Books published by Bold Strokes Books

There''s a time for justice. Then there''s a time for action. And Jonathan Cooper knows exactly what time it is. It is time to lie. To his parents, who think he''s on a ski trip with Pete Mitchell when he''s really gone to Madison to search for one person willing to testify for his boyfriend, Ian McGuire, who is facing the charge of assault and battery. To Ian''s parents, who have erased him from their lives. Even to himself. Because admitting his feelings for Mason Kellerman isn''t an option. It is also time to face the truth. That Jonathan may have lied for nothing. That he may be powerless to save Ian from a guilty verdict. That whether he likes it or not, it is time for taking the stand.

Georgina, Princess of Wales, has always known her destiny, but she never expected duty to call so soon. When her father dies suddenly, she is called back from her Royal Navy post to assume the crown. While the people acclaim their new Queen, Great Britain''s first openly gay monarch, all George feels is the isolation of her station.Beatrice Elliot''s staunch anti-monarchist views have always been a point of gentle contention with her working class, royalty-loving parents. When Bea-director of a hospice charity-must spend six months working with Queen Georgina, her charity''s new patron, sparks fly and passion blooms. But is love enough to bridge the gap between Bethnal Green and Buckingham Palace?

Life is best measured by the moments that take our breath away.An artist and a poet burn bright and hot after a chance meeting in a moonlight horseback ride on the beach. An empty house is still filled with memories of lust and love. Tearing open a birthday gift takes the wrapper off a woman''s deepest fantasy. A breath-stealing ride through a star-studded night sky on a dragon horse ignites a fire never before experienced. A woman is reminded that her long-time partner still sees her through a lover''s eyes. Mount up for a ride through a novella of passion and ten short stories of buried desire, sizzling encounters, and romantic surprises.

Cole rescues Ava, a pilot from the Cloud City of Easton who crash-lands near her farm, setting in motion events that will alter the course of her life. It''s a hundred years after peak oil and the rich have risen above the Earth, inhabiting great Cloud Cities, while those left behind live a rural existence, off the grid. After suffering a vicious attack, Cole is transported to the Cloud City of Easton for emergency surgery. While recuperating and adrift in the unfamiliar social landscape of Easton, Cole begins a journey of discovery. When she meets Audrey, a beautiful doctor, the attraction they share is penetrating and possibly life altering. Explosions, staged by a ruthless underground movement, nearly bring Easton to the brink of collapse. The crisis that rocks the city forces Cole and Audrey to weigh what truly holds meaning and what each is willing to sacrifice for love.

Is it really ever too late to be happy? That''s what young attorney Alex Harris finds herself asking while married to her bartender wife, Beth. For several years, Alex has resigned herself to a mediocre relationship, feeling doomed by the marriage vows she''s already taken. But everything changes when she walks into a small café one afternoon and meets Michelle Masters. As their friendship flourishes, Alex''s marriage crumbles around her, and she''s forced to question the only life she''s ever known. Will those vows be enough to keep her, no matter the consequences? Or will she finally take a chance at happily ever after?

Bouncing has always been a way of life for Alex Dalton. The former basketball star and new coach likes to keep life simple, bouncing from woman to woman, with no responsibilities and no complications. Then a summer fling opens her eyes to other possibilities, and now Alex wonders if a relationship might be what she really needs. There is an instant attraction to her new assistant coach, Britain Dodge, but for some reason, Brit wants nothing to do with Alex. Then a spontaneous kiss under the stars forces them to admit their feelings and work on their issues. Their love grows, but so do the outside pressures that influence them, and they have to decide if they should forfeit their love or play until the final buzzer.

Val Montague travels back to her childhood home of Hemlock, Oregon, to handle the estate of her dead mother. All she wants to do is follow her mother''s wishes, liquidate the assets, and leave town. Cam Nelson, a high school dropout and town outcast, has struggled to establish a small business and leave behind her "good-for-nothing" reputation. When they meet, Val''s rather unpleasant trip becomes much more bearable. Soon, however, peculiar and dangerous events begin to plague her when she begins to suspect her mother didn''t die the way everyone said she did. And soon Val realizes that in this eccentric, woodsy beach town, a chance for romance just might lead to death.

How much courage does it take to be yourself? In a decade when good girls conform to strict family and social expectations, Beatrice Darby is about to find out. After a harmless admiration for her older boss, sophisticated Abby Gill, blossoms into a full-blown crush, Beatrice is startled to discover why she''s never felt like other girls. She soon learns the necessity of "passing," the shame of secret "sin," and the pressure to meet family expectations, all while suffering the angst of unrequited love and the disastrous end to her friendship with college roommate and future sister-in-law, Gwen Ridgeway. When Abby reappears years later, can Beatrice go against all she''s ever known to be happy? Will she have to choose between honesty and her family?

