Harmon “Waz” Wazelle is a superstar on the football field. By the time he’s sixteen, he knows exactly what his future will be. Redmond “Renny” Hennessey is a musical phenom. Though he’s faced some tragedy, he sees a bright path ahead as well, secure in the fact he has the talent to make it happen.<br><br>When a high school prank results in what feels like a bad luck curse just as Waz and Renny start to discover feelings for one another, it seems the only way to turn things around is to take a break after their summer fling.<br<>br&gt;Ten years later, high school long over, when Renny and Waz are thrown back together, one has found every bit of success he’d dreamed of, while the other still struggles. Does the dark cloud hang over only one of them, now? What would happen if they tried to be together again? Can bad luck be tricked into turning good?</br<>

When Guillermo is gifted a bag of gold coins from the 1800s by his grandmother, he is also regaled with stories of the old west and his five times Great-Uncle Gustavo.<br><br>Gustavo never thought his life would be anything but robbing, running, and fending off hateful comments about his heritage. Then he met the big blond wannabe cowboy with the beat-up hat and a sometimes too big smile. Guillermo and August’s relationship is rather new, too. As events unfold in eerily similar fashion some 150 years apart, both couples face prejudice, serious injury, insecurities, drug issues, and a brush with the law, all of which test their love.<br><br>Are the coins bad luck? Are they somehow magical? Does more money mean more problems? One pair is determined to survive several turns of the calendar page, while one man thinks it might be better to go their separate ways.

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, what does togetherness do?<br><br>When Casey found himself falling in love with Eli and Johnny as they fell in love with each other, he fled the country. Upon his return four months later, he finds Eli off in Morocco for humanitarian work and Johnny all alone.<br><br>Forced together over the holidays, Casey and Johnny find the situation tense. But what kind of tension is building? When Eli comes home with a big reveal and a plan, where will that leave the three of them this Christmas and in the future?

When Ezra and Titus come across an old sign indicating the Dupree estate was once an inn, they consider reopening it as The Heart-Shaped Gate Bed and Breakfast. Not long afterwards, they discover someone has already been lodging there, down in the dark, spooky basement.<br><br>Ezra wants to turn the trespasser in to authorities, but Titus, still struggling with the past, has a soft spot for the guy who seems lost. Even he has to admit, however, that something about the man’s story and odd behavior just doesn’t add up. Tales of a past love have a familiar ring, a fictional one, and the man’s timeline of events simply doesn’t add up barring some sort of paranormal explanation.<br><br>Can Titus and Ezra get over the bumps in their relationship? Will the new guy steal Titus away? And if he succeeds, what nefarious fate might he have in mind?

At work, August’s new job as a firefighter brings opportunity to model for a beefcake calendar. At home, a no strings hookup becomes a regular thing. The new man in August’s life calls himself Memo. He eventually explains it’s a nickname for Guillermo, and with that also reveals something a little bit shocking.<br><br>When August is excluded from the calendar for reasons objectionable to some, word spreads throughout the town, and the community becomes divided. Memo says he can’t take sides, which bothers August. August’s work partner Tasha has his back. Why can’t the man in his life? Things are bumpy for the pair and the town, but when something more sinister happens, it not only puts the calendar debate in perspective, it also puts August and his fellow firefighters’ lives in danger.<br><br>Can August and Memo work out their differences, or will what they have literally go up in flames?

Eli and Johnny shared their first kiss at a camp for the hearing impaired. Eli even gets Johnny to speak the word, <i>kiss.</i> They go their separate ways, but fate brings them back together on Valentine’s Day twenty years later, where happily ever after begins.<br><br>Or does it?<br><br>For much of the time between summer camp and Valentine’s Day, it was Eli and Casey, the best friend with benefits. Casey thinks things might be moving too fast for Eli and Johnny. Plus, the relationship has bumps from the start. Johnny’s family responsibilities mean his time with Eli is limited to the point of frustration. Suddenly happily ever after doesn’t feel as certain.<br><br>Is Johnny and Eli’s reunion just a moment, not a lifetime? Is there room in Eli’s life for Casey still? And then there’s Eddie ...

