Dear lesfic fan,
Here are this week’s new ebook and audio releases and announcements.
Please click on this link for how to submit books (ebook and audio) for the newsletter. IHL will not include books unless they receive an email from either the author or publisher.
Happy reading and listening,
TB & Miranda
ROMANCE
by Harper Bliss
Sometimes what you’re running from is exactly what you need
Olivia Chevalier is perfectly happy living a quiet life of solitude with her two cats in the tempestuous countryside of Brittany.
Olivia’s peace is disrupted when heartbreaker extraordinaire Marie Dievart moves in to the holiday home next door after an event at work makes her flee her everyday life.
Olivia hates having a neighbour and Marie is put off by Olivia’s cranky ways.
But maybe these two women have more in common than they first believe.
Best-selling lesbian romance author Harper Bliss brings you a slow-burn opposites-attract story about the power of connection and opening yourself up to the possibility of love.
by Sienna Waters
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Can a cup of tea predict true love?
When Jaye Callaghan’s dubiously clairvoyant best friend predicts that her soulmate is on the horizon, Jaye isn’t exactly persuaded. But when she walks into Lanport clinic and meets Charlie, she starts to think that maybe her luck is changing.
Charlie Riley is a machine. Or she was. A top rated ER doctor with a mind like a trap, she shouldn’t be doctoring in a small ocean-front resort town. She’s mysterious, cold, and very, very sexy.
This is supposed to be a match made in heaven, but there’s a problem. Charlie doesn’t believe in soulmates. Or clairvoyants. Or love.
It’s up to Jaye to persuade the ice-queen doctor that not only is love real, but that her soulmate is standing right in front of her. But as the stakes rise and the attraction between the two women grows hotter Jaye’s faith in romance is shattered. Can Charlie help her put it back together?
Believing in true love is hard, but maybe, just sometimes, it’s enough to have someone else believe for you.
by Karin Kallmaker
Simply the Worst…Alice Cabot’s only great love is science, but a lapse in judgment has exiled the New York journalist to the glitzy Gallerias and vapid bubble-babble of Beverly Hills. The assignment to do a flattering feature series on Simply the Best and the superficial nonsense it sells threatens to crush what little is left of her spirit.
Simply the Best…Pepper Addington can’t believe she’s moved up from grunt intern to personal assistant for Helene Jolie, the celebrity socialite founder of SimplytheBest.com. Succeeding at the job she worked so hard to get is her only priority. Keep a cynical know-it-all reporter in check? She promises Helene that she can.
Simply Irresistible…Expecting nothing but games from the beach-blond surfer girl that Helene Jolie has assigned to keep an eye on her, Alice is fully prepared to resist any and all of California’s charms. Or so she thinks.
Dungeons and Dating: Book 1
by Katherine McIntyre
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Roller derby, board games, and love collide in this roommates to lovers romance.
Roxie Esposito just opened a board game café in San Francisco and should be basking in success. Instead, she’s picking out shards from her last relationship and handling her perpetually drunk mother, both of which strain her finances and fuel the need for a roommate.
Melody Roberts finally got the promotion she’d been aiming for—across the country in San Francisco. The perfect escape from her stagnant life and the toxic relationship with her now ex-boyfriend.
The moment Mel answers Roxie’s ad for a roommate, the connection between them is explosive, warm, and real—everything they’ve both been longing for. Between horror movie marathons, board game nights, and deep talks, Mel and Roxie are falling for each other hard. Except the only problem with romance is they both seem to fail every single time, and when the grenades of exes, family drama, and their own insecurities drop, neither will escape unscathed.
Roll the Dice on Romance at Tabletop Tavern…
by Virginia Hale
Since the day Lacey Reed was cinched into her costume stays, working at Spring Creek living museum has made her happier than she ever thought she could be in small-town Beechworth. When her best friend and co-worker Jen Fraser proposed that they settle down together, Lacey had readily agreed—Jen adored Lacey’s seven-year-old daughter, and the life Jen offered was more than Lacey could ever have dreamed.
But there’s just one small problem. Lacey has carried a torch for Jen for eight agonizing years. She just didn’t think that, four months into their engagement, Jen would still be completely oblivious to the fact that she set Lacey’s heart twitching in her chest every time she so much as stepped into the same room.
When a ghost from the past arrives in Beechworth, suddenly, what once seemed like a simple arrangement becomes far more complicated than they ever imagined.
