Canine Connections provides a compendium of five explorations of the bonding of a gay man and a canine sidekick. Four of these novelettes have been previously published; a fifth is a never-before-published bonus. My Dog Jack is the journey of a young man who wants nothing to do with a dog but learns that Jack becomes everything to him and helps make him into a better, more-giving person. In Dire Conditions, a young man searches against all obstacles to be reunited with his dog. Saving Cleo is about a man at the dimming end of his life, struggling to make sure that his faithful canine companion lives on in well-earned comfort after her master has faded away. In Tank ’n Bull, a semipro football player who has possibly been knocked in the head one too many times finds understanding and acceptance—and another being to care about beyond himself—in a dog he whimsically purloins and takes on a journey of futility. The bonus story, Amos’s Andy, is another journey story of a young man who is drawn into danger by his inability to let go of his attachment to the dog he has lost and his mistaken belief that life holds nothing worthwhile for him.

In various ways, all of these stories are of a man’s struggling journey for self-worth, self-assurance, and understanding—with his canine companion by his side.

Tank Sullivan, defensive tackle for the Virginia Hornets semipro football team, is a talented athlete who could go far if he could just keep the plays from the playbook clear in his mind. Tank has a dogged belief in himself, though. By whimsy, he teams up with a lame pit bull, Bull, who hasn’t had an easy life to this point, and the two drive haphazardly off in the stolen car of Tank’s long-suffering housemate and lover, Craig, on an odyssey of adventure and discovery tow . . . 

Dire Conditions  by habu

Romance, Inspirational, Gay Male, Dog Story, Family and Relationships 

Keith is a good-looking young college footballer with an ailing mother and too many men wanting to take advantage of him. When he took a job in a nearby kennel, he came under the predatory eye of Ralph, but he also fell in love with the Labrador Retrievers there, especially one, Daisy. When she dies having puppies, it’s Keith who gives up college and raises them, letting one, Dusty, take Daisy’s place in his heart. READ MORE

Price $US2.99

Lying into the Future by Stephen Kessel

Romance, Inspirational, Gay Male.

Gay male romance. Simon and Hank are two men recovering from loss and betrayal when they meet in a mountain-climber’s hut on the slopes of the Matterhorn. An instant attraction leads to a brief, wild, and unexpected time together that evening, but early the next morning Simon’s party heads downhill while Hank’s heads for the Matterhorn’s summit. The meeting leaves a mark on both men though, and each departs with the sense of having found a special man in that brief meeting. READ MORE

Saving Cleo by habu

Romance, Inspirational, Gay Male, Dog Story. 

When Roger’s much younger lover, Craig, moved in he brought Cleo with him. When Craig leaves them finally and unexpectedly Cleo is left behind to grieve with Roger. And Cleo becomes the center of his life. But Roger needs someone to look after him too. 

Alienated from his son, his understanding daughter-in-law wants him to come to them or move nearby, but Roger finds that not only is there nowhere for him there, but there is definitely nowhere there for Cleo. READ MORE

Turtle Airways Special by Stephen Kessel

Romance, Inspirational, Gay Male.

 How much can twenty-four hours change men’s lives? When promiscuous party boy, Roger, and his seriously committed monogamous partner, David, arrive on the Island of Madai for a holiday it’s make or break. Roger is tired of a partner who wants them to act like an old married couple and is ready to break free for good. Meanwhile, David hopes the time away will unite them.

When fate takes them both on separate Turtle Airways flights, to the island of Castaway in search of Tony, the results are totally unexpected. READ MORE

Moving On by Stephen Kessel

Gay male, Romance. 

When Terry and Luke meet at a remote mineral exploration camp in Malaysia they know there is an attraction, but a remote camp is not the place to have a relationship. When they are both in Kuala Lumpur though, and have only a short time before they may never see each other again, their feelings come boiling over and they spend four days as passionate lovers. READ MORE 

My Dog Jack by habu

Romance, Inspirational, Gay Male, Dog Story. 

The last thing Rick wants is Jack, his father’s old dog. Rick has a comfortable gay lifestyle and has just moved into an inner city “no dogs” apartment house. He is sure his father dragged the promise to look after Jack out of him just to make his life hell. Now all he wants is to get his dad buried, then get rid of Jack and go back to the life he had. How hard is it to get rid of an old dog? Hard enough that it turns Rick’s life upside down and introduces him to dog loving Mike. READ MORE

Two Chances by Stephen Kessel

Gay male, Romance. 

Tim’s partner, Nick, left him with their dream home and the “kids”—their four dogs. Now, after more than a year of long hours training staff in their franchised dog grooming business, and living alone, perhaps Tim is ready to take a chance. And perhaps there are some surprises in store for him if he does; though time has also taught him what really matters. And it’s not casual sex he wants. READ MORE

The Velvet Interrogation by Stephen Kessel

Fiction, Thriller, Romance, Gay Male

U.S. diplomat Chet Bender saves young Nabil Shabili in an extraction from Palestinian refugee camps inside Lebanon in the shadow of an impending Israeli attack leading to a massacre in the camps. He subsequently accepts Nabil into his life, bed, and heart. Nearly twenty years later, Nabil is rising to a run at the presidency of Lebanon and the forces promoting this rise are busy cleaning up loose ends in Nabil’s past. And one of those loose ends is Chet. READ MORE

Price $US2.99