BeanieBrain Reader: YLVA Publishing December Releases

Just Physical by Jae

After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, twenty-five-year-old Jill Corrigan takes herself off the romantic market. Not wanting to become a burden to a potential partner, she focuses on her career as an actress instead. On the set of a disaster movie, she meets stunt woman Kristine “Crash” Patterson, whose easy smile instantly makes Jill wish things were different.

Meanwhile, Crash is trained to fall, but she didn’t count on falling in love. Despite their growing feelings for each other, Jill resolves to let Crash into her bed, but not her heart. As they start to play with fire on and off camera, will they really be able to keep things just physical? Just Physical is part of The Hollywood Series but can stand alone too.

Stone Gardens by Lois Cloarec Hart

For eight years, Grae Jordan has been trapped in a purgatory of her own making. She has spiralled from the privileged life into which she was born to the lowest stratum of society. Grae guards her heart with a protective wall as hard as granite, adorns her body with tattoos and metal, and eschews dating the women she once enjoyed. A rash of convictions for petty crimes distances her even further from her old life. But when she rescues and cares for a skinny street kid named Marcus, her armour cracks, and the world she has long held at bay begins to beckon.

When Grae is arrested for defending herself and Marcus against a vicious attack from homophobic co-workers, it appears to be just one more despair in her hard-luck life. But this time her birth family and an assortment of new friends rally to her side and begin to chip away at her stony exterior. The prospect of redemption, and even love, is tantalizingly within reach when misfortune strikes again. Will Grae run in the face of adversity, as she’s done for eight bleak years? Or will the love of family, friends, and one special woman prove that her fate is not written in stone?

Never-Tied Nora by Cheyenne Blue

Nora Kelly loves her carefree London life where there’s always a new woman to seduce. Her big Irish family tease her about her footloose ways, but she knows she’s in no danger of losing her heart.

Her family has only one rule when it comes to dating: Nora can date any woman she wants—as long as she’s not a Flannery. The Kellys and the Flannerys have been feuding ever since both families arrived in London from Ireland sixty years ago, and time has not lessened the hatred.

But never-tied Nora has just met the woman of her dreams, and suddenly commitment isn’t a dirty word. Trouble is, Geraldine is a Flannery. Can Nora convince Ger that, despite their families, they are meant to be together?

The Light of the World by Ellen Simpson

At the back of her grandmother’s closet lies a mystery. After her grandmother’s death, Eva finds a series of diaries detailing the life of a girl caught up in the magic of the Roaring Twenties. She cannot reconcile the young woman in these diaries with the miserable old woman she loved so fiercely. What happened to change her grandmother so drastically? Eva is desperate to know more about this period in her grandmother’s life. What is the light of the world, and who is the mysterious girl that her grandmother fell in love with?

Eva starts to investigate the puzzle her grandmother left behind. With the help of a local historian and his enigmatic assistant Olivia, they find a forgotten labyrinth under the city streets. But they are not the only ones down there. Someone else is searching for the light of the world.

The Sum of These Things by Emily O'Beirne

In the sequel to A Story of Now, Claire Pearson has already learned a few things this summer. Like falling for a girl is easy. Well, it is if that girl is Mia. What Claire hasn’t learned yet is that now comes the hard part: learning to trust in this new relationship. And that isn’t easy when no one has ever given you a reason to trust before.

Then there’s the pressing question of what to do with her life. Claire’s new volunteer job working with kids offers a glimpse of a potential future, but it definitely isn’t something her pushy mother is going to like.

Still, everything feels hopeful as she embarks on the next chapter of her life, armed with new friends and the warm and funny Mia. But Claire quickly discovers that negotiating this new terrain of adulthood isn’t easy. Over the rest of this momentous summer, the biggest lesson Claire must learn is how not to let anything get in the way of her happiness. Especially herself.

Across the Pond by Cheri Crystal

After having been betrayed by her partner of thirteen years, Janalyn isn’t looking for another relationship, especially not one separated by miles of ocean. But when she travels to Devon, England, for a conference and meets a sporty Brit named Robyn, desires Janalyn thought were permanently lost are suddenly back and stronger than ever.

Despite cultural differences, poking fun at each other’s use of the English language, and Robyn coming off as a player, Janalyn can’t help the attraction she feels, no matter how hard she tries.

Can she and Robyn find a common ground upon which to make a life together? Will Janalyn throw caution to the wind and risk her heart again? If Janalyn does indeed venture across the pond, will love be her life preserver?

Time Management for Writers by Sandra Gerth In the digital age, publishing as book is easier than ever, but finding the time to write a book is becoming harder and harder. With day jobs, family obligations, household chores, and hobbies, many writers struggle to get any writing done. At the same time, publishers and readers expect writers to publish multiple books every year and to somehow find enough time to market their books through blogging, social media, and networking. If you are struggling to find enough time to write or don’t get much written once you finally do, this book is for you. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, this book will help you to

Find enough time to write, even if you have a day job,

Write and publish more books in less time,

Use rituals to create a powerful writing habit,

Get your first drafts written more quickly, while still writing well,

Deal with distractions and interruptions,

Find your most productive writing routine and environment,

Use writing challenges to become more productive,

Discover tools and resources that help you focus on your writing,

Manage your e-mail inbox in less time,

Decide how much time to spend writing versus marketing,

Overcome writer’s block and procrastination.