Everything sixteen-year-old Simon Fitzroy-Hunt loves in is in England. There is his school, his boyfriend, his cat, and especially Oxford University, which Simon plans to attend just as his beloved late father planned. But all of his certainties come crashing down when his mother remarries and drags him to Boston with her.

Furious and unforgiving, Simon finds plenty to resent in America. His stepsister is overindulged by her father and struggling with Asperger syndrome. And his school project (coaching a young student for the national Spelling Bee) hits a complication when eleven-year-old Toby makes a confession: there is a girl trapped inside his body, and her name is Kay.

Helping Kay find her way begins changing Simon, too, presenting different perspectives and revealing a strength that has gone untapped until now. And as the life he has known, and the future he envisioned, slips further away each day, he realizes he can either lose his direction entirely, or forge a new, and perhaps even better, path.

Something is drawing seventeen-year-old Jesse Bryce toward the community of Pagans who live in "the village," just outside his rural Oklahoma town. Maybe it's that he has a crush on Griffin Holyoke, a tall, dark-haired boy with a tree tattooed all up his back. Or maybe it's that the Pagans accept Jesse for who he is, unlike the church he attends with his family, where he hears that being gay is a sin.

After a man from the village is murdered while trying to prevent an assault on a girl from the town, Jesse's confusion at the town's unsympathetic reaction inspires him to set a mission for himself: to build a bridge of acceptance between the town and the village.

As Jesse defies his parents and continues to visit the village, he witnesses mysterious rituals that haunt him with their beauty and intensity. And he falls in love with one enigmatic, mercurial Pagan who opens his eyes to a whole new world.

This first-person story explores what can happen when we make conclusions about others based on too little information, or on the wrong information. Whether we're misunderstanding each others' religions or each others' sexual orientation, everyone benefits from learning the truth. And everyone benefits from forgiveness.

Ethan Poe, sixteen and gay, struggles for balance while his life conspires to pull him in many different directions. His parents are divorcing; his older brother Kyle is damaging his right hand in the name of purity; his best friend is a Jesus freak who prays for him to be straight; he's desperate to get his driver's license, but he can't seem to get enough supervised driving time. He's just starting to see light in the form of Max Modine, a boy he wants to know much better than he does, when his rural Maine town begins to explode around him. Against his intentions he gets pulled into a pitched and sometimes violent conflict about whether to introduce Intelligent Design into science classrooms. Friendships end, families are torn apart, and the school becomes a battleground.

At the center of the fray is Etta Greenleaf, an older woman who has come out of relative seclusion to run for an open school board seat against the ID proponent. Ethan's developing friendship with Etta and her fearsome dog is ironically both a haven from the vortex and the unavoidable path deeper into it.

Always seeking elusive balance, Ethan finds his way through a maze of lost friends, new love, and the mysteries of tattoos and power animals, with help from quarters where he never expected to find it. And he gains something better than balance.

Alessandro Lupo (Alex) is a sixteen-year-old gay foster child who has been moved from "home" to "home" in New York City. Isolated by circumstances and by the protective shield he's surrounded himself with, he wanders the streets of the West Village and gravitates toward Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 riots planted the seeds of the gay civil rights movement. Having been raped at his previous foster home, he worries about HIV and about ever being able to enjoy sex.

Alex, whose parents had both been Italian, feels his lack of family keenly. As he wanders the city's streets, he scrutinizes people who might also be Italian. Alex is short for Alessandro, which means defender of men; Lupo means wolf. But Alex feels fearful most of the time�fear not just of the bully Derek, the other foster teen at his current home, but also of life in general�and begs for the courage of his 19th century countryman, Giuseppe Garibaldi, with whose statue in Washington Square Park Alex has imaginary conversations.

Then Alex meets two people who represent polar opposites: one who validates the low opinion Alex already has of himself; and another who helps him see himself in an entirely new light and teaches him that his life is worth more than a few minutes of anyone's pleasure.

November 1972. The Vietnam War is rumored to be drawing to a close. For sixteen-year-old Paul Landon, it can't end soon enough, because then his older brother Chris, the family's golden child, returns home from the army for good. But on his last night while home on Thanksgiving leave, Chris entrusts Paul with a secret: He's gay. And when Chris is killed in action, a decorated hero, Paul is beset by grief and guilt, haunted by knowledge he can't share.

