Art, Desire, and Found Family in "Shutter and Surrender" (and a Coming Out Day Freebie!)

It’s Coming Out Day – a time for celebration, reflection, and remembering that being seen is a radical act. For so many of us, claiming our truth isn't a single event, but a lifelong unfolding. It's about finding spaces where we can be authentically ourselves, and building families—chosen or by blood—that hold us up, challenge us, and love us for all of who we are.

That’s what I wanted to explore with Shutter and Surrender. It’s a story set in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, a place that feels, to me, like a haven for those of us who dared to be different.

The book follows Alex, Sam, Harris, and Julian as they navigate the blurry lines between art, desire, and control. It’s a world of intimate encounters – captured in grainy Polaroids – and raw emotional honesty. This isn't a story that shies away from the messy, complicated beauty of queer sex; it leans into it. Because for me, desire is a form of liberation, a reclamation of a body that’s often been policed and judged. It's not about perfection, but about the exquisite vulnerability of letting someone see you, truly see you, in all your glorious messiness.

I wanted to create characters who were flawed, complicated, and unapologetically themselves. Harris, with his commanding presence and fascination with power dynamics; Julian, an artist who finds freedom in carefully curated surrender; Alex, a performer constantly challenging boundaries; and Sam, the observer who captures it all through his lens. They each bring their own baggage, their own hungers, to the table. And the way they connect – sometimes tenderly, sometimes fiercely – is what drives the story forward.

The 1305 series is a love letter to the found families that sustain us. To the people who show up, not just for the good times, but for the hard ones too. Shutter and Surrender is particularly interested in the dynamics of open and poly relationships, and how four men can forge an intimate world where everyone's needs are seen, and (hopefully) met.

To celebrate Coming Out Day and the freedom to be ourselves, I'm offering Shutter and Surrender as a FREE download for 48 hours – October 11th & 12th!

Available on Amazon as an e-book HERE