MAREN LEE
...writing alpha males and women who refuse to put up with their shit...
Maren Lee is a former bartender, current mountain woman, and contemporary romance author. Her first novel, Ride-along, was written on a dare and she loved doing it so much, she decided to write a whole series based on the Bounty County Sheriff's Department hotties. With four books in the series down, Maren has no plans to stop creating this world of small town hot alpha cops and the woman who love them. Maren has also recently ventured into sports romance with a baseball novella...she might have plans for more.
Maren lives in the mountains of Idaho with her husband, two dog children, and her two weird-ass cats. She loves all things outdoors, reading romance novels, and drinking wine (not necessarily in that order).
Alpha Cops, Strong Women, and Steamy Romance
RIDE-ALONG
Chloe Tisdale is a fun-loving woman with a crappy job, no current prospects for romance, and the apparent inability to listen to instructions from demanding men. After a run-in with a creepy stalker, she heads for Imminence, Montana to hide out and party with her wild, foul-mouthed cousin. Conveniently for Chloe, her cousin's husband just happens to be the Sheriff of Bounty County.
Unfortunately for Chloe, however, one of the Sheriff's deputies is the easy-on-the-eyes-but-incredibly-bossy Justin Hunt, who broke Chloe's heart into a thousand pieces just one year earlier. And unfortunately for everyone in Bounty County, Chloe's stalker follows her to Imminence.
Despite dealing with commitment issues, when Justin learns of the danger that Chloe is in, he immediately steps in to protect her.
Will sparks fly again? Will Justin learn to love? Can Chloe ever forgive him?
CHANGING LANES
Lane Bennett is the new hotshot lead public defender of Bounty County. A transplant from Chicago to Montana, Lane ran from the big city to escape a bad breakup, a far-too-stressful job, and all the anxiety issues that came along with it. But kicking ass and taking names as a small town public defender often pits her against the hottie Sheriff's Department deputies. In order to win, she has to make them look bad. Lane, "the evil harpy," as they call her, is not one of their favorites.
Sergeant Jake Hamilton is a veteran in the Bounty County Sheriff's Department. He and Lane have walked along a rocky road since the first night they met. But after an alcohol-fueled evening resulting in rocking the bed with the sexy redheaded lawyer, Jake decides he is going to woo her.
Complicating matters, however, is that Lane is about to take on the biggest case of her career. A beloved city police officer was allegedly murdered by her client, a non-violent man with a heavy criminal past. But something doesn't quite smell right and Lane begins to suspect corruption. The problem is, she needs the Sheriff's Department to help her shore up her defense. And she needs Jake to protect her from the danger in which she suddenly finds herself.
Will Jake be able to convince Lane that their connection is more than just lust? Will the conflicts of interest be too much to handle? When a surprise rocks their world, will Jake step up and prove to be the man Lane simply cannot live without?
GRIDLOCKED
Wesson Campbell always says the wrong thing at the wrong time when under pressure. Because of that, he has a reputation for being a bit of a dumb meathead. He's a good cop, a master marksman, and spends his free time taking care of his mother, but his social skills and English language proficiency (for a third generation American raised in Montana) are somewhat lacking. Because of this, he doesn't think he has any chance with the smart, beautiful Dr. Molly Mooney.
Molly Mooney is usually the smartest person in the room. After years of school and residency, Molly made the decision to open her own psychiatry practice in her hometown of Imminence. With contracts with the Montana Department of Corrections and the Bounty County Jail, Molly's career has become much more interesting and much more lucrative. But a secret she's kept for years keeps her from really opening up to her new group of friends. She decides, during one drunken night, that Wesson is the one to help her.
When Wesson's father is released from prison unexpectedly, a series of events puts Molly's job (and liberty) in jeopardy. Will Wesson be able to get Molly out of a sticky situation? Will Molly's secret be too much for him to handle? Will the two of them find love where they least expect it?
U-TURN
Ryan Blakesly respected Katie Hamilton’s wishes when she pushed him away. She always characterized their relationship as ‘just a booty call’ and he didn't think he was good enough for her anyway. His Katie deserved the best; and the best wasn't a 40-something-year-old divorced dad of teenagers. But Ryan's spent the last 9 months regretting ever walking away. When he learns she's engaged to marry another man, Ryan needs to make a decision: go after her and ruin his friendship with her older brother, or turn a blind eye and let her go forever.
Katie is engaged to a successful surgeon, but something doesn't quite feel right. When her former booty call barrels his way back into her life, her doubts only grow stronger. When Ryan left, it was for good reason: he's eighteen years her senior and a coworker and friend of her older brother. As if that wasn't enough, Ryan never wants to marry or have children again. Katie knew if she didn’t cut him loose she’d fall in love and end up with a broken heart. But now that he’s back...
