Books Tagged With where - general - small town

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

Summary: FOXED: To be thrown into a state of uncertainty—flustered, bamboozled, bewildered, puzzled, vexed. AKA, me. Jed Marshall. 55-year-old successful classic car mechanic; divorced, mostly closeted, and whose wholly inexperienced bisexuality has suddenly awakened after one smouldering look and said, ‘Damn, who’s the hottie?’ Or words to that effect. Cue, Nash Collingwood. 53-year-old scarily smart high school principal; out, gay, confident, and sexy as hell. He’s also my daughter’s boss. So, not complicated at all, right? Nash could ignite a bonfire with a single sultry look, comes fully accessorised with a charm offensive Churchill would be proud of, an easy-going flattery that thrills my heart far too effortlessly, and an impressive track record with men many decades my junior. In short, Nash is everything I’m not, and everything I’ve avoided for roughly my entire life. He’s the hot rod to my sensible family car, that is if you like your family cars with a few dents, creaky suspension, unexpected backfires, and a dodgy stick. The last thing I need is a relationship—especially with a man. I buried that pipe dream a long time ago and a little loneliness is a small price to pay. The festive season and long summer vacation are on our doorstep. I’m finally getting things right with my family who mean everything to me, and I don’t want to mess that up. But Nash doesn’t care about my awkward inexperience, or clumsy excuses, or any of my insecurities. Nash only sees me. He wants me. For the first time in years, I feel alive and sexy and a whole lot more than just a good father and grandfather. I should walk away, but the closer Nash and I become, the more he fills my grey world with colour, and the promise of a second chance at love I never thought possible.

Word Count: Click here to reveal81000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Can a sorcerer apprentice learn to control his magic before the elder demon destroys his home? Fledgling sorcerer Isaac and his friends accidentally create a spell that sets a cryptid town on top of theirs. With no one hurt in the aftermath, they put the night of the Red Storm behind them and opened their arms to the new residents, shifters monsters and everything in between. Caspian, a sweetly sexy fox shifter has turned his considerable affections and attention toward Isaac, making him smitten in return. Unfortunately, not everyone is welcoming and not everyone is kind. A corrupt mayor and his cronies want to use Isaac for his unique and powerful magic. With the help of Caspian, his foxy boyfriend, and his mentor, Darius, Isaac discovers that magic can be fun and helpful in the battle to save his town from the grasping hands of an elder demon hellbent on taking over. Monsters In Love is a small-town series where monsters, humans and others find love and community. This book includes a sweet cinnamon roll fox and his shy sorcerer, found family and small-town charm. There is a happy for now ending but the main couple is together

Word Count: Click here to reveal30,228 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Everything about thirty-five-year-old Stone Acres hardware store owner Frank McCord is old-fashioned -- from his bow tie and overalls to the way he happily makes house calls. He dreams of lasting romance, true love, and marriage. Frank’s ancestors have run the store and been mainstays in the small California town for over a century. While genial Frank upholds tradition and earns the respect of friends and neighbors, he fears he’s too dull and old to attract a husband. Maybe it’s time to break out of his mold. Then handsome thirty-six-year-old electronic games designer Christopher Darling and his fifteen-year-old son, Henry, come into his life. Christopher has everything Frank could want in a potential partner: charm, kindness, and compatibility. Also, he’s a terrific father to Henry. When their Stone Acres home turns out to be uninhabitable, Frank offers the Darlings temporary lodging in his ancestral farmhouse, where he and his tenant Emil reside. Since Emil thinks Frank is his, sparks fly. Suddenly, Frank’s monotonous life promises to explode with love and change him forever.

Rainbow Award Honorable Mention book.