Burdened with his dead brother's awful secret, desperate but failing to live up to his father's expectations, Paul changes from a kid who's no angel but not bad to a kid whose parents fear the worst. That summer, as a disciplinary measure, Paul is forced to work at his family's pet supply store. Worse, he must train the summer help: JJ O'Neil, a boy headed for Cornell in the fall.

JJ is one year older than Paul and many years wiser. He knows how to take the burden of obsession from customers' panicky dogs and make them calm. He becomes the new apple of Paul's grieving father's eye. And he's gay. Though Paul initially dislikes JJ for being everything he's not -- self-confident, capable, ambitious -- he finds himself learning from him. Not just about how to be a leader to misbehaving dogs, but also how to stand up for himself, even when it means standing against his father, his friends, and his own fears.

Just before school begins again, as a result of a prank by some of Paul's less savory friends, he and JJ face a crisis together -- a crisis neither can escape unharmed without the courage and support of the other. And through JJ, Paul finally begins to understand who his brother really was and to find a way toward becoming the man he wants to be.

If only Taylor Adams had kept on lying to his parents, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have been shipped off to Straight to God, an institution devoted to "deprogramming" troubled teenagers and ridding them of their vices -- whether those vices are drugs, violence, or -- in Taylor's case -- other boys.

At Straight to God, such thoughts -- along with all other reminders of Taylor's former "sinful" life -- are forbidden. Every movement is monitored, privacy is impossible, and no one -- from staff to residents -- is quite who they first appear to be. There's Charles, Taylor's clean-cut roommate, desperate to leave his past behind; Nate Devlin, a handsome, inscrutable older boy who's alternately arrogant and kind; gorgeous, secretive Sean, who returns to Straight to God each year to avoid doing prison time for drugs. Here, where piety can be a mask for cruelty and the greatest crimes go unpunished, Taylor will learn more than he ever dreamed about love, courage, rebellion, and betrayal. But the most surprising lessons will be the truths he uncovers about himself.

Taylor's story presents a compelling exploration of the journey from boy to man and a testament to the strength that comes with accepting both who we are and whom we love.

In many ways, Jason Peele is like any other teenager. He hits the books, hangs with his friends, flirts with girls, and omits the full truth of his life from his Aunt Audrey and Uncle Steve, who've raised him since his parents died. But there's one way that Jason is very different: when he dreams at night, it isn't about girls; it's about David Bowie. At sixteen years old, Jason is just beginning to understand that he might be gay.

The one place Jason feels comfortable is on the track where he can run fast and hard. He loves the feel of the wind at his back, of his legs propelling him forward, the roar of the crowd in his ears. But now, even his sanctuary feels threatening. It isn't just the jerks who call him "faggot" in the locker room. A new guy has appeared on the scene, and everything about him will challenge the way Jason sees life. From late-night showings of "La Cage Aux Folles" to reading Gandhi, he's running a new race on an uncertain course, and only one thing's for sure: his senior year is going to be unforgettable.

A Secret Edge is a sexy, sensitive coming-of-age novel about identity and courage, love and honor, anger and hope, and the many ways the truth can set you free.

Jude Connor’s rural Idaho hometown is a place of strong values and high expectations. For those who fit into the local church’s narrow confines, there’s support and fellowship. For those who don’t, there’s ostracism in this life and damnation in the next.

Jude wants desperately to be saved—to believe with the fervor of the charismatic Reverend Amos King, whose sermons are filled with brimstone and righteousness. But every time Jude thinks he’s found the right path, there’s a fork in the road, and Truth seems to be in a different direction.

As much as Jude craves the certainty the church offers, he finds himself at odds with it. Without intentionally rebelling, he befriends Pearl Thornton, considered an unrepentant heathen; he craves the support of Gregory Hart, whose church standing is questionable; and the feelings he has for his friend Tim Olsen make him fear for his own soul. But then Reverend King offers Jude sanctuary, special guidance, and a path into the Light.

