Ned and Sam won't talk about their first kiss. But when Ned gets stood up on a date and tries to prove his worth by stealing a famous local relic, Sam has to step in, forcing them both to uncover family secrets that could make or break their relationship for good. # It's been three years since Ned and Sam had their first kiss-three whole years that they've been ignoring it and continuing on as best friends. The day before Christmas Eve, they both find themselves going on separate dates. But Ned getting stood up sends him on a wild adventure as he struggles to prove his worth, unearthing family secrets along the way that both separate and bind the boys together. Ned and Sam's story proves that one night really can change everything. But will their friendship grow stronger, or will these secrets put a fracture in their bond that they can't repair? # If you like stories about second chances at love, lawn gnomes, and the sacred art of running scared, you'll love Ned Gets Stood Up, a gay teen romance with a fun cast of lovable characters. Think Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist meets Love Actually. 💕Childhood friends to lover 🤣 Romantic Comedy 🔥 An Epic Quest 🌈 Be gay do crimes

EDITOR'S CHOICE ~ When heartbroken March Marino books a road trip across the western US, he has no idea what he's getting himself into.

Moe Rivas has spent her whole life waiting for the perfect storybook romance, but as she approaches her senior year of college -- single, and incredibly disappointed with the male species -- she decides she's sick of daydreaming. Turning her back on love, Moe hooks up with Theo Landing, the grumpy barista from her favorite coffee shop. And it goes a little too well. Eager to explore something casual, Moe proposes a friends-with-benefits relationship, and Theo, burned by an ex's betrayal, agrees to the arrangement. But as Moe spends more time with Theo -- in and out of the bedroom -- she realizes falling in love is easy; it's denying love entry that's challenging. And day by day, her resolve is splintering.

Niccola is a demi-queen undercover in enemy territory. Her little sister went missing seven moons ago, but one lead remains: a picture of a woman's face, drawn by a diviner shortly after the disappearance. Tracking her down has led Niccola to Calis, the realm next door whose border with her own remains closed for a reason. There, the trail goes cold. Until, that is, Niccola runs into a man in the marketplace who bears a family resemblance to the woman she seeks. His name is Isaiah, crown prince of Calis, and he's investigating disappearances, too. They join forces, faking courtship to sneak Niccola into the palace and get Isaiah's wedding-minded mother off his back. It doesn't take long to suspect that a common threat might underpin both their realms' problems. And as Niccola begins to develop real feelings for Isaiah, she's faced with an impossible choice: reveal her secrets and risk breaking his trust, or leave him in order to chase down the woman who stole her sister... a woman whose forbidden magic comes with a cost that could bring both realms to ruin. ❖❖❖ Complete and fully edited. Cover credit goes to @CeeMTaylor. Go check out her books too if you like Dark Fantasy Romance-she writes some pretty incredible stuff! Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)

As the cruel, uncompromising, and terrifyingly brilliant CEO of Bloom Press, Roman Alvarez terrifies everyone-including her new assistant editor, Kaalia Amoretta. But on a work trip to the tropical coast of South Asia, under Kerala's storm-soaked skies, professional distance dissolves into something more dangerous. What should have stayed strictly business becomes intimate, charged, and impossible to forget. *** [LONGER VERSION] Roman Alvarez is infamous in the publishing world: cruel, uncompromising, and brilliant enough to get away with it. As the first Black and female CEO of Bloom Press, she has built her career on steel walls and impossible standards. Kaalia Amoretta, the new assistant editor hired to support her, expects a tyrant. What she doesn't expect is the quiet softness beneath Roman's sharp edges ... or the spark that flares every time their eyes meet. When Bloom's newest release hinges on securing a reclusive poet's anthology, Roman and Kaalia go on a "working vacation" to India. But what should have been a straightforward business trip unravels into something far more dangerous: monsoon-soaked nights, shared secrets, and a slow-burning tension neither woman can ignore. Under tropical skies and an old woman's poetry on love and colonialism, their professional boundaries blur, their walls crack, and a tender, terrifying love begins to take shape. But as they return to New York-with media storms rising, a billion-dollar lawsuit looming, and family expectations closing in-the real question emerges: Can a love born far from reality survive the world waiting for them? *** A sweeping, sapphic, slow-burn romance and the kind of love worth risking everything.

