Dear lesfic fan,
Here are 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
SOUTHERN ROOTS
The Compass Series: Book 2
by Lise Gold
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Hannah Hudson has had a rough start to the year. Returning home to London from her magical holiday in Norway, still on a high after meeting the wonderful Kristine, her newfound happiness is dealt a crushing blow when she discovers that her ex has been stealing from her and she is going to lose her business. A letter from an American lawyer throws her an unexpected lifeline, informing her that she’s inherited a house and a restaurant in Presley, Louisiana, from her biological mother who gave her up for adoption at birth.
Meanwhile back in Covington, nothing ever changes in Kristine Miller’s life. She’s grown tired of her job at the local bank, and she’s reluctant to go back to dating, unable to get Hannah, who has gone silent on her, out of her mind.
When Hannah suddenly shows up in Kristine’s life again there is no denying that destiny has a plan for them, but Hannah’s life is in London and Kristine’s is deeply attached to the beautiful South.
As Hannah searches for the story behind her Southern roots, can they overcome the challenge of distance to give themselves another shot at love? Second chances are rare, and you can’t question fate when it keeps drawing you back together…
MAJOR SURGERY
by Lola Keeley
An enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance about sexy, smart doctors cutting to the heart of what matters.
Skilled surgeon Veronica Mallick runs her London hospital department like she runs her surgeries: with hawkish efficiency. Then her perfect world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new Head of Trauma.
Cassie Taylor is a brash, no-nonsense army surgeon, fresh from the front lines, and trying to find her way in civilian life. She’s all action and sharp edges, not too interested in rules. She’s even less interested in bureaucracy, or playing nice with her uptight, paper-pushing colleague, Veronica.
While they’re circling each other warily at St. Sophia’s hospital, Cassie becomes entangled in some shady financial dealings.
Their shared search for the truth draws them closer together, sparking heated moments as they try to see justice done. But in exposing a scandal, can they also find some common ground? How will they both deal with being attracted to a woman they don’t even like?
SILVER LOVE
by Josette Murray
Jill, Dory, Robby, and Charlene are a fantastic foursome that embodies the varying experiences that come with being Lesbians of a Certain Age. They are vibrant and vulnerable, wise and foolish, introspective and outgoing. The close-knit friends fight aging at every turn—or just ignore it altogether. These four will never go quietly into the night, redefining life after fifty. They are the new mature woman.
But along with twenty-first-century attitudes come twenty-first-century problems. Public office candidate and retired judge Charlene is confronted by a wannabe blackmailer, Jill’s passions threaten to swamp her common sense, Dory’s best-selling book could turn out to be a national disaster, and Robby must confront the hard reality of learning that her wife may not be the woman she thought she was. Steadfast in their faith in themselves and each other, and bolstered by the rich history of their friendship, the four women struggle with twists and turns as they try to navigate a landscape generated by the actions of others as well as their own choices, proving that experience does not always pave a smooth road.
In a world where everything increasingly seems relative, these women remind us that some things don’t change—like the bedrock of relationships. Silver Love is all about love; love among friends, love between lovers, and the unexpected role of love with acquaintances who may not always be what they seem. If you can keep up, join the ride and follow these ageless heroines as they pursue their adventures in the modern world.
RESCUE MY HEART
by Sienna Waters
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Danny Cooper thinks she’s as happy as she has the right to be. After all, as owner of Oakview’s failing animal shelter, she doesn’t exactly have a lot to offer a potential partner. And it’s been a long time since she’s hungered after a woman, that is until her new neighbor moves in.
Lena Travers is confident, rich, and beautiful, all the things that Danny thinks she isn’t. She’s also very, very mysterious. And Lena’s very first move is to threaten to report Danny’s beloved shelter for excessive noise. Despite that first impression though, Danny can’t help but have feelings for the girl next door.
But as the stakes begin to rise, Danny’s fear of taking risks gets the better of her. She’s not good enough for Lena, of that she’s sure. And with the fate of the shelter weighing on her mind, Danny makes a decision she might come to regret.
