NineStar Press discussion

Friends with Benefits by Francis Gideon



When stock boy Devon Gangon finds out he has to train a new employee at the grocery store where he works, Jace Perez is not what he expected. Jace is shy but talkative about all the right things, including Devon’s favourite punk band, Nine Volt Start. Over the course of a few weeks, they become closer and closer, and their stray touches finally build up to a tryst in the back room.

Nine Volt Start announces a reunion tour, and Devon thinks Jace is the perfect person to go with him. But Jace tells him he’d much rather keep his work and personal life separate and leaves Devon in the cold. With Jace drawing a line, Devon’s left wondering if spending his time idolizing a band and not doing anything with his art degree has been worthwhile. He’ll be twenty-nine in less than a month and hasn’t had a serious relationship in years.

Leaning on his brother and best friend for support, Devon realizes he either has to settle for random hook-ups with Jace or push for something more, even if it may hurt in the end.

Purchase Link: Friends with Benefits

Only Say the Word by Scott D. Pomfret



Can a man be Catholic and gay and still true to himself and his lover?

Colm Flaherty sets out to do it. Rejoining the Church after long estrangement, Colm discovers a gift for speaking at Mass that puts wounded people at peace. Miracles and visions abound. Colm is hailed as a “gay saint.”

But even as Colm brings peace to the parish, gritty Boston grows uglier: The Commonwealth is rocked by violent political division over gay marriage, his relationship with his older atheist boyfriend is undermined by devotion to a Church that devalues their love, the archbishop wants to sell the Franciscan chapel to the highest bidder, and there’s an abused former altar boy out there who has determined that he can win redemption by assassinating Colm in the midst of Mass.

After Colm is shot in the pews, all Boston’s tensions comes to a boil, and extremists of every kind clash. His would-be assassin escapes, the archbishop and mayor only contribute to the culture wars, and Colm’s ex-boyfriend is torn between his grieving for his catastrophically injured lover and his commitment to gay liberation. When would-be assassin makes an attempt to finish Colm off, only a single disgraced priest has any chance of preserving Colm's life.

Purchase Link: Only Say the Word

Strangers by Eden Darry



Three stories about chance meetings between strangers. Kip and Claudia are terrorised by an unknown creature lurking in the woods in Car Trouble. Summer Holiday takes place on a Caribbean island where Leigh and Amy discover a secluded pool for their erotic interlude. Charlotte gets an unexpected shot at love when Freya delivers her pizza in The Delivery.

Purchase Link: Strangers