Jenna's Monsters is the prequel to the Woods Lake series. It tells Marco & Jenna's history told through a collection of Marco's memories. Marco was sixteen when he met Jenna. At the time, she was his best friend's little sister. Over the years, their relationship changed. They saw each other through their best and worst moments. No longer just his friend's sister, she's his best friend, and the person he promised he'd always protect. Jenna's Monsters takes place prior to the start of the series and is told from Marco's perspective. It is written to be a companion to the series and does not need to be read in order to enjoy the series.

In book one of the Woods Lake series, we meet Marco and Jenna. Each book within the series can be read as a standalone novel, but you get the most from the series if you read it in order. 10 years ago Jenna's life changed forever when she watched her brother Ricky die in a race accident. No longer the outgoing party girl who spends her weekends racing the quarter mile strip, she spends her days battling anxiety and tries to just get by. The nightmares still come and the only person who has ever been able to save her from the nightmares in her dreams and the nightmares in her reality is Marco. When she was 12 and he was 16, he was her brother's best friend. When Ricky died four-years later, Marco become her protector. Now 14 years later, they have been debating the should we or shouldn't we and have to decide if their friendship can survive the relationship they both crave. Marco has loved Jenna since he was 16 and she was 12. When Ricky died, his mom had Jenna move into their house because she had nowhere else safe to be. Marco held her every night when the nightmares came for the next year. The friendship has always felt like it was destined to be more than just a friendship, but the timing was never right. Can their 14 year friendship survive the relationship trial he asks her for? Will this week long trial be what they need to finally make things work or will they lose each other in the process? “I’m scared. Okay! I’m so scared. I’m scared that I won’t live up to the expectation that you have built up in your mind or that I won’t be what you want after a while. Mostly I’m scared that if this blows up, then I lose you and I don’t think I can survive losing you. Nothing good ever lasts in my life. I can’t lose you. I won’t survive it.” “Babe, you’re not going to lose me. You and me, we are forever. I made that decision the first night I held you through the nightmares. I’m good and I’ve lasted fourteen years. I’ve loved you for all of those fourteen years. I loved you when I shouldn’t have loved you. I loved you through the good times and the bad time... I held you every night while you slept for almost a year after Ricky died. What else do you need from me to show you that I’m not going anywhere? I’ll give it to you right now. I have no expectations built up in my mind. I don’t want anything from you except you... I want you to let me love you the way you deserve to be loved every day. Those are my expectations. Yesterday you told me you were in. Completely in. Now that you know all my expectations, are you still in?” His hands were on each side of my hips. He hadn’t broken eye contact since he started talking. I leaned in and kissed him. I spread my knees apart and wrapped them around his waist drawing him into me. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said when he pulled away. . . . . . “We’ve talked about what happens if I decide I don’t want this to continue after the week. We go back to what we were before and file it away as now we know if we should or shouldn’t. We haven’t talked about what happens if I decide I’m in and you decide that this isn’t working for you the way you thought it would and you want things back to how they were.” “Not going to happen, that’s why we haven’t talked about it. There’s nothing to talk about. It’s always been you. I couldn’t act on it because you were too young and by the time you were legal, you lived across the hall from me.” . . . “I can’t lose you Marco. I don’t know how to not have you in my life. I can’t lose you.” He softly spoke into my ear. “You’ll never lose me. Let’s just see what happens this weekend and next week and go from there. Pretend to be my girlfriend and get an idea of what it would be like to be my girlfriend and then you can decide. If you decide it won’t work or you don’t want to, you’ll still have me, and we will both have the answer to the question of ‘should we or shouldn’t we’ so we can move on.”

The books in the Woods Lake series can be read as a complete standalone novel, but you will get the most out of the books if you read them in chronological order. This will give you the background of the characters and the history of the linked friendships and relationships. Jesse - 28; mechanic; self-proclaimed "not a relationship guy"; described by others as "a fun for a weekend guy not a relationship guy.” Lexie - 22; art teacher; recently out of a relationship and has sworn off dating and men. After finding out that they both like pizza, poker, swimming, and video games; they decide to be friends. When Lexie's ex shows up and she needs a place to stay, Jesse offers his guestroom for a week until he knows her apartment is safe to return to. By the end of the week, Jesse may not want Lexie to leave, but he's not sure she would want to stay. . . . . I was always the weird art girl that never fit in because I’m super shy, would rather being reading or painting, and there were exactly zero art classes offered all through school.” “Since when are you shy?” “Since forever.” “But you’re talking to me and telling me everything.” “I’ve literally known you my entire life. It’s different." . . . “You need to come hang here. It’s a small town. You’ll see people you know.” We both reached for pretzels again and laughed as I pulled my hand back so she could grab first. I took a sip from my beer and then grabbed a couple pretzels. “Not really my scene. I do it when I get dragged out, but I’m more a small get together person. I’m a total nerd Jesse. Backyard BBQs, pool hangouts, poker, or video games. That’s more my speed.” “If you tell me you know how to cook, you might just change my mind about my opinions on relationships. I love barbecues, pool hangouts, poker, and I’m a video game nerd.” She squinted her eyes together a bit. “What’s that face?” She smiled. “I’ve just been warned and heard stories about your opinion on relationships.” “It’s not something I hide. I don’t do relationships. I have no interest in getting married or having kids. I’m honest about that from the start. I’m a fun guy for a weekend, or a week, or few weeks at most. Then girls move on because they realize I was serious when I said I don’t do relationships.” “At least you’re honest about it and don’t hide it.” There was a hurt in her eyes when she said it. “I’m a firm believer in what you see is what you get and with me you get someone to hang out and do things with and have the freedom to walk away anytime because I’m not looking for a commitment.” I reached across the table and touched her hand. “I don’t know what he did Lexie, but if he let you walk away or pushed you away, it’s his loss.” . . . “Where have you been all my life? You play video games. You can kick my ass swimming. You like poker. You like pizza and beer and you eat brownies from the pan.” “All of that describes a friend. That’s where I’ve been, in the friend zone, and since you don’t do relationships and I only end up with assholes so I’m swearing off men, I think we have potential to become good friends.” . . . I like coming home to her. Shit. I’m so screwed. I don’t want her to leave, but what if she doesn’t want to stay? What if I’m just a good distraction from what she went through with Kyle?

