As most of you must know, June is Pride Month! The month to celebrate everyone from the LGBTQ+ community and show them support. It’s a month where we address our misconceptions and our prejudice and our ignorance and allow ourselves to learn and grow alongside a fantastic community.

Self-acceptance is a massive theme in The Luke Bright Series, so here’s a warning as things will get spoilery.

STOP NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS!

For those of who have read it, you will know that in A Long Lost Time, the matter of Marco’s sexuality is a big topic for discussion. Marco is homosexual but he hasn’t come out and is terrified and ashamed of doing so because his father walked out on him because of it and would never accept him. It was this moment from his teenage years that shaped him into who he became in the books. He felt he had to keep his sexuality a secret, but yet he was extremely resentful of having to do so. Despite getting married to a woman and having a family, and numerous affairs with women, there was one man who he wanted to be with. Adam Wicks. Yet, Adam was in a similar position – he hadn’t come out and had a family and children, and the two plotted to find a way to be together. Unfