Dear lesfic fan,

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and I Heart Lesfic has a treat for you. Miranda MacLeod, Emma Radley, Amanda Radley, Clare Lydon, Harper Bliss, and I have teamed up for a Valentine’s Day sale. Click on this page to find the goodies on discount.

Below, you’ll find this week’s new ebook and audio releases, sales, and announcements.

Authors: Want to see your new releases in the newsletter? Click here for details. Or if you’re having a sale, please email me and let me know: tbmarkinson@gmail.com. Include “Sale for IHL Newsletter” in the subject line.

Anyone with lesfic news, give me a shout at tbmarkinson@gmail.com.

Happy reading and listening,

TB

ROMANCE

CHECKING THE RIGHT BOX
San Franciso: Book 1

by Nicole Pyland
Available in Kindle Unlimited

Emma Colton left her life behind when she moved from Chicago to San Francisco. She has a new job at the Health Department, a tiny apartment, and has dealt with being unlucky in love for most of her adult life. She’s hoping a new city and a fresh outlook will help her find the woman she’s been waiting for.

Keira Worthy has had a rough few years. She lost her best friend and business partner almost immediately after starting their dream event planning company. She’s barely hanging on financially and takes a job for the Health Department in hopes of landing more customers if it goes well. When she meets her liaison, Emma, under not the best circumstances – sparks fly. And not the good kind of sparks.

When they bump into one another at a lesbian singles night, they have to decide if they want to take the chance on something that could possibly be forever.

SECOND CHANCES

by Layce Gardner & Saxon Bennett
Available in Kindle Unlimited

Kathleen Patterson’s life came to an abrupt halt five years ago when her wife was killed in a plane crash. Since her wife’s death, she hasn’t left the house and lives the life of a recluse. Her groceries are delivered, she cuts her own hair, and all her shopping is done online. The only person she talks to is her mother.

Janet Miller has had more than her fair share of bad relationships. Unable to put her heart in the line of fire anymore, she moves in with her aging mother and swears off love. Sad and lonely, she eats dinner in front of the TV, and buries herself in her work.

Both women have given up on love. There is nothing that can change their minds.

Until…One day a robot appears on Kathleen’s doorstep. Robbie the robot has been programmed to be a home health aide for the reclusive Kathleen. Janet is the technician who is called to Kathleen’s house each time Robbie blows a circuit. What neither woman knows is that Robbie has a secret mission—to give them both a second chance at love.

LOVE BETRAYED

by Ellie Spark
Available in Kindle Unlimited

Betrayal comes in many forms.

Tattoo artist, Robyn Anderson, is left reeling when a break-in at her studio sees valuable artwork stolen just days before her much-anticipated gallery exhibition. Her studio’s trashed and her nerves are in tatters.

Following a brutal hold-up, security guard, Casey Nankervis is suffering from PTSD. Relegated to basic duties, she’s also battling intense boredom. However, when assigned to security detail at a tattoo studio, desire replaces her monotony.

Although sparks ignite between the two women, Robyn is left confused and guilt-ridden. Nina, her girlfriend of four months, does not deserve disloyalty. Casey is also conflicted: something doesn’t add up about Nina, but is she just jealous?

Betrayal is taken to a whole new level in this page-turner from Ellie Spark.

LADY PILOT

by Nicolette Dane
Available in Kindle Unlimited

Captain Elaine Cole is an accomplished and popular commercial airline pilot. She’s spent her entire career bouncing from one airport to the next, and one lover to the next as well. Being a pilot has made it hard for Lanie to settle down and find love, and now that she’s in her forties it’s really starting to wear on her.

When Carrie Haden is assigned as a flight attendant on her route, Lanie feels herself falling for the beautiful younger woman. But Carrie is different than the flight attendants Lanie has been with in the past. There’s something else there—a brighter spark, a deeper affection—and Lanie can’t help but feel that this is her opportunity to finally find the love she seeks.

Building trust and committing to a relationship is difficult for a pilot like Lanie. Could Carrie be the one who finally inspires Lanie to change her ways?

NEVER JUST FRIENDS

by Lily Craig
Available in Kindle Unlimited

Falling for your best friend is hard.

