Stories

Brent Moran meets his first client as the county's new parole officer.

Summer, 1968. An ex-soldier with regrets pairs with an ex-boxer who never lost his punch. Their mission: finish a sci-fi comic in five days. But as the city melts, the story of hidden aliens mirrors the chemistry unfolding between them. Sometimes, unmasking is the only way to survive.

This is a collection of very short stories, that I had written over thirty years ago, when I first started to write, and they are recollections of real events that took place on the farm where I grew up in Western Australia.

Preston aka Quokka

A story about first love, last goodbyes, and everything that still lingers in between. A new city, a new life but somehow, his ghost still follows me. Maybe this time, love won’t leave me behind.

A university dropout is brutally shoved into the concrete hell of Cradle Grove. Targeted and destitute, Kieran’s only path is scavenging and shame. Then Ben, a terrifyingly silent force, saves him from a beating. A protector? A predator? As bodies start to fall, Kieran is thrust into a savage new hierarchy, where survival means embracing the violence and dark loyalty of a world that wants to destroy him.

Two friends meet up with a stranger in the Pyrenees who gradually tells them his story of life and love in the last years of Franco's regime when homosexuality was a crime. We meet Ximo and the love of his life. Can that love survive what life in a dictatorship throws at them?

TL is a popular librarian who experiences a playful evening full of ticklish fun at the hands of his boyfriend and their best friend.

In the quiet town of Oakridge, California, 13-year-old Adrian stumbles upon a hidden clearing, seeking solace from his troubled life. There, he meets Aelios, a mysterious and mesmerizing boy who seems to emerge from the night itself. Aelios is an ancient vampire, haunted by his past and on a mission to stop a deadly rebellion led by Theron, a ruthless elder. As Adrian is drawn deeper into Aelios's world of rogue vampires and ancient secrets, their friendship grows into an unbreakable bond. Together, they must face the looming threat of rebellion and the forces that seek to tear them apart.

Joel's day has been completely normal until he comes home to find his younger brother sitting out on the front steps. After a word of warning, his life abruptly changes when a careless mistake reveals his one secret to the rest of his family.

*Originally part of the 2023 Secret Author Contest: Secrets (Only chapter One)