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Deliver Me by Ashley Hawthorne She's a pastor's daughter. He's a convicted killer. Forever may be out of reach when she falls in love with one of the dangerous ones. Faith is more than just a word to Mia Anderson. It's the foundation of her life as a pastor's daughter. At home in her church and at peace with her beliefs, she decides to participate in a program to send letters to inmates regardless of what sins they may have committed. Gabriel Myers is a convicted criminal, serving life in prison for his father's murder. Facing a hopeless future and haunted by a past that has left him full of contempt for God and the church, he wants nothing to do with Mia until she proves she can understand the man everyone believes is a monster. With each letter that's exchanged, Mia becomes more aware that although Gabriel has never denied his crime, there is more to the story than the jury was allowed to hear. As reluctant friendship turns to seemingly ill-fated love, she knows she must convince him to appeal the verdict. Dealing with the Texas justice system is a long shot, but the only chance they have to finally be together outside the walls of Gabriel's prison. Winning his freedom will give them a chance at happiness but can they finally find bliss in each other's arms or will the challenges they face and their divergent beliefs destroy their love for good? |
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Holding Up the Sky by Rebecca Alasdair A closeted Australian teen learns that there are some things love alone canāt conquer in this novel for fans of Heartstopper, Adam Silvera, and Sophie Gonzales. Everyone knows Carter Cantwell: brainiac, music nerd, school captain. Total overachiever. What no one knows about him: all of it is a sham. The real Carter is an anxious mess still drowning in grief after tragedy ripped his family apart. Heās just gotten good at pretending. Then he meets Remy. Brazen, charming, and everything heās not, Remy blazes into Carterās orderly world and turns his defences to ash. But as Carter juggles new responsibilities at school, old troubles at home, and this boy he canāt seem to stay away from, he starts cracking under the pressure. With his secrets leaking out and all that heās worked for falling apart in his hands, Carter faces the hardest choice of his life: succumb to his demons, or fight for the future he never knew he wanted. But when youāre lost in the dark, how do you find your way back? |
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Angels: The LGBTQ+ YA story you've been waiting for: friendship, identity, attraction, disasters ... and finding your wings by Rachel Churcher Angels is the LGBTQ+ YA story youāve been waiting for: friendship, identity, attraction, disasters ā¦ and finding your wings. Angels have lived among us for as long as we can remember. They donāt have powers, but they do have wings. Theyāve always hidden their wings, and who they are ā until Kane. Melodie Abbott remembers the day she saw Kaneās taboo-shattering billboard. A beautiful model showing his wings on Oxford Street, on a photo as tall as a building. When sixteen-year-old Mel finally meets her idol, disaster strikes. Can she find a way to free herself from his shadow, and what will her future hold? āAngelsā is a coming-of-age story, a university heartbreak novel with a twist, a celebration of friendship and desire, and an exploration of attraction, identity and self-expression. It takes courage to find your wings ā¦ |
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I Am Alex Locus by Joseph P. Garland Twenty-three-year-old Alex Locus stumbles into the world of her late mother, Emily. With each revelation, she learns things she could not have imagined, and struggles to find the truth about her family. Emily had a long-term date with a friend on Friday afternoons. On one of those Fridays, August 8, 2008, though, she suffered a stroke that she did not survive. Nine years later, Alex is passing time at a New York bookshop, enjoying an author read from her collection of stories. Her life changes forever when learns of the existence of the "Emily Locus Award." She introduces herself: "I am Alex Locus." This begins a quest by Alex and her best friend Kate to learn the truth about her mother, starting with their reading the unpublished stories that for years sat in the attic of Alex's one-time suburban home. A quest that will reveal secrets, good and bad, about the family members she knew and some she only came to meet in her search. |
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GENMOS: Conclusions by Stephen Coghlan BOOK 3 in the Genetically Modified Species, GENMOS Beaten, but not broken. Divided, but not conquered. With the steps of the process now in their enemiesā possession, the children and allies of The Genmos Project hurry to foil their foesā plans on multiple fronts ā from fighting them in the highest reaches of government, to freeing their trapped allies, to stopping the General in a face-to-face and all-out war ā despite their numbers being thinned from the trials they have faced along the way. As their inevitable showdowns conclude, lives will be lost, dynamics forever changed, and the secrets of the origin of The Genmos Project will be revealed. |
