After losing her parents in high school, Ryan Landry grew up fast, solely focusing on supporting her younger twin sisters. With the twins now preparing for college, the financial stakes are raised so Ryan enters a restaurant manager of the year contest. Her chances for the grand prize are strong—after all, she’s the executive manager of Everheart Bar and Fine Dining, which is as famous for its exemplary service as it is for its mouth-watering food.
The only thing standing in her way? The restaurant’s Michelin star patriarch chef. Ryan meets his near-impossible challenges, except this creates another obstacle—increased temptation with her best friend and pastry chef Weston Everheart. She’s fought to keep Weston in the friend zone, because romantic fraternization means immediate firing, and she needs her job and the prize money more than ever.
But when she realizes Weston has also been in love with her for years, it becomes impossible to maintain business as usual. Will Ryan play it safe or finally listen to her heart?
CW: Deceased parents (off page background), minor car accident with ER visit
Kasi Blythewood has spent most of her life in the shadow of her famous film producer father who’s deliberately kept her under his thumb with tough love. Ready to make a name for herself, Kasi secretly heads to Austin for a film conference to rustle up some financing for her dream project—an indie series that showcases cuisine from around the world.
When Kasi meets chef Declan Everheart, it’s instant lust spiced with an intriguing business opportunity. Declan’s father, a Michelin star chef, is interested in funding her film, but there is a sexy string attached—Declan must be a producer on her series. Not ideal. Kasi craves independence, and she knows business and pleasure never mix well, but she’s exhausted all other options.
Declan’s more than just eye candy and Kasi’s not blind. She immediately discovers Declan’s not just a natural producer and talented chef, he also shines on camera as the host. Can Kasi convince Declan to break away from his father and build the life he wants…with her?
CW: Deceased parent (off page background), friend in an accident with hospital stay (and followup recovery), friend’s divorce
Explore the unlimited nature of love and its many incarnations in the Love Unlimited Anthology, featuring eleven stories that cross generations, cultural backgrounds, and borders. Love Unlimited will warm your heart, tickle your funny bone, and envelop you in the wonderful and complex human emotion the world calls “Love.”
Bryana Beecham — Love Letters to the Universe
When Ursula aims her cupid’s arrow at an office colleague, the drama begins with a series of handwritten letters. Penned to charm and disarm, the one-sided letters take on a life of their own… until one day Ursula decides it’s time to take their relationship to the next level. What could possibly go wrong?
Geralyn Corcillo — In Her Space
A sixty-four-year-old woman lives quietly, content with all she has survived in life. But things change when she discovers a homeless young man living under her small house.
Laura Chapman — Smyth Saves the Date
While clashing with his stern but swoon-worthy producer, George, about the show’s direction—and trying to plan his best friend’s wedding—Smyth will have to choose what he needs more: fame or love.
Katie Leonard — SuperMom and the Theory of Mind
When her mother-in-law is injured, Lauren is forced to bring her wife’s son (okay, he’s her son, too) to a comic book convention. As she navigates a world of masked heroes, flirty villains, and a giant gorilla, she learns unexpected lessons about empathy and love.
Kelly Cain — Summer Healing
A contemporary enemies to lovers romance about a poly-sci major home for the summer from college. While visiting her ailing grandfather in the hospital, she meets a hot RN with strong political opinions, completely opposite of her own.
Anne Hamilton — The Shining Girl
Surviving a cyclone, Caroline travels from India to London and back again, to find – maybe – the man she once loved but shouldn’t have. En route, a surreal encounter with her would-be guardian angel helps her redefine love, life, and what she really wants from both.
Zainab Muhammad Shahid — Kaneez’s Bulbul
Set in Lahore, the capital city of the Pakistani province of Punjab, this love story features a young couple whose marriage of convenience reveals dark family secrets from the pre-Partition era. If love gives life, it certainly has the power to take it away.
Samantha Bryant — Flygirl’s Second Chance
Jessica “Flygirl” Roark has no problem with flying headlong into danger to save the citizens of Springfield, but that doesn’t mean she’s immune to nerves on the eve of her wedding. Sure, she’s survived ovarian cancer and learned to control her new powers of flight, but is she ready for her second chance at romance?
