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Two Weeks in August

Nina Christie was warned, but Hazy Duncan is even worse than she expected. Nina's new home on Chincoteague Island would be perfect but for the blight of Hazy's perpetual rudeness. The island's other inhabitants welcome her back as a prodigal daughter of the community and the idyllic summer breezes soothe her wounded heart. All she wants is peace, quiet and her books. Hazy's experience with beautiful women like Nina is that they're easily bored and always looking for something better. Just when CC is finally out of Hazy's life and she can hear the heartbeat of the ocean again, here was another beautiful woman on her doorstep. Nina is even more dangerous than CC because Nina is nice. With both Nina and Hazy suspicious of anything that might be romance, it's surprising when their hearts--and the enchantment of the island--seem to have other plans for them.

The Book of Eleanor

2013 winner GCLS Goldie Award On the list of things that Grey Graham thought she’d never do is hire a psychic. Her new bookstore on South Padre Island, however, appears to be haunted. Unable to explain why, she’s convinced that the restless ghost is her late partner, Mary. The locals tell her that psychic Angie June is the real deal, though, and she seeks out the young woman for help. Angie is desperate to save her local youth program, and a paying client is essential. There is definitely something off about the bookstore too, and she can sense that the spirit won’t be easy to vanquish. As the days go by she also finds that the ghost isn’t the only reason she’s drawn to the bookstore, but Grey is far more interested in the dead than the living. Nat Burns brings the south Texas world alive as two women confront a haunting secret .

Family Issue

Vandalism and violence at Fortune Farm have pulled investigator Denni Hope home to Southern Louisiana. Her insistent ex-girlfriend, Patty Price, expects Denni to get to the bottom of an endless nightmare of trouble. For Denni, it means watching Patty with Yolanda Elliott, the creepy, conniving lowlife who stole Patty away. Denni had hoped Patty was exaggerating, but the chaos at the farm borders on evil. The Price family is well-loved but nothing has been right since the death of Patty’s mother. A war-crazy neighbor and a business competitor are just the beginning of the list of suspects. But just as Denni feels she’s making progress, Yolanda asks for help from an old friend of her own: police officer Bonita Corcaran. The move is so typical of Yolanda—it’s an already difficult situation--but now Denni must deal with the most attractive, seductive women she's ever seen.

Nether Regions

Delora November is a survivor—ask anyone in Redstar, Alabama, and they will tell you that. Her ex-husband put her in a burn ward and she came fighting back. She works three jobs and on the surface, she’s keeping it all together. But then, when she’s hurt again, when the thought of yet another hospital is too much, Delora turns to healer women she’s heard might help. In the quiet, breathing depths of Bayou Lisse she meets Sophie Cofe. The healing bayou works its own magic. And it seems like magic indeed when Delora finds answers to questions she had yet to ask and cures for ills she had thought beyond fixing. But underneath her happiness there is still a lurking evil that can take away everything Delora—and Sophie—hold dear.

Gospel

2014 finalist GCLS Goldie Award Gospel, using erotic poetry and prose, takes the reader on a journey into the mysterious world of woman-to-woman relationships. The first part, Genesis (We Desire), focuses on that initial, all-consuming attraction two women can feel for one another. Beginning with the phrase "you steal across me like twilight" and progressing to the physical awe portrayed in "Wet Panties", Genesis propels the reader into the passion of part two. The second section, Psalms (We Love), shares the intense sensuality experienced by new lovers. "I feel a sort of hum, electric in nature" lays a path to "aching, hesitant, I limp emotion closer" as women explore issues of passion and deep need, abandon and trust. In the third part, Revelation (We Lose), lovers separate on emotional and physical levels. The words "you take my love yet deny my passion" reveal the frustration caused by the machinations of a lover and the phrase "a loneliness seeps through, saturating a living sponge grown of flesh and blood" deals with indifference. In summary, Genesis is the burgeoning of love, Psalms, the fruition of passion, and Revelation, the grief of loss. This book is unique in that it consists of small servings of emotion, whether glee, sadness, frustration or anger, and a myriad of women instead of one main protagonist. There is a thread of continuity between the three units and the resolved situations in each short story. It is erotic, sometimes graphic, and draws the reader into the highly sensual lives of women.

