Title: DOLLY BOY

Genre(s): YA, Contemporary, LGBT

Description: Teenage drag queen Parton Wallace—performing as his namesake, Dolly Parton—dreams of getting into Dragulous!, Hell’s Kitchen’s annual drag competition without making a fool of himself in front of his crush, Damien Hernandez. But when his mom gets diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, the pair move in with his aunt for extra support, even though Parton and his cousin and once-best-friend, Danny, haven’t gotten along in years.

Parton is forced to switch to Danny’s school mid-year and is shocked to find Damien in his first class, though Parton initially goes unrecognized without his makeup on. Once Damien realizes that Parton is the drag queen he’s been watching for months, the two strike up a passionate romance. And after a bullying incident between Danny and Parton lands them in trouble, they strike a deal with the headmaster to avoid Danny’s expulsion if he participates in Dragulous! as Parton’s partner.

When Damien asks Parton to go to the winter formal and they learn that Parton won’t be able to attend in drag, the couple organize a protest that gains national media attention, putting public pressure on Damien’s father, who is a governor at the school. Yet just as Parton becomes accustomed to his new life, his mother’s health deteriorates rapidly and she confesses to being in end-of-life hospice care. Can Parton care for his mom, date the boy of his dreams, and be crowned the ultimate queen of Dragulous! without ruining everything?

Using a mixture of humor and heart, DOLLY BOY explores dynamic family relationships, caring for a parent with a terminal illness, and what it means to be a queen in a world dominated by kings.

Title: THE IMMORTAL LIGHTNING

Genre(s): YA, Commercial, Supernatural

Description: In the near future, humanity has reached new levels of depravity—acts of violence, bigotry, and murder are at all-time highs and getting worse. Then one day the Lightning strikes, and hundreds around the globe are gifted extraordinary powers and made immortal. Their directive? Eradicate all human life so that Earth can get a fresh start. The first wave of attacks hit and over a billion people die.

Ashtyn Whittaker can control the energy around him. After surviving a home invasion that leaves his family and girlfriend dead, he is given an impossible task: blow up NYC... if only he can get there. Before he does, a rogue government agency captures him and he's tortured for information on the beings—gods? aliens?—responsible for creating the Immortals. But after more than a month in captivity, he’s rescued by another Immortal and taken directly to The Mortal Guard, a group dedicated to the preservation of human life. Though he comes to realize that their objectives might not be as pure as he once thought. 

As the second wave of attacks draws nearer, Ashtyn must figure out the true intentions of the beings/people directing his actions, and decide whether the human race actually deserves another chance to restore its fading humanity. And as the list of people Ashtyn cares about grows, his resolve begins to crumble.

Told in multiple points-of-view, THE IMMORTAL LIGHTNING explores what it means to be human in a world overrun by hate and hellbent on destruction.

Title: SPARKLE PREP

Genre(s): YA, Commercial, LGBT

Description: Winter van Aerden really wants to get kicked out of Eustace Academy, his uppity East Coast prep school, so he can go home to his boyfriend, Wyatt. That’s the plan, anyway, until Wyatt breaks up with him unexpectedly… for a girl. Now Winter must decide whether to ditch school and fight for his relationship, or settle into this new academy with a fresh start.
 
Making his decision harder are the members of The Monarchy, a secret society made up of Eustace elite that want him to join their ranks: Aaron, son of the 10th richest man in America; Samuel, a bastard Prince from the House of Windsor; and Michael & Gabriel, twin hustlers whose father was recently indicted for fraud. And then there's Chastin, Winter's new roommate, who rows crew and has Olympic ambitions… not to mention a killer ass.
 
But betrayal and backstabbing could destroy the clique before Winter has a chance to make up his mind. After they sneak off campus and go to a bar, will they remain friends as the alcohol flows, the secrets spill, and a new king is crowned?
 
SPARKLE PREP is in the same vein as Gossip Girl and Skins, but with an unapologetically gay twist, where the lines between friends/lovers/enemies often blur and everyone enjoys a good scandal.

Title: WITH/OUT

Genre(s): YA, Literary, LGBT

Description: California transplant Simon Mason doesn’t know what it means to be gay in the backwoods of Georgia until he comes out at school.  Once the coveted new kid, Simon suddenly finds himself the target of Pat, the school bully, and his gang of bigoted friends.  Teasing escalates to violence when Simon discovers the startling secret behind Pat’s rage, culminating in the brutal death of Simon's boyfriend and first love, Damen.

Now, instead of worrying about acne and homework, he’s attending Damen's funeral and unwillingly reliving the past year of his life with a therapist who wants to be his “friend.”  It’s not until it becomes clear that Pat won’t face any consequences for his actions that Simon makes the desperate decision to punish Pat for his crimes.  But is killing someone in the name of love any better than doing so because of hate?

WITH/OUT is the story of how one teen tries to overcome grief and, when that doesn't work, seeks revenge.

Title: FINGER PAINTING

Published: Vine Leaves Literary Journal, January 2012

Description: Simon and Damen spend some alone-time together on a beach. As they lay in the afternoon sun, Damen starts drawing hidden messages onto the skin of Simon's back with his fingers. (Excerpt from With/Out.)