Perfect Beach Day
Short Stories of Rehoboth Beach
Released in paperback and ebook November 2023.
Rehoboth Beach takes center stage in the series of short stories included in Perfect Beach Day. This collection of humorous and endearing stories is the perfect companion to a beach chair on a sunny day, a porch swing on a rainy beach day, or a sofa in front of a crackling fire.
These stories include quirky and delightful characters who will show just how special this small seaside town can be.
Within these pages, you will find out how the country’s most popular diva saves the Christmas concert, lifeguards who band together to save more than swimmers, love that is lost and found, a volleyball game like none you’ve seen, how learning to swim can change your life, and much more. These stories will make you smile, cry, laugh, and might even have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Others might pull hard on your heartstrings but will be certain to leave a smile on your face.
The author’s casual and personal writing style, coupled with a variety of plots and topics, makes Perfect Beach Day the perfect summer read. If you like Rehoboth Beach and you like to read, then you will love Perfect Beach Day.
See the story list, synopses, and excerpts of the stories, click here.
Cover design not final
Meant To Be
This literary novel to be released early 2025
What might be considered a romance novel, Meant To Be is more about the heartbreak of a long-term marriage that slowly melts away because of alcoholism and a fear of growing old. It’s also about a son coming to terms with a father who he thought had deserted him. It’s about a young man coming of age and understanding the difference between sex, passion, and love. It’s about realizing that people are fallible but can still be compassionate. And it just might be about finding that one true love, with the help of an odd and maybe mystical phenomenon a father mentioned in passing — that’s Meant To Be.
While coming to terms with his failing marriage and his husband’s infidelity, Victor locks eyes and captures the soul of Adam. Locking eyes is a phenomenon that has happened throughout Victor’s life; it was how he met his husband, Greg, and every boyfriend. But Victor’s not sure why suddenly, after 30 years, it happened again and with a young man.
After 10 years without any contact, Justin, Victor’s son from the high school prom pressure, shows up penniless, homeless, and angrier than a raging bull. He grew up believing his father hated him and had abandoned him. Against his wishes, while staying with Victor and Greg, he finds boxes of his school records, dozens of photographs of him, and court records. Justin discovers that his father has been there every step of his life. Victor hid in the shadows to keep his son from being brutalized by his vengeful mother.
Slowly, Justin finds a way to lose the anger and hatred of his father. Victor and Greg help their son find a job, reconnect with his siblings, and find love. Victor explains how he and Greg locked eyes when they first met, and what that means. Justin is skeptical but when he catches the eye of a handsome man and can’t break contact, he understands locking eyes. Unfortunately, the relationship ends fast with Justin running for his life from the man who became obsessed with him.
Justin’s life turns around. He gets a good job, reconnects with his siblings, and gets his own place. Victor and Adam continue to get close. At first, Adam needs someone to listen to his impossible relationship, but as Victor helps, the two fall in love. Greg, who fears getting older, is drinking far too much, sexting and meeting men, and eventually rekindles an affair he had with a younger man. Victor and Greg have always had a passionate and sometimes explosive relationship, but when Victor finds out about the affair, he can no longer keep calm.
While spending Christmas at his mother’s house with his siblings, Justin gets a call from Greg. Victor is in the hospital with a fatal illness. Justin rushes back, stealing his youngest brother away from their crazy mother. Victor is sent home in hospice care and while there tells Justin he changed his will, leaving everything but the house to him. He fails to tell Greg, who blows up at Justin at the memorial.
Among Victor’s effects was a desk calendar. It had one appointment listed which had to be important because his father circled it many times. The only information was the date, time, and place, but no reason. Justin keeps the date for his father and changes his life yet again.
***
This love story is 95,000 words and ready for publication. If you would like to read an excerpt, click here.
Cover design not final
Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango
This literary novel to be released late 2025
Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango started as a short story and was the first of my stories to be published. Exciting! The result was that I enjoyed the story so much that after entering it for consideration in Rehoboth Reads anthology for Beach Nights, I kept going. Thirty-five hundred words turned into a full-length novel. This is my first completed novel worth showing.
