Georgia Beers

My name is Avery King and I’m probably a lot like you. I’m a 34-year-old single lesbian and my heart belongs to my rescued mutt, Steve. I work as a graphic designer and my life is quiet and comfortable. All in all, I’m a pretty regular girl and for the most part, I lead a pretty regular life. 

Things I look forward to: baking goodies and then sharing them; spending time with my grandmother; reading anything I can get my hands on; enjoying dinner with my friends; a quiet evening and a glass of wine; hiking new trails and exploring nature with Steve. Things I’d like to avoid at all costs: in-depth discussions with my ex; dealing with children; online dating; babysitting; falling for somebody’s mom; taking my perception of myself all the way back to square one. 

See that list of things I’d like to avoid? Yeah, guess who’s going to hit every single one of them this year… What happens when your life takes an unexpected turn? What happens when you need to protect the one you love from the one you want to love? What happens when you lose something you never knew you wanted? 

Lambda and Golden Crown Literary Award-winning author Georgia Beers brings to you her long-awaited seventh novel, Starting from Scratch, a story where learning, laughing, loving, and baked goods are just a few of life’s basic ingredients. 

Starting from Scratch...where life is what you make it.

Rigid and predictable.

Sarah Buchanan would never in a million years have used those words to describe herself. Never. But it's been almost a year since her longtime girlfriend left her for a man, and she's suddenly realized that those words now describe her with frightening accuracy, along with one more: boring. Deciding it's time to escape her disaster of a life, at least long enough to turn it around, she takes a temporary position with her company overseas. The hardest part is leaving her blue-eyed dog, Bentley, behind. But at least he's in the capable hands of her family. She thinks.

Natalie Fox is the exact opposite of Sarah. She's flighty, spontaneous, and lives in The Now. It's how she's always been, and for better or for worse, Natalie loves her carefree life. When she finds a stray, skinny, terrified dog with blue eyes outside the coffee shop where she works and decides to adopt him as her own, things seem just about perfect to her.

Take two stubborn, polar opposites with an attraction for one another they're trying desperately to ignore; throw in a couple of wise Italians, a handful of quirky friends, some homemade cannoli, and a far-too-observant dog; stir vigorously, then sit back, relax, and enjoy...

What happens when you've already given your heart and love finds you again?

Three years after Courtney McAllister loses her partner in a car accident, she's finally trying to move forward. She's even dated halheartedly over the past year, but no one is able to penetrate her emotional barricades until she meets aggressive real estate broker Rachel Hart. Despite Rachel's cool facade, Courtney is drawn to her—when she isn't furious with her. Still, despite an undeniable attraction, Courtney has given her heart once and doesn't have room for that kind of love in her life again. Rachel isn't looking for love, especially not with a woman who belongs to someone else, and taking second place has never been her long suit.

Seven women, seven days. A lot can happen. There are three things that Amy Forrester loves most in the world: Jo, her wife of fifteen years; spending time with her closest friends; and her cabin in the woods. What better way to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's than having all three! When she invites her three best friends to join her and Jo in their mountain hideaway, all she expects is good food, fine wine, and lively conversation.

Unfortunately for Amy, there are three things that she doesn't count on: her best friend's relationship is falling apart; her two other friends share a secret that causes nothing but conflict and discomfort; and the arrival of Jo's fly-by-the-seat-oher-pants niece Darby, who has a habit of leaving broken hearts in her wake.

Childhood friends, new lovers, and old rivals share beginnings, endings, and the uncommon bonds of friendship in a story filled with romance and possibility.

Life gets complicated when love turns out to be nothing like you expected - and the woman you want is too close to touch.

Gretchen Kaiser is a workaholic corporate honcho with issues she's got daddy issues, she's got female-executive-in-a-man's-world issues, and she's got one night stand issues. What she doesn't have are love issues. She isn't looking for it, she doesn't feel she needs it, and she doesn't expect to find it...certainly not right under her nose. Kylie O'Brien is the kind of girl who believes in true love and is willing to wait until it shows up at her door. Her best friend Mick would sweep her off her feet given the chance, but Mick doesn't make Kylie feel the way true love should. And now Kylie has to worry about her new boss Gretchen Kaiser's icy reserve makes life as her administrative assistant a challenge. It doesn't matter one damn bit that Gretchen is extremely attractive with a voice as rich and smooth as melted chocolate. It absolutely doesn't...