, despite his thriving career with Corporate Equality Campaign. Malcolm is also bothered by his inability to tell the most important people in his life that he identifies as gray ace. Stuart Morgan has a secret of his own. Though years have passed since the tattooed chef fled the Mormon church in Utah for New York, he's never truly come to terms with the fetish that ruined that rigid but outwardly perfect life. Experience has also taught Stuart that keeping his love of lacy things under wraps is safer than telling the truth. After Malcom's boss, Carter, hires Stuart's restaurant to cater a gala fundraising event, the strait-laced Malcolm is thrown together with badass biker Stuart. Despite their differences and a couple of false starts, the men discover they work well together and a friendship quickly forms. As Malcolm's feelings for Stuart deepen, his sexuality awakens, but he remains tight-lipped about his problems. And though Stuart grows more and more attached to Malcolm, he remains fearful of confessing his fetish. When both of their secrets are finally exposed, they find themselves at a crossroads in which they must choose between playing it safe or finally coming clean to the person they love.

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

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

Summary: They're Treading Water in an Ocean of Secrets When ex-cop Jake Chivis is woken by the police and questioned about the mysterious death of his neighbor, he thinks his day can only get better. Things go from bad to worse when his lover, Mari Gale, brings him a horrific sex tape which appears to show a man being murdered. As they begin to investigate the origins of the video, nothing is as it seems. Will they find the killers before they strike again? Or will dark secrets rising to the surface in their own lives erupt and tear them apart?  

Word Count: Click here to reveal16508 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Lyncoln Ryland always saw himself as an ordinary man with an ordinary job, working maintenance in an ordinary mall. The only thing about him that isn’t ordinary are his feelings for the man who’s renovating the mall, but any kind of relationship with such a sophisticated man is highly unlikely. Adam James is the wealthy man who owns the mall. He’s secretly been yearning for Lyncoln, a man he doesn’t see as ordinary in the least. But Adam’s family has plans for him, and they don’t include a relationship with a blue-collar worker. All this is about to change when the sirens go off, signaling the possible end of the world. When the two men realize this isn’t a drill, they take shelter in the mall that isn’t quite as ordinary as everyone believes. What will the outcome be when two such disparate men must survive the apocalypse together?

Word Count: Click here to reveal54,637 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Laurie Parkinson, who’s lived in Laurel Hills all his life, is a gay sheet metal worker who’d rather be a gay hairdresser. Wheat Dupuis, who’s also gay, is the scion of one of Laurel Hill’s wealthiest families. He’d rather grow grapes than become CFO of Dupuis International. Laurie wakes one morning to discover his family gone and his town decimated by a bacteria that has lain dormant for millennia, incased in ice. With the melting of the ice caps, the bacteria is released, and mankind faces a pandemic that could surpass the Black Plague. Wheat and his family are on their way to safety when the unthinkable happens and he’s left behind. Laurie knows of a bunker in the woods outside Laurel Hill, where he intends to take refuge. On the way there, Laurie finds and rescues Wheat. Can two such dissimilar men work together through a pandemic to find their families ... and possibly find love, as well?

Word Count: Click here to reveal65,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: NEWLY REISSUED, WITH NEW COVER ART! At the shocking end of SINISTER MOTIVES, Noah Sanders was forced to make a decision that would change everything he’d strived for since arriving in the coastal paradise, one that jeopardized not just his relationship with his family, but with his lover. In Cane’s Inlet, located on a barrier peninsula along the Jersey Shore, the lucrative summer season is just two weeks away, with Hatcher’s Resort its most-desired attraction, including the newly opened Medusa Lounge. But drama ensued onboard the restored pirate ship, leaving Noah determined to leave Cane’s Inlet behind. A killer has another idea, and soon Noah knows there is no escape. Living behind enemy lines, Noah realizes he must finally confront Ginette and Emerson Hatcher about the truth he’s been hiding from them all these months. But then the killer strikes again, making Noah’s investigation even more personal. He uncovers a string of secrets that have been lost to the ocean floor for generations. Reaching deep into the past, Noah is in a race against time before the season begins. Needing to repair his relationship with Demetri if he’s ever to find happiness, Noah sets a chilling plan in motion. One which will have devastating consequences, but not before the final, shocking truth is revealed. SUSPICIOUS TRUTHS is the third part in a trilogy that will lay bare stories of the past, and in the end, no one will escape the web of deceit that has defined Cane's Inlet for more than one hundred years. Scandalous, sinister, suspicious, the Cane's Inlet Mystery is a tour-de-force tale of two families, one secret, and, ultimately, one man's discovery of his own true self.