Stacy Fischer met Oliver one rainy winter night in a seaside art gallery that was hosting Tango Night. He steps in for refuge from the storm but is coaxed by the gallery owner into dancing. After some trepidation, Stacy let Oliver dance him across the room. Not knowing that Stacy was dealing with the heartache of losing his wife but also afraid of his sexuality, Oliver shows him that his life isn’t over. Like dancing the tango, all Stacy needs is to follow his heart. The following day, Stacy returned to the beach where he’d gone to connect with his deceased wife and ask for her forgiveness. Oliver went with him and was so moved by Stacy’s words to the heavens, he kissed him.
After some soul-searching, Stacy returned to Rehoboth Beach to find Oliver. All he knew was his first name and his occupation. With a new-founded determination, he found Oliver and the two started something more than a friendship – a first for Stacy. After several weekends at the shore, the two men start dating, Stacy’s first gay relationship.
But Stacy’s repeated weekend trips to the beach raised the eyebrows of his two kids who think it’s too soon after their mother’s passing for their dad to start seeing another woman. Stacy tried to assure them he was not seeing another woman but he never mentioned seeing a man. To prove to his kids that he goes to Rehoboth Beach for rejuvenation and not a woman, he takes his kids with him for a weekend and to tango night where they too fall in love with Oliver, even Stacy’s teenage son.
The relationship between Stacy and Oliver deepens but Stacy is not yet ready to reveal it to his kids. For that summer’s vacation, Stacy rents a beach house for a week and his two kids and their beaus. Oliver makes a point to be there when he can. He charms the four kids as he had done to Stacy. But Stacy’s daughter’s boyfriend sees what looks like inappropriate advances from Oliver toward Stacy and gets in Oliver’s face. Stacy’s in a tight spot he’s in love with Oliver but afraid of what his kids will do, especially his homophobic son.
But Oliver doesn’t hide his sexuality and the breakup was palpable. Stacy’s daughter guesses and tells her father she understands and she likes Oliver. But Stacy’s son is another thing, he’s not accepting. One night, at the end of the vacation, the kids went to dinner without. They planned on going to the pizza joint on the boardwalk but ended up on the other side of town at the seafood house. While eating on the deck, the kids see Stacy and Oliver walking across the street. Stacy’s son freaks out when he sees them holding hands. He runs out, and rants and curses. Stacy dragged him home to calm him down and tell him the truth. The entire family ends up on the beach, just as Stacy and Oliver had done so many months before, to speak to Stacy’s deceased wife to ask for permission, guidance, or forgiveness.
An epilogue takes us through the lives of the son and daughter who mature into sensible and loving adults. The son made a complete reversal and ended up following in Oliver’s footsteps and becoming successful. The daughter married and had a baby, insisting that Oliver be there even though he and Stacy were no longer a couple.
This 90,000-page love story is really about how Stacy and Oliver’s lives unfold. They show that even though you may not end up with the person you thought was ‘the one’, that person can still be the most important relationship you ever had. The two men never lose their love for each other.
Red Spinny Dress
Third place Winner in the 2023 Bucks County Short Story Contest
A heartfelt story of one man’s view of his husband’s last days. The narrator remembers some of the most loving stories of their forty years together and grants his dying husband two last wishes, a very cold martini, and a dance to ‘their song’: Greatest Love Affair by Jeffrey Osbourne.
This story was awarded 3rd place in the 2023 Bucks County Short Story Competition sponsored by Bucks County Community College and organized by Elizabeth Luciano, Associate Professor, Department of Language and Literature. The story was read at the award ceremony on November 18th by the author. It was presented again for the Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County on October 22, 2024 author event at Freeman Hall.
Published Short Stories
One story in each of these seven Cat & Mouse Rehoboth Reads Beach Series
One of my stories is included in each of these seven anthologies. Three of them were award winners: Beach Thief in Beach Fun; Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango in Beach Nights; and Holiday Hijinks in Beach Holidays.
These books are still available from the Publisher: Cat & Mouse Press. Click here to check out their website here:
Or they can be purchased from BrowseAbout books in Rehoboth Beach, De. Click here for their website.
Five of the books that include my stories have won awards for Editing and storytelling. To see all the awards including mine, click here.
Get your copy of 'Perfect Beach Day' today!
Personalize the book for you or a friend.
