Blog Tour: Fueled By Pain

 

Nonfiction / Self-Esteem / Memoir

Date Published: January 15, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

What if your pain wasn’t holding you back… but pushing you forward?

From abuse and neglect to crime, addiction, prison, and crushing debt—Patrick Simiglai’s story is not just about survival. It’s about transformation.

In Fueled By Pain, ultra-endurance athlete and mental performance coach Patrick Simiglai shares how he rebuilt his life from the ground up using discipline, resilience, and 23 powerful mental techniques designed to help you do the same.

This is not a motivational quick fix.

This is a blueprint for real, lasting change.

Inspired by elite forces like the Danish Frogman Corps, Patrick pushed himself through extreme physical challenges—ultramarathons, rope climbs, and marathon swims—discovering that the real battle isn’t in the body… it’s in the mind.

Inside this powerful book, you’ll discover how to:

• Master your inner dialogue and stop self-sabotage

• Build discipline that lasts beyond motivation

• Develop unshakable mental resilience under pressure

• Break free from addiction, fear, and limiting beliefs

• Turn pain, discomfort, and resistance into your greatest advantage

• Create long-term success through integrity and self-trust

Patrick’s journey—from chaos to clarity—proves that no matter where you start, you can rebuild your life. Today, he is a successful entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and mentor helping others unlock their potential and take control of their lives.

His message is simple—but powerful:

You don’t need a new life. You need a new relationship with yourself.

Pain, resistance, and discomfort are not signs that you’re on the wrong path. Often, they are proof that you’re walking in the direction of growth. You don’t have to feel ready. You just have to show up honestly and keep your word to yourself—especially on the days when no one is watching.

Excerpt

There comes a moment in every long race where the body is not the problem anymore. The legs still move. The lungs still work. What breaks is the story in your head.

This is where most people start negotiating.

You tell yourself you deserve a break. That you have done enough. That no one will blame you if you stop now. The voice sounds reasonable. Friendly, even. But it is the same voice that has kept you small for years.

Discipline is recognizing that voice and choosing, again and again, to take one more step.

 

About the Author

Patrik Simiglai is a Danish ultra-endurance athlete, mental performance coach, and speaker dedicated to helping individuals transform their lives through discipline, resilience, and powerful inner dialogue. As the author of Fueled By Pain, Patrick shares a raw and deeply personal journey of overcoming adversity and building mental strength from the inside out.

Competing in some of the world’s most grueling ultra-endurance races—including 200- and 300-mile events across deserts, mountains, and extreme terrain—Patrick has developed a unique approach to mental toughness rooted in real-world experience. His work bridges the gap between extreme physical performance and everyday personal growth, offering practical tools for leaders, athletes, and teams to perform under pressure with integrity and consistency.

Patrick’s path to success was anything but conventional. Growing up in a childhood marked by abuse and later struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, he understands firsthand the challenges of feeling trapped by your own thoughts. His transformation—from chaos and self-destruction to purpose-driven achievement—forms the foundation of his coaching, speaking, and writing.

Through his work, Patrick emphasizes that true growth begins with mastering your inner dialogue. His philosophy is simple yet powerful: you don’t need a new life—you need a new relationship with yourself. By embracing discomfort, taking responsibility, and committing to disciplined action, he teaches others how to unlock their full potential and create lasting change.

Originally written in Danish and later rewritten in English as a personal challenge, Fueled By Pain reflects Patrick’s belief that growth comes from stepping outside your comfort zone and committing to the process, even when it’s difficult. Drawing from years of journaling, coaching, and extreme endurance experiences, the book delivers 23 mental techniques designed to help readers build resilience, overcome self-doubt, and achieve long-term success.

Today, Patrick Simiglai works with individuals and organizations worldwide, inspiring others to confront their limits, strengthen their mindset, and turn pain into purpose.

"Challenges fuel growth. Courage creates opportunities."

Book a talk or coaching: https://calendly.com/patricksimiglai/30-min-gratis-afklaringssamtale

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PROMO: The Edge of Motherland

 

Literary Fiction

Date Published: May 14, 2026

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group

A moving literary novel about friendship, identity, belonging, and the search for home in a divided America.

In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial reckoning of 2020, two unlikely friends are forced to confront what home really means.