A beautiful heart-shaped wrought iron gate, but what sits behind it, a house of love or a house of horrors?<br><br>Titus has always been intrigued by the southern estate with the heart-shaped gate out front. When he receives half of the massive gate as a Valentine’s Day gift, he decides to travel south to learn its origin. There Titus meets Ezra, who is about to demolish the rest of the gate, the house behind it, and even the spectacular gardens on the grounds.<br><br>Titus, who loves flowers, spars with Ezra and asks why he’s hellbent on destroying everything. Ezra claims the house is evil, and nothing good deserves to be there.<br><br>Will the house’s secrets change Titus’s mind about what is beautiful? What connection does Ezra have to the place? Will he find answers inside and open his heart to other possibilities, including love?

Poplar Plains Town Councilman Sam Smart isn’t focused on his secret Santa, but rather a secret prankster, as his constituents seek vengeance against a jokester pulling off pranks all over town. The prime suspect? Sam’s high school crush Kirby Dumas, who just returned to town.<br><br>One nice, one naughty, Sam and Kirby were known as Smarty and Dumbass. When Kirby abruptly fled after confessing his love for Sam and also to a whopper of a prank pulled on a teacher, Sam is left to wonder what could have been.<br><br>Why did Kirby leave? Was it the joke or something else? Why has he returned? To pick up where he left off with his pranks, or to pick up where he left off with Sam?

Sequel to <i>11-B: The Noisy Neighbor</i><br><br>Summer fireworks were undeniable, but Warwick needed time to deal with his past, so in fall, he and Dom went their separate ways. Even though fate intervened with an unplanned reunion on a flight to Europe that ended in a kiss, Warwick still took the planned break once back in England.<br><br>With his head clear by winter, Warwick knows what he wants -- Dom. Dom feels the same, but his opera diva mother, who swears by romantic fables and love mythology, claims the third time is no charm. In fact, a third reunion, according to her, is always cursed.<br><br>As the three embark on a Christmas concert tour, the prophecy seems to be coming true. <i>Sfortuna</i>, bad luck, follows them from city to city. Is Warwick and Dom’s relationship really doomed before it begins, or will mythology and Christmas spirit provide a way around the jinx?

A superhero, a ghost, and an angel walk into a bar. Dario, the ghost, feels a sense of <i>déjà vu</i>. He died in a bar, and it seems like he might be reliving that terror over and over again. This time, however, there’s an angel at his side, Dondre, and that brings some comfort.<br><br>After a few to many drinks, Dwight, the superhero, reveals his animosity toward angels. He’s angry angels get all the credit when someone survives a deadly incident. People think angels are real, while most believe superheroes are only found in fiction.<br><br>When a wave of deadly crime sweeps across the country, Dario and Dondre become the prime suspects. Who is setting them up? All signs point to Dwight, the disgruntled superhero. Can the ghost and the angel prove themselves innocent? Will someone else die? And what of Dwight? Is he friend or foe?

From a tiny acorn grows a mighty oak, so it is with love. Undaunted by rain, snow, thunder and lighting, and even a tornado, Goose and Patrick weathered many storms from first meeting to marriage. By their side through it all, Jefferson and Calvin shared their own love story as Goose and Patrick’s guides through the present and the past and their guardian angels in Heaven and on Earth.<br><br>Contains the stories:<br><br><strong>Ghost Writer</strong>: Goose is finally allowing himself to feel something again, something like love. He and Jefferson have both been through a lot, war and escaping their abusive exes. There are two problems, though. Jefferson belongs to someone else, and he’s a ghost. While Goose tries to save a tree planted by Jefferson’s lover over a hundred years ago, Jefferson tries to heal Goose’s heart, broken far too long.<br><br><strong>Snowed In: Goose and Patrick</strong>: Four men, two in this realm and two in another, fight all sorts of obstacles, including war, separation, family dysfunction, racial prejudice, homophobia, and their own inner demons to fall in love and explore or recapture their sexuality. Each pair, from this century and one in the past, help the other along the way.<br><br><strong>Nine Minutes in Heaven</strong>: Goose’s lover Patrick ends up on one side of the light, with Jefferson and Calvin. Goose’s family and his dog, Wilbur, are on this side. When Goose is seriously injured and faced with a choice between Heaven and Earth, he finds the decision impossible to make, which could result in him being stuck somewhere in between.<br><br><strong>Ghosts of Honor</strong>: Goose and Patrick have weathered many storms, literally, a massive blizzard and figuratively, death. Will a tornado on their wedding day, a group of ghostly crashers, Goose’s distraction, and Patrick’s lingering emotional pain after the attack be too much to make it through this time?

