Abby Graham is uncommonly lovely, happy and content with her life, but when she finds herself a widow just a week before her 40th birthday, the secure world that she thought was permanent is suddenly on very shaky ground. Struggling to work through her grief, she always puts her children’s needs first, leaving little time for herself. Five years later her youngest child leaves for college and Abby decides to kick start a new lease on life by returning to the dating scene, as well as transforming the backyard of her home into an oasis of beauty and tranquility. She hires Clancy O’Connor, a high-spirited young landscape architect who is trying to build a business and hopes to get recommendations from Abby’s upper-class social circle. Clancy develops a serious crush on the beautiful widow before their first meeting is finished. It’s a recipe for heartache; even though Abby seems remarkably comfortable with Clancy’s lesbianism, Clancy is unable to imagine that Abby would be willing to take the leap given the differences in their age, class, wealth and lifestyles. As Abby reveals more of herself to Clancy during their many hours of consultation, the connection between them begins to spark. After an evening of small intimacies and shared dreams, the women can no longer fight their mutual desire. Although Abby has her doubts about the future, she and Clancy embark on a torrid love affair…but all too soon a threat develops that could destroy the tentative bond that holds them together.

Arbor Vitae

LGBTQ+ Books

Susan X. Meagher

Literature & Fiction

Brisk Press

Despite the questions of her roommates and the objections of her fiance, Jamie Evans persists in enrolling in a college course that seems an odd choice for a young woman of her background. What no one can know is that the course, The Psychology of the Lesbian Experience, will propel Jamie onto a journey of self-awareness and realization. For the required fieldwork, Jamie is paired with the darkly beautiful Ryan O'Flaherty - a boldly "out" and sexually adventurous lesbian. This somewhat unlikely pair, slowly, and sometimes painfully, becomes aware that what they feel for each other is more than just friendship. The temptation to live life on her own terms is great, but so are the costs, as Jamie struggles to break out of her establishment-fashioned, pre-ordained mold. If she can summon the courage, however, she might find out that love, and life, have so much more to offer than she ever dreamed.

Awakenings : I Found My Heart in San Francisco Book One

Seven months, eight months, nine months ... a lifetime. Exchanging gentle kisses at the top of Mt. Tam, Jamie and Ryan declare their love for one another. Studying for exams and training for the AIDS Ride, they experience the tentative fumblings and frustrations of adjusting to a new relationship. Though Ryan is determined to proceed at a pace that is comfortable for her neophyte partner, their need for each other grows stronger with every passing hour- whether they are together or apart."We begin a magical journey. A journey of exploration, a journey of wonder, a journey of commitment. A journey we make together." The speech at the beginning of their 560 mile biking odyssey epitomizes their feelings about the Ride, and about the beginnings of the life they plan to share.

Beginnings (I Found My Heart in San Francisco, Book Two)

In the first two books of this series, Jamie and Ryan forged a friendship (Awakenings), and realized that they had fallen deeply in love (Beginnings).This book brings the two of them together for their honeymoon in idyllic Pebble Beach. Here they commit themselves to sharing their lives together. They begin to experience and explore the emotional and physical expressions of their love, as well as the conflicts and compromises that plague all new relationships.

Coalescence (I Found My Heart in San Francisco, Book Three)

In Awakenings, the first of 26 novels of the series, we met Ryan O'Flaherty and Jamie Evans, juniors at the University of California at Berkeley. Since then we've followed them from the first flicker of attraction to their declarations of love, struggles with their families and a long, love-filled honeymoon.Now they're back in Berkeley, enjoying their summer vacation. But even though they're madly in love, small issues keep cropping up to interrupt their bliss. From expensive haircuts to expensive cars, Jamie's money-and what it can buy-continues to be a problem that she and Ryan struggle with. When Jim Evans, already in denial over his daughter's declared preference of a mate, receives a report from the bank that Jamie has given Ryan access to her checking account, he becomes more convinced than ever that the money is the only reason that Ryan has latched onto Jamie.Jamie knows her father's suspicions are groundless, but she has a difficult time convincing him of that. She's confident that he'll love Ryan once he gets to know her. But for now Ryan has to satisfy herself with getting to know Catherine Evans, hoping that impressing her will go a long way towards reaching Jim.

Entwined : I Found My Heart in San Francisco Book Five

Life is going damned well for Blair Spencer. She’s a very successful real estate agent, happily married to a man who encourages her to live the independent life she loves―and they’re actively working to have a baby. The wrench in the works is that Blair favors adoption, while her husband David desperately wants to have a biological child. The fates are against them, and they finally seek the help of a group of reproductive specialists. One of the doctors, a surgeon named Kylie Mackenzie, eventually becomes a good friend to Blair. And she needs all of the friends she can get when things start to go horribly wrong at home. As her marriage teeters on the brink of collapse, she relies more and more on Kylie’s friendship. Kylie’s happily gay; Blair’s happily straight. But the way they structure their relationship leads friends and family to privately question whether the pair is setting themselves up for heartache. They eventually come to a crossroads, which could either destroy their friendship or turn it into what each of them has been seeking. The question is whether each woman can change her view of herself and her needs. The answer is all that matters.

All That Matters

Meagher, Susan X.

United States

When Hayden Chandler rented a house in Cherry Grove on Fire Island for the summer she was looking for nothing more than a quiet place to write. Accessible only by ferry, the island promised to give her the solitude she needed. But she hadn’t counted on the allure of the ferry driver; a headstrong, proud, prickly woman named Gina Scognamiglio. Gina is happy with her life, and she’s not quite ready to get into another relationship. But Hayden gets under her skin, and they wind up making a very quick trip to bed. Once that itch is scratched the women have to decide if there’s more between them than lust. They’re both fairly certain that their lives are too different to really mesh, but…still…there’s something that keeps leading them back to bed. Is steaming-hot sex enough to build a relationship on? Find out in Cherry Grove.

Cherry Grove

From Blayne Cooper, author of Hard Times, Unbreakable, Madam President, and many others, comes Quicksand, a story about sinking into trouble so deep, there's no way out. Deceit, betrayal, and resisting sexual temptation were never part of private investigator Belinda Blaisdell's daily life. Until now. KG MacGregor, author of Just This Once, Mulligan, Malicious Pursuit, The House on Sandstone and Sumter Point, presents Stolen Souls, the tale of Vonne Maglio, who signs on for a two-week vacation at a working ranch in the Colorado canyons. Nothing at Sky Ranch is as it seems - but then, neither is Vonne. From Susan X Meagher, author of the I Found My Heart in San Francisco series, Arbor Vitae, All That Matters and Cherry Grove comes Narc. The dark side of Chicago is a cauldron of crime. Drugs, sex, blackmail, bribery and corruption so deep you can swim in it. And that's just the cops. How does an honest detective wade through this muck to do her job?

Undercover Tales

KG MacGregor

Blayne Cooper

Susan has created a short story book with seven of her favorite - never before published - scintillating short stories. Waiting for a plane, dashing home in the rain. You never know whom you'll meet in an othewise routine day. Ordinary encounters can turn into extraordinary experiences if the chemistry is right. Chemistry is at the heart of each of these short and not-so-short tales. Whether they are complete strangers or long-term lovers, when these couples get together, the sparks fly. Each story explores the sexual vibe, but not at the expense of knowing who these couples are. Sex is the language, and the characters translate that language in their own unique ways.

Girl Meets Girl

Short Stories & Anthologies

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The Lies That Bind

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