Fated love? A destiny in the stars? Together for all eternity? It doesn''t work like that. At least not without a lot of blood, sweat, and tears behind the scenes where the Soul Selector spins her magical trickery. It is her job is to identify soul mates as they enter this world and somehow get them to fall in love. Aphrodite and all the other gods need this purest love of all. They feed on it. But soul mates are notoriously difficult to work with, and the Soul Selector has just found a particularly stupid pair.

After surviving a devastating car crash, Bryce Donovan is plagued by crippling nightmares that leave her terrified to close her eyes. She still bears the scars from that night, both emotionally and physically. Her job at Tweedy Contractors brings the diversion she is desperate for, and the new apprentice painter is a welcome distraction. As a gifted artist, Scarlet Tweedy creates beauty in every medium she employs. But she''s always been expected to take over her father''s business. The problem is she doesn''t want to follow in his footsteps while she has dreams of her own to pursue. But can she choose her own path over what has always been expected of her?

Peyton Davis is part rancher, part federal prosecutor, and all Texan. Strong and steady, she''s known for keeping her cool in every situation, but when she meets the beautiful and accomplished heiress to the Gantry oil fortune, she falls fast and hard. When she learns her new assignment is to investigate the Gantry family''s business, her entire belief system will be tested.Lily Gantry leads a privileged and protected life and she has no idea it''s all about to blow up in her face. What she does know is that the striking rancher she met at the Cattle Baron''s Ball has the potential to steal her heart. Will she feel the same way when she finds out Peyton Davis''s investigation threatens not only her family''s fortune, but the very foundation of her identity?

Sometimes the one you want is the one you least suspect...Accountant Samantha Ennis craves order and structure. As the bookkeeper at the boutique advertising agency she owns with her three best friends, it''s her job to apply logic to the chaos. When one of those best friends, laid back Hunter Blair, moves in to share her loft apartment, Sam''s carefully organized world is thrown wildly askew. Hunter Blair''s been the coolest one in the room since elementary school. Until recently, her biggest worry in the world was which of the girls in her cell phone to call on a Saturday night. But it''s not long before Samantha sparks a fire in Hunter that has her questioning her old habits and longing for new ones. Isn''t it a bad idea to fall for one of your best friends? Samantha and Hunter are about to find out.

Jake Myers stopped living the day she cheated death. A traumatic incident in her past has convinced her to stop planning for the future and focus on the present. Working as a lobster boat captain in Portland, Maine, keeps Jake''s mind occupied, but her psyche remains scarred. Can an inexperienced greenhorn help her find the healing she so desperately needs?Shy Silva is content to hang out with her friends on the gritty streets of South Boston. Then her family steps in. When Shy''s uncle sends her to Portland to escape her friends'' influence, will his actions provide her the distance she needs to break not only her friends'' hold on her but her family''s restrictive rules as well?

"Mob boss Helen Byrne loves the new breed of women in the Roaring Twenties. She loves them every chance she gets. But when she finds herself attracted to bad girl Maria Falco, things change. Maria's boyfriend is Franco Moretti, Al Capone's right hand man. Helen has vowed to protect the men in her gang, but her need for Maria is powerful. Is the imminent gang war worth it to her and her men? Can she convince Maria to leave the powerful Moretti for her? And if she does, how will she survive being the target of the most powerful mob in town? Maria and Helen burn hot, but so does Moretti's firepower. Helen is determined to make Maria hers and hers alone. But at what cost?"--Back cover.

Dirty little secrets can lead to public scandals and unexpected love affairs...Malcolm Campbell is the director of a south Los Angeles organization focused on mentoring gay youth, and his nineteen-year-old nephew, Blake, is being sent to stay with him for the summer. Malcolm has always been a community and family role model everyone looks up to. But he also has a secret he never knew he had... until it pops up on the Internet. Across town, in the closed and closeted world of Black Hollywood celebrity, pro-basketball player Tyrell Kincaid and R&B singer Tommie Jordan are public heroes in a very private relationship. After a series of indiscretions and slipups, the relationship becomes fodder for speculation and outing by the paparazzi and nationally-known gossip reporter Livonia Birmingham.Despite living in two different worlds in L.A., Malcolm, Blake, Tommie, and Tyrell find themselves in the same arena, where they'll have to risk it all to protect their hearts and their destiny.