Hunker down by the hearth, pour a glass of cider, and fall into Autumn’s warm embrace by reading these five forced-proximity, spicy romances.
An Autumn Embrace
A First Coast Romance Writers’s Anthology #5
Genre: Mixed Romance Anthology
with stories by
Lia Davis, Melody Johnson, Leah Miles, M.J. Gates, CS Bennett
Second chances, friends to lovers, and forbidden romance spark in this collection of steamy short stories. Brimming with magic and mystery, these five forced-proximity romances range from sensual to spicy, the perfect companion to keep your heart toasty in sweater weather. Hunker down by the hearth, pour a glass of cider, and fall into Autumn’s warm embrace by reading…
The Mating Hex, by Lia Davis: Kitchen witch Pepper meets her mate and hexes him at the same time. Talk about first impressions. While searching for a way to break the spell, she discovers a secret her mother took to her grave. And lucky her, secrets run in the family. The father she thought died long ago is back, and he’s got dark plans of his own.
Ghostly Intentions, by Melody Johnson: Nannette doesn’t mind seeing dead people; it’s the living people she can’t trust. But when Colton invites her to a Halloween party in his family’s cemetery, communing with the spirits of the oldest and darkest bloodline in their witches coven is an opportunity for power that Nannette can’t resist, no matter the risk to her person … or her heart.
A Barking Chance, by Leah Miles: Forced to work together to evaluate his late uncle’s dog training center, Zane and Beth find more than memories in the office files. Whoever cooked the books is willing to destroy their lives as well as the paperwork to cover the evidence of their crimes. With the business and her dogs on the line, can Beth and Zane forgive the mistakes of their past to save their future together?
Love in Three Parts, by M.J. Gates: Elizabeth loved Gabe, but any chance of them becoming more than friends is ruined when her roommate seduces him. A decade later, she’s a successful doctor, and he’s a decorated Army veteran. When unlikely circumstances force them back together, will he find the courage to bare his heart and give their relationship the chance it never had?
The Essence of Cinnamon, by CS Bennett: In this whirlwind period tale set in 1919, in Huntsville, Alabama, an artist’s passion for his work collides with the love he discovers with an unlikely model. Their relationship defies convention, but when a jealous suitor threatens everything they hold dear, their carefree autumn becomes more like the Fourth of July, summer heat, fireworks and all.
Proceeds benefit the First Coast Romance Writers, an independent non-profit organization helping writers hone their craft and expand their knowledge of the publishing industry.
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Excerpt from Love in Three Parts by M.J. Gates
“You’ll make someone a good husband someday.” The words left her mouth before she could think to stop them. She could also see that they had produced the effect she had unintentionally sought.
“Why don’t we just finish eating? Then we can talk.”
“Talk? Yes, let’s talk. Let’s talk about this thing we have, Gabe. We’ve been playing house for a year now. I’m leaving in a month. Where do we go from here, Gabe?”
“We have talked about that. We agreed a long time ago not to mix our friendship with anything else.”
“I did that a long time ago because I knew how hurt and confused you were after Kinsley. Do you still have feelings for her?
“Of course not. You know that.”
“Then why are we where we’re at?”
“Because that is what you said you wanted. You said you wanted us to stay friends. That you needed me to be your friend. You said moving our relationship forward sexually would ruin what we had, so I agreed, and that is what I have done.”
“Always the Boy Scout. Do you always do what you’re told?”
“Is that what you want? Do you want us to have sex?”
She could tell that her goading was getting him as angry as she was, but there was no turning back now.
“If I want sex, I can get that anytime. I don’t need you for that.”
“Then what do you want, Belle?”
“Nothing. I want nothing from you. I’m done with whatever this has become.”
She stood up from the table, finished the rest of her wine in a single swallow, and walked upstairs to her bedroom. Before falling asleep, she heard Gabe cleaning up. When she came downstairs in the morning, he was gone.

A Barking Chance Author Interview: Leah Miles
How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
Well, funny thing. I was inspired by my puppy for this story. My husband gave me a cocker spaniel puppy for Christmas, which I desperately wanted, since my cocker spaniel of eleven years passed away the previous Thanksgiving. So, here I am working on this story and my new puppy, named Houdini, because she is impossible to contain, needed to be trained. In the book I’m working on, one of the Navy SEALs was injured and had to take a medical leave. What better place to recuperate than at a dog training center working with the former love of his life.
Do you write one book at a time, or do you have several going at a time?
Some have said I like to dash after the shiny new idea, but I find I’m way more productive with multiple projects at once. It feels like fresh perspective to me whenever I dive back into a different work in progress. To make it easier to switch between story ideas, I use an online writing software called Dabble writer, because I can log in on my phone, iPad, or any computer and store images, character descriptions, timelines and whatever I want under each book title.
A good friend told me once to stop writing in the middle of a scene, in the middle of a sentence even, so that that it’s easier to jump right back into the action when I return and that works for me. I prefer to read story’s that are standalone with no cliffhangers, but with characters who appear in other books by the same author. The series I’m writing now, which includes all my anthology stories and three books in progress, is a about a group of overlapping characters in San Diego. It’s fun to revisit old friends in books and get a dash of perspective into their lives.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Barking Chance?
The main character is a Navy SEAL recovering from a head injury, and he ends up at the dog training center with his ex-girlfriend. The book about his SEAL team and his injury is in edits, so this story is actually happening in the same timeline as that full-length book.
What inspired you to write this book?
I’m a fan of the television show Navy SEALs and enjoy most military dramas. Did you watch the Last Ship? So good. My stories are about kickass SEALs and other former service men and women who are strong and protective and deserve a chance at true love. It’s important to shine a positive light on these men and women who serve our country.
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