Standalone Novels and Novellas
Play It Again, Charlie --Back out November 2nd!
Contemporary
m/m
After an accident left him broken in body and spirit, Charlie Howard retired from the police force to teach at a community college. Life has taught him that he’s unlikely to get what he wants, so he’s stopped asking. Instead, he hides from the world in the apartment complex he manages. Then Will, a sexy, classic-film-loving twink, moves into the apartment across from him and—to Charlie’s surprise—makes it clear that he’d like nothing more than to hole up with Charlie and get kinky. Will has no problem expressing what he wants in bed or out of it, but he’s never dated anyone long-term, and Charlie isn’t sure Will’s ready for anything serious.
Charlie is a serious kind of guy. He wants Will and everything a relationship could mean. As they grow closer, Charlie realizes that it’s time to start asking for what he wants, and if he wants to be happy, he’ll have to risk everything and ask Will to stay.
in ebook and paperback!
Wicklow's Odyssey
Steampunk/alternative history
m/m
Union soldier Wicklow Doyle is infiltrating enemy lines to set up new radio communications technology in Confederate-held Charleston when his location is betrayed. After sacrificing himself to get his team to safety, he's on the lam, friendless in a hostile town. Determining who betrayed him without discovery by Confederate soldiers is dangerous, but Wicklow grew up in the slums of New York and knows how to handle himself. He isn't expecting anyone on his team to return to help him, much less Alexander Rhoades.
An effete dandy of great intelligence and conviction, Alexander Rhoades speaks through stories instead of giving orders, and he has earned the confidence of the rich and powerful. While Wicklow has come not to trust men with those traits, Rhoades has never once let him down. He looks at Wicklow in ways that make him burn beneath his skin and tells him stories of love and bravery Wicklow yearns to understand. Wicklow has absolute faith Rhoades's brilliant mind will uncover the traitor in their midst and find them a way out of the city. But when Rhoades tells him he's not alone, Wicklow isn't sure he can believe him. For the first time in his life, though, he wants to.
in ebook and paperback!
Izzy and the Right Answer
contemporary
m/m/m
in ebook and paperback!
Jamie “Izzy” Islington is an ace, femme, neuroatypical college junior with anxiety, an interest in coding and poetry, and a difficulty identifying his own emotions. He’s had no interest in romantic love until very recently, when he realized he has a crush on someone in his circle of friends—although he has no intention of doing anything about it. Izzy thinks every problem through to the correct solution, and he knows that the initial fascination some people have for him quickly fades, and no one is interested in actually dating him. Especially not someone special like Rocco.
Rocco Baglieri is a hard-working, reserved student athlete. He gets especially quiet with Izzy, although he’s more comfortable around everyone else, especially their mutual friend, Ronnie. Which would bother Izzy more, except that Izzy is all smiles for Ronnie too. Warm and giving Ronnie Acebedo is sunshine personified. He once had a crush on Izzy during their first year, but got over it and is now one of Izzy’s closest friends.
Then a drunken night and Izzy’s new awareness of romantic feelings force him to finally notice some things—like that he isn’t the only one pining.
To Izzy, the solution to this triangle is obvious—if he disappears, Rocco and Ronnie will have a straight line to each other. But brilliant though he is, Izzy forgets that Ronnie and Rocco have minds—and hearts—of their own, and there are more options than lines or triangles. The right answer might be something else entirely.
Taji from Beyond the Rings
Queer sci-fi
The Interplanetary Trade Coalition has not been welcomed with open arms by the Sha Empire. Isolated at the far edge of a distant system, the Sha are distrustful of outsiders, and previous I.P.T.C. diplomatic missions have ended with members imprisoned or dead. But, if pushed enough, the I.P.T.C. will overrun the planet to take what it wants. The situation is already precarious when student linguist Taji Ameyo is conscripted to translate for the newest I.P.T.C. ambassador. Taji, used to being alone, has never learned to hide his heart or his opinions, and the controlled Sha nobility regard little, outspoken human Taji with fascination, calling him shehzha.
Mysterious, coveted figures, so devoted to their lovers that pleasing them is a test of Shavian honor, shehzha are usually kept out of public view. Taji is a nobody, hardly alluring, and yet it’s not long before his runaway mouth gets him entangled in imperial politics, and he has no one rely on but the soldiers assigned to protect him—one soldier, more than the others.
At the mercy of both a greedy trade coalition and a proud empire, Taji has to determine what it means to be shehzha, while surrounded by ambitious noble families and a sharp-eyed emperor, and hopefully learn enough about the Sha to keep him and everyone he cares about alive.
in ebook and paperback!