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GENMOS: Crossroads by Stephen Coghlan BOOK 2 in the Genetically Modified Species, GENMOS Having found each other, the GENMOS now face a greater danger than just the agency, division within their ranks. As cliques develop Devlin, lead scientist and father figure, struggles to keep the more ambitious of his children from becoming casualties. To make matters worse, a partially formed new GENMOS is discovered. Whether the former enemy will survive to become their ally or their downfall now rests on Devlin's shoulders...and his willingness to play God once more. |
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GENMOS: Gathering Storms by Stephen Coghlan BOOK 1 in the Genetically Modified Species, GENMOS Dear Publisher: I'm writing this letter to you because I want to tell you how my family, the Genmos, became recognized as living beings. You might have heard of us in the news recently, but if you haven't, let me quickly fill you in. It all started years ago, when my dad used a government contract to create super-soldiers for his own needs. After almost a decade of providing limited success, the project was canceled and we were ordered destroyed. Unwilling to kill his children, dad hid us throughout the country, splitting us up from each other. Just after my eighth birthday, my oldest sister got into some hot water. Her guardian had died and she was forced to live on the streets. When several witnesses reported seeing her, it sparked a race to recover her, and my other siblings, between my father and the agency that had ordered us destroyed. That night began my peopleās fight for our rights, our freedom and our very lives. I've collected writings from my siblings and have tried to put them into an order that I hope makes sense for you. This is our story. Yours sincerely, Anna Keper The last original Genetically Modified Species |
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Route by Janyce Denise Glasper Set in fictional Dandelion, Ohio and split in six parts of the heart, Route is an evocative coming of age story centering the complex dialogue between a frequent passenger and an attached bus driver. Josephine Benson, a shy, inexperienced artist and avid reader raised to believe that men are big bad wolves, realizes that even the most devout soul needs human connection. Wes Jenkins, a pragmatic former Marine, provides stimulating pleasures in their journeys and learns other perspectives through visitors who seek him for therapeutic purposes. With vulnerable moments of warmth, humor, sensuality, maturity, and joy, two guarded secret keepers transition from bus to bus, from past to present, discovering the spectrums of goodness together. |
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It Will Hurt by Anya K. Jordan In a realistic portrayal of mental illness and sexual repression, not every romance can have a happy ending. Two steps forward, one step back, as they say. But we can laugh and cry together on the way. We don't have to be alone. Nico still has to learn that. It Will Hurt is a contemporary queer story about a young man with bipolar disorder discovering his bisexuality in the underground death metal scene of a university town in 2010s Germany. |
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A sudden tragedy. A family torn asunder. A woman disillusioned with the formerly comforting, now cloistering, confines of suburbia. Cheryl Decker's life is forever changed by the death of her eldest daughter, as are the lives of her husband, Scott, and surviving daughter, Melinda. Spiraling into multiple addictions, her level-headed best friend Beverly and the chaos loving fellow addict Matilda each comfort her in their own unique ways. Navigating blackmail, PTA meetings and her own demons, Cheryl is forced to do worse and worse things in the pursuit of appeasing crazed blackmailing divorcees, her dead daughter's mystery contact, and discovering why her daughter leapt off the balcony. How well do you really know your neighbours? The suburbanites of Cheryl are sophisticated on the surface, but beneath that thin veneer, there are addictions, hedonism, and ever more sinister predilections... A dark, though at times humorous, story that captures the grim side of living in the "perfect" suburb where not everyone is as prim and proper as they appear to be, nor are they nearly as moral. Contains possibly disturbing scenes and substance abuse. |
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Not Your Mary Sue by Rebecca Frost A not so classic girl meets boy story begins when a televangelistās adult daughter, Marcy, journeys to a secluded island resort where she awakens a captive of a handsome, charming, notorious serial killer who requests she pen his autobiography explaining all of his intentions and crimes in detail. She finds herself horrified that she is intrigued by him and maybe even...infatuated by him. He has more control than she realizes as he slowly begins to brainwash her just as the autobiography is completed. Once she is rescued and he is arrested, Marcy begins to pull her life back together only for her captor to escape and her brother becomes a new suspect in a murder. |
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A short Gothic tale about a 9yo boy who is lost on his birthday outing - all he wants to do is go home. |