Sometimes you have to fight for what you want. But you can’t fight if you’re not willing to take risks. Besides, Danny isn’t sure that Lena is what she wants anyway. Or is she? And when the lives of her precious dogs are on the line, Danny makes what might be an unforgivable mistake.
Rescue My Heart is a standalone FF romance novel set in the Oakview universe, with a HEA ending. Oakview books can be read in any order, just be prepared to see some familiar faces around town!
COMMITTED
Oaktown Girls: Book 2
by Suzanne Falter
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Is it wise to propose marriage to your undocumented girlfriend if she just moved in … and she’s already thinking of moving out?
That’s the question on auto mechanic Lizzy’s mind as she wrestles with what to do in Book Two of the Oaktown Girls series.
Commitment is definitely in the air for this tightly knit circle of Oakland lesbians. Tenika can’t stand the idea of marrying anyone – but her partner Delilah, a tattoo artist, has her heart set on it.
But then, when Delilah develops a strange, disabling tremor, Tenika’s forced to rethink everything she once held as true.
Meanwhile Frankie, a newcomer who happens to be an undercover cop, can’t find a date to save her life. That is until she happens to meet the ravishing charmer Tasha at Tenika and Lizzy’s garage.
Will Frankie’s PTSD undermine her ability to open up and find her love? And will it be Tasha, or the sweet, open-hearted Sally who seems to know a little too much about her?
And why won’t either of them tell Frankie what they do for a living?
Find out who falls in love for good in this warm-hearted page turner you can’t put down.
MARCH MADNESS
A Year in Paradise: Book 3
by Hildred Billings
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Welcome to Paradise Valley, where the locals thrive on the rural landscape, the quirky Oregonian living, and the history of the lesbian commune that founded it.
Mixing small town attitudes with lesbian dating? Sounds like another day in Paradise.
Joan Sheffield and Lorri Abrams have been partners for years, but their mission to have a baby has placed a damper on their love. After the most recent miscarriage, the couple has begun questioning the direction of their relationship.
Yet Joan isn’t ready to give up. Her dreams of having the family she always wanted won’t end because of some heartbreak and bad luck. Yet as she regroups and prepares to try again, she comes up against an obstacle she least expected.
Lorri. The partner who refuses to explain why she feels sick to her stomach every time the subject comes up.
Joan doesn’t know the whole story about Lorri’s upbringing. Lorri would rather drown herself in college basketball tournaments than talk about her issues. It will take the advice of some trusted locals and one bad night to potentially save these two weary souls.
Will the madness finally end?
LOVE STORIES
Books 1-6
by Ellie Spark
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Love Stories 1-6 include six of Ellie Spark’s best-selling Love Stories. Each story is a long novella length (approx 35-45K words) and while some characters appear in more than one story, they can be read in any order. The total collection provides over 225,000 words to devour!
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
THE DO-OVER
by Georgia Beers
Fifteen years is a long time. Long enough to forget the past, forge ahead, and create a terrific life. Bella Hunt has done exactly that, complete with a successful career, a gaggle of close friends, and a home she loves. Life is good.
Or it was, until her teenage nightmare and the bane of her high school existence shows up for Bella’s class on conflict resolution. Easton Evans, in all her pretty, blond, my-parents-are-surgeons glory, throws Bella into an existential tailspin as her unpleasant memories from her past come screeching back. Easton doesn’t even recognize Bella, and what’s worse, Easton is…different somehow. Softer, kinder. And still unfairly attractive. None of it computes in Bella’s head. She’s hated Easton for fifteen years, done her best to scrub the past away. But now here it is. The past. Sitting in her classroom and waiting for Bella to teach her how to resolve a conflict of the heart.
WOOING THE FARMER
by Jenny Frame
Penelope Huntingdon-Stewart, highly successful clean-eating food vlogger and owner of the website Penny’s Kitchen, is looking for a new direction for her brand. At least that’s what she tells herself when she retreats to Axedale to record a new web series and write a cookbook. That sounds so much better than damage control after her only live, on-screen interview ends in an oh-so-public epileptic seizure.
