"If the world can't handle the truth, give them a spectacular lie." Bitch. That's what they called me at my old school. I disagree: I'm just brutally honest, that's all. Some people don't like honesty. Exhibit A: Matthew's family. None of them want to acknowledge that their Golden Boy is gay. Exhibit B: My Mother. I only told her the truth: that she was a crappy parent who never should've gotten knocked up in the first place. But she was so offended that she shipped me off to my fabulously wealthy father and his walking-billboard-for-plastic-surgery of a wife. So I devised a brilliant plan. My new friend Matthew was sick of hiding his sexuality. I was tired of obnoxious rich boys hitting on me. So why not pretend to be dating? He wouldn't have to answer uncomfortable questions anymore, and I'd enter my new school as the girlfriend of the star quarterback. It should be easy, right? Of course, I didn't plan on falling for Matthew's brother.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, when all I really want is five.

❝In these dreams it's always you: The boy in the sweatshirt, The boy on the bridge, the boy who always keeps me from jumping off the bridge. Oh, the things we invent when we are scared and want to be rescued. Your jeep. Your teeth. The coffee that you bought me.❞ -I Had A Dream About You, Richard Siken Twenty-four-year old Eli Forbes isn't sure where he's headed after college graduation. He might know that he's getting a degree in Exercise Physiology in the spring, but fuck if he knows what he's going to do with it. For now, he's content with spending his winter break helping at his aunt and uncle's coffee shop. Sebastian Steine, a quirky wayward spirit, is double majoring in comparative literature and theater at Berkeley University. As all around him his friends begin to settle down, get married, and start families of their own, it becomes clear to Sebastian that he still doesn't have a clue as to what he's doing with himself. He's a floater and that's not as pleasing as it used to be. When the two meet at Forbes Family Coffeehouse, they begin to realize they have a whole lot more in common than just their favorite order of a simple black coffee.

WATTPAD ORIGINAL EDITION In 1955, mixed-race Ethan Harper leaves his progressive hometown for a summer in Alabama where he's not welcome, except by resident free spirit, Juniper Jones. ***** After getting himself into a bout of trouble, 16-year-old Ethan Harper's parents send him to Ellison, Alabama, to live with his aunt and uncle for the summer. But the year is 1955, and Alabama is a far cry from his beloved home of Arcadia, Washington. As much as it's hotter in temperature, it's colder in every other way, and Ethan learns the hard way that people see his mere existence as a threat. Amidst all the mayhem, a fiery, free-spirited, oddball walks into Ethan's life. Her name is Juniper Jones. She is the first person in Ellison who seems unfazed by their racial differences, and she promises to give Ethan a summer he will always remember, filled with endless adventure and discovery. With Juniper, Ethan can breathe, he can be, despite the incessant attention and bullying their newly formed friendship attracts. Can the two survive the summer, run in the light and block out the noise of the outside world? [Published version comes out June 16, 2020 with Wattpad Books!] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

Oh I know I love you/ so please/ throw down your hair

I fell in love with a physicist, and then we lost ourselves. Maybe there are places we can all be happy. We just need to find those places. Or maybe they don't exist.