One Bed, Four Stories

I admit, I'm a voracious reader when it comes to novellas.  I love stories I can finish in an evening, but that feel 'complete' when I finish that last page. This month, I want to give you a heads-up about a must read for fans of romance novellas: Check out the ONCE UPON A PILLOW series by New York Times bestselling authors Connie Brockway and Christina Dodd. It's one of the best novella collections I've read in a long time and the concept blew me away.

The stories each stand alone--you can read one story or read all four, and in any order--and are centered around a magnificent bed and the people who've owned it through the ages. The stories were released once a week over the last four weeks and the final story in the collection, Christina Dodd's Last Night, is available as of today. Of course I grabbed it immediately and dove in.

Here's the official blurb on Last Night :

The man in her house is a stranger to her, a danger to her ... and the one man she should never love. What events of passion and peril could occur on this, their last night at historic Masterson Manor? 

If you've never read books by either Connie Brockway or Christina Dodd, this is a great chance to try their work at a fantastic price. Each story is only $2.99 on Kindle, Nook, or iTunes.  Here are the Kindle links:


First Knight 



Kidnapped




Her Captive



Last Night

Feel free to post your thoughts on these (or novella reading in general!) to the comments.

LGBT Books for Teens

Today there's a fantastic article on MSNBC.com about a high school sophomore who sought out books told from the viewpoint of teens with whom he could identify--teens who, like him, are gay. It also notes how difficult it was for him to find these titles.

If you, a friend, or a librarian are looking for some great reads, start with some of the books mentioned in the article (I'm a huge fan of Julie Anne Peters and Brent Hartinger, myself!)

Ever since Royally Jacked was published--the first in a series of three comedic books in which the teenaged main character learns her mom is gay, struggles with it, accepts it, and then embraces it--I've gotten tons of requests from teens asking for other titles which feature gay characters, or about characters who learn a close friend or relative is gay. Some requests I get ask about comedies, some readers are looking for more serious reads, but either way, I think the titles and authors mentioned in the article are a great place to start.

What discoveries have you made? Any books about or featuring LGBT characters you'd recommend? Insightful, funny, romantic, scary, doesn't matter--just toss out your suggestions!