Breaking Character

Ambitious Daily Sentinel journalist Lauren King is chaffing on LA’s vapid social circuit, reporting on glamorous A-list parties while sparring with her rival - the formidable, icy Catherine Ayers. Ayers is an ex-Washington political correspondent who suffered a humiliating fall from grace, and her acerbic, vicious tongue keeps everyone at bay. Everyone, that is, except knockabout Iowa girl King, who is undaunted and unimpressed and gives as good as she gets.

When ex-Olympian Jamie Lyons walked away from the gymnastics world, it wasn’t by choice, but by a tragic diagnosis that solidified her decision to disappear from the public eye. For seven years, she’s kept her distance from the spotlight and stayed far from the headlines that once defined her. Now, as a favor to an old friend, Jamie is back, and a chance encounter at a party sets off a series of events that makes her question everything. When the life she left behind starts to blur with the one she’s creating, Jamie must decide if she’s finally ready to stop running.

Australian crime reporter Maddie Grey is out of her depth in New York, miserable, and secretly drawn to her powerful, twice-married media mogul boss, Elena Bartell, who eats failing newspapers for breakfast. As work takes them to Australia, Maddie is goaded into a brief, seemingly harmless bet with her enigmatic boss - where they have to tell the complete truth to each other. It backfires catastrophically. 

Two years after an accident in Manhattan almost claimed her life, Marin is determined to take advantage of her second chance. She’s left her husband, her job, even her home to pursue the life she’s always wanted. Now she’s teaching statistics at Northshire University and preparing to do something she’s spent decades dreaming about: date a woman. But the last woman she expects to encounter on her journey is the one she’s been fantasizing about since their chance encounter the morning Marin nearly died.

Comedian Stephanie Renshaw hopes to finally get her big break in LA. A chance encounter lands her the perfect apartment close to the comedy clubs, but it comes with a catch: She needs a roommate to afford the rent. Enter Rae Coleman, a former police officer working the door at one of the top comedy clubs. After getting injured in the line of duty and losing her job with the LAPD, Rae guards her wounded soul behind a tough exterior. At first, the two clash horribly before a tentative friendship develops. Bit by bit, Steph manages to break through the walls Rae has built around her.

Fresh out of a 10-year relationship, Emily Brookstone wants to let loose. But she's not exactly the let-loose type. When she gets invited to spend a no-strings-attached weekend in Aspen with eight other women, the words "good for you" come to mind. Maybe a fling with a charming stranger is just what she needs. Alex Murphy travels the world for her job. She has no trouble getting dates wherever she lands, and life is full of short-term escapades and fantasy weekends. Yet finding someone to share life with feels impossible. Until she meets Emily.

A chance encounter. An unforgettable night. And back home, trouble is brewing on the remote island of Three Dragons, where nothing feels like it used to. Alone and lonely, Sam Threadneedle wishes upon a star, hoping for change. But when said change comes, it's with a roar and not a whimper.

Brilliant ice queen Amelia Duxton is a hotel vice president who thrives on control, truth, and efficiency. All she wants is to buy the coveted Mayfair Palace. Fiery Kai Fisher is charming and chaotic and renowned for closing ambitious deals. Her sights are set on snatching the Mayfair Palace out from under the nose of her hated arch rivals, the Duxton family. But when secrets emerge and everything starts to fall apart, how can either of the warring women win - especially when they’ve just met their match?

Top neurosurgeon Samantha Thomson needs to get married fast and is tightlipped as to why. And with over $200,000 on offer to tie the knot, no questions asked, cash-strapped ER nurse Hayden Perez isn't about to demand answers. The deal is only for a year of marriage, but Hayden's going into it knowing it will be a nightmare. Sam is complicated, rude, kind of cold, and someone Hayden barely tolerates at work, let alone wants to marry. The hardest part is that Hayden has to convince everyone around them that they're madly in love and that racing down the aisle is all they've ever wanted.

Books are Rosie Taft’s life. And ever since she took over her mother’s beloved Manhattan bookstore, they’ve become her home too. The only thing missing is her own real-life romance like the ones she loves to read about, and Rosie has an idea of who she might like to sweep her off her feet. She’s struck up a flirty online friendship with lesbian romance author Brie, and what could be more romantic than falling in love with her favorite author?

Ten short stories based on Lee Winter’s fierce and unforgettable ice queens and villains have been gathered into one anthology containing lesbian love, lust, friendship, and romance. Find out what happened after Lee’s stories ended, and in one case, before it began. Iconic characters revisited include Elena Bartell (The Brutal Truth), Elizabeth Thornton (Breaking Character), Monique Carson (Hotel Queens), Natalya Tsvetnenko (Requiem for Immortals), Catherine Ayers (The Red Files), and Cynthia Redwell (Under Your Skin).

Eve Marlow has her eyes on the prize: a third season of her popular business makeover show, Do Over. But when her ratings take an unexpected dive, Eve needs a blockbuster new client, or she can kiss season three goodbye. She has her work cut out for her, and that’s before she discovers a litter of newborn kittens in a trash can. Now she’s desperate to find someone to take them so she can concentrate on reviving her career.

When 27-year-old free-spirit Taylor Lopez flies back to Miami to attend her high school reunion, she doesn't expect to run into Mrs. Alonso—her former history teacher—at the airport. The fact that Taylor's crush on the intense woman comes roaring back to life is not a surprise, but she wasn't expecting the attraction to go both ways. Raquel Alonso's life is too full for romance. Back in Miami to receive an award from the students she taught a decade earlier, the 46-year-old intends on using the rare weekend away to relax. Her plan is disrupted by her undeniable chemistry with Taylor.

Neve Blackthorne, head of one of the most successful Studios in Hollywood, is the one to rule them all. Powerful, beautiful, and aloof, she's ruthless, yet irresistible. Above all, she has an unquenchable survival instinct. Surely a fleeting entanglement with one Audrey Avens, a bright, young, rising star in her company, won't bring down the Wicked Queen of Tinseltown. Or will it? Neve's public persona has no chink in the untouchable armor, but when the lights go out and the cameras stop rolling, what becomes of an Ice Queen whose heart is ruled by love and fear?

For Audrey Lind, working with clay still evokes memories of her favorite professor. The woman’s zeal for art history ignited Audrey’s own academic career—and her tweed blazers and British accent kindled her first female crush. After fate brings Audrey back to Northshire University to teach, she’s thrilled to be working alongside her former mentor, but the grumpy woman she encounters upon her return is nothing like the dynamo she remembers.