A young Black man and a middle-aged White man meet through the Indianapolis tech company where they both work. Though separated by age, race, and life experience, they discover a powerful connection through music, poetry, and the emotional landscapes that have shaped them. What begins as an unusual friendship becomes something deeper as both men find themselves questioning the world around them—and their place within it.

Disillusioned by their state’s response to the pandemic and shaken by the racial strife unfolding across the country, the two men leave Indianapolis on a transformative journey. Against the eerie backdrop of a fractured America, they face isolation, grief, uncertainty, and the complicated truths that define love, loyalty, friendship, and identity.

As the road carries them away from everything familiar, they begin to reevaluate their beliefs, their histories, and the meaning of belonging. Through shared adversity, conversation, art, and memory, they forge a bond that challenges them to see themselves—and each other—with greater honesty and compassion.

The Edge of Motherland by Michael Leppert is a moving work of cultural heritage fiction for readers who appreciate character-driven literary fiction, contemporary historical fiction, stories of unlikely friendship, and novels that explore race, resilience, connection, and hope during uncertain times.

“Motherland is a poignant story about love, friendship, identity—and the music, poetry, and places that shape us.”

—Lesley Weidenbener, Managing Editor, Indianapolis Business Journal

 

About the Author

 

 Michael Leppert is an award-winning lecturer, columnist, essayist, and author based in Indianapolis, Indiana. A longtime communicator, public affairs professional, and educator, Leppert brings decades of experience in government, policy, business, and storytelling to his work.

He teaches speech and writing at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and serves as an adjunct professor at IU’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He earned his B.S. in Public Affairs from Indiana University and his M.S. in Communication from Northwestern University, building a career rooted in the two fields that have shaped his life: government and communication.

Before entering academia and writing, Leppert spent thirteen years in public service for the State of Indiana. His career began at the Indiana Boys School, where he worked for five years and later served as program manager in the Intensive Treatment Unit. He then spent eight years at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, ultimately serving as Executive Director of the IURC. In that role, he became known for his ability to explain complex and often controversial issues with clarity, insight, and accessibility.

After leaving state government in 2002, Leppert spent two decades as a private-sector lobbyist, public affairs consultant, and communications advisor, working with corporations, nonprofits, government leaders, community organizations, and business executives to help advance strategic priorities. His experience with public policy, political systems, and institutional decision-making has deeply informed his fiction and nonfiction writing.

Leppert began writing a weekly column in 2014, with his work appearing in newspapers throughout Indiana. His first book, Contrary to Popular Belief: A Chronicle of a Progressive in Indiana, was published in 2016. His novel Flipping the Circle, published by Greenleaf Book Group in 2021, is a political thriller that draws from his deep knowledge of Indiana politics, lobbying, and government culture. His fiction explores power, corruption, identity, morality, and the complicated human stories behind public life.

At the heart of Leppert’s work is a passion for helping people understand complicated ideas through story. Whether in the classroom, in public commentary, or on the page, he is driven by the belief that storytelling can bring clarity, challenge assumptions, and create meaningful connection.

Michael lives in a historic neighborhood in downtown Indianapolis with his wife, Amy Levander, and their rescue dog, Birdie. He has two adult children, Alex and Jack. He and Amy are competitive golfers, beach walkers, and enthusiastic lovers of live music, comedy, and theater.

 

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PROMO: Storms of Crick Road Bridge

 

 

Crime Thriller

Date Published: April 8, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

Eden Valley is a quiet town in northwestern Pennsylvania still healing from a dark chapter in its history. Two years ago, the community was shaken by a kidnapping and a series of murders. Tom Stallings, the celebrated town hero, solved the crimes and identified the evil demon responsible. In an effort to revitalize the town, Tom's son, Josh, has purchased the town's orchard, naming it The Stallings Orchard at Crick Road Bridge.

However, Tom is soon informed by the local sheriff that he and his family are the targets of a threatening letter, mysteriously signed "The Avenger." The unknown author accuses Tom and Josh of being land-grabbers with blood on their hands and vows to seek revenge.