University Square Series: Book 3
by Brenda Murphy
The life of university librarian, Amari Foster, is neatly cataloged. Work, home, and securing a future for her daughter are her focus. Hard-edged and handsome, she manages her private life with ruthless precision, cutting ties, and maintaining distance to protect her battered heart.
Plumber Thalia Makris has given up her dream of long-term love after a series of bad relationships. Desperate to have her own business, Thalia fills her days working overtime and her nights with fantasy novels.
After a chance encounter leaves both women wanting more than a one-night stand, they find themselves on the precipice of love. Will they take the plunge?
The Lady Lotharios: Book 4
by Kaya LaSalle
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Lexi thought fake relationships were only something that happened on TV. That all changed when she ran into a desperate rock star…
Lexi Ashford prides herself on being drama-free. She’s built a reputation for being a talented hair and makeup artist, and she’s finally getting the kinds of gigs she always dreamed of. But when she’s hired to work at a one-night-only performance, she finds herself in over her head.
Somehow she gets roped into pretending to be gorgeous rock star Daya West’s new girlfriend, and now the rest of the world thinks they’re in love. What’s a girl to do?
Daya West is just getting over a miserable breakup. Turns out that being a rock star isn’t enough to save a doomed relationship, and she’s still trying to piece her broken heart back together. Convincing the makeup artist at her show to be her fake girlfriend was supposed to be a one-night deal to get her ex off her back, but with the media watching their every move, they’re stuck maintaining the illusion.
What starts out as an act slowly becomes something more, leaving both women confused about where the lies end and the truth begins.
Can a relationship founded on deception ever grow into more? Or will the truth destroy any hope they have of finding love?
Small Town Sparks: Book 2
by Bel Blackwood
Available in Kindle Unlimited
You can never plan for love. You definitely can’t plan for llamas.
Practical, down-to-earth Kaia Kingsley loves life in the rural wilds of New Zealand. Even if country life comes with its own challenges: keeping the bank from repossessing her farm, keeping her jam-making business afloat, and… finding a llama in her strawberry patch?
When she drags it back home, she doesn’t expect its owner to be a gorgeous older woman. Tessa is icy, but Kaia can see the lonely woman under the surface… and she wants to see more.
But when Kingsley Jams gets the chance to enter in a famous food competition, Kaia needs to focus. If she doesn’t win, her jam business will go under, taking her farm with it.
But the only person who can help her win is the biggest distraction of them all.
Her jams are made to make a person crave more. But now, Kaia is the one wrestling with sweet temptation.
Part 2
by Judy Ramsook
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Tense moments arise as Maria accompanies Jan to her family home and their attraction and love for each other is tested as a result.
EROTICA
by Bebe Lix
Julie is a fraud. She makes a living pretending to talk to ghosts – until an actual spirit shows up on Halloween night. Ingrid was Julie’s best friend, then her worst enemy. She’s here for ice-cold revenge – but as it turns out, her passion burns stronger than hatred. Ingrid’s unfinished business just got a whole lot steamier!
FANTASY
Book 1
by Scott Kujawa
by Kindle Unlimited
Geneva is a member of those who agreed to settle on Mars to form a colony willing to explore the changes magic did to the red planet. Unlike the others who prefer staying near the buildings, Geneva ventures across the surface. It was during one of those explorations where she met Pyre, a hellhound.
She never intended to befriend the pup, but once she did, Geneva figured out a way to keep Pyre with her. However, Pyre’s mother wasn’t thrilled with the plan, nor were those who lived in the colony. The leader made sure Geneva learned from her mistake, putting Geneva in charge of creating a sanctuary for the flora and fauna Commander Heron insisted Geneva needs to collect.
Hearing what her commander wanted, Geneva knew she could leave the colony to explore without being chastised. However, she needed to find enough of the biology of the planet to make the leader of the colony happy with her. Doing this might be more than she expected, but Geneva agreed to the command.
FANTASY ROMANCE
by Jen Lawrence
Every Guardian was born a warrior with powerful magic and a soulmate to complete her. All except for Luna, it seemed, who despite having mastered her craft, continued her fight in solitude. She was an enigma in their society—alone for far longer than any Guardian before her. Still, Luna remained hopeful that one day her soulmate would find her, and all the tender yearning would have been worth it.
Then Gia stumbles into her life. Gia—who lives a Human life, in Human glamour, with a Human fiancé.
Now Luna finds herself questioning everything that she—and the Guardians—have believed in for millennia.
“Love isn’t always enough.” Luna had always understood the words, but she had never actually believed them.