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

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

Summary: Love: Not as easy as ABC. They were supposed to keep things casual. Who’d expect they’d be schooled in love? Those who can, teach. Marvin Block is one of the best kindergarten teachers out there. And despite his anxiety, Marvin’s life is sweet. He knows what he wants. And what he wants is the Teacher of the Year Award. Not just for himself – his school needs him to win. Returning from break, the New Year finds Marvin all set to welcome a new pupil to his class. But when Illona walks in with her cute-as-hell single dad beside her, Marvin’s focus starts to slide. Sure, his students always come first, but he deserves to have a life outside the classroom, too, right? As their friendship starts to deepen, Marvin realizes Olan has the potential to teach him things about love he never thought possible. But with the Teacher of the Year award and his school’s future on the line, now’s not the time for anything complicated. Education has always been Marvin’s world. And he needs to keep a cool head if he wants to win the award and save his school. But will it be worth it if he loses Olan in the process? With Olan’s past and Marvin’s present colliding, their experiment in love hangs in the balance. Marvin knows what he wants out of life. But now he’s forced to consider what he wants out of love. Will Marvin chalk the relationship up to experience? Or can they revise their story into a textbook romance?

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

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

Summary: Six months ago, Stefan Cobbe was at rock bottom: grief-stricken, guilt ridden, debt laden, artistically blocked, and living on charity in an isolated mountain cabin. But after reconciling with his first love, Luke, and moving to Sarasota with him, Stefan is preparing for his first major show. Yes, he still has debts, and no, Luke doesn’t understand Stefan’s desire for independence. But compared to last year? No contest. Luke Morganstern ought to be happy. After all, his art-investigation business has recovered and he’s got his boyfriend back. But Stefan stubbornly refuses to move in with him or accept Luke’s financial help, and it’s really starting to bug him. Who knew that the biggest test of their relationship wouldn’t be time or distance, but his own insecurities? After Luke’s next job—a trip to Italy to retrieve a mysterious artifact—he plans to convince Stefan that it’s time to totally commit. But when Luke returns, he changes, and Stefan begins to suspect that the person in Luke’s skin isn’t Luke at all. He can hardly go to the police and claim his lover is the victim of a supernatural hijacking though. He needs alternative help to find Luke and get him back, because he refuses to let anyone—or anything—come between them again.

Word Count: Click here to reveal108,720 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: As the first-born son of a royal duke and cousin to the prince, Cathal has always put his duty to family and country first, even when it conflicts with his own wishes. When Cathal’s father arranges a marriage between him and Velia, cousin to the emperor of Ardunn, without consulting him, he sees no alternative but to go along with his plans for the good of Tournai. But it’s Velia’s companion, Flavia, who fascinates Cathal from the moment he first sets eyes on her. Cathal doesn’t know Flavia is really Flavian, an artist masquerading as a woman to escape Ardunn, a restrictive and repressive place where Flavian’s preference for men is forbidden. Even when Cathal discovers Flavian’s identity, even as he struggles with his obligations and duty, he cannot fight his attraction to the sharp-tongued artist. Flavian is intrigued by him as well, but Cathal is still betrothed to Velia, and Flavian worries he is more taken with the feminine illusion Flavian presents than the man beneath it. He came to Tournai to start a new life—a safe one—as an artist, and an inconvenient attraction to his friend’s betrothed, a man who happens to be a member of the royal family, is not a part of his plans. While both men battle their longings for each other, spies from Ardunn infiltrate the capital, attempting to uncover Tournai’s weaknesses and secrets. They are also searching for Flavian, who possesses a magical Talent giving him the ability to see the truth of a person just by painting their portrait—something that would be invaluable to Ardunn’s emperor.

