Stories

What do you get when your satirical college essay is read by your two dads?

Trial by passive-aggressiveness.

Judgment from a pug who demands tribute with every verdict.

And emotional blackmail, served cold on a guilt-plated platter.

Thanks, Dads.

In 1969, when I was 13, my parents and I set out on an adventure. We took the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco. My mom refused to fly and there wasn't time to drive during my winter school break. Besides which, highways could be treacherous in the winter. Nothing was going to keep us from seeing my new nephew, but the train was much more than a means of transportation.

This story is autobiographical, but some memories have faded and where necessary, I've embellished things to make the story more complete. Even so, this is an accurate portrayal of an experience that has stayed with me for more than 50 years.

Souris (soo-wree) was a happy child in a loving home with perfect parents until everything went horribly wrong. A coming of age tale told over eleven transformative birthdays in which Souris must navigate love, loneliness, and loss to find himself.

Somewhere between parenting his little half-brothers, supporting his ailing grandfather in the family business and constantly arguing with his twin brother, Cedric has forgotten himself.

Riley needs money. To help his mom with the debts his dad left behind, to pay for his brother's life-saving therapy, to pay his own debts. But despite working two jobs and putting in long hours, it's never enough.

After a disastrous blind date, Cedric turns up on Riley's doorstep with an interesting offer in his pocket. It could actually be a win-win situation, were it not for a total of six constantly intrusive brothers…

Book 3 in the Jacksonville Jaunts series centers around Bart Hamilton. Bart was once a teammate of Carlo Marini's on the cross-country team. Even as a senior in high school, Bart was unsure of his sexuality. He waffled between thinking he was gay, bi, and periodically straight since his early teens. It wasn't until after he turned thirty-four before his feelings were cemented on the gay side of the fence. That was when a man named Noah Hankins changed his life for good.

Granddad Tom Rules is the sequel to The Education of Grandpa. The story tells the adventures of the two grandfathers, Geoff and Tom, and their teenage grandsons during a recent summer at the lake house.

Domenico Martini is entering high school at a boarding school, necessary due to circumstances from earlier that summer. He learns a lot about school subjects, life, himself, and a whole lot more. He'd always liked boys more than girls, but never had a chance to do anything about it - maybe not totally gay, and he wouldn't be sure if you asked him about it, until arriving at the school, that is.

This story originally appeared elsewhere. It has been updated to make the characters meet GA's guidelines. Additional enhancements may appear as I go through revamping it.

Caleb and Ryan's lives as only children have been turned upside down by their parents' surprising romance and whirlwind marriage, plunging them into a world of unexpected challenges and shifting dynamics. As complete opposites, these two young men are caught in a tug-of-war following an unplanned weekend getaway with Caleb's father. What begins as a reluctant trip transforms into a bonding experience neither saw coming, but both desperately needed. Can they find common ground amidst the chaos?

Ludo has a nice life. A lovely wife and son, an attractive modern house, and a good job, idyllic really. But his wife is restless and spends too much time at work; Ludo finds himself getting too close to Arthur, the father of one of his son’s friends. Then his wife’s job takes a sinister turn, casting everything else into the shade.

Ralph has a successful web-design firm, lovely twin daughters and an ex-wife with whom he is on reasonable terms, though his parents persist in regarding him as a disappointment, disliking his choice of career and general lack of ambition. But, in the wake of his divorce, he experiences a return of feelings and ideas that he hasn’t had since his teenage years when an affair with another boy at school left an indelible mark. And now, he has to decide, does he want to be that person who hides, lashes out at any suggestion he might be gay, or does he want to break free.