JL Merrow

The bigger they come, the harder they fall ... in love. Cambridge academic Larry Morton takes one, alcohol-glazed look at the huge, tattooed man looming in a dark alley, and assumes he’s done for. Moments later he finds himself disarmed -- literally and figuratively. Next morning, he can’t rest until he’s apologised to the man who turned out to be more gentle than giant. Larry’s intrigued to find there’s more to Al Fletcher than meets the eye; he possesses a natural artistic talent that shines through untutored technique. Unfortunately, no one else seems to see the sensitive soul beneath Al’s imposing, scarred, undeniably sexy exterior. Least of all Larry’s class-conscious family, who would like nothing better than to split up this mismatched pair. It’s deliciously physical, but also much more -- which makes Larry’s next task so daunting. Not just convincing his colleagues, friends, and family that their relationship is more than skin deep. It’s convincing Al.

Muscling Through

Caught!

Relief Valve

Heat Trap

Narrelle M. Harris

Julie Bozza

Atlin Merrick

Andrea Demetrius

Sam Evans

Lou Faulkner

Adam Fitzroy

Sandra Lindsey

Fae Mcloughlin

Eleanor Musgrove

Thirteen stories from eleven authors, exploring the world of Jane Austen and celebrating her influence on ours.Being cousins-by-marriage doesn't deter William Elliot from pursuing Richard Musgrove in Lyme; nor does it prevent Elinor Dashwood falling in love with Ada Ferrars. Surprises are in store for Emma Woodhouse while visiting Harriet Smith; for William Price mentoring a seaman on board the Thrush; and for Adam Otelian befriending his children's governess, Miss Hay. Margaret Dashwood seeks an alternative to the happy marriages chosen by her sisters; and Susan Price ponders just such a possibility with Mrs Lynd. One Fitzwilliam Darcy is plagued by constant reports of convictions for 'unnatural' crimes; while another must work out how to secure the Pemberley inheritance for her family.Meanwhile, a modern-day Darcy meets the enigmatic Lint on the edge of Pemberley Cliff; while another struggles to live up to wearing Colin Firth's breeches on a celebrity dance show. Cooper is confronted by his lost love at a book club meeting in Melbourne while reading Persuasion; and Ashley finds more than he'd bargained for at the Jane Austen museum in Bath.A Pemberley-sized anthology featuring authors: Julie Bozza, Andrea Demetrius, Sam Evans, Lou Faulkner, Adam Fitzroy, Narrelle M Harris, Sandra Lindsey, Fae Mcloughlin, Atlin Merrick, JL Merrow and Eleanor Musgrove.

Modern LGBTQ+ Fiction Inspired by Jane Austen's Novels

A Certain Persuasion

Wounds of the heart are the hardest to heal. Solicitor’s clerk George Johnson has a secret goal when he moves into a London boarding house in the winter of 1920: to find out if his fellow lodger, Matthew Connaught, was the wartime traitor who cost George’s adored older brother Hugh his life. Yet the more he gets to know his quarry, the more George loses sight of his mission -- and his heart. Blessed with boyish good looks and charm in abundance, ad man Matthew is irrepressibly cheerful despite having lost an arm in the Great War -- and soon makes plain his attraction to George. As George’s feelings for Matthew grow, so does his desperation to know the truth about what happened that day in Ypres. Even if bringing all their secrets to light means he’ll lose the man he’s come to love.

To Love a Traitor

How do you know if you’re one of the damned? As a child, Don wanted to become a priest. Now a grown man mostly at ease with being gay, he’s left the Catholic Church and has chosen instead to help people through his work as a parole officer. His strong faith is shaken when his latest assignment turns out to be Michael, a young man Don hasn’t seen since he took Michael to church as a child -- and saw his parish priest cast Michael out of the church as a demon. Meeting him as an adult re-ignites the obsession Don had with the boy he couldn’t save. But can Michael be saved at all? Or is the strangely compelling demon with a taste for risky sex as damned as he believes himself to be?