Word Count: Click here to reveal40,480 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: An outcast necromancer and a half-demon clerk need to save the world from seashell zombies. No pressure. Everyone's always told Aspic that trouble can't help following him because of his heritage. Determined to put the lie to half-demon stereotypes, he's finally landed a good, quiet job as an herbalist's clerk where the owner trusts him to man the shop alone. What could go wrong selling coriander and thyme? When Geoffrey first enters the shop, Aspic finds the little man's eccentric appearance startling, then intriguing. Geoffrey explains, in stops and starts, that he is a theoretical necromancer researching replacements for blood magic. His current line of inquiry involves seashells—do they have any in stock? Aspic's co-workers warn him that Geoffrey is a walking disaster, but he finds himself more and more drawn to a necromancer concerned with ethical death magic. Aspic is with Geoffrey in his lab when he has his first success, but the results aren't at all what he was aiming for. Instead of raising the dead rabbit on his table, the ritual animates the seashell and rock spell components, which flee the lab and cause havoc. They soon discover that the spell-animated objects are "zombies" in that they can "infect" other inanimate things. An unorthodox necromancer and an exasperated shop clerk are going to need some unconventional help to find a working de-animation spell before the world is overrun by zombie seashells and stones gone mad.

Word Count: Click here to reveal58000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: For years, Mik has wanted nothing more than to put coal in Rudy Snow's stocking. As former pro hockey players, they’ve been rivals for years. It started in Mik’s rookie season, when a reporter pitted him against his older brother's best friend. Rudy pushes Mik’s buttons like no one else, going out of his way to one-up him at every turn. Now they manage pubs in a small town that takes Christmas to a level best seen in Hallmark movies, but not much else has changed. They’re still rivals, this time pitting gingerbread martinis against pomegranate sangria. But when they’re forced to work together to plan a special holiday party, sparks ignite. Maybe it's a bad idea to put coal in Rudy's stocking after all. They both might just catch fire. Then again, what better way is there to stay warm on a cold winter's night? Christmas Falls is a multi-author M/M romance series set in a small town that thrives on enough holiday charm to rival any Hallmark movie.

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

Summary: Luis has two problems. The depression monster is breathing down his neck and he’s in love with his boss, who thinks their age-gap and employer/employee status is a deal-breaker. Luis Flynn has had a thing for Royce Hessing since the day he started work when he was still in high school but Royce doesn’t see him as anything other than an employee, and an annoying one at that. It’s hopeless to think they could be anything more. And then Royce kisses him. It should make Luis happy, but Luis finds that emotion hard to grasp. In fact, he’s finding it difficult to get through a day so his attraction to his boss, along with everything else in his life, takes a backseat.

Word Count: Click here to reveal62000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: The last thing Jeff wants is to spend time with the man who totaled his car—the one he spent years restoring with his late father. But if he wants to resurrect his childhood town’s annual outdoor hockey tournament, he’s got no choice. The last thing Mika wants is to work with the guy who took off right after the accident, without ensuring he was okay. And working together on organizing Jeff’s proposed tournament sounds like a complete nightmare. He’s got enough on his plate after surviving cancer. Sparks fly as they’re forced to work together, but is that enough for them to set their differences aside and pull off the tournament in only two weeks? Or will they prove to be immune to the magic of Christmas?

Word Count: Click here to reveal12800 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: One snowy evening, a car wreck in front of his toy store triggers terrible memories for Jake. Suddenly, he is in the midst of another winter storm—and another accident, one that not everyone walked away from. When he returns to the present, Jake is on the ground, being watched over by a guardian angel in the form of a kind man named Eli. Eli is no stranger to panic attacks and PTSD, and he’s happy to help Jake get home—where the weather forces him to remain for the night. For Jake, it could be the first step toward a life free from fear and loneliness. This is a second edition. No significant changes have been made from the first edition.