Get your copy here
Perfect Beach Day
Short Stories of Rehoboth Beach
Released in paperback and ebook November 2023.
Rehoboth Beach takes center stage in the series of short stories included in Perfect Beach Day. This collection of humorous and endearing stories is the perfect companion to a beach chair on a sunny day, a porch swing on a rainy beach day, or a sofa in front of a crackling fire.
These stories include quirky and delightful characters who will show just how special this small seaside town can be.
Within these pages, you will find out how the country’s most popular diva saves the Christmas concert, lifeguards who band together to save more than swimmers, love that is lost and found, a volleyball game like none you’ve seen, how learning to swim can change your life, and much more. These stories will make you smile, cry, laugh, and might even have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Others might pull hard on your heartstrings but will be certain to leave a smile on your face.
The author’s casual and personal writing style, coupled with a variety of plots and topics, makes Perfect Beach Day the perfect summer read. If you like Rehoboth Beach and you like to read, then you will love Perfect Beach Day.
See the story list, synopses, and excerpts of the stories, click here.
Cover design not final
Meant To Be
This literary novel to be released early 2025
What might be considered a romance novel, Meant To Be is more about the heartbreak of a long-term marriage that slowly melts away because of alcoholism and a fear of growing old. It’s also about a son coming to terms with a father who he thought had deserted him. It’s about a young man coming of age and understanding the difference between sex, passion, and love. It’s about realizing that people are fallible but can still be compassionate. And it just might be about finding that one true love, with the help of an odd and maybe mystical phenomenon a father mentioned in passing — that’s Meant To Be.
While coming to terms with his failing marriage and his husband’s infidelity, Victor locks eyes and captures the soul of Adam. Locking eyes is a phenomenon that has happened throughout Victor’s life; it was how he met his husband, Greg, and every boyfriend. But Victor’s not sure why suddenly, after 30 years, it happened again and with a young man.
After 10 years without any contact, Justin, Victor’s son from the high school prom pressure, shows up penniless, homeless, and angrier than a raging bull. He grew up believing his father hated him and had abandoned him. Against his wishes, while staying with Victor and Greg, he finds boxes of his school records, dozens of photographs of him, and court records. Justin discovers that his father has been there every step of his life. Victor hid in the shadows to keep his son from being brutalized by his vengeful mother.
Slowly, Justin finds a way to lose the anger and hatred of his father. Victor and Greg help their son find a job, reconnect with his siblings, and find love. Victor explains how he and Greg locked eyes when they first met, and what that means. Justin is skeptical but when he catches the eye of a handsome man and can’t break contact, he understands locking eyes. Unfortunately, the relationship ends fast with Justin running for his life from the man who became obsessed with him.
Justin’s life turns around. He gets a good job, reconnects with his siblings, and gets his own place. Victor and Adam continue to get close. At first, Adam needs someone to listen to his impossible relationship, but as Victor helps, the two fall in love. Greg, who fears getting older, is drinking far too much, sexting and meeting men, and eventually rekindles an affair he had with a younger man. Victor and Greg have always had a passionate and sometimes explosive relationship, but when Victor finds out about the affair, he can no longer keep calm.
While spending Christmas at his mother’s house with his siblings, Justin gets a call from Greg. Victor is in the hospital with a fatal illness. Justin rushes back, stealing his youngest brother away from their crazy mother. Victor is sent home in hospice care and while there tells Justin he changed his will, leaving everything but the house to him. He fails to tell Greg, who blows up at Justin at the memorial.
Among Victor’s effects was a desk calendar. It had one appointment listed which had to be important because his father circled it many times. The only information was the date, time, and place, but no reason. Justin keeps the date for his father and changes his life yet again.
***
This love story is 95,000 words and ready for publication. If you would like to read an excerpt, click here.
Cover design not final
Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango
This literary novel to be released late 2025
Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango started as a short story and was the first of my stories to be published. Exciting! The result was that I enjoyed the story so much that after entering it for consideration in Rehoboth Reads anthology for Beach Nights, I kept going. Thirty-five hundred words turned into a full-length novel. This is my first completed novel worth showing.