Farmer Sam McQuade is immediately attracted to Penelope, but the ultra femme and high maintenance city girl seems way out of her league. When Penelope struggles to get her health on track, Quade insists on being her knight in shining armor, much to Penelope’s displeasure. Quade is annoyingly good-looking, not to mention kindhearted, and falling for her would be so easy. If only it didn’t force Penelope to face the secrets she’s hidden from everyone. Can love alone bring a complex city girl and a simple rural farmer together?
LOVE ON LAVENDER LANE
by Karis Walsh
For corporate consultant Paige Leighton, the ends always justify the means. She does whatever it takes to make her clients’ businesses profitable. She has no room for sentimentality in business or in her personal life and loves nothing better than pushing others out of their comfort zones.
Kassidy Drake has spent a lifetime creating her comfort zone, and she has no intention of leaving. Her home is as orderly and as beautiful as the rows of lavender surrounding it, but she needs to make Lavender Lane Farm solvent or she might lose everything. She agrees to listen to Paige’s advice as long as Paige doesn’t expect much more from her than changing the font on her business cards.
Accompanied by the buzz of honeybees and the scent of lavender, Paige and Kassidy must find a way to compromise if they want to save Lavender Lane Farm—and find a way to make room for love along the way.
AN UNHEARD SONG
Romancing the Page: Book 3
by Laura Ambrose
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Annalie’s dreams came true when her first book became the bestselling debut fantasy of the decade. Awards and accolades were overwhelming and incredible, just like when she used to play professional violin before a manipulative ex silenced her. After her second book tanked with poor sales and worse reviews, her dreams crumbled. She lost her words just like she lost her music. She hasn’t left her flat in Edinburgh in months.
Cam is devastated when she doesn’t get the fellowship she needs for her PhD in music history. She suspects it’s because she turned down sleeping with the famous violinist on the board, Melanie. Hard up for cash, Cam takes a part-time job as an author assistant to Annalie Chevalier. Cam didn’t expect to find her so gorgeous.
As they both struggle for courage to rebuild their dreams, they can’t deny their attraction. When Cam realises Melanie is Annalie’s ex, they plot a little light revenge. But will the risks silence the fragile song growing between Annalie and Cam?
An Unheard Song is the third installment of the Romancing the Page series (A Hidden Hope, A Perfect Balance), which features well-rounded, complicated women in the world of writing and publishing. A Laura Ambrose romance is sweet, sexy, and more than a little geeky.
COMRADE COWGIRL
by Yolanda Wallace
For cattle rancher Laramie Bowman, family always comes first. After her brother is injured in a rodeo accident, she accepts a lucrative position in remote Godoroye, Russia, to help pay his medical bills. When she meets the woman assigned to be her interpreter, however, her heart might end up getting lost in translation.
Anastasia Petrova would prefer to remain on the front lines of the seemingly futile fight for gay rights in her conservative homeland, but dwindling finances force her to leave Moscow to take a full-time job working as a translator for a pair of American trainers on a start-up cattle ranch. If she comes out to her new coworkers, she could lose the job she so desperately needs. But when she meets gorgeous cowgirl Laramie, how can she possibly deny her feelings?
URBAN FANTASY ROMANCE
DARK ALLEYS
by Lola Andrews
Supernatural meets Rizzoli & Isles in this fast-paced urban fantasy filled with lesbian romance and werewolves!
Two hunters. One werewolf. A complicated past.
Tired and broken-hearted, Lana walked away from her life as a hunter years ago. She also walked away from the woman she loved, Emma. Now, a policewoman in an anonymous town, she lives a comfortable if lonely life, until she realizes that the answer to her last case points her back towards the supernatural.
With a loose werewolf running around town, Lana has enough on her plate. That is, until Emma shows up to interrupt her life and hunt her prey, bringing with her old feelings and a whole lot of baggage.
Can Emma and Lana find their way back to each other? Can they defeat the werewolf running through town?
FANTASY ROMANCE
SPINNING TALES
by Brey Willows
Maggie McShay wants a little magic in her life. Something more than the drab existence of going to work and coming home to a cat that barely tolerates her.
When she spontaneously replies to a want ad asking for someone to take care of a fairy tale cottage, it turns out magic wasn’t as far away as she thought. Maggie discovers she wasn’t who she thought she was either. Recalcitrant fairy tale shepherd and ladies’ woman Kody Wilk shows Maggie a world she knew nothing about…a world they need to save before the villains of the world’s fairy tales take over New York City.