Therese Gilardi — Paris in April
An American woman has her life upended on an April day in Paris.
Lizbeth Durano — Starting Over
When her flight is delayed due to a snowstorm, a young painter, recently betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend, finds herself stuck overnight at Gate 27. But she’s not alone for she finds a new friend in a carefree young man who just might be the perfect friend for the duration of the wait… maybe even longer.
Amy Gettinger — Kiss My Sweet Skull
Is Indiana sugar cream pie seriously the only answer for Betty, an anthropology professor with a daunting forensic task and suffocating skull dreams that haunt her nightly? Or could a perfectly timed, yummy kiss be just the thing she needs to see her through this Halloween?
About two years ago, a group of five novice writers signed with the same small publisher, each inexperienced in the publishing world yet committed to understanding the process and finding success. Through their mutual dive into unchartered territory, Amanda Linsmeier, Bianca M. Schwarz, C.H. Armstrong, Kelly Cain, and Jamie McLachlan reached out to one another and became instant friends, sharing laughs, tears, and the struggles of life and writing. We soon dubbed ourselves “Book Besties.”
During the fall of 2016, we decided to write a book of short stories together. As friends, we wanted to combine our talents to create a collection that would inspire hope and happiness. After much deliberation, we chose the theme “Second Chances” and decided to title this anthology, “Déjà You.” Though each story contains the same theme, they all are as unique as the author who wrote it. Including New Adult, Women’s Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, and Contemporary Romance, each short offers a different take on the theme and involves varying heat levels, from sweet to steamy.
In Déjà You, five authors share stories of second chances, as varied in telling as the writers themselves.
Kelly Cain’s We’ll Always Have Oahu takes us on a whirlwind New Adult romance set in the 80s between a young woman on a high school graduation trip and a handsome Navy sailor.
Bianca M. Schwarz transports us to 1760 in The Pearl with the story of Marcus Landover, who attends a card party and ends up with more than he bargained for in the beautiful Sophia Chelmsford.
Amanda Linsmeier’s Joy and Sorrow reunites lovers separated by death in a Women’s Fiction tinged with the unusual.
The Eyes of the Heart by Jamie McLachlan gives us Rosalina, who is forced to confront her attraction and the truth about her blindness when a new gardener is hired at the Greystone house.
Finally, C.H. Armstrong brings us Mr. Midnight, where tragedy reunites two star-crossed lovers, but misunderstandings soon rip them apart. Now, six years later, the stars are realigning with the help of the smooth voice of a late night radio DJ.
Some of the stories are sweet, some sad, some steamy, but all carry the same theme. Déjà You is a collection of stories for those who believe in love, but most of all, second chances.
To say Casie Armstrong is shy on first dates is an understatement. When she receives a Twitter message from a tattooed, self-identifying IT nerd, she finds comfort in online anonymity. After weeks of messaging, texting, and phone calls, they finally decide to meet. When they do come together, will it be as hot as their online hookups? Or will Casie revert to her normal introverted self?
Connections was first published under the name Spending Time with RandyRob in Fuse Literary’s annual holiday reads anthology for charity, The Stockings Were Hung (Hot Holiday Reads #3). Connections is the standalone version with an added scene and a revision.
Connections is available free by subscribing to my newsletter – Between The Sheets
After four years at the country’s top culinary school and several years as head chef in her mother’s restaurant, Rowan Townsend has built a notable reputation. Her farm-to-table collard greens have long been bringing everyone to the yard, but limits on the restaurant’s size have led to long waits. Looking to expand the restaurant, she enters a televised chef competition. The problem? Her infuriatingly-talented nemesis from culinary school also enters.
To the culinary world, Knox Everheart is restaurant royalty. As much as Rowan wants to deny it, he’s a gifted chef. Rowan knows her arrogant arch-nemesis is confident he’ll win—he’s certainly given her a run for her money more times than she’d like to admit. But this time, she’s ready to show him who’s boss.
Their rivalry soon sparks fireworks in the kitchen and, as the competition heats up, so does Rowan’s attraction to Knox. And somewhere between pasta and gumbo, they both need to decide what’s worth fighting for.