Stacy Fischer met Oliver one rainy winter night in a seaside art gallery that was hosting Tango Night. He steps in for refuge from the storm but is coaxed by the gallery owner into dancing. After some trepidation, Stacy let Oliver dance him across the room. Not knowing that Stacy was dealing with the heartache of losing his wife but also afraid of his sexuality, Oliver shows him that his life isn’t over. Like dancing the tango, all Stacy needs is to follow his heart. The following day, Stacy returned to the beach where he’d gone to connect with his deceased wife and ask for her forgiveness. Oliver went with him and was so moved by Stacy’s words to the heavens, he kissed him.
After some soul-searching, Stacy returned to Rehoboth Beach to find Oliver. All he knew was his first name and his occupation. With a new-founded determination, he found Oliver and the two started something more than a friendship – a first for Stacy. After several weekends at the shore, the two men start dating, Stacy’s first gay relationship.
But Stacy’s repeated weekend trips to the beach raised the eyebrows of his two kids who think it’s too soon after their mother’s passing for their dad to start seeing another woman. Stacy tried to assure them he was not seeing another woman but he never mentioned seeing a man. To prove to his kids that he goes to Rehoboth Beach for rejuvenation and not a woman, he takes his kids with him for a weekend and to tango night where they too fall in love with Oliver, even Stacy’s teenage son.
The relationship between Stacy and Oliver deepens but Stacy is not yet ready to reveal it to his kids. For that summer’s vacation, Stacy rents a beach house for a week and his two kids and their beaus. Oliver makes a point to be there when he can. He charms the four kids as he had done to Stacy. But Stacy’s daughter’s boyfriend sees what looks like inappropriate advances from Oliver toward Stacy and gets in Oliver’s face. Stacy’s in a tight spot he’s in love with Oliver but afraid of what his kids will do, especially his homophobic son.
But Oliver doesn’t hide his sexuality and the breakup was palpable. Stacy’s daughter guesses and tells her father she understands and she likes Oliver. But Stacy’s son is another thing, he’s not accepting. One night, at the end of the vacation, the kids went to dinner without. They planned on going to the pizza joint on the boardwalk but ended up on the other side of town at the seafood house. While eating on the deck, the kids see Stacy and Oliver walking across the street. Stacy’s son freaks out when he sees them holding hands. He runs out, and rants and curses. Stacy dragged him home to calm him down and tell him the truth. The entire family ends up on the beach, just as Stacy and Oliver had done so many months before, to speak to Stacy’s deceased wife to ask for permission, guidance, or forgiveness.
An epilogue takes us through the lives of the son and daughter who mature into sensible and loving adults. The son made a complete reversal and ended up following in Oliver’s footsteps and becoming successful. The daughter married and had a baby, insisting that Oliver be there even though he and Stacy were no longer a couple.
This 90,000-page love story is really about how Stacy and Oliver’s lives unfold. They show that even though you may not end up with the person you thought was ‘the one’, that person can still be the most important relationship you ever had. The two men never lose their love for each other.
Red Spinny Dress
Third place Winner in the 2023 Bucks County Short Story Contest
A heartfelt story of one man’s view of his husband’s last days. The narrator remembers some of the most loving stories of their forty years together and grants his dying husband two last wishes, a very cold martini, and a dance to ‘their song’: Greatest Love Affair by Jeffrey Osbourne.
This story was awarded 3rd place in the 2023 Bucks County Short Story Competition sponsored by Bucks County Community College and organized by Elizabeth Luciano, Associate Professor, Department of Language and Literature. The story was read at the award ceremony on November 18th by the author. It was presented again for the Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County on October 22, 2024 author event at Freeman Hall.
Published Short Stories
One story in each of these seven Cat & Mouse Rehoboth Reads Beach Series
One of my stories is included in each of these seven anthologies. Three of them were award winners: Beach Thief in Beach Fun; Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango in Beach Nights; and Holiday Hijinks in Beach Holidays.
These books are still available from the Publisher: Cat & Mouse Press. Click here to check out their website here:
Or they can be purchased from BrowseAbout books in Rehoboth Beach, De. Click here for their website.
Five of the books that include my stories have won awards for Editing and storytelling. To see all the awards including mine, click here.
Get your copy of 'Perfect Beach Day' today!
