Red Tulips in the Snow

Theodore has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Well, at least the weight his parents have put on his shoulders. His parents are very successful businesspeople, with his mom owning an advertising agency and his dad leading the company’s sales team. They expect nothing but success for their son. Unfortunately, Theodore is a shy and introverted boy with a tender heart. Still, he does his best to fulfill his parent’s every expectation.

But then he meets Silas.

Silas is everything Theodore isn’t. He’s bright, charming, and has every opportunity to do what he wants in life with a gentle and open family.

It throws Theodore off course when someone as interesting and fun as Silas focuses on him, desperate to become his friend. Theodore assumes they’ll eventually go their separate ways, especially when Silas realizes Theodore isn’t all that fun to be around. Still, even after elementary, middle, and high school, and even into college, Silas sticks close to Theodore’s side. As a result, Theodore learns what it means to want something for himself, something that his parent’s whims can’t influence:

He wants Silas.

Like tulips in the snow, their friendship withstands it all, but could it possibly withstand the selfish love growing within Theodore? Or is their relationship destined to wilt before it can even bloom?

I Fell in Love with a Goblin

Aidan is a simple man. Having grown up in a small, rural village as the son of a shepherd, his future is set in stone. He will take over the flock for his father and raise the next generation of shepherds someday. Unfortunately, he isn’t popular with the ladies but very popular with the men, much to his dismay. He inherited his mother’s good looks and frail disposition, which puts him in an awkward social position in the village. His love life and social standing are the least of his worries, though, while the village is threatened by goblin invasion.

Every fall, the goblins come together to invade the village and take women for breeding. Thankfully, the goblins are stubby and not all that smart, so it doesn’t take much to defend the village. It’s Aidan’s group’s turn to protect the village when, while using the restroom, he’s ambushed by something that has all of the same attributes as a goblin but is massive. When he awakens, he’s in the goblin cave, mistaken for a woman. The other goblins chastise and assault the giant for the mistake, demanding Aidan’s immediate death.

When left alone with the giant, Aidan discovers that this creature isn’t only different in size from other goblins but also in emotional intelligence. While the goblin is nice, Aidan must put his survival first, and if that means promising his heart to the goblin and pretending to help him achieve the mantle of the goblin king, he’ll do just that. In the meantime, he’ll bide his time until he can find an opportunity to escape, even if it means breaking the poor creature’s heart.

The Mourning Dove and His Snow Sparrow

Callum has lived almost his entire life in the secluded forests of the North, where his only company was his sickly mother and the animals in the area. As he grew up, rather than his mother tending to him, he was tending to her. One snowy evening, upon returning to their cabin after gathering firewood, Callum found his mother had passed. Callum is now completely alone.

After his mother’s death, he simply goes through the motions, doing just enough so he doesn’t freeze to death in the harsh winters and keep himself fed. Otherwise, though, Callum doesn’t see much point in life. However, his world is turned completely on its head when he finds an injured fox sparrow on his way back from gathering firewood. Desperate to save the creature, he takes it back to his cabin but, upon doing so, finds that the little bird can turn into a winged man named Aurear. Though this stranger is odd, to say the least, Callum is desperately drawn to him.

Having spent so long alone and in the cold, Callum can’t help but be drawn to Aurear’s warmth. But Aurear’s existence is an anomaly, and with this new creature flying around, it’s not long before bloody-thirsty eyes are turned toward Callum’s quiet home in the forest. Though he couldn’t save his mother, Callum is willing to risk everything to protect the warmth Aurear has given him.