contemporary

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

Summary: Graham's had it with Alphas. His experiences with them have been disastrous at best. Even with ones that didn't tumble him into the nearest bed. So when the chance to move in with another Omega comes up, Graham grabs it. But Graham's never seen an Omega so big. Plus, he seems to be able to push buttons only an Alpha has. Except trust is something that comes easily to Graham. Hyden says nothing about being an Alpha – so he must not be. Right? Hyden has just met his fated mate, Graham - in the middle of a territorial war. Not the best timing. But now that Graham's here, Hyden can hardly let the little pup escape, which is what he will do if he finds out Hyden is an Alpha. With the Mating Moon scant days away how will Hyden convince the smaller Graham that not all Alphas are selfish bastards? And he's going to have to because blood fever will not be ignored and Hyden can already feel it taking over his senses. Once it does, there will be no turning back. Hyden might have to resort to handcuffing the pup in order to make sure he doesn't bolt off into the night. Hmmm. Not a bad thought. He might have to do that anyway…

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Summary: Lee Albright is a photojournalist who loves traveling and the challenge of his job, but when he’s asked to shoot a calendar for charity, he can’t resist — especially since the models are the men of Hercules Security, some of the sexiest hunks he’s ever seen. Things get even better when he meets Mr. July, Geo Kensei, and the instant spark of attraction between them quickly bursts into an all-consuming flame. Geo is exactly the kind of intense, dominating top Lee needs to fulfill all his fantasies, while Lee’s sensitivity and artistic soul tempt Geo to bind the gorgeous man to him with more than just ropes. Unfortunately their careers force them to part ways, though they’re both anxious for a quick reunion. But in the midst of a war-torn city they meet again, and now Geo, the merc everyone calls “Saint”, must use every tool and skill he possesses to get both Lee and his client out of danger, while a frightened and confused Lee has a hard time finding the comfort he needs in Geo’s cold, hard pragmatism. Geo’s intense focus on the mission is all that’s keeping the three of them alive, but will it also end up costing him any chance to be with Lee?

Word Count: Click here to reveal48000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Danny Valentine is Division P’s East Coast/International ‘Fixer’ and general go-to guy. He’s had to come to terms with his bisexuality and his empathic abilities despite his military background. Peter Vithoulkas is Division P’s immensely gifted healer, possessing one of the rarest of Talents. All fire and discipline, Peter is bisexual too, but it doesn’t color his day-to-day reality until he spends some time under fire with Danny. Busy Danny and Peter fall into a ‘friends with benefits’ relationship that neither thinks much about. Jennifer Sebastiano is an artist from a conservative family background who works part time as a forensic police artist. She spends a lot of time in crime victim’s heads, seeing what they saw and helping them identify the criminals. It’s Jen who shows Danny and Peter what they’ve really got between them. Danny and Peter think that Jen should be between them as well, but Jen isn’t sure if she really fits there. As their three lives entwine, can Jen let go of societal and familial expectations? Can Danny and Peter convince Jen that there is a place for her in their unconventional relationship?

Word Count: Click here to reveal34000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Unbreakable Stories: Snow is a collection of short stories and a novelette set after the events of Shatter, book 2 of the Unbreakable Bonds series and before Torch, book 3. Follow the continuing, passionate and heartfelt romance between Dr. Ashton "Snow" Frost and Jude Torres as they merge their lives together as a couple. This collection is more than 34,000 words long and contains stories such as: House Hunting with Anna Tequila Adventure Lunch No Walls are Sacred The Home We Make Safety Net Camping

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: For two years Nicky has wandered the dark empty corridors of the overgrown Thorn Hall, unseen and untouched, feeling like a ghost. His only company, the cold man who promised to keep him safe from harm, Lance. But when Lance dies, Nicky’s assurance of safety disintegrates and his world suddenly becomes a lot more real and a lot more dangerous. Scared to leave the house, Nicky longs for daylight. He employs a gardener to clear the over-grown bushes and vines that have nearly swallowed Thorn Hall whole. The last thing Nicky expects a little light to do is show him something to fight for. Eighteen months in a young offenders’ institute has taught Cai two things: he occupies the playful puppy end of the How Dangerous Are You? spectrum, and he has an unfortunate knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Desperate for a job, he takes the first offer he gets. Even though Thorn Hall creeps the hell out of him and he barely knows one end of a pair of garden shears from the other. Things start to fall apart when Cai is drawn into Nicky’s strange world of sticky notes and secrets. Cai finds he is now a target, blamed for a crime he didn’t commit. Desperate not to go back to prison, he digs deep and risks all the good things in life to help Nicky run. But now Nicky has someone he wants to protect, he knows he can’t run any more.

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.

