Deeper than the city streets, the subways, even the dry riverbeds that no longer flow, are the roots of a tree that remembers love and tragedy…Financier Dina Rowland’s assignment is to make fashion designer Leo Goranson a lot of money. But the more she knows of him, the more repugnant his personal life is to her. Not the least inconsequential is his unbreakable hold on his greatest asset: supermodel Christabel. One touch and the power—and responsibility—of Dina’s long-hidden heritage threatens to crumble the careful plans she has made for her life.Christa knows there is no escaping her tormentor, but she has a plan to deny him what he ultimately wants from her. The past can’t be changed. Having long accepted her fate she is unprepared for the wild feelings that Dina’s eyes arouse in her. There is passion, certainly, but also the rarest feeling of all to her: hope. This revised and augmented edition of Karin Kallmaker’s gothic lesbian romance tale of two captive souls will move and inspire a new generation of readers. Originally published in 1998 under the pen name of Laura Adams, this imaginative and passionate story is sure to please new and old fans alike. EDITORIAL REVIEW: Deeper than the city streets, the subways, even the dry riverbeds that no longer flow, are the roots of a tree that remembers love and tragedy... Financier Dina Rowland's assignment is to make fashion designer Leo Goranson a lot of money. But the more she knows of him, the more repugnant his personal life is to her. Not the least inconsequential is his unbreakable hold on his greatest asset: supermodel Christabel. One touch and the power--and responsibility--of Dina's long-hidden heritage threatens to crumble the careful plans she has made for her life. Christa knows there is no escaping her tormentor, but she has a plan to deny him what he ultimately wants from her. The past can't be changed. Having long accepted her fate she is unprepared for the wild feelings that Dina's eyes arouse in her. There is passion, certainly, but also the rarest feeling of all to her: hope.

"Substitute" may be the best Kallmaker I've read in a long time, and given her extraordinary talent, that's saying something. -- Bay Area Reporter Kallmaker skillfully weaves a tale of longing, need, and desire, complete with mystery, good guys, bad guys and raw sexuality. -- Lambda Book Report Karin Kallmaker's best and most engrossing books yet! -- Womyn's Words She's the lesbian hybrid of Joyce Carol Oates ...and Danielle Steele.... -- Richard LaBonte, Book MarksProduct DescriptionA deep kiss and a single rule. Like most women in dead-end relationships, Holly Markham was used to finding substitutes for love. Like chocolate. Fun times with good friends. Throwing herself into her work. But throwing herself into the arms of a leather-clad stranger was never on her list. When Holly's best friend Tori takes her to a dance for lesbians only, she realizes that Tori is gently trying to push her out of the closet. While it was true that Holly had been trying to come to terms with her growing attraction toward women, no one expected Holly to take one look at the mysterious Reyna and fall hopelessly in lust. Unable to resist the purely physical appeal of Reyna's sensuous demands, Holly quickly succumbs to Reyna's delicious seduction. After a night of delirious passion, Reyna gives Holly a long kiss and single rule: Call whenever you want me to make love to you. There can be nothing else. Although sexually fulfilled for the first time in her life, Holly soon realizes that pleasure without emotion is no substitute for love - a love she knows she and Reyna could share. Knowing too well the high cost of living in shadows and denial, Holly risks everything and sets out to pierce the deep shroud of mystery surrounding the woman she has come to love.

Anidyr Bycall is frozen in her past, regretting words never spoken to the woman she loves and the one impulsive act that cost her all her dreams. Running from the courts of public and academic opinion in Fairbanks, she has landed in Key West. The nights are hot but she is colder than the glaciers she once explored. Tending bar by night, she spends her days immersed in the research of her only remaining passion in life: the ice fields of Alaska. But trends may be improving when news from home hints that those she harmed may have moved on, and she can at least recover the papers and books she left behind. The respect and affection she once saw in Eve Cambra's eyes is gone beyond recall. When a few innocent questions raise Ani's doubts about what really happened three years ago, she realizes she may have a chance to clear her name and reclaim her career. But there's no data to prove that Eve has thawed and that the fire they once shared can be rekindled. Golden Crown and Lambda Literary award-winning author Karin Kallmaker brings her readers a romantic story of the icy north where passion may melt even a frozen heart.