Personalize the book for you or a friend.
Get your copy hereBooks & Stories
Perfect Beach Day
Short Stories of Rehoboth Beach
Released in paperback and ebook November 2023.
Rehoboth Beach takes center stage in the series of short stories included in Perfect Beach Day. This collection of humorous and endearing stories is the perfect companion to a beach chair on a sunny day, a porch swing on a rainy beach day, or a sofa in front of a crackling fire.
These stories include quirky and delightful characters who will show just how special this small seaside town can be.
Within these pages, you will find out how the country’s most popular diva saves the Christmas concert, lifeguards who band together to save more than swimmers, love that is lost and found, a volleyball game like none you’ve seen, how learning to swim can change your life, and much more. These stories will make you smile, cry, laugh, and might even have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Others might pull hard on your heartstrings but will be certain to leave a smile on your face.
The author’s casual and personal writing style, coupled with a variety of plots and topics, makes Perfect Beach Day the perfect summer read. If you like Rehoboth Beach and you like to read, then you will love Perfect Beach Day.
See the story list, synopses, and excerpts of the stories, click here.
Meant To Be
Cover design not final
This literary novel to be released early 2025
What might be considered a romance novel, Meant To Be is more about the heartbreak of a long-term marriage that slowly melts away because of alcoholism and a fear of growing old. It’s also about a son coming to terms with a father who he thought had deserted him. It’s about a young man coming of age and understanding the difference between sex, passion, and love. It’s about realizing that people are fallible but can still be compassionate. And it just might be about finding that one true love, with the help of an odd and maybe mystical phenomenon a father mentioned in passing — that’s Meant To Be.
While coming to terms with his failing marriage and his husband’s infidelity, Victor locks eyes and captures the soul of Adam. Locking eyes is a phenomenon that has happened throughout Victor’s life; it was how he met his husband, Greg, and every boyfriend. But Victor’s not sure why suddenly, after 30 years, it happened again and with a young man.
After 10 years without any contact, Justin, Victor’s son from the high school prom pressure, shows up penniless, homeless, and angrier than a raging bull. He grew up believing his father hated him and had abandoned him. Against his wishes, while staying with Victor and Greg, he finds boxes of his school records, dozens of photographs of him, and court records. Justin discovers that his father has been there every step of his life. Victor hid in the shadows to keep his son from being brutalized by his vengeful mother.
Slowly, Justin finds a way to lose the anger and hatred of his father. Victor and Greg help their son find a job, reconnect with his siblings, and find love. Victor explains how he and Greg locked eyes when they first met, and what that means. Justin is skeptical but when he catches the eye of a handsome man and can’t break contact, he understands locking eyes. Unfortunately, the relationship ends fast with Justin running for his life from the man who became obsessed with him.
Justin’s life turns around. He gets a good job, reconnects with his siblings, and gets his own place. Victor and Adam continue to get close. At first, Adam needs someone to listen to his impossible relationship, but as Victor helps, the two fall in love. Greg, who fears getting older, is drinking far too much, sexting and meeting men, and eventually rekindles an affair he had with a younger man. Victor and Greg have always had a passionate and sometimes explosive relationship, but when Victor finds out about the affair, he can no longer keep calm.
While spending Christmas at his mother’s house with his siblings, Justin gets a call from Greg. Victor is in the hospital with a fatal illness. Justin rushes back, stealing his youngest brother away from their crazy mother. Victor is sent home in hospice care and while there tells Justin he changed his will, leaving everything but the house to him. He fails to tell Greg, who blows up at Justin at the memorial.
Among Victor’s effects was a desk calendar. It had one appointment listed which had to be important because his father circled it many times. The only information was the date, time, and place, but no reason. Justin keeps the date for his father and changes his life yet again.
***
This love story is 95,000 words and ready for publication. If you would like to read an excerpt, click here.
Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango
Cover design not final
This literary novel to be released late 2025
Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango started as a short story and was the first of my stories to be published. Exciting! The result was that I enjoyed the story so much that after entering it for consideration in Rehoboth Reads anthology for Beach Nights, I kept going. Thirty-five hundred words turned into a full-length novel. This is my first completed novel worth showing.
