Novellas

The Male Room: Book Three

Nick’s writing partner and best friend is tired of watching his buddy screw his life away to overcome the heartbreak of his first great love affair, and he also thinks that a romantic comedy playwright should actually write what he knows!  Before Nick can wriggle out of it, he finds himself begged, nagged, and cajoled into a coffee date with one of the men who liked his profile at The Male Room, an online dating service for gay men.

No one is more surprised than Nick that the date is a success, and he’s interested in getting to know full-time news reporter and part-time theater critic Mark better. But better means closer, and the closer Nick gets to Mark, the more he remembers why he doesn't go for long-term relationships. Long term affairs just lead to heartbreak, right? Nick’s imagination runs overtime, and he’ll have to trust in his heart if he wants this love story to have a happy ending.

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When backpacker Jarold Lake runs out of money in Australia, an acquaintance gives him an address where he can find an under-the-table job without needing a work visa. He’s greeted by Russ Bridger, who none too subtly lets him know that the “job” involves being filmed having sex... with a man. Jarold is open to new experiences, but when he decided to take a trip Down Under, he never expected this!

Before long, Jarold is tangled up in the underworld dealings of Russ's boss, Jason Leith. Leith runs an empire on betting, pornography, and prostitution, and he is devoid of sympathy, among other human feelings. When Leith shows too much interest in Jarold, Russ decides it’s time to get out of the low life, something much easier said than done. But for Jarold, Russ will take the risk.

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For psychic mediums Quinn McConnell and Hunter Janz, dead folks pay the bills… barely. To make it into the financial comfort zone, they need an edge over their competition, and, as far as Quinn is concerned, some resolution to the sexual tension and unrequited love wreaking havoc with his psychic reception. Salvation comes in the form of dapper Dustin DeWind, a zombie who can obviously see and converse with the departed. In return for Quinn’s and Hunter’s help in finding the man who made him, he promises to steer them toward the elusive spirits that are their stock in trade. But once they forge an uneasy alliance, it almost seems Dustin is also nudging them toward each other….

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Ryan Andrews is on the run from past mistakes he doesn't know how to fix. Lost and alone, all he really wants is a place where he can be himself, but when he pulls up at the ranch where he's found a job and spies his gorgeous new boss, Ryan is pretty sure fate is out to get him.

Jake Evans is an ex-soldier trying to carve out a life on the ranch he inherited from his grandmother. He doesn’t even have time to realize how lonely he is until the new ranch hand shows up in his driveway. Ryan looks even more lost than Jake feels, and Jake’s locked-up heart seems to break open. Can these two men find in each other find the companionship they crave? Or will their pasts eclipse any possibility of a future?

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A Work Out Story

Determined not to end up like his seventy-year-old diabetic father, Holton knows he needs to make a change. His quest to improve his health drives him to the gym, where he meets Marcus, a trainer with the body of a demigod. For three months Holton works hard, watches what he eats, drops a few pounds—and catches Marcus's eye not only for his slimmer body but for his dedication.

Holton can barely believe it when Marcus asks him out, but he isn’t about to say no. Despite several common interests, though, Marcus and Holton have some roadblocks to overcome. A harrowing event from Holton’s past has made him gun-shy, and Marcus has insecurities of his own. If their relationship is going to work, they’ll have to get past their hang-ups and prove that what really matters is the man inside.

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The Male Room: Book Two

Attorney Sam Solomon is the most desired trick in the back room of the Music Box, his town's most notorious gay club—and very possibly the loneliest.  Sam is tired of one-night stands, and although he likes the world to think he’s too tough for such romantic notions, he secretly longs for the love his friends Jeff and Craig seem to have found. Fortunately for him, he’s just helped set his friends up in business. They run The Male Room, a local Internet dating service for gay men, and Jeff has just the guy in mind for Sam.

Chris Kelly is the last person Sam expected. From his profile, Sam knows that Chris is strong, opinionated, and dominant... in fact, he’s a lot like Sam! Sam may very well have met his match; he just needs to concede that the man he’s falling in love with needs to be his partner in every sense of the word.

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The Male Room: Book One

Craig just got fired from his dead-end job, and Jeff just got kicked out of his dead-end relationship. Frustrated with their unhappy lives, the two friends decide to let off some steam by going out to the Music Box, the town’s most notorious gay club. But after an unsatisfying night in the back room, Jeff decides there has to be something better for them out there, and he drags a reluctant Craig into starting a fledgling business called The Male Room, an online alternative for the gay dating scene in their area.

Jeff has another motive: Craig has picked up the pieces of Jeff's broken heart more times than he can count, and Jeff has loved him forever. The Male Room is Jeff’s last hope that helping others find love might lead Craig to the one perfect match right in front of him.

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A Work Out Story

Blobby Bobby and Lane the Pain. A thousand years ago, Lane spent his time in high school tormenting Robert Stephen Phillips to the point of tears. Stephen thought he’d left all of that behind, including his extra weight and his horrid nickname, when he came out to his parents. But now Stephen’s been transferred back to his hometown and will once again have to face his disapproving parents and childhood nemesis.

