What is important to me is that my stories are relatable. This novel focuses on two peripheral characters from ‘A San Francisco Romance’, Sebastian and Isaac, but can be read as a stand alone novel. Set in San Francisco in the late seventies and early eighties, ‘An Unexpected Gift’ is about the changing times in the city, and an average couple who find their life impacted by events around them and can no longer stand by hoping for change. I have always enjoyed writing, everything from short stories to poetry. Instead of writing after work and on the weekends, I can now write whenever inspiration strikes me. It took twenty years to find that wonderful Prince Charming I longed for, and now, after nearly twenty years together, we have taken early retirement in Mexico, allowing me to spend time on the two most important things I value in life, my family and writing. One thing I learned through it all is that life goes on and memories endure. First it was the murders at City Hall, then the scourge of an illness where the parties were replaced by memorials. Witnessing the changing culture in the city, as well as the surprising acceptance, I was still there when the shadow fell over the city. The evenings of my early adulthood were spent in San Francisco looking for my Prince Charming when gay pride was emerging and disco was about to rule the dance floors.

I spent the days of my adult life as a corporate drone.

Will they find what they each so desperately seek, that one thing that will make them feel whole, or, will they discover that there are some things in life that are too costly, even to be with the one you love? When these two men meet one spring afternoon they are both presented with life altering decisions, neither one is prepared to make. Meeting Conner Jeffries brings back his desire for intimacy, but his secret could unravel his plans for capturing the heart of the young man redecorating his house.

He eventually resigned himself to a 'friends with benefits' arrangement, an arrangement that can fulfill his physical needs, and, because of their friendship, eases some of the loneliness. Edwin Tayler carries within him an emptiness that never lets go: his one love died long ago from a devastating pandemic. That is until he meets the enigmatic Edwin Tayler. That goal has been elusive and always was just outside of his grasp. His last goal which used to be his first is to enjoy a loving relationship with a man. He owns his own home, and has a reasonably successful business that helps to make ends meet. What price is too great to pay to be with the one you love? Conner Jeffries is in his early thirties and has achieved most of the goals he has set in his life.

Conner's Choice by Brandon Carlisle