Stacy Fischer met Oliver one rainy winter night in a seaside art gallery that was hosting Tango Night. He steps in for refuge from the storm but is coaxed by the gallery owner into dancing. After some trepidation, Stacy let Oliver dance him across the room. Not knowing that Stacy was dealing with the heartache of losing his wife but also afraid of his sexuality, Oliver shows him that his life isn’t over. Like dancing the tango, all Stacy needs is to follow his heart. The following day, Stacy returned to the beach where he’d gone to connect with his deceased wife and ask for her forgiveness. Oliver went with him and was so moved by Stacy’s words to the heavens, he kissed him.
After some soul-searching, Stacy returned to Rehoboth Beach to find Oliver. All he knew was his first name and his occupation. With a new-founded determination, he found Oliver and the two started something more than a friendship – a first for Stacy. After several weekends at the shore, the two men start dating, Stacy’s first gay relationship.
But Stacy’s repeated weekend trips to the beach raised the eyebrows of his two kids who think it’s too soon after their mother’s passing for their dad to start seeing another woman. Stacy tried to assure them he was not seeing another woman but he never mentioned seeing a man. To prove to his kids that he goes to Rehoboth Beach for rejuvenation and not a woman, he takes his kids with him for a weekend and to tango night where they too fall in love with Oliver, even Stacy’s teenage son.
The relationship between Stacy and Oliver deepens but Stacy is not yet ready to reveal it to his kids. For that summer’s vacation, Stacy rents a beach house for a week and his two kids and their beaus. Oliver makes a point to be there when he can. He charms the four kids as he had done to Stacy. But Stacy’s daughter’s boyfriend sees what looks like inappropriate advances from Oliver toward Stacy and gets in Oliver’s face. Stacy’s in a tight spot he’s in love with Oliver but afraid of what his kids will do, especially his homophobic son.
But Oliver doesn’t hide his sexuality and the breakup was palpable. Stacy’s daughter guesses and tells her father she understands and she likes Oliver. But Stacy’s son is another thing, he’s not accepting. One night, at the end of the vacation, the kids went to dinner without. They planned on going to the pizza joint on the boardwalk but ended up on the other side of town at the seafood house. While eating on the deck, the kids see Stacy and Oliver walking across the street. Stacy’s son freaks out when he sees them holding hands. He runs out, and rants and curses. Stacy dragged him home to calm him down and tell him the truth. The entire family ends up on the beach, just as Stacy and Oliver had done so many months before, to speak to Stacy’s deceased wife to ask for permission, guidance, or forgiveness.
An epilogue takes us through the lives of the son and daughter who mature into sensible and loving adults. The son made a complete reversal and ended up following in Oliver’s footsteps and becoming successful. The daughter married and had a baby, insisting that Oliver be there even though he and Stacy were no longer a couple.
This 90,000-page love story is really about how Stacy and Oliver’s lives unfold. They show that even though you may not end up with the person you thought was ‘the one’, that person can still be the most important relationship you ever had. The two men never lose their love for each other.
Red Spinny Dress
Third place Winner in the 2023 Bucks County Short Story Contest
A heartfelt story of one man’s view of his husband’s last days. The narrator remembers some of the most loving stories of their forty years together and grants his dying husband two last wishes, a very cold martini, and a dance to ‘their song’: Greatest Love Affair by Jeffrey Osbourne.
This story was awarded 3rd place in the 2023 Bucks County Short Story Competition sponsored by Bucks County Community College and organized by Elizabeth Luciano, Associate Professor, Department of Language and Literature. The story was read at the award ceremony on November 18th by the author. It was presented again for the Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County on October 22, 2024 author event at Freeman Hall.
Published Short Stories
One story in each of these seven Cat & Mouse Rehoboth Reads Beach Series
One of my stories is included in each of these seven anthologies. Three of them were award winners: Beach Thief in Beach Fun; Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango in Beach Nights; and Holiday Hijinks in Beach Holidays.
These books are still available from the Publisher: Cat & Mouse Press. Click here to check out their website here:
Or they can be purchased from BrowseAbout books in Rehoboth Beach, De. Click here for their website.
Five of the books that include my stories have won awards for Editing and storytelling. To see all the awards including mine, click here.