Clearance

(South Rock High)

Today’s experiment: Combine one socially awkward science teacher with two beefy, former students. Mix well.

I love watching chemicals bond, but I avoid the practice myself.

When I’m not teaching, I’m hanging out with my cat and putting together puzzles. I shy away from romantic entanglements because I know firsthand the collateral damage they cause.

Until I bump into Anton and Sebastian: best friends, business partners. and former wrestling superstars at South Rock High who could barely pass my class. Catching up turns into drinking, which turns into dancing, which turns into them practicing wrestling moves on me, sans clothing.

It's clear that the men have a history—and some unresolved feelings between them—but being the piece of meat in their jock sandwich unleashes a wild, confident side in me I can’t ignore.

The other thing I can’t ignore: we’re falling for each other.

With three hearts on the line, I can’t risk destroying their close friendship and burgeoning business, not to mention reliving my own past pain. But is the chemical attraction between us too strong to ignore?

Advanced Chemistry is a teacher/former students, nerd/jock, friends-to-lovers MMM romance filled with humor, heart, and hot guys. Chase, Anton, and Sebastian will put the A-plus in HEA, and like all good students, there’s no cheating. It’s the fourth book in the South Rock High series, which revolves around a found family of nerdy gay high school teachers, but can be read as a standalone.

My arch nemesis is my new fake boyfriend. Can you say drama?

I should be a glitter bomb of excitement about my college friends getting married. But all I can think about is running into my uber-successful ex and his new boyfriend at the wedding…while I’m flying painfully solo.

I need a plus one, stat. Enter Raleigh Marshall.

As luck (or misfortune) would have it, a picture of me and South Rock High’s too-blessed-to-be-stressed football coach accidentally finds its way on social media, making people believe we’re an item.

Raleigh is hot, charming, and one of South Rock’s most popular teachers. The problem is that he knows it. He also seems to derive a twisted pleasure from getting under my skin.

Yet once we stop bickering long enough to have a conversation, I have a hard time remembering what I hated about him.

Pretending to be in love with Raleigh Marshall will be my toughest role to date. But…am I still pretending?

Can my straight friend help me cash in my v-card by my birthday?

In one month, I turn thirty-five with my virginity still intact. Is there anything more embarrassing than knowing most of my French students have gotten more action than me? Je suis triste

When I accidentally reveal this secret to my close friend and co-worker Seamus, South Rock’s baseball coach, he offers to help me round the bases.

It has to be a joke, because Seamus is one million percent straight.

There’s no way he’d want to fool around with a chubby language nerd like me, even though I’ve harbored a secret crush on him since the day he first walked into the teachers lounge.

But then I realize he’s not joking.

I’m either entering thirty-five with a bang…or a friendship going up in flames.

By: Marcus Bridgewater (Author), Reggie Brown (Illustrator), 2025, Hardcover

Marcus Bridgewater, also known as the social media sensation Garden Marcus, shows kids the lessons he learned in his grandma's garden when he was growing up.

Grandma's favorite place is her garden. It seems like she could stay there forever! Marcus wants to know why--so they set about exploring it together. From shells protecting seeds (like Marcus's helmet protects his head!) to a small seed eventually growing into something big (also just like Marcus!), there are so many amazing connections to be made in this wonderful place. Day after day, Marcus delights in realizing how much he has in common with the plants--he drinks water every day, too, and he gets haircuts just like the plants get pruned. As his grandma says, there's a whole world to explore in a garden, and Marcus likes thinking about it as a playground for all the snails, birds, bugs, and worms. And one of its many beauties is the bounty they are rewarded with after all the love and care they pour into it!

By: Emma Carlson Berne (Author), Emma Bernay (Author), Geraldine Rodriguez (Illustrator), 2018, Paperback, Children's Book (Holidays in Rhythm and Rhyme)

Cinco de Mayo, or the Fifth of May, honors an important battle fought by the Mexican army in 1862. On this day, people celebrate with Mexican food, music, and dancing. Sing along as you explore Holidays in Rhythm and Rhyme! Includes online music access.

By: Alyson Root (Author), 2024, Paperback

Ellie Bishop is America’s sweetheart with a slew of award-winning rom-coms under her belt. Unfortunately for her, the sweet girl next door bit is tiresome and doesn’t allow her to show the acting world what she’s really capable of.

If only her manager would find the roles Ellie craves. When he comes with an offer for a reality TV show, Ellie is less than thrilled. Wild Celebrities is not the action-packed adventure she was looking for. In fact, this city slicker can’t think of anything worse than shipping off to God knows where for a month with only a backpack and a survival expert to keep her company. Her need for several caramel frappuccinos daily is legendary. There is no way in hell she’s going to subject herself to bugs and animals that could kill or eat her. No matter how much they offer to pay her.

Robin Stuart is looking for a new direction in life after working as a bodyguard for privileged divas. Not what she thought she would be doing after serving in the British Marines. That new direction comes in the form of Wild Celebrities when her best friend begs her to take his place. From the moment Robin finds out who her celebrity survivor is, she is sure of two things. One: Ellie Bishop is hot. Two: She’s going to be useless in the Amazon rainforest. The show is going to test more than Robin’s survival skills, of that she is sure!