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Someone once asked August Haiz if twins realize one of them is an accident. Deep down, August knows if anyone was an accident, it wasnāt Bennyāit was her. Granted, August doesnāt mind dancing in the background, letting Benny be the star musician and center of attention. In fact, she prefers it that way. Abandoned by their mother as children, the twins have spent a decade dodging the unpredictable nature of their alcoholic father in an attempt to stay off his radar. With graduation in sight and their freedom on the horizon, August and Benny look forward to fleeing their hometown together and starting fresh at college. But a tragic accident turns Augustās world upside down, swallowing her hopes of a brighter future. Guilt-ridden and struggling to cope with her new normal, August shuts out the people who love her most, and nearly ruins her most important friendship. If August wants a chance at adjusting to life after tragedy, sheāll have to process her pain, let go of the past, and leave the darkness behind. |
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Milo Nelson has learned plenty of things from necessity: how to tie a tie, how to change a tire, how to shave his face. Heās also learned that the truth may hurt, but the fantasy of a life he canāt have hurts even more, so when Richard Remington Abernathy III waltzes back into his life two years after the end of their definitely-not-a-relationship and says heās changed, that dog wonāt hunt. Remiās drug of choice is denial, and heās always been one hell of an addict. The only things heās ever committed to are the expectations of his good Christian family, and Milo knows those donāt include a trans librarian even in the role of friend or roommate. Despite everything, a part of Milo wants to believe that Remi is capable of change; heās just not sure that the time it takes to find out is worth the risk of being hurt again. |
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Beginnings: The Omniscients by Kevin Marstall BEGINNINGS ā The Omniscients ā Book 2 Los Angeles, CA - Itās late 1993, as Detective Jason Markham embarks on a new investigation, one that will challenge his patience, his methods, and ultimately his mind. A heinous crime, an innocent victim, and a partner with whom working together is more difficult than solving the case. Struggling to train his attention on the clues in the continuing series of burglaries, instead Jasonās heart and mind remain focused on his personal investigation into the disappearance of the woman he loves. Driven to find her and know that she is safe, Markhamās actions stretch his physical, emotional, and mental state dangerously to its limits. New and old friends alike lend their support to Jason, but the detectiveās tumultuous battle rages on against his new partner, his generations of memories that seem just beyond his grasp, and worst of all his own sense of self. |
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Discoveries: The Omniscients by Kevin Marstall DISCOVERIES ā The Omniscients Los Angeles, CA - Itās 1993 and Detective Jason Markham faces a new case, unlike any heās seen before. A nameless victim, no clues, and not a soul to care about the manās unfortunate death. To make matters worse, sleepless nights, haunted by his memories, have him on the edge, and now a few chance encounters send his previously ordered life spiraling dangerously out of control. Love, friendship, betrayal, all swirling around him and threatening to consume his mind, Jasonās heart desires to trust but is thrust into conflict with generations of wisdom passed down to him from his father and grandfathers before him. |
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By Your Side: A Queerplatonic Short Story by Margherita Scialla Emma's relationship ends abruptly when she comes across her boyfriend cheating on her at a party. Yet another failed relationship brings her repressed platonic feelings for one of her best friends to the surface once more. Emmaās scared to voice her worries and desires, but even if she manages to bring up how she feels, how will Noah react to such a revelation? |
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A Case of Madness by Yvonne Knop Andrew Thomas just got sacked. He's permanently drunk. He's got cancer. Is inescapably gay. Was hit by a bus. And he's fallen in love with a stranger whose life he saved. As a newly-unemployed Sherlock Holmes scholar, Andrew knows only Holmes can help him untangle the madness his life has become, but Holmes isn't real. Except he absolutely appeared in Andrew's house, told him he's in love with a man he just metā¦and then in a fit of pique Andrew sent him away. Sure Holmes is probably a hallucination or a specter or a ghost, but now Andrew desperately needs his help. So to find the answer to his case and the man of his dreams, Andrew takes to chasing a fictional character through London with his very own Watson. |
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Ten Acceptable Acts of Arson and other very short stories by Jack Remiel Cottrell There are many messages in this book: Never go drinking using your passport for ID. Make sure to apply lidocaine before ripping out your toenails. Magic might be real, but it never fixes the worst of your problems. Try to fall in love with bastards. You or someone you know may be gayer than previously thought. Weāre not going to make it to Mars. A locked psychiatric ward needs more books than a single copy of Jane Eyre. Asking time travellers for advice on your exams is considered cheating. Itās not just human houses that become haunted. The key message is this: Life in the early 21st century is often very strange. So are these stories. With a crisp insouciance and gliding charm, Jack Remiel Cottrellās fiery, fey, finely-tuned fictions leap from sci-fi to fantasy, comedy to horror, literary realism to romance, and to hybrids of all of these. Featuring sport, friendship, love, health, family, climate change, artificial intelligence, desire, magic, Greek gods, ghosts, peanut butter, cyber pranks, racial prejudice, and creepy medical advances, his stories play with the allure of the past, the disturbances of our own times, and the dangerous idealism of our future technologies ā each one in fewer than 300 words. |
