The Cinderella Factor
Unpublished contemporary romance manuscript, approximately 94,000 words
Julia Harrow is just trying to get by. After losing her job as an adjunct professor of Medieval Literature in New York, she takes a chance on appearing on a morning television segment about courtly love in an attempt to raise her profile—despite her fear of cameras and public attention. Happily, her job search yields a dream opportunity in London: two years at a renowned college with the possibility of permanent appointment.
Jake Flynn is the movie star every woman wants. With his boy-next-door good looks and the leading role in a successful action series, he seems to have everything. But what he knows he can’t have is the brilliant, fascinating woman on the television morning show. Approaching a “regular” woman never ends well.
Lightning strikes twice as Julia and Jake run into each other first in Miami Beach, then in London, and Jake couldn’t be happier. The head of Julia’s college department, however, doesn’t want her in the tabloids, and Julia herself can’t cope with the scrutiny of being a movie star’s girlfriend. Jake just wants everyone to be happy.
Can Julia face her own fear—and the man who holds her career in his hands—when disaster strikes? And can Jake learn that loving someone sometimes means asking for what you need? Can love last when the reality of the fairy tale is everything they never wanted?
Too Much Man
Unpublished contemporary romance manuscript, approximately 84,000 words
During Gavin Williams’ twenty-year NHL career, he won championships, awards, and the adulation of his fans in Vancouver. But when the team doesn’t re-sign him, he jumps at the chance to continue his career in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, his hockey days are over when he blows out his knee right before the playoffs. Now he’s stuck in a strange city with nothing but endless physical therapy appointments. It’s no wonder he resents the cheerful optimism of the aimless twenty-something coffee shop barista. Even if she is the sexiest woman he’s seen in… well, ever.
There are several things Piper Welborn is not: aimless, twenty-something, or a barista. Sure, she looks young for her age, but she owns that coffee shop and runs it like a well-oiled machine. Not only is she happy with her life and the strong community she’s built, but she’s sworn off men, choosing instead to lean heavily toward the other side of her bisexuality. That especially pertains to the grumpy ex-hockey player who insulted her coffee. No matter how smoking hot he is.
When these two are forced to work together on a charity project involving Gavin’s team and Piper’s shop, they put aside their differences for the common good. And when sparks fly between them, they agree on a short-term affair to get the mutual attraction out of their systems before Gavin returns to Vancouver. But when stranger feelings develop, Gavin must choose between regaining his superstar status back home or forging a new path in Philadelphia. And Piper has to overcome her fears of bi-erasure if she is to follow her heart toward the man who makes her feel complete.