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Summary: Beck Justice knows holiday sparkle and snappy carols only mask December’s cruel, black heart. He learned that lesson even before he landed on the streets eight years ago, and his recent step up to a tiny apartment and a busker’s permit for Seattle’s Pike Place Market has done nothing to change his mind. But one day in the market, Oleg Abramov joins his ethereal voice to Beck’s guitar, and Beck glimpses light in his bleak, dark winter. Oleg, lucky to have a large and loving family, believes Beck could be the man to fill the void that nevertheless remains in his life. The two men step out on a path toward love, but it proves as slippery as Seattle’s icy streets. Just when they get close, a misunderstanding shatters their hopes. Light and harmony are still within reach, but only if they choose to believe, risk their hearts, and trust

Word Count: Click here to reveal34000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: "Rejoice, dammit!" — I could hear my husband Thom's voice as clearly as when he was alive, telling me that four years were enough. That this year, I needed to stop avoiding the joys of the season, and get my solitary, colorless life out of its rut. But it took seeing Colin standing in an ice storm, waiting for a bus that wasn't coming, to convince me to take a chance on opening my life, and maybe my heart, a second time around. 34.000 words

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

Summary: Colorado's majestic scenery and creative community may be perfect for finding love, but life can change anywhere. Graham and Patrick raised a beautiful daughter together, then watched her take flight. But somehow in the aftermath, they lost their way. Now Patrick lives in Denver where he has his art studio, and Graham has been living his own solitary life in the home they built together. If one didn't count the constant ache of loss, the loneliness, and broken hearts, it was the perfect arrangement. But this year, Christmas holds the promise of a happy event that will bring Patrick and Graham a new kind of bliss...together. Can the magic of Loveland, the joy of the holiday season, and a special delivery mend the hurting hearts of two men and set them on the path to renewed love?

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Summary:

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Summary: The stakes are high and the heat is on. Beau Walker, owner of the Barbecue Shack, needs the help of Jake Parnell, his one-time rival and secret crush, in a televised barbecue competition. Beau is a proud man, but the stakes are high, and smart, sexy Jake is his only hope, even if being around Jake reawakens the attraction he’s fought for years. Jake left his hometown, determined to build a life somewhere his sexuality wouldn’t hurt his family’s restaurant business—and far away from hunky, obstinate Beau Walker. Then his twin, Josh, is killed, and Jake returns to support his brother’s wife and children. Despite his reservations, he agrees to go head-to-head against Beau on national television. Between stress and grief, as well as pride and determination, only one thing is certain—the heat between Beau and Jake extends well beyond the kitchen.

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

Summary: The most wonderful time of the year? When Jamison Pritchett is roped into replacing the mall photographer at Santa’s Village a week before Christmas, he’s certain he’ll be spending the holidays recovering from a nervous breakdown. A throng of sugar-frenzied kids might be enough to send this uptight photographer back into the darkroom permanently. Inappropriate thoughts about his far-too-attractive—and far-too-young—assistant aren’t helping fight that urge to hide, either. For Noah Hawkins, adulting is a snap. Too bad relationships aren’t. With his business temporarily closed for repairs, he’s happy to help his sister out of a jam, even if the costume he’s given to wear borders on obscene. Constantly being mistaken for a teenager is no treat either, especially when he discovers his temporary new co-worker is sexy as hell and 15 years his senior. Can Noah convince Jamison that age is just a number? Or will Jamison resist the gift Santa seems to be handing him on a platter?

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

Summary: Where the Crazies Run the Asylum... Model perfect Jimmy “Trouble” Carver had never heard the word no. Tattooed, sexy and the quintessential bad boy Trouble had men falling over themselves to get to him. What people didn’t know about him was he was self-conscious even if life was easy for him. He’d started out as an apprentice at Twirled World Ink after college and never looked back. Trouble was exactly where he wanted to be, although there was one speed bump, his crush refused to go out on a date. Brody Vaughn worked in a dead-end job, barely making it from paycheck to paycheck. He didn’t have much time for anyone other than his five-year-old daughter Mina and besides he’d never quite found a place in this world he fit. Chunky and average, that's how he felt, except for when Trouble came into the grocery store where he worked. The flirty, gorgeous man asked him out every week with a sexy smile, but Brody had to refuse. It wasn’t as if he wanted to say no, it was just how could he date a man Brody knew he had no business trying to keep. The Crazies of Twirled World Ink excel at one thing, matchmaking, and they are determined their resident bad boy would get his man. They just had to make sure that neither Trouble or Brody screwed up their plan.

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Summary: Two years after his life fell apart, Will Dawson moved to Florida to start over. His job in the tech department of Idyll Fling, a gay porn studio, is ideal for him. When his boss forces him to take on a new hire, the last person he expects is Dallas Greene—the man who cost him his job and his boyfriend back in Connecticut. He doesn’t know what’s on Dallas’s agenda, but he won’t be blindsided by a wolf masquerading as a runway model. Not again. Dallas might have thrown himself on his brother’s mercy, but his skills are needed at Idyll Fling. Working with Will is a bonus, since Dallas has never forgotten the man. A good working relationship is only the beginning of what Dallas wants with Will. But Dallas doesn’t realize how deep Will’s distrust runs, and Will doesn’t know that the man he’s torn between loving and hating is the boss’s brother. When all truths are revealed, how can a relationship built on lies still stand?

