Paperbacks

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Brown-eyed Devil

Brown-Eyed Devil and Red Rogue

Eighteen-year-old Myron Mitchell's small-town life is getting strange. First, a handsome, mysterious Native American man named Anoki appears in town, and Myron discovers they share a powerful affection neither of them understands. Second, people in the area have been disappearing. And finally, Myron’s body has begun to change in a deadly way. When Myron’s friend Bette becomes the latest abductee, he vows to bring her back—but his time is shorter than he knows.

A necromancer who possesses power over spirits, Anoki has come to stop the person behind the abductions. Unfortunately, he must also stop Myron, the victim of a curse that transforms him into an uncontrollable monster. Despite the inexplicable love he feels for Myron, Anoki will have to banish him to the spirit world to prevent disaster. But Myron wants enough time to find his friend, and Anoki needs Myron’s growing inhuman senses to track down the kidnapper. They agree to work together, but the clock is ticking: they need to find Bette and the kidnapper before Myron transforms completely. Then Anoki must banish the man who seems to be the missing part of his heart.

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An Isolated Range

2012 Award Winners
Stories from the Range | Book Five

Stories from the Range: Book Five

Marty Green has two loves in life: horses and basketball. But suffering a stroke during his first college game throws a wrench in his plans. After months spent in the hospital, recuperating under the zealous care of his overprotective parents, Marty realizes he needs to be on his own, so when he’s offered a job at a ranch owned by his doctor's good friend, he takes it.

When veterinary assistant Quinn Knepper sees Marty for the first time, his heart nearly stops. He's smitten, and Marty appears interested though shy. There are just two problems: Quinn's father wants him to hide his sexuality from the world, and Marty’s Wyoming Senator father is a homophobe with no idea his son is gay—which Quinn learns when the senator proposes an amendment banning gay marriage.

Dealing with two unsupportive families is a heavy burden, but Quinn vows to make it work. Unfortunately, that may mean putting his life on hold while Marty overcomes his emotional isolation—unless, of course, Marty sacrifices his happiness to his father’s political ambition and ends the relationship before it gets started.

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A Harmony Ink Press Title

Every day, all over the country, teenagers struggle with the realities of bullying. Tormented, ridiculed, and beaten—simply for being who they are—these teens face alienation, humiliation, and even the explicit assertion that they have somehow brought this upon themselves, that they should just blend in. Bullied is a series of short stories exploring the world of these teens from several different viewpoints: the victim, the bully, the gay bystander, the straight friend, the concerned parent.

Closeted Bryan wonders why Christian Michaelson doesn't just try to blend in if he hates being bullied so much. Star athlete David isn't a homophobe—after all, he's not afraid of anything. Jonathan, a Christian fundamentalist, must weigh the Bible against peer pressure and what he knows is right when he discovers his childhood friend is gay. Bully victim Chase Devereaux finds an unexpected ally in a brave fellow student. A single mom struggles to accept the reality that her only son is gay. Two tough gay teens are forced to confront their own inner demons when tragedy befalls a classmate they failed to help. And overweight Kirby finds the strength of character to make a friend, which leads to a lifestyle change and a chance at love. Each character grows as an individual as he or she comes to terms with what it means to be a gay teenager in America.

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The 7th of London

Gadgets and Shadows | Book One

A Harmony Ink Press Title

Gadgets and Shadows: Book One

After his parents and family die, Seven escapes his factory job. By wits and will alone, he survives in a London divided into the affluent Fairside and the squalor of London’s industrial Blackside, where many struggle to eke their existence out of despair. But Seven has to fight for more than just food and shelter.

All over Blackside, a secret cabal of prominent citizens and the mysterious Mr. Kettlebent are snatching children. Rumor has it a wizard is controlling the queen, and the country’s most notorious villain is the only one who wants to stop him. Seven is determined to find out why.

Hired by the criminal Jack Midnight to steal the evil wizard’s spellbook, Seven soon discovers the mystery runs deeper than he suspected. But events spiral out of control, and it isn’t long before the intrigue sweeps Seven into its deadly current.

