For A Moment More

by G.S. Johnston

It’s 1993. Chris Roberts is thirty-three, HIV-positive for eight years and working at an Oxford Street hardware shop, while funerals, fear and failing health threaten to destroy him.

Then, on a balmy night in Darlinghurst, everything shifts.

At a dance party in Sydney’s gay ghetto – midway through a performance of 'Something’s Coming' by a life-sized Barbra Streisand puppet – Chris has an epiphany. Effective treatments will come. And if he wants to be around when the future arrives, he has to fight for his life.

Chris’s daily routine becomes an act of resilience and resistance, fuelled by a refusal to disappear quietly. He stares down his past, makes peace where he can and dares to imagine a time beyond HIV/AIDS.

For a Moment More captures the sharp wit, humour and fierce tenderness of those times. It’s a story about love, farewelling friends, defiance and joy. It is about laughing in the face of fear.

ebook

Published July 7, 2026

About the author

G.S. Johnston is the author of three historical novels, Sweet Bitter Cane (2019), The Cast of a Hand (2015), The Skin of Water (2012). And a fourth novel set in contemporary Hong Kong, Consumption (2011).

The novels are noted for their complex characters and well-researched settings.

His new novel, FOR A MOMENT MORE (2026) is set in 1993-96 Sydney and deals with the worst years of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

In one form or another, Johnston has always written, at first composing music and lyrics. After completing a degree in pharmacy, a year in Italy re-ignited his passion for writing and he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. Feeling the need for a broader canvas, he started writing short stories and novels.

Originally from Hobart, Tasmania, Johnston currently lives in Canberra, Australia. He is treasurer of the Historical Novel Society Australasia. Find more fabulous things at www.gsjohnston.com

Visit him online at www.gsjohnston.com
www.facebook.com/GSJohnston.author

Reviews

[Kel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novel that genuinely deserves to be read.

I came of age around the time and place For A Moment More is set – Sydney's Oxford Street in the early-to-mid '90s – and it really took me back.

G.S. Johnston perfectly captures the highs and lows of this era, nailing the joy and vibrancy of the LGBTIQ+ community while poignantly conveying the darker undercurrent of fear, the prejudice, and the terrible suffering of those who lived with – and died from – AIDS during this time.

It also offers fresh insight into the activism that defined those years and reminds us of the kindness and bravery of many medical practitioners on the frontline.

It's laugh-out-loud funny in places, too, using a wit that feels true to the era and the community rather than tacked on. That mix of humour sitting right next to grief is really what makes the book connect and resonate.

Without giving too much away, the postscript closing the book is the perfect touch.

Medical advances mean people with access to treatment can now expect to live nearly as long as those who are HIV-negative, making it easy to forget that HIV/AIDS remains one of the most devastating pandemics in modern history.

Books as engaging, well-researched and well-written as For A Moment More help keep history honest, hence why I think it deserves a wide readership and a place on school and university reading lists.

[Joanne, drinker of tea, reader of books, servant to cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am old enough to remember the early days of AIDS. I remember the stories, I remember the photos.

This is a sit down and read cover to cover in one sitting book. My only diversion was to pull out my exhibition book from 'Don't Leave Me This Way - Art in the Age of AIDS. The National Gallery of Australia exhibition in 1994, which is mentioned in the book.

This is a book of fiction, but it could equally be a memoir of hundreds of men who lived and still live with AIDS, and the men who died of AIDS related conditions.

This is both a gentle and a harsh book. The structure of the sentences, the delivery of statements are at times scattergun - almost short tempered, particularly at the beginning. These are tempered by lines that are gentle and beautiful, which weave their way through the book. Quiet, soft, sublime.

Mr Johnston has written a book peopled with real characters, solid, fully formed, and well defined. Characters that you would want to meet in real life.

This is not a happy book as such, but joy can be found in it.

Tissues may be required. I was doing well until the Postscript. I am grieving still, and will carry a sense of loss for a few days I think.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely.

[Jülie ☼♄  · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this book G.S Johnston has quietly brought an awareness, and hopefully a deeper more compassionate understanding, of the colourful tapestry which makes up a big part of the evolved culture of Sydney’s diverse history.

The book pays homage to the unsung heroes of a time in the early 1990’s, the brave ones battling the HIV/AIDS Virus, as well as the carers and devoted medical practitioners and those equally devoted friends…they were the trail blazers.