Georgiana—Georgie to everyone outside her family—figured out long ago that being in love with your straight best friend sucks. Turns out it’s even worse when that friend, Madelyn, tells you she’s not so straight after all. After it becomes clear to Georgie that she needs to get over Madelyn, Georgie moves cities and starts a new job.

To grad student Madelyn, though, the sudden rift between the friends prompts painful introspection. A year later, she realizes her feelings for Georgie are romantic after all. Madelyn plans to use their annual winter cabin getaway to confess her love.

But Canadian winters are unpredictable. When Madelyn and Georgie are snowed into their cabin in the woods, the two are forced into difficult conversations that confront deeply felt emotions about the past, present, and future. Can the friends find common ground after all they’ve been through?

An intimate, snowed-in friends-to-lovers romance, Never Just Friends is a standalone story.

A CARD FOR VALENTINE’S

by Emily Engberts

A brand new teacher at the local primary school, a woman taking care of her mum’s book store, two hearts who believe that love and relationships aren’t for them.

Kara moves to her favourite island following the job offer of a lifetime, become a teacher at the only primary school the island has. It’s like a dream come true, live on the island, go on long walks with her dog Tys and teach, all in one neat package.

But when she spots the beautiful woman at the local book store, things might get a bit more complicated.

Taking care of her mum’s store for a few months is exactly what Lin needs. A couple of months away from her old life and to become a face in the crowd at one of the island’s stores. Speaking fluently in three languages may not be her best skill, but keeping track of inventory and doing stock is definitely right up her street.

Her first week at the store has almost come to an uneventful ending, until a stunning woman walks into the store and smiles her way.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and when Kara comes in for crafting supplies to make cards with her class, Lin makes a bold offer. How hard can it be to spend an afternoon making cards with a group of kids when she has no experience with teaching or making cards? There’s no way Kara will find out, right?

EASTSIDE / WESTSIDE / LOVE

by Eliza Andrews
Available in Kindle Unlimited

From the outside, Kasey James had the perfect life. She had a rich husband, two perfect kids, and a big house in Eastside with a pool in the backyard. None of her friends understand why she left her husband and went back to a stressful job teaching high school. She knows they’ll understand even less when she tells them she’s started dating a woman from Westside.

*If* she tells them, that is. After all, Kasey has her kids to think of, not to mention the upcoming school board election. What if her neighbors withdraw their support when they find out she’s seeing a woman?

Drea Robbins has a good life, too. She owns her own home and operates her own business, making enough money doing what she loves that she can support her mom, sister, and niece. She wishes she had a “special someone” in her life, but in the grand scheme of things, being single isn’t that big of a deal.

Kasey James, a white woman living in Eastside, is the absolute last person Drea expects to fall for. Kasey’s recently divorced from a man, she’s got two kids, she lives in the middle of rich suburbia — to say her lifestyle is different from Drea’s would be the understatement of the year. But it’s like Drea’s mom says — we can’t control whom we fall for, and whether Drea likes it or not, she’s falling for Kasey. Hard.

Opposites attract… right?

But when a real estate development controversy puts Drea and Kasey on opposite sides of a battle line, will their new love prove strong enough to survive? Or is it just unrealistic for two women with so many differences to find a common ground they can hold against all the world’s pressures?

Eastside / Westside / Love is a story about race, class, gentrification, and inequality. But more than that, it’s a story about hope, and about finding out that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart.

TIME FOR TERRI
Smoky Mountain Romance: Book 1

by Roslyn Bane

Terri Greene is a professional photographer who travels the world but calls the small town of Bryson City, NC home. She has made a nice life for herself and kept her painful past deeply buried. She has a reputation for being friendly but aloof. She hammered her heart shut years ago and has long since given up hope for a loving relationship.

Sheila McDevitt, a new arrival to town, has opened a veterinary practice and is determined to succeed in this close-knit community. Viewed as an outsider, she struggles to grow her practice. Unfinished business from her past causes difficulties with her current plans.

When these two women’s lives intersect the changes are unforeseeable. As trust grows and inner demons are tamed, can they see past their own busy professional lives and find success in the part of life that matters most?