Luke had always struggled with a sense of himself, fighting to reconcile feelings that threatened his relationships and his identity. After years of pushing those feelings deep down inside, and after losing his wife in a tragic accident, those feelings he thought consigned to the past begin to reemerge. When a night turns terrifying and traumatic, he is saved by the statuesque Helen, who recognises his struggle and supports Luke on a spiritual journey in search of his true self. But his search for meaning in the bittersweet emotions that are blossoming within threaten to destroy his friendships, his home life and his resolve to become the person he had always known himself to be. Or, rather, who she knew herself to be. A sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes heart-lifting, sometimes harrowing and sometimes touching tale about accepting who you truly are. 🏵Wattys 2023 Shortlist🏵 🏵Featured by FreeTheLGBT - Diverse Literature - July 2023🏵 🏵Featured by Stories Undiscovered - Jan 2023🏵 🏵Featured by @WackyWriters - Undiscovered Gems Under 1k - Feb 2023🏵 🥉3rd Place - General Fiction Category -Pretty In Punk 'Punk Rock Awards' Apr 2023🥉 Cover created in Canva, using an AI generated picture.

[Formerly known as 'Trinkets'] Mahika and Amoli can't stand each other, but that's not the only thing they have in common. Mahika treats Amoli like she's childish. Amoli thinks Mahika is a stuck-up prude. But Mahika's best friend and Amoli's brother are getting married, so they can't ignore each other forever. If that wasn't the case, they wouldn't even acknowledge each other's existence. Right? Wrong. What meets the eye isn't all there is, is it? Throw a big fat Indian wedding, some alcohol, and a dimly lit hotel room together, and you'll find out, too. Because Mahika and Amoli certainly do.

Seth is a quiet guy who stays out of trouble, but trouble seems to have a way of following him as soon as he gets involved with a very attractive immortal. ***** Although he never wanted any of it, when Seth runs into a genderfluid god, he is taken on a whirlwind adventure that will change his life forever. Beyond having to accept the parallel magical community that exists alongside the world he grew up in, Seth must face angry angels and gods while journeying around the world with his new friend...or lover. Content and trigger warning: This story contains scenes of violence and sexual activity. [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

❖ Interstellar pilot and ex-adventurer Alex Gallegos must keep their team safe on an icy moon as sentient storms threaten to repeat the tragedy that ended their last career. ❖ Everyone in the United Inhabited Solar Systems (for some reason, UIS for short) knows to stay away from Mahaha. The icy moon is notorious for failed probe landings and research missions that end in tragedy: the only people to ever venture to its surface needed rescuing after just two weeks. When a prestigious research group decides they want a turn, they ask Alex Gallegos to lead the team. Perfectly qualified and haunted by their past, Alex accepts, hoping to make up for old mistakes and get just a little further from the earth they've left behind. Two months into the seven-month mission, the team is struggling with discontent, damaged equipment, and blizzards acting less and less like normal weather. As Mahaha moves out of range of help and the storms take on a more malicious character, Alex must face the one foe they could never have prepared for. Mahaha may or may not be alive. ❖❖❖ Complete. Wattys 2021 Shortlister. Standalone sequel (Rocks Can Dance) coming in 2023. Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)

The 2234 Universe gathers wild, thought‑provoking stories from every corner of a hard‑won Solar System. In the asteroid belt people struggle and strive. On Ariel's ice, a battered outpost fights to reboot its lungs and its conscience. In Caleb's Vein, a belt crew chases a river of living metal through the dark, trading sleep and skin for one shot at freedom. In Ethan's Saviour, a burned‑out responder on half‑pressured Mars gambles everything on a rescue that could redeem a city or expose its lie. These are hard science fiction tales built from real physics, ruthless economics, and stubborn hope. Mass drivers sing, contracts bite, robots keep score, and people still fall in love. From frost‑bright moons to dust‑red plains, every page asks the same question: what is a future worth if we forget the people in it? Facts, opportunities, and souls, all lit by the cold bright sun of 2234. Welcome to the World of 2234.