I lived and socialised in Sydney during that time and remember well, the ripples of fear and tension, and the ignorance. I remember the quilt, and the candlelight vigils, and sadly acquaintances, and friends of friends who were affected by the virus, either directly or indirectly…its reach was rapid and rampant for quite some scary time.

Since finishing this story I find myself wanting “a moment more” in the company of those people whose gentle and empathetic personalities transcended the pages of this book…I want to hug them all, and chat a while longer…they’re so real and rare.

I loved the poetry and the quotes from movies and books that were strategically used to add levity to what might otherwise be moments of overwhelming sadness.

This book asks nothing of the reader but engenders much introspection and compassion. It goes a long way towards building an understanding of a time and culture that endured the onset of the most sudden, insidious and ravaging virus epidemic to become known to us at that time.

Thank you to G.S Johnston for writing this poignant and mindful story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️s

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

G S Johnston’s poignant and dynamic novel FOR A MOMENT MORE (Broadcast Books 2026) is a fictional account of a particularly traumatic, divisive, misunderstood and tragic time, that of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the mainly 80’s and 90’s. For me, this time is represented in my memory as associated with the TV Grim Reaper ads, the ghoulish figure scything down everyone from young children to adults, but of course especially homing in on the queer community, mostly young gay men.

Gays were widely considered to be promiscuous, and along with drug users and sex workers, targeted as the primary ‘victims’, although in most conversations (remember the protests? Fred Niles?) they were denigrated as somehow having brought this on themselves through their actions and choices.

Johnston’s novel is a sometimes sad but often joyful and optimistic account of the opposite side of the coin. He explains how the lack of knowledge of this new and devastating virus restricted any widespread information about protection, either through prophylactics or preventative medication. He details the convoluted journey of medical progress, the experimental drugs, first only for treatment but then for prevention, and the many awful co-existing diseases that developed because of a HIV positive lack of immunity, and how these illnesses were often the ones that caused death. He notes the terrible physical symptoms of HIV/AIDS and the debilitating conditions they caused. He doesn’t hold back. This is a novel that looks HIV/AIDS face on and explores the impact it had then on the day to day life of people who were not only living with the disease, but often without knowing they had it, frightened to admit they had it (especially to family and friends), guilty for believing they had somehow brought it on themselves, at a loss as to how or who to approach for care (and often being turned away or shunned) and feeling survivor guilt as one by one their friends died painful and sometimes lonely deaths.

But despite the subject and awful brutality of this novel, it is not dispiriting or depressing. Rather it is the story of Chris, a young man of 33 who is living with all the emotional and physical effects listed above, but nevertheless attempting to make the best of his life and to make healthy decisions about his lifestyle and relationships.

Set in 1993 in Sydney, Chris has been HIV positive for eight years. He has had a difficult past relationship and is wary of entering another. He has friends and lovers with whom he has complex and complicated physical and emotional navigations. But he does have a sort of epiphany during the midst of the gay ghetto nightlife scene: this disease does not have to be a life sentence, and if he’s going to get through it, he must do everything in his power to alter the course of his life.

This means making some difficult decisions, ones he often cannot square with the opinions of his friends and family, some also HIV positive, who have either a cavalier or depressive attitude, and are unable to share his views. He has experiences both positive and negative with medical professionals and educators. He must overcome his own fear of speaking out. He must decide how hard he wants to fight, for himself and for those he loves. He must choose between telling people what they want to hear, and living his own truth. His life becomes one of resilience and resistance.

FOR A MOMENT MORE is full of acerbic wit (the kind of black gallows humour only the severely ill and dying can muster), fierce love, desire and tenderness, human connection, perseverance, tolerance and compassion. Through this time and story of fear, Johnston constructs a balance of determination, self-belief and defiance.

The postscript, set after the COVID pandemic, echoes many of the same themes, and reminds us of our human vulnerabilities but also the strides in medical progress and viral immunity treatment and prevention.

This is an excellent resource about a time which so many of us know so little about (but unfortunately, for some readers, will resonate all too clearly). Whichever reader you are, this book will engage you in a warm and compelling story.

At the time of reading, I find myself in hospital, and many of Johnston’s references, fears and anxieties are very real to me. It’s comforting to read a version of your own story in another’s writing, even if the subject, content or circumstances may be very different. This is why stories are so important. They breed tolerance for difference, and engender resonance for the familiar.

