Bullied Boy


Daring Diane - 2018
    Self-image, body changes, and social changes chip away at individual’s self-confidence. Withdrawal and hiding can often seem like the easiest escape. You cannot escape from life. An excellent student, our hero is ripped from his friends and everything he knows when his father is moved across the country for his job. Intent on re-establishing the mother’s employment, the parents appear to withdraw from their high school student as he is dropped into a situation where he knows no one. Everyone experiences physical and emotional problems but our protagonist is ashamed of his body and won’t even talk to his parents who seem oblivious. Wearing baggy clothes, coats and hoods, it is easy to hide his body and isolate himself since he knows no one. Others assume he is overweight, shy or has acne problems. The strangely dressed student is a magnet for bullies and everyone else ignores him. Teachers might have gotten involved or pushed him to participate in class, but as an excellent student, grades are not an issue. Life evolves into a strategy to be left alone and survive another day. Because of this, attacks are not reported. An accident at school will expose our protagonist’s secrets to a classmate. How that classmate responds will change our protagonist’s life. There are still bullying and attacks, but with newfound confidence, our hero will deal with things differently. Can this quiet, isolated person evolve into an example and build real friendships while accepting life’s little hurdles? This series of books contain examples of high school life that help the reader to identify and deal with bullying behavior in a high school setting. The books in this series are intended to be safe reading for teens and tweens. Thank you for reading on Daring Diane Disclaimer This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Winner Takes All


Jerry Cole - 2017
    All that he wants is to be left alone while he works to get the promotion to regional sales manager. He makes good money as a salesclerk at Frame, Set & Match, but it’s not enough to be able to adopt his little sister. As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, Harley has to deal with Dante, a competitive rival and sales clerk that wants to take over the job that Harley has worked so hard for. Dante Meschlov never expected that he would have to work in a furniture store when his father owns one of the most successful companies in the city. After his father’s faith in him starts to wane, however, Dante believes that the easiest way to impress him is by climbing up the ranks of his sales job at Frame, Set & Match. It would all be going well if it wasn’t for Harley Cruz, who somehow seems to get a promotion despite Dante believing that he’s more deserving of it. Being a gorgeous hottie is irrelevant. As long as Harley is a soulless ambitious automaton, Dante doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. Especially because he thinks that Harley would go very far just to be able to secure that promotion. Harley and Dante do their best to avoid each other but that turns impossible when their manager gives them a joint corporate sales assignment. They have to learn to get over the animosity they feel for each other while trying to compete for a promotion. While trying to navigate the tricky world of sales, Dante starts to realize that there’s more to Harley than meets the eye and Harley soon notices that he doesn’t just dislike Dante, but he has a lot of other feelings for him, which complicates things. The two of them will have to learn to put aside years of bitterness before they can find something in each other that they never expected—true love. Please Note: This book contains Adult Language & Steamy Adult Activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novel, approx. 70,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger".

The Perils of Praline: Or, the Amorous Adventures of a Southern Gentleman in Hollywood


Marshall Thornton - 2010
    Once in tinsel-town he meets a collection of startling, and often horny, characters in his quest. They include a studly steward, a conservative talk show host, the Godfather of the Gay Mafia, and casting assistant Jason Friedman, who always manages to be there in time to save Praline from total disaster. Will Praline find love with the illusive Dave G., or will he recognize the charms of appealing but untelegenic Jason?

The Road to Wings


Julie Tizard - 2017
    She has to face thunderstorms, the death of friends, and male instructors who want to wash her out. Captain Kathryn Hardesty is the toughest and best instructor pilot on the base and the chief of flight safety. She’s demanding because she knows the price of failure is tragedy and a smoking hole. She looks out for all the students, especially the female ones. Casey has to learn to fly a supersonic jet, not get killed in the process, and face a growing forbidden attraction. Can she muster the intelligence, courage, and unbreakable determination to become an air force pilot? Does she have what it takes to earn wings, find love, and not crash and burn?

Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force Academy


Reichen Lehmkuhl - 2006
    Not wanting to face a court martial for being gay, he had to live in a world where he had to watch everything he did and said for fear of being outed; and in another world where he was free to be himself. "One of the hardest things for me to reconcile was the fact that I was completely open with my family and friends but faced the very real possibility of being court martialed and going to jail if I was open with my 'work' colleagues." As Reichen explains, "The don't ask don't tell policy is so contradictory to what the Air Force and all the armed forces stand for ... but they force you to lie in order to serve your country." It was the contradictions which led Reichen to leave the Air Force once he completed his commitment. Happenstance brought Reichen to meet a friend at a Los Angeles restaurant where he was approached by the casting director for "The Amazing Race." Reichen believes his military training was extremely helpful in his winning the show's million dollar prize.

