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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Annelie Geissler
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TASTE THE LOVE

Fay Stetz-Waters Karelia Stetz-Waters

A delicious, heartwarming romantic comedy about big dreams, life-changing friendships, and the people who bring out your best.
Six years ago, eco-chef Alice Sullivan and her culinary-school rival almost gave into the burning tension between them. But those kisses? Just the heat of competition boiling over. Sullivan never expected to see Kia after graduation . . . until Kia crashes back into her life with a plan to buy Sullivan's beloved Portland greenspace.

Kia has worked hard building her social media empire as the big-hearted glitter-bomb queen of the food-truck scene. Now she's one step away from opening a foodie utopia for underrepresented culinary talents. But Kia's plans catch the attention of a bulldozer-happy food conglomerate, and now both Kia and Sullivan's dreams are on the line. When a legal loophole turns out to be the only way to save what they each love most, they're left with one option: pull off a very public fake marriage to obtain the deed to the land and keep their old rivalry under control.

As the line between fake and real love blurs, can Kia and Sullivan set aside their differences and find the perfect recipe for happily ever after?

Karelia Stetz-Waters remembers a time when happy endings 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-plus years.

Knowing that happily-ever-after is possible for everyone, Stetz-Waters has made it her life's mission to craft happy endings about women finding true love with 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.

When she's not shopping for model clitorises or writing love stories, she's teaching at a writing at a community college in rural Oregon where her students inspire her everyday with their bravery, creativity, and perseverance. She also teachers for the Golden Crown Literary Society Writing Academy, a creative writing program for queer women. It's been her honor to mentor writers who are now her peers and colleagues. Karelia also loves to garden, draw, and play with her pug-mix, Willa Cather.

Karelia has a BA in Comparative Literature from Smith College and an MA in English from the University of Oregon. She is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
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Published 2025-07-15 by Forever

Comments

I love that they choose each other over everything else. Also, who wouldn't want a romcom written by two women who are married to each other?! Talk about the dream!

Isn't it awkward when you show up on your first day of filming and your competition is the hottest one-night stand you've ever had? Izzy and Lillian are both bright and wary; the combination makes for sparkling banter when they're deflecting, and incisive observations when they start letting the other in.

A sweet treat that will satisfy your fake marriage cravings!

Taste the Love is as satisfying as the meals it describes. I devoured this story of rivals turned partnerssweet and spicy, with a dash of courtroom thrills that kept me turning pages to the very end!

I'm not sure I've ever felt the actual love bleeding from the pages the way I did reading this first collaboration between the Stetz-Waters duo.