All proceeds from the volume will be donated to
the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (www.rainn.org), the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the United States.
Synopsis
What happens when love gets caught in the rain?
In this romance anthology, RITA-Award winning author Molly
O’Keefe shows us the power of a city thunderstorm from the top of a skyscraper,
while Amy Jo Cousins soaks us in a rain in Spain. New York Times bestselling
author Ruthie Knox’s heroine is devastated by a winter storm, while a summer
thunderstorm grants Alexandra Haughton’s hero and heroine a second chance at
love. Rain sparks self-awareness in the robot in Charlotte Stein’s story and
allows Mary Ann Rivers’s heroine to fall in love with her hero and her own art.
Rain causes romance between the college students in Audra North’s and Shari
Slade’s stories, while romance causes rain in Cecilia Tan’s myth-inspired tale
of a sacrifice to a demi-god. Nine romance novelettes, edited by Sarah Frantz.
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Behind The Book
Summer Rain, like so many projects, started out as nothing
more than a simple feeling: a desire to make a positive difference in the
world. So often, making a difference begins with giving something. It might be
money, time, or both, or something else altogether…but most importantly, it is
about giving, and giving vibrantly—with a focused mind, a full heart, and an
understanding spirit.
Giving vibrantly leads to vibrant change. Powerful, positive
change. Through the incredible generosity of eight other talented authors and
one talented editor, that starting point—that desire to make a positive
difference—turned into an act of vibrant giving. Summer Rain is a collection of
powerful stories about love, written with the hope of making a positive change.
Each year, nearly a quarter of a million sexual assaults are
committed in the US, nearly half of them against victims under the age of
eighteen. RAINN assists so many of these survivors, not only by operating
telephone and online hotlines for victims of sexual abuse, but also by working
in partnership with rape crisis centers in the United States of America,
providing programs to prevent sexual abuse, and helping to bring abusers to
justice.
About
Redemption
by Ruthie Knox
Jessie Bellin’s cheese shop is failing, her house is falling apart,
and the mortgage is ninety days overdue. With nothing left to offer, she’ll
take what she can get from the handyman who wants nothing but her body. But
when Mike Kaminsky suddenly asks for more, Jessie has to figure out exactly
what she wants—and if it’s possible for a woman who’s lost everything to learn
how to hope again.
The
Heart of It
by Molly O’Keefe
Gabe seems outwardly successful and
content, but inwardly, he struggles to banish the lingering demons of his
childhood. Elena is a survivor herself and knows that the smart move is to walk
away from Gabe. But his pain and his hope are too compelling to resist.
Are these two wounded people brave
enough to find love together?
Sacrifice by Cecilia Tan
When a tenth century trader from the
Orient sells his daughter to a Macedonian, he doesn’t ask why the man needs a
virgin, little knowing she is intended to fulfill an ancient pact with a
demigod who can end the crushing drought. But this demigod has sworn off his
father’s rapacious ways. With the influence of the ancient pantheon waning,
only love can heal them all.
Real
Feelings
by Charlotte Stein
Moira longs for a connection—any
kind of connection with anyone—and is beginning to despair she will ever find
it. In desperation, she purchases an android, hoping against hope that she can
find some solace in a simulation of the real thing. But what she doesn’t expect
is Michael—a machine that seems to be more than the sum of his parts.
Rainy
Season
by Mary Ann Rivers
Lisa Shirek is everyone’s favorite
barista. She does more than get her customers’ orders right: she gets her customers. She can see the most
painful moments of their lives like stormy weather around their bodies, and she
does what she can to soothe that pain with the right smile, the right words,
the perfect combination of coffee and foam. Except, then, there’s Mark—he’s a
sunbeam, a mystery made of light. He breaks through the storm around her so she can see herself, for herself.
The
Rain in Spain
by Amy Jo Cousins
Travel writer Magda and scientist
Javi are cranky with the heat—and each other—on the streets of Sevilla. They’ve
been married for a year, after a whirlwind courtship, and Magda is questioning
whether or not she made a mistake. She’s not sure if her need to explore the
world can ever mesh with Javi’s more regimented life.
As they stroll the cobblestone
streets of one of Spain’s most romantic cities, Magda tries to show her husband
just what it is she loves so much about her job that keeps her far from home
for so long. By the time the sun rises, they’ll know if there is a way forward
for them together . . . or not.
Fitting
In
by Audra North
Stas Petrovich is sure that being
elected president of his college class will grant him the social acceptance he
craves. But when rain ruins his campaign event, he’s left in the company of the
Weird Girl, the one person guaranteed to jeopardize his chances. But he
discovers that Leila dos Santos is fun and genuine and sexy as hell, and he’s
forced to reconsider what’s most important to him.
Private
Study
by Shari Slade
Tess Bell’s sex vlog flashes on
another student’s tablet screen in the middle of an economics lecture. Worst of
all, the guy she’s been secretly eyeing all semester sees it, too, and asks her
out for coffee at the local diner. Is he like their awful classmate, convinced
he's owed something because Tess dares to be curious about sex, or does he
really want to know her? Only one thing is certain: nothing is private
anymore.
