Fireflies & Fortunes is a novella of 17,500 words that delivers a slow-burn contemporary romance with LGBTQ+ themes and psychological depth. Set in the quirky spiritualist town of Cassadaga, Florida, this friends-to-lovers story follows Roxie—a gender-neutral woman who reads tarot and hosts a late-night radio show—and Dante, a male tailor who embraces gender-nonconforming fashion and dramatic self-expression. Surrounding them are Oscar, a glamorous drag queen, and Eli, a quiet gay man still healing from a controlling family. Perfect for readers who crave mutual pining, denial, and the agonizing realization that "it's just a spiritual connection" is the biggest lie two terrified hearts can tell themselves.

*

Roxie reads tarot for strangers but refuses to read her own heart, while Dante paints on bold eyeliner and bolder costumes because the real person underneath was once told he was "too much" and abandoned.

When they keep meeting through Cassadaga's queer community—Oscar the drag queen, Eli the gentle survivor—the attraction is electric and absolutely terrifying. So they call it a "spiritual journey." Just karma. Just energy. Just two souls learning something before moving on.

They kiss in a firefly-lit pet cemetery, touch in an abandoned seance chapel, and give in to passion in Dante's loft—all while whispering about fate, anything to avoid admitting they're falling in love.

But when a fortune teller's prophecy cuts straight to Dante's deepest wound—you'll never keep them, they'll leave once they see the real you—his old terror ruptures everything. He pulls away, cancels plans, builds walls so high even Roxie can't reach him.

The confrontation is brutal: Roxie accuses him of being nothing but a lesson; Dante fires back that she hides behind tarot and spiritual bypassing because she's too afraid to want something real.

Now both are shattered—Roxie retreating to her camper, Dante watching her leave town, knowing he caused the very loss he feared. Can two people so skilled at spiritual avoidance finally stop running?

*

“Fireflies & Fortunes” is for every queer reader who's ever used "it's just a phase" or "we're just connecting spiritually" to avoid admitting they're falling in love. Fireflies & Fortunes exposes spiritual bypassing for what it is—a beautiful, seductive way to stay safe while your heart starves. With its fierce drag queen wisdom, gentle found family healing, and two protagonists who must learn that being seen is more terrifying—and more worth it—than any fortune teller's prophecy, this novella delivers the emotional gut-punch romance readers crave. Because sometimes the bravest thing you can do isn't reading the cards—it's putting them down and finally saying what you mean.

Read Online:

• Free Sample.

• Firefies & Fortunes (Complete)