“The Birthmark is intriguing, sensitive, and moving. A beautiful story.”
— Carolina Albino (Brazil)
“The Birthmark is a beautifully written, intriguing and tantalising story that keeps you bound to it and wanting more.”
— Neil Grant (New Zealand)
The Birthmark
It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon in beautiful Whakars, New Zealand. From his bedroom window, Rupert watches Bob’s every move as he tends to the garden. Rupert is mesmerised by Bob’s physique and the way he carries himself. But he’s also troubled by his attraction to the older man. Upon seeing, by chance, Bob’s unusual birthmark, Rupert is moved to convulsive tears. However, he conceals his feelings and invites Bob into the house. Each reveals some intimate history that draws and binds them together. But their bond leads to a tragedy neither of them is able to prevent.
A Marca de Nascença
É uma tranquila tarde de domingo na bela Whakars, Nova Zelândia. Da janela de seu quarto, Rupert observa cada movimento de Bob enquanto ele trabalha no jardim. Rupert fica hipnotizado pelo físico de Bob e pela maneira que ele se apresenta. Mas ele fica também preocupado com sua atração pelo homem mais velho. Ao ver, por acaso, a marca de nascença incomum de Bob, Rupert começa a chorar compulsivamente. No entanto, ele oculta seus sentimentos e convida Bob para entrar na casa. Cada um revela uma história íntima que os atrai e os une. Mas a conexão entre eles leva a uma tragédia que nenhum dos dois é capaz de evitar.
— Translated into Portuguese by Carolina Albino and Renan Magalhães, UFV, Brazil
“His overall tone and articulation are just absolutely on point.”
— Debbie Burke (Jazz Author, New York)
Hubris of the Lonely
What a difference 4 days made. Unfolding over a long weekend during the Covid-19 pandemic, Hubris of the Lonely tells the story of a young man obsessively devoted to a forbidden, unattainable love. Mostly told in dialogue style, it was inspired by a diary unexpectedly found among a mixed-lot of books purchased at auction.
On the morning following his 18th birthday, Joseph flees his hometown of Whakers, rural New Zealand, to escape discovery by his conservative family not only of his homosexuality but also of his forbidden passionate love of another. Three decades later, Joseph decides to attend a funeral in support of his identical twin brother, John. After 30 years of loneliness and celibacy contemplating the impossible, Joseph lands in Whakers unsure of the consequences.
Joseph, seemingly, has it all. The complete package — A charming and handsome, healthy looking man, professionally and materially successful, with youthful looks that belie his 48 years of age. A giant in his field of human psychology, for which he travels the world on speaking tours and book signing. Yet, it’s perhaps a case of physician heal thyself, for while he can uncover, and treat, the obsessions of others, he’s unable to address his own obsessive passion.
Mistaken for his twin brother John, Joseph witnesses and takes part in a series of life-changing events. While helping a young lad overcome a debilitating obsession, Joseph’s own obsessive passion begins to unravel. Over the course of 4 days, dark and cruel secrets of treachery come to light. Joseph realizes his fate had been tampered with, his future unscrupulously manipulated. From pain and disillusion to healing and forgiving, Joseph finds fulfillment in love and sexual passion once he accepts the truth that his reality was a figment of his innocence.
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