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The Final Say by Brandie Nikole They said all Iāll ever be is damaged goods.I donāt deserve the joys of life, ācause I donāt care about the lives of others.Too bad their words donāt hold any merit when it comes to my life.Iām the boss.The only captain of this yacht.Iām the only one with the final say.Accompany Jerome on his journey as he walks his truth and follows his own rules. Nobody better get in his way, or theyāll find just what theyāre looking for.Jerome: The Final Say |
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Fighting For Her Heart by Brandie Nikole I love my life like it is. Full of amazing adventures and without a monogamous relationship.I've had my heart broken more than once and that's enough for me to know I don't want to do that again.I don't want a man coming all up in my mix trying to make me commit.After all, I'm Shavonne Jordan, a rebel, also known as a LimitlessSpirit! But then he comes along fighting me at every turn, invading places I never invited him to.Leaving his imprint every step of the way trying to win my heart with his suspenders and floggers, ropes, and suits.Making me see life in a way I never imagined I would or could. Will I let him in or will he eventually get fed up with the fight? Follow us on this adventure of love's tug-o-war.Fighting For Her Heart by ella Shavonne's Story |
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His Favorite Girl by Brandie Nikole Imagine knowing a person most of your life. You know their flaws, the things that make them tick, the hearts they've broken, and the chipped pieces in their armor, and still, you love them completelyā¦ unconditionally. That is Khalil and Ajah. Best friends since they were eating dirt together. Their bond is unbreakable, but could they survive that one time in college? Khalil has tried moving on from the events of the past, becoming a serial dater with no satisfaction. His recent girlfriend, Destiny, is madly in love with him, and she refuses to accept rejection from Khalil or the destruction of their relationship. But are her feelings the same for her, or is he in love with someone else? Then there's Ajah. While enjoying the single life, she encounters the one-night stand that haunts her for longer than she wants. Will these two friends place all their cards on the table and see if revisiting unfinished business is worth it? Or will they continue playing friends while playing the field? Join Ajah and Khalil as they work to strengthen their bond as best friends while trying to hold on to the lives they have separate from each other. Life doesn't always go according to plan, and we all know there's a reason for everything. |
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A reluctant psychic medium searching for meaning after a life-altering tragedy must confront the world of supernatural he's long ignored. Like any young man, Ian wants normal things like a car, a girlfriend, or another tracksuit, but heās always in danger of being called crazy, or worseācreepy. After all, if he were normal, he wouldnāt be seeing things that aren't there. His survival tactic is to ignore his intuition and deny what he sees, no matter how real it appears. Heās been pretending to be ordinary for so long, he doesn't know who he is anymore. When a tragedy upends his life, Ian latches onto what he's sure is real, but the philosophy that's protected him thus far only further isolates him. So when a pretty girl enters his life, Ian jumps at the opportunity to find his ānew normal.ā A down-to-earth, sweet girl is exactly what he needs to break out of the limbo of grief, but welcoming her into his private world risks revealing the truth and unraveling his illusion of normalcy. |
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All Our Faults by Charlotte Brough A school rivalry. Twin brothers with dangerous vices. A fatal accident. Lakemere Highās star athlete, Jack Porter, is a master of denial. He doesnāt have an eating disorder, and his twin brother, Jared, definitely doesnāt have a drinking problem. Everything is rosy in Jackās worldāheās headed to Duke, has his pick of the dating pool, and Lakemere are winning in their prank war with rival school, West Valley. Younger brother, Alex, is practically a genius, and Jaredā¦heās fine. Probably. Then the boysā estranged mother returns, setting in motion a chain of events that will devastate their entire community. Spiraling into depression, Jack tries to play peacemaker between the schools, but Jared isn't about to forgive and forget. Fueled by his escalating addiction, he's out for blood... |
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Jenniās Boy by Lewis J. Lewin Jenniās Boy follows Luke as he grows up, struggling to tell the woman that he has loved since high school how he truly feels. As he fails to communicate with her, other problems take ahold of him in life, and she drifts away, but she is ever present in his mind. His old friends fade away, and even his family members start to go their own paths. He realizes just how important communication is in relationships. |
