All the Better Part of Me
Against a backdrop of '80s new wave songs and the landscapes of London and Seattle, a young actor in the modern day tackles his bisexuality as he finds himself falling for his best friend.
“…entertaining, nuanced… Readers looking for introspective romances with winding plots will enjoy this heartfelt novel.” - Publishers Weekly on All the Better Part of Me
It’s an inconvenient time for Sinter Blackwell to realize he’s bisexual. He’s a 25-year-old American actor working in London, living far away from his disapproving parents in the Pacific Northwest, and enjoying a flirtation with his director Fiona. But he can’t deny that his favorite parts of each day are the messages from his gay best friend Andy in Seattle—whom Sinter once kissed when they were 15.
Finally he decides to return to America to visit Andy and discover what’s between them, if anything. He isn’t seeking love, and definitely doesn’t want drama. But both love and drama seem determined to find him. Family complications soon force him into the most consequential decisions of his life, threatening all his most important relationships: with Andy, Fiona, his parents, and everyone else who’s counting on him. Choosing the right role to play has never been harder.
"This honest coming-of-age romance will resonate with those who are discovering their own sexual identity, while Sinter and Andy’s flirtatious, tentative romance should please all lovers of the genre.” - Library Journal on All the Better Part of Me
[Content warnings (INCLUDES SPOILERS): homophobia/biphobia (some internalized), pressure to come out, pregnancy, car accident, hospitals]
Read the first two chapters below.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
All the Better Part of Me is a coming-out story, but it is probably the only one I will ever write. I have since moved on to the more hopeful scenario: LGBTQIA+ characters getting to have adventures alongside the straight and/or cis characters without sexuality or gender identity being an issue—the worlds we see, for example, in Lava Red Feather Blue and Sage and King. This is the way things should be, the status quo we can aspire to. I hope books showcasing diversity, no matter who writes them, can help open up mindsets so we can get to such a world. I owe great thanks to the many people who have given feedback on my stories and thereby guided me to this decision. You're helping me learn, and I never want to stop learning, even when the process is humbling.