Word Count: Click here to reveal135000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Silver is trying hard to settle down again with Ben and River after the events at the Theatre De La Vie, but he isn’t the same person anymore and River is having a hard time dealing with the changes. One of the hardest things he has to cope with is Ariel, Silver’s new best friend, who makes Silver act like a teenager and causes trouble wherever he goes. When that trouble touches Ben, it sparks off a chain reaction that almost ends in tragedy. In the meantime, Ariel has his own fallout to deal with. After finally finding someone to whom he might give his heart, he very nearly loses him by…well by being Ariel. With his family life in tatters and his best friend lurching from one disaster to the next, Silver needs to be stronger than he’s ever been. The problem is he’s not feeling very strong at all. In fact, there are times when he thinks it would be so much better if he just went back to that place inside his head where he was safely shut away from the world, and that place is getting closer all the time.

Word Count: Click here to reveal75527 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Book two in The Beyond Heartache Series For the past two years, Kevin Monroe has lived his dream, performing alongside his partner, Robbie McMaster, as noted Las Vegas drag queen Layona Beach. Raphael Delgado’s love for Kevin made it easy to set aside his dream of becoming a teacher, to care for Mr. Monroe and his own disabled mama. Now Mr. Monroe is dying, and Kevin is coming home. Raphael’s inadvertent refusal to publicly hold Kevin’s hand is the catalyst for a chain of events that answers these questions. Will Kevin go to gay inmate prison?  Will Robbie end Layona Beach and Robbie Rhythm? How does Raphael become accidentally engaged? Within its themes of family obligations, unrequited love and acceptance Kevin, Robbie, and Raphael discover that heart and home are synonymous.

Word Count: Click here to reveal74000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: After the disastrous ending of his first serious relationship, Gideon Wallace cultivated a protective—but fabulously shiny—outer shell to shield himself from Heartbreak 2.0. Besides, romance is so not a priority for him right now. All his web design prospects have inexplicably evaporated, and to save his fledgling business, he’s been compelled to take a hands-on hardware project—as in, his hands on screwdrivers, soldering irons, and needle-nosed pliers. God. Failure could actually be an option. Journeyman electrician Alex Henning is ready to leave Gideon twisting in the wind after their run-ins both on and off the construction site. Except, like a fool, he takes pity on the guy and offers to help. Never mind that between coping with his dad’s dementia and clocking all the overtime he can finagle, he has zero room in his life for more complications. Apparently, an office build-out can lay the foundation for a new relationship. Who knew? But before Alex can trust Gideon with the truth about his fragile family, he has to believe that Gideon’s capable of caring about more than appearances. And Gideon must learn that when it comes to the heart, it’s content—not presentation—that matters.

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Summary: Do you believe in Christmas miracles? Love at first sight? How about getting hit with Cupid’s arrow? Can it happen to you? Ami is a cupid, behind on his quota. Bringing love to lonely humans is a satisfying career, until he starts to recognize just how lonely he is. It is Christmas time and he can no longer bring himself to do his job. Paul is an up and coming musician with a happy soul. He has raw talent and the support of family and friends. Success is his for the taking. It’s Christmas time and life is good. Then a stranger comes into his life, and they are a match made in heaven, until Ami just disappears... Will love bring a Christmas miracle when Ami, the failing cupid, meets Paul, the aspiring musician?

Word Count: Click here to reveal16,988 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Thirty-three-year-old technical writer Laurence Hart is a modern-day Scrooge when it comes to the holiday season—and the rest of the year too. He doesn’t like most people, they don’t like him, and he’s happy to keep it that way. Over lunch with his best friend, he receives a fortune cookie promising him true love. The next day, forced to work on a holiday charity committee or lose his job, he meets Nick, a jolly ginger giant who loves all things Christmas. Together they face numerous obstacles to put together a holiday fair to raise money for children in foster care in only four days. While Laurence has to mend his curmudgeonly ways to make the event a success, Nick’s holiday magic might mend Laurence’s heart.

Word Count: Click here to reveal25000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Russell Pine goes to the café every morning to enjoy his  time chatting with Sam Tesh, the café  owner, a friend made over the past twenty years. So when Sam asks a favor, Russ reluctantly agrees to play in a chess tournament. But the contest isn’t the real challenge: Russ finds himself the focus of a secret courtship in words and pictures left for him to discover each morning, leading him to the question: In a café full of young and beautiful minds, who is looking at the graying chessmaster? The first edition of this novella was published in June 2013 as part of Make a Play, the Daily Dose anthology at Dreamspinner Press. This is the expanded second edition.