Angel

Two years after the death of his lover at the hands of bigots, Kurt’s still not looking for another relationship, even though the big old house he bought with Raoul seems cold and empty these days. But there’s a perky kid at his gym who just won't take no for an answer. Matt can tell there’s more to Kurt than just a great set of pecs. He’s drawn to the big guy’s caring, protective attitude as much as to his muscles. But when push comes to shove, can Matt show Kurt he’s not just a big mouth in a small package?

Light the Fire

Customer service has never been this personal. Robin Christopher, beleaguered retail worker, isn’t having an easy November. His boss is raising stress levels planning a Black Friday to end all Black Fridays, his family doesn’t understand him, and his best friend thinks his new crush is a hallucination brought on by watching too many episodes of Doctor Who. Archie Levine dresses in Victorian style and divides his time between caring for his young son and creating weird and wacky steampunk gadgets from bits of old junk—when he’s not looking after his mum and trying to keep on good terms with his ex. The last thing he’s got time for is a relationship, but the flustered young man he met while disembowelling a fridge is proving very tempting. When his mum’s social conscience is roused by a local store with a cavalier attitude to the homeless, former rough sleeper Archie shares her anger. Little does he know that Robin works for that same store. When Archie finds out he’s sleeping with the enemy, things could cut up very rough indeed. **See this title's page on RiptidePublishing.com for content warnings.**

Counter Culture

Some sins are worth the price. Sexy male succubus Rael has an insatiable appetite for men that gets him into all kinds of trouble. And he's just found his favorite flavor: hunky blond detective Lars Thornsson. When those cool Nordic looks combine with Rael's smoldering dark charms, all Hell could break loose. Lars's job at the Paranormal Enforcement Agency means he's supposed to be policing demons, not falling in lust — or love — with them. But there's something about this feisty little sex demon that hits all his buttons. With no shortage of deadly sinners in his city, from serial-killing succubi to drug-dealing demons, all Lars can do is try to keep his private life from interfering with his work. But Rael has a knack for getting mixed up in cases that threaten both their domestic harmony and their lives.

Damned If You Do: The Complete Collection

Together for the first time, twelve short stories of women loving women from award-winning author JL Merrow. Some are funny, some are sweet, some are steamy -- and some are haunting, with genres ranging from steampunk through paranormal to fairy tale, and from contemporary erotic romance to historical. Meet shapeshifters and spirits of the forest, enjoy a lovers' reunion and watch friends become something more. Encounter strange creatures, automata, and women on both sides of the law. See two of Jane Austen's minor characters find love together, and others find hope amid the ruins, as JL Merrow explores the feminine side of life -- and love. Contains the stories: London Lark, First Time, Nine Days and Seven Tears, Capture the Moon, Her Particular Friend, Wild Flowers of Berlin, Trolling for Cupcakes, Little Bit of Ivory, Ice Maiden, Dance With Me, Belling the Kat, and Blazing June.

A Feminine Flirty Dozen

Jason loves working at the Bright Eyes nursery, but he's not so keen on what happens at the kids' Christmas party. As if having to don an ancient, tacky Santa costume isn't bad enough, he's mortified when he suffers a costume malfunction. Especially as it happens right in front of the hot -- and impeccably dressed -- Alec, a single dad he's fancied for ages. But when Alec's daughter Poppy invites Jason round for tea, he finds Alec was only too pleased to get a glimpse of Jason's naff underwear. In fact, he'd like to see a whole lot more of it. A Christmas miracle? Maybe ... but there's one more embarrassment in store for Jason next morning.

Just Like Santa

Twenty-one-year-old Briony is stagnating, living at home with her parents and younger brother. That is, until a mysterious, beautiful visitor from the sea brings her new hope of happiness. But Freyja’s not meant to be on the Isle of Wight, and she’s about to leave for home shores. Can Briony find a way to keep her selkie lover by her side?

