Gay books

Toronto Tales: Book One

Detective Kurt O’Donnell is used to digging up other people’s secrets, but when he discovers his slain partner was married to another man, it shakes him. Determined to do the right thing, Kurt offers the mourning Davy his assistance. Helping Davy through his grief helps Kurt deal with the guilt that his partner didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth, and somewhere along the way Davy stops being an obligation and becomes a friend, the closest friend Kurt has ever had.

His growing attraction to Davy complicates matters, leaving Kurt struggling to reevaluate his sexuality. Then a sensual encounter neither man is ready for confuses them further. To be with Davy, Kurt must face the prospect of coming out, but his job and his relationship with his Catholic family are on the line. Can he risk destroying his life for the uncertain possibility of a relationship with a newly widowed man?

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Jesse Clayton loves painting, his cowboy grandfather, and his life as an artist with a wild abandon that leaves scorch marks on everything he touches. Budding Navajo cartoonist Lorenzo Maryboy is a hard-working former Marine: staunch, brave, and honorable. Chance brings them together on the road to Marathon, Texas, and passion flares.

Just as always, Jesse puts his art ahead of everything. He betrays their growing trust, and that Lorenzo can’t forgive. But Jesse’s found something he loves more than his art, and what he does to win Lorenzo’s forgiveness is far more dangerous than either man understands.

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College professor James Richards is in a rut and feeling his age. He moved to northern California to escape heartbreak and humiliation, but so far the only good thing to happen to him has been his Boston terrier, Marlowe.

Then James’s toughest student sets him up with her best friend. Rafael Ochoa is worlds apart from James—chronologically, culturally, and philosophically—but he’s also beautiful, kind, and a shot of adrenaline to James’s not-quite-middle-aged heart. Together, the two of them forge a bridge between James’s East Coast sensibilities and Rafael’s West Coast casualness, but can their meeting of the hearts survive James’s lack of faith in happy-ever-after?

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Dylan Rojers is excited about Dragon*Con—a huge convention in Atlanta celebrating pop culture, science fiction, and fantasy—but he and his last-minute roommate, Brendan Stone, get off on the wrong foot. It seems that every time they manage a tentative truce, something happens to set them back, and by their second day at the convention, both think there’s no way they can get along.

But maybe Dylan and Brendan have more in common than they thought. Once they start talking, the sparks that were starting arguments ignite a different sort of passion. Through the four fabulous days of parties, shopping in the Dealers Room, costume parades, and discussion panels, Dylan and Brendan grow ever closer. There’s just one problem: they live in different cities, and Dragon*Con doesn’t last forever. Will Dylan and Brendan risk a long-distance romance or is a lasting relationship just one more all-too-brief fantasy?

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On his way home from the market, beautiful and shy Alen is accosted by local ruffians who try to take advantage of his innocence. When Alen attempts to defend his virtue, the situation takes a turn for the worse and he accidentally slays one of the men. Now he faces the mockery that is the town’s justice. The penalty for murder: a slow, painful death upon the altar of the mighty god of fire. Alen’s sentence is gleefully announced by the village priest, a loathsome man who promises deliverance if only the lovely boy will submit to depraved pleasures.

But Alen has a secret, one to which he desperately clings even though it may cost him his life. For many years, Alen has watched the flames dance in his mother’s hearth, the mystery that dwells in the bright glow alleviating his loneliness and offering endless fascination.  When the time comes to face his destiny upon the pyre, Alen hopes that the fire’s magical embrace might hold the key to his salvation. But will the flames herald his destruction even as all of his prayers are answered?

A Bittersweet Dreams title:

It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.

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An Art Series novel

Brian Watson knows close friends Gerald Young and Dieter Krumpf have an ulterior motive when they invite him to their Christmas party. Brian has taken over the case to secure the return of the famous painting called The Woman in Blue to Dieter, but they don’t want Brian to be all work and no play. They intend to set him up with a friend, but he’s not who catches Brian’s eye. Instead, it’s Nicolai, the deaf art restorer caring for the works already returned to Dieter.

But pursuing Nicolai won’t be easy. A year ago Nicolai had to fight to regain his independence after a bad break-up, and he’s reluctant to give up his freedom a second time. Plus, Brian has competition in Justin, Nicolai’s ex, who wants him back badly.

Nicolai’s reluctance isn’t the only roadblock. Brian was married to a woman for almost ten years. Now he has to confess to his mother, his ex-wife, and his young daughter that he loves a man—all while conducting a potentially groundbreaking court case and trying to convince Nicolai that love isn’t about co-dependence, it’s about support.

