Cara Malone

An idealistic writer. Her jaded idol. Four days in Vegas that will change their lives forever. This weekend is Sabrina Grace's last chance at success. She's written dozens of tv manuscripts but she's got a bad habit of burning bridges. No one in the industry will read her scripts anymore, and if Sabrina can't sell one at ShudderCon, her dreams are officially dead. She's got a boring new desk job waiting for her come Monday morning, so she's determined to make every minute of the convention count. And the first thing Sabrina does is trip head-long into an elevator with tv writer Evelyn Green, the so-called Shark in a Pantsuit who happens to be Sabrina's idol. Her former mentor.Her unrequited love.The ice queen who hates her because the last time they spoke, Sabrina was busy torching her career and their budding romance to protect a painful secret. Can Sabrina rebuild this bridge and convince Evelyn to give her a second chance - at love as well as her dreams - or will it all go up in smoke? Crowds, cosplay... chemistry - it's all happening for these lucky ladies. Six lesbian romance authors have teamed up to bring you love: convention style in the brand new ShudderCon series. The House by Lily CraigThe Payoff by Sienna WatersThe Show by Hildred BillingsThe Bluff by Kate McLayThe Shark by Cara MaloneThe Longshot by Anna Cove Bet on love at ShudderCon: Vegas

An eccentric adult shop owner. An agoraphobic game collector. A romantic comedy about finding love and self-acceptance in the strangest places.The little details have never interested Libby. From her eclectic style to her carefree attitude about her adult toy shop, she's all about the big picture. But when her business partner retires, Libby's safety net disappears and it's up to her to sink or swim.For old-school card game nerd Theo, the details are everything. Her anxiety demands to know the rules, the players and the goal in any situation, and it can be hard to even leave her apartment unless she knows exactly what's coming her way.When Theo's sister gets engaged, she's forced out of her comfort zone and into Libby's shop on the hunt for bachelorette party supplies. Opposites attract and Theo is drawn into Libby's chaotic world. She wants to help Libby save the shop and together they come up with a plan, but will they be brave enough to play the game of love?

A rookie forensic investigator, a seasoned patrol officer, and a crime scene that just might be the death of them both.Kelsey Granger is meticulous and careful, determined to turn her OCD into an advantage in her new job at the coroner's office. There's just one problem - her boss doesn't think she's ready. When Kelsey arrives at her first death scene to find the responding officer contaminating the evidence, she starts to wonder if her boss was right.Zara Hayes hates death scenes. She's been on patrol five long years but her chief won't promote her until she can overcome her fear. So here she is, just feet away from a dead body while a pretty young investigator reads her the riot act because she thinks Zara screwed up her scene.With a killer on the loose, there's no time to argue so Zara and Kelsey team up to solve the case. As they get closer to the truth - and to each other - they must confront the mind games we play... in life, in love, and even in death.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall... who is fairest of them all?Everyone says Luma has the world at her fingertips. Her trust fund can buy anything she wants, there's a modeling agency courting her, and most people would kill for her life - especially her stepmother, Tabitha. When Tabitha comes home mangled from a botched cosmetic procedure and finds out Luma's been offered a prestigious gig, jealousy rears its aging, puffy head. Tabitha wants Luma dead and she's got no choice but to flee. Alone and cut off from her resources, Luma's last refuge is a remote cottage where she prays Tabitha won't find her. Charlie is the newest addition to her family's lumberjack business in the forest, whittling away her emotions as she works through a broken heart. Beauty really is skin deep because no woman can look past the birthmark on her forehead. Charlie is ready to forget about love... until she finds Luma asleep in her bed. She's in danger, vulnerable, and also the most beautiful woman Charlie has ever seen. When the lumberjacks take Luma under their protection, she finds more than just safety. She finds Charlie and a new purpose in the forest - until Tabitha comes back to finish her kill.From Amazon bestselling author Cara Malone comes a modern retelling of the Grimm Brothers' classic Snow White. Each book in the Sapphic Fairy Tales series can be read as a standalone novel.

