Stories

Some poetic offerings based on the anthology theme of "Diversity". The Haiku included here are a departure from the usual and expected subject of nature, more reflective of inner turmoil.

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.

John Renkin has recently retired, but his investment firm in The Land of Lincoln is the only thing he can look back on as a success. His painful life and brighter future are revealed in a series of shorts. Each will stand on its own, but the sum will eventually tell his story. Be sure to follow for periodic updates.

Roger Cicero is an enigma. Behind the man’s meticulously crafted facade lies an angry and broken boy. When he is pushed into a case that hits close to home, the successful lawyer is forced to draw on his buried past to save another battered boy’s future.

Ben has a problem. Will he resolve it? Will he redeem himself or condemn himself to a lonely old age?

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.

Former Delta Operative, Sam Trammel’s entire world has just collapsed and with no other option, he returns to Florida to bury his twin and his past. Ben Santiago is an Episcopal priest, a man with a checkered past, and a close friend of Sam's family. After a chance meeting brings them together, the two men navigate the tangled web of regret and forgiveness as friendship turns into love despite the obstacle of Sam's PTSD, and his reluctance to move toward Ben instead of away. Family and new friendships help Sam to rebuild and realize that sometimes the path to healing and finding home, is by confronting your past head-on.

Michael appears to have it all—a successful career, a loving family, and a picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface lies a world of hidden truths and forbidden desires, threatening to shatter everything he’s built. As tension mounts and the weight of his secrets grows unbearable, Michael must navigate a dangerous path where every decision has consequences. Straightening Affairs is a gripping exploration of identity, deception, and the lengths one man will go to protect the life he’s desperately trying to hold together.

A straight friend, an artist who the narrator has known since college, compliments him on the definition of his muscles. The narrator has always considered the straight friend very attractive, The narrator is concerned his friend is not aware of his own good looks and is not keeping himself fit as they grow older. The narrator has a strategy for helping his friend.

Joshua struggles with painful memories and emotions when he is invited to his family’s Thanksgiving celebration. His boyfriend Marcus steps in to help him through what promises to be an emotional day as they both peel back another layer of their own childhood trauma and learn that they do, in fact, have many things to be thankful for.

Note: Joshua and Marcus first appeared in We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident. Many familiar characters from that story as well as Kept Boy to Made Man will make appearances. This story will reveal hints to many character’s futures.