Stories

A Summer in Iowa is based on two key times in the author's life. In 1968, the author turned 12 and began junior high. It was a tumultuous time in which protests rocked America and MLK and RFK were assassinated. Fast forward to 1972, when the author turned 16 and was in high school. The author experienced his first time on his own while attending a summer science program at the University of Iowa. Although the romantic aspects of the story are fictional, much of the rest of the story is based on real events. A Summer in Iowa also serves as a prequel to the modern-day story in the author's New York Stories series, Reminiscing About the Future.

Joey Balas can’t read, can’t keep a job, and can’t seem to catch a break—until he’s handed a delivery job by his criminal brother that lands him face-to-face with a Cleveland mobster… and a murder he was never supposed to witness. Marked for death, Joey’s saved by the last person he expected: the hitman ordered to kill him.

D is cold, quiet, and done taking orders. Letting Joey live was a mistake he can’t take back—and maybe doesn’t want to. Now the two of them are on the run, tangled up in a mess of dirty secrets, family betrayals, and the slow-burning bond growing between them.

After a turbulent beginning, Noah is finally living the fairytale life—married to Jace, and building the perfect family. For a while, everything feels like a fairytale. But fairytales don’t last forever.

When the past comes knocking, old wounds are ripped open & secrets begin to unravel. As old flames ignite and buried secrets come to light, Noah finds himself torn between fighting for his place as Jace’s legal husband or walking away from the life he built.

Love, betrayal, and painful truths collide in this emotional journey of devotion, identity, and the brutal price of holding on to someone who may no longer be yours.

In Only What the Moon Sees, eighteen-year-old Gabe is quietly battling his identity and loneliness when a late-night encounter with a mysterious stranger shifts everything he thought he knew. Adrian, a centuries-old vampire, is drawn to Gabe in a way he can’t explain—or resist. What begins as a cautious connection slowly unravels into something intimate and powerful, forcing both of them to navigate the pull of desire, the weight of secrecy, and the blurred line between danger and safety. As their bond deepens, so does Gabe’s awareness of the supernatural world—and his place within it.

A shattered young Brit, Jimmy, flees his past for Canada, haunted by failure and abuse. On a rain-drenched Ottawa street, a spontaneous act of courage connects him to Hugo, a charismatic jock who challenges everything he knows about love and self-worth. This is the raw, hopeful beginning of an extraordinary journey of recovery, friendship, and finding the strength to walk toward a brighter future.

Jasper is everything fans of The Obsolete want him to be. Between the dance-y pop songs he writes, his flirty onstage persona, and the masterful way he plays along with the fans’ ships, he’s the perfect performer.

But when Ryan, an irresistibly attractive dancer, is added out of the blue to his vocal band, it puts the spotlight on something Jasper’s been ignoring all his life.

Can Jasper let himself get swept up in his own real-life, convoluted, fanfic love story while uncovering the real reason their manager added Ryan, & saving the band? Or will a photo scandal throw everything out in favor of some satisfyingly petty revenge?

This story is in response to the prompt challenging writers to write a story without using >> I << in it: Write a short story (at least 500 words) in first person without using the pronoun “I”.

I hope you enjoy this!

A young boy and his dog build a bond that takes them through life experiences.

Lost in the snow, a runaway with no memory stumbles into the path of a fierce protector. A fated encounter, a forbidden bond—can love break the chains of destiny?

This continuation of the story that began as “The Last Boys In Clinton” follows George, Lionel, and Lorenzo to Clinton, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville.

It will also cover the futures of some of the other major characters from that story.