Against this tense backdrop, three individuals-each driven by their own pain and misguided sense of justice-embark on separate journeys of revenge. While the first merely seeks to resolve personal grievances and jealousy through minor acts of vandalism, the other two harbor far more sinister intentions, representing both physical and metaphorical storms on a path of chaos and destruction.

 

About the Author

 

 David Kerr grew up in the small, rural community of Enon Valley, Pennsylvania, in the '50s and '60s where the main source of employment was farming or working in the steel mill industry. Surrounded by families who struggled to maintain their middle- class lifestyle and hold tightly to the American values of God, family, and country, little did he realize that these people and places would become the inspiration for his novels.

A graduate of Georgia Southern University, Kerr served as an English teacher and school administrator for forty-four years. Following his retirement, he wrote and published two mystery novels, Secrets of Crick Road Bridge and Storms of Crick Road Bridge.

Today, he and his wife, Lois, live in Woodstock, Georgia, where they enjoy being close to their daughter Paige, son-in-law, Chris, and grandsons, Banks and Ford

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Blog Tour: Forest Legend

 

The Tale of Ol' Split Toe

Action and Adventure Fantasy for teens

Date Published: 03-31-2026

Narrator: Dan Ellens

Run Time: 10 hours 6 minutes

Mother Nature struggles to maintain equilibrium in a changing world while fire, disease, logging, human displacement, and war repeatedly destroy forests of centuries-old trees. Split Toe, a deer chosen at birth for a unique education, travels through time to understand the interconnected workings of a Michigan forest. He meets humans along the way: Ice Age hunters who trap and kill a mastodon; Mukwoh, a young Ojibwe hunter who stalks Split Toe through swamp and forest; loggers clearcutting Michigan’s white pines; Edra, a woman advocating for the trees; Angus and Grace, pioneers who become a first generation of family farmers; scientists from the future studying the impact of nuclear radiation.

Split Toe witnesses two hundred years of conflict building between modern humans -- who fight to control the natural world -- and Mother Nature, who repeatedly reaches for balance. He wonders whether human ways will ultimately overpower Mother Nature, until he meets a boy who changes everything.

Interview

Tell us about your current release

 

Forest Legend: The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe is an adventure that sweeps through time from the Ice Age into the future to tell the story of ecological change to our forests from Nature’s point of view; through the eyes of a time-traveling deer – Ol’ Split Toe. The story takes place in Michigan.  Split Toe is a deer born during an eclipse and chosen by spirits of nature for a special education – to understand the intricate inner-workings of a forest. Split Toe travels through time for his lessons.

 

The story begins in 1409 AD with a young Ojibwe hunter pursuing Split Toe through a tag alder swamp and Michigan’s white pines forest. Action, suspense, and close calls lace the adventure. Split Toe time traveles to the Ice Age, where he sees soil forming for the first time. He recognizes it as the birth place of the forest – Split Toe’s lesson. But Split Toe also has an Ice Age encounter with a mastodon and is chased by dire wolves back through the time portal, and into Michigan’s logging era, with modern humans clear cutting the white pines that were his once his home.

 

Split Toe steps through time, engaging in the pioneer era, the family farm era, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, the time when infrastructure is added to Michigan’s rural and agricultural land. Roads straighten and improve. Ditches and power lines follow roads. Split Toe sees the human view of land use and ownership change. He sees the rise of the corporate farm. He sees civilization encroaching on wild places. Through it all, Split Toe observes humans and tries to understand how they fit in the natural order of things. Split Toe watches humans try to control everything about the world around them.  He also understands that Mother Nature reacts to everything happening by steadfastly reaching for balance. Split Toe wonders if humans will overtake Mother Nature. He needs to find out.

 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

 

I never really ‘wanted’ to be a writer.  I simply evolved into one. Now I write to connect people with nature – books and a blog. I write because I have things I want to write about. My first book, Turning Ten: Great Adventures in the Great Lakes came out in 2000. Forest Legend: The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe is my fifth book and my debut into the world of fiction.

 

Have you published any previous books?

 

There are five books in my back trail:

·        Turning Ten: The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe (2000)

·        A Time for India (2006)

·        Building the Bunkee: A Photo Anthology of Custom Log Cabin Construction and One Man’s Retirement Dream (2021)

·        Treehouse Letters: The Unabridged Michigan Forest Life Journal (2022)

·        Forest Legend: The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe (2026)

 

What can we expect to see from you in the future, any books on the backburner?

