Spread Your Wings

Sarajevo, 1992: Journalist Sammy Connelly finally gets his big break when an international news network sends him to crumbling Yugoslavia to cover escalating tensions. Alone in a strange country, Sammy is unprepared for the isolation of his assignment and scandal back home. The only bright spot is his conversations with Mumu, the charming hotel clerk who shares Sammy’s love for the greatest rock band of all time, Queen, and maybe loves Sammy too.

Mustafa hides his otherness in plain sight. His Muslim faith doesn’t accept him. Most of his family has disowned him. He even changes his name so American tourists feel more comfortable around him. He knows there’s more to life than living in fear, especially when the war starts. When he meets Sammy, he wants it all, including somebody to love.
Sammy’s inquisitive nature allows Mustafa to open up about music, his past, and dreams for the future. Will their budding relationship survive their escape from war-torn Sarajevo, or will their disparate cultures keep them apart?

Spread Your Wings is a 1990s M/M romance with snark, spice, and a happily ever after for two versatile gay men: a reporter on his first job and a hotel clerk who yearns for the freedom to be himself. This romance spans the globe, from Sarajevo to London to Atlanta, and touches on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, religious acceptance, and the struggles of living in a war-torn country.