Avondale Stories

George Martin and Mike Foster have been best friends since childhood, but recent events have brought them even closer together: Mike has moved into George's house now that George's unfaithful boyfriend has been kicked out. It puts Mike in a pinch, because he's always loved George -- maybe more than a best friend should. George doesn't suspect Mike's feelings, being wrapped up in his job as the youngest lieutenant in the Jacksonville sheriff's office and investigating a series of murders. But it will all come to a head when George is stalked by a psycho and Mike steps in front of a bullet meant for George. George then realizes there's much more to their relationship than he thought.

After surviving the threat of a murderer and finding love with each other, George Martin and Mike Foster, best friends since childhood, are settling into a happy life. George's new promotion to the youngest captain in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office keeps him busy, and his current case is no exception. The body of a fifty-year-old drag queen is found in the locked dressing room of a bar. As George delves into the subsequent murder investigation, he uncovers a dangerous trail of murdered drag queens and young gay men that intersects with another case involving porn films, torture, and worse. He struggles to make sense of the murders, but it's Mike who asks the question that leads to a break in the case.

George Martin and his partner Mike live a comfortable life in Jacksonville with their Irish setter, but something's missing. Maybe George, a captain in the sheriff's office, has just been working too hard again. There's been a rash of break-ins in the area, and the homes targeted all seem to belong to older gay men. Then when the time finally comes for George and Mike to take their vacation, they pack up and head to their mountain cabin for two weeks-only to find a small boy living in their generator shed. Robbie, who bonds with George right away, has witnessed an unspeakable tragedy, but that is just the beginning of the trouble. Alone in the world apart from a very ill maternal grandmother, Robbie stands the very real risk of becoming a ward of the state if George and Mike can't convince a bigoted judge to change his mind. Meanwhile, George still has a job to do: solve the break-ins-and a murder -- and track down who's responsible.

Quentin Quasar has found that being a telepath is a mixed bag: it's great when he's catching an unfaithful spouse or tracking down a thief, but it's horrible when his bedmate is thinking unflattering thoughts during sex. It's no wonder that instead of saying his prayers every night, Quentin sends tendrils of thought out into the world, looking for another telepath to ease the loneliness. Imagine his surprise when he finds one-and the young man needs help! Nate Braddock was plenty panicked at being kidnapped by fanatics who planned to "beat the devil" out of him. With Quentin's help, and then his partnership, Nate finds the courage to take a stand against his mother's religious intolerance. Together they'll confront an uncomfortable truth: telepaths may not be devils, but not all of them are angels, either. Quentin and Nate will need their combined gifts to tell the difference.

David Majors should be looking forward to a long and prosperous life: after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he's attending college courtesy of Uncle Sam and riding the fast track to success. He's tall, fit, and good-looking, so shouldn't the world be his oyster? But underneath his clothes -- and beneath the surface -- David is a mess of scar tissue and insecurity. Then he meets Kevin Boxer, another former Army Ranger. Their first night together, Kevin stares David's scars in the face and doesn't flinch, instead showering David with the passion and attention he craves but never imagined possible. Slowly but surely, Kevin helps David rebuild his confidence, and the two of them begin to build their life together. But their journey is far from over, and it turns out Kevin may need David to help him heal some scars of his own.

Professor and secret government analyst Ian Sanderson's bad day gets worse when he arrives home one miserable November evening to find an apparently incriminating photograph in a FedEx envelope in his doorway, followed by increasingly threatening photographs over the next two or three weeks. It isn't just Ian being set up: his partner, Randy, a lieutenant colonel working on a top-secret Pentagon project, is also at risk. Someone obviously wants something, but what? And from whom? Soon, a mysterious caller demands that Randy disclose information about the project he's been working on. When he refuses, Ian's and Randy's sons, David and Paul, are kidnapped from an Amtrak passenger train. Resourceful and intelligent, the boys manage to escape-only to find themselves lost and alone in a remote wilderness. With time running out, can Ian and Randy track down their blackmailers? Or will the man known only as The Broker claim another set of victims?

Tom Foster has his life planned out, and he's systematically pursuing his goals. At twenty-two, he's been organist and choirmaster at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd for three years, he's working on his doctoral thesis, and he's beginning a secondary career performing in concert. There is no room in his schedule for romance ... until Noah Webster, a gorgeous green-eyed blond, walks into the church one evening to audition for the choir. What starts as an arrangement of convenience - Tom's usual page turner is unavailable, and Noah agrees to do the job-soon turns into a fast friendship. Then Noah, who is saddled with an obnoxious roommate, rents the spare bedroom in Tom's house, and ultimately the two men become lovers and partners in life. But before they can ride off into the sunset together, they must face one major obstacle: Noah's violent, homophobic Southern Baptist father.

