Who says romance is dead? Certainly not the authors of these powerful stories of lesbians in love—and sometimes in lust. Best Lesbian Romance 2009, edited by the award-winning author of such books as When Dreams Tremble and Turn Back Time, presents the juiciest, most seductive love stories written today. Putting a new spin on the subject, these stories explore the underlying emotions and complex relationships that help define love between women. From a shy glance across a crowded room, to a casual meeting at a dinner party, to an accidental encounter on a street corner, this collection of romantic interludes showcases the many ways love can be both lost and found. Contributors include Jennifer Fulton, Karin Kallmaker, Radclyffe, Rakelle Valencia, and Alison Tyler.

The first in the Honor series, Above All, Honor introduces single-minded Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts and the woman she is sworn to protect—Blair Powell, the daughter of the President of the United States. Cam’s duty is her life -- and the only thing that keeps her from self-destructing under the unbearable weight of her own deep personal tragedy. However, she hasn’t counted on the fact that the beautiful, willful first daughter will do anything in her power to escape the watchful eyes of her protectors, including seducing the agent in charge. Both women struggle with long-hidden secrets and dark passions as they are forced to confront their growing attraction amidst the escalating danger drawing ever closer to Blair. From the dark shadows of rough trade bars in Greenwich Village to the elite galleries of Soho, each must balance duty with desire and, ultimately, choose between love and honor.

Bold Strokes Books romance authors give readers a glimpse into the lives of favorite couples celebrating special moments "after the honeymoon ends." These short stories from Ali Vali, Clifford Henderson, Lee Lynch, Lisa Girolami, Megan O'Brien, Nell Stark and Trinity Tam, Radclyffe, Winter Pennington, and a dozen others provide touching moments in love stories that need no introduction and also offer a special treat to those who have read the original courtships. Enjoy a new look at lesbians in love or revisit favorite characters from some of Bold Strokes Books' best selling romances.

Myth, magic, and monsters—the stuff of childhood dreams (or nightmares) and adult fantasies.Delve into these classic fairy tales retold with a queer twist and surrender to the world of seductive spells and dark temptations.

What do you do when your carefully planned life takes a wrong turn into hell? When Quinn Maguire, a dashing young trauma surgeon, unaccountably accepts a position as an ER physician, her new boss, Honor Blake, suspects that Quinn is hiding a dark secret. While the two declare an uneasy truce in an effort to work together, both struggle with mutual, and unexpected, attraction. Honor, however, has more than one reason to resist her growing feelings for the attractive newcomer—not the least of which is that her heart belongs to the woman whose wedding ring she wears. Amidst the chaos and drama of a busy emergency room, Quinn and Honor must contend not only with the fragile nature of life, but also with the mysteries of the heart and the irresistible forces of fate.

Tess Rogers grew up in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, but she always knew one thing to be true—one day six hundred acres of prime farmland would be hers. Then she discovers not even that truth can be counted on. Tess's stepfather has kept important secrets, and Tess's dream of breeding a line of organic dairy cows suddenly goes up in a burst of smoke and flame. R. Clayton Sutter is an expert at managing just about anything—money, businesses, and people. Getting NorthAm Fuel's newest shale refinery operational in the rolling hills of Upstate New York shouldn’t be much of a challenge, but then, she hadn't counted on dealing with vandalism, petitions, and a woman she’d never expected to see again—one who still haunts her dreams. When Tess and Clay square off on opposite sides of the heated debate, past and present collide in a battle of wills and unbidden desire.

Jay "Flash" Reynolds has a brilliant future as a trauma surgeon until a truck on a rainy night changes her life. Assistant chief medical examiner Olivia Price is more at ease with the dead than the living—at least the dead never lie. All she needs to do is listen to their stories. What she doesn't need is a surly new resident who would rather be somewhere else.Two women, one with a damaged body, the other a damaged spirit, challenge each other to dare to live again.

In the still dark of the night, a woman writes her desire and dares, at last, to send her words to the woman who inspired them.Previously published in Erotic Interludes 3: Lessons in Love, by Bold Strokes Books, 2006

The Montana frontier of the 1860s might be dangerous, but only if you have something to lose. Dr. Vance Phelps lost everything in the War Between the States—her professional future, her place in Philadelphia society, and her faith in herself. She travels to New Hero, Montana with no hero of happiness and no desire for anything except forgetting. Mae is a frontier madam, used to standing alone. She fiercely guards the well-being of the lost young women who come under her care—she just never expected one of them to be a doctor, wounded in body and soul. Can two outcasts find refuge in one another's hearts?

A contractor gets a special treat when her wife packs her lunch. A sexy romance short.Previously published in A Is for Amour, ed. Alison Tyler (Cleis Press, 2007); republished in Radical Encounters (Bold Strokes Books, 2009).

Saxon Sinclair, the broodingly secretive Chief of Trauma at a busy Manhattan hospital is less than pleased to learn that her new resident is going to be the subject of a documentary film. The arrival of Jude Castle, a fiery independent filmmaker, soon sets sparks flying as the two driven women clash both personally and professionally. Both have secrets they have spent a lifetime guarding, and both have chosen careers over love. Forced together on the battleground between life and death, passion strikes without warning, and they find themselves struggling with both desire and destiny.

Gillian “Gem” Martin is the lead biologist at a wildlife sanctuary on the Northeast coast and head of the Wildlife Emergency Response Team called in when catastrophes, man-made or natural, threaten the endangered species she studies. Austin Germaine is a troubleshooter, the hired gun for a big oil company, whose job is to help contain leaks and prevent media coverage of a pending disaster until the danger can be eliminated. If it can be. When Gem and Austin meet by chance in the midst of an approaching hurricane, neither expects their immediate connection to lead them into uncharted territory as wild as the looming storm. When word of the spill gets out, Gem and Austin find themselves reluctant allies in a race against time to divert the spill and save the wildlife refuge and its endangered inhabitants—all while battling an attraction as unlikely as it is powerful. A high-stakes race against time, the forces of nature, and the strongest power of all—the desire of the human heart. A First Responders Novel

Two women take their edgy sex public—the combination of being watched, being envied, and being helpless in the hands of a domineering lover ups the heat factor into the too-hot-to-handle zone.Previously published in Radical Encounters (Bold Strokes Books, 2009).