When the Lights Come Up

A steamy, coming of age romance cloaked in memoir.

Brandon’s youth was colored by excess; by music and Ecstasy and casual sex. He found freedom in the late-night indulgence of New York City in the nineties, a sense of abandon he wasn’t able to grasp growing up in a religious household on Long Island in the eighties.

But nostalgia paints a pretty picture, and the rosy masterpiece of Brandon’s memory is stained with brushstrokes of neglect, betrayal, tragedy, and loss. Even after moving south to start a new life in Atlanta, finding a new family on the way, torment followed him.

Now he’s on the brink of forty, hurtling into a midlife crisis he has no idea how to navigate. He’s jaded and ambivalent, unable to pinpoint exactly when his life became so boring.

Until Matti bumps into Brandon—literally—while they’re walking their dogs.

Matti is intriguing. He’s attractive and confident. He has his shit together and a cute accent. He’s a decade older and he’s lived Brandon’s adventure, unlike the flighty, young guys Brandon’s grown accustomed to hooking up with.

The two embark on a whirlwind romance even while Brandon’s trepidation causes him to falter. Matti wants a future with Brandon; he wants to show him life can still be fun, that they can still dance like they used to. But history has clouded Brandon’s judgment. Trust doesn’t come easily, and a simple misunderstanding might implode their burgeoning relationship.

Unsure if he can shed the skin of his storied past to allow himself to be loved, Brandon stumbles through vivid flashbacks that give color to the way he sees the world around him. Will those recollections, along with Brandon’s propensity for self-sabotage, push Matti away, even if Matti might forever change Brandon’s outlook on life?