Baking Bears

Dane is a lonely bear shifter who doesn't know if he'll ever find a mate. Then one day he finds himself defending a fox from a brutal wolf attack. He's found his mate-and the fox shifter is scared of him. Will Dane ever earn the trust of his mate, a shy, handsome, suspicious man who's had little reason to ever trust anyone? Contains a honey-loving bear, a sweet, suspicious fox, gay uncles, a tiny bit of shifter politics, and enough food to shake a stick at. Heat level: very low~32,000 wordsThe Baking Bears series: sweet stories focus on bear shifters finding their forever mates in this gentle series of standalone shifter romances.

Corin is a big, insecure baker with an amazing gift in the kitchen-and a big secret. He's a bear shifter. Extremely shy even on a good day, he doesn't have many friends, and would do almost anything to avoid human interaction…at least until he runs across a sweet, prickly homeless man named Mike, a man about his age, with enchanting eyes. One thing leads to another, and a tentative friendship becomes more. Corin's falling fast and hard for this man, but there's still that secret between them. Can they make a life together, or will his shifter nature be too much for Mike to bear?

To Matthew, Jake is a mild-mannered mystery. He bought a failing bookstore, but he doesn't know how to run a bookstore at all. And by the number of books he's giving away, the man has to be an optimistic idiot. A business can't survive by giving things away! Still, neighboring bakery owner (and secret bear shifter) Matthew can't help being drawn to him and finding excuses to talk to him. The man calls to him in a way no one else does: with his pheromones, his sweet smiles, and his cinnamon-colored eyes. He makes Matthew want things desperately...The two men grow closer, and friendship turns to something more. They might even have a chance at forever, if they can bear to share their secrets with one another...

Jacob is a wolf shifter and a country boy, the alpha of a hardscrabble pack barely making ends meet. He loves his home and family dearly, but times are tough. It's a lot of responsibility to carry. The newcomer to town, a handsome, shy bear shifter, has caught his attention in a big way. Jacob has no problem with being gay. He just wishes he could get Henry to talk to him for more than a couple of seconds at a time. And maybe marry him tomorrow. Henry's annoyingly hot friend keeps getting in the way, though...Henry is a sweet, gentle baker who has problems of his own. He isn't sure he'll ever be ready to commit to a mate, but he's definitely drawn to Jacob. He daydreams about him, bakes for him, looks forward to his every visit...but wolves don't do casual, and Henry can barely make plans past next week, much less for his whole future. Fox shifter Atticus, Henry's dearest friend, has complicated feelings of his own. He loves Henry devotedly, even if his feelings will never be returned. This new, prickling tension between him and the wolf shifter is no fun. Does he have to keep feeling things for guys who will never be interested? Besides, he plans to stay single for life. Can Jacob, Henry, and Atticus each figure out what they want out of life-and what, if anything, they'll be to each other? Low heat~55,000 words.