
Dear Author, This beautiful sleepy young man looks like he could use a sweet awakening. Photo Description: A black/white photo of the head and torso of a beautiful teenage boy sleeping up against the right wall. He wears dark jeans and a white tank-top. His (dyed?) blonde hair is just a touch long, but not quite in his eyes, just above dark eyebrows and long eyelashes. This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Hot Summer Days" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. Read the story here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 4 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition. __________ Genre: contemporary Tags: gay m/m, college, barely-legal, established-couple, coming-out, in-the-closet, reunited Word Count: 6,118
Author

You will know Eden Winters by her distinctive white plumage and exuberant cry of “Hey, y’all!” in a Southern US drawl so thick it renders even the simplest of words unrecognizable. Watch out, she hugs! Driven by insatiable curiosity, she possibly holds the world’s record for curriculum changes to the point that she’s never quite earned a degree but is a force to be reckoned with at Trivial Pursuit. She’s trudged down hallways with police detectives, learned to disarm knife-wielding bad guys, and witnessed the correct way to blow doors off buildings. Her e-mail contains various snippets of forensic wisdom, such as “What would a dead body left in a Mexican drug tunnel look like after six months?” In the process of her adventures, she has written over twenty-six gay romance novels, lost count of novellas and short stories, has won Rainbow Awards, was a Lambda Awards Finalist, and lives in terror of authorities showing up at her door to question her Internet searches. When not putting characters in dangerous situations she’s cosplaying for children's charities or hanging out at the farm being a mother, grandmother, and vegetarian. Her natural habitats are coffee shops and on the backs of motorcycles.