Diabetes in Fiction

From a young age, I knew two things to be true. Number one, I was going to play professional softball. And number two, in order to get there, I couldn't allow myself any distractions. Ever. Being a type 1 diabetic catcher at a division one college, I'm no stranger to challenges. But when my dad gets diagnosed with cancer and my mom finds herself drowning in his medical bills, losing our health insurance while my dad becomes unrecognizable has me questioning my own strength. Cane Hale is the stepson of retired NHL legend Tripp Talmage. He's also NEU's most beloved baseball player. At least, he was before one mistake has everyone second guessing his integrity, and he finds himself at odds with social media backlash. As NEU's first type 1 diabetic female catcher, I have my share of fans. And when Cane approaches me, offering to pay for my prescriptions in return for me faking a friendship to help him save his image... I somehow find myself saying yes. Under one condition-no romance. No feelings. Because I don't do boyfriends. Especially ones that look like Cane Hale. But when my dad dies, Cane is there, being everything I need him to be, making it hard not to fall for him. And though he distracts me from my grief, eventually, I know I'm going to come head-to-head with the pain. So, will I let Cane hold my hand while I face it? Or will I do what I do best and push him away? Not long ago, I would have known the answer. But now, I have no idea.

When I left Poplar Ridge nine years ago, I never expected to return to my small hometown as a single dad or to fall for a woman who’s completely off limits. Enter Jasmine Hayes. The fiery barrel racer with a smart mouth and hypnotic eyes is my new coworker, my greatest temptation, and… my best friend’s daughter. At twenty-one, she’s far too young for me, but she’s made it clear she doesn’t care about our sixteen year age gap. I doubt her father would feel the same, and since he’s also my boss, getting involved with her is out of the question. Still, she’s determined to break down my walls and steal my heart. I try to keep my distance, but when her dad tasks me with accompanying her to her barrel races, we’re forced to live in close quarters, and my restraint slowly begins to unravel. I try to fight my feelings for her, knowing that if I cross that line, I risk losing my job and my best friend, but some things are inevitable. And some people are worth risking everything for.

Celeste Muldoon is alone when the Big One finally hits, because, for the first time ever, her best friend stood her up after school. Nicky and Celeste share a birthday, matching tattoos, an obsession with the upcoming Mars mission, and pretty much everything else. So why did he ghost her on the day she needed him most? As the quake’s death toll rises and days pass, Nicky and Celeste’s parents fear the worst. But Celeste doesn’t buy it. He couldn’t be dead. Nicky’d spent their senior year selling essays to rich kids and was about to get caught. He’d told Celeste about his plan to vanish, to reinvent himself and escape the disaster he’d created. The quake would be perfect cover. But she can’t convince anyone that he could still be alive. Only Meo, a mysterious stranger who was somehow mixed up with Nicky, seems to believe, but Celeste has every reason to distrust him—even if her heart races whenever Meo shows up. When Celeste finds Nicky’s notebook, it sends her and Meo on a quest across the broken city, up the coast through towns sheltering quake refugees, and eventually all the way to Florida, where the mission to Mars is about to lift off.

Two swimmers under pressure. One trying not to get close to anyone, the other trying to save their beloved camp. And a growing connection between them that makes everything messier. Ruby Hopkins has had the worst year of her life. Dropped from her high school’s swim team, nearly kicked out of school, and now newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, she is waiting for an opportunity to show the world that she can still have a future in the water. When a comeback comes in the form of an intensive summer training camp, she takes it with no hesitation. She just has one rule: no friends, no attachments, no chances to get hurt again. Eliana Marsh, team captain and rising social media star, is used to the pressure to perform. But behind their bubbly personality, Eliana is wrestling with their gender identity and what it could mean for their career in swimming. When Eliana learns the camp could close if the team does not place at the upcoming championship, they know it’s now or never to help coach the team to a win. For Eliana’s plan to succeed, they know training one-on-one with Ruby will help both of their times improve. And despite Ruby’s irritability, she agrees, slowly opening herself up to vulnerability that she never expected. With the championship fast approaching and recruitment season starting, Ruby and Eliana must decide what they are willing to risk, both in and out of the pool.