Tag Archives: heat level: 3

No Holds Bard

Modern LGBTQ+ fiction inspired by the works of William Shakespeare

Blurb: Ten authors, twelve extraordinary stories. From a novel solution to the Plantagenet succession crisis to revelations about the private lives of Prince Hal and – separately! – Brutus and Cassius, plus a surprise ending for Twelfth Night, no play is safe. We have marriage proposals and murder; subtle scheming villainy; a missing manuscript; a haunting… Whether set within the framework of a play, or spotlighting actors, characters, or the Bard himself, these stories will have you viewing Shakespeare in a whole new light. It’s definitely not the kind of thing they taught us in school…

Take a deep breath. Dive in. Prepare to be astonished!

An anthology edited by Fiona Pickles and featuring authors Julie Bozza, Siobhan Dunlop, Adam Fitzroy, Bryn Hammond, Erin Horáková, Molly Katz, Vanessa Mulberry, Eleanor Musgrove, Michelle Peart, and Jay Lewis Taylor.

Genre: LGBTQ+ fiction; historical; contemporary; William Shakespeare; anthology

Click here for the blurbs.

Word count: 67,000

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Published on 1 May 2018.

stories: In Fair Verona

“The Death of Mercutio, Romeo’s Friend” (1904) by E. A. Abbey (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

My second story for this anthology was In Fair Verona, which features a character from Romeo and Juliet. Well, I couldn’t let this queer Shakespearean anthology go by without claiming a spot for Mercutio, could I? I’ve spent most of my life convinced that he was deeply in love with Romeo, after all.

At the time this thought occurred to me, I was reading the English Heritage anthology Eight Ghosts, and writing my own ghost story, An English Heaven. So, in a spectral mood, I wondered whether there are some ghosts out there who aren’t the remnants of human beans – but of strong characters from literature? We authors often like to say that characters take on lives of their own… What if some of them continue on beyond the inspiration and even the life of their author, in a kind of literary afterlife?

If so, then Mercutio certainly has the chutzpah to exist in his own right. And he might be found in a number of places, but one of them could certainly be Verona… And who else has visited Verona, and might encounter him…?

Enter Lord Byron and entourage, with a suitable flourish. Though the timeframe is neither here nor there, I set the story in early November 1816, when Byron travelled to Verona with his friend Hobhouse. Though I admit to conveniently ignoring Hobhouse (let’s pretend they went their separate ways while in town), I did draw on some of Byron’s thoughts on Verona, to be found in his letters.

And I have to admit to feeling rather pleased with the results… I hope you might give it a try – and if my story isn’t quite the thing, no doubt you will find something else in this quixotic tome to bewitch you!

The ‘True Love’ Solution

Blurb: Jules Madigan loves his family and he loves his job. The only thing he’s missing out on is a Happy Ever After, like the ones written by his favourite romance author Ewan Byge. While he’s waiting for that HEA, Jules indulges himself in buying Ewan’s old typewriter as memorabilia – before realising he’s been defrauded. Through the fraud case, he makes friends with Police Constable Leonard Edgar – and through Leonard, Jules even gets to meet and work with Ewan Byge Himself! But the course of True Love never did run smooth, and soon Jules has to face some harsh realities.

Genre: gay romance; contemporary; comedy drama; novel

Click here for an excerpt of text, and here for the reviews.

Word count: 45,000

Available in ebook formats from:

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First published by Manifold Press on 1 February 2016. Re-released by LIBRAtiger on 8 March 2018.

Like Leaves to a Tree

Book 2.5 in the Butterfly Hunter Trilogy

Blurb: Dave has made the most perfect plans for his first Valentine’s Day with Nicholas … but of course that’s when Sod’s Law kicks in, and everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

Genre: male-male romance; contemporary; Valentine’s Day; short story

Word count: 3,500

Originally written for Mark at Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews.

Available in ebook format from:

This free story has also been incorporated in the paperback edition of The Butterfly Hunter Trilogy.

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Published on 14 February 2014.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Blurb: Joshua Delaney and Carmine Angelo Trezini, cop and mobster, should have absolutely nothing in common. Yet, accidentally brought together, they rapidly became both lovers and allies against organized crime boss Matthew Picano. Of course, taking down a man like that was never going to be easy – but Josh has no idea of the scale of the sacrifice he will eventually be called upon to make.

Genre: gay fiction; contemporary; organised crime thriller; novel; not a romance!

Word count: 51,900

Click here for an excerpt of text, and here for the reviews.

Available in ebook and paperback formats from:

Reader sites:

First published by Homosapien Books in 2001, and then by Manifold Press on 1 November 2011. Re-released in a revised edition by LIBRAtiger on 1 December 2017.