Looks Are Deceiving: A Will Christian Mystery by Bill VanPatten is a brilliant mystery novel about hate crimes. A forty-nine-year-old Latino gay man, Will Christian, discovers a dead body during a routine bike ride in late June. Will recently moved to Mañana to start a...

There Go I is a short story collection by Bill VanPatten. The book opens with the titular tale "There Go I," where a man observes a cantankerous old woman at a grocery store who reminds him of his childhood abuse. "Leaving" is the story of...

The painful childhood memories of a mother addicted to alcohol and a father who became unavailable when he was needed most have turned Arnie Violet into a docile pacifist. He avoids all forms of confrontation both at home and especially at work, keeping to himself...

Refuge by Bill VanPatten is a sweet, timely account of life for a young woman in a conservative West Texas town where her parents and grandparents are deeply religious and determined to keep young Gloria from a lifestyle they consider will “send her straight to...