It’s up to Maggie, her grumpy, shape-shifting cat, a dwarf hell-bent on finding romance, and Kody to set the fairy tale world to rights. The big bad wolf has nothing on Maggie McShay.
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
FROSTBITTEN
The Ice Rose Series: Book 3
by Destiny Hawkins
Available in Kindle Unlimited
I thought that I saw her. I know I did…
But she was dead, and she died a long time ago.
After being attacked by anti-supernatural soldiers, Alexa and I were taken in by a pack of Alaskan werewolves with plans on fighting back, and although grateful that we were given a home and shelter, it was hard to face a werewolf named Loren who resembled a woman that Alexa once loved. She was also the most unpleasant pack member of them all.
That’s why when I spotted a woman in a white dress with long brown locks and glistening sun colored eyes, I knew that it wasn’t Loren, but who could it be if Esha was dead?
Was I just seeing things from Alexa’s memories?
Or did the love of her life never actually die at all?
SPECULATIVE FICTION
INHERITORS OF CHAOS
A Godfall Novel: Book 4
by Barbara Ann Wright
Naos has come to Calamity, and chaos has come with her. Cordelia had enough problems without teaming up with former enemies in order to defeat a mad goddess. And she doesn’t yet know that the Storm Lord has been resurrected in a new body. On the plains, the prophet Lydia is convinced that Fajir is the one chosen to stop a massive firestorm in the future, if only Fajir wasn’t so set on killing everyone around her.
With their murderous leader dead, hostilities have ceased among the drushka, but the long-living aliens are slow to adapt. The last thing they want is a drushkan king with powers none of them dreamed of before.
CRIME & MYSTERY
DOUBLE VISION
by Ellie Hart
When her cell phone rings, Giselle Cutler answers it—and finds herself speaking to a dead woman.
As Giselle and her partner Marta Perry get ready for the birth of their baby, the last thing they expect is to be drawn into another mystery. But there’s been a horrible mix-up with identification of a body found in the bay, and Marta’s supervisor Chrissy Burton is very much alive and desperate for their help.
Intrigue turns deadly as they uncover illegal organ transplants, black market sales, and ties to international terrorism. The killer is willing to do anything to keep the public from knowing how the transplant system really works, even if it means killing Giselle and Marta.
THRILLER
LAKE MOON
by Emma Chamberlain & Blythe Stone
Available in Kindle Unlimited
An unresolved murder case drove Jessica away from her remote and heavily wooded small town. When her mother suddenly passes away Jessica is forced to return to the confusing place where one of her best friends went missing when they were both only teens. Between a complicated old flame and an attractive female sheriff, Jessica finds herself drowning in both the memories and the danger of her past, unable to leave or move on. Can a new romance save her life? Will her old tendencies cause her to slip back into a hot yet abusive relationship? How can she leave when she has nothing left to lose? Find out the answers to all of these questions in Lake Moon!
From the best-selling lesbian romance duo who brought you the Paper Dolls Book Series and the holiday hit A Kind of Miracle… Lake Moon explores the complexity of closeted teenage love, coming to terms with a troubling past, and finding a romance in a dark place and time when light hardly shines.
PRE-ORDER DISCOUNT
NOT TODAY
by Arizona Tape
$2.99 (Price will increase to $4.99 on March 22)
Casual leaves no broken hearts… Usually.
No strings attached, that’s the way Nix likes her life. Determined not to fall for anyone she sleeps with, casual is just her thing. Better than having her heart ripped to pieces again.
Harper is looking for a fresh start and a new city means just that. New friends, new school, and maybe a chance at love?
The thin line between friendship and more blurs when Nix and Harper dance around each other in an LGBT club with everything to lose and love to gain. But is it ever that simple?
Not Today is a lesbian friends-with-benefits to lovers romance and can be read as a stand-alone. It’s the collection of the previous serial parts (Not Monday, Not Tuesday, …) but is completed in this book.
