Books published by Ylva Verlag E.Kfr.

Beth Chambers' life is no fairytale, even if she feels like a damsel in distress. After four years in a destructive relationship, Beth has decided enough is enough and leaves her girlfriend, taking with her only her dog Dudley, her broken spirit, and a shattered view of life. At her lowest point, she meets Amy Fletcher, a woman who has it all-and whom she believes would never want more than friendship. But what Beth fails to realise is that there are definitely two sides to every story. Could Amy Fletcher be Beth's Princess Charming? Could her story end with a happily ever after?

1974. The Osmonds, space hoppers and climbing trees, all grounded in the ultimate belief that life was perfect. Childhood filled with tomorrows and a friendship built to endure anything. Or was it? Lou Turner loves Ashley Richards. Always has and always will. This is Lou's story...a story spanning thirty years...from the innocence of youth to the bitterness of adulthood. But can Lou use her beginnings to shape her future? Only one woman can answer that question. Childhood and friendship...love and belief...hope that yesterdays can be what futures are made of. And Lou's future began the day her world fell from a tree.

After breaking off her relationship with a female lothario, Jess Taylor decides she doesn't want to expose herself to another cheating partner. Staying at home, alone, suits her just fine. Her idea of a good night is an early one-preferably with a good book. Well, until her best friend, Sophie Harrison, decides it's time Jess rejoined the human race. Trying to pull Jess from her self-imposed prison, Sophie signs them both up for a Still Life art class at the local college. Sophie knows the beautiful art teacher, Diana Sullivan, could be the woman her best friend needs to move on with her life. But, in reality, could art bring these two women together? Could it be strong enough to make a masterpiece in just twelve sessions? And, more importantly, can Jess overcome her fear of being used once again? Only time will tell.

Two women from different worlds. Linda, a successful psychologist, uses her work to distance herself from her own loneliness. Christina works for a sex hotline to make ends meet. Their worlds collide when Linda calls Christina's sex line. Christina quickly realizes Linda is not her usual customer. Instead of wanting phone sex, Linda makes an unexpected proposition. Does Christina dare accept the offer that will change both their lives?

Seven lesbian paranormal short stories.Midnight Messages (Lois Cloarec Hart)Luce Sheppard can't ignore it any longer. She has to make a decision and time grows short. But refusing to make a decision is a decision, and she retires to bed, prepared to accept the results of her non-decision. That night an unexpected midnight visitor lands on her doorstep. Keira Keller, a distraught teenager, has lost her way home after a disastrous party. Luce steps in to help and in doing so receives answers to questions she didn't know she'd asked.Batteries Not Included (L.T. Smith)Alex Stevens is a workaholic and a loner. Nothing and nobody can get past the cool exterior and solitary walls she has painstakingly created.Until one night in October. One night that makes her step back and reassess what it means to be alive.Lost and Found (Emma Weimann)Laura Sullivan flees to her grandparents' old cottage to escape the haunting memories of finding her brother in bed with her girlfriend. But even in rural Ireland, tranquility is easier to find than peace--especially when she meets an otherworldly being that leaves her a reminder she didn't count on.Chrysalis (Joan Arling)Tara is a nice little girl. Her friends, on the other hand, are... peculiar... A breeze of a story. Or the other way 'round.Sisters of the Moon (Diane Marina)The week before Halloween, Nicole joins her friends on a local ghost tour. In addition to visiting spooky sights and haunted grounds, she meets an enticing woman who makes her spine tingle. Who is the mysterious stranger? And how will the encounter end?Wolf Moon (Erzabet Bishop)Seeking diversion from her job as a bookstore manager, Lindsay goes to a Halloween party at a convention center-and finds much more than she bargained for.Werewolf Detective Taggert responds to a bomb threat at the convention center. An explosive situation, especially when raw chemistry hits them full force.Can Lindsay open her heart and accept the fierce love of a red-hot shifter, or will they go their separate ways?Love Bites (R.G. Emanuelle)New Orleans. Vampires. Jodi goes to the former and finds the latter. She feels a mysterious pull that leads her to The Big Easy and to freedom, passion, and the startling revelation of what having too many daiquiris can make her do.