Imagine Stephen’s surprise when Lane turns out to have changed from school bully to persistent, attentive suitor. If Lane the Pain can hear Stephen’s most painful of intimate details and still want to pursue a relationship, is it possible that Stephen can reconnect with the family that turned on him years ago?

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Six months after the end of an abusive relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Craig finally finds someone he’s attracted to. It doesn’t bother him that Doug is a man, much less a player. What matters is that he’s a perfect candidate for a no-strings-attached night that just might help Craig prove to himself that he’s not as broken as he fears.

One night—that’s all it was supposed to be. But one night turns into yearning, turns into e-mailing, turns into communicating, turns into Doug hoping against hope that Craig might feel the same frightening attachment that he feels, pretty please? With cherries on top?

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As a teenage boy, Clay finds love for the first time with his best friend, Matthew—a love shattered by Matthew’s guilt and religious dogma. Later, as a young man, Clay is blessed with the love of a woman, a close companion who accepts him for who he is even though he can never give her the devotion she deserves in return. But Clay might be able to put his guilt and disappointment behind him—if he can learn to accept love from an unexpected source.

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Judson Heart, like all of us, has some regrets. Not his job: he writes for a daily newspaper. Maybe his introspection: he eats lunch alone. Definitely his timing: he hasn’t had much luck in the love department. With his ten-year reunion approaching, those regrets intensify as he begins to recall a turbulent final year of high school. But with the help of three elderly, mystical strangers and a surprising assignment to interview a prison inmate, Jud may get the chance to make some changes. All he needs to do is find out what happened to Larry Alan.

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Wildlife photographer Grey Morisette is living a half-life, quietly mourning his lover, Saya Khin, who disappeared twelve years earlier into the infamous Insein Prison in Rangoon.

Grey takes a picture of Sal Sanchez falling into an Alaska river with a sockeye salmon in his arms. Sal’s a law student, and his passion for the environment and love for the native tribes, his beautiful young face and eager hands, cannot be ignored. But there isn’t room in Grey’s heart for two lovers. How can he bear to let Saya Khin go, after loving him so long, and reach out for the love Sal is offering him?

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Christopher Borgasian has spent the last seven months painstakingly breaking up with a lover he’s adored for three years: heroin. Now he’s trying to make it on his own—without the drugs, without the family that rejected him for being gay, and, seemingly, without a friend in the world.

The night before Chris leaves a sober-living facility to pursue his uncertain future, a stranger named Denny shows up in his room. From then on, Denny returns whenever Chris needs him the most, always vanishing as mysteriously as he appears. Chris desperately needs emotional and physical intimacy, but who is Denny, really? And can Chris believe in him when it also means believing in unconditional love?

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Confirmed skeptic Tyler Ward dismisses his horoscope when it warns against bringing home anything “impish.” Then he finds an antique cast-iron doorstop shaped like Punch from the Punch and Judy puppet show, buys it as a reminder of his youth in England, and mysterious misfortunes begin to befall Tyler the very next day. His longtime partner Kevin begins to believe an unseen force is out to hurt Tyler... does he believe enough to find the truth?

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A professional life hitting all the highs is poor compensation for a personal life hitting all the lows. Myles Winston is divorced, isolated in a cocoon of loneliness when he's not at work, and adrift in a sea of despondency with no idea how to break out of the rut. Then a chance encounter with Davion, an old school friend, brings back such visceral memories of their “experimentation” that Myles finds himself pursuing a secret affair with him. But Myles is still struggling with his fear that he may be a disappointment to his parents, and he must be true to himself before he can step into the light of day and reach out for what he truly wants—Davion in his arms forever.

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Alex Tanner is a male nurse who divides his time between his job and his television schedule. His idea of the perfect partner, like so many other people’s, is a tall, dark, and handsome man. Preferably alive and breathing. Surely that’s not asking too much? Then an uninvited guest—a ghost, of all things—forces Alex to question what he’s always looked for in a lover and his definition of what makes a person so beautiful.

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A Work Out Story

When George Higgins agrees to help a soon-to-be-former professional football player rehearse for a guest appearance on a talk show, he doesn’t expect anything to come of it. To his surprise, Darren White shows up on time and actually makes an effort to learn from George. But Darren has definite problems; he can barely read and sounds awful when he speaks. Luckily, George is a teacher and Darren’s motivated. It’s crunch time: the first rehearsal for Talking Sports is looming, and Darren and George will have to work together if they want Darren’s guest appearance—and their budding relationship—to turn into a full-time gig.

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When Callum’s mother asks him to visit for her birthday, she unwittingly comes to his rescue. Callum is a broken and unhappy man, emotionally abused by his lover to the point of feeling worthless, alone, and without hope. But during his trip, while passing through the Salt Lake Desert, Callum picks up a hitchhiker named Danny, who shows him that life is full of wonder and blessings. He’s on the verge of believing in himself again, but can he really make a new life for himself by jumping from the arms of one man into another’s?

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.

Purchase this novella from dreamspinnerpress.com and receive Desert Crossing: A Different Perspective, a companion piece and free short story.

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