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Eighteen-year-old Jess Bonner is casting off pretense—and, with it, some friends from his past who aren’t particularly trustworthy. In just a few months he’ll be starting college, and it’s time for him to admit the truth: he’s gay, not bi, and only one of his old friends holds any kind of real interest for him. When Dylan Finch, aka Mig, follows his lead and puts some distance between himself and the old crowd, he and Jess give in to a mutual attraction that’s been building for years.

But navigating a fledgling relationship isn’t easy for beginners, and forces they can’t seem to control keep tripping them up: sexual appetite, personal insecurities, fear of discovery, and more. They need clarity. They need courage. Just as they’re on the verge of finding both, a vindictive act of jealousy sends one of them to jail. All their hard-won victories are in danger of falling to dust. And the only way to save what they have is to recognize it for what it is… and fight for its integrity.

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Sequel to Talker’s Redemption
Book Three of the Talker series

When you get past the basics of survival, what next? Brian Cooper recovered from the attack that almost killed him, and Tate Walker faced down his own demons. Now all that’s left is... each other. Growing up together and growing into their love is everything but easy.

Talker’s eternal optimism and Brian’s quiet faith just might be able to conquer the obstacles, big and small, in their way—as well as overcome the complications of having all their dreams come true.

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Brett Derwent thinks he has life all planned out. With the freedom of college life just months away, Brett’s eagerly awaiting some fun and independence… until he meets Tommy Hawks. Over the course of one northern Montana summer, an intense romance blooms between the young men, but Tommy has a painful secret—one that even first love can’t mitigate. Continually brutalized by his violent father, Tommy is pushed to the edge, torn between the desire to protect his mother and four siblings, and his fear of losing the love he never expected to find.

When the unthinkable happens and Tommy’s father is found dead, Brett is afraid to learn the truth. Appalled to think that his lover may be responsible, Brett must face impossible questions: how much of his life—of his youth—is he willing to sacrifice for Tommy, and will having faith in him be enough?

Second Edition
First Edition published by Freya’s Bower in 2008 under the same title.

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Sequel to Between Two Worlds

Daniel Schrock and Aiden Cermak have forged a life in the rural Montana foothills, but a shadow still lingers, made stronger when a letter arrives from Daniel's brother Mark inviting him to his Christmas wedding. Daniel fears returning home might force what he wants to avoid: telling his family about Aiden and facing the dreaded Amish shunning.

Despite the uncertainties, Daniel and Aiden head to Illinois, where frustration will not only endanger Daniel’s relationship with his family and the church community, but his bond with his boyfriend, who leaves Daniel with a choice: him or the Amish. Before Daniel can stop Aiden, he’s gone… and threats from the past resurface, crystallizing Daniel’s fears about a murderer still at large.

As he desperately searches for Aiden and the identity of the suspected killer, Daniel will have to decide if love is important enough to risk losing everything he knows. Will Daniel choose to keep his commitment to the Amish church or will he stand by the promise he made to Aiden that first night they made love?

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Sequel to A Matter of Time Vol. 1 and 2

Jory Harcourt doesn't have to go looking for trouble. Wherever he goes, it seems to find him—particularly when his partner, Sam Kage, is working undercover on a federal task force.

After the recession forces him to close his business, Jory goes to work as a matchmaker and event planner. From there, it's only a matter of time before his big mouth and up-front attitude make him the rope in a tug-of-war between a trust fund baby and a drug-smuggling criminal. Then, as if that situation weren't delicate enough, Jory's undercover lover shows up working for the smuggler.

Between the men who want him and the men who just want him dead, Chicago is getting a little crowded for Jory, so on the advice of his brother, his boyfriend, and the FBI task force, he heads for Hawaii... where a serious accident threatens his quality of life. Can Sam and Jory keep the faith and prove that their relationship really is bulletproof?

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Neriah, the crown prince of Tazier, escapes his father’s deadly wrath with the help of a Jinn named Tamir. Knowing that the other Jinn would find and punish him for falling in love with a human, Tamir takes Neriah’s memories of their brief time together and leaves him with only a jade pendant as a token of his love. Tamir is then stripped of his powers and imprisoned for his crime.

Ten years later, Neriah is still on the run from the King’s assassins, but each night he dreams of a lover whose face he cannot see and whose name he does not know, but who fills his heart with peace. Tamir, freed at last from his prison cell, poses as a pleasure slave and offers to serve the prince. Although Neriah does not recognize Tamir, he falls in love with the powerless Jinn. But just when Tamir has earned Neriah’s trust, he is forced to betray it. There may be no hope of mending their broken relationship, but Tamir is determined to see Neriah on his rightful throne—even if it costs the Jinn his life.

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An Art Series novel

Years ago, Dieter Krumpf’s grandmother died and left him everything, including a photo album containing pictures of the art collection she left behind when her family fled the Nazis. Now, Dieter is calling on the services of a lawyer, Gerald Young, to determine whether his family’s legacy might be returned to him.