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āFor who could love a beast, forever?ā Jay is a sensitive, traumatized young man selling his body to pay his college tuition fees and to send money to his gravely ill mother. Roman is a centuries old vampire who has no control over whom he bonds with. When they cross paths, itās supposed to be for only one bite, but it ignites the fires of love within Roman. Jay gets caught in his own feelings for Roman, who needs to feed on humans to survive, even if following his own moral compass. And although danger lurks in the form of another bloodthirsty predator, Roman and Jayās journey through life is also wrought with human monsters, as dangerous as the mythical ones. Will Jay and Roman find the forever loveāa love transcending difference, mortality, and immortalityāthat they are both yearning for? |
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Home by Maxime Jaz What if the edge of the world wasn't far enough to confront your biggest fears? Damian has it all: first-class ticket home, whisky to drown his fear of flying, snark, and arrogance to push away everyone. Just not the wife. Heartbroken flight attendant Gabe likes his flights uneventful. His training and gentle nature are enough to keep him from busting Damian's face in. Probably. A plane crash forces lives and worlds that couldn't be more different to become one. They fight each other, their biggest fears, a life so rough survival is just the beginning... can they win battles brewing far away, at home? |
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The Devil in the Woods by S. Jean Fifty years ago, a girl walked into the woods with only matches to guide her and then disappeared. No one could find her despite the exhaustive search until days later when her body came out without her heart. Upon her skin was written a dare: "Come into the woods and find my still beating heart." Itās a silly urban legend, or at least, itās supposed to be. When highschooler Felix Graves agrees to help his classmates, Vivian and Charlie debunk the urban legend of the Devil in the Woods once and for all, he doesnāt believe thereās anything to it. Wellā¦ until something finds him in the dark. |
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My Heart is Hurting by S.E. Reed Jinny Buffett is lonely... She's never had the comfort of a white picket fence with a loving family. Her subsidized apartment in Hollywood Florida echoes with the void of her dead Daddy, and the nights drag long into twilight while her Mama works the block outside the Margaritaville resort. It's idealistic Ms. Fleming, who's brave enough to come knocking first. She wants to see Jinny rise up and use her ace scores to escape the wheel of poverty, convincing Jinny to start a school book club, where she finds the friends and boyfriend she never knew she needed. But when her Mama spirals out of control and threatens her entire existence, it's Jinny's Everglade ancestors who arrive in a mist of magic, bringing the swamp and hope with them. |
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BACKMASK is written in the style of 60s horror pulp. Inspired by pop music history, BACKMASK is the fake history of a conspiracy theory surrounding the Satanic agenda to control children's minds. Nicholas Hush, 1960s record producer, has a vision for the future of pop music. After a series of prophetic dreams he wants to combine occult imagery with upcoming trends to create a new, groundbreaking look. His secretary, Valerie Chill, is tasked with finding consultants and funding while he crafts the perfect album. Quickly their project becomes entangled in other, larger machinations, and two teenage pop acts become responsible for international intrigue, brainwashing, and an occult massacre. Taking inspiration from the lives of Joe Meek, Phil Spector, and Timothy Leary, BACKMASK is a speculative look at how hidden messages got into pop music. |
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Lockdown Laureate by O F Cieri A 22 tale collection, with 22 illustrations by Soren HƤxan. Dark, introspective, grimy, urban, strange. āLike a puddle of blood in a back alley of New York City that whispers to you of what could have been via a static-slathered Bluetooth connectionā¦ā |
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Andy and the Extroverts by Jessica K. Foster Seventeen-year-old bookish Andy has no friends. When her over-involved mother has the audacity to ship her off to summer leadership camp, she's thrust into an introvert's nightmare. Everyone is a Communicator with a capital C, icebreaker activities are scheduled into every waking moment, and horror of all horrors: there's no coffee. Even the girls who take her under their wing are the kind of self-assured people Andy could never dream of becoming. Then she meets Lucasāāhot, attentive, and everything Andy reads about in her books. Though the girls in her cottage try to warn her about him, she's swept into the first romance of her life. But when she discovers her friends may be right, she'll have to find her inner confidence to save her summer and become the leader she was always meant to be. |