CUPID’S BOW

by Karen F. Williams

Snow falls hard outside the bar of a Boston hotel. Kay Westscott, a New York novelist and English teacher, is in town attending a writers’ workshop. Math professor Ann Ward is trying and failing to muster enthusiasm for a round of lesbian speed dating. When Kay spots Ann at the bar, she’s instantly attracted, and while it seems a romance writer might easily engage a single professor looking for love, Kay’s humorous flirtations do more to irritate than impress. Ann finds Kay’s pickup lines way out of line, and Kay tries to redeem herself by helping Ann rehearse for speed dating, all the while wishing it was more than just practice.

The chemistry is undeniable, but Kay and Ann part ways, only to realize they have a lesson in love coming—if they can just find each other again.

FEBRUARY KISSES
A Year in Paradise: Book 2

by Hildred Billings
Available in Kindle Unlimited

In Paradise Valley, Heaven’s Cafe is the epicenter of all social interactions. Too bad Heaven is too busy to actually talk to cute girls. And too bad one of her best customers, Salama, is too shy to approach her.

Salama wants to be more like the loud and confident Heaven. Heaven wants someone who will bring her back down to Earth.

When are they finally going to lock eyes from across the cafe?  

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

SHUT UP AND KISS ME

by Julie Cannon

Lowe Carter and Faith Williams could not be more different. Lowe comes from money, very old money. Faith scrapes by, living paycheck to paycheck, sending what little she has left to her mother and little sister. Lowe is just starting her obligatory two-week visit with her parents when she collides, literally and figuratively, with the beautiful Faith. What better way to spend two weeks of hell than in the company of a hot, sexy woman? The only problem is that employees like Faith are forbidden to fraternize with residents and their guests. Join Lowe and Faith as they sail on The Escape, the world’s largest private residence on the water.

LISTEN

by Kris Bryant

Former child music prodigy Lily Croft spends most days in her home office crunching numbers and analyzing data as an actuary. Once she filled concert halls across the world, until the pressure got to be too much and forced her retreat. When her boss hands her a temporary assignment, Lily has to leave the safety of working from home to work with people at an office. She keeps her head down and stays focused, but one night on her way to the train station, she hears music wafting from The Leading Note and the life and feelings she suppressed for over a decade bubble up to the surface.

Lily is inexplicably drawn to Hope D’Marco, Leading Note’s gorgeous and brilliant founder. But falling for Hope and re-exploring her passion for music force Lily to face her past. Will she go back into hiding, or have the courage to confront the consequences of her past and present colliding?

PERFECT PARTNERS

by Maggie Cummings

Sara Wright knows better than to fall for a cop.

For Sara, an elite police dog trainer for the federal government, attractive women in uniform are an occupational hazard. But she gave her heart to a coworker once before and the battle scars from that failed relationship are still fresh. She dodges every chance at romance with the officers she trains, focusing her energy on turning out the finest handler-canine teams in the country. But when annoyingly perky, unfairly sexy Isabel Marquez arrives at Homeland Security’s Northeast Regional Training facility brimming with excitement and a surprising desire to succeed, Sara’s good intentions start to falter. She can’t help being drawn to Isabel’s enthusiasm, and, okay, her long dark hair and brilliant smile don’t hurt either. Keeping their contact limited to friendship is harder than she thought. When it comes to enforcing her own rules of the heart, Sara might need to break a few for a chance at forever.

A CHAPTER ON LOVE

Laney Webber

Jannika Peterson arrived in Grangeton, New Hampshire, with a broken heart and a new job managing the local bookstore. She has a gift for pairing readers with the perfect books, but her matchmaking skills don’t extend to her love life. Love doesn’t stand a chance against her well-protected heart.

Eighteen years ago, Lee Thompson was Jannika’s summer camp counselor, and Lee has never forgotten the beautiful girl with the unusual name. Still healing from her wife’s sudden death, Lee hopes her new job in a new town will help her to begin a new chapter.

When Jannika and Lee reunite, their instant connection feels like a gift, but neither is ready for a second chance at love. Unable to deny their attraction, will they finally get on the same page when it comes to love?

