Firefighters | Tags

When you spend your life battling death, who has time for love?

Dr. Ali Torveau knows just how fragile life can be--she sees death and tragedy every day in the trauma unit. Battling the dark forces of fate is her life's work and she doesn't want or need anything else, certainly nothing as transient as love. Plenty of women try to change her mind, but she never has any trouble saying no. Not until the day firefighter Beau Cross shows up in her ER and sets Ali's carefully ordered world aflame.

A First Responders Novel

Brady Stewart lives for the fire. Nightmares of the fire haunt Nicole McMillan. Whether fighting fires in the Kuwaiti desert, in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the heartland of Oklahoma, both women hide behind a smoke screen of who they really are. When they meet and face the challenge of their lives, their passion ignites because where there's smoke, there's fire.

A love that has smoldered for years ignites when two women and one little boy come together in the aftermath of tragedy.

An early morning hotel fire turns out to be anything but routine, and firefighter Reid Webb's best friend and partner, Jimmy Grant, dies. Guilt-ridden and grieving, Reid feels responsible for her partner's young son, Chase. She would do anything for him, even if that means spending far too much time in the company of the woman she's harbored feelings for since high school. Isabel Grant doesn't know anything about raising children. But when she returns to her hometown to assume custody of her orphaned nephew, she gets a crash course. Isabel's struggle to keep her footing in the midst of chaos is further complicated by her growing attraction to Reid, a woman whom Isabel blames for her brother's death.

No one pencils in falling in love.

All work and no play has Autumn Primm in the market for a little excitement. Her Venice Beach coffee shop, The Cat’s Pajamas, is her pride and joy. While she doesn’t mind the long hours, she finds herself staring dreamily out the window, imagining the life she’s yet to lead. The time has come to take off the apron and see what the world has in store.  

Kate Carpenter needs to get away. And quick. A small-town firefighter, Kate’s been crowned a local hero for reasons she can’t quite get behind. An open highway and some time off have her fleeing the scene to sunny California to catch her breath and put some distance between herself and the unwanted acclaim. Dreamy Autumn Primm was never supposed to be part of that bargain. What Kate needs is a temporary escape, emphasis on temporary.

Arson investigation is not exactly what firefighter Kate Chambers signed up for. But she doesn't have a choice when an injury forces her off the engine and into the office. Her first case, a fire at a downtown bar, is a clear-cut instance of insurance fraud, or so she thinks.

But the property co-owner and prime suspect, Alexi Clark, has spent too many years battling her own demons to quietly go to jail for a crime she didn't commit. Soon Alexi is fighting both the false charges against her and an unexpected attraction to the investigator determined to prove them.

Amid a blaze that threatens to consume them both, Kate and Alexi redefine love and trust.

Burned by the four-letter word called love, the only thing Beth Standish wants to do is flee for—or maybe from—her life.

In the middle of the night Beth takes her favorite running shoes and a flyer for the upcoming San Francisco half-marathon, and drives to the City by the Bay. Hoping to escape the ruins of her relationship, Beth intends to run thirteen miles straight into San Francisco's famous fog. When an insightful woman named Alder Beckman comes to her rescue, Beth feels that maybe she's found the calm sanctuary she so desperately seeks. But Beth's calm is soon turned on its ear when she is pursued by an arousing and wild woman named Mary Walston, who has relationship ghosts of her own. It quickly becomes apparent that neither Alder nor Mary intends to let Beth disappear into the fog that easily. Will Beth be able to run fast enough to keep ahead of love, or will it overtake her in the home stretch?

Fire Investigator Emery Pearson doesn’t have time for a relationship. Her career is everything, so the rest of her life is put on hold until she reaches her professional goals. Sex is always on the table, though. Finding the perfect woman who only wants a quick hookup seems like a fantasy, but when she meets Lily online, the fantasy turns to reality when they agree to meet. Their tête-à-tête at the museum is more than Emery could imagine—satisfying, exciting, and passionate. Can Emery walk away from sex this good with no strings attached? Or will the lure of lust keep her going back for more?

Every date that firefighter Sasha McCray has had in the last year has been orchestrated by matchmaker Samantha Monteiro through Perfect Match, Inc., and she still has nothing to show for it. After a series of near matches, Sasha has all but given up on finding that special spark with someone else.

Accountant by day and reluctant millionairess by night, Abby Rossmore wants nothing more than to be the normal girl she reads about in all those romance novels. But the truth is, once people find out about her family, their interest in her flares for all the wrong reasons.

When Samantha tries to help Abby and Sasha discover they have more in common than being unlucky in love, they have to decide if their shared passion will blaze on or burn out. Could they be each other’s perfect match? Or did the notorious Miss Match strike out?

