As Erin and I network more with the larger romance writing community both on- and off-line, you’re going to see more content here over the coming months about other people’s work.

Mostly this content will focus on novels about and writers working in the QUILTBAG spectrum, but not always. A good book is a good book. And the community is the community.

One of the big community issues right now is the Amazon vs. Hachette situation. I have very strong, specific, and, frankly, pretty boring feelings about the whole thing. Whatever your strong, specific, and, frankly, also pretty boring feelings about the whole thing, one thing is clear — this really sucks for Hachette authors.

As such, Erin and I wanted to highlight work from several Hachette authors below who represent a broad spectrum of romance and women’s fiction. These authors are people I know through the Internet and Romance Writers of America.

If you are a Hachette author of romance not featured here, feel free to post about your book in the comments. If the situation drags on longer, we may do another post on Hachette romance and women’s fiction books in the future and will put out a call for submissions at that time.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a summer read, please consider:

First up is Slow Surrender by Cecilia Tan, a long-time luminary in QUILTBAG and kinky literature.

He pushes her sexual boundaries . . .

From the moment waitress Karina meets him in a New York bar, she knows James is different. Daring. Dominating. Though he hides his true identity from her, the mysterious, wealthy businessman anticipates her every desire and fulfills her secret fantasies. Awakened by his touch, Karina discovers a wild side she hadn’t known existed and nothing is off limits.

She aches for more . . .

What begins as an erotic game soon escalates to a power play that blurs the line between pleasure and pain. Even as she capitulates to James’s sensual demands, Karina craves more. She wants his heart, his soul. She wants his love . . . and she’ll break all the rules to get it.

You can order Slow Surrender in ebook or paperback from Barnes & Noble and other retailers. Also, keep an eye out, because a sequel, Slow Satisfaction, is coming soon.

Next up is Lisa Verge Higgins’s Random Acts of Kindness, a novel about women’s lives and women’s friendships.

With the remnants of her past rattling in the trunk of her Chevy, Jenna Elliott abandons her Seattle home determined to start life anew. Her journey compels her to the door of two friends: Claire, an ex-Buddhist nun and cancer survivor, eager to escape her overbearing family for what may be her last chance to fulfill a dream; and Nicole, a professional Life Coach who can’t even control her own teenage son. But what starts out as an impulsive road trip soon becomes an inexorable journey to their past, as the women grapple with who they were, who they are, and the strange twists that have now set them on the road to their hometown of Pine Lake. There, Jenna discovers that her random act of kindness has rippled out into the world like a stone dropped into a deep pond, coming back to rock her life—and those of her friends—in ways they never expected.

You can purchase Random Acts of Kindness in paperback, e-book, and audiobook from Barnes & Noble and other retailers.

Finally for today, we have Sofia Tate’s Breathless for Him. We don’t want to play favorites, everyone I know lists this as one of their favorite covers lately.

For fans of New York Times bestselling authors Samantha Young, Sylvia Day, and E. L. James comes the stunning, erotically charged story about a woman who’s not looking for love and the tempting billionaire who left her breathless . . .
As a gifted opera singer, Allegra Orsini’s only obsession is music-until she meets him. A strikingly handsome and powerful man with a life splashed across the tabloids, Davison Cabot Berkeley isn’t what she expected. He’s unlike the other wealthy patrons who dine at Le Bistro. Davison sees more than just a coat-check girl working her way through grad school. And from the moment he looks at her, those deep green eyes ignite a fire inside Allegra she’s never felt before.

She craves Davison’s touch-his possession-endlessly. Even though every fiber of her being is telling her to stay away, that it’s best for both of them, she can’t. As his passion consumes her, Allegra can no longer deny Davison’s hold on her. He’ll never let her go. But as much as she wants him, Allegra can’t surrender to his love-not until she faces a painful secret from her past that could destroy them both . . .

Breathless for Him won’t be out until July 1 (also note, it’s the first book in a two-book series), but you can pre-order it today in e-book and print from Barnes & Noble.