Hello
I hope you find the Queer Coffee stories uplifting. Even in todays connected world it is easy to feel that you are the only one facing the challenges of growing up gay or uncertain. My hope is that through these stories you will see that others have trod this path before you and more importantly that you are not alone. While all of the characters are fictitious, their experiences are not. Good luck on your journey or more correctly voyage of discovery!
Biography
Born just outside London, after completing high school Neil at age sixteen left home and moved
to Africa, where he lived for the next twenty years, before emigrating to Canada. Working in the
automotive industry for most of his career, he retired in 2021. His work took him to seventeen countries
including South, Central and East Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia, China, Japan and Brazil, and he lived
briefly in both Mexico and China, all of which exposed him to a wide range of cultures that helped shape
his world view.
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Neil continued his studies after completing college in Africa. In Canada he completed a number
of courses at the University of Toronto and George Washington University. He has a wide and eclectic
range of Interests including history, political science, psychology, philosophy and anything that has a
bearing on the social conditions which shape who we are today.
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Neil started writing in the late seventies and was published in a number of specialty transport
magazines. In 2010 he went on to work on a collection of poems, drawing upon life’s daily challenges
and the loss of his second wife. Which eventually led to several novels and short stories including the
“Queer Coffee” series and “Why” a story of the struggles facing trans youths today. These are the latest
in a series of short stories and essays devoted to the journey we all take, and particularly the challenges
faced navigating early adulthood.
Neil has been married three times and in 2020 came out as gay. Today he is happily married to
Alex. Together they share seven children and seventeen grandchildren. When not travelling, he spends
his time between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Walnut Creek in California.
