Mark Arbour - Stories

When Travis Buck becomes famous for playing golden boy Jackson Pryce in the TV hit Palisades, the role begins to consume him. Off screen, he hides trauma, addiction, and a secret relationship with his best friend, Will Schluter — while his co-star Ken “Kendo” Dolan lures him deeper into self-destruction. As Travis’s real life mirrors Jackson’s unraveling, fame, love, and control collide. Forced into isolation to survive, he must decide whether to keep performing the perfect life everyone expects — or risk everything to be real.

Travisty is a story about identity, survival, and the cost of being seen.

The French Revolutionary War is finally coming to a conclusion, and after eight years of conflict, George Granger is going to have to adapt to a world at peace. While the conflict with France may be at an end, George has his own challenges to face. He has returned home to find himself richer, but estranged from his wife. His best friend and lover, Francis Calvert, has been wounded in the Caribbean and has not yet returned to England. Join George as he navigates this fraught era, which may be even more dangerous than when England at France were at war.

It is August of 2004, the month that the Olympics were held in Athens. Will Schluter will be there, then he'll start his freshman year at Harvard with his cousin Marie. It's a bittersweet event because the man he loves, Travis Buck, has to remain in Hollywood to work on his acting career, and they'll have to deal with being separated by thousands of miles.

Meanwhile, Will's brother JJ is firmly established in New York City, trying to deal with the inevitable challenges life throws at him, while his father Brad will face a crisis that could ruin his marriage.

Tim, an honor student from Los Gatos, grapples with heartbreak and self-reflection after being ghosted by Thet, a closeted blue-collar guy from South St. Louis. As Tim wrestles with anger and confusion, a dinner with his grandmother leads to a powerful coming-out moment. Their heartfelt exchange helps Tim process past trauma with his father and recognize the secrecy and pain others around him carry. When he later spots Thet out with a girl, he sees through the act—and instead of lashing out, reaches out with unexpected compassion, hoping Thet will one day accept who he is.

Two daddies and two twinks go on a cruise. Devon and his boyfriend Roger plan a cruise to get away and enjoy some time together. While boarding they meet Keller, who is traveling with his estranged boyfriend Jason. While on board they discover the true strengths and weaknesses of their relationships.

It is January 2004 and the United States and its “allies” have just completed the successful invasion of Iraq and Saddam Hussein has been captured. US Presidential Elections are on the horizon. Howard Dean is the frontrunner to be the Democratic candidate to take on George W. Bush.

These events weigh lightly on the mind of Will Schluter. He just graduated from high school a semester early and is looking forward to spending the next eight months in the pursuit of hedonistic pleasure and mind broadening experiences.

Neither Will nor his country had any idea about the challenges that lurked ahead.

George Granger has been separated from his command, and how finds himself in limbo, waiting for Valiant to return. In the meantime, the Admiralty has found other things for him to do. Little does Granger know that when his ship finally does return, he'll be given an entirely different challenge, one that will take him to entirely new waters.

"Man in Motion," follows Be Rad and begins in 1985. To most Americans, 1985 was about the second Reagan term and the economic boom that was following the stagnant 70's. The culture was wrapped up in materialism, so it's no wonder that Madonna's "Material Girl" was popular then. Then there is this parallel culture, the gay culture, reeling from the onslaught of AIDS.

This story starts in June of 2003. The invasion of Iraq is over, George Bush has landed on the aircraft carrier and proclaimed "Mission Accomplished", and the insurgency has yet to begin. Some may think America is at the height of its power.

Meanwhile, in the CAP world:

JJ and Will, both in doomed relationships that seem to be working. Will they unravel, and if they do, who is behind it?