WITHOUT PRETENSE

by TJ Thomas

The last thing world class violinist Ava Wellington wants is some nosy writer publishing her biography. Unfortunately, her manager is insistent this is the best way to capitalize on her fame. Ava is terrified someone might discover the secret she’s kept for nearly twenty years, one that could not only destroy her career, but ruin the lives of those she loves most.

Journalist Bianca Vega has only just recovered from the loss of her wife and isn’t prepared to see Ava again, not after the deep connection she felt almost two years ago. When Bianca is hired to write Ava’s biography, they’re thrust together on a whirlwind music tour and neither can ignore the desire that’s simmered between them since that first chance meeting. Will Ava be able to trust Bianca with her darkest secret or will hiding her past destroy their chance at forever?

BIKER ROMANCE

OUTLAW GIRLS

by Miss Merikan
Available in Kindle Unlimited

Mona. Mafia princess. Rebellious Italian beauty. Runaway bride.
Rain. Motorcycle club president’s daughter. Androgynous biker goddess.  

When Mona runs away from her own wedding, set on making her own path in the world, she might just find out getting tied down isn’t all that bad if it’s with a badass biker chick of her dreams. 

 Warning:

Adult content. Contains violence, distressing scenes, offensive language, and morally ambiguous protagonists.

EROTICA

BLESSED BENEDICTION

by Radclyffe

A daring femme proves to her friends that getting down on her knees doesn’t mean she isn’t in control. And her horny lover couldn’t be more happy about the demonstration. An erotic exhibition of just how to do it.

Previously published in Tasting Him, ed. Rachel Kramer Bussel (Cleis Press, 2008); republished in Radical Encounters (Bold Strokes Books, 2009).

EROTIC ROMANCE / SUSPENSE

THREE TO TANGO

by Raven J. Spencer
Available in Kindle Unlimited

New from Raven J. Spencer – Murder, intrigue and sensual romance:

Detective Colby Jackson has the perfect life: A career she is passionate about, and a wife who loves her and understands her better than anyone. Colby’s perception is shattered when Adrianne makes a confession. She has met and fallen in love with another woman, Macy, insisting that she still loves Colby and wants to be with her.

Colby’s reaction is shock. Confusion and curiosity follow. Can you be in love with two people at the same time? How would this work in their busy everyday lives?

The three women will have to learn to navigate a world they didn’t even know existed, and that comes with many surprises.

PARANORMAL ROMANCE

DRAWING DOWN THE MIST

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

Maria Romanova watched as her family was slaughtered while she was spared…sort of. Today she is Sasha Rudin and very few know her true identity. She has one mission: to find and put an end to the alliance of monsters that turned her into a vampire. A chance encounter with Dee Arkin, a far too curious novelist, leads to complications Sasha could never have imagined. Danger, peril, and most surprising of all, love. Together they fight the forces of darkness that want to rule the world, and pray they succeed before those very forces destroy their chances of a future together.

SPENCER’S COVE

by Missouri Vaun

Successful mystery author Foster Owen hasn’t finished a manuscript in three years and her writer’s block shows no signs of retreating. When the bills start piling up, an unexpected offer to ghost write a memoir for an heiress on the West Coast seems like too good an opportunity to ignore.

Painfully shy Abigail Spencer has just returned from studying abroad. The sprawling estate she inherited from her parents includes a crumbling mansion rumored to be haunted and a historic lighthouse nestled along the remote northern Pacific coast.

When the executor of the Spencer estate hires Foster to write the history of the family, Foster and Abby are drawn together as they peel back layers of history and uncover a story of lives adrift, secrets long hidden, and ancient ties to witchcraft. Can truths from the past help love blossom in the present?

MYSTERY / ROMANCE

SECRET THINGS

by C.M. Blackwood
Available in Kindle Unlimited

This is a mystery double-pack containing two full-length novels.

1) WHO KILLED EDIE MONTGOMERY?

In the year 1933, an alcoholic, cynical 32-year-old named Mary Meade inherits a manor. Her great-uncle just passed away, so his house, and all his money, goes to her. When she arrives at the house, though, she finds much more than she bargained for: including strange servants, a murder mystery, and – oh, did we forget to mention? – GHOSTS.