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Sushi and Sea Lions by Rachel Corsini When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to Queens, New York, she fills her days with countless distractions: meaningless sex, pinot grigio, and video games. It takes a chance meeting with her brother's best friend, Vincent LaBate, for her to remember who she was before the stage lights and distractions of the Upper West Side. She's convinced that Vincent could never love a girl like her: broken, insecure, and stumbling her way through life. What Daniela didnāt count on is that Vincent is as scarred as she is after divorcing his cheating wife and going through an equally messy child custody fight. Soon enough, old vulnerabilities rear their ugly heads, opening a crack in Danielaās perfectly imperfect romance. As Daniela and Vincent's relationship develops, will Daniela learn to accept that a dream life isn't all it's cracked up to be? |
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Tamika Wood's Birthday Party by Le Kendall Follow the stories of Alan Sebastian Parker and his family as they navigate life, love, family and parenting, queerness and neurodivergence. |
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What happens when a shy virgin raised in purity culture asks her gorgeous, player best friend to take her V-card? Iāve been in love with Cole Walker since the first day he walked into class and sat beside me. Who could blame me? Six foot five, gorgeous, and a sweetheart to boot. Heās charming enough to get any girl he wants. The plan was to make him fall in love with me, get married, and give him all my firsts. Too bad heās never once looked at me that way. I donāt know how to flirt, and Iāve been stuck in the friend-zone for years. Iām 21 now. And this summer, Iām going to ask him to take my V-card with no strings attached. But when I tell Cole my request, his reaction is not what I expect. Heās furious and over-the-top protective. He wonāt touch me, but apparently no one else can either. It doesnāt make any sense. Until we share a kiss that makes the world stand still, and I begin to wonderā¦maybe Iāve misread him all along. Authorās note: Suitable for ages 18+.Please see authorās website for a list of content warnings. |
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Our Darkest Hour by Gabriella E. Mari Coming into his psychic powers by accident, Adrian Sinclair finds he has the ability to see and communicate with spirits yet zero understanding of how anything works. So when the YouTube-famous Crossroads Paranormal Research Society offers to take him under their wing, he knows he is in no position to refuse. As Adrian learns what it means to be a paranormal investigator and how to navigate his newfound online celebrity status, he discovers that psychics are quitting en masse, and there are only vague rumors as to why... ... until something beyond his reach starts stalking him. |
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Maya is a 20-year-old with a graveyard shift at the post office, a ma whose temper rises even faster than the rent, and all of the million daily headaches of life as a young woman of color in New York in 2011. Her one saving grace is her local arcade, home of New York's feisty, burgeoning fighting game tournament scene. But that respite is taken away from her after she gets banned for standing up to a trash-talker who goes too far. To get back into the arcade and fight for her independence and respect, Maya will partner with a team of up-and-coming players and learn to defeat not just her opponents, but also her own worst instincts. Beneath Maya's quest for FGC glory shines a deeper story about how all of us are made by historyāand how we can make history in our turn. The connections between Maya, the women who raised her, and the generations who come after her, examine how our moment in time determinesāoften unjustlyāthe risks we take for the rewards we desire for ourselves, our families, and our communities. Bodied is a unique coming-of-age story with sneaky literary chops, a modern mashup between The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and A League of Their Own. |
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Lipstick Covered Magnet by Amber Herbert Sheās running from her past. Heās hoping to become her present. Skylar has avoided the past for three years. She canāt be plagued by guilt and regret if she never has time to process what happened. When a song triggers the memories sheās tried so hard to bury, she knows she canāt run anymore. Despite her ex being gone, heās hiding in the quiet and stillness. Thereās no escape. Connor has always been passionate. If heās into you, he will follow you to the ends of the earth. Sure, his fixation once ended in a restraining order, but that was just one girl. When he meets Skylar, he feels that same itch. Despite her attempts to brush him off, he increases his effortsāeven if that means tracking her movements and stalking her online. He knows heāll win her over if heās persistent. As Skylar does her best to heal, Connor sinks further into obsession. Lipstick Covered Magnet is a genre-bending debut that weaves the intricacies of healing with delusion and suspense. For fans of You and I May Destroy You *Content warning: contains sexual assault, mentions of suicide, and stalking. |
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The Girl Who Steals Christmas by C.G. Drews A prequel short story about the De Lainey family from The Boy Who Steals Houses. It's set a week before Moxie meets Sam. Available for free on author's blog. Last year Christmas didnāt happen because their mother had just died... It's a hot miserable December and the De Lainey family are actively ignoring the festive season, but when Moxie finds her little sister's screwed up letter to Santa in the bin, she decides to bully Christmas to life. Includes various sibling dramas, a too-small tent, and confusion between Santa and a potato. |