Nine Days, and Seven Tears

Pressure Head

Blow Down

First impressions can doom second chances. Bran Roscarrock has been living in the closet all his life. As heir to an expansive family legacy in the town of Porthkennack, old-fashioned ideals of respectability and duty were drummed into him since childhood, and he's never dared to live -- or love -- openly. Sam Ferreira, an old friend of Bran's brother, Jory, is a disgraced academic desperate to leave his dead-end job. When Jory asks him to take over as curator of a planned exhibition on Edward of Woodstock, the fourteenth-century Black Prince, Sam leaps at the chance to do what he loves and make a fresh start. But Bran's funding the exhibition, and though sparks fly between the two men, they're not all happy ones. Bran idolises Prince Edward as a hero, while Sam's determined to present a balanced picture. With neither of them prepared to give ground, a hundred years of war seems all too possible. And if Bran finds out about Sam's past, his future may not be bright, and their budding romance may be lost to history.

Love at First Hate

In this fairytale inspired by a classic children’s story, weaver’s daughter Adrien is tired of turning down marriage proposals. So she disguises herself as a boy and sets out on a journey of discovery, accompanied only by her faithful piglet Ferkel. Rescuing a young monk named Felix from brigands, Adrien agrees to act as bodyguard on his journey to the King’s castle to present the princess with a telescope. The lovely Princess Selene has also had more than her fair share of suitors, but she refuses to marry until someone gives her the moon. Felix’s telescope could grant her heart’s desire, but it’s Adrien who finds herself in love with the lively, beautiful princess. Astonished to find Selene loves her in return, Adrien’s joy is short-lived. Surely Selene’s love will die when Adrien reveals her true gender? And in any case, two women cannot be married -- can they?

Capture the Moon

A match made in heaven—but the honeymoon from hell. Plumber Tom Paretski and his newly wedded husband, PI Phil Morrison, plan to enjoy their honeymoon in Italy to the full. It should be the start of a wonderful future together. But when Wayne—Phil’s ex-best mate and Tom’s former bully—turns up unexpectedly at their hotel, issues from their schooldays threaten to derail the fun. Tom may no longer bear a grudge against Phil for past injuries, but Wayne’s another matter—or is he? Wayne seems determined to make friends, but Tom’s struggling to forgive and forget. To add to his confusion, cryptic messages from home spark the question: Are he and Phil really as in tune as he thought? Tom’s not the first man Phil made a commitment to, and that marriage turned sour sooner rather than later. It shouldn’t surprise them when death explodes onto the scene in shocking fashion, and their honeymoon turns into a murder investigation. When the group of locals Wayne had been meeting with turn their attention to Tom’s psychic abilities, he and Phil will need to pull together to figure out what’s going on—or risk this trip being the last they’ll ever take.

Stop Cock

When single father Chris meets a Viking re-enactor on Lindisfarne, he thinks it’s the perfect recipe for a holiday fling -- and nothing more. Ian, or Ulf, as he’s known when in character as a Viking berserker, is a dreadlocked nomad who never stays in one place for long. Chris had a relationship with a free spirit like Ian before, and it didn’t end well for him or for his bright but troubled daughter Kelis. He’s determined not to risk the stability of her home environment for Ian, no matter how well she gets on with him -- and no matter how much Chris is drawn to the man. But Chris hasn’t reckoned with the Viking way of taking all you’re willing to give -- and coming back for more.

Love Found on Lindisfarne

A lover from another time When Ted Ennis steps out the doors of the Criterion Theatre for a cigarette and finds himself in Victorian London, he begins to doubt his sanity. At first he thinks it's all a film set, and is sure that the strikingly handsome young man leaning against a lamppost must be the leading man… What starts as a sordid transaction with a beautiful rent boy quickly turns into something much deeper, drawing him back again and again as he gets to know Jem and craves meaningful encounters with him. But Ted doesn't understand the exact conditions necessary for his trips through time—and for Jem, time may actually be running out. Now Ted has one last shot to get back to Jem and save their relationship, before it's too late… 27,000 words

JL Merrow

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