the Fruit Basket series
These are actually all in the Torquere Press Color Box line, but as with everything else, I have my own take on colors. LOL
Book 1: Lemon Yellow: Making Lemonade
When Gray Latham’s uncle Will, dies unexpectedly, Gray travels to Connecticut to pay his respects to both Will’s memory and Will’s long-time girlfriend, Eva Monroe. Imagine his surprise when Eva turns out to be Evan — tall, lean, too attractive and completely in mourning Evan Monroe.
Evan’s expecting a quick visit from his lover’s uncaring nephew, but when Gray shows up at his door he finds much more than that. Between the instant attraction and an ill-advised, Margarita-fueled kiss, Evan isn’t sure what to make of the Montana rancher, especially with Bill so recently and suddenly gone. With emotions running high and interfering friends and family sticking their noses into things, can the two men find a way to accept life’s lemons and make lemonade?
* * *
Book 2: Lime Green: Margarita Mondays
A simple noise complaint to Safe Haven Security ends in a broken door when Jeremy misinterprets something he hears coming from inside Troy Ballard’s home. It also starts the two men on a path of high resistance, as neither of them wants a ‘relationship,’ especially not with each other. Their lives are too different.
Unfortunately, their hearts insist on wanting exactly what their minds know to be impossible. With the dubious help of their friends, Jeremy and Troy start to discover that sometimes ‘impossible’ is anything but.
Book 3: ‘Mandarin Orange: Sweet and Sour’

Riley has never been the kind of straight guy who sneers at gay men. Hell, most of his best friends are gay, and it only matters when Riley wants to drink a plain old beer at the froufy bars they drag him to. He can look and appreciate, but dudes just don’t do it for him. Or so he thinks, right up until the new downstairs tenant arrives almost literally on Riley’s doorstep.
The raging storm and motorcycle crash with which Kelly makes his entrance pale in comparison with the battle inside Kelly himself once he gets to know Riley. Riley is damnably hot, nice, and exactly Kelly’s type, except for one little thing — according to all the evidence, Riley’s straight.
Is love truly blind, or does it just wear blinders? Riley and Kelly need to figure it out before the labels and categories drive them irrevocably apart.
Book 4 – ‘Guava Red: Almost Paradise’ 
The blurb: Bastian and Chase first meet at a party in Hawaii and are immediately drawn to each other. Things end less than well, though, and what could have been a beautiful friendship is cut off short. Bastian and Chase forget about each other and move on, or so they think. The two men find success in their chosen fields and believe their past relationship to be over and done. They never even think about each other from opposite sides of the country.
When a chance meeting in Connecticut dredges up old feelings and equally old pains, it’s up to them to decide whether or not to forge through the assumptions they’ve made and get to the truth underneath — that they’ve never truly forgotten each other and maybe their earlier friendship was something much more. Between their jobs, friends, responsibilities, and an interfering man who wants Bastian for his own, there are hard decisions to make; like whether they really have a chance, when paradise is so long ago and so far away.
Like whether ‘almost’ paradise can be enough.
Get it HERE!
Book 5 – ‘Berry Blue: Lessons Learned’

The blurb: Peter Jamison has spent half his life believing he betrayed his first love, so when Dex is suddenly back in his life, he’s thrilled. Sure, they have their problems. They’re not the same young men they were before. They’ve grown and changed, been molded by their lives and circumstances into completely different people, but there’s still the echo of their previous relationship. It might not be enough for some people to build a relationship on, but they’re happy.
Leonard Dumfries is a lot of things. School teacher. Martial arts student. Father. He’s also thirty-nine and still single. When he finds out that the super-hot hunk he met at his own birthday party is not only involved with someone but is also his friend Riley’s uncle, Leonard is disappointed but still willing to be just friends with the man.
Life is pretty good for everyone, right up until it’s not. When Peter’s world starts to crumble around his ears, it’s up to Leonard — with a little help from friends and family — to step in with a more-than-friendly shoulder and maybe, possibly, find his own happiness while trying to ensure Peter’s, too.
Purchase it HERE!



Lime Green had three men called Randy, Pauly, & James. Do they have their own story? I looked on your blog and couldn’t find them. Are they in your free read sections. Thanks
Hi, and thanks for commenting!
Randy, Pauly & James don’t have their own story as yet, but there’s a very good chance that they will. In fact, they feature more prominently in the third Fruit Basket story, ‘Mandarin Orange’, which will be coming out some time next year.
That said, they’re not the main characters in Mandarin Orange, but they’re definitely doing their best to convince me that they deserve their shot. *grins*
~Tis
loved Mandarin Orange. Riley is a hoot. Talk about no filters. The entire fruit basket series so far is wonderful. Kelly definitely will have his hands full but he will laugh a lot.
*grins* Thank you! I’m so happy that you enjoyed Riley’s story! And yes, Kelly definitely has his hands full! LOL
The next book (Guava Red is the color) should be out sometime in August. I’m hoping it’ll be an enjoyable read, as well.
Thanks so much for commenting!
~Tis
Hi I am reading the second book in the series right now and just had to check to see if Paulie and his guys have a story of their own. I really hope that you decided to write their story. I love Paulie and his guys. I am sure that their story would be great! Enjoying your series. Thanks
Very happy to hear you’re enjoying the series so far.
The story of the twinkies-three hasn’t been written (yet!) but the series isn’t finished, either. LOL
There are at least three more stories in the series, after Mandarin Orange, so there’s a very good chance that Pauly, Randy and James will browbeat me until I give them one of their own. *hee*
Thanks for stopping by and commenting; I hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
~Tis
I read the entire series this past weekend. Great reads all 3.
Very happy to hear that you enjoyed them, Hannah!
I don’t know if it’s of interest to you or not, but the 4th in the Fruit Basket series, ‘Guava Red: Almost Paradise’ is slated for release for Torquere on July 30. *hee*
It will be followed by book 5, (the color is Berry Blue; not sure of the title yet) sometime this winter, I believe.
Thanks so much for the comment! It’s great to know that people are actually reading my little tales (and liking them)! *grins*
~Tis
Hey! Love this series but can’t find lemon yellow on amazon. Not a tech so uneasy about buying here and converting to read on iPad (computer died honerbly about a year ago.
So sorry to hear that, Shirley! I’m at least as helpless with regards to technology (I’ve never converted a file in my life!).
Not sure what’s up with the Amazon thing, but Torquere Press’s website has a bunch of different file types… and while I’m not sure whether any of them work with iPads (I’ve never used one so my knowledge is severely lacking), it might be something to look into?
Good luck, and I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the Fruit Basket so far!
~Tis