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Dating is hard enough. Throw in an incontinent Chihuahua, an unrequited love affair, a severe case of social anxiety disorder, a dying father, and a man-eating hog and it becomes darned near impossible. Still, it takes two to tango—and when Tom Morgan, a mild-mannered assistant bank manager with a debilitating case of shyness, meets Frank Wells, who is straight off the farm and even shyer than he is, sparks start flying.

Just when Tom and Frank’s burgeoning love affair is rolling along nicely, Frank must return to Indiana to oversee the farm while his father battles cancer. Tom tags along to help Frank out and finds himself slopping hogs and milking cows and wondering what the hell happened to his orderly citified existence. And what’s with all the chickens? Tom hates chickens!

With Frank’s help, Tom grits his teeth and muddles through. Funny what a couple of guys can accomplish when they’re crazy about each other. Not even nine hundred chickens can stand in the way of true love.

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Learning to Love: Michael & Sean

Learning to Love | Book One

Learning to Love: Book One

Sean and Michael are best friends from the minute they meet and become roommates. But after supporting Sean in the wake of his brother’s death, Michael finds himself questioning his sexuality and thinking about his roommate in a totally unexpected light. After all, he and Sean are straight—or so he thought. Suddenly Michael’s not so sure any more. He turns to their gay housemate, Evan, for advice. Little does he know he’s not the only one seeking Evan’s help.

Michael and Sean are both thrilled to explore their newly discovered feelings for each other, but not everyone shares their enthusiasm. When the reality of homophobia intrudes on their academic and personal lives and threatens their happiness, the adversity should draw them closer. Instead, it drives a dangerous wedge between them and puts their relationship, their futures, and their health at risk.

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Lies & Seduction

Sin & Seduction | Book Two

Sin & Seduction: Book Two

Jason’s life sucks. First Jansen, the best friend he was in love with, gets married to a man Jason considers the scum of the earth. Then he has to deal with a coworker with a mad crush on him. He manages a deli during the day and the stage of a nightclub at night. For him, chaos is a way of life—nothing could possibly make it worse. Until he meets a presumably straight local celebrity at the club and his real problems begin.

Bradley Britt has it all: fame, a house in the suburbs, a wife, and a new baby daughter. Nobody knows it’s all a cover to hide who he really is. Jason is pure temptation for him, and he fears their first hookup won’t be the last. Even knowing he is risking his counterfeit world can’t stop him from falling for Jason. Complete honesty will endanger everything Bradley has worked for—but facing the facts is the only chance he has at true happiness.

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The Nothingness of Ben

The Austin Trilogy | Book One

The Austin Trilogy: Book One

Ben Walsh is well on his way to becoming one of Manhattan’s top litigators, with a gorgeous boyfriend and friends on the A-list. His life is perfect until he gets a phone call that brings it all crashing down: a car accident takes his parents, and now he must return to Austin to raise three teenage brothers he barely knows.

During the funeral, Ben meets Travis Atwood, the redneck neighbor with a huge heart. Their relationship initially runs hot and cold, from contentious to flirtatious, but when the weight of responsibility starts wearing on Ben, he turns to Travis, and the pressure shapes their friendship into something that feels a lot like love. Ben thinks he’s found a way to have his old life, his new life, and Travis too, but love isn’t always easy. Will he learn to recognize that sometimes the worst thing imaginable can lead him to the place he was meant to be?

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Crucible of Fate

Change of Heart | Book 4

A Change of Heart Novel

In the secret city of Sobek, Domin Thorne is making his way as the newly chosen semel-aten, the leader of the werepanther world. He aspires to make sweeping changes—he’s set goals for himself and the people he chose to bring with him, modeling his reign after that of his friend, Logan Church. But Domin may have set too lofty a goal: his normal leadership style isn’t working.

While juggling a homesick Crane, a moody Mikhail, a bullwhip-wielding Taj, servants with murderous intentions, a visiting ex, and a mate on a dangerous goodwill mission, Domin has to figure out his new role alone. He also must determine how to deal with a conspiracy, all the while falling hard for a man who, for the first time in Domin’s life, reciprocates that love. Whether Domin is ready or not, Fate has stepped in to teach him a lesson: internal threats are just as dangerous as external ones.

