From Charcoal Dust: Two Young Adults Redefining What it Means to be Family - A coming-of-age story about a transgender man learning to navigate an unforgiving world.

For Leo, the football field is the only place where the noise of the world fades into the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. As a transgender man navigating the grueling expectations of college athletics and the crushing weight of societal judgment, Leo has spent years curating a life of solitude. He is a master of keeping people at a distance, preferring the company of his charcoal sketches to the vulnerability of human connection. Everything shifts when he meets Jax, a teammate whose easy confidence and unwavering loyalty challenge Leo to lower his guard. What begins as a tentative friendship fueled by shared drills and late-night study sessions slowly transforms into a profound, life-altering romance. In the high-stakes environment of collegiate sports, where performance is everything and authenticity is often sacrificed for the team, Leo and Jax must decide if their bond is worth the risk of being seen. This is a story about the messy, beautiful process of choosing your own family when the one you were born into fails you. It captures the raw ache of growing up and the quiet, revolutionary act of claiming your own identity. Heartfelt and deeply human, this novel celebrates the courage it takes to love without reservation.