Stories

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.

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.

The impact of the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 was felt around the world, but in few places more than in New York City. Not only is New York home to the second-largest Jewish population in the world, but it’s home to peoples of many cultures, including a large Arab American population. In my New York Stories, New York Holidays and New York Anthologies series, I’ve introduced characters who might well have been in Israel at the time of the attack. October Fire is a 6-part story about Jewish and Palestinian New Yorkers who persevered in the face of hate.

Abraham (Abbie) Etheridge is a young Banker boy, who lives on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He works as a baker at Chicamacomico Life Saving Station and sneaks onto a life-saving boat when a storm batters a ship off the coast. He saves a young man traveling to the United States while almost losing his life. Abbie's Aunt Pearl, sees the love in their eyes. Can they see it also?

Many men enjoyed the life and freedom of being a cowboy, but it wasn't an easy one in The Old West. The aches were many, but it was the loneliness that could wear a man down. Jubal was one of those who dreamed as he moved and protected cattle, and the day finally came he had enough money to buy his own piece of land. Fate, though, dealt him a terrible hand once again, taking everything from him and leaving him lost and alone. Was Lucas his savior, or just more trouble for a man who'd learned to trust no one?

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?

George Granger has been home for six months on parole, anxiously awaiting news that he has been exchanged, hoping that once he is, he can once again return to active duty in the Royal Navy. Now, in May, 1799, his wish is granted.

The CAP saga continues...J
J and Zach: Two competitive sports, two athletes, both locked in the closet.
Wade: Rebuilding his life with Matt
Brad: Learning to be a single guy.
Will: Being Will.