1 - Stories

After years of resistance, Loren is ready to start a family. On the eve of their embryo transfer, he gets information that threatens to unravel everything.

A lot can occur in a single day, and this day starts with Virgil Pruitt riding into a sad, struggling Texas town seven years after the end of the Mexican-American War. Sometimes it's not easy to be a good man, one who calls out unfair hate when he sees it, but Virgil doesn't always look for easy. Will he pay the price for being such a man, or will he be rewarded for standing up for young Wyatt Burnham?

Patrick has a massive crush on his best friend Cody, and with Cody's leg stuck in a cast after a swimming accident, the two boys are forced to spend time indoors, away from their usual summer activities. However, this deviation from normality gives the boys plenty of time alone during summer vacation. Conflicting emotions bubble to the surface for Patrick when a silly game turns out to be more than just a game to Cody, and both teenagers must come to terms with how they feel for each other.

Times of environmental disaster, political upheaval and endless wars . . . . 1816 is relevant to the world we find ourselves navigating today. Antonin Carême, the world’s greatest celebrity chef — with his rockstar salary and good looks — heads to an open-ended engagement at the Prince Regent’s seaside home. What, though, are his true motivations for going? What about all the deaths and attempted killings unfolding at the Pavilion while he’s there? Who is this mysterious doctor who draws him into the investigations?

Terry Young has just been appointed as chief projectionist in a run-down old cinema. But from day one he has problems. Resentment from the man who thinks he should have got the job. An undeniable attraction toward his general manager, Dan. And the re-awakening of psychic abilities indicating something is hidden under the building.

This story is set in 2005, modern enough for there to be mobile phones and Internet access, but still within the timeframe when cinemas like the Regal, with a crew of projectionists running film still existed.

Jay Petermeyer is everyone’s favorite All-American football player. He’s spent his entire career living above reproach as he patiently waits for the husband and the life he knows he’s meant for.

There wouldn’t be influencers if there wasn’t Loren Patrick. He transformed YouTube into a social platform and revolutionized what it means to live for the public. His life is free and easy. No attachments, no expectations. Just the way he likes.

Sometimes the life we’re destined for looks different from the life we dream of.

With life at Greenstone now a distant memory, Puppy takes a leap in the real world to try a dose of independent living. With study, work, his drive for social inclusion and a boyfriend who can't keep a lid on his temper, Puppy feels the weight of life's reality without a safety net. Sink or Swim, he's as mature and determined as ever. But he can't get someone off his mind, and it's not Hunter!

A young man enters the confessional. He tells Father Peter Ruxton that he is gay, in love, and filled with self-loathing because the Church teaches that what he is doing is a sin. The priest, who struggles with his own sexuality, tries to offer counsel that shows compassion and empathy, while remaining within the strictures of his Church’s position on homosexual behavior. It does not end well. The young man leaves filled with bitterness, and Peter faces the reality that he must leave the Church if he is to be true to himself. He begins his search to find himself and his authentic life.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sam Miller owns a duplex on the beach and lives there with his fourteen-year-old son, Devon (Devie). He rents out the other half to thirty-five-year-old Taylor Winters and his fourteen-year-old son, Cillian (Cillie). The dads share an attraction to one another, and their kids have an attraction for each other. The two sets of couples decide to explore becoming a family while Taylor, and Sam date, and Cillian, and Devon date.