Because of Roses

An anthology of ten short, optimistic stories about men meeting other men and exploring relationships with each other, with a focus on racial, age, and background diversity.

1. Chicken Man: a would-be actor encounters a six-foot tall rooster in Times Square, which leads to sort of an acting gig and romance, also of a sort.
2. The Green Bench: a businessman hurrying to work passes an older male couple on a park bench every day, until one day one isn't there.
3. Leprechaun in New York: a young man lusts after a redhead he sees in bars until he goes home with him and the redhead claims he's a leprechaun.
4. Heart Stealer: based on a Choctaw myth of a creature in the woods who takes human hearts.
5. From the Sea: a college friend invites a classmate home for the weekend to a house inhabited by his family and the ghost of a drowned Chinese fisherman.
6. Ticket to Ride: bemused by a makeshift sign offering trips to the past for a nominal sum, a man hurrying by puts his money down. When he returns, his ticket is waiting.
7. The Cowman and the Farmer Should Be Friends: a lonely dairy farmer resorts to OkCupid to find love.
8. Picnic in Moscow: a man in Moscow escapes from a Gay bashing and is taken in by an older man his father wants him to marry.
9. Régalos: a descendant of Cuban boat people returns to Cuba on a professional architectural tour. He's befriended by a mysterious man who turns out to have sinister connections.
10. Because of Roses: grieving over a dead partner, an attorney accepts a transfer to the London office and begins house hunting in the Cotswolds.