Warwick, whose name has a second W that’s silent, also has a new neighbor who is anything but. The constant creak of bedsprings and headboard banging against the common wall has Warwick in 11-A wondering if the activity in 11-B is an occupation and not merely an enjoyable hobby.<br><br>When Warwick finally meets noisy neighbor Dom, though fun, heat, and music ensue, uncertainty and questions remain. Some things are easily explained away by the sort of happenstance and misunderstanding silly sitcom plots are based on, but a painful past connection, a difficult future, and a lie in the present set up roadblocks Warwick and Dom struggle to get over.<br><br>Can Warwick and Dom create a second verse to their love song, or will the tune end before it really begins?

Goose and Patrick are getting married! One year after their courtship began, months after facing death, the family is expanding, and the pair can’t wait to exchange vows, happy to have the legal right to do so, when others did not. Wedding plans ensue, but all is not well. For starters, Jefferson and Daniel are still separated, stranded on Earth as other people. As Patrick deals with the physical and mental aftereffects of his attack, Goose becomes obsessed with reuniting his favorite pair of angels. As if that wasn’t enough, more ghosts begin to appear to Goose and Patrick, setting off a new mystery both become consumed with solving. Who are these spirits desperate for contact? How do they tie back to Jefferson and Daniel, and will Goose and Patrick be able to bring that pair back together? Will the wedding go on if they can’t?

Art teacher Stone Larrabee dreads parent/teacher conferences. One following Christmas break becomes especially awkward, when a man with whom he shared a hot anonymous hookup and a nasty argument afterward walks in. Edison Watts. The moment they’re reunited, sexual sparks reignite. Too many conflicts force Stone to decree there can never be anything between them but the one night, though, even as fate keeps throwing them together throughout the school year, and developing feelings become hard to ignore. Some problems are easily solved while others, including the reason for Edison’s initial attraction to Stone and the chip on Edison’s shoulder bigger than the high school’s football field, prove more difficult. Stone can teach, but he decides must also be willing to learn and grow. When Edison promises to do the same, can they find a way to make one and one equal two?

"Sequel to Snowed In: Goose and Patrick After a series of tragic events, Goose Tucker’s guardian angel Jefferson tells him the choice to live or die is his, but also warns the time to decide is limited. Goose’s beloved Patrick is always in Heaven when Goose arrives there. They pick up right where they left off on Earth, continuing their love story that began in Tennessee. Goose longs to be wherever Patrick is, but there are no guarantees the two will land on a similar fate. Goose still has unfinished business back on Earth with Shelby, Rip, Carrie, and Wilbur. They need him, he is told, and this makes his decision, Heaven or Earth, happily ever after with Patrick or being there for those left behind, all the more difficult. How can he choose?"

"They call police Captain Justice Becker a hero, but he feels like anything but. Unable to control or erase certain memories, he finds himself trapped in the past and alone. Ames Preston, a new cop at the precinct, feels an immediate attraction to Becker, and just as quickly, becomes a thorn in his side. When young Archie Wilkes comes running into the cop shop claiming someone tried to push him in front of a garbage truck, Justice isn’t convinced it really happened, until a suspicious death occurs on the same day. As Justice, Ames, and Archie work together to figure out what’s happening in their quiet, little town, Justice can’t get the idea of a love triangle out of his mind. In the end, it seems only two men are destined for one another."