Gerald doesn’t hold out much hope that the paintings will be returned, but Dieter’s earnestness speaks to him and he agrees to help. At first he concludes that while Dieter has a case, suing in Austria isn’t practical.  But Gerald is a good lawyer, and as his feelings for Dieter develop, so does his determination to win the case. Together, Gerald and Dieter navigate research, hearings, and a dysfunctional family in the pursuit of fine art—and discover the art of love along the way.

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Benny Oshiro is having the time of his life at a private gig for his band, One Wish, until he’s assaulted and kidnapped by their former manager. When his rescue—or more accurately his rescuer—gets a little hairy, Benny knows he should reconsider their sparking attraction, but no one has ever looked at Benny with the naked want that Curtis does—want Benny can’t help but return.

Curtis Salinas knows at first sight that Benny is the only one for him. But now is not the time to test Curtis’s newly developed control. Outside forces are at work, threatening to expose his family’s secret, and when Benny is kidnapped a second time, Curtis realizes the enemy he’s searching for is only half the problem. To ensure a secure and happy future, he must also face down his doubts and claim Benny for his own.

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Lioqi and Vaedo have been friends – and sometime lovers – since meeting six years ago at an induction ceremony for imperial army recruits. Now guards at the royal palace, Vaedo is the first to notice the beauty of the emperor’s new concubine, but it is Lioqi who puts their lives in peril in an act of thoughtless bravery. Though Sanui has been trained since birth to please other men, it seems a great injustice to the concubine that a man should die for a good deed. But are honor, loyalty, or even love enough to stand against the emperor’s unbreakable law?

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Sanguis Noctis: Book One

Gun for hire Jed Walker doesn’t figure it for a difficult job—a simple smash and grab retrieval—except his new client doesn’t want money or goods. He wants shy, gorgeous Redford Reed, a man who turns Jed’s world upside down inside a day. He is in no way prepared to fall hard and fast for his newest assignment.

Redford Reed lives his life locked in his grandmother’s house, haunted by a terrible curse and watching the world pass him by until Jed shows up, sent by a man who will stop at nothing to claim Redford as his own. Teaming up with Jed is Redford’s only chance at survival, but as the violence escalates, so does the tension between them. Even though they each finally have something to live for, now it’s going to take all Jed’s skill and every bit of courage Redford has just to stay alive.

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Spot Me: Breaking a sweat takes on a whole new meaning when Dan sees Gene, a professional bodybuilder, in the mirror. Does he allow Gene to elbow his way into his life, or will he give up on the idea of a new relationship before it even starts?

Pump Me Up: Maddoc meets Ivan, a hunky, silver-haired ex-Marine who gives him a ride home from the fitness center, and finds himself with a new friend, a workout partner, a protector... and maybe something more.

Core Training: Hugh Douglas isn’t thrilled about his birthday but gets an unexpected present when the much younger Max Pierce flirts hard with him at the gym. Starting a romance won’t be easy, but they might make a life together work.

Crunch Time: George Higgins agrees to help soon-to-be-former professional football player Darren White when the first rehearsal for Talking Sports is looming, and they’ll have to work together if they want Darren’s guest appearance—and their budding relationship—to turn into a full-time gig.

Positive Resistance: Lane spent high school tormenting Stephen to the point of tears. Imagine Stephen’s surprise when years later Lane turns out to have changed to a persistent, attentive suitor who supports him during a family trial.

Personal Training: Holton’s quest to improve his health drives him to the gym, where he meets Marcus, a trainer with the body of a demigod, who to Holton’s surprise, asks him out. Despite several common interests, they’ll have to prove that what really matters is the man inside.

Purchase includes access to download the ebook editions of the novellas featured in this anthology.

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Police detective Patrick Flaherty has no illusions about Russian mobster Alexei Boczar, but that doesn’t stop his fascination with the bodyguard to one of the most ruthless families in Chicago’s growing Eastern European crime community. From the moment Patrick meets Alexei’s eyes over the body of another Russian mobster, Alexei is a thorn in Patrick’s side, refusing to cooperate with the police and turning all of Patrick’s questions back on him. Alexei’s hard-as-nails persona whets Patrick’s professional determination to get the information he’s sure the gangster is hiding, while personally Patrick just wants to get his hands on Alexei’s hard body.

The tattoos marking Alexei’s skin tell the story of his criminal past, but the more Patrick learns about Alexei, the more he wants to know, until he finds himself over his head in a relationship that might cost him his job and could well cost Alexei his life. Alexei is equally fascinated by Patrick’s willingness to overlook his past and even his present associations, but he has secrets of his own that could drive a wedge between them forever.

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