Shauna - 26; nurse; lives in home town small town; has always been a “fun for a weekend or a week” girl Micah - 32; restaurant owner/bartender; lives in a big city; hasn’t been in a relationship in almost ten years; previously owned a software company, sold it to find life-work balance Micah and Shauna met on a brewery tour and Micah knew instantly that she was everything he’d ever wanted and wanted to know everything about her. After a month of text messages and phone calls he finally convinced her to go out with him. “Like Nothing Before” starts five months after they meet. They are included in the Woods Lake holiday short story collection (A Woods Lake Christmas) if you want to see them celebrate Christmas in the city together and then with Shauna’s family in Woods Lake (you do not need to have read the short story to read their full length book). Micah and Shauna are the outgoing, adventurous couple both inside and outside the bedroom and sparks fly immediately in this couple’s story. Can a girl who’s never committed to anything more than a fun weekend or a week, find the happily ever after she was certain she never wanted? Content Notes: book contains discussions and references to – car accident; death of family member and friend (not a main character, deaths are discussed and referenced but do not occur in the book); past controlling/manipulative/abusive relationships; unplanned and lost pregnancy. Trope List: bartender; class warfare; insta-love; medical; opposites attract; small town; small town meets urban Excerpt 1: Micah “I want us to be a long-term us. She’s it for me. She’s like no one I’ve ever known, and our relationship is like nothing before.” Excerpt 2: Shauna “Yes,” I requested on breathless whisper. I had never enjoyed being restrained or blindfolded before, but the first time we tried, it was like nothing before, and I fucking craved it. I had always wanted some element of control before Micah, but with him, I wanted to give him complete control. Excerpt 3: Micah I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. I loved how her body fit perfectly against me like she was made specifically for me. Excerpt 4: “We are going to be late. We should stop, Micah.” “Gorgeous, we are already late. We are already stuck with dishes and clean up. Let’s finish what we started,” I ran my hands up her inner thighs as I spoke. “We are almost an hour late. Dinner is in half an hour; we need to stop, Micah.” “We’re stopping, but we will continue after we get home.”

"You know you've found your person when you'd rather spend your day in the hard parts with them than the easy parts with anyone else." Lucy’s life is a rollercoaster—the highs are epic; the journey to the top is exciting; the drop varies from a little scary to downright terrifying; and the bottom is a soul-crushing disappointment. Her rollercoaster life is easier with someone who will hold her through the scary parts. Lucy's life was out of control in her teens and early twenties because she was living with undiagnosed mental health disorders. Her program works when she commits to it and follows it, but her mind messes with her and makes her believe she doesn't need the program anymore, that she's not worth the work it takes, and that she's not worth loving. Tony’s the only person who has ever loved all of her scary parts. Life is easier with Tony and he’d never do anything to hurt her, but her mind messes with her and makes her doubt everything about herself, him, and their relationship. For over four years, he woke up every day and fought for them. No matter how many times she slipped and fell into old habits, he fought. Nine months ago, Lucy walked out and that time, Tony didn’t chase her—he let her leave. Now, it’s Lucy’s turn to fight for them. She’s determined to do it and hopefully it’s not too late.

Will I forced my best friend’s little sister to move in with me when she became a single mom. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her. The only thing I commit to for more than a night is ink. I’m the wild boy from the wrong side of the tracks. I’ve always done what I was told not to. Don’t go to art school—you’ll never make money with an art degree. Don’t get tattoos—you’ll regret them. I combined my passion for ink and art into a career and became one of the country’s most sought-after tattoo artists. I do guest spots across the country and write off my love of travel. The last thing I expected was to drop everything and help my best friend’s little sister finish school when she became a single mom. Scratch that. The last thing I expected was to fall in love with her. Kayla Relationships are for people who believe in fairytales. Happily ever after doesn’t exist in real life and shouldn’t exist in books. My mom’s happily ever after only lasted long enough to have my three older brothers. I’m the surprise she brought home after a long weekend in Vegas. After she died when I was fifteen, my two oldest brothers sent money every month, and the youngest let me live with him. I never expected to fall for the town’s wild child. Too bad he’ll never see me as anything other than his best friend’s little sister and the person he promised to check in on from time to time. When I reluctantly accepted Will’s offer to live with him, I knew I couldn’t stay forever. No matter how much I want to. It would destroy what was left of my heart to live close to what I want and not be able to have it, but I had to make sacrifices for my baby. The first was my heart. Content brief mentions of a side character's drug and alcohol use, mentions of a character in jail, MFC is pregnant with child that is not MMC's, discussions of past relationships, references to dating other people prior to MMC and MFC entering a relationship. Includes scenes with light kink. Author Unexpected Love is a complete HEA story for the two characters. They have an additional bonus wedding story available as a companion story to the Woods Lake series. A Woods Lake Wedding is available as a separate ebook and is included in the print version Unexpected Love.