Praise from Publishers Weekly (starred review): "Riley balances romance, wit, and story complexity in this contemporary charmer....Readers of all stripes will enjoy this lyrically phrased, deftly plotted work about opposites attracting."

"When you love someone, there's suddenly a whole lot more to consider, to risk, to fight for."

Mackenzie "Mouse" James's life is all about firefighting. Being a firefighter fills her waking hours, leaving her too tired to think, to socialize, or to put herself out there. A large part of Sarah Macarthur's success as a doctor is due to the structure and control that she has established to help her cope when all the elements are thrown her way.

A chance encounter late one rainy night brings Mac's and Sarah's worlds together. As danger draws closer, they are tested in ways neither had ever imagined. Both must fight far more than fear—they will need to fight for the lives of those they love.

In the midst of tragedy, can these first responders find love and healing? Three stories of courage, bravery, and passion.

In Rescued, firefighter Britt Everett’s job is to protect life and property. On her scenes, once a victim gets out, they don’t go back in. But when Claire Willows’s dog is trapped inside her burning apartment, Claire wants him rescued at any cost.

In Pushed, Nicole Klein thought she’d moved out of her comfort zone by attending a popular music festival, until a man plows his vehicle into the crowd right in front of her. Police officer Traci Sam is there to help Nicole tend to the victims, but how will they deal with the aftermath?

In Healed, after being seriously injured in an act of violence at a music festival, paramedic Jenna Teele returns to work alongside her EMS partner and best friend, Candace Cooper. Will discovering Candace’s feelings run deeper than friendship help them both heal from the tragedy?

Who doesn’t want to believe in true love? Ten years ago, Savannah Edwards agreed to be a contestant on the lesbian dating show When Sparks Fly. The last thing she expected was to fall in love and get dumped on national television. When she’s invited to be the next bachelorette for the ten-year anniversary show, she makes up her mind that this time she’ll show the world that finding true love on television can really happen.

Lauren Lucas breathed life into a show that was on the brink of cancellation. Her charm as the host of When Sparks Fly catapulted it to a nationwide hit. Her own love life is in shambles, but she puts on a dazzling smile and pretends that love isn’t heartbreak waiting to happen.

Every week, Lauren watches Savannah date other women and tries to ignore the spark. When the cameras stop rolling and their attraction becomes impossible to deny, will they take a chance on real-life love and abandon the reality TV fairy tale?

Firefighter Grayson Reeves barely survived a harrowing California wildfire, and the experience has shaken everything she believes about herself. Returning to her hometown of Sky Valley, NC, to heal and regroup seems like a good idea, but past mistakes and a small town that never forgets are painful reminders of why she left.

Faith Owen didn’t grow up in Sky Valley, but when an opportunity arises to relocate to one of her favorite childhood haunts, she jumps at the chance. A new environment is just what she needs to refocus on her art and regain her confidence after her last ill-fated relationship left her with loads of self-doubt.

When Faith meets Gray, she sees a suffering soul in need of saving. Gray can only see a woman for whom she could never be enough. Despite their misgivings, their mutual attraction ignites passions neither can fight.

Gathered for the first time in one collection, these short stories from Lee Lynch represent a quarter century of passionate portrayals of lesbian women. Lynch chronicles the lives of old women who fall in love, a Black firefighter seeking her place in the feminist community, bar dykes unwilling to back down, the denizens of lesbian-owned Café Femmes, and Henny—who runs an urban fruit stand while regaling her baby butch assistants with tales from her life. Iconic characters from Lynch's novels also make an appearance: Frenchy Tonneau from The Swashbuckler and Annie Heaphy from Toothpick House.

Lee Lynch’s work is considered among the classics and a cornerstone in the large and permanent foundation of lesbian literature.

Vampires have it easy—stay out of the limelight (and the sunlight), earn a living (preferably legal), and for Jade Murphy, avoid human blood directly from the vein.

When Jade’s vampire friend gets some unwanted attention from a human stalker, Jade is forced to break more than one of those rules. Can she protect her friend, scare off the stalker, and keep her dates with Beth without revealing her secrets?

Best two out of three, Jade?

Robyn Moore is a firefighter by trade and a lesbian lothario by choice. After losing her father and witnessing her mother’s broken heart, Robyn learns that loving someone never ends well. Spending her days trying to honor her father’s legacy isn’t easy, and the best way to blow off steam is by falling into bed with whomever happens to be available. 

Lexi Lynch is an artist with a passion for painting. That is, until real life kicked in and bills piled up. To prove to her overprotective father that her chosen profession isn’t a mistake, Lexi takes on commissions that pay well but bore her to tears. Missed deadline after deadline has her career in jeopardy with the only bright spot in her days being her gorgeous friend and roommate, Robyn.

As Lexi leans on Robyn for support, more than just a creative spark flares between them. Their close proximity may ignite a fiery romance or send their friendship up in flames.