Keep your lover close and your enemy closer... especially if they're the same person. Madison Blackstone is a lone wolf thief on a mission to win back the only family she has left. When a rare book surfaces on the black market, it's just the thing to buy her brother's love. The only thing is, she has to quit the heist lifestyle to earn his trust. Madison has planned her final job meticulously, but even in her wildest dreams she could never anticipate a rival like Cass. Cass Hartley is fallen swindler royalty... fallen ever since her foolish heart got her legendary parents caught and jailed. A rare book with a hefty reward to pay back old debts should go a long way to clearing her conscience, and it should be an easy job - if Cass was the only one going after it. When Cass and Madison meet, it's inside a bank vault at midnight and they're both reaching for the same safe deposit locker. Things go sideways fast as crew rivalries, double-crosses and vicious guard poodles foil their plans. And then there's the undeniable attraction building between them in tight spaces, dark rooms and adrenaline-fueled adventures. It has Madison questioning her choice to go clean, Cass wondering if she's falling into the same old traps, and their crews wondering what the heck got into them. Working together is the only way to get the book, but can they trust each other with the most precious treasure of all - their hearts?

The latest in the Amazon bestselling Lakeside Hospital series, Labor of Love asks, what if your soulmate arrives the day after you decide to stop looking for her?Hot-shot obstetrician Mercedes Stone is killing it at work, but she has a dirty secret. She's the daughter of a hoarder. She's built her life around her research but when her mother's condition reaches a crisis point, she must drop everything to come home.Lily Thomas is a pediatrician quickly approaching 40 and all she's ever wanted is a family. She's given up on finding Ms. Right, but the day she meets Mercedes - who's taking a temporary job at Lakeside Hospital - is the same day Lily learns she's finally pregnant.They fall for each other hard and fast - it has to be fast because Mercedes is going home in six months to wrap up a vital clinical trial and soon, Lily will have a newborn baby to love. What's the harm in a quick fling?But as Mercedes digs out her mother's house, she begins to realize there's more for her at home than just junk. What she and Lily swore was just a fling is beginning to feel a lot more like... family.Labor of Love is a standalone novel in the bestselling Lakeside Hospital series. The books in this series can be read in any order.

Nat Butler is a rock goddess.A goddess with a penthouse apartment, a long-running career, fans across the globe... and nothing real to hold onto. Her recording contract is up, and when an ugly breakup drags Nat into the tabloids, she decides the universe is telling her to take a break from LA. She's ready to build something of her own - something real - so she heads back to her Ohio hometown to scout a local band in the hopes of starting a production company. Instead of an answer to her problems, Nat finds Christy there - a former lover Nat left behind when she got her big break.Once a passionate athlete and a shy but vibrant girl, Christy is a shadow of her former self after a painful divorce ruined the plans she'd made for her life, took away her dream home and turned her world upside down.And despite Nat's enthusiasm, she's not too happy to see the woman who broke her heart fifteen years ago.Things in Ohio aren't looking much better than LA, but Nat knows that the universe brought her back into Christy's world for a reason and she's determined to make amends while she chases her own dreams.Universe, you better know what you're doing.

Cynthia "Cyn" Robinson has only ever wanted three things: the approval of her stepmother, to save lives as a firefighter, and the attention of her dream girl, Marigold Grimm.A socialite who most of the town refers to as Grimm Falls royalty, Marigold is so far out of Cyn's league that even dreaming about her could be considered inappropriate.And Cyn has all but given up on her stepmother, who refuses to accept a daughter who does not delight in wearing dresses and working in her clothing boutique. Cyn tried to be that girl ever since she and her father moved to Grimm Falls, but sooner or later, she always turns back into a pumpkin.One thing Cyn does have is her job. She's a great firefighter, and when an arsonist strikes her beloved town, she's ready to forget the unfulfilled parts of her life and throw herself into work - until Marigold Grimm's beloved garden becomes the firebug's next target.Cyn puts out the blaze, but there's more than one type of spark flying as Cyn and Marigold meet. Is her dream girl really within reach, or will it all go up in flames?Cinders is a contemporary fairy tale based on the original Grimm Brothers' Cinderella.

Krys Stevens is the best trauma doctor at Lakeside Hospital. She runs the ER like a finely choreographed dance and her dedication to her patients makes up for the ones she cannot save. She's got a small group of coworkers she calls friends and she's a superstar at the free clinic where she volunteers. What more could an ambitious young doctor want?One day, a patient arrives in the ER intubated with a ballpoint pen and changes everything.Darcy is a combat medic, or she used to be. Her whole identity was wrapped up in the Army until she was injured and sent back to civilian life. After ten years away, there's not much waiting for her at home, but she's determined to rebuild her life so she starts going to meet-ups to make new friends.That's how she befriends the meet-up coordinator, and how she discovers he's allergic to shellfish. One creative intubation later and she's following him to the ER where she meets the passionate, beautiful and untouchable Krys. She stops only long enough to give Darcy a piece of her mind, but that's all it takes to know...Darcy wants Krys to be in the life she's building.This is the third book in the Lakeside Hospital series. Each book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel and the series can be read in any order.