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When nowhere is safe in the world you know, you have to hide... or start making a new one. Robert is eleven when his best friend dies and he learns that if he wants to survive in the world he has to be ānormalā. He buries his feelings, his awful childhood memories, and his suspicion that he is gay. Even when he falls in love with Johnny, he pretends it isnāt happening, and buries those feelings too, choosing safety in the closet, a career as a lawyer, a wife and kids, and suburban happy ever afterā¦ Until Johnny returns needing help, and then disappears, and Robert's faƧade begins to crack in heartbreaking and dreadful circumstances. Only one other person saw what happened that night, and after being arrested for drunk and disorderly, he disappears. It shares poignant and emotional elements of Douglas Stuartās Shuggie Bain and Craig Silveyās trans-coming-of-age novel Honeybee, with the suspense of The Dry by Jane Harper, while drawing on the historical facts leading up to the airing of the dirty linen of the Bjelke-Peterson era with the broadcasting of The Moonlight State-1987 . Trying to keep his secret and himself safe isnāt Robertās only priority. He wants justice too. But when the police force is corrupt from the top down, justice isnāt merely elusive, itās an impossibility. Or so it seems when youāre fighting for yourself alone. But other people have been fighting for justice too. If Robert can convince them to help him, together they may set something unstoppable in motion. It will either run down the corrupt police or run over and destroy Robertās life. Inspired by the true story of a suicide that was reclassified thirty years later as a gay hate-crime murder, The Outing is set in 1980s Queensland, (Australia), where corrupt police and politicians rule together, with an audacious disregard for the law. It shares poignant and emotional elements of Douglas Stuartās Shuggie Bain and Craig Silvey's trans coming-of-age novel Honeybee, with the suspense of The Dry by Jane Harper, while drawing on the historical facts leading up to the airing of the dirty linen of the Bjelke-Peterson era with the broadcasting of The Moonlight State-1987. Breaking a corrupt system can sometimes break you, and those you loveā¦ some, forever |
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The Pilgrim: Inferno Redux by Rohit Prasad Roy Aron stepped off a sun-kissed beach and plunged into the fiery pits of hell. He had a life-altering vision. To actualize his epiphany, he metaphorically descended the bowels of hell to grapple with manās ruinous frailties. He followed in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri as he witnessed each of the nine sins: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. He came upon unexpected and macabre sagas, engaged in intriguing and enthralling events, which bore testimony to all that these sins manifest, and observed how the sinners end up sundering devastation around them. After observing the lowest of lows, he pulled himself out of these depths and vowed to fight the intoxicating attraction of sin. Roy undertook this odyssey, again and again, every year to make himself a better husband, a better father and a better human being. Journey with him through the heart of darkness, live through these bizarre and metamorphic incidents and emerge in the sunshine of hope. |
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The Kings of Nowhere by C.G. Drews Avery Lou has given up stealing houses ā now heās meant to build them. Forced to stay with the De Lainey family until Samās return from juvie, Avery feels like heās drowning. He hates that Sam chose the De Laineys instead of running away with him. And he hates working in their construction company while Vin, the thief who hurt Sam, still walks free. Avery wants revenge. Swapping the sharp-edged world of burglary and car theft for the homey chaos of big family life is a wild adjustment, and Averyās determined to sabotage his time with the De Laineys and get locked up with Sam instead. Avery just has to stay immune to Jeremyās charming shenanigans. Easyā¦sort of. But Averyās war against Vin has brought trouble to the De Lainey door and he canāt survive this fight alone. |
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Sweet Baby Mine by Maria Daversa Set in Paris, Sweet Baby Mine is about the secrets, lies, and mental illnesses that take a toll on two people who once thought theyād found their true love. The tale is brutal, oftentimes heartbreaking, but always hopeful. The message? On the road to self-discovery, youāll learn that no matter what anyone says, no matter what flawed message you believed about yourself growing up, you are a good person and deserve love. |