I have a number of book ideas that I am not ready to discuss. Right now I am using all of my energy to introduce Forest Legend.

Meanwhile, I still write the Michigan Forest Life blog when I am at my treehouse in Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary. Later this summer I hope to launch a series of YouTube videos with me reading short excerpts from Forest Legend.

 

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

When I am not writing or talking to groups about Forest Legend, I am caretaker of Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary in Clare County, Michigan. I live half time in an off-grid, electricity-free treehouse with woodstove heat, handpump water, and oil lamp lighting. I spend quite a bit of time maintain trails, setting up a guest log cabin, and preparing for off-grid winter life. It is a charming lifestyle that inspires me.

I also cherish my family time with my spouse, adult children, and grandchildren.

 

Did you learn anything from writing your book? What was it?

I learned a writing project does not reach its true potential without feedback. Writing always benefits from constructive observations. But an author needs to be receptive to feedback. It is up to the author to use the feedback to improve the written product.

I also learned that writing the book is the easy part. Finding a publisher and promoting the book can take more time and effort than the writing. It can be an intense slogs for the author. Persistence is the most important thing to reach a conclusion.

 

Some writers have something playing in the background, do you and what?

I am often in the forest when writing, in a treehouse without electricity. I open the windows and listen to the sounds of the forest – birds, insects, frogs, squirrels chattering, wind in the trees, and the heartbeat of my cuckoo clock. It is nature’s symphony

 

Tell us a little about yourself. Perhaps something not many people know about?

Since retiring from a full career in industry, I am really leaning into my relationship with nature. My home is in a rural setting, but I leave it often to spend a few days in the forest. About half my time each year is spent in the wilderness.

I am an amateur artist. I am also passionate about rescuing abandoned fine art, restoring it when necessary, and finding a respectful new home for each piece.

 

What do you hope your writing brings to your readers?

I write books to connect people with nature. I hope readers go away with that. I hope they feel the natural connection. Smell it. See it. Taste it. I hope Forest Legend makes them think about their own place in the natural order of things. I hope as they read the adventure, a better understanding of the whole life of a forest rubs off, and when they turn the last page, the story sticks with them.

 

About the Author

 

 Dan Ellens is an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about connecting people with nature. 

 He spends nearly half of each year off-grid in an isolated, hand-built, electricity-free treehouse nestled within Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary with woodstove heat, handpump water, and oil lamp lighting.

 Dan was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in southeast Michigan. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Calvin University and an MBA from Michigan State University. Dan is retired from a full career in industry and international business. 

During 1996, 1997, and 1998, his family lived as expatriates in Bangalore, India, the inspiration for “A Time for India”, Dan’s second book, now in its second edition. 

 When Dan’s children were small – 10 years old - he took them each on an outward-bound, father-child adventure. The journal of those four trips became Dan’s first book, “Turning Ten: Great Adventures in the Great Lakes”, now in its second edition. 

 Dan is an accomplished woodworker and carpenter. His lifelong love for old-school carpentry inspired “Building the Bunkee: A Photo Anthology of Custom Log Cabin Construction and One Man’s Retirement Dream”. Dan is a hobby artist who is passionate about rescuing, restoring, and finding new homes for fine art. In the wilds, he sees cooking and baking without modern conveniences as their own adventure and creative expression. “Treehouse Letters: The Unabridged Michigan Forest Life Journal” includes entries about his art and his back-woods cooking … and many other things that one might think about while in a tree. 

 “Forest Legend: The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe”, Dan’s upcoming novel – his debut fiction piece written while sitting in his treehouse nest - brings experience from decades of life in the forest together with a rich understanding of mid-Michigan’s pioneer history and changing landscape. In this sweeping adventure, Dan explores the resilience of nature through the eyes of a majestic, time-traveling deer.

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Blog Tour: The Mind-Spirit Bible Practice

 

A Trauma-Informed DBT Inspired Guide to Renew the Mind & Spirit

Christian Living / Nonfiction / Spiritual Growth

Date Published: April 21, 2026

Publisher: Lucid Books Publishing

Are you a person of faith who loves God deeply but still feels overwhelmed by anxiety, shame, trauma, or emotions that seem too heavy, too human, or too unholy? Do you ever feel at conflict between your therapy and theology?