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Sebastian Harkin retreated to the Trappist monastery at Mt. Ouray, nestled high in Colorado's San Juan Mountains, to escape a past filled with heartache and pain. The arrival of young novice Brother Casey Galvan gives Sebastian hope for the future. But when the monks discover a handsome stranger freezing on their doorstep during a snowstorm, Sebastian, Casey, and their fellow monks find themselves ensnarled in jealousies and passions that eventually lead to murder.

Desperate to conceal the crime from outsiders, Mt. Ouray’s abbot, Father Paolo Cabral, asks Sebastian to help solve the mystery. With Casey assisting, Sebastian plunges deeper into the investigation. But working with Casey threatens Sebastian’s self-control until his desires erupt, along with the dreaded past he has tried so desperately to put behind him. As Sebastian closes in on the killer, Father Paolo intervenes—not just in Sebastian’s search for the truth but in his pursuit of Casey’s heart.

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A Slice of Love

Taste of Love Stories

A Taste of Love Story

To make a small fortune, start with a large fortune and open a bakery. That’s the advice Marcus Wilson has heard. Unfortunately, Marcus doesn’t have a large fortune—just a bakery, A Slice of Heaven, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the determination to make it successful. He needs more help than he can afford, so when he hires accountant Gregory Southland, it’s for hours in the shop as well as on the books.

Gregory takes a second job at the bakery to help pay the bills now that his health is improving. Soon he’s looking forward to spending time with Marcus, but as the business—and their relationship—grows, so do the complications: First Marcus’s stepmother involves him in a cause that could give the bakery a reputation it doesn’t need. Then Marcus and Gregory disagree over whether to involve A Slice of Heaven in a civil rights dispute. To top it off, Gregory’s ex-boyfriend makes an appearance just when he is at his most vulnerable. But the greatest complication by far is Marcus and Gregory’s struggle to learn to trust each other and themselves, especially when it comes to baking up matters of the heart.

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“I’ll see you in a few days. I won’t say good-bye, then, but hasta luego.” Until later. A later that never came. After visiting his sick mother in Mexico, Arturo didn’t return to San Francisco. With an expired tourist visa and a lover and business to get back to, he risked reentering the US illegally but never made it across the border.

Haunted by constant thoughts of Arturo, Joe has to carry on in his absence and the lingering despair of loss as he relives their past. His responsibilities to both their restaurant and to Chava, a troubled, hot-tempered young man they’d taken in, demand Joe pull himself together.

But Chava’s past is never far behind. Caught in the middle, Joe must make a choice. In the aftermath, he decides to visit Arturo’s parents. It’s a desperate bid for peace, but Joe isn’t sure revisiting his memories will be enough to help him move on, even when later finally arrives on the Day of the Dead.

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King of Storms

Five Kingdoms

A Harmony Ink Press Title

A Five Kingdoms Novel

Longing to find others like himself, Zurkin sets out from his family's small farm and journeys to Mountain Home, a school for Contrary youth and the seat of the powerful Brotherhood of Contrary warriors. Along the way, he rescues a Feyborn Brother, Lord Tai, from a wicked Grimmord. But that isn’t the last Zurkin will see of the monstrous Grimmord race.

At Mountain Home, Zurkin trains under the masters, including the strong and handsome Brother Yenoh, who teaches him hand-to-hand combat—and the meaning of love. But while he trains, the Grimmords in the north prepare to invade. Only the Brotherhood stands in the way. If they cannot stop the Grimmords, the creatures will sweep through the Five Kingdoms, leaving destruction in their wake.

Zurkin discovers he is a sorcerer in the wild—an untrained mage with unimaginable power—and he struggles desperately to harness this strange gift. But with the dreaded Grimmord Emperor and his savage army advancing, Zurkin is running out of time. Worse, this strange gift may destroy the ones he loves, especially Brother Yenoh, the one he loves the most.

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Tears of a Dragon

Five Kingdoms

A Harmony Ink Press Title

A Five Kingdoms Novel

S. Mortimer Bookin is curious. It's what makes him such a good scholar. He's curious about the world around him, about his dead parents, about what it might be like to meet another Contrary man like himself. Then roguish and Contrary Kai warrior Prince Allender shows up on his doorstep, and Mortimer is entranced. The catch? Allender comes with baggage: a host of Contrary youths he wants to train in the ways of the Kai brotherhood... with Mortimer as their teacher.