Will Katie walk away from her fiancé and into Ryan’s arms? Will Ryan get over his insecurities and be the man that Katie needs? Can they compromise in spite of their age difference? When decisions must be made, will love be enough?
U-TURN EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Visit Bounty County five years later. Just click the book funnel link to get your copy!
DETOUR
Coming March 14, 2019
Stay low.
Don’t get close.
Anne Taylor has been living her life by these two simple rules since she moved to Imminence in an attempt to disappear from her previous life. She works full time for the Bounty County Public Defender’s office as a legal assistant, but she’s spent the past five years faking smiles and keeping secrets. Save for a few shallow friendships, Anne is alone and that’s just the way she needs to keep it.
Richard “Smitty” Smith is the opposite of alone. His work as a Bounty County deputy sheriff keeps him busy and lets him work with his best friend, Wesson. When he isn’t saving his beloved home town of Imminence from crime, he’s working to bring home a state football championship with the Imminence High School Iron Eagles. But now that the mysterious and beautiful Anne Taylor has come into his life, he wants more than just to work from sunup to sunset.
He’s easy on her eyes, soothing to her soul, and impossible to resist. It’s not that she doesn’t want to tell him everything.
It’s that, for Smitty’s safety, she can’t.
Will Anne’s secrets be too much to bear? Will Smitty be able to protect her from the danger she swears still lurks? Will he be able to protect his own heart in the process?
OTHER WORKS
Short stories you can find as part of larger published works or on their own...
THE CHANGE-UP
Clay “Mo” Morrison is a phenomenal pitcher. He has been since he was a kid. He received national attention when he lead his team to victory over Japan in the Little League World Series and has been lighting up the mound ever since. At only 22 years old, baseball has been his life for nearly all of it. Now he wants a ring that comes with the real World Series and a woman on his arm to celebrate with.
Samantha Young is a single mom working two jobs. At 32 years old, she certainly didn’t see herself working in retail and waitressing to make ends meet. But here she is. She has her parents to help her with her five-year-old son, but otherwise, she’s tired and alone.
When Clay walks into Samantha’s life, she has no clue who he is. She just knows she’s insanely attracted to him.
She's stubborn; he’s persistent. She's gun-shy; he's ready to pull the trigger. She's suddenly feeling much her age and he's so very, very young.
When decisions must be made, can they handle the change-up?
The Change-Up is now available on it's own, but it was originally published in the Rounding Third Baseball Anthology. All proceeds from sales of Rounding Third went to 10 Books A Home, a non-profit working to improve early childhood literacy.
BACKBURN
The only thing Dillon Yates loves more than overtime is women, but pickings have gotten slim in his small town and he’s out of fresh meat. The deputy sheriff is working a roadblock for a fire outside Imminence, Montana, when he spots her on a truck full of wildland firefighters: a gorgeous woman wearing fire engine red lipstick. He has no idea what she’s doing there, but he knows he has to meet her.
Lauren Davis loves her bold lipstick, but she loves her job more. She’s a hotshot firefighter and she’s had to fight for respect in the male-dominated field. All of her confidence goes out the window when her boyfriend turns out to be a cheating scumbag and everyone on her team knows about it.
Lauren is ready to burn her ex out of her brain.
Dillon is looking to burn up the sheets.
A fire brings them together, but do they have the kind of sparks that’ll burn hot for only one night...or is their flame strong enough to last?
This Bounty County short story is 13,000 words and a part of the Cop Tales: Anthology for a Cause. All proceeds from sales of Cop Tales will go to the Officer Down Memorial Fund (www.odmp.org)
EXTRA INNINGS
Co-written with book bestie, Jess Bryant, and originally published in the Rounding Third Anthology. It is FREE on all platforms
When Deacon Callahan asked his wife Lily to marry him when they were eighteen years old, he only wanted three things: Lily by his side forever, a career in professional baseball and a family. Now at twenty-eight, he’s a veteran in the league. He and Lily are married, but they haven’t been able to conceive and the stress has put a strain on their marriage that’s making it crumble.
When Lily Callahan said 'yes' to Deacon all those years ago, she couldn't wait to spend her life by his side, cheering him on and raising their family. But she didn't count on not being able to have children. And she didn't count on always coming in second to baseball. Deacon is rarely ever home and when they are together, they're just going through the motions. Lily is fed up and ready to call it quits when a surprise rocks her world.
Can Deacon show Lily that she's number one in his life before it’s too late? Can they save their relationship? Or are they just waiting for the clock to run out on their happily ever after?
