Books

The following books are either available now or are releasing in the coming year.

REN'AI RENSAI (恋愛連載) (The Serial of Love)

Genre: (Erotic) Romance, LGBT 
Novella, novel, and short story length insights into one lesbian relationship spanning over 20 years. Stories are not released chronologically but can be read in any order. Set in Japan.

NOTE: Clicking on a header takes you to the official REN'AI RENSAI website!

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"Aiko and Reina have been together for almost 20 years, yet one thing remains unsaid between them: "Daisuki", or, "I love you". As they approach their anniversary, their relationship comes to an impasse as Aiko the Japanese housewife begins demanding "I love you" with a side of marriage and romance.

But Reina doesn't understand complex concepts like "love" or other heavy emotions. She's spent years supporting her girlfriend via a soul-sucking salary job and tending to their mutual needs in the bedroom. Isn’t that sufficient? In a culture demanding Reina choose between the "feminine" and the "masculine" worlds, it's bad enough she's trying to find her role without Aiko adding extra pressure.

Some words need not saying, but "I love you" is about to destroy a relationship already surviving strange side-lovers and even stranger exploits."

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If society has taught Aiko anything, it’s that one day she will marry a man. Not until she meets Reina, a lesbian with a knack for flirting, does she decide she wants to experience a different kind of sexual liberation – assuming she can overcome her insecurities and nosy family. As she succumbs more and more to Reina’s charms, however, Aiko wonders if she can really abandon everyone’s expectations.

Reina has met plenty of girls like Aiko before: cute, naive, and ready to screw the status quo. After being burned by countless young women who go on to marry men and forget their lesbian lives, how can Reina trust yet another “good girl” following her around? Especially when she thinks she may be having those foreign feelings for her best friend instead.

Time will only tell if Hatsukoi, or “first love,” has really come to two such different people. Is their relationship genuine or just another footnote amongst flirting, lying, and sneaking around love hotels?


For over twenty years Reina has sexually celebrated the women around her with a reverence only tolerated by her wife, Aiko. But when Reina misinterprets the fluidity of their open relationship, she’s backed into a corner where her gender dysphoria reigns supreme. In order to salvage her marriage, she may have to reanalyze the way she views the world, her life, and her experiences.

Just when she thinks she’s figured her spouse out, Aiko faces an unexpected transgression. Can she forgive her? Or will love finally give way to the fatigue that accompanies being with someone like Reina? A sick mother and unsympathetic sister are not helping Aiko’s dilemma.

Even the most passionate relationships sometimes fall asunder to “seikou,” the sexual character at the core of one’s identity. Will Reina and Aiko reunite with stronger hearts, or is it finally time to go their separate ways? And if they do split up, who will help them pick up the pieces – the stoic therapist, the desperate socialite, or the young couple who initiated this mess to begin with?

The day Aiko and Reina move into their own home together is supposed to be a joyous occasion. However, with Reina working five to six days a week, Aiko the budding housewife finds solitude tough to handle. She jumps headlong into making friends at the nearest lesbian get-together but meets one person not interested: Reina's bitter ex-girlfriend, who fills her emotional void with activism and her love for all-female musicals.

While Aiko establishes herself as the queen of domesticity, Reina is nominated for a promotion at work. She soon discovers that being a woman in the professional world is rife with injustice, and begins to resent her gender and the way society treats it. With her ex-girlfriend now hanging around, it is a cold reminder as to what happens when Reina becomes a thorn in other women's families.

Living together will give Aiko and Reina challenges never dreamed of before, yet it gives them the chance to build a life together, other women notwithstanding. Their first trial is to navigate the first few months of coming out, disappointment, glamorous show tunes, and a dark cloud of kataomoi, or "unrequited love," hanging over the city.


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When Aiko declared her love for Reina twenty years ago, she knew it came with a price. Dreams of motherhood she once set aside, however, come rushing back when she assists her pregnant niece with a shocking secret. Other dreams left dormant surge when an intelligent, attractive man offers her a chance at a "normal" life, complete with a reassessment of her sexuality. If only she could have it all - especially the child!

No one could be less maternal than Reina, and her wife's conversations about adoption, sperm donors, and other matters do nothing to improve that. Reina is more concerned with the American looking to chronicle her sordid history in the name of academia.

Aiko and Reina have survived a gamut of obstacles determined to keep them apart. Yet nothing scares Reina more than losing her wife to the very things she can't give her, and nothing torments Aiko more than the emptiness in her life. If these two can't resolve their separate desires, then not even a heartfelt "koibumi," or love letter, may keep them together.

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SHORTS 1: "ROUMAN."

On the eve of their wedding, Aiko discovers her girlfriend Reina has some second thoughts about marriage, life, and aging. Even after twenty years together, Reina still doesn't know what she wants from her relationship - can Aiko remind her about the "Rouman", or romance, that they've cultivated and shared over the years? It's probably going to take all night.