His Sassy Omega


Raiven Matthews - 2022
    Truthfully, I barely believed in love. It wasn’t something I’d ever needed, and I didn’t have time for it. Besides, love just led to being hurt, and I could do without that.When a huge alpha barged his way to the front of the line in my bakery, it was anything but a meet cute. My sassy mouth promptly told him exactly where he could take his perfectly formed behind. Right back out the door he’d just come in, and don’t come back, thank you very much. Then our hands touched, and sparks of electricity shot between us, and my soul screamed Mate. I wasn’t looking for love or a mate, but he was looking at me and I couldn’t look anywhere else. He was big and sexy and growly, and smelled like every wishful dream I’d ever had, and forgotten. Making me want things I’d never wanted before. Making me want to run from him as fast as my legs could carry me. Secretly, hoping he would chase me.LachlanI was having a bad morning. Clashing with a smart-mouthed, sarcastic omega was the cherry on top of my already bad day. Getting tossed out of my favorite place for sweet treats was not how I’d planned to start my day. I’d always played by the rules and done what was expected of me. My whole life, I’d known what I’d wanted in my mate. Until he was standing in front of me, nothing like I’d expected him to be, sassing me and ordering me about. Now he was all I wanted. I just had to convince him of that.We were opposites in every way. Fate must have gotten Her wires crossed and messed up big time. Or did She? His Sassy Omega is the first book in a series, but can be read as a standalone, with no cliff hangers and a HEA. It contains opposites attract, age gap, shifters, knotting, and mpreg.**Trigger warning: There is a situation where terminating a pregnancy is discussed between the MC’s, but it is only a discussion. If this could trigger you in any way, please skip that chapter. This does contain a HEA.**Revised for additional editing. No new content was added.**

Seven Moves


Carol Anshaw - 1988
    Forging a trail that leads into the heart of Morocco, Seven Moves tracks Christine's gradual recognition that no one can ever really know another's soul. Bearing Anshaw's trademark style -funny, hip, and laser-sharp -this is "a tightly told tale that resists the bookmark as well as any thriller" (Chicago Sun-Times). A Reader's Guide is now available.

Something Cloudy, Something Clear


Tennessee Williams - 1995
    In 1962, Williams retitled and expanded The Parade into a full-length play. Both versions of the play are set on the fishing wharves and in the sand dunes of Provincetown, Massachusetts, and tell the story of a young playwright named August dealing with his unrequited love for another man. It was produced posthumously in Provincetown in 2006.

Sorry Now?


Mark Richard Zubro - 1991
    Sensing a potential time bomb, and with Mucklewrath creating great pressure, the police brass assign the case to Detective Paul Turner whom they trust with sensitive matters. During their investigation, Turner and his partner discover that other right-wing bigots have been suffering odd attacks, and they begin to suspect a conspiracy of vengeance, perhaps even from the gay community. This is an uncomfortable thought for Turner, who is himself gay, but when Turner is attacked and his two sons threatened, he has to enlist the help of people in his close-knit neighborhood, as well as his contacts in the gay world, to find the solution in time.

Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll


Paul Monette - 1978
    Beth Carroll, a wealthy old lady cared for by her gay houseboy David and by Phidias, the overseer of the estate and her lover for fifty years, has died before signing her will which will protect her magnificent property from being sold to developers, Phidias enlists David's aid, and David calls in his old lover Rick and the latter's famous friend, the Dietrich-esque chanteuse Madeleine Cosquer, who in turn brings in her agent, Aldo, a hip L.A. queen. Together they develop an impossible plan to fulfill Mrs. Carroll's last wish.

The Pom Pom Fortress


Alecia Snowfall - 2015
    Young Kyle struggles to make it through the school day without being noticed, but others intend to make him the center of attention.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Summary & Study Guide


BookRags - 2010
    61 pages of summaries and analysis on Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

Openly, Honestly


Bill Konigsberg - 2017
    He wasn't expecting his best friend, Claire Olivia, to kidnap him. And he definitely wasn't expecting what she has planned to cheer him up...Ben Carver was honestly planning to spend winter break at home in New Hampshire not thinking about Rafe. But he wasn't expecting to run into his ex-girlfriend, who's still interested in him. And he wasn't expecting to find himself still attracted to her...Openly, Honestly tells two funny, sad, beautiful stories that were made for anyone who has longed for one person to see you, to understand you, and to love you exactly as you are.

First Person Plural


Andrew W.M. Beierle - 2007
    Beierle brings to life characters at once unthinkably foreign and utterly real. Frank and fearless, sexy and witty, First Person Plural is a masterfully rendered, powerfully imaginative work, as complex and as extraordinary as the bonds of love. Owen and Porter Jamison are conjoined twins inhabiting one body with two heads, one torso, and two very different hearts. As children, they're seen as a single entity--Owenandporter, or more often, Porterandowen. As they grow to adulthood, their differences become more pronounced: Porter is outgoing and charismatic while Owen is cerebral and artistic. When Porter becomes a high school jock hero, complete with cheerleader girlfriend, a greater distinction emerges, as Owen gradually comes to realize that he's gay.Owen, a reluctant romantic, is content at first to settle for unrequited crushes. Porter's unease with his brother's sexuality leaves Owen feeling increasingly alienated from his twin, especially when Porter falls in love with Faith, and Owen becomes the unwilling third side of a complicated love triangle. When Owen finally begins to explore his own desires, the rift grows deeper.As Porter and Owen's carefully balanced arrangement of give-and-take, sacrifice and selfishness, is irrevocably shattered, each twin is left fighting for his relationship--and his future--in a battle of wills where winning seems impossible, and losing unthinkable. . .Andrew W. M. Beierle has been a journalist for more than thirty years. He has studied at the Bread Loaf, Sewanee, Napa Valley, and Kenyon Review writers' workshops.

Vanishing Rooms


Melvin Dixon - 1991
    In Vanishing Rooms, the author amply demonstrates his literary promise with a compelling love story of interracial sex and urban violence set in Manhattan’s West Village in the 1970s.