SCI-FI
by Angela. A. McKenna
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Where the Whales Go is a light science fiction adventure with a lesbian main character, and is set 48 years in the future, a world not too far removed from our own, but where one Federal Government rules the world. It’s New Year’s Eve, 2069 and Teacher Lou Portman receives a holo-message from her long-dead sister just before star pupil Toby tells the class that the whales are vanishing. Somehow, both events seem impossibly connected, and soon, Lou is dragged from the safety of her island home and thrust into a world where nobody can be trusted and where the dark shadows of the past seek revenge. Driven by a promise to save the boy, Lou must go where the whales go, but something dark is coming, and time is running out…
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE / THRILLER
Whimsical Dreams: Book 1
by Tiffany E. Taylor
When Rowan Holland of Woodbridge, Virginia lands squarely in the crosshairs of a psychotic stalker, fleeing to Whimsy, Florida might be her only chance of escape.
There, she’ll meet the head of lesbian-owned Armstrong Protection Services. Possessive. Protective. Deadly.
Bryn Armstrong, one of the owners of APS, is immediately captivated by an equally-mesmerized Rowan, and vows she will do everything in her power to protect Rowan from this psychopath.
When the stalker follows Rowan to Whimsy, staying hidden in the shadows, it’s up to Bryn—along with her twin, Riley, and “the Seven,” the butch management team of APS—to cut him down and put an end to Rowan’s nightmare.
But, as the stalker draws closer to Rowan and the increased danger to Bryn’s woman becomes more real, Bryn and her team know they must find and stop the psychopath, who just may be a killer in disguise.
Trigger Warning: This work of fiction contains a scene of disciplinary spanking and other instances of light BDSM that some readers may find triggering.
by Maryn Scott
As a child, Peel Primm was obsessed with spy movies and shows—even renaming herself after the illustrious Mrs. Emma Peel from her favorite TV show, The Avengers. But dreams of becoming a spy when she grew up hardly seemed realistic. So instead, Peel chooses the somewhat less exciting life of a librarian in suburban Denver.
While innocently searching for information on a new branch in her family tree, Peel makes an ill-fated call to a library in Mexico. Soon Peel’s world is turned upside down.
Within days, Peel is beaten, abducted, and smuggled into Mexico where she is the unwilling guest of drug lord Sebastien Gutierrez. To survive she must befriend Gutierrez’s American associate, Anna, and convince her to help Peel solve a decades-old mystery. Soon Anna is struggling with a different kind of captivity—trying to balance the safety of her family with her growing attraction to Peel.
Looks like Peel’s childhood dream might be coming true after all.
HORROR
by Erin Wade
Twenty-five-year-old Vanity Chase had the world by the tail. She had just released her first single record and it was shooting to the top of the charts. She was poised to be country music’s next darling and nothing could stop her.
Vanity had it all: long blonde hair, perfect figure, beautiful face, and a voice the angels envied. She knew she was the whole package.
As she drove home, she mentally ran through the list of things she had procured for her birthday party at the apartment clubhouse. The band was set up and ready to go. The caterer was arranging the buffet tables around the party room, cases of beer, wine, and whiskey were stacked behind the bar, and her manager had scored some primo (joints of weed laced with cocaine) for her and her friends. Yep, this is gonna be one hell of a party, she thought as she drove to her apartment.
She hoped Pam was home and getting ready. She hated it when they both ended up in the bathroom trying to take a shower at the same time. I really need to cut Pam loose, she thought. I’m certainly not taking her to Nashville with me.
Yes, Vanity’s life was perfect, or was it.
ANTHOLOGY
A Halloween Anthology
Available in Kindle Unlimited
When the clock strikes twelve on All Hallows’ Eve and the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is at its thinnest, Lady Grim comes out to play…
This Halloween, join thirteen of the hottest authors of WLW fiction as they lead you to the places where darkness dwells.
From stories that burn and bubble to deals with the devil, from tales of creatures of the night to those that explore the shadowy reaches of the human heart, this macabre collection of short stories is guaranteed to make you sleep with the lights on.
GENERAL & DRAMATIC FICTION
by Caren J. Werlinger
The long-awaited follow-up to In This Small Spot
Patricia Horrigan is the eldest daughter of a family determined to gain entry into the upper echelons of Rochester society as the 1950s give way to the turbulence of the 60s. Born of an Irish father and a French-Canadian mother, Pip inherited the stubborn pride and fierce determination of both. With her life in the family business all planned out, she is most definitely not interested in throwing it all away to become a nun. But some calls will not be ignored, no matter how hard she tries. Fifty years later, she can’t help but wonder if her choices and sacrifices were worth it.
