Stories

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?

“Shoulder Season” is the sequel to “The Boys of Summer.” Pate and Timmy explore what it means to be in a relationship over the fall and winter months on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This book commences on Labor Day weekend after Pate has sent Timmy home with his grandmother to protect him from a possible drug investigation. The ying and yang of their shared life plays out in both challenging and revelatory ways as they figure out what it means to be a couple.

CARNIVOROUS BUTTERFLIES In 1983 a group of youngsters from different backgrounds navigate a London that is exciting as it is dark and dangerous. Todd, Julian & Hannah form an unlikely friendship, bonded by the hardships of Thatcher’s Britain & the panic from a new virus that is decimating the young gay men. Set in a time when recession bites into most people’s lives, trying to make a living becomes a daily battle for many people. Skinhead, punk, New Romantic & yuppie resonates throughout the book. This is a gritty story about friendship & love, where not everyone gets out alive.

Nick Frost is sent into the world of normals to survive. He didn't think it would be all that hard, but then there's the ghoul and the secret society and a conspiracy. Some days it might be easier of his blessing was one of fire, like his jerk of a cousin, but Nick is a life mage who is learning for the first time what it is to make friends and to have fun - and maybe even fall in love, if he can survive it all.

Brion, a high school athlete, suffers an accident that changes his life. Surmounting the resulting difficulties is not easy.

Ten years later, nearing his college graduation, he attends a presentation that once again changes the course of his life.

“What about you Zackary? Do you have any plans to keep you busy during the holidays?” Mum asked me. I so hated that name, but it is the name I was given at birth, and my middle name was just as bad, and I refused to use it, and regularly reminded my parents and brother to never speak that name.

As I considered the question, I wondered if the casual summer job that I have for the past few years was still available, which I had really enjoyed, and began just two days after Boxing Day. “I don’t know, nothing until after Christmas, and after that I am hoping that I will have my usual old job,” I replied.

A light-hearted novella in seven short chapters.

Sixteen-year-old Reza thinks he knows it all until his parents drag him away on a summer holiday to Ravello on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, where a chance encounter by the hotel pool proves to be an education…

Adam Smith and his son Robert Turner head to Boston, MA to settle their business with the Commonwealth. Along with them is Adam's husband Duncan Isen - Smith, Duncan's nephew Jeremy Isen, and friends Giles O’Sullivan and Travis Jacks. Together the family shares tears, laughter, and secrets are revealed.

Sammy is only fifteen years old but he loves to cook. It's been his passion ever since he can remember and he gladly relieves his working mother from the meal prep duties. He even has a struggling YouTube channel that nobody watches, but he dreams to be as big as his favorite cooks he likes to watch online. Will his determination and support from his twin brother Jake be enough to make it to the top?

As life moves on we remember times both good and bad. For Kyle, Jacob and the others, memories from the past are a bounty of the defining moments in their lives.

The following is a series of moments, past and present that help guide their steps towards the future.