ON THE PAGE
I write romance. Happy endings. My characters are the heroes of their own lives. They may have their dark, harsh, difficult moments like any of us do, but their lives always contain hope and love.
Hi. Hello. Welcome.
Is it your first visit to my work? Looking at the backlist and not sure where to start? I hope this page gets you on your way to a great read!At my site all of my books have an “all about” page that will give you a lengthy sample from the story. Have a taste or two and see what might suit your palate. The page will also say if there’s an audiobook available, awards, and more.
See an idea you like in the table of contents? Feel free to hop right to it.
In addition, if you’re interested in specific themes or tropes, you can visit the All About the Stories page and use the filters. Like a meaty enemies to lovers story? Try “Hate at First Sight.” Women who are trying so hard to figure out life and surviving it? Try “Coming into Their Own.” Instant attraction? Butch-femme pairings? Adventure, Celebrities, Fantasy, Super Sexy Times, or Romance So Sweet? There you go.
Of course, you can always decide to read in order of publication. You would definitely see my growth and change as a writer over the thirty-mumble years. With few exceptions, however, my books do not have to be read in any order, so I wouldn’t prioritize that. But you do you. Everybody has their own particular jam.
The Books that are Linked
As I said above, most of my books are standalone. These are the exceptions.
The Coin of Love Series
Books in this series are definitely connected, but they have been written out of order, in terms of their era, and I mean them to be read in any order. I plan more installments under this same premise: a magical coin helps women get out of their own way when it comes to finding their perfect mate. So far there are four books: two set in contemporary times, one in medieval Scotland, and one in California of the 1950s. The next addition will be contemporary times.
Touchwood and Watermark
One main character in Touchwood, Rayann, is a main character in Watermark. Watermark was written nine years after Touchwood. The time gap between the two stories does matter! I humbly suggest – without giving away any spoilers – that the reader wait nine years between the two.
Captain of Industry and Stepping Stone
This is more than you likely want to know, but here goes!
The novel opens in the present with a swanky cliffside fundraising party for Planned Parenthood. With celebrities, politicos, artists, and entrepreneurs in attendance, I drew on successful, smart women from my own stories, like Laura Izmani (Roller Coaster), who caters the evening, Syrah Ardani (Just Like That) who donates the wine, and Leah Beck (Painted Moon) who provides the central piece for the art auction. Sydney Van Allen (Wild Things) and Helen Baynor (Roller Coaster again) are among the celebrity attendees. I don’t think it impacts the experience not to know the full history of those people for that scene, but if you have read those novels then it does give a little glimpse of the characters later in life, much like the short stories do in the Frosting on the Cake collections.
Captain of Industry is a fully standalone novel, and it is also a wraparound novel – both prequel and sequel.
One main character, Jennifer Lamont, is a secondary – and not very nice – character in Stepping Stone from seven years earlier. There’s plenty in Captain to demonstrate that Jennifer has not been nice in her past, so a reading of Stepping Stone is not necessary. However, Captain is written so that a reader can enjoy Acts 1 and 2 of Captain, then all of Stepping Stone and finish with Acts 3 and 4 of Captain.
And Now for the Picks
Bad Girl Goes Good: Captain of Industry
If the above wasn’t clear, Captain of Industry is very special for me. The story is long and layered. Instant attraction, second and third chances, smart, strong women, celebrity, fame, a high femme and unabashed butch – and redemption after 20 years of regrets. Like butch-femme pairings? There’s also Butch Across the Hall (super sexy reader favorite), Black Velvet and a Little Boi Smile (short story), and Simply the Best (hope and love in these times).
Lesbian Community and Survival: Touchwood
If you’ve ever wondered what times were like “back in the day,” then Touchwood gives you not one “back in the day” but two. The story was written in the wildly open and hopeful Gay 90s, and features a lesbian who survived the repressions of the 50s and 60s. It also showcases my love of books and bookstores. Want more stories about women who love books? One Degree of Separation (librarian) and Paperback Romance (writer) might tick that box.
Sapphic Retelling: Just Like That
Love the structure of the classic romance in a modern sapphic setting? Pride and Prejudice is that classic happy-ending romance, and Just Like That takes the story to the soft nights and sunny days of California’s Wine Country. Other stories with classic tropes and structure are In Every Port (player falls for friend), Love by the Numbers (road trip and they hate each other) and Wild Things (ice queen melts).
Snow-Bound California Cabin: Painted Moon
A Thanksgiving weekend blizzard in the Sierras, a timely rescue, only one bed, and a great dog. That’s just the beginning. Once the snow melts, the freeze sets in. Other books that highlight the wonderful, beautiful mess that is California? Because I Said So (Los Angeles), Stepping Stone (Hollywood), Embrace in Motion (San Francisco), and Just Like That (Napa).
