A Gay Romantic's Novel (Paperback)

Stu Wiggins was gay, a professor whose career and sexual orientation often conflicted and caused him anguish. He shared his troubled life story with me and our mutual friend and classmate, Gil Danforth, via a correspondence of letters that spanned many years.

Stu rejected life in his native Midwest and spent most of his adult life on the coasts of the country. I found his letters to be intensely sensitive and vivid in expressing the beauty surrounding him, the challenges of his profession as an educator, and the struggles of a person with an alternative sexual and emotional lifestyle.

I had always anticipated that Stu would eventually become a successful author, but he died prematurely of undisclosed causes before this could happen. His letters show the development and promise of a great writer. I publish them here, a fragmented, fascinating story of a person whose life choices resulted in his inability to achieve the success he so hoped for.

"A Gay Romantic's Novel" is a derivative work of his writing, a tribute to a friend with a life of struggles many others now face, have faced, or will face. May this work serve as a source of comfort to those who face the challenges of life.