Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions 41 to 50
41. K.P. Kincaid - The Next Competitor (Prizm Books)
Gay, Coming of Age / Young Adult
It’s the all-important Olympic season and eighteen-year-old American figure skater Alex Grady is discovering that there are many obstacles along the way on his quest to win a gold medal. For starters, he has to get through endless hours of practice under the watchful eye of his stern and slightly terrifying Russian coach. Then he has to contend with his all-American rival, Tanner Nielsen. Tanner has the talent, looks, poise and picture-perfect girlfriend that make him the ideal poster boy for United States figure skating. Alex has the talent and his looks aren’t bad, but the filter between his brain and his mouth is missing, and he definitely doesn’t have a girlfriend. He doesn’t have a boyfriend either, although he finds himself thinking far too much about pairs skater Matt Savelli, which is ridiculous, since goody two-shoes Matt is totally not his type. Besides, Alex doesn’t have time to worry about dating, not with the Olympics looming, right? Can he find a way to go for the gold and still remain true to himself?
42. Eden Winters - The Wish (Torquere Books)
Gay, Contemporary
Alex Martin is arrogant, wealthy, spoiled and loney. His never-ending stream of lovers sees only his wallet. Hiding behind a mask of aloof indifference, he really wants someone who can see past the money, someone who'll stand up to him as an equal. Down-to-earth bookstore owner Paul Sinclair insists on making his own way in life. He longs for someone who thinks, works, and doesn’t ask for hand outs: a true partner in every sense of the word. After years of avoidance they finally meet, and neither is impressed. Though worlds apart they share a common bond: their uncles, Alfred and Byron, are long-term partners. And when the uncles conspire to match-make, a little thing like Byron’s being a ghost isn’t going to stop them.
43. L.L. Raand - The Midnight Hunt (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror
What do you do when you wake up to a whole new life…with dangerous urges you can’t control? Medic Drake McKennan has never been good at following protocol, so she doesn't think twice about rendering emergency care when a teenager’s life is at stake-even if the young girl is in the throes of Were fever and any sane human should know better. It isn't the bright shining pain of the bite or even the wrenching agonies of the fever that convinces Drake everything in her life has changed. It's the way she feels about the blonde with the wolf-gold eyes who awakens a dark hunger she can’t control…and doesn’t want to. Sylvan, the Alpha of the Adirondack Timberwolf Pack, is the one female Drake can't have. And the only one she craves.
44. Nell Stark & Trinity Tam - Everafter (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror
How far would you go to save your lover’s soul? When medical student Valentine Darrow is bitten by a Vampire on her way home to propose to her lover, Alexa Newland, her life becomes a nightmare. She is consumed-both by a craving for human blood, and by an obsession to find her attacker and bring him to justice. Alexa is determined to be everything that Valentine needs, but when Val's appetite outstrips Alexa's ability to nourish her, Alexa risks her life to save her lover. Will Valentine be able to control her thirst-for blood and for vengeance? And can Valentine and Alexa's relationship endure against seemingly impossible odds?
45. Gill McNight - Goldenseal (Bold Strokes Books)
Lesbian, Paranormal / Horror
When Amy Fortune returns to her childhood home, she discovers something sinister in the air-but is former lover Leone Garoul stalking her or protecting her? Amy Fortune and Leone Garoul were teenage lovers. Now, years later, Amy returns to Little Dip, the Garoul home valley to help her aunt finish a botanical project. Except Little Dip is no longer the happy place of Amy’s childhood memories. There’s something sinister in the woods. And why hasn’t Leone moved on? Why does she still dog Amy’s every move? As more and more of the Garoul family arrive for a special hunting weekend, parts of the puzzle come together and Amy’s fears escalate as she moves closer to the truth-and the secret that has eluded her since childhood.
46. Cat Grant - Triad (Lyrical Press)
Bisexual / Transgender, Erotica Contemporary
It's three times the pleasure - ten years on! Eric Courtland, his wife Ally and husband Nick have been living the sweet life for the past decade, tucked away in their luxurious Tuscan villa. But when a family crisis brings them back to the States, blackmail and an unexpected revelation threaten the delicate balance of their marriage. Weathering this storm may take everything they have - and still tear them apart.
47. Rick R. Reed - The Blue Moon Cafe (Amber Quill Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror
Someone-or something-is killing Seattle’s gay men. A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city’s gay gathering areas. Someone-or something-is falling in love with Thad Matthews. Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places-a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into. And Sam can cook! But as the pair’s love begins to grow, so do the questions and uncertainties, the main one being, why do Sam’s unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon? Prepare yourself for a unique blend of dark suspense and erotic romance with The Blue Moon Cafe, written by the author Unzipped magazine called, “the Stephen King of gay horror.” You’re guaranteed an unforgettable reading experience, one that skillfully blends the hottest romance with the most chilling terror...
48. Rick R. Reed - Mute Witness (MLR Press)
Gay, Mystery / Thriller
Sean and Austin's perfect world shatters when Sean's eight-year-old son, Jason, vanishes. When Jason turns up days later abused and unable to speak, small town fingers point to the boy's gay dad as the culprit. Meanwhile, the real villain is close by, intent on ensuring the boy's muteness is permanent.
49. Julie Lynn Hayes - To the Max (Dreamspinner Press)
Gay, Paranormal / Horror
What's a man to do, I ask you, when his own mother is more accepting of his lycanthropy than his homosexuality? I'll tell you what I do: absolutely nothing. (I'm really a laid-back kind of guy, despite that werewolf thing.) Maximillian Jean-Baptiste Montague, at your service. But please, call me Max. I write a syndicated column-To The Max-offering advice to the romantically challenged, and I think I'm doing pretty well for myself. Yet I can't seem to find the backbone to stop my mother from setting me up on blind dates of the female variety. Go figure. I do my best to get along, not cause any trouble, and keep my life on an even keel. But right now somebody's rocking my dream boat, and I don't like it. Not one little bit. My longtime live-in lover Richard is coming and going without explanation. Amy Rose, a wannabe lover from my past, is back in town, and she's brought her nephew, Morgan, who is making a play for my Richard-why does no one see that but me? And on top of all that, my mother is dating a homophobic minister, and she wants to "cure" me. Can life get any worse?
50. Roxy Harte - Heart of Change (Samhain Publishing)
Lesbian, Erotica Contemporary
True love hides where you least suspect it. After the truth comes out about her age, forty-something porn star Simone Sinclair is handed her walking papers, ending a career that has become more extreme sport than art form. The final straw is her long-time partner’s idea to start their own international studio with a marriage proposal tossed in to sweeten the deal. After two decades of waiting for him to deliver the white picket fence, it’s not exactly the offer she was expecting. At least she doesn’t need a man to answer the alarm of her biological clock. And when she shares a dance with Geri, one of her lesbian gal pals, she discovers she doesn’t need a man to fulfill other fantasies, either. But Geri’s not interested in touch and tease-she wants more than Simone is ready to give. Torn between three dreams-a post-retirement career, a family, or lasting love-Simone retreats to get her head on straight, coming to one conclusion. She can’t have everything. But two out of three is worse than nothing at all…