Will Reverend King be able to help Jude preserve his place in heaven? Or will the reverend's own demons cause hell to swallow them both? The answer lies in Jude's willingness to follow his own path—even if it leads him far from everything he's known.

NOTE: This novel was originally published in 2014 by Kensington Publishing as The Revelations of Jude Connor. Per publishing industry standards, as the author I had limited input regarding the book’s title and its cover image.

Micah Jaeger's life is a mess. His folks have split, and his mother is seeing a medium to communicate with Micah's older brother, killed in Afghanistan. He had to change schools for his junior year, and he retreats further into himself, hiding behind his camera—and hiding that he's gay.

One sunny day in June, as he's shooting a dead seagull on the shore of Long Island Sound, a mysterious guy appears in a beautiful sailboat. At first, the guy's boat shoes are the image that stays with Micah. But soon it's the person himself, Walker Donnell, who haunts Micah's dreams.

Walker's life looks perfect to Micah. His wealthy parents adore him. He has everything he could want. He's gorgeous and generous. And he falls hard for Micah. But he has a secret: Walker is intersex.

The closer Walker and Micah grow, the more Walker feels the need to be sure of himself in ways he hasn't fully faced before, and now it's his turn to retreat. Micah knows Walker is worth waiting for, so he waits. And waits.

Trailblazer Series: Book 1 of 3.

A mountain. A blizzard. A young man new to hiking and to love, making mistakes in both.

First year of college is a great time to re-invent yourself. Nathan Bartlett takes the opportunity very seriously—maybe a little too seriously. And he makes mistakes.

His mistakes? Falling for a straight guy who reminds him of his beloved older brother. Getting too invested in the substance abuse disorders of two other students. And climbing a mountain in a snowstorm for all the wrong reasons.

But he also develops friendships that will be his for life. He faces his inner demons and comes up with a plan. And he realizes that answers to important questions are seldom waiting on the surface but must be worked for, or struggled for, or suffered for—and sometimes all three.

Nathan is a trailblazer on his own journey. His success will be measured not by how well he follows someone else's path, but by whether he can forge his own. This first book in a series of three novels gets Nathan started on a journey that will teach him about himself, about life, and about love.

Walk with him.

Trailblazer Series: Book 2 of 3.
Self-discovery. Sounds simple, right? After all, you’re already there. You’re already you. So it can surprise us that it takes so much time, and so much effort. It surprises Nathan Bartlett.

In the first Trailblazer book (On Chocorua), Nathan’s adored older brother had died a tragic death. Two years later, during this second book, his grandmother—who’d raised her three grandchildren alone since Nathan was a baby—passes on as well.

Nathan realizes he hadn’t really known the people he’d loved. So he goes on a quest, searching for connections he hadn’t known how to make in life. Part of Nathan’s journey is a physical one, a hike promoted by Conroy Finnegan of Finnegan’s Walks.

Conroy is sexy, very masculine, and charismatic—a rolling stone with no moss, a gypsy rover, leading a life with no strings attached, and he seduces Nathan in more ways than one. His invitation is irresistible:

“Come experience a place where the physical and the spiritual are one. A place where magic happens, where the very names are magical: Na Pali. Ho’olulu. Waiahuakua. Hanakoa. Hanakāpīʻai. Nathan, come to Kaua’i.”

Conroy leads Nathan to paradise and lets him find his own way back.Nathan begins his journey as a searcher. On the way he becomes a seeker. These states of mind are different. And neither is in itself the end of Nathan’s journey.

Walk with him.

Trailblazer Series: Book 3 of 3.
Trust. It’s a precious commodity. Nathan Bartlett is looking for someone to trust—someone he can give his heart to, someone he can trust not to drop it. He’s ready to love and be loved.

He’s lost so much love already. First his parents, then his adored older brother Neil, and finally the grandmother who’d raised him. All but his enigmatic sister Nina are gone. He’s had his fill of relationships that go nowhere, men who’ve led him astray emotionally and on the mountains he climbs in memory of Neil.

Nathan has followed enough trails, from Maine to Hawai’i. It’s time to blaze his own. When he does, it leads him to a man who lives life using a wheelchair, a man whose fall from a mountain means he’ll never hike again. Nathan finds himself on a precipice, and only trust will help him now.