Queer sci-fi
The Interplanetary Trade Coalition has not been welcomed with open arms by the Sha Empire. Isolated at the far edge of a distant system, the Sha are distrustful of outsiders, and previous I.P.T.C. diplomatic missions have ended with members imprisoned or dead. But, if pushed enough, the I.P.T.C. will overrun the planet to take what it wants. The situation is already precarious when student linguist Taji Ameyo is conscripted to translate for the newest I.P.T.C. ambassador. Taji, used to being alone, has never learned to hide his heart or his opinions, and the controlled Sha nobility regard little, outspoken human Taji with fascination, calling him shehzha.
Mysterious, coveted figures, so devoted to their lovers that pleasing them is a test of Shavian honor, shehzha are usually kept out of public view. Taji is a nobody, hardly alluring, and yet it’s not long before his runaway mouth gets him entangled in imperial politics, and he has no one rely on but the soldiers assigned to protect him—one soldier, more than the others.
At the mercy of both a greedy trade coalition and a proud empire, Taji has to determine what it means to be shehzha, while surrounded by ambitious noble families and a sharp-eyed emperor, and hopefully learn enough about the Sha to keep him and everyone he cares about alive.
in ebook and paperback!
The Devotion of Delflenor
Fantasy
f/nb
For ten anxious years, the country of Ainle has had no chevetein to keep their many lesser cheves in check and maintain peace. Anyone can become the chevetein if it is the will of the Three, as the most powerful of the gods are known. But as the years pass, fewer and fewer people go to the Seat to offer themselves as chevetein. Doubt has crept in among the population, and more than one arrogant cheve has decided that the time has come to abandon the old ways. Only the presence of Prityal of Ters, Knight of the Seat, Tyrant-slayer, the Hope of Ainle, has kept the country from falling into chaos.
Soft-spoken but fierce, noble as well as beautiful, Prityal is all that a Knight of the Seat should be. As faith dwindles, so, too, does the number of knights waiting to serve the chevetein, and with no one else available, it is Prityal who volunteers for a risky mission to an unfamiliar place. She cannot go alone. So, Delf, a lower-tier knight, accompanies her.
Plain, with an odd sense of humor, and of no fame or noted background, Delf is content to act as Prityal’s squire on this quest. Delf has loved Prityal for years with no intention of ever speaking of it. A hero and a nobody might become friends as they travel through ancient lands, facing tricky spirits and desperate farmers, finding ruins and knights of faded glory, speaking of magic and the history they share—yet even that is beyond Delf’s dreams of her future.
But a chevetein must be found, and Prityal will do it at the cost of her life, if need be, though the country—and Delf—need her. It seems the Three have plans, after all, and will use anything to see them through—including the strong, devoted heart of a hero.
Fantasy
f/nb
For ten anxious years, the country of Ainle has had no chevetein to keep their many lesser cheves in check and maintain peace. Anyone can become the chevetein if it is the will of the Three, as the most powerful of the gods are known. But as the years pass, fewer and fewer people go to the Seat to offer themselves as chevetein. Doubt has crept in among the population, and more than one arrogant cheve has decided that the time has come to abandon the old ways. Only the presence of Prityal of Ters, Knight of the Seat, Tyrant-slayer, the Hope of Ainle, has kept the country from falling into chaos.
Soft-spoken but fierce, noble as well as beautiful, Prityal is all that a Knight of the Seat should be. As faith dwindles, so, too, does the number of knights waiting to serve the chevetein, and with no one else available, it is Prityal who volunteers for a risky mission to an unfamiliar place. She cannot go alone. So, Delf, a lower-tier knight, accompanies her.
Plain, with an odd sense of humor, and of no fame or noted background, Delf is content to act as Prityal’s squire on this quest. Delf has loved Prityal for years with no intention of ever speaking of it. A hero and a nobody might become friends as they travel through ancient lands, facing tricky spirits and desperate farmers, finding ruins and knights of faded glory, speaking of magic and the history they share—yet even that is beyond Delf’s dreams of her future.
But a chevetein must be found, and Prityal will do it at the cost of her life, if need be, though the country—and Delf—need her. It seems the Three have plans, after all, and will use anything to see them through—including the strong, devoted heart of a hero.
Novellas
The Winter Prince
Fantasy
m/m
At seventeen, the noble Prince Arrow had his heart stolen by a powerful pari’s magic, which earned him the name Kişin Bey, the Prince-in-Winter, as his veins slowly filled with ice without a heart to keep him warm. Three years have passed since then, and Kişin is not expected to survive another winter. In a last, desperate attempt to save his life, Razin, the court wizard and Kişin’s childhood best friend, convinces him to travel in search of the pari, to ask for the return of his heart. What Razin doesn’t know is that Kişin’s heart was never stolen; he gave it away to the pari to escape the pain of an impossible love—his love for Razin.
