What Inspired The Option: The Story Behind My First Novel When Love Is Cut Short

What happens when love is cut short by death? Most stories end there. Mine doesn’t.

In The Option: A Love Story Cut Short, Max believes death is final—“poof, dust to dust, nothing left.” He compares it to the monsters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who turn into ash and vanish. For Max, death means zero, nada, nothing. No pearly gates, no light at the end of the tunnel. Just an ending.

But what if he’s wrong?

That question became the spark for my first novel in the Prospect Tower series. A gay romance that starts like many others—boy meets boy, love takes root—but then veers into uncharted territory when tragedy strikes.

A Childhood of Questions

I grew up surrounded by traditional religious teaching. From a young age, I understood the afterlife as something fixed: you died, met St. Peter, and faced judgment. Heaven or hell. That was it. Even if the details varied from one Sunday school lesson to another, the message was consistent: death wasn’t nothing—it was something.

Still, I found myself wondering. What if those teachings weren’t the whole picture? What if there was more to life, more to death, than I had been told?

I didn’t want my novel to preach. I didn’t want it to feel like a sermon disguised as a story. I wanted to explore death and what might come after from a perspective that was practical, emotional, and rooted in the experiences people have shared across cultures.

That curiosity—those questions that haunted me—shaped the path to The Option.

Researching the Afterlife

When I started writing, I didn’t leap straight into fiction. I dove into research.

First came near-death experiences (NDEs). I was fascinated by how many people described remarkably similar things: moving through a tunnel, being greeted by loved ones, seeing a bright light that radiated peace, being told “it’s not your time.” Doctors, skeptics, and scientists might argue about the cause, but the consistency across these accounts made me stop and think.

Then I explored past-life memories, especially stories of children who recalled details from lives they had never lived in this one. Some of those memories included names, dates, and places that were later verified. The more I read, the harder it was to dismiss the possibility that life continues after death in ways we don’t fully understand.

This wasn’t just abstract research. It was fuel for my writing. Each account I read chipped away at Max’s certainty that death is final. It gave me tools to take him on a believable journey—one that starts with skepticism and ends with the possibility of hope.

Why Romance? Why Gay Romance?

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write romance. Romance novels give readers something universal: the thrill of connection, the beauty of vulnerability, and the promise of love. But as a gay man, I also knew I wanted to write stories where LGBTQ+ characters take center stage, not as sidekicks or stereotypes, but as heroes of their own love stories.

Most romance novels—whether straight or gay—follow a familiar rhythm. Two people meet. They fall in love. They face obstacles. Eventually, they earn their happily ever after.

But what happens when something irreversible happens? What if one of them dies before that happy ending can begin?

That’s where The Option departs from the expected. It’s still a gay romance novel, but it’s one that dares to ask: Can love survive death? Can two souls find each other again—even if fate tears them apart too soon?

The Big “What If?”

The central question that drove me to write was simple: What if death wasn’t the end of love?

What if the story didn’t stop when tragedy struck? What if the bond between two men could continue, reshape itself, and even return in another lifetime?

That’s what Max and Zander face in The Option: A Love Story Cut Short. Their romance is powerful but brief, interrupted by the harsh reality of death. Yet their love story doesn’t vanish with a final breath. Instead, it opens the door to a bigger journey—one that looks beyond mortality, into reincarnation, memory, and the possibility of soulmates who refuse to let go.

Writing Through Loss and Hope

This book was personal. Like many of us, I’ve experienced loss. I’ve asked myself the same questions Max does. Sitting down to write The Option wasn’t just about telling a story—it was about wrestling with grief and hope, about daring to believe that love could outlast even death.

Romance readers often talk about the joy of a “happily ever after.” But for me, the more powerful idea was this: sometimes, love is so strong it refuses to die. That’s not just a happy ending. That’s eternity.

Why This Story Matters

For readers, The Option isn’t only a love story. It’s also an exploration of belief, doubt, and discovery.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens after death, this story will resonate.

If you’ve ever lost someone too soon, you’ll find echoes of your own questions here.

If you believe love is powerful enough to transcend lifetimes, you’ll feel right at home.

It’s also a book that doesn’t shy away from queer love. LGBTQ+ romance deserves to be written with the same depth, beauty, and seriousness as any other love story—and with the same possibility of magic.

The Beginning of a Series

The Option is just the start. It’s the first book in the Prospect Tower series, a set of novels exploring love, memory, reincarnation, and the ties that bind us across lifetimes.

Each book stands on its own, but together they form a tapestry—a bigger answer to that haunting “what if.”

A Love Story Like No Other

So, why should you read The Option? Because it’s not just another gay romance novel. It’s not just a story of two men falling in love. It’s a story of what happens when love collides with loss, when belief collides with doubt, and when death collides with the possibility of forever.

If you’ve ever wondered whether love can outlast death, this story is for you.

Start the Journey

Max’s journey begins with disbelief and ends with hope. Yours can begin right now.

➡️ Start the Prospect Tower series today with The Option: A Love Story Cut Short—available now on Amazon.