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

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

Summary: Police are the enemy. But when the choice is between working with them or letting the pack starve, Clay does his duty as the alpha and takes a job he'd never otherwise have chosen. He doesn't expect to find a certain sheriff so absolutely captivating. Harry makes him want things that are dangerous. After all, everybody knows non-shifters don't make good mates...right? A shifters and partners novel Length: 51,000 words Heat level: very low EXCERPT I watched his hands as he fiddled with the straw wrapper, as he squeezed lemon into his water. He had particularly watchable hands, with character, deft and careful and precise. They were hands that could mesmerize. Not young and smooth, they were large, rather tanned, with prominent knuckles and with some dark hair on the back of them. They were hands that had worked hard, and also hands that were careful. He turned a salt shaker round and it was all I could do not to stare as we waited for our food to arrive. He'd ordered for both of us. At least, he'd gotten a burger and fries and looked at me inquiringly. I'd just said "Same." I would have even if he'd ordered the worst thing on the menu. I was hungry enough I wouldn't care. Still, I'd heard good things about the food here, and it always smelled wonderful when I was walking past. It smelled good today, too, but even so, it couldn't distract me from my obsession with his hands. "So what can I do to ensure that you're happy working at with the sheriff's department?" said Harry. I can think of a few things. My mouth was dry, but I forced myself to look up and meet his gaze. I tried my best to banish sexual thoughts...and those damnable fluttering feelings thumping around awkwardly inside my chest. Oh, his eyes were just so damned blue. "It's fine," I said. "As long as I get paid." And it's enough to help the pack. "Flexible hours are good, too, when I'm working construction in the summer." At least if I could get any construction work this year. He nodded seriously, paying careful attention to me. It was a heady experience. "That's pretty much it." It would help if I weren't targeted by anyone inside or outside the sheriff's department for my involvement, but that was probably too much to ask. No, I would have to weigh any increased risk against the decreased risk of being run down (assuming being seen with the sheriff eating in public did affect that risk in the right direction). Harry smiled at me gently, but in a slightly scolding way. "There's something you're not telling me." I couldn't help grinning. It felt like we were old friends, even though we'd barely met. I put a hand against my chest, miming shock. A slightly camp gesture, but one I didn't feel funny making around him. "Moi?" He laughed: a genuine, out-loud laugh, just from my nonsense joke. It made me grin harder; it made my toes curl up in my shoes. It was a delicious surprise, his laugh. "All right, fair enough," he said. "I suppose you're allowed to keep some mysteries. I'd just hate to see you leave for greener pastures as soon as we get used to each other." I looked at him, and thought, That is never going to happen. And heaven help me, but that made my inner wolf as wary as anything that had happened in months. If already I didn't want to leave...and not just because of the pack, but also because of him...then I was in a bad way. Dial it back, Clay.

Word Count: Click here to reveal25,778 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Everyone hopes his road to happily ever after will be carefree and smooth, but too often hair-pin turns and detours seem to get in the way. Having thought he was on the road to forever before, former Silicon Valley programmer Dan Lassiter is leery about pedaling down it again. His elderly companion Charlie urges him to get to know Rick Reardon whose bakery is across the street from Dan’s bicycle shop. Under the watchful eye of Charlie, Dan and Rick take tentative steps toward each other, all the while trying to avoid potholes such as exes, homophobes, and family problems. As summer turns to fall and then winter, they hope that the road will be smooth going from their first date and first kiss to having what Rick’s sister euphemistically calls their “sleepovers.” At each step, though, they are tripped up and wonder why there seem to be so many bumps in their road. Maybe Dan and Rick should heed some of Charlie’s sage advice, or maybe they should listen to their hearts instead of the ghosts from their pasts.

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

Summary: Niamh Hunter has a teeny, tiny problem. If hosting the first ever Heartcore Yoga Retreat at her Summit Springs studio is about opening as many hearts and minds as possible, well, she’s got plenty to open–because sign-ups are out of control. Maybe she should have capped attendance. Or rented a bigger space. Or researched event organizing before, you know, organizing an event. But an open heart and positive attitude have gotten Niamh this far in life. Surely they’ll get her through what might end up being the Fyre Festival of yoga retreats. Visiting marketing consultant Jordan Kowalczyk owes a friend a favor, which is why she agrees to a consultation with Niamh. But Niamh’s situation is way above Jordan’s paygrade. Maybe Niamh thinks she’s being cute with her scatterbrained, crunchy-granola approach to life. With her smelly–but always well-dressed–bulldog, Beau Brummell. With her…okay, she is kind of cute. But Jordan doesn’t want her chakras opened, thanks. Besides, Jordan’s not an event planner, and marketing this retreat is the one thing Niamh’s done well. Way, way too well. With mere weeks until the retreat, Jordan agrees against her better judgment to assist. What she doesn’t count on is developing feelings for Niamh. As she helps Niamh buckle down, she finds herself opening up–and discovers what’s been missing from her life for too long. But when Jordan’s family threatens her new relationship, she must decide whether to leave Summit Springs in the rearview mirror, or whether she and Niamh have built something worth fighting for.

