'Hard Place Rock' is Winter Bel's debut short story collection.

Eight short stories and two novellas are brought together in this sweeping collection of unconventional love stories.

A traveling salesman and his wife in 19th-century Illinois stumble upon an abandoned town, whose terrible secret will test their love in the worst way. Two attorneys with a romantic history are brought face-to-face again, in a troubling free-speech case that questions the extent to which imperfect love is forgivable. A protest outside an abortion clinic briefly connects two young people, each forced out of the shadows by their will to survive.

That's just three of the stories you'll find in 'Hard Place Rock'. While the collection is mainly set in the United States, Latin America and the city of Paris get a look-in too. Love between all genders, ages, temperaments, and dietary preferences is represented.

A website for the collection will launch soon, with background information and multi-media related to the stories. You can sign up there to be notified when the story collection publishes.

To follow developments with 'Hard Place Rock' in its approach to publication, sign up to the Winter Bel newsletter below.