Six short stories that give us glimpses into the lives of Luke, Nora, and the other characters from Backwards to Oregon. ● The Blue Hour: When her mother dies, twelve-year-old Lucinda Hamilton decides to start a new life-as a boy. ● Grasping at Straws: No one knows that Tess Swenson, madam of a brothel, also owns a livery stable and a number of other businesses. On one of her secret inspections, she makes a surprising discovery. ● A Rooster's Job: The Hamiltons hoped to build a home in the idyllic Willamette Valley with mild winters, but now they're snowed in and their rooster isn't doing such a great job either. ● The Art of Pretending: Tess finds out that someone is stealing her money. She suspects Frankie, a woman who reminds her of Luke. But nothing is as it seems. ● The Christmas Oak: Luke sets out to bring home a Christmas tree-but she finds something else. ● Swept Away: The greatest flood in the history of Oregon sweeps away houses, barns, and animals in the Willamette Valley. At the same time, fourteen-year-old Amy is swept away by her feelings for her best friend.

Aspiring actress Amanda Clark and photographer Michelle Osinski are two women burned by love and not looking to test the fire again. And even if they were, it certainly wouldn't be with each other. Amanda has never been attracted to a butch woman before, and Michelle personifies the term butch. Having just landed a role on a hot new TV show, she's determined to focus on her career and doesn't need any complications in her life. After a turbulent breakup with her starlet ex, Michelle swore she would never get involved with an actress again. Another high-maintenance woman is the last thing she wants, and her first encounter with Amanda certainly makes her appear the type. But after a date that is not a date and some meddling from Amanda's grandmother, they both begin to wonder if it's not time for a departure from their usual dating scripts.

Workaholic Detective Aiden Carlisle isn't looking for love-and certainly not at the law enforcement seminar she reluctantly agreed to attend. But the first lecturer is not at all what she expected. Psychologist Dawn Kinsley has just found her place in life. After a failed relationship with a police officer, she has sworn never to get involved with another cop again, but she feels a connection to Aiden from the very first moment. Can Aiden keep from crossing the line when a brutal crime threatens to keep them apart before they've even gotten together?

A triangle with a twist, Coming Home is the story of three good people caught up in an impossible situation. Rob, a charismatic ex-fighter pilot severely disabled with MS, has been steadfastly cared for by his wife, Jan, for many years. Quite by accident one day, Terry, a young writer/postal carrier, enters their lives and turns it upside down. Injecting joy and turbulence into their quiet existence, Terry draws Rob and Jan into her lively circle of family and friends until the growing attachment between the two women begins to strain the bonds of love and loyalty, to Rob and each other.

A visitor from her past jolts Laura Stewart into memories-some funny, some heart-wrenching. Thirteen years ago, Laura buried those memories so deeply she never believed they would resurface. Still, the pain of first love mars Laura's present life and might even destroy her chance of happiness with the beautiful, yet seemingly unobtainable Emma Jenkins. Can Laura let go of the past, or will she make the same mistakes all over again? Hearts and Flowers Border is a simple tale of the uncertainty of youth and the first flush of love-love that may have a chance after all.

Like her mother before her, Jules Calhoon couldn't wait to escape her small Ohio town. Unlike her mother, though, Jules couldn't disappear forever. When she's called back for her grandfather's funeral, the visit unleashes a flood of memories and starts her on a lonely-and familiar-path. Her partner, Kelli, feels Jules slipping away but can't figure out how to pull her back. In desperation, she turns to Jules's oldest friend-and her ex-Donna. The problem is, Donna never could figure out why her relationship with Jules ended so long ago, and she never stopped loving Jules. When a lonely, confused teenager reaches out to Jules for help, the past and present are set on a collision course, igniting a chain of events that will leave none of them unscathed.

Fervent Charity continues the story of the friendship of five women who have nothing in common but the ground they walk on and the vicissitudes of post-frontier prairie life. Lena, a young mother living on the edge of heartbreak. Her sister-in-law, Mary, more beautiful than loved. Alvinia, midwife to the county and mother of ten. Gustie and Jordis, trying to make a home together but finding their place on either the reservation or in Charity precarious. The women come together in the face of natural hardships-childbirth, disastrous weather, and disease-and the unnatural malevolence of people who mean them harm. In the end, they find themselves bound by a secret none of them could have predicted.

