The Goose and Scepter

On Christmas Eve, Miles Whitmore — the guarded, grieving CEO of the state's largest real estate empire — walks into the Goose and Scepter hoping only to survive another lonely holiday. What he finds instead is Chase Quinlan: quiet, wary, and carrying a fear that clings to him like a shadow.

Their connection is immediate. Warm. Disarming. Something Miles hasn’t felt since losing the man he loved a year ago.
But Chase has spent his life keeping people at arm’s length, convinced that getting close to him puts others at risk. Strange accidents have followed him for as long as he can remember — inexplicable, violent, and always aimed at those who cross him. He doesn’t understand it. He only knows it’s real.

As the city reels from a string of mysterious deaths, Miles and Chase are drawn deeper into each other’s orbit, their bond tightening even as the world around them grows darker. The closer they become, the harder it is for Chase to hide the truth… and the more determined Miles becomes to stay by his side, no matter what hunts the edges of Chase’s life.
A story of longing, fate, and the quiet terror of being truly known, Goose and Scepter follows two men falling in love while an unseen force circles ever closer — a force that has no intention of letting Chase go.

What began as a tiny spark , just a few pages meant to be a quick short story, has grown into something far bigger, stranger, and more thrilling than I ever expected. Goose and Scepter started as a simple idea, but the moment I began writing, the world expanded, the characters deepened, and the plot took on a life of its own. Now, with the story stretching past Chapter 11 and well over 140 pages and not near completion, it’s clear this isn’t a short piece anymore. It’s becoming a full‑length novel. And honestly? I’m having the time of my life writing it.

The early drafts that I initially posted here capture only the earliest version of the story — the skeleton of what it would eventually become. There was so much change and divergence from the original story that I removed those posts. The manuscript I’m working on now has evolved dramatically, keeping only the core plot while everything around it has grown richer, darker, and far more exciting.

Inside Out and Dark Echoes (both available on the BOOKS page), are stories that were deeply personal — pieces of my own life woven into nearly every chapter. Goose and Scepter is something entirely different. This one isn’t personal. It’s pure joy. Pure imagination. Pure fun.

I’ve never enjoyed writing a story this much.