NEW AUDIOBOOKS
BACKWARDS TO OREGON
by Jae
narrated by Hayden Bishop
“Luke” Hamilton has always been sure she’d never marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she chose to live her life disguised as a man.
After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new, respectable life.
But now, they find themselves married and on the way to Oregon in a covered wagon, with 2,000 miles ahead of them.
SEQUESTERED
by Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue
narrated by Victoria Robinson
When Special Agent Keir Ortega busts Tartino and his gang for drug trafficking and selling weapons to the American black market, she thinks she can rest her mind of the case. However, after finding out that New York’s Ronnie Giorgio might be an extension of this criminal activity, Keir is assigned to search the streets of New York to find the new ringleader in this crime.
She is led to the theater district, where she meets Gina, a woman who always seems to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. This woman might be the key to busting the drug chain that is thriving along the New York Harbor, but who is she? And can she be trusted?
As Keir learns more about the woman, she starts to feel something she hasn’t felt before. Gina is captivating, entrancing, and Keir’s weakness. Will Keir be able to solve the case before her heart gives in to this vixen’s subtle charm, or will Gina be her destruction?
CONTRACT FOR LOVE
by Alison Grey
narrated by Emily Beresford
Single mom Sherry lives in a trailer park with her six-year-old son, Jake, trying to make ends meet as a waitress.
Madison’s life couldn’t be more different. She’s been raised by her rich grandmother, and her only goals are partying and bedding women.
When her grandmother threatens to disinherit her if she doesn’t clean up her act, Madison has to find a way to convince her she’s changed.
After a chance encounter with Sherry, Madison comes up with a crazy idea that will rock both of their worlds: She wants to hire Sherry to play her fake girlfriend.
THE DESTINY FACTOR
by Erin Wade & D.J. Jouett
narrated by Brenda Scott Wlazlo
Renny James thought she was falling in love with her boss. Then she met his wife. Renny was totally unprepared for the beauty and charisma of Vivian Rockmore. The electricity between the two women was undeniable, but too many obstacles stood between them. We are each the master of our own destiny, aren’t we? That was the mantra of Renny James as she fought her way out of poverty and rose to the ranks of the rich and glamorous.
Clean sheets were Renny’s criteria for success. A brilliant student, she knew a college education would get her out of the horrible poverty in which she lived. Nothing would stop her from achieving her goals. Determined to distance herself from the filth and hopelessness that marked her youth, Renny worked hard and wasted no time on things like family or friends.
Raised by a mother whose only thought was about where she would find her next boyfriend, Renny learned to fend for herself. She knew education and hard work were her tickets to a better life. Brad and Vivian Rockmore introduced her to the world of beautiful people, cruise ships, and private jets. At 28, Renny had realized all her goals. She had no idea her ambition would land her in jail for murdering the only person she had ever loved.
Erin Wade takes the listener on a fast-paced ride in her first lesbian murder mystery/romance with a twist. If you like a good suspense-filled novel, you will love The Destiny Factor.
AUDIOBOOK GIVEAWAY
TB Markinson is running a giveaway for US and UK Audible listeners. The prize is a free audiobook of The Fall Girl, book 2 in The Miracle Girl series.
Email TB at tbm@tbmarkinson.com to enter the contest. In the subject line, please write The Fall Girl Audiobook Giveaway. Be sure to tell TB if you’re a US or UK listener.
That’s all you have to do.
Best of luck to everyone who enters the giveaway.
PODCAST NEWS
I’m thrilled to announce the first episode of Lesbians Who Write is live. Woot!
Here’s what the first episode is about:
Clare and TB introduce themselves to the podcast world in their inaugural episode. Huzzah! They chat about when they came up with the idea of Lesbians Who Write (beer was involved) and why they started writing lesbian fiction in the first place. Clare lobs TB the thorny question of what exactly lesbian fiction is and who can write it. They discover how history influenced both of their writing careers, leaving TB a historian, slightly heartbroken. They move on to what’s their favorite part of writing and how the power of deadlines impacts their careers. Click here to listen to the first episode.
Now for a special treat. Episodes 2 & 3 are also available. Woot, woot!
Click here for episode 2 and here for episode 3.
The next episode will be released on Monday, March 25th.
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Happy reading!
