Before the multibillion computer game industry, there was Dungeons & Dragons, a tabletop game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974. D&D captured the attention of a small but influential group of players, many of whom also gravitated to the computer networks that were then appearing on college campuses around the globe. With the subsequent emergence of the personal computer, a generation of geeky storytellers arose that translated communal D&D playing experiences into the virtual ...

He's reeled me in. Hook, line, and sinker.FinnIt's true what they say.Possessing a pretty face has its perks, especially one I've relied on since I began modeling at seventeen. It's paid for my college education and sent me around the world—all without taking a single dime from dad.But it never got me what I truly wanted: his approval. That's the reason I'm in Stoney Brook, Maine. To make a difference and prove to m...

Out-and-proud volunteer dance instructor, Reid Alexander, is a California boy accustomed to living in flashy luxury. He is less than thrilled upon inheriting his late grandfather’s South Dakota horse ranch. Yet he must endure three months of cowboy hell before he can even consider selling the property.As the ranch foreman, Walker Corrigan’s entire life is Pine Ridge. When Reid arrives with cold-hearted plans to sell, Walker endeavors to endear the place to the younger man.R...

When desire rises, angels will fall.Over the past century, Belphagor has made a name for himself in Heaven’s Demon District as a card sharp, thief, and charming rogue. Though he’s content with his own company, he enjoys applying the sweet sting of discipline to a willing backside—angel, demon, and even the occasional human. He’s not particular. But when a hotheaded young firespirit steals his purse—and his heart—all bets are off.Vasily, a former rentboy and cutpurs...

There are worse things to lose than a good name.Belphagor is used to being on top—at the gaming table and in the bedroom. But as a boyfriend? He’s pretty much out of his element. Temperamental firespirit Vasily has stuck by his side so far, giving Belphagor some of the most intense sexual experiences of his life. But their relationship is far from perfect. Vasily’s rebellious nature exposes trust issues that can’t be ignored—and playing games with his safeword adds fuel to the fire...

Love is the ultimate game changer, and this time it’s winner takes all.Now that Vasily is back in his arms, Belphagor’s in no hurry to say the words they both long to hear: You’re my boy. He’s savoring the sweet torture of driving Vasily into a frenzy of unfulfilled need—and seeing just how much both of them can take.Vasily secretly enjoys their increasingly edgy play, until Belphagor auctions him off for a night to the seductive Silk, setting in motion a chain of events th...

Cody Rivers is determined to be a rock star, but couch-surfing between bar shows gets old fast. Joining an a cappella group for a new singing competition show could be his last chance at real fame—unless the college boy from the heart of the country messes it up for him. Lucas Norwood is everything gothy, glittery Cody is not—conservative, clean-cut, and virginal. But when a twist in the show forces them together, even the sweetest songs get steamy as the attraction between them lights up ...

We have no clout whatsoever. We don’t work for a publishing house, we’re not hiding a printing press in a basement, and we aren’t part of whatever mythical body of old white men drinking scotch in a shadowed library determines the literary canon. We’re just people who have worked a lot of bad jobs, and put up with a lot of bullshit, and decided we wanted to hear about how that same phenomenon happened to others. If you’re reading this, it’s because you want to hear about that too. We think...

Robert Westfall's life is falling apart—everywhere but in math class. That's the one place where problems always have a solution. But in the world beyond high school, his father is terminally ill, his mother is squabbling with his interfering aunts, his boyfriend is unsupportive, and the career path that's been planned for him feels less appealing by the day. Robert's math teacher, Andrew McNelin, watches his best student floundering, concerned but wary of crossing the line between profess...

Two men. Three identities. An unstoppable attraction.Desperate for his luck to change, Jake Spencer manages to land a dance contract with Dmitry Gruzdev. The job has plenty of perks, including a simmering lust between him and Dmitry's hulking brute of a bodyguard, Mikhail. Life is finally looking up. Except as the shine wears off, it becomes clear that Jake's stepped into a world of darkness and depravity where Bratva answers to no one and allies are not what they ...

Wyatt Bryant is all kinds of broken.Wyatt never planned to end up in the middle of nowhere. He was a big city guy, used to bright lights and constant noise. He needed both those things to distract him from the ugly memories of his past and the loneliness he couldn’t seem to shake. Now, he is bound for the back roads of Wyoming because his younger brother is beyond worried about him. Wyatt never expected to live his life in the slow lane, and he really didn't see the breathless attr...

In 1974, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson published the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy role-playing game. Through the next 40 years, computer game developers used these fantasy worlds as archetypes for the budding virtual game worlds These games would become as varied as books in a library, but the essence of each was built upon community. People gathered and played...together. Dungeons & Dreamers: A story of how computer games created a global community follows the designers, deve...