"Because of his severe stutter, Atticus never fulfills his childhood wish to make a joyful noise onstage at Christmastime. Now going by AC, the same problem isolates him with only his cat Spud for company as he forgoes the holiday season and personal, meaningful relationships altogether. On their way to pass the yuletide in Mexico, AC and Spud encounter a stranded band who call themselves The 12 Drummers Drumming. Though AC tries to resist the urge to help, he’s somehow convinced to drive them back up north in his van to ensure they make their Christmas Eve gig. AC immediately rates each guy, figuring on a one in twelve chance to at least score a holiday hookup. As he spends time with each, he sees them in less superficial terms. Sparks ignite, and by the time Christmas Eve arrives, AC has a whole new reason to believe in Christmas magic and romance."

"The line between friendship and love can sometimes become blurred. Sal, Major, and Abby have a complex relationship. When Major and Abby call off their engagement and Major announces he’s leaving the country, Sal is devastated and wonders if he’s to blame. Five years later, Major returns in time to find Sal obsessed with tracking down a stranger he flirted with at a stoplight. Wanting nothing more than for his friend to find true love, Major agrees to help in the search. The two enlist Abby, as well. Somewhere along the line, the trio becomes a quartet, old feelings resurface, old wounds are healed, and everyone learns where love really is."

"Sequel to Ghost Writer As Goose continues to obsess about the spirits of Jefferson and Calvin, the Civil War soldiers he helped cross over, he also tries to heal from his own past in order to build a relationship with Patrick, the man he’s recently met in the flesh. Snowed in at the huge box store where he works, Goose is happy when Patrick turns up and gets trapped there with him. Using the store as their toy box, they enjoy a night of childish games and sexy adult fun that helps them bond. Goose and Patrick also take another trip back in time, or possibly somewhere more ethereal, to discover if Jefferson and Calvin found their happily ever after. Can each pair -- one from this century and one in the past -- help each other explore their budding relationships and fall in love?"

"After a reenactment weekend, Goose Tucker inadvertently brings home Civil War soldier Jefferson Eaves’ diary and is shocked to discover Jefferson’s spirit has come along, too. Through the diary, Jefferson tells Goose about his true love, Calvin, who was a former slave who fought for the Union. With no record of Calvin’s death or service found, Goose figures Jefferson might not want to cross over until Calvin receives due recognition. Jefferson also speaks of an acorn planted as a sign of commitment to their future. When reenactment leader Patrick O’Hanlon calls looking for the diary, he tells Goose about his plans to return down south to protest the chopping down of an old oak tree. Is this the tree that grew from Calvin and Jefferson’s acorn? Goose, with Jefferson in tow, decides to go with Patrick to find out. What happens between the four men once there is a lesson in healing and love."

"Numbers mean everything to an Olympic marathoner, but for Gordon O’Dooley, his obsession with one number in particular might get a little out of hand. Gordon literally comes running into Marty Walsh’s family diner one day, and their mutual attraction is instant. He comes on too strong, though, and Marty quickly slams on the brakes. When Marty suggests they take things slow, Gordon races off, and any hope of a relationship goes right along with him. Four years pass, and Marty does his best to move on. But fate brings them back together as Gordon is preparing for another Olympic bid. They agree to start over, slowly this time. As they get to know each other, Marty comes to realize how strong Gordon's obsession with the number five is. Will Marty be able to handle Gordon's OCD? And what will Gordon do when he realizes the reason behind Marty's reluctance at intimacy? "

"Rocco and Ridley from David Connor’s Christmas story Iced Out and Sawyer from E.F. Mulder’s holiday tale Angel Wings and Bullets are finally recognized for their heroic acts. Along with Sawyer’s new boyfriend Bart, they meet up with a much younger couple who not only give them valuable relationship advice, but also show them how heroes come in all different incarnations. Note: This short story was originally published in the charity collection, Love Is Proud."