London, 1888. As the British pound rises and the empire celebrates its prosperity, the streets of Whitechapel tell a far darker story—one of poverty, violence, and fear, where Jack the Ripper stalks the night and women vanish without warning.

High above the chaos lives Viola, hidden away in a tower that serves as both sanctuary and prison. Born Vincent, she fled her family to live according to her true nature, long before there were words to describe the anguish of gender dysphoria. With no guidance, no resources, and no protection, Viola survives as best she can in a world that offers her little mercy.

Drawn into the control of a dangerous benefactor, Viola is forced into a life catering to powerful men with particular desires, valued only for what she can provide, never for who she is. As the women around her fall victim to the Ripper, Viola becomes haunted by a terrifying question: if she were cut open, would the secret of her identity be found within her—and would that truth be the very thing that condemns her?

When she dares to fall in love with one of her patrons, a fragile hope emerges. He promises escape, a future far from the blood-soaked streets of London. Faced with the choice to flee or be destroyed, Viola risks everything for the chance to live openly, love freely, and exist in the light as herself.

The Violets Beneath is a haunting exploration of identity, survival, and forbidden hope, giving voice to the countless lives buried beneath history, whose stories were never allowed to bloom.

London, 1888. As the British pound rises and the empire celebrates its prosperity, the streets of Whitechapel tell a far darker story—one of poverty, violence, and fear, where Jack the Ripper stalks the night and women vanish without warning.

High above the chaos lives Viola, hidden away in a tower that serves as both sanctuary and prison. Born Vincent, she fled her family to live according to her true nature, long before there were words to describe the anguish of gender dysphoria. With no guidance, no resources, and no protection, Viola survives as best she can in a world that offers her little mercy.

Drawn into the control of a dangerous benefactor, Viola is forced into a life catering to powerful men with particular desires, valued only for what she can provide, never for who she is. As the women around her fall victim to the Ripper, Viola becomes haunted by a terrifying question: if she were cut open, would the secret of her identity be found within her—and would that truth be the very thing that condemns her?

When she dares to fall in love with one of her patrons, a fragile hope emerges. He promises escape, a future far from the blood-soaked streets of London. Faced with the choice to flee or be destroyed, Viola risks everything for the chance to live openly, love freely, and exist in the light as herself.

The Violets Beneath is a haunting exploration of identity, survival, and forbidden hope, giving voice to the countless lives buried beneath history, whose stories were never allowed to bloom.

London, 1888. As the British pound rises and the empire celebrates its prosperity, the streets of Whitechapel tell a far darker story—one of poverty, violence, and fear, where Jack the Ripper stalks the night and women vanish without warning.

High above the chaos lives Viola, hidden away in a tower that serves as both sanctuary and prison. Born Vincent, she fled her family to live according to her true nature, long before there were words to describe the anguish of gender dysphoria. With no guidance, no resources, and no protection, Viola survives as best she can in a world that offers her little mercy.

Drawn into the control of a dangerous benefactor, Viola is forced into a life catering to powerful men with particular desires, valued only for what she can provide, never for who she is. As the women around her fall victim to the Ripper, Viola becomes haunted by a terrifying question: if she were cut open, would the secret of her identity be found within her—and would that truth be the very thing that condemns her?

When she dares to fall in love with one of her patrons, a fragile hope emerges. He promises escape, a future far from the blood-soaked streets of London. Faced with the choice to flee or be destroyed, Viola risks everything for the chance to live openly, love freely, and exist in the light as herself.

The Violets Beneath is a haunting exploration of identity, survival, and forbidden hope, giving voice to the countless lives buried beneath history, whose stories were never allowed to bloom.

To Never See Heaven opens with the protagonist, Antony
Shrader, agonizing over his decision to write a commencement speech traditionally given by his husband. This year is different. His lover is dying. In order to bring himself to do this speech, Antony must look back at the pages of his own life that have brought him to fulfill this duty. After all, a commencement is not the end. It is the beginning.

Antony’s story begins as a gay teenager born into privilege.
However, Antony’s sensitive nature and unresolved traumas had
convinced him that he had lived a past life as a suffering poet. He
believed that the inevitable separation from his family and their elitist world was his chance to redeem himself from beyond a world he knew. Antony could not shake these feelings of his fated doom and loneliness. To escape this void, he would flee to study in Paris, either to rise to the true destiny of his life or to lay down his body where he felt the true origins of his spirit had been conceived. There, Antony would fall in love, but while his heart and mind flourished in Paris, his body and spirit would succumb to addiction; the demons of his past life came to haunt him. In the process of trying to outrun himself, his fall into the darkness inevitably brings him to humility and true healing. There he found what he had needed most, his own love and acceptance.