Running Off Radar, Worth the Wait: MB Austin and Karelia Stetz-Waters

Running Off Radar: Covert operator Maji Rios’s best friend was right: she was an idiot to break up with Professor Rose diStephano, even for the best reasons. When Rose offers her a week of R&R in Sitka, Alaska, she’s ready to let Rose decide if a relationship is worth the danger. But her plans to win Rose back are interrupted when work intrudes and duty calls Maji to help a SEAL team stop a Russian Mobster from harvesting gold from the bottom of Sitka Sound.

MB Austin is a mild-mannered civil servant by day, who plays with real people in the dojo and imaginary ones in her stories. She lives with her fabulous wife in Seattle, an excellent town for coffee-fueled writers who don’t need too much sun.

Worth the Wait: For fifteen years, Avery Crown tried to forget her best friend Merritt Lessing. The late nights studying, the whispered confidences, and the little touches that never turned into something more. Unfortunately, her efforts have not been as successful as her TV career as the queen of home renovation. So when she runs into Merritt at their high school reunion, Avery asks for one night with the woman she’s always wanted.

Merritt spent high school pining after Avery, but never made a move. Their friendship meant too much. The one time it seemed things might change, Avery chose her budding career. So Merritt did the same, throwing herself into her remodeling business. Now Avery is back, and while Merritt still hasn’t forgiven her for walking away the first time, they cant keep their hands off each other. But when their professional paths cross, and it seems like Avery is choosing her career once again, Merritt will have to decide if she’s willing to let go of the past and give herself a second chance with her first love.

Karelia Stetz-Waters remembers a time when romantic love was a holy grail she thought she would never find. Stories about lesbians all ended tragically. At seventeen, she was certain the best she could hope for was to die nobly for the woman she loved (who would never love her back, of course). Four years later, she saw her true love across a crowded room, and they have been together for twenty years. Knowing that happily-ever-after is possible for everyone, Stetz-Waters has made it her life’s mission to craft happy endings for women who love other women. She is also on a quest to spread “cliteracy” across the country, using her work as a romance writer to teach readers about female sexual anatomy, desire, and pleasure.

Karelia writes the Out in Portland series for Forever Yours at Grand Central. Her romance novels include Worth the Wait, For Good, and Something True. Other works include The Admirer, The Purveyor, and Lambda Literary Award finalist Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before. She has a Masters in English and teaches writing at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon.

She’d love to hear from you at www.kareliastetzwaters.com