[David Kenyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying going back and discovering quality 'gay' fiction by 'gay' men. I don't say that in a derogatory way as I am a firm advocate in all expressions of LGBTI+ representation. There are so many queer books out there written by both women and men, but most are YA books or romantasy books about sport and hockey which is great. We have a whole bay of it in the bookstore where I work and I will never judge that genre and it's great that there are many young people reading about gay experiences. Keep it up. I love when young people read.

I like reading queer fiction that represents me or at least sheds a light on my youth growing up gay in the 90s and 00's. I came out in 1994 and had a love/hate relationship with gay culture. I was never one to put it all out there which often didn't agree with my firm belief in being Out and proud and waving those rainbow banners. For most people that meant sleeping around and taking drugs and partying non stop.

Yes I dabbled in all the above in my way but the one place I did find solace was in the Bookstore at Darlinghurst on Oxford Street right next door to a Balkan restaurant that served hot meat by the bucket load. Many nights I would wander aimlessly up and down Oxford street looking at the little shops that usual stayed upon late to catch the trade so to speak. Often I would end up buying a book at the bookstore and sitting in a cafe like cafe 191 or the Californian Cafe. I would sometimes go in on my day off for the express reason to read and enjoy a summers day and watch beautiful people walking past. Sometimes I would even get interaction who would notice I was reading something they liked whether that be a Maupin or Hollinghurst or Monette etc.

I am digressing here when I'm supposed to be writing a book review. Back to this book. What I am trying to say is that the author nailed it for me. If somebody was to take a slice of my pie that was my life in the mid 90s then this book nailed it. I was so familiar with this place and time. The book flowed so easily for me and felt I was there again. It has empathy, compassion and it doesn't pull back on truths about men trying to find love and meaning and explores the coming out experiences and men dealing with living with HIV/AIDS. Lucky for me I managed to avoid catching anything during those times but I don't say this as judgment. It was like russian roulette and I was lucky the gun never pointed in my direction. This book is about choosing to live. The main character Chris was a well drawn out character and I had compassion towards him and wanted him to find that 'win'. Something was coming that allowed people living with HIV/AIDS to win that was always just around the corner and many fell like dominoes along the way until combination therapy etc. They all had something to live for.

I loved all the references to all the places that I had lived in and experienced. Greg really cast a light on the emotional turmoil filled with a lot of sadness but seen through an indomitable spirit full of humour. It was very hard to negotiate romance, love and friendship with all the usual heartache without this life threating virus getting in the way . I liked the peripheral characters too...the family and friends and the impact we have with each other both heartbreaking and intimate and touching.

I think if you're a person growing up in that era in 90s Sydney you will love this book. And as for other younger people it gives you an insight into that part of Australian gay history and what people went through to be Free, Gay and Happy. I never take for granted what we fought for and the battles to love and be loved in return. Above all this book is life affirming and a joy to read.

[Michael Pennisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A caring reflection on a challenging and uncertain period. I cared about all the characters in the book and wanted to know more about each of them - a reflection of the author's authentic voice coming through on the page. As Chris says in the novel, "...without people and new ideas in your lives, we all are victims, not just of HIV, but of life itself" - words to keep in mind in these fractious times.

[Colin Dereham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem of a story this was. Set in Sydney from 1993 to 1996 (with flashbacks), it paints a blisteringly vibrant picture of the city during its gay heyday, something that fascinated this relatively naïve Darwin boy at the time. I’d visited Sydney on several occasions during that period, even living there for a few months, and the novel excitement of it never wore off. Even when I moved there permanently in 1999, the gay ol’ magic remained for a good long while.

However, having grown up in a little city in the tropical far north, I was largely shielded from the main focus of this book. The glitter and sparkle of my Sydney jaunts barely touched on the HIV/AIDS crisis lurking in every corner of big-city gay life back then. How devastating it must have been to have actually lived and loved in the epicentre of it all.

My familiarity with the ins and outs of the virus came more than a decade later when I was working as a sexual health nurse in Darlinghurst. By that stage, treatments were successful and numerous, and residual deaths were scarce. HIV was about chronic management, about risk assessment, about harm minimisation, about education and testing.

In this book, however, the MC Chris is bombarded with the lot—actively supporting his positive friends, grieving those of them who lost their battle, volunteering for The Cause in both a political and practical capacity—all while struggling to maintain his own health, to manage his own flagging sense of hope, to find light in times that were often so very, very dark.