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Summer's Second by Jeff Billington Asher Brockās last summer of youth is far from ideal. His hopes for the future, including an escape from his constricting Ozark Mountains hometown, seem increasingly fragile as he faces hurdles of poverty and abuse, all while coming to terms with being gay. Raised by an alcoholic single mother, he clings to his noted intelligence as an escape to a better life. But it will take more than brainsānamely, strength of character and aspirationāfor him to navigate the months leading to his senior year of high school. The pregnancy of his recent girlfriend, the heightened aggression of his long-time bully, and the increasing presence of his long-absent father create a season of turmoil, spurring unease and self-doubt. But with support from family and friends, an opportunity for love, and the shedding of generations of secrets, Asher sees beyond preordained fate and starts to realize the opportunities in his grasp. |
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Jenna Oliver doesnāt have time to get involved with one boy, let alone two. All Jenna wants is to escape her evaporating small town and her alcoholic mother. She's determined she'll go to college and find a life that is wholly hersāone that isn't tainted by her family's past. But when the McAlister twins move to town and Jenna gets involved with both of them, she learns the life she planned may not be the one she gets. Ian McAlister doesn't want to start over; he wants to remember. Ian canāt recall a single thing from the last three monthsāand he seems to be losing more memories every day. His family knows the truth, but no one will tell him what really happened before he lost his memory. When he meets Jenna, Ian believes that he can be normal again because she makes not remembering something he can handle. The secret Ian canāt remember is the one Luke McAlister canāt forget. Luke has always lived in the shadow of his twin brother until Jenna stumbles into his life. She sees past who heās supposed to be, and her kiss brings back the spark that life stole. Even though Luke feels like his brother deserves her more, Luke canāt resist Jennaāwhich is the trigger that makes Ian's memory return. Jenna, Ian, & Luke are about to learn there are only so many secrets you can keep before the truth comes to reclaim you. |
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Black Licorice by Elaina Battista-Parsons Freddiās life is over. Her bestāand onlyāfriend needed her and she failed. After a series of bad decisions, Freddi is pulled out of music school and forced to prove herself, but a new school and volunteer work only add to her overwhelming anxiety. Freddi finds a potential new friend in Lorna, who forces her to face her insecurities head on, but Freddi isnāt ready to let go. When Freddi learns Lorna is keeping something from her, their friendship starts to crumble. Now Freddi must choose between chasing her past or rebuilding her future. |
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Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling Between Before and After follows Indie film director Sebastian Foster, son of the famous author Regina Foster, as he embarks on a project to turn his motherās award-winning novels into films. As he works on his third film in the project, a biographical novel that takes place in Paris and deals with the traumatic death of Sebastianās five-year-old sister, the project and aspects of Sebastianās personal and private life start to break down. Sebastian is confronted with a man from his past who holds the purse strings as far as funding for his films is concerned. He also learns that his mother has more secrets than he realized and as he dives deeper into this project, he learns that there was so much more to his sisterās tragic death than he realized. As the past starts to unravel before him, Sebastian must confront his issues with his mother and his desperate need to recreate a past that may not have been as idyllic as he remembered. |
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The Persistence of Vapor by Ralph Clementi Thomas Marcelli, lead archaeologist at an excavation outside a small town in Jordan, is astonished when his assistant informs him that the local newspaper has just printed a sensationalistic account of their recent find. The article claims that the coprolite that was uncovered the previous day is a holy relic of Jesus. Over the next two days the site becomes overrun by hundreds of curious spectators. Chaos ensues and the coprolite gets stolen. The artifact quickly enters the dark underworld of stolen art and antiquities. Eventually, through a string of murders and deceptions, it is acquired by Michael Steadman, a major dealer of stolen art in the United States. He multiplies his profits substantially by selling counterfeits of "the holy relic of Jesus" that he crudely carved from locally collected rocks. In the meantime the news of the discovery and theft of the coprolite unleashes a flood of conspiracy theories. This misinformation continues to spread despite repeated assertions by the archaeologists that there is no evidence of a connection between the coprolite and Jesus. Then matters worsen. Fraudulent enterprises appear that advertise nonexistent tours to the site where the "the holy relic of Jesus" was found. Religious leaders, deeply troubled by these scams, try to intercede to protect their congregants from being cheated. However, their efforts backfire when the religious leaders become the targets of new conspiracy theories. Set in the U.S. and the Middle East, the novel traces the impact that the coprolite has on the people it touches. The story is part adventure and part intellectual journey and rides on a universal theme that underlies so much of human behavior: facts and logic often take a back seat to a blind hunger for the satisfaction of emotional needs. |