Hello Love Bytes readers! I am excited to introduce you to the characters in my new novel The Year of the Cock. It is a story about a man named Jon who is afraid of love and commitment. He surrounds himself with happy couples in various states of marital bliss to help fill the hole in his heart that he eternally denies. Jon is a flawed person, but he is a great friend and they all love him unconditionally.

Writing gay fiction was not really what I thought I would be doing with my life. I mean, its not too far from it but sometimes feels like a world away. Musical theatre paid my bills for over fifteen years. I have performed in all 50 of the states and a couple other countries. When I decided that high kicks had to be a thing of my past, I started writing plays. Being a gay man, the plays that I wrote were about people like me. Writing for gay protagonists was a natural fit as that was my world view. Romance… not so much.

I was never a romantic. I approached dating almost clinically until I met the man I now call husband. I think that’s why the character of Jon was so intriguing to me. This book is not autobiographical at all but Jons ability to deflect relationships is something that we share. Like I said until I finally fell in love. I have been with my husband for 16 years and I am proud to say I now understand romantic notions. I think they are wonderful. And he is a true romantic at heart. Its adorable.

When I sit down to write, the most important thing for me is to understand and know my characters. I have their wants, desires and fears ingrained into me before I ever write one word of the story. I believe that characters in a book or a play need to be real. They should remind us of people that we know and love and even hate. When I first thought about writing this book, I approached the world through Jons eyes. It was a first person narrative and I hated it. He came across unlikeable and I thought about scrapping the book altogether.

Then I thought about all of the people he had in his life. All of these vibrant characters who loved him, forgave him and wanted more for him and I decided to approach the book in a different direction. I would have his friends tell his story. They are the narrators of the events that unfold around them. They are his champions. It’s a form of gossip, of dishing the dirt to one friend about another one. It worked and The Year of the Cock is now out into the world.

It is definitely not your normal romance story. The style and concept is something rarely seen in a romance book and I am very proud of the novel I have created. I do hope you give it a try and that you enjoy it. Happy reading!

Jon seems to have it all. He is a social butterfly that always has a place to go, things to do, and people to constantly surround him. The one thing he’s missing is someone to truly love. How can he love someone else when he doesn’t like the person staring back at him in the mirror?


He is that magical being that no one chooses to be, the third wheel. He has filled his life with happy couples, in various states of married bliss, that fills the hole in his heart with the acceptance and understanding he secretly craves.


Told by the people who know him best, The Year Of The Cock, is a year in the growth of their best friend, Jon. Can he learn to love, to open himself up to the messy truth of relationships? Will he finally become the person he has tried to repress his entire adult life or will the year-end with him stuck in the status quo of his gay bachelorhood?

Shane K Morton lives in Studio City, CA with his husband Jody and their fur baby Slayer. His first novel, The Trouble With Off-Campus Housing was published in 2016. When not writing, Shane can be found at a film festival or performing cabaret somewhere in a dark dive bar in LA.

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