Josh Carpenter is gay, and blind since birth. He's about to graduate from college, and is already an extremely competent piano tuner. He and his best friend Norman Simms encounter a pair of twins while walking on the beach, and their lives are changed forever, and for the better. They eventually set up housekeeping with the twins, and begin to live a full life, calling themselves the four gay musketeers.

Tom Foster and Noah Webster have been together for three years. In that time, Tom has completed his doctorate, Noah has begun working on his master's, and both men have come into their own as performers. Suddenly international recognition becomes a reality instead of a dream. They even perform at the dedication of a concert hall at the University of Aragoni. But it's not all smooth sailing. They still have to battle Noah's Uncle Joe over the division of property he owned with Noah's late father. Tom's father has been distant ever since Tom chose music over law school. And Noah's mother's attitude toward his relationship with Tom leaves something to be desired. With their busy performance schedules, will Tom and Noah be able to make peace with their parents and get a fair deal?

RN First Assistant Chris Bottoms enjoys being a bottom. Though abused by his stepfather as a boy and conditioned to enjoy sex only one particular way, he's come to make the most of his life. In addition, he enjoys bottoming to the hilt whenever and wherever he can. As if colorectal cancer wasn't enough of a trial, the subsequent botched surgery robs him of normal bodily functions, so no more prostate massage for Chris. In the middle of his medical drama, his best friend, Mickey O'Donovan, accepts a promotion that brings him to live in Jacksonville. Roommates in college, they've remained friends and occasional fuck buddies ever since. Chris's crisis brings their relationship to a new level, though, and long-suppressed feelings are revealed. Chris and Mickey settle down together and life is good, even though they can no longer indulge in their favorite sexual position. However, Chris can't seem to catch a break. When his past rears its head, Chris and Mickey must face a new challenge, together.

After the death of their mother, Chris Bottoms adopted his little brother Ted, and Chris and his partner Mickey settle down to raise him. Through paperwork left by his mother, Chris learns his brother has a deeply troubled past. During a Thanksgiving visit with Chris and Ted's maternal grandparents, they find out Chris's grandfather allowed his friends to abuse Ted, so Chris severs all ties with that side of his family. Through his job at a hospital, Chris hears of a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic who has developed an ileostomy reversal technique that has proven successful in cases like his. When Chris enters the clinic for preliminary testing, he learns he is a good candidate for the procedure and schedules the first of two surgeries for the beginning of January. A visit from estranged relatives while he's in the hospital leaves him wondering how many secrets one family can have.

Chris Bottoms is glad to be home from undergoing the first of two surgeries that will free him from the ostomy bag he's been wearing for more than a year. He's anxious about the upcoming second surgery, but life is keeping him on his toes. The bank hierarchy is clearly grooming Chris's partner, Mickey O'Donovan, vice president of a megabank, for a promotion. That doesn't help reconcile the family who turned their backs on Mickey for not going into the family business. To make matters worse, Chris's little brother's abusers are still out there, and that makes Chris angry. He and Mickey are raising Ted now. Between dealing with spiteful relatives and doing their best by a hurt ten-year-old boy, Chris and Mickey wonder how much more reality they can take. Chris's second and final surgery can't come soon enough. Both men are looking forward its most important side-effect, Chris will once again be able to enjoy prostate massage, but not until three months after the surgery.

Telepathic private investigator Quentin Q. Quasar and his partner Nate Braddock are back. They accidentally stumble on a series of kidnapping/murders, and begin to investigate. Eventually, the kidnappers snatch a young man from an Interstate rest area, and Quentin and Nate hear his telepathic cry for help. Armed with that information, they contact their friend George Martin at the sheriff's office, and manage to catch the kidnappers before they've killed the victim. The intended victim was on his way to Orlando to join his boyfriend, also a telepath, who'd recently moved there to take a job. Meanwhile, Nate's grandparents fly into Jacksonville from Chattanooga, so Quentin and Nate can drive them to a hospital in Ocala. Nate's mother has been in a state prison for women located near Ocala, and has been diagnosed, with terminal cancer. At the end of a series of hospital visits, they encounter and capture the leader of the cult that Nate's mother and stepfather belonged to. The cult leader and his wife, both of whom had jumped bail before their trials, had just administered poison to Nate's mother, to keep her from making any sort of deathbed confession about the cult and its activities.