Trail magic (noun). An unexpected gift bestowed on long-distance hikers. Raven is two years cancer-free on the day she arrives on the Appalachian Trail, ready to prove to the world that she's more than just a breast cancer survivor. She's still Raven, and she's strong enough to tackle the 2,000-mile journey. Kit shows up with nothing but a hastily-packed bag and a new pair of hiking boots. When her boss and her girlfriend dump her on the same day, she decides now is as good a time as any to tick the AT off her bucket list. Trail magic brings Kit and Raven together on the mountain. Raven needs a friend and Kit needs an experienced hiker to guide her. They share meals, fireside stories, old wounds and new dreams... and a one-man tent in the wilderness. But can they bring that magic with them off the mountain?

Hunter has spent the last two years running in place.Trying to get ahead of the bills.Trying to provide for her sister, Piper, and her nephews.Trying to finish her nursing education.Trying to keep Piper out of her criminal husband's claws.Big, bad Jed Wolfe is a con artist, a manipulator, and he's currently doing ten years for counterfeiting. Now is Hunter's best chance to convince Piper that he's bad news and they can survive without him.Except the mortgage is overdue again, there's an eviction notice stapled to the front door, and Hunter can see it in Piper's eyes. She wants to crawl back to Jed and ask him how to dig out of this mess.They're getting desperate and Hunter begs Piper not to be like him. Then along comes a beautiful girl in a red cap. Her grandmother is sick, she needs Hunter's nursing help, and the pay is great. It's just what they need and soon Hunter is able to catch her breath. Stop running in place. Start to feel something that she hasn't had time for in years. Happiness. Desire. Love.Until one day an old, familiar feeling returns.Suspicion.

The Rules of Parenthood is Book 3 in the Rulebook series. It's recommended to read these in order.Max and Ruby Saddlerwhite are newlyweds who seem to have it all. They have mastered the rules of love and navigated the challenges of a long-term relationship, and now they are settling happily into married life and beginning their careers. There's just one thing Ruby wants - to start a family. And that's something Max isn't sure she can give her. She has learned to work through the challenges of life and love on the autism spectrum by researching her way through major obstacles, but a baby is a challenge Max might not be up for.Ruby pushes aside dreams of starting her own family when Max's cousin Stacy gets called to active duty, leaving behind her seven-year-old son, Aiden. She needs Max and Ruby to take care of him while she's deployed and they rise to the occasion.It's not all play time and games, though, as Aiden struggles with separation anxiety and the rulebooks fly right out the window as Max and Ruby discover just how difficult raising a child can be. Can Max and Ruby master the rules of parenthood, or will Ruby's dream go unfulfilled?

Alex McHenry's world stood still the day her father passed. She was 19, studying to be an art teacher, and living happily like any other college student. Then abruptly, her life was reduced to funeral arrangements, depression, therapy, and the responsibility of caring for her mother, who retreated to the couch to take solace in the artificially cheerful hosts on the Home Shopping Network. After more than a year of living frozen in the moment of her father's death, Alex decides to take the first steps out of her grief. She enrolls in a paramedic program and during one of her first classes, she meets Megan Callahan, a pretty but aloof medical student who comes crashing into her life at the most unexpected moment.It's not long before Alex discovers that Megan has her own skeletons in the proverbial closet, and when a bacterial outbreak forces them together, they must both decide whether to confront their demons together, or continue to live in limbo.Can Alex and Megan work together to mend their broken hearts? Or will they turn away in fear?This is the first book in the Lakeside Hospital series. Each book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel and the series can be read in any order.Praise for The Origins of Heartbreak"A slow burn with flirty friends that can't seem to deny themselves the other one. What really makes this book shine is the fun, witty banter that these two have when they are together. I am so ready for book two." - Tiff, The Romantic Reader Blog"Cara incorporates raw emotion and important issues into her stories, but it's done with finesse and understanding. The banter between Megan and Alex gives their relationship depth early on as it builds from friendship to something so beautiful." - Tasha Johnson, Sweet n' Our Ink

Max and Ruby have fallen hard for each other after a bitter grad school rivalry turned first into lust, and then into love. When the school year comes to an end, they're faced with a new challenge: a summer apart.They make plans to visit each other, but when Max comes to Chicago to meet Ruby's family, she brings with her a secret in a small package - an engagement ring that she hopes will prove her devotion. There's only one problem... Max has never been good at first impressions, and she fits into Ruby's family like a square peg in a round hole.Everything she says is wrong, Ruby's perfect ex-girlfriend keeps coming around, and the city is exhausting. It even seems like Ruby is beginning to question whether she has what it takes to navigate life with a partner on the autism spectrum.Is love enough to get them through the summer?The Rules of Engagement is Book 2 in the Rulebook series. It's recommended to read these in order.