The Mind-Spirit Bible Practice was written for you.

In these pages, author and mental health advocate Nicole Doña bridges the gap between faith and psychology—showing how Scripture and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can work together to bring emotional and spiritual wholeness. Drawing from her own story of healing and resilience, she offers practical tools and biblical insight to help you regulate emotions through grace, find God’s presence in your pain, and live from “the mind of the Spirit” (Romans 8:6).

Whether you’re a believer, clinician, or ministry leader, this book is a resource for experiencing lasting healing—where emotional health and spiritual transformation finally become one.

 

 

Excerpt

I still remember the taste of that morning—oatmeal, coffee, and fear.

It was March 2015, my first day returning to work after six months on disability. I had just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. My first boyfriend since becoming a Christian—the one I trusted enough to tell—broke up with me over text when I shared my diagnosis. My psychiatrist was exploring different cocktails of medications that left me dizzy, sleepless, and hollow. I’d been laid off from a job I loved, creating youth-leadership programs for teens and young adults with trauma and schizophrenia. During those months, I sank into the couch and into despair, binge-watching The Walking Dead until I felt like a zombie myself.

When I finally accepted a temporary job at a real-estate firm—far from the purpose-filled career I’d hoped for—I thought I was starting over. But as I sat on my red couch that morning, oatmeal bowl in hand, I realized I was still just trying to survive.

My roommate slept, and her tiny chihuahua, “Coco,” snored on the floor. Everything looked peaceful. But inside, it was war.

“You’re disgusting.”

“No man will ever want you.”

“You used to be strong, now you’re weak.”

“God’s disappointed in you.”

The accusations came like waves until I could hardly breathe. My chest tightened, my legs buzzed with energy, my mind screamed RUN, though there was nowhere to go. I was sitting in safety, but my body and mind believed I was in danger. After all, wherever I could run, my mind would follow.

That’s when I began to understand: I wasn’t just battling a diagnosis. I was battling a divided mind.

One part—the Mind of the Flesh—was ruled by emotion without truth: shame, fear, and self-loathing disguised as repentance. Another—the voice of Worldly Wisdom—was ruled by logic without grace: perfectionism, control, and the illusion that if I could just understand myself, I could fix myself. And somewhere beneath both was a whisper I hadn’t yet learned to trust—the Mind of the Spirit—quiet but steady, saying, “Breathe. You are still here. I have not given up on you.”

At that time, I didn’t know how to describe these three voices. I just knew my mind was constantly at war with itself. Yet even in that chaos, I kept reaching for my Bible. I couldn’t always feel God in the words, but I knew I needed them like oxygen.

Every morning, I opened Scripture even when my heart felt numb, and my thoughts screamed louder than the gentle whispers of God’s Word. Sometimes I read only a few verses before I broke down crying. Other times, I clung to one line—reading it over and over and struggling to believe it.

The Bible wasn’t a comfort at first; it was an anchor. It didn’t stop the storm, but it kept me from floating away.

During that same season, I also began doing Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) modules once a week. Eventually, I would complete all of them over the course of 18 months. DBT gave me practical tools to help me observe, name, and navigate the emotional chaos I lived in daily.

One skill stood out above the rest: the concept of Wise Mind^[1]—the balanced place between Emotion Mind^[2] and Reason Mind, where both truth and feeling can coexist.

At first, I didn’t realize it, but what DBT called Wise Mind mirrored what Scripture was teaching me about the Mind of the Spirit. Both invited me to pause between reaction and response, to breathe, to notice, and to let truth—not fear—be my guide. Both taught me that peace wasn’t found in suppressing emotion or mastering logic, but in integrating them under something higher—what DBT called “wisdom,” and what the Bible called “the Spirit of Truth.”

---

[1] Wise Mind is a core concept in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), representing the balanced integration of emotion and reason. It is described as the “inner wisdom” available when a person is simultaneously aware, centered, and able to access both logic and emotion without being dominated by either (Linehan 2015).

[2] Emotion Mind in DBT is the state where feelings are intense, overwhelming, and often interpreted as facts. It is marked by impulsivity, reactivity, and difficulty accessing logic or long-term perspective (Linehan 2015).