The Wittering Way

The Meab have lived peacefully in the forest surrounding Lake Feidlimed for millions of centuries. Even when the humans arrived in their silver sky ships, the Meab had stayed strong, if hidden. Now, human technology has taken over the Brinc clan and Cleome, eldest daughter of the Widdershin join, finds she must avenge her slaughtered parents and rescue her captured sister. Getting onto Brinc lands won't be easy. To get there she, and her ragtag band of young peers, must deal with the elementals of nature who try to prevent their passage, as well as trying to blend into a society now as much metal as magic. At the citadel of Signe Ray, Cleome faces her greatest challenge and her greatest grief. Will she take the next, dangerous step and summon the darkest forces of evil to fight at her side? Or will she admit defeat against such overwhelming odds? This story, the first in the Tales of the Meab series introduces us to the many magical joins of the nature-based Witta clan and the oh-so-rational joins of the machine-based Brinc clan and the ongoing differences between them.

Lights of the Heart

Physician Corinthia Madsen Salas—Dr. Maddie—has a flourishing practice in the tiny southern town of Maypearl, Alabama. Although she’s on call for her eclectic patients 24/7, she keeps her personal life private—most notably the fact that she is in love with her new receptionist, Ella Lewis. To reveal the truth could be an ethical disaster for her career and her impeccable standing as a civic leader in the small town. Yet, even so, she wonders often if Ella’s sly, shy glances indicate a return of affection or just workplace courtesy. Then the incredible happens, the two are thrust into revealing their feelings and Ella offers to change jobs so that they may have a relationship. Throwing caution to the wind, Maddie agrees. After a blissful evening, Dr. Maddie is called out to a late night emergency and soon the worlds of both women turn completely upside down. Now Ella is faced with life changing choices. Should she turn away from the challenges a life with Corinthia would bring? Or allow the power of devotion, time and persistence to bring her beloved Maddie back to her arms… This new romance by award-winning author Nat Burns is filled with quirky patients, comedic office staff and, oh yes—love. Lots of love.

Identity

Shay Raynor doesn’t need to learn anything twice. After a three-year disastrous relationship she now knows what happens when you let someone inside your heart, body and mind—they take everything. Her career as a prominent D.C. dog trainer is in tatters, but that pales next to the wounds she carries inside and out. Liza Hughes has left her business in Montgomery for the even smaller Maypearl, Alabama, to care for her ailing father. Distance from her clinging ex is also welcome. She’s not expecting to meet someone like Shay, but the attractive newcomer in the small town is clearly keeping her distance from life. Shay might eventually open up to Liza’s friendship and more, but the arrival of a woman named Pepper changes everything. Clearly, she wants Shay back. Finally, facing Shay’s terror, Liza understands what it will take for the two of them to have a future—they must deal with Shay’s past. Identity is a story of survival, tenacity and the strength of true love.

The Quality of Blue

River Tyler leaves her life in Virginia behind, setting out for the paradise of the Florida Keys. As a jewelry designer she’s been hired to manage a high-end jewelry store owned by one of the area’s wealthiest and most influential men. She doesn’t understand that he has plans for her—plans that become impossible to contemplate once she meets store buyer Larken Moore. Larken is determined not to get burned, but Key West sunsets are hot and the passion that blazes between her and River burns even hotter. This edition of Nat Burns heartfelt tale of surprising love and high stakes is the author’s revised and edited version.

House of Cards

2012 finalist GCLS Goldie Award Kaylen Stauder is more or less content with her status as a widow. She’s had decades to watch the gossip games in the Freshwater Magnolia Club—and she wants none of it to be about her. Coping with domineering men all her life, she didn’t count on Eda Byrne. She didn’t plan for love, let alone passion, and with another woman. She never believed in irresistible attraction, until now. Past the time of life when she ever thought she’d have to make such choices, Kaylen must decide which she needs more: her community or love. Nat Burns peels away the civilized veneer of a small North Carolina town in this passionate story of a mature woman discovering the price and value of love for the first time.

Poison Flowers

Dorry Wood is notorious in Schuyler Point and her antagonism plagues Marya Brock from the day they meet. Having left Seattle in favor of the small South Carolina town, Marya is finding it hard enough to settle in without butting heads with the town crank. When Dorry finds out that Marya is the new staff reporter, it gets worse. Five years ago, the town paper led the charge in branding Dorry a pariah for being a lesbian and accused her of being complicit in her lover’s death. Peace might have finally been possible, but then Dorry’s brother-in-law’s dead body is discovered on Marya’s front lawn. Under equal suspicion, they both know that they are the only ones who will help themselves. With hostilities set aside, they are confronted with other feelings that smolder below the surface, but Marya finds no comfort in them. She's read the reports from years ago—how can she care for a woman that she doesn’t trust?