The author opts for a detached third-person narrative, something that I normally find stiff and uninvolving when it comes to a character journey as deeply personal as Chris’s. In “For a Moment More”, though, this choice of perspective affords the reader a layer of self-protection. We can take a small step back, because we aren’t talking to the man himself: somebody else is there telling us his story. And what a heavy-going story it is, though it’s both gravely important and intensely rewarding.

Major props to the author for such thorough research and drawing so viscerally from what I gather are his own experiences working in amongst the Ground Zero of the time. It’s this aspect—as much as the affecting tale of Chris and friends—that will leave the reader with the kind of insight that is so lacking in modern times. The author shows us in bold colours just how horrendously these people suffered. He lays out in loving detail how the gays, lesbians, trans people, and straight allies really pulled together in the midst of a crisis that spanned a good fifteen years. Kind of puts the self-aggrandising bleating on today’s social media into stark perspective.

Don’t come to this book for romance and spice. The relationships are a realistic reflection of the times, with all their good and bad points. Spice is covered in vague references only, and this is probably the only area in which I found the book lacking. Certainly, it’s a personal thing—for me, the ostensibly coy treatment of sex was at odds with the candid nature of the rest of the book, but then there’s a rather tiresome pearl-clutching trend in gay fiction these days, so the author is, in effect, giving readers what they want. Far from being salacious or gratuitous, I feel that some more frank detail here would have gone a long way in helping us understand what was a major part of the characters’ lives. But that’s just me, and maybe it’s just me standing there scratching my head when others subconsciously fill in the blanks—which is precisely the way Writing 101 tells us to serve up our stories to readers (and I duly extend a middle finger at.)

Chris, Tom, Jeanie, Bernie, Shirley, Aaron and Gino—oh God, Gino—lived in the core of my chest for days, and the scars are still very much there. It’s been hard as Hades not to fill this review with expletives, the whole thing knocked me about so much. But it was good, so good. And just to knock myself about even more, I’m going to leave you with a quote that shredded me to bits and spat me out in a mass of snot and tears:

“‘Stay,’ Chris said, a whisper in his ear, ‘for a moment more.’
He was smiling, his face peaceful. His colour had lightened, more like himself.
He was gone.
He was free.
Be at peace.”

[Elisabeth Storrs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of an advance copy from the author

For A Moment More is an elegy for those who suffered during the HIV/AIDs crisis of the ‘90s. Yet the novel is not a mournful lament. It is vibrant in its depiction of Sydney’s Oxford Street with its nightclubs and dance parties. Through the use of wry humour, the reader is given space to experience the trauma but not be overwhelmed by it. Johnston provides an insightful portrayal of Chris, a gay man who lives with the virus but won’t give up hope that ‘something great is coming’ by way of a medical breakthrough in the management of the disease. Along the way, the reader discovers the painful splintering of families as they grapple with their sons and brothers not only ‘coming out’ but also being infected by a deadly illness. Denial, disgust or deliberate distancing are the result. But there is love and kindness found in the caring world of the LGBTIQ+ community.

I always appreciate books that open my eyes to different viewpoints and hidden histories. I lived in Sydney through those years (and lost a family friend to AIDS due to a contaminated blood transfusion) but was unaware of the depth of courage it took for gay men to try to beat HIV/AIDS, suffering not only horrendous symptoms but also the debilitating side effects of multiple drug treatments.

Johnston’s prose is lyrical and deft. His characters are memorable, the dialogue amusing. Keep a box of tissues handy. There are sweet, poignant notes throughout that brought tears to my eyes. Most importantly, For A Moment More is a significant novel, reminding us of the miracle of modern medicine, and that subsequent generations are lucky HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Those who suffered should not be forgotten or condemned.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me take you into a work of fiction, into a story which is (or was) only too real for many during the 1980s and 1990s. Travel to Sydney and meet Chris Roberts. In 1993, Chris is thirty-three. He has been HIV-positive for eight years. Chris works in an Oxford Street hardware store trying to balance his health needs with an almost continuous stream of funerals as other gay men succumb to AIDS. And yes, Chris fears the future.

Mr Johnston tells this story as a third-person narrative, which gives the reader (if they are now older than forty) an opportunity to reflect on their own life during the same period. I found this valuable: I spent most of the 1980s and 1990s as a working parent, fully focussed on immediate needs, mostly detached from (but aware of) the HIV and AIDS timeline. Mr Johnston makes detachment impossible. He brings Chris and his concerns to life, reminding us of the horrors faced by AIDS sufferers and of the strength of community. Chris hopes for effective treatments as well as for a life not utterly defined by HIV status and AIDS.