When the unthinkable happens, Ellie and Robin and two crew members are catapulted into their worst nightmares. Robin is their only chance of making it out of the rainforest alive. Easier said than done. With lives on the line, can both women put aside their stark differences long enough to come up with an escape plan? Is there more to be found in the Amazon other than wild things?

By: Alaina Erdell (Author), 2025, Paperback

Hannah knows how to grow her family’s jewelry design company into one of the most successful on the West Coast. But share her emotions? Not so much. She needs to break up with her girlfriend, Bren, but tragedy strikes before she gathers the courage.

It’s been years, but Vanessa hasn’t recovered from her ex, Bren, dumping her. She’s owned her flower shop for over twenty-five years and should be confidently anticipating her fiftieth birthday, but she still battles her mother’s criticism.

When Vanessa mysteriously shows up at Bren’s funeral, questions, and a few eyebrows, are raised. Was Bren who Hannah and Vanessa thought she was? Did they really know her at all? As the secrets and lies mount, the shocking truth reveals why their relationships failed. But will learning from the past give them the skills to build a future with one another?

By: Kirsten Miles (Author), Peter King (Editor), 20204, Paperback

Writer Kate Benson finds herself falling for her favorite author, Charli Diaz, after a novel exchange. However, her budding feelings are crushed when Charli criticizes her work. Harsh words are exchanged, but eventually, Kate apologizes, and they make amends. As Kate grapples with her true identity, she realizes she may be a lesbian trapped in a marriage that no longer fits. Courageously, she decides to leave her marriage and embark on a passionate journey with Charli, filled with love and sacrifice.

Their connection deepens through Charli's novel, which features hummingbirds, a symbol they both come to cherish as a representation of their love. Yet, love is rarely without obstacles, and the two women face challenges that test their bond.

Will their love endure, or are they destined for heartbreak?

By: Anita Kelly (Author), 2022, Paperback

How long, exactly, had June been coming to Moonie’s for the sole purpose of pining after the bartender?

Long enough to know, probably, that there was no good reason for Mal Edwards, a bastion of stability and good sense, to see any kind of future with June anyway. Was it even fair to express feelings to a woman like that when June was barely around, on the road more than she wasn’t?

But as another Pride weekend approaches, June’s fiftieth birthday and the eventual end of her long-haul trucking days loom in her mind, nestled against the memories of Moonie’s nights gone by where it felt like June and Mal came close—close to something happening, something real. Until June would inevitably chicken out, and retreat once again to life on the road.

It’s time for June to finally figure out her next act. And if she’s not brave enough to ask Mal Edwards to be part of it, she doesn’t deserve her, anyway.

After all. If you can’t tell a butch you love her during Pride, when the hell can you?

By: Anita Kelly (Author), 2021, Paperback

After a lifetime of failed relationships, non-binary history professor Sam Bell is committed to a new (non)romantic strategy: Thirst Only. It’s the actual drinking where things get too complicated, where Sam inevitably gets hurt.

Sam is good at being thirsty, though, especially when it's karaoke night at The Moonlight Cafe, otherwise known as Moonie’s to its largely queer regulars. Moonie’s is fun. Comfortable. Safe. Except for tonight, when one by one, all of Sam’s friends abandon them. Disappointed, they prepare to leave. Until their #1 karaoke crush catches their eye...

For Lily Fischer, karaoke at Moonie's is the only time she can step outside of her quiet shell. When there’s a mic in her hand, she’s no longer merely a receptionist harboring big dreams. At Moonie's, Lily can pretend to be someone else: someone bold, who takes what she wants. And tonight, what Lily wants is the way Sam looks at her across the room as she sings her signature opening song, like they see her exactly as she wants to be seen. Like Moonie’s Lily is real.

As the night progresses, both Sam’s and Lily’s personal boundaries are tested, and the real world outside of Moonie’s looms. But maybe sometimes, the real world should be a little more like karaoke. It's not always about knowing all the right words or having the perfect voice. Maybe all Sam and Lily need is a little courage to pick up the mic, and sing anyway.

By: Anita Kelly (Author), 2021, Paperback

Restless and disillusioned with his life, Aiden McCarstle is ready for a night out at The Moonlight Café with his best friend Penelope: one night to not think about how much he hates grad school, to watch queer people make fools of themselves singing karaoke. A simple, reliable escape.

But when it’s not Penelope who walks through the door at Moonie’s, but the high school nemesis Aiden hasn’t seen in five years—well, things get a little more complicated.

For Kai Andrews, moving back home after his mother’s death has been harder and lonelier than he anticipated. And running into McCarstle again hadn't been in his plans, either. But he deserves a night out, away from responsibilities and grief. Sure, it appears McCarstle still hates his guts, for reasons Kai has never quite understood. But maybe, with a decent dose of pop music and Moonie’s magic, Kai can finally, finally make Aiden smile. Just this once. Just for tonight.

As a surprising, intimate night at Moonie’s brings Aiden and Kai closer together, a winter storm moves in. And what was meant to be a simple night out turns into over 24 hours of being snowed in together. Through confessions, memories, and favorite poems, Aiden and Kai have to figure out if this unexpected second chance at connection was merely a temporary interlude—or if they can each come out better on the other side of the storm.