Despite her cold demeanor, Mary is romantically drawn to a spirit named Jessica Price, who was killed in 1879 by a madman named John Drum. Mary and Jessica fall in love, but of course, the story is much more complicated than that.

Shortly after the death of Mary’s great-uncle, a young woman named Edie Montgomery was found gutted and beheaded on his property. Now her spirit is trapped inside the manor.

John Drum killed Jessica Price. But who killed Edie Montgomery?

2) WHO MURDERED DR. DAMIEN?

Katie Throckmorton is a twenty-eight-year-old alcoholic pill-popping writer from Boston. At the hind-end of a quarter-life crisis, things get even worse when her half-sister falls down a staircase and kills herself. Katie is blamed for her death, and she ends up at Greystone Asylum.

Soon after Katie arrives at Greystone, however, people start getting murdered. By a mysterious figure in a black hood. Strange to say, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The warden is performing shady experiments; the doctors are sleeping with the patients; and the doctors are sleeping with each other. Katie herself is attracted to a female psychiatrist named Cora Halstead, and they begin a torrid affair that seems like it can’t possibly have a happy ending.

What true secrets is this old hospital hiding? How many people will be killed by the black hooded figure? More importantly – who’s hiding under the hood?

INTRIGUE & THRILLER / ROMANCE

UNEXPECTED LIGHTNING
Lightning Series: Book 3

by Cass Sellars

For Sydney Hyatt and Parker Duncan, finding each other and falling in love wasn’t easy. All they want now is to build a life together, and things are just starting to head in that direction. But when they host a party for Parker’s work colleagues, they unintentionally invite a dangerous stranger into their home. Obsessive letters of admiration escalate into promises of harm and threats of danger. Who is intent on harming them, and why? Sydney dedicates her every moment to finding answers, neglecting threats now aimed directly at her. When an unexpected twist places Syd at risk, Parker watches helplessly as she puts her life on the line once again. Will Sydney be able to stop the threat before it’s too late?

NONFICTION / SEXUALITY

THE CUNNILINGUIST

by Alex B Porter

The Cunnilinguist is a refreshingly modern guide to oral sex with a sense of humor. Written by a woman with experience at both ends of the tongue, this guide will build your confidence in giving —or receiving— oral sex.

You’ll learn tested tips, tricks and techniques that any giver or receiver can try. The Cunnilinguist: How To Give And Receive Great Oral Sex has insights and tips for readers from beginner to advanced, single to married, and regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

NEW AUDIOBOOKS

PIONEERING
Vetted Series: Book 3

by K’Anne Meinel
narrated by Amy Deuchler

One family’s saga had only just begun….

In the epic sequel to Cavalcade we find out what happens to the Herriots once they arrive in Oregon and take up their claim. Erin and Molly have arrived in Oregon with their family. Granted 640 acres of land for married couples under the Organic Laws of Oregon, they have to build their home, farm, and eke out a living from the raw land. Wolves, bears, and wildcats are the least of their worries in this new land. Hard work and trust in each other to do their very best are the keys to conquering the wilderness as they pioneer their lives on the high plains of Oregon! Come along as they and their family live a life that few attempted in this wilderness near the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

SALE ALERT

SURRENDER YOUR HEART
Surrender Series: Book 1

by Raven J. Spencer

$0.99 $2.99 (Free with Kindle Unlimited)

A lesbian billionaire romance with a suspense twist:

Penny can’t believe what happened to her: One day she’s studying sociology and paying her tuition with her job at a local café, the next she wakes up in a luxurious house which is the property of a rich and enigmatic woman. Carter Forbes is ready to lay the world at her feet, but what will she expect in return? As she uncovers Carter’s reasons to create this unusual situation, Penny can’t deny the attraction between them. Can she reconcile her desire with her beliefs about herself, or is this passionate affair doomed from the start?

PODCAST NEWS 

Have you heard about LWW?

Clare Lydon and TB Markinson are launching a weekly podcast called Lesbians Who Write. They’ll dish the dirt about writing and lesbian fiction. Stay tuned for more details, or if you’d like to be the first to give it a listen when it goes live, sign up for the Lesbians Who Write newsletter.

Prices may change without notice, so make sure to check the price listed by the retailer before making the purchase.

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