I kept reading, meeting some memorable characters, feeling incredibly sad for those whose families rejected them, admiring the medical professionals dedicated to making a difference.

I kept reading, hoping that Chris would find whatever he needed to negotiate the shoals of being HIV positive to survive into a period when treatment was more successful, a period in which managing HIV status became an issue of chronic disease management rather than a death sentence frequently accompanied by moral outrage.

And while I finished the novel sad about some of the outcomes, I was pleased that Chris had found a space for himself.

An important story beautifully told.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Desney King · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment I landed in Sydney’s Oxford Street on a Saturday night in the early 1990s in Chapter 1 right through until the final paragraph of For a Moment More, I was immersed in a world that much of society knows little or nothing about: a world inhabited by gay men living with HIV/AIDS in that period when treatments were emerging, ignorance, fear and prejudice were
rife, and hope was beginning to flicker on.
G S Johnston has gifted us a novel that is destined to become an Australian classic; a novel so visceral and important that it’s likely to be set as a text in classrooms and lecture halls.
Days after closing the book, I still miss Chris who we accompany through the minutiae of daily life at home, to work, medical appointments, hospitalisation, funerals, parties and more. He’s a lovely man, a good and complex man, a young man grappling with the likelihood of his impending death. A gay man. He’s dealing with complicated family issues (‘come out, come out, wherever you are’) and has a remarkable capacity for friendship, loyalty, altruism and introspection.
This novel is raw, intimate, real, gritty, darkly humorous and sometimes confronting in its unflinchingly authentic portrayal of what life was like for gay men in those grief-laden, terrifying times.
There’s such depth too, and nuance. And it’s a gripping, multi-faceted story, well told.
I rarely reread books but I’ll be reading this one again very soon because I know it has more to offer than I gleaned the first time through.
Thank you, G S Johnston, for writing from the heart, touching my soul, and deepening my knowledge and awareness.

[Amanda Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Johnston is one of those authors who just can't help himself. Even when tackling such a serious theme as HIV & AIDS, he injects wit and light into scene after scene. It's what makes the characters in "For a Moment More" so hauntingly real. I confess this was a story that made me both laugh and also cry. With meticulous research Johnston examines a colourful time in Sydney's history where some of its' brightest youth were tragically cut down by AIDS. But these infected individuals, along with the health professionals who worked with them, were also trail blazers - developing and trialling new therapies that would become valuable in managing other pandemics. Johnston is masterful at combining the big picture of this health crisis with an intimate, heartwarming story of a man learning about love in the face of fear. Highly recommended.

[Robyn Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story touched me deeply. The character of Chris, drawn with tenderness and humility, a man living with HIV in 1993 Sydney, is at the centre of a world where his friends — his tribe — once free to choose rampant sex, to seek out belonging and love, are reduced by fear and illness as they fall to an unforgiving virus. The question that propelled me throughout, and made me see how much I cared for Chris — his kindness and banter, his self-doubts and courage — was whether he would live long enough to win the fight. The ending was deeply moving. Bravo, GS Johnston, for creating an enduring work of art. For making it real and remembered.

[IAN Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much we have forgotten—or simply never knew—about life in gay Sydney as the HIV/AIDS epidemic took hold. The virus devastated a generation of young men, alongside the communities who loved and supported them. G.S. Johnston’s 'For a Moment More 'is a must read for those wanting to understand the powerful determination of the gay men who survived and that handful of tenacious medical pioneers who broke ranks and forged a path forward. A beautiful tribute to the right to live.

[Michael Burge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with memorable, relatable characters, this engaging story is led by Chris, a country boy who came to Sydney in the 1970s on a journey of discovery. Told over three pivotal years in the mid-1990s, Johnston's new novel breathes life into a generation of gay men who have been largely forgotten. Their courage and determination needs to be recognised more widely, and a novel is the perfect vessel. I read this in one sitting.

[Bing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. I think it hits all the right notes and the characters felt so real - all of them! It transported me straight back to that time when gay friends were talking about T-cell counts and the desperate hope for a cure. It’s an important piece of fiction that relives the history of which so many young people would be utterly unaware.

[Other Terrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed on Other Terrain: https://www.otherterrainjournal.com.a...