Stories

When a voicemail arrives, Simon is forced to confront not only the wreckage of a love that lit up his world and nearly destroyed it, but he must also confront his own sins born from his inability to come to terms.

What follows is a haunting, intimate descent through denial, addiction, and the lies we cling to when there's nothing else left. And the brutal strength it takes to finally let go.

This isn't a love story. It's a story of what survives after.

Elisha has struggled mightily and unsuccessfully for years to make peace with his faith and his flesh. It’s a battle Marcus knows all too well. When they are brought together unexpectedly by a mutual four-legged friend, each sees something of themselves in the other which leaves them both uncertain and unsettled on a day destined to impact many lives forever.

In a kingdom aglow with victory and starlight, young Cedric and Lysander discover the fragile bloom of first love—and the strength it takes to nurture it. The Flower Thief and Other Tales of Yalda unfolds a realm where bonds are tested, hearts awaken, and not every battle is won with a sword.

Everyone who comes out has a different story to tell: with some, it comes with a sudden flash of revelation; with others it may have been a long, slow, sometimes painful process of unwinding internalized constraints. For some, it is a matter of recognizing what they have always enjoyed; for others, it is an entry into entirely new experiences. As college seniors in the mid-70’s, Robert and his best friend Paul come out, each with a different story.

Welcome to Philpott Towers! Ten years apart in age, living very different lives, the Phillpott brothers are not close, but their father’s death sees the two returning to share their grandiose family home. Gray Philpott is a successful poet but rather less successful human being, now living with Vince, his solicitor elder brother in their father’s shadow—what could go wrong?

Close proximity forces both brothers to reassess their lives, and the Summer wreaks remarkable changes as the two settle into a new relationship, with both their lives and their emotional lives going in new directions.

The first day of practice at a new, elite school brings on a new way to train.

Originally a throwaway parody in The Straightest Lies We Tell Ourselves, this story lassos the cowboy trope of a city boy in search of himself and drags it straight, or not so straight, into a cowboy crisis.

William receives a note from Great Uncle Beauregard Sanders’ lawyer, informing William that he has just inherited a house. All William has to do is stay there tonight – on Halloween – to get his inheritance. Certainly, nothing weird could happen, right?

Poems and verse for those who have passed from this life.