Some things can be fixed with a little duct tape... but a broken heart ain't one of 'em.Avery Blake has spent years getting by all on her own in a big house on the countryside. As a contractor, there's not much room for emotion in her male-dominated profession, and she's perfectly content to keep people out of her private life, too. After watching her elderly neighbor, Nora, be torn away from her long-time lover by heartless relatives, Avery has seen what it's like to love and to lose, and she'd rather skip the whole thing and focus on work (and the occasional meaningless fling) instead.Some relationships can be fixed with a little breathing room... and some are too far gone.Hannah Grayson has nothing but room to breathe when she finds out her Great-Aunt Nora has passed and left her a house in rural Indiana. Fleeing a dysfunctional and controlling relationship in New York, she moves into the house because she's got nowhere else to go.Disasters start piling up almost as soon as the plane touches down - the house is in disrepair, Nora's grandchildren are trying to evict her, and the gorgeous but chilly woman across the street seems to have a problem with Hannah's presence.When a pipe bursts on her first night in the house, Hannah has no choice but to run across the street and beg for help from Avery. The rest, as they say, is history...

What do you do when your life is over before it even really began?For Melody Bledsoe, the answer is to go home and lick your wounds.A former child prodigy, Melody was always the best dancer in her class - in her town, even. All that changed when she won a scholarship to a prestigious performing arts school in New York and quickly learned what it's like to be a little fish in a big pond.For Jessie Cartwright, the answer is to survive.Pregnant at sixteen - and on her first date no less - Jessie had no choice but to drop out of school and pour heart and soul into raising her daughter, even if it did come at the expense of her own happiness.When Melody returns home wearing the new label of failed ballerina, she takes a job at a dance studio where she meets Jessie and her daughter, Ellie, a rising star in her own right. Melody is just trying to find a new purpose, and Jessie only wants to give her daughter the best childhood possible, but as their lives become entwined they begin to see a new life on the horizon... together.

Max Saddler has never been in love-but she's studied it like it's her thesis. At 23, she's starting grad school with a laser focus on academics and zero interest in messy emotions. Love, after all, is unpredictable-and Max prefers rules, structure, and solitude. Her autism makes social situations hard enough. Dating? No, thank you. Then Ruby Satterwhite crashes into her life like a glitter bomb. Beautiful, extroverted, and intimidatingly popular, Ruby is everything Max isn't-and everything she can't stop thinking about. The two are oil and water from the start... until a group project forces them into proximity, and something unexpected starts to flicker between them. Max knows the theories. She's read the research. But when it comes to love, the rules are about to change. Can a girl who lives by logic win the heart of a girl who runs on chaos? Or will Max's first try at love be her first big heartbreak?

Once you've been awakened to love, can you ever go back to sleep?Leah McAllister is starting a new job in a bland maze of tan cubicles where she hopes to blend in with her surroundings - she's had enough attention for one lifetime. What she never expects is to find herself working under Morgan, a mesmerizing woman who turned her world upside down when they met one year before.A lot can change in a year, though, and Morgan Park is a different person now. She's reserved and sullen, and trying to get over a broken heart that came with a heavy dose of guilt after her troubled girlfriend, Allison, disappeared one day leaving Morgan with nothing more than a vague goodbye note.Thrust together in the cramped quarters of a cubicle, Morgan and Leah can't deny - or resist - the forces of attraction driving them together. Morgan even begins to think she can find happiness again when Allison suddenly blows back into town with a terrible secret that threatens to tear Morgan and Leah apart permanently.Is the mystery of Allison's lost year enough to destroy Morgan and Leah's budding relationship?Praise for Awakened"Awakened is a steamy and heartfelt romance, proving Cara Malone is a lesfic author to keep an eye on." - T. B. Markinson, author of the best-selling lesbian romance series A Woman Lost