Word Count: Click here to reveal14000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Can a wrong number lead to Mr Right? Nick Davis’s life is stuck in a rut until a stranger starts leaving messages on his answer machine. Connor Hayes has mistaken Nick’s number for that of his boyfriend, giving Nick an idea of what it would be like to have Connor in his life. Connor seems like his ideal man and although Nick knows he’s not Connor’s ‘baby,’ he can’t stop himself wishing he were. After the wrong number issue is resolved, Nick doesn’t expect to hear from Connor again. He’s pleasantly surprised when he does. Unfortunately for Nick, Connor isn’t looking for a boyfriend. He already has one and now he wants Nick to help organise a surprise Valentine’s weekend for the couple.Can Nick put his own feelings aside to make sure Connor’s Valentine’s Day plans go smoothly?

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

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

Summary: It’s a tale as old as time. I’ve crushed on my brother’s best friend since I sprouted hairs on the unmentionables. Once upon a time, he was straight, until he wasn’t… and talk about bad timing. And when we’re finally at a place for me to make my move, sexy rural firefighter Dan clams up and acts weird and I’m left with pants that are too tight and my heart feeling bruised… but he’s a good friend and I’m grateful he’s in my life. Because of course Dan is a good guy. Though him being “good” and ridiculously easy on the eyes and possibly the best man I know only makes me want him more. When we’re thrust into a situation that brings both of us close to danger, it’s hardly the time to be chasing first kisses or finally acting on my crush. But Dan doesn’t seem to mind. I just know that when the stakes are high and emotions are running wild, sometimes you have to show your hand and go all in. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.

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

Summary: Dara Alvarez escaped Summit Springs a decade ago with a plan to see the world. But when her recently widowed sister asks her to come home and help with her troubled nephew, she knows it's the right thing to do. Good thing bar tending pays as well in Colorado as it did in the tourist traps of Paris and Prague. Lillie McClintock can't wait to escape the usual rich-kid ski path and spend her winter searching for ghosts in the charming mountain town of Summit Springs. She doesn't expect to be more interested in the Silver Nugget's gorgeous bartender than the spirits haunting its atmospheric halls. Dara has a sore spot when it comes to the dead. Lillie's on the run from a life that left her empty. Maybe they can help each other. Or maybe they'll never speak again.

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

Summary: Clint Barker wants to take his relationship with boyfriend Joshua Cash to the next level, and that means meeting Josh’s family at Christmas. Clint is sure he can deal with anything, even though Josh has expressed reservations that his big, loud hillbilly family might be too overwhelming for an introvert like Clint to handle. Josh loves his family, but the only other time he brought a boyfriend home to meet them, the guy didn’t last through dinner. Clint means everything to him, and though he knows his family means well, Josh is worried their nosiness and sheer overwhelming presence will drive Clint away. Between having to fix an illegal still, getting treed by a wild hog, and barely avoiding a bar fight between rednecks and bikers, the holiday doesn’t get off to an auspicious start. Then at the traditional Christmas Eve Hootenanny, Josh and Clint argue, and Clint later turns up missing. Will this spell the end of their relationship, or will a newborn in a stable work a little Christmas miracle for them both?