Master Chef Jamie Onassis has used every penny she has to buy a beautiful country inn she plans to turn into a five-star restaurant. Unfortunately, the inn turns out to be a "handyman's special" and, without the skills or capital to make the necessary repairs, Jamie risks losing everything. Home and garden expert Valkyrie Valentine is a rising star among the do-it-yourself set. A seemingly perfect homemaker, Valkyrie seems destined to become the next Martha Stewart -- as long as no one discovers her embarrassing little secret: she can't cook. Media mogul Sheila Thintowski is a woman on a mission. ever since meeting the dazzling, dynamic Valkyrie Valentine, she's been determined to interview her -- up-close and extremely personally. Sheila suspects that Valkyrie's hands-on skills extend well beyond home improvement -- and she's looking for some private lessons.

Ninety minutes, twice a day. Five days a week. Car pool heaven turns into car pool hell when Anthea Rossignole realizes her lover is having an affair with the other woman sharing their daily commute. It seems that Anthea's successful career as a cost analyst at an oil refinery is the only thing she can really count on these days. Now she's looking for someone to share the long drive. Shay Sumoto desperately needs a car pool. Though wildly overqualified, the environmental biologist takes a low-paying job testing well samples to keep body and soul together. The debt from her father's terminal illness and the loss of the company she and her father owned have left her with no money, no time and no sense of humor. When Shay and Anthea begin carpooling together, they find that first impressions of each other don't bode well, and second impressions don't improve their chemistry much. But when Shay uncovers alarming test results in her work — information that could cost both of them their jobs — Anthea is the only person she trusts for advice. Can two very different women find common ground? It's Never an Easy Commute on the Freeway of Love. Originally published by Naiad Press

Literary agent Alison has been in love with her favorite author-client for years. Not that paperback romance writer Carolyn has ever noticed. She sees Alison as a close, loyal friend; she has never questioned society's conventions.When Alison negotiates a lucrative contract for her, Carolyn seizes the unexpectedly large advance to fulfill a passion of her own. Beginning in Paris, scene of her brief, calamitous marriage, she will immerse herself in great music from the world's great orchestra's.Paris brings a dramatic encounter with Nicolas Frost, the remote, driven young conductor who is creating a reputation for musical brilliance. When the smitten Carolyn discovers the conductor's masquerade - necessary to achieve recognition in the male - dominated higher echelons of classical music - she is suddenly faced with the true nature of her powerful attraction to Nick.Meanwhile, Alison has found her own consolation. But does sweet, passionate Samantha have any chance of...

Jessica has it all. An expensive condo in the city of dreams, San Francisco. A high-powered, prestigious career as a management consultant that takes her all over the country... To passionate Roberta, in Chicago. To delicious Marilyn, in San Antonio. To all those cities and all those willing women Jessica has recorded in her well-used little black book. Sex with these women doesn't really mean a thing, Jessica tells herself. It's all just good times. Because she is not really a lesbian. No, of course not. Her sexual adventures are merely keeping her occupied until she decides to settle down ... with a man. Then she meets Cat, the alluring young hotel executive who lives across the hall from her new condo. What is Jessica to make of her chaotic feelings, her yearning -- and yes, her deepening love -- for the sensuous, captivating Cat, who offers entrancing friendship, but nothing more?

Twenty-nine-year-old Rayann Germaine, betrayed by her lover, flees in grief and rage. She meets rare book store owner Louisa Thatcher, a woman many years her senior, who offers shelter and work... and soon, passion, and a loving place in her life. But Rayann encounters challenges to this new love -- from friends who question its wisdom, from her mother who disapproves of this liaison with a woman her own contemporary, from Louisa's son who learns for the first time his mother's true sexuality. And there are profound differences between Rayann and Louisa themselves, two women who come from dramatically different places in the spectrum of age and life experience. The first page will draw you into this entertaining, erotic, thought-provoking exploration of love, and of that landscape of the mind known as age.ReviewAnd if you think older women can't keep up with younger women sexually, well, think again! -- Bay Area Reporter, 02/92Touchwood...addresses with wisdom, compassion and delight, the most profound questions of who we are. -- Deborah Peifer, February 7, 1992From the PublisherFrom the author of numerous best-selling and critically acclaimed lesbian novels comes a story like no other!