Historical: Cowboys and Kisses
We were there. Name any era of history and we were there. In Cowboys and Kisses, it’s the American West, where conditions were brutal for girls with no family. From the perspective of a young woman running out of survival time in a brothel, this is a story of women saving themselves and each other. We were there. We survived. We’ve always had each other. Cowboys and Kisses was voted Historical Romance of the Year. Other stories in this vein is Knight of Nights (Medieval Scotland) and Christabel (dual timeline modern day and colonial New York).
Glorious Food: Making Up for Lost Time
I love the eating of food, and I love science, so naturally I love the art-science alchemy of cooking. I’ve featured remarkable meals and inspired chefs in a lot of stories – to me, food is a truly fun way to enrich a character or scene. Sharing food makes family and memories. Making Up for the Lost Time is “the book with the recipes.” It’s also set in one of my favorite places in the world, the sea cliffs of Mendocino, California. Two other novels that explore the ecstasy of food are Warming Trend (a cafe in North Pole, Alaska) and Sugar (cake and fondant). There are many, though, so maybe go here and use the filter “Food Fetish.”
Go Deeper: Simply the Best
Life isn’t always sweet and happy. Lately, especially so. You know, pandemic… fascism. In times when life seems to be nothing but dark, is it possible to believe in hope and trust in love? Simply the Best features a woman who has about given up on humankind. The lovely woman she’s just met is simply too good to be true in a world so broken. Isn’t she? Will she prove herself right by ruining the chance for love, or will she realize that love is what saves us from our worst selves? This theme is also explored in an earlier novel that remains a reader favorite, Substitute for Love. Two more novels that dive into the deeper, secret places of our souls are two of my Lambda award winners: The Kiss that Counted, and Maybe Next Time.
Super Sexy: All the Wrong Places
For the sexy times in my books I gravitate toward sensuality over graphic description. Consent is a must, and exploration of power and character through sexy times is another must for me. All the Wrong Places was my first foray into more explicit intimacy, and it wasn’t my last. Brandy Monsoon is fun-loving and sex positive. But a Friends with Benefits arrangement turns serious. Other more-sexy-times-than-usual-for-me works are 18th and Castro (Halloween in San Francisco) and In Deep Waters 1 or 2 (co-authored with Radclyffe).
Holidays and Healing: Comfort and Joy
Mystical, magical, somber, reflective, the darkest nights, the gift of light – the holiday season can tell so many stories about fundamental humanity. Comfort and Joy is a novella featuring a soldier returned home and the unexpected connection with an unusual woman that might lead to much more. Love the sparkle and fun of the season? Try Checked Out (so many cookies), Roller Coaster (a swanky holiday party with all the food and trimmings).
Long-Term Couples and Couplings
Ready to read about the women who figured out life and love, and how they’ve managed after that? The Frosting on the Cake series features three volumes of follow-up stories for nearly every novel. Another work that features long-term couples who really know how to couple is 18th and Castro.
Go Where Reading is Free: the Library
Want free ebooks and audiobooks? A library card is your ticket! Got a library card? (If not, get one. Yes, I said that in my mom voice.)
All of my work is available via Libby as ebooks, and many are in Hoopla. Many are available in Libby or Hoopla as audiobooks. If your library hasn’t added what you want to their collection, ask! In general, librarians want to say yes. You asking for sapphic books let’s them tell their powers-that-be that the patrons ask for these books. (So no, power-that-be we are not going to remove them from the collection.)
Give any title a try with no risk but a little bit of time. Go to your library’s website and find out how to opt in to Libby or Hoopla for ebook and audiobook stories.
In case, you were wondering, yes – a resounding yes – library check outs help authors. They also help your local community. Once a sapphic book is added to a collection it’s there for everyone to check out. In an era of book banning, check out statistics is one important way to tell librarians that, yes, you do want sapphic books in your library.
Coffee. Tim Tams. Ice cream.
Get to Know Me
Here at my site I have numerous articles that will tell you who I am. What you see is what you get. I’m a real person. I will never use generative AI in my creative processes, and I will not allow it for audio recording or graphic design elements of book covers or marketing.
I am a lesbian. I’m a mom. I am a breast cancer survivor. I have a trans kid and know that trans women are women.
I rage against the machine and I am not down with the sickness. Nevertheless, on the inside I am just about 100% Winnie the Pooh. I am totally serious about the Ice Cream.
If you want to know more, my expansive About page will guide you to my history, politics, treasured philosophies, and Fun Arbitrary Questions and my Fun Arbitrary Answers.
One more thing before you go: I have done my level best to limit tracking by my site. There are no ads. Videos are locally hosted so no YouTube tracking. If you purchase something from my site, the tracking is the minimum to carry out your purchase – there will be no follow-up feedback emails and the like. There are no analytics loaded here for our use; remember that the browser you use may bring its own form of tracking that we can’t control.
My mailing list will never, ever be shared or sold. I value your privacy as much as my own. My Global Privacy Policy is here.
Thanks for visiting my site. Thank you for being a reader. You keep reading, I’ll keep writing.