Word Count: Click here to reveal62083 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Bells ring and choirs sing. People bustle with happiness and joy. Calories pile up while everyone gathers to chat with friends and relatives. What’s more exciting than all the holidays in December? But sometimes we need a break from the expectations and the wonderment. A great way to revive our spirits is by reading a story to ground us in the true meaning of the season. This collection features four stories infused with happiness, love, and joy. From a small business owner discovering his first fruitcake and a homeless man finding a permanent home to a blacksmith’s wish to propose to his childhood friend and a gay man relocating to a small town, each story is a journey of self-discovery leading to happily ever after. Contains the stories: Blame It on the Fruitcake: Motorcycle shop owner Sam McGuire falls for the fruitcake his loft neighbor’s grandma makes as well as the man himself. But will handsome, educated, personable Jay Merriweather be attracted to a grease jockey like Sam? The Orpheum Miracle: The son of crack addicts who abandoned him as a child, Mick has found refuge in the historic Orpheum Theater. But when the new owner takes over, will Mick be pushed out on the street or taken into the owner’s heart? Making the Holidays Happy Again: Butch has been manning the forge in Old Town and fantasizing over his best friend Jimmy since they were in high school. Does Jimmy feel the same way about Butch? Does Butch want to push their friendship and find out? Heart of the Holidays: When Silicon Valley programmer Dan Lassiter moves to a small California town, he doesn’t expect to find love. After Rick Reardon opens his bakery across the street, Dan may change his mind.

Word Count: Click here to reveal62,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Las doesn't date seasonal workers. Marco's on a three-month contract. Lassiter Windsor-March has been planning for his future for as along as he can remember and he knows exactly where that future lies: at his family's ranch in Wyoming. What doesn't lie in his future is a summer fling with one of the seasonal workers—they never stick around. Even if one of those workers is the college crush he's invited to work a summer job at the ranch. Marco Terlizzese is as laissez-faire as Marco isn't. He might not know where he'll be once his contract with Windsor Ranch is up, but he knows three months is plenty of time to get his long-time crush to agree to go out with him. Amid a starry summer sky, their chemistry ignites as feelings deepen, forcing Las and Marco to decide where they truly belong.

Word Count: Click here to reveal53400 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Connor Westin and Early Jericho have a comfortable, busy life in Denver. Connor is a lawyer who brings home the bacon and Early is a stay at home dad to their two young boys.    Sure, Early is a cowboy at heart, but he loves their kids and as far as Connor is concerned they’re happy in their suburban home.    When Early inherits a ranch on the Western Slope of Colorado, neither is sure what they should do about it. That is until they visit, and Connor sees just how much it all means to his husband.   Both men agree to uproot their family and take a shot at running the ranch together, but it takes time to shut down one life and start another. Early takes the boys to the ranch while Connor spends the summer in Denver to handle all the details of moving on.    Between the long distance, the new responsibilities, and interference from a not so well meaning employee, Connor and Early have trouble staying connected. Will the ranch become the home they need it to be, or will it tear their family apart?

Word Count: Click here to reveal94000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Dare Buckley has come home—or at least, he’s come back to Palladian, the small town he left as a teenager. After a major lapse in judgment forced him to resign from the Seattle PD, Palladian is the only place that’ll hire him. There’s one benefit to hitting rock bottom, though: the chance to investigate the mystery of his father’s suicide. He also gets to reacquaint himself with Finn Fowler, whose childhood hero worship ended in uncomfortable silence when Dare moved away. But Finn isn’t the same little kid Dare once protected. He’s grown into an attractive, enigmatic stranger who neither wants nor needs what Dare has to offer. In fact, Dare soon realizes that Finn is keeping secrets—his own and the town’s. And he doesn’t seem to care that Dare needs answers. The atmosphere in Palladian, like its namesake river, appears placid, but dark currents churn underneath. When danger closes in, Dare must pit his ingenuity against his heart, and find his way home the hard way.

Word Count: Click here to reveal90,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Soulmates across time. A love that was meant to be. In present day, Laurie, tired of corporate life, takes a much-needed vacation at Farthingdale Dude Ranch. The very first night a freak blizzard combined with a powerful meteor shower takes Laurie back to the year 1891. When he wakes up in a snowbank, his only refuge is an isolated cabin inhabited by the gruff, grouchy John Henton, who only wants to be left alone. His sense of duty prevails, however, and he takes Laurie under his care, teaching him how to survive on the wild frontier. As winter approaches, Laurie's normal fun-loving manner make it difficult for him to connect with John, but in spite of John's old-fashioned ways, the chemistry between them grows. Sparks fly as the blizzard rages outside the cabin. Can two men from different worlds and different times find happiness together? A male/male time travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, true confessions, a shared bed, fireplace kisses, the angst of separation, and true love across time.