Trust, respect, and love. Three little words-that's all. But these words are powerful, and if we ignore any one of them, then three other little words take their place: jealousy, insecurity, and heartbreak. Schoolteacher Gemma Hughes is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Disorganised and clumsy, she soon finds herself in the capable hands of the beautiful Dr Maria Moran. Everything goes wonderfully until Gemma starts doubting Maria's intentions and begins listening to the wrong people. But has Maria something to hide, or is it a case of swapping trust for insecurity, respect for jealousy and finishing with a world of heartbreak and deceit? Can Gemma stop her actions before it's too late? Or will she ruin the best thing to happen in her life? Given her track record, anything is possible...

In 1899, two women from very different backgrounds are about to embark on a journey together - one that will take them from the Old World to the New, from the 19th century into the 20th, and from the comfort and familiarity of England to the rigours of Western Canada, where challenges await at every turn. The journey begins simply for Kicker Stuart when she leaves her home village to take employment as hostler and farrier at Grindleshire Academy for Young Ladies. But when Kicker falls in love with a teacher, Madelyn Bristow, it radically alters the course of her tranquil life. Together, the lovers flee the brutality of Madelyn's father and the prejudices of upper crust England in search of freedom to live, and love, as they choose. A journey as much of the heart and soul as of the body, it will find the lovers struggling against the expectations of gender, the oppression of class, and even, at times, each other. What they find at the end of their journey is not a new Eden, but a land of hope and opportunity that offers them the chance to live out their most cherished dream - a life together.

Ellie Anderson has given up on love. Her philosophy is "Why let someone in when all they do is leave?" So instead, she fills her life with work and dodges her sister's matchmaking. Then she meets Charlie-a gorgeous, brown-eyed Border Terrier. Charlie is in need of love and a home, prompting Ellie to open the doors to feeling once again. However, she isn't the only one who is falling for the pup's charms. Emily Carson is her rival for Charlie's affection, thus starting what can only be classed as a working relationship. By allowing herself to love Charlie, can Ellie open her heart to anyone else?

Emotional wounds aren't always apparent, and those that haunt Marika and Rhiannon are deep and lasting. On the surface, Marika appears to be a wealthy, successful lawyer, while Rhiannon is a reclusive, maladjusted loner. But Marika, in her own way, is as damaged as the younger Rhiannon. When circumstances throw them together one summer, they begin to reach out, each finding unexpected strengths in the other. However, even as inner demons are gradually vanquished and old hurts begin to heal, evil in human form reappears. The cruelly enigmatic Cass has used and controlled Marika in the past, and she aims to do so again. Can Marika find it within herself to break free? Can she save her young friend from Cass' malevolent web? With the support of remarkable friends, the pair fights to break free-of their crippling pasts and the woman who will own them, or kill them.

Is there life after loss? Lee Glenn, co-owner of a private security company, didn't think so. Crushed by grief after the death of her wife, she uncharacteristically retreats from life. But love doesn't give up easily. After her friends and family stage a dramatic intervention, Lee rejoins the world of the living, resolved to regain some sense of normalcy but only half-believing that it's possible. Her old friend and business partner convinces her to take on what appears on the surface to be a minor personal protection detail. The assignment takes her far from home, from the darkness of her loss to the dawning of a life reborn. Along the way, Lee encounters people unlike any she's ever met before: Wrong-Way Wally, a small-town oracle shunned by the locals for his off-putting speech and mannerisms; and Wally's best friend, Gaëlle, a woman who not only translates the oracle's uncanny predictions, but who also appears to have a deep personal connection to life beyond life. Lee is shocked to find herself fascinated by Gaëlle, despite dismissing the woman's exotic beliefs as "hooey." But opening yourself to love also means opening yourself to the possibility of pain. Will Lee have the courage to follow that path, a path that once led to the greatest agony she'd ever experienced? Or will she run back to the cold comfort of a safer solitary life?

It's an open secret that the newest justice on the Supreme Court is a lesbian. So when the Court decides to hear a case about gay marriage, Justice Victoria Willoughby must navigate the press, sway at least one of her conservative colleagues, and confront her own fraught feelings about coming out. ­­Just when she decides she's up to the challenge,­­ she learns that the very brilliant, very out Genevieve Fornier will be lead counsel on the case.Genevieve isn't sure which is causing her more sleepless nights: the prospect of losing the case, or the thought of who will be sitting on the bench when she argues it.