In present time, Lauren Thackeray has managed to put her life back together—in a manner of speaking. She has her weaving, her home, her chosen family, and she has the monastery and the lasting friendship of the nuns there. The one thing she doesn’t have, she doesn’t want. She won’t open her heart again after she barely survived the last time.
Gail Bauer is questioning her own vocation as an Episcopal priest. How can she minister to others when she’s not sure she believes anymore? In desperation, she flees, hoping to find answers.
In the shadow of St. Bridget’s Abbey, three very different women will need one another—to come to terms with their demons, to heal, and to rekindle the light that life has all but snuffed out.
by Gemma Johns
Available in Kindle Unlimited
Charli’s wife, Monique, was promoted to Professor and was now being rewarded with a generous sabbatical at work. While Charli was picturing a family vacation in Europe, Monique was picturing a personal sabbatical – time to throw herself into work and discover herself at the same time. She suggested Charli take her own sabbatical, too, but Charli wasn’t sure they’d ever be able to come back from that. Besides, how do they juggle it with their two adult children who hadn’t even left home yet?
Charli’s sister, Sophie, a doctor, juggles it all, including a busy household with four teenage kids. After thirty years together, Sophie and Phil can almost predict one another’s next move, but Phil just can’t forgive Sophie and move on from what she’s done. Maybe some time out wouldn’t hurt.
Their youngest sister, Alice, is about to turn forty, but she’s wondering what her future will bring. Does she really see herself settled down and having kids with Jason? Is marriage even for her? And why does everyone else seem to have their lives together, while she still feels like a big kid herself?
Charli decides to escape it all, taking her sisters with her. If a marriage sabbatical is on the agenda, perhaps they will end up questioning everything she ever thought really mattered. Maybe for the three Wilson sisters, marriage sabbatical could change everything… or nothing at all!
‘The Marriage Sabbatical’ explores women’s middle-aged lifestyles, having it all and finding out what you really want.
Do their marriages need to mend, or end?
MEMOIR
by Janis E. Mills
I knew I was gay at age eight when my mother’s definition of queer described me perfectly. I hid my truth and left small town Pennsylvania for the city life of Washington, DC. immediately after college graduation.
My mother carried memories of tragic family deaths and a lesbian encounter of her own. When she questioned my lifestyle and said she would “blame herself and not know what to do for the rest of her life,” I thought she might take her own life so, I lied. My father, raised in the non-traditional life of circus performers, unleashed me to be whoever I wanted to be but I continued my double life of straight daughter and gay lover.
Then becoming a teacher and high school principal, I also lived a secret nocturnal life−my triple life. Bartending in shady parts of D.C., I was hit by a rock, saw a gun pulled on my friend, and witnessed fights, arrests, and marches that pitted straights against gays. I jumped from girlfriend to girlfriend, courted a few straight girls, and dabbled in activities far different from the straight educator I portrayed by day.
On the day of my father’s funeral, my mother proclaimed her recognition of my gayness. What I hoped would be a celebration of love and openness was anticlimactic. I had wasted too many years. My father was gone, and I had lost friends rather than share my truth.
Against the backdrop of the burgeoning LGBTQ movement, I became a courageous trailblazer and did my own coming out in a big way, I married a woman. Now I share my truth with the world and enjoy the happiness that honesty has given me.
Do not make the mistakes I made. Openly love who you love.
NEW AUDIOBOOKS
by Fiona Riley
narrated by Melissa Sternenberg
Ellison Gamble owns the most successful luxury real estate firm in Boston, but the accomplishment feels hollow when she comes home to an empty house.
Institutionalizing her mother for her own safety was the hardest thing Katie Crawford has ever done. The costs are becoming more than she can manage, and her only solution is to sell her childhood home that has fallen into disrepair.
After a tense first interaction with Katie, Ellison eventually finds herself in an unlikely friendship, and makes a risky offer to help Katie sell her mother’s home. Katie will do anything to help her mom, but being attracted to a woman for the first time was not in the plan.
Will the risks they take be worth the reward? Or have they wagered on a losing bet?
by Karin Kallmaker
narrated by Abby Craden
As a behavioral scientist, Professor Nicole Hathaway’s work strips away the foolish mystique that surrounds the human mating dance. When her academic tome is treated as a viral “love manual”, her ecstatic publisher books her to appear all over the US and Europe. Worse yet, her quiet, managed life has been shattered by a series of incompetent assistants. And she’s certain this Lily Smith creature isn’t going to be any less a burden than the last assistant they sent her. Or the one before that. Or before that….