Word Count: Click here to reveal82400 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: In The Bachmann Family Secret, Jaret Bachmann travels with his family to his beloved grandfather’s funeral with a heavy heart and, more troubling, premonitions of something evil lurking at the Bachmann ancestral home. But no one believes that he sees ghosts, and no one else saw his grandfather’s ghost warning him to stay home except his dog, Darth. Grappling with his sexuality, a ghost that wants him out of the way, and the loss of his grandfather, Jaret must protect his family and come to terms with powers hidden deep within himself.

Word Count: Click here to reveal43000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Nick Adore has been in hiding for six years. He does his best to pass himself off as human and only wants to be left alone. But one day, he walks in on a robbery. Instead of quietly walking away, he reveals himself as a blood witch, and now the werewolf king demands to see him. Conri Biast is king. He has been the king of Norbridge for eleven years, but someone is trying to take him down. For months, he's known there's a blood witch in his territory who refuses to pay his respects, and that puts him on the top of his list of suspects. But when he goes to confront the witch, things don't turn out the way he'd planned. The witch is his mate. Nick doesn't want to be anywhere near Conri. Being close to kings always ends with him getting hurt, but he finds himself sucked into the power struggle. Conri doesn't know who he can trust, but he knows he needs Nick by his side. Together, they're strong, but are they strong enough to keep the throne?

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

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

Summary: Drinking vampire blood saves lives, but it comes with a price. A couple of months ago, Gregory Acklam gave his blood to one of the psychics living in his castle. Vampires don’t share their blood willingly since it creates a partial mate bond when they do, but Thanatos would’ve died if Gregory hadn’t intervened. The effects of a partial mate bond wear off after a couple of weeks, so how is it possible Gregory still feels drawn to Thanatos? Thanatos Sage never asked anyone to save his life. It doesn’t mean he’s not grateful, but no one asked him. It feels unfair he should be punished for something he didn’t do, but months after it happened, Gregory still refuses to be in the same room as him. It all changes when Gregory needs a fake boyfriend to bring to a werewolf event. Gregory goes from avoiding him to constantly being in his space. He claims they need to smell of each other to fool the werewolves into believing they’re a couple. Thanatos is surprised to realize he doesn’t mind playing the part of Gregory’s boyfriend, but shouldn’t they stop pretending now that they’ve met the werewolves?

Word Count: Click here to reveal103800 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Second son of an earl and cousin to the Crown Prince, Griffen has worked hard to forge a career in diplomacy for the principality of Tournai, but he never expected his diplomatic skills would be necessary for a problem so personal to him and his family. A delegation from the mysterious kingdom of Ivria has come to Tournai to make sure the secret of their people—the magical Talent allowing them to change into dragons—and therefore their kingdom itself remain safe. The delegation is concerned with Corentin, an Ivrian, and the man Griffen’s older brother is soon to marry. The Ivrians seem to want to drag Corentin back to Ivria for the offense of revealing their secret, but Griffen refuses to let it happen. His determination puts him into contact—and conflict—with Kirill, a negotiator for the king of Ivria who possesses the dragon Talent himself. The two clash and connect, getting closer and pulling away as they try to negotiate the needs of their people and an unwanted attraction between themselves. However, just as trust might be growing between them, a plot is uncovered and a member of the Ivrian delegation murdered. Griffen and Kirill must discover who is behind both for the safety of their countries and the people they love…and for a chance to be together.