Despite living in free-spirited New Orleans, Elliot finds that his career as an insurance actuary has him constantly weighing the risks of every move he makes in his life. When Troy, his teenage crush, returns home to the Big Easy after a stint with the Marines and unexpectedly announces he's gay, Elliot must decide if he's willing to take a chance and find out if men really can do romance. Also by Michael Holloway Perronne: A Time Before Me Falling Into Me A Time Before Us Starstruck: A Hollywood Saga Embrace the Rain For more information on Michael, please visit www.michaelhperronne.com.

In the follow-up to "A Time Before Me" and "Falling Into Me," Michael Holloway Perronne explores how family is determined not by the blood that flows through us but by the love in our hearts. Mason and Joey, a gay couple in their mid-thirties, have spent the past five years in post-Katrina New Orleans trying to keep Savannah's, a drag queen cabaret and family legacy, alive amid challenging times. When the beloved French Quarter institution is threatened with closure, Mason and Joey are left questioning not just their relationship but also their life purposes. Friends find themselves soul-searching, too. Katie, an Asian-American lesbian, has always struggled to feel part of her adopted traditional Southern family. Can her new partner in life, Catherine, help her bridge the gap and open her heart to her parents? Former lothario Billy Harris is unexpectedly drawn back to New Orleans after experiencing a turning point in Los Angeles. What will happen when fate finds him crossing paths with Mason, the old flame he badly betrayed? Drag queen extraordinaire Miss Althea reminisces about the sometimes painful path she took as a little boy in Three Rivers, Alabama, to her true birth on the stage of Savannah's. Does she have it in her power to be the one to save the cabaret for a new generation? Discover in "A Time Before Us" that life's dilemmas are best solved when you finally listen to your heart and become honest with yourself - and those you love.

In the sequel to A Time Before Me, Mason Hamilton starts his thirties off in what he considers a great place in life; a successful photography career in San Francisco, close friends, and a cute live-in boyfriend. Just when he thinks things can't get any better everything rapidly falls apart when his old high school friend and crush, Billy Harris, pays a surprise and turmoil filled visit. Now feeling confused and directionless, Mason travels back home to the New Orleans French Quarter to attend his Aunt Savannah's wedding. It's there in the decadent and live-and-let-live Big Easy that Mason begins to reconnect with old friends, family-and perhaps finally even himself. When Mason gets the opportunity to rekindle a romance from his teenage years with the guy he's never been able to forget, Joey, he wonders is it possible to recapture young love twelve years later?

In this poignant coming-of-age novel, a gay teen struggles to find his identity in the contrasting worlds of rural Mississippi and the big city of New Orleans. Growing up in a small Mississippi town in the early 1990s, shy and inexperienced Mason spends much of his time with his best friend and secret childhood crush, the charming and daring Billy. When a six-pack of beer leads to a passionate encounter between the two teenagers, Mason believes his dreams may have finally come true. Billy's apparent disregard for the incident, however, leaves Mason feeling confused and betrayed. When Billy slips off to glamorous New York City immediately after high school graduation, Mason fears he's doomed to spend another humid Mississippi summer scooping ice cream. But Mason's life changes dramatically when vivacious Aunt Savannah invites him to live with her in New Orleans and work in the box office of her drag queen cabaret. It's there-in the decadent and liberating French Quarter-that Mason begins to fall for Joey, a strikingly handsome and sweet nineteen-year-old, who may just be ready to open his heart to someone new. A surprise visit from Billy hints that he may be ready to return Mason's feelings, and Mason faces a difficult choice. With the help of his spirited aunt and a sassy drag queen, Miss Althea, Mason learns that sometimes it's best to roll life's dice and take a chance.