 

About the Author

 

 Nicole Doña is a Christian author, nonprofit founder, and mental-health advocate passionate about integrating faith and psychology for emotional healing. She is the author of The Mind-Spirit Bible Practice—a groundbreaking guide that bridges Scripture and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to bring emotional and spiritual wholeness to believers, clinicians, and ministries alike. A brain tumor survivor, wife, and foster mom, Nicole writes from lived experience, weaving neuroscience, trauma recovery, and biblical wisdom into a practical framework for transformation. She has led policy reforms in San Francisco for system-involved youth, advanced statewide mental-health reforms across California, and collaborated with global brain-health leaders through the University of California, San Francisco. In 2015, she received a Certificate of Honor from the San Francisco City & County Board of Supervisors for her contributions to mental-health policy and advocacy. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Josh.

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PROMO: A Round of Golf with Jesus

 

Christian Inspirational / Devotional Nonfiction

Date Published: July 8th, 2026

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

Faith and golf have a way of humbling us. They both seem more complicated than they are and harder to master than we expect. PGA professional George Miller has discovered that each is meant to bring joy, peace, and grace rather than frustration.

In A Round of Golf with Jesus, Miller invites readers to walk nine holes beside him and Christ, exploring how simple shifts, on the course and in the heart, can lead to transformation. With gentle humor, Miller shares personal stories, devotional insights, and practical teachings to remind us we can find fulfillment when we let go of perfection.

If we trust God’s guidance and focus on being present, golf and life become far more rewarding.

 

About the Author

George Miller is a PGA teaching professional and lifelong athlete with over thirty years of coaching and instructional experience. A Denver native, he played four years of collegiate golf at the University of Colorado Boulder before coaching both the boys' and girls' golf teams at Regis Jesuit High School. The girls’ teams earned three state championships under his guidance, and he received multiple Coach of the Year honors from The Denver Post. Known for his encouraging teaching style and deep love of the game, George has helped countless players connect with the joy and simplicity of golf. In his debut book, A Round of Golf with Jesus, he offers heartfelt reflections on sport, faith, and the quiet ways in which God meets us on the course and in life. Of all his golf partners, his favorite is his son, with whom he shares many of his most meaningful rounds.

 

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PROMO: Amused and Amazed

 

LGBTQ+ Romance

Date Published: July 10, 2026

Publisher: Changeling Press

Laughter and love go together like peanut butter and chocolate for men in search of a tasty treat!

The Drag Queen of Faerie: The course of true love just won’t run smooth for hunk-next-door Will Taylor, who’s in search of that special someone. All that focused energy attracts the attention of Queen Mab’s less-well-known cousin Mabbey, the Drag Queen of the Faeries.

Valentine’s Vow: Friends and casual bed buddies Thom and Ryan don’t buy into the whole “true love” spiel. They have a good time together. Why would they want more? Luckily for this clueless pair, St. Valentine shows them how to appreciate a good thing when they’ve got it.

Independence Day: The boys are back -- and they’re at it again. Ryan and Thom have returned for some hot Fourth of July action, but their newfound romance may just hit the skids when it comes to coming out as a couple.

Straight Man and Coffee Guy: Straight Man is anything but. He just doesn’t have a sense of humor. And in a city with so many superheroes there’s no one left to rescue, his power is attracting the freaks -- like Coffee Guy from the diner across the road, who has the power of the never-ending cup. Misfits in a mad, mad, mad world, they’re pretty much perfect for each other.

 

Excerpt from Straight Man and Coffee Guy

Copyright ©2026 Will Okati

"So what would you say if I told you I was here to make every dream you've ever had come true?"

SM didn't even glance up from the magazine he was flipping through. Not that he'd been paying attention to the glossy pages. The skin magazine was designed for seriously lecherous and perverted types. Lots of pink, pouty things that kind of made his flesh want to shrivel up and his brain run away to hide. Still, better low-class reading material than none at all. Nothing else to do on the graveyard shift, was there?

"I'd ask if you were either AWOL from the City Genie conglomerate, wonder what you were selling, and pray you were the guy with the coffee I ordered --" he checked his watch -- "an hour ago."

