A recently out divorcee must explore his identity and how to not be the straight-acting man he's been his whole life. Just when he has found his footing, a flamboyant trans man jumbles up his ideas about what it means to be gay, to be masculine, to be a man. *** Edwin realises he's gay at the ripe age of 56. Coming-out should set him free to finally explore his sexuality, but honestly? He feels lost. He's getting a divorce after thirty years of marriage, half of his friends turn out to be homophobes, he feels an interloper in LGBT places, and for the first time ever, he's living alone. His only remaining certainty - the one he's risked everything for - is that he's attracted to men. To affirm his sexuality, Edwin focuses on everything masculine and seeks out gay men like him. But just when he finds his footing, a flamboyant gay man jumbles up all his ideas about what it means to be gay, to be masculine, to be a man. If Edwin wants to find his community, he'll need to re-examine what it takes to belong. *** Cover by the amazing @SmokeAndOranges! Cover image found by @galaxiesuniverses

drop by my house at half past noon; we'll make small talk of murder over chamomile tea © VANGOHS, 2017

From a transgender werewolf without much 'wolf' to awkward 14-year-olds or an asexual in his fifties, this is the place to be for lighthearted, fluffy LGBT+ one-shots with diverse characters (no, not everyone is white or straight/gay) and a twist on some clichés. 1. Firsts - First crush, first date, first kiss and two shy 14-year-old boys. 2. Broken light - A blind guy and his best friend go camping and talk about colours. 3. Hearth - A middle-aged couple on a quiet Christmas Eve. 4. In the bright sun - An old gay couple takes a walk in the park and reminisces. 5. Yes - A casual, impromptu marriage proposal (part 1) and the wedding (part 2). 6. Set up - Two twinks have a good laugh when they are set up by their straight friend because two twinks just don't go together. 7. The parents - Sophia is going to introduce Elisa to her parents. 8. Back to school - Charlotte smells her mate on the train back to university, and a glimpse of the future (Night). 9. Good intentions - The trouble of LGBTQ+ parents when you're non-binary. 10. Touchy-feely - Two girls speak different languages - and technically, they don't speak at all. 11. Oh come, all ye faithful - Dembe doesn't kiss, not even under the mistletoe. 12. The carpenter who didn't dare come out of the closet - Narnia 2.0, but weirder. 13. Growing space - The cashier in the toy store is Noah's mate, but he is already mated to Leila. 14. A Greek tragedy - Dramatists, pancakes and a blizzard. 15. I'm Me - Flynn comes out on New Year with a letter. 16. Feather Quest - A woman discovers a hidden hut and a beautiful bird. 17. Locked up - Badass lesbians, need I say anything more? 18. Aunt Tia and the Philosopher's Tooth - Jonas has to stay with his aunt, but she has crazy ideas. 19. Spirits - The spirits in Felicia's oven are acting up again, but she gets help from her ex. 20. You Can Do Anything - Trans engineer saves the day when a train almost crashes (same world as Spirits).

[Watty Awards 2019 Winner - New Adult!] Damian Ryker is something of a nomad. In his 22 years of life he's moved a grand total of 14 times. But he's here to stay this time, honest. He's already got himself a cushy new job in town and he's exploring the popular local shops, like that coffee shop down the road. It seems nice enough, perhaps a little too hipster for his taste and the barista is awkward, if not the slightest bit weird. But there's something strange about the innocuous café, like-oh I don't know-earthquakes that seem to destroy it every morning before miraculously repairing themselves and leaving him with the only memory of it. And just when that sounded a tad off, things start to get...a little out of this world. ------------ This was my 2017 Nanowrimo story that I couldn't quite fall out of love with. Inspired by the fun and fascinating world of fan fiction AUs, I hope you'll have as much fun with this as I had writing it!

Each spring she revives her cosmic lover back into the body she fashioned out of her life force, and each winter, when her powers drain, she's left with nothing but an empty shell and barren lands. ------- These poems are as much an ode to spring as they are an epic tale of two cosmic lovers reuniting, the likes of which Homer might have sung with creatures as odd and as mythical as something Kurt Vonnegut might have written, but who, despite the comparisons, are probably more likely to appear in Björk's latest music video than anywhere else. © 2019 Yano Ism

REMOVED April 9, 2024 One notorious gay heartbreaker. One homophobic ex-best friend and his kleptomaniac brother. Mix in a sex tape, commitment issues, and some explosive chemistry. The illusion of Dreyden's perfect life can't survive this disaster. ***** Dreyden is very good at being who others wants him to be. He's an obedient, church-going son, a perfect student, the life of every party. Maintaining the equilibrium means staying in the closet at home, so it's lucky his parents don't suspect a thing when he lies. When others are happy, it's easy to forget that he isn't. After one drunk night gets out of control, Dreyden dumps his loving boyfriend rather than admit to what he did. Adrift and increasingly alienated from his friends, he finds himself sucked into Orion's dysfunctional orbit. Orion has a habit of taking things that don't belong to him, but what's worse is his angry, homophobic brother, who used to be Dreyden's best friend. Bad habits might be harder to escape than the gravity of unwanted feelings, but maybe Dreyden's equilibrium isn't as stable as he pretends. And maybe Orion is about to disrupt it all, whether Dreyden is ready or not. It's just a shame that bad people don't get happy endings. ***** Contains sexual content, profanity, underage substance use, and themes of consent, mental health, homophobia, and coming out. *featured on Wattpad's "Stories to Read OUT Loud" list* Complete at 137k words.

"Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?" "... Not really, no." ** A story about leaving, and returning, and home.

A married writer begins a passionate and destructive affair with a tortured artist, not knowing he has loved her since they met thirteen years ago. ***** Eloise Airens sat as a model for an art class thirteen years ago, where a damaged young artist, Aidan Foley, fell in love with her. For him, she was everything. For her, he was just a face in the crowd. But thirteen years later, Eloise's marriage is struggling and she ends up at Aidan's latest art show in New York. He's immediately drawn to her as he's never gotten over his obsession, and she's drawn to him because despite his pretentious art, only he can make her feel truly alive. Despite trying to save her marriage and stay true to her values, Eloise can't escape the pull of the talented, brooding, yet tortured Aidan Foley. Will she stay with the world she knows, or risk everything? And more importantly, will she do so before Aidan tells her about their strange past? [[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]]

1st Place: The Melancholy Awards, The Award Contest, and The Plum Awards. 2nd Place: The StoryTeller Awards, The Honour Awards, and The Moon Awards. 3rd Place: The SummerZodiacAwards. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elijah Marks has always dreamed of marrying the love of his life, Irina Snow. His dream is finally coming true and in the upcoming months, he'll be a happily married man. On more than one occasion, his plans are thwarted at the arrival of a stalker in the night, who leaves Elijah with bloody bites and wounded confidence. In an effort to capture the monster and prove to his family that it's not human, he sets a trap and uses himself as the bait. It is Elijah's greatest mistake that leads to his greatest obsession. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cover by @Scripturite

Essays on Writing is a collection of thoughts I come across during my writing journey. They cover topics such as grammar, editing, writing, publishing and very often character and story development within the expectations of genre or society.