For their first Valentine's Day together, Aiko hopes her girlfriend Reina will finally woo her with a little romance. Instead their big date veers off in a strange direction when Reina decides it's time to initiate Aiko into the wondrous world of "Mitsushin," or "three hearts" as their foreign friend calls it. Will this inclusion of a third woman obliterate all the romance left, or will Aiko discover a new way to celebrate the love she has for Reina? A relationship legacy that will ripple throughout all of Shinjuku is about to be born.


Amazon

As a belated birthday present, Aiko's girlfriend Reina takes her to the largest lesbian nightclub in town. Rowdy, drunk women aren't exactly on Aiko's list of "great birthday gifts" however, until she discovers the club's dirty little secret - it's actually a "nanpakai," or a place for picking up women for some quick, casual fun centered around exhibitionism. With the mission to become a seductress for one night, Aiko sets her sights on an out-of-towner. Will their encounter be the envy of every other woman watching, or will Aiko discover she's not cut out for the life of a nanpa?
 
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After watching her girlfriend seduce a stranger at a nightclub, Reina finds herself in the same stranger's hotel room only an hour later. Girlfriend Aiko and her new friend seem ready to go for round two, but there's one thing holding Reina back: this third wheel is more masculine than she's comfortable with. Will Reina let go of her gendered insecurities and have a good time, or will her new friend's request for "chinseki," or "sleeping together," be too much for her to handle?

Amazon

Roped into teaching a "Lesbian Talk" seminar for the local lesbian populace, Reina is convinced it's going to bomb - even though she is the most talented, experienced, and sexiest woman possible to do the job. Just as she's getting used to the idea, however, her worst nightmare arrives: her wife, Aiko, coming to taunt her with everything she keeps beneath her clothing. Will Reina's seminar head south as she cracks under the sexual pressure, or will this master of "shimoneta," or "dirty talk," end up giving the greatest demonstration of her short career? Whatever happens, Aiko volunteers to help.

Amazon

The big day has finally arrived: after traveling across one ocean and spending half her life savings, Aiko is about to marry Reina, the woman she has loved for over twenty years. The dress is perfect, the December day sunny, and Reina actually showed up, but there's one thing clawing at Aiko's nerves like a rabid beast - the "tokoiri," or consummation of their marriage that is to come that night. Although Aiko has spent most of her nights with Reina before, she is convinced it will be different now that they are married. From the nuptials to the late-night banter and everything in between, this "tokoiri" may fray the last of Aiko's sanity yet!









Amazon

 A large crowd of spectators await Reina and Aiko at the local cafe, where the “Couples’ Quiz Show" is going on that night. A Newlywed Game-style affair, Reina has only agreed to do it because she knows her wife really wants the prize: a romantic getaway for two. What she didn’t know, however, was that the opposing team would be the one couple she never wanted to go up against. Will Reina be able to follow her own advice by giving the "jihaku," or intimate confession, of her life? Or will her wife have to settle for a different kind of “romantic getaway?" Either way, Reina probably can’t win.










Amazon

Basking on an Okinawan beach isn't enough for Aiko, who thinks there should be more interesting things to do on her tropical getaway with girlfriend Reina. But Reina's idea of seaside fun is not exactly family friendly - she'd rather participate in the art of "umiiro," or the naughty things that can happen on an open beach beneath the stars. Aiko won't be convinced, however, until she feels properly groomed for the occasion!


JIAI JOUWA (慈愛情話) (The Story of Love)

Genre: (Erotic) Romance, LGBT 
Spinoff of REN'AI RENSAI, featuring supporting character Jun.

NOTE: Clicking on a header takes you to the official REN'AI RENSAI website!



"Born into an elite family, Jun has spent her life cultivating the professional qualities needed to claim her inheritance, the Nippon Royal Hotel empire. Just when she thinks her dream is about to come true, however, Jun’s uncle ships her from her homeland of Hokkaido to the city of Nagoya to become the new local general manager.

Enter Saya, a twenty-something who invades Jun’s life with a bang and leaves just as swiftly. It’s the hope of seeing Saya again that keeps Jun grounded in her goal of taking over the family empire one day… and the more she encounters the enigmatic Saya, the more she realizes she’s falling for her.

Under the scrutiny of her uncle, Jun must prove that she can become the head of the family. But she also must prove to herself that she is capable of sustaining a romantic relationship, evn if her intended has an insatiable wanderlust. Her family’s judgment, Saya’s crippling demons, and the needs of the people she meets along the way will all conspire to make Jun say, “daite,” or “hold me,” never again."

Coming Soon

The subsequent books in the "REN'AI RENSAI" series.

CROSS//Rebirth - Epic urban fantasy set in the same world as REN'AI RENSAI and featuring some of the same characters. Coming late 2014.  

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