Good books are like good desserts--satisfying andtasty. But who doesn't want more whipped cream or another dollop ofchocolate? "More" is exactly what Karin Kallmaker whips up in Frostingon the Cake. It's a baker's dozen of goodies featuring the charactersthat readers all over the world already know and love. The menu is full of sweet, sexy storiesinspired by her critically acclaimed and wildly popular bestsellers likePainted Moon, Wild Things, Touchwood, Unforgettable and more. Who says we can't have our cake and eat it too? Original Novel: Short Story TitleIn Every Port: Conversations Touchwood: Satisfaction; Come Here Paperback Romance: Key of Sea Car Pool: Mechanics Painted Moon: Smudges Wild Things: Wild Things are Free Embrace in Motion: Hot Flash; The Singing Heart Making Up for Lost Time: Hacksaw Pastry Watermark: The Tapestry Unforgettable: Unforgettable, That's What You Are; I Will Go With You Notes: "And Now a Word...or Two" Fans won't want to miss the latest collection of "What happened next?" stories in Frosting on the Cake 2: Second Helpings!**

For Kip Barrett, a secret commission from her boss's boss's boss, CEO Tamara Sterling, shows that the respect she's earned for her integrity and intelligence as a fraud investigator is justified. All she has to do is what she's done successfully before: Follow the cyber-trail, find the high-tech thief, and document it so that justice prevails. This time, however, the embezzler is one of their own. Sterling Fraud Investigations has an unblemished reputation for ethical conduct and security. Kip must find out who and how, as soon as possible, and no one but Tamara can know what she's doing. As Kip gets closer to discovering the embezzler, her clandestine meetings with Tamara grow more frequent. It doesn't help that her admiration for Sterling's work is compounded by an undeniable physical chemistry. But SFI has an iron-clad no fraternization rule, and Sterling investigators never break the rules. She needs to wrap up her findings before anyone—including her emerging...

A hilarious, erotic and insightful story of a close-knit community in America's Heartland from master storyteller Karin Kallmaker.Big city girl in a small town – Liddy Peel has culture shock.Marian Pardoo, Reference Librarian for the Iowa City Public Library, would be happy if the woman she’s loved for years wasn’t already married. Annoyed by the thoughtless out-of-town Liddy, she isn’t prepared for the seething passion that erupts when Liddy careens into her meticulously controlled life. Liddy has run two thousand miles from a devastating love affair. Now the idea of spending the sweltering summer watching the corn grow is driving her mad. Finding herself lusting after Marian the Librarian seems like yet another cosmic jest at her hopeless love life. The only thing that keeps her sane is the coffee. In a town where everybody knows your name, the names of your exes, pets, and your third grade teacher, Marian is thankful that she and Liddy at least don’t have an ex-girlfriend in common. One degree of separation is too close for comfort.

Sarah MacNeil is about to put her heart in the hands of a beautiful woman who could be her salvation . . . or her ruin! Surfing high on the wave of lesbian chic, author/ screenwriter Melissa Hartley is deliciously dangerous. She knows all the right people, goes to all the right parties, says all the right things. When she meets the quiet, elegant Sarah at a hotel bar, Melissa makes all the right moves to get Sarah into her bed, then makes all the right promises to convince the usually cautious young attorney to come live with her in San Francisco. Totally captivated for the first time in her life, Sarah surrenders herself completely. Blinded by the glow of Melissa's white-hot sensuality, is Sarah setting herself up for a total meltdown?

Meet Jackie Frakes, a talented architectural intern. Her life has fallen into unsatisfying patterns, both personally and professionally. Renowned artist Leah Beck is exhibited in galleries nationwide. But her life has darkened with the death of her lover, Sharla. Trapped by a mountain snowstorm over Thanksgiving weekend, Jackie is rescued by Leah. The snowbound weekend in Leah's cabin shakes the very foundations of Jackie's life. As for Leah, Jackie provides renewal and inspiration for her work. But ... exhibition of Painted Moon, her new series, will reveal Leah as never before, as a lesbian artist. Their relationship increasingly torn by conflict and misunderstanding, the winter weekend together will surely be their last. Then intervention comes ... from a most unlikely source.

The world is at Jennifer Lamont’s feet—right where she wants it. She has made breaking hearts a blood sport, and the cool, calculated use of other people’s backs has led to the stardom she has craved from the first time she heard applause. Lust or fear is all she has ever believed she could see in the eyes of others. Suzanne Mason has built the enviable life she was always told smart geeks could never have. Fortune, fame and the beautiful girls usually reserved for captains of football teams are all hers. She has everything she ever wanted, except the one woman who is no one’s trophy. Expert combatants in the games of life know there can only be one winner. Regardless of the scorching attraction between them, the game of love is no different, is it?