Lillian Linden-Smith needs this job. With a relentless TV lawyer and public mob still out for her blood for crimes committed by her “American royalty” parents, getting out of the country is her only hope for anonymity. If that means cleaning up and presenting an antisocial know-it-all PhD for bookstores, clubs, and lectures, fine. Dr. Hathaway may have succeeded in driving away all the others, but not this time.
From their first meeting the sparks fly, and each is thinking: She has no idea who she’s dealing with.
Swizzle Stick Romance: Book 1
by Georgia Beers
narrated by AJ Ferraro
The only girl in a house of boys, Julia Martini worked extra hard to get noticed. That has made her business-minded and driven, and she’s determined to turn her family’s struggling bar around. Simple. All she has to do is remodel, re-staff, and rebrand the place, work insane hours and ignore the sexy blonde who comes in to…she’s flirting, right?
’Cause Julia’s rusty and has zero time for dating, even if their chemistry is off-the-charts steamy. Savannah McNally’s needs always come last. A caretaker by trade, she also takes care of her widowed dad, her brother, her sister, and everybody else on the planet, it seems. When her dad finally starts dating, Savannah can focus on her own life for once – her career, her house, maybe even that super-hot bartender at Martini’s who has her thinking naughty thoughts. When family feuds are exposed and a popular blog trashes the bar, the weight of business decisions, family loyalty, and life in general may outweigh their attraction that could lead to more.
A Java Jarvis Thriller
by Erin Wade
narrated by Cassandra Arnold
Lesbian author Erin Wade pulls out all the stops on this thriller. A #1 Bestseller, this Lesbian, Action Adventure Romance will keep you on the edge of your seat and cheering for Java Jarvis and her team at SKIRT. When women are murdered during Mardi Gras for the third year in a row New Orleans Police Lieutenant Beau Braxton calls in the women of SKIRT. The FBI’s Serial Killers Investigative Resolution Team consisted of five beautiful FBI agents and was directed by Special Agents Java Jarvis and her wife Kat Lace. Working undercover the team had a one hundred percent success rate and was only pressed into action when others failed, and local authorities requested their assistance. Java and Kat discover that murder is one of the nicer things perpetrated by a well-organized group participating in human trafficking, porn, snuff films and abduction by request. When wealthy Avery Ricard a beautiful plantation owner sets her sights on Kat, Java pulls out all the stops to keep her wife and to keep NOLA citizens safe. Join Java, Kat, their dog Ares and the entire SKIRT team as they love, laugh and hunt down the bad guys.
FREE ANTHOLOGY
55 excerpts from published novels, each one featuring a first-kiss scene by a popular author of sapphic fiction. You can download the free ebook in the format of your choice (Kindle/mobi, ePub, or PDF) and you don’t have to subscribe to any newsletters.
AUTHOR SIGNING EVENT
Miranda and I, along with Nancy Ann Healy and Jamey Moody, will be at Womencrafts in Ptown on October 14th at 5pm for a book signing. If you’re in the area, stop by!
FRIDAY FEELS HAS LAUNCHED
Friday Feels officially launched last week. If you missed the inaugural edition, click here.
And, if you want to know what inspired TB to start the project, click here to learn more.
Wanna get involved? Readers and authors can participate. Find out how here.
VOTE FOR BOOK OF THE MONTH
PROJECT KINDNESS
At I Heart Lesfic, we believe the world could use a bit more kindness after one of the hardest and longest of years. Many authors have signed up to help IHL spread kindness in the world.
Leni Hanson penned Acts of Kindness. Also, Leni is giving away 1 ecopy of The Last Time We Met.
Don’t miss Les Mood’s contribution: Kindness to Strangers.
SAPPHIC READING
CHALLENGE
iReadIndies
2022 IHL READING CHALLENGE
Beginning in January, IHL will launch the I Heart Lesfic 2022 Reading Challenge. We will feature 2 new book categories each week, along with a recommended reading list for books that qualify for each category.
We have collected a lot of suggestions for categories, so our first task is to narrow the list to 90 choices based on the number of nominations we receive for each.
Authors can submit a total of 5 books for consideration.
Click here for the Book Submission page.
Have a wonderful day!
Miranda & TB
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