Mortimer’s curiosity and growing fascination with Allender trump his love of routine, and he commits to a perilous journey to obtain the Kai Overlord’s blessing for the school. It’s a quest that will take him from home to the Zu-Kai Isle, on to the frozen north, and all the way to the mystical Dragon Isle. Mortimer and Allender grow closer with each mile, but when Allender is injured, it will fall to Mortimer to lead their ragtag brotherhood to procure the overlord’s price—the tears of a dragon.

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Ghosts in the Wind

Bittersweet Dreams

Andrei Cuza and Dean Marshall celebrated their tenth anniversary only to have their happiness shattered by a random, insane event: On his way home from closing a business deal, Dean stops on the parkway to help a young mother with her flat tire, and her ex arrives, murders them, and takes off with his two kids.

Ghosts have haunted Andrei all his life. He bears the guilt for his sister being stuck in limbo, because ghosts are frozen at the moment they died, unable to adapt to the changes in their living loved ones. When Dean returns to Andrei as a ghost, the double punch of losing him and having to watch him founder if he doesn’t move on is almost more than Andrei can bear.

Despite dangers in limbo—Jackal Wraiths that devour souls are hunting him—Dean isn’t going anywhere until he helps Andrei track down the missing children. Andrei is in danger as well when he pays dearly to feel Dean’s touch one last time. Time is slowly running out as Dean and Andrei try to say good-bye while they track a killer who’s more than happy to kill again.

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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Falling for Rain

2013 Award Winners

Matt Wetherton is just an average-looking tax attorney until he breaks up a gay bashing and unwittingly becomes a hero. He isn’t looking for a date, but when he meets the man he rescued, he finds himself longing for one anyway. Rain Deveraux is a beautiful, effeminate lounge singer—and utterly unwilling to be Matt’s damsel in distress, even if he does wear women’s clothing for his performances. When common courtesy prompts Rain to pay Matt a thank-you call, it’s the beginning of the romance of their lives.

Before long, Matt and Rain fall for each other hard and fast, but both men are stubborn: Rain clings to his right to express himself even though Matt worries for his safety. Despite their occasional clashes, the passion between them is undeniable.

When an accident compromises Rain’s independence as well as his singing voice, it tests the strength of their newfound relationship. It is up to Matt to help Rain find his music again before depression sullies the brightness in Rain’s soul.

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Worth the Coming Home

Love's Value | Book One

Love's Value: Book One

For Josh Brooks, it’s a summer of wishes come true. First he gets his dream horse from a rival trainer. Then his brother’s Army Ranger buddy, Dane Keller, comes to work on the ranch and Josh meets his dream lover too. Dane is hot, competent, and fresh out of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Everything would be perfect—except nobody knows Josh and Dane are gay.

All Dane wants is a quiet life in a less claustrophobic closet and a ranch job where he can earn a living. But when his best friend’s little brother, the one who wrote the letters that kept their spirits up in Afghanistan, turns out to have grown up in all the right ways, Dane can’t help wanting more despite his fear of commitment.

While Dane and Josh are busy trying—and failing—to keep their hands to themselves, someone else is watching, biding his time. Then he strikes, first at Josh and then at the prized horse. When all of their secrets and fears are exposed, Dane is determined to protect Josh, even if it means leaving him behind.

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When Brent Hyde arrives home from college to find his parents missing from their dairy farm, he feels a creeping sense of dread, but the inept local police won’t take him seriously. Determined to find them, Brent drags his boyfriend, Gary, into the search.

When Jason Killeen, a senior journalism student from Brent’s college, shows up to investigate a twenty-year-old research project involving Brent’s mother—and Brent’s current employer—the situation gets sticky. Jason insists they’re all in danger, and a sudden body count proves him right.

While Brent, Jason, and Gary gather clues, a hit man, an FBI agent, and a corporate scientist turn up the heat by embroiling themselves in the investigation. Under that pressure, Brent and Gary’s relationship falters, and Brent finds himself turning to Jason, whose understated heroism attracts him. Then an unexpected discovery puts all three of them in mortal danger, and Brent makes a choice that will change them all forever.

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