Stories

Ashley, the lead singer of a family owned & operated wedding band, deals with the sudden need to replace his drummer after tragedy strikes. When Dustin shows up, ready, willing, & able to play - not to mention gorgeous - Ash thinks it's going to be the best season yet. But as the summer heats up, Dust and Ash will both have to come to terms with what happens after the Boys of Summer are gone.

A second book of poetry, posted in no particular order or schedule. Maybe it's better than the first. Or not.

I endured years of experiments at the hands of sadistic aliens. Barely eighteen, I've been rescued from the tiny cell and the years of enforced sensory deprivation. Lost, with no family or friends I can remember or would turn to if I could, I'm alone in the universe... except for the humans who saved me. The Captain. Zeke. Doc. A crew of misfit Rangers, a ragtag bunch operating just this side of legal--and often on the other side when circumstances are right--are not the kind to help someone “like me” recover. Captain wants to send me away, but I can't leave. No one else can touch me.

He's it for me, the strength I can't function without.

***Winner of the 2013 Readers Choice Awards for the Best Story by a Promising Author ***

Please note: I'm no longer a Promising/Signature Author! I don't want readers to think I'm misleading them.

Story: The city is full of all kinds of people. Being a bartender, Asher Burkhart has seen them all. At least he thinks has until Michael Waters shows up.

After the death of his parents Patrick is lonely and his life unfulfilled, in spite of being rich and able to indulge in his passion for creating unique art in his card shop in London. He longs for friends and for a romantic relationship, especially while creating Valentine cards. The chance encounter with a handsome Dane and his young son pitches the shy innocent cardmaker headlong into love and changes everything.

Website designer Scottie Ness is taking a well-deserved vacation from the grindstone, and he plans to spend it in the solitude of Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest around Mt. Adams. He’s prepared for everything—except the lightning storm that traps him in a wildfire. Or meeting Jax Quintero, an abrasive firefighter whose bulky uniform couldn't hide a jawline chiseled from stone and intense eyes that burned him with scorn. Or was that the flames surrounding them?

Maybe Scottie should have gone to Hawaii on vacation instead.

Plants and animals were my thing. The intricacies of nature intrigued me and yet there was an elegant simplicity that I loved.

6888 Ardra. Heavy gravity planet. Human-compatible atmosphere. Generally temperate climate; I’d aimed for the southern continent which had milder weather and a good mix of terrain.

“Damn Sonez anyway.” He’d tried to keep me on his ship instead of letting me explore the planet with a team after the probe returned. Well I’d stopped his plotting before he could ruin my life.

And I’d show everyone just what Essell Deray could do.

Denial is a lonely path. Lack of honesty is divisive. And self-loathing is a destructive force that's difficult to overcome. 'Dissonance' is a tale that centers around Ben Mansfield and Travis Cooper: two characters from very different backgrounds who, after a chance meeting one night, must learn to face the discordant elements that have fractured their lives and prevented them from finding love and acceptance - especially within themselves.

Food is a central part of the holidays. For Advent this year, we present twenty-four stories featuring our favorite recipes. Bon appetit!

A collection of my responses to Prompts.