"One out of three ain't bad." A cardboard tray smacked down on the hotel check-in counter. SM gladly abandoned his perusal of the so-called literature to reach up and grab a paper cup.

On his way, he spared a glance for the delivery boy. Not bad. Not bad at all. The kind of boy-next-door good looks that got his motor revving... or would if it weren't right around 3 a.m. Nothing short of an earthquake could get him excited enough to do much of anything this time of day.

He raised the lid and took a sip -- then choked. "This is cold!"

The delivery guy shrugged. "Well, you did it order a while back. Is it my fault it took this long to get away from the late-night crowd to bring the stuff over? And why did you order four cups, anyway? Have you got someone stashed under there?" He leaned over the counter, as if to check.

SM hastily knocked his magazine off into a trashcan. "No!"

"Come on, a hunk like you? There's someone under there." The coffee guy tilted up and over, resting his belly on the ledge, peeking. "Is that what I think -- no, just your shoe. Interesting. You dress like a wage slave drone, but those are some snappy sneakers."

"Sometimes I have to run to put out fires," SM replied dryly. Which was true enough. On more than one occasion, he had, especially when Combustion Man got too worked up. Oh, he didn't usually set more than the beds ablaze, but someone had to be quick on the draw with an extinguisher.

The truth was he wore the sneakers because they were comfortable, and it was one way of giving management the finger. Not that he'd admit it, of course, to a diner jockey.

He paused. "A hunk like me?"

"Well, yeah." Once he'd gotten up there, the coffee guy sat on the ledge, swinging his own sneakered feet back and forth. "You're a definite hottie. At least an eight on a scale of one to ten. Why do you think I waited to bring your coffee over myself?"

"To be annoying?"

"There is that," Coffee Guy agreed cheerfully. SM didn't see any harm in calling him that. It was neatly printed on his diner nametag, pinned crookedly on his tight-fitting T-shirt. "It's one of my better attributes."

"I'd hate to see the worse ones." SM took another sip of the brew. He blinked. "It's hotter."

"Thanks." Coffee Guy flexed his muscles. "I kind of thought so, myself."

"No, you dolt. I meant the coffee. It's not as cold anymore." SM took a careful sip and almost burned his tongue. He looked up accusingly. "Okay, give. How'd you do that?"

Coffee Guy shrugged. "It's a city full of real comic book heroes, right? Just about everyone and their brother has some kind of freaky power. I have dominion over the almighty bean, blessed be the name of Java. Behold." He pointed at SM's cup, which refilled the slight distance back up to the lid. "Talk about your never-ending pot."

"You're kidding me." SM drank again. "How'd you get a sweet talent like that?"

"As if it's special." Coffee Guy snorted. He started to flick through the check-in register. "All it gets me is the graveyard shift at a hotel diner. Or is this a motel? I can never keep it straight."

"Hotel. They have hallways and doors that open from the inside. Motels open onto the street."

"You learn something new every day."

"Keeps the brain active." SM peered at the cardboard tray with his other three, now steaming, cups of coffee. "Do you have the ability to summon cream and sugar as well?"

"Somehow I knew you'd be the kind of guy who had a sweet tooth." CG grinned at SM and reached into his pockets. "Wasn't room on the tray, but I came through in the clinch."

"Oh, God. You're an angel." SM groaned in pleasure as he cracked open two still-cool plastic cup-ettes of condensed milk and poured them in his cup. The sugar came next: three packets. "Swizzle stick?"

"They're not called swizzle sticks, moron."

SM cut CG a sharp look. "Oh, yeah? What's the right name, then?"

"Hell if I know." CG swung his legs a few more times while SM fixed his coffee to his pleasure. He even whistled a few bars of a tune, pretty badly off-key. In the middle of a bar, just as SM was recognizing the melody, he broke off to say, casually, "I kind of figured you to be the kind of guy who likes cream."

About the Author

Willa Okati (AKA Will) is made of many things: imagination, coffee, stray cat hairs, daydreams, more coffee, kitchen experimentation, a passion for winter weather, a little more coffee, a whole lot of flowering plants and a lifelong love of storytelling. Will's definitely one of the quiet ones you have to watch out for, though he -- not she anymore -- is a lot less quiet these days.

 

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Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

 

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