Smart and stubborn, Razin has never accepted Kişin’s fate, continuing to address him by his childhood name of Arrow and doing everything he can to keep Kişin warm despite the distance Kişin has put between them. Bitter and sharp of tongue, he is nonetheless determined to ensure Kişin’s survival. The prince needs him, Razin insists, not knowing the truth of his own words, or how painful it is for Kişin to be near him. Kişin agrees to the desperate quest, out of duty and a need to protect Razin, but it isn’t long before Razin realizes saving his prince will require more than simply getting his heart back. Razin will have to convince him to want it.
The Winter Prince
Fantasy
m/m
At seventeen, the noble Prince Arrow had his heart stolen by a powerful pari’s magic, which earned him the name Kişin Bey, the Prince-in-Winter, as his veins slowly filled with ice without a heart to keep him warm. Three years have passed since then, and Kişin is not expected to survive another winter. In a last, desperate attempt to save his life, Razin, the court wizard and Kişin’s childhood best friend, convinces him to travel in search of the pari, to ask for the return of his heart. What Razin doesn’t know is that Kişin’s heart was never stolen; he gave it away to the pari to escape the pain of an impossible love—his love for Razin.
Smart and stubborn, Razin has never accepted Kişin’s fate, continuing to address him by his childhood name of Arrow and doing everything he can to keep Kişin warm despite the distance Kişin has put between them. Bitter and sharp of tongue, he is nonetheless determined to ensure Kişin’s survival. The prince needs him, Razin insists, not knowing the truth of his own words, or how painful it is for Kişin to be near him. Kişin agrees to the desperate quest, out of duty and a need to protect Razin, but it isn’t long before Razin realizes saving his prince will require more than simply getting his heart back. Razin will have to convince him to want it.
Dancing Lessons
Contemporary
m/m
Two years of living with his controlling boyfriend left Chico worn down long before that boyfriend revealed he’d been seeing someone else. With no other choice, Chico moves in above his cousin’s garage in a small town in the redwoods, where he merely goes through the motions. To get him out of the house, his cousin pushes him to volunteer at a local dance studio to help with their annual show.
He’s not expecting to end up in a dance class, or to start feeling alive again in the arms of his dance instructor. Rafael is the studio owners’ son and was once a well-known dancer in his own right, but now enjoys being a teacher. Although Chico likes him, he’s afraid of taking a chance. But Rafael is determined, and it only takes one dance for Chico to start to realize he might still have something to learn.
in ebook
also in audiobook at the following retailers:
Chirp, Apple, Google Play, Audible, Scribd, Hoopla, Kobo, Nook
Jericho Candelario's Gay Debut
Contemporary
m/m
Jerry Candelario has spent his entire life focused on raising his siblings and his young niece. But everyone has grown up or moved out. Now that Jerry’s evenings are free, all he wants to do is spend them with his friend Lincoln. Jerry knows nothing about gay culture, or dating, or being in love. With Lincoln, he wants to try, but is he making a fool of himself, or is his someday finally here?
Tit for Tat
Scifi
f/f
Tat never expected a future. A lower-caste Luudi who left her planet and made a new home with a group of idealistic humans, she spends her time looking out for new family and working in secret to rescue refugees from a neighboring country. She is content with what she has, if sometimes lonely. Then a Pros arrives their tense little border town.
Scifi
f/f
Tat never expected a future. A lower-caste Luudi who left her planet and made a new home with a group of idealistic humans, she spends her time looking out for new family and working in secret to rescue refugees from a neighboring country. She is content with what she has, if sometimes lonely. Then a Pros arrives their tense little border town.
Let There Be Light
Steampunk/alt history
m/m
In war-torn Europe of 1872, Karol and Hart devoted themselves to protecting England and the peace England maintained. Hart was a spy and bodyguard for Karol, a brilliant but hotheaded scientist. Their partnership was almost unstoppable... until Hart could no longer bear to see Karol in danger—or with other men—and seeing Hart repeatedly put his life on the line came to terrify Karol. Then a horrible accident separated them for what they believed would be forever.
Now the enemy's plan to kidnap Karol has Hart volunteering to guard him once again. Alone together with their fear and pain from the past might destroy them... or it might give them hope for a brighter future.
Medium, Sweet, Extra Shot of Geek
Contemporary
m/m
An avowed geek, Tommy comes in daily to flirt with barista Tavio, usually under the guise of Trekkie talk. Recently out of the army, Tavio isn't sure how out he should be, or whether to take his chances on a geek devoted to sci-fi and comic books.
A Wealth of Unsaid Words
Contemporary
m/m
(Free/reader sets the price on Smashwords. 99 cents on Amazon)
Alex has always known his bipolar disorder made him too flawed for his boyhood hero, Everett. So when his feelings for Everett became overwhelming, he forced a separation that saddened them both but gave Alex the clarity he needed. Now a year has passed, and he and Everett are together again when Everett’s noisy, imperfect family reunites for Christmas, pulling Alex into their chaotic warmth the way they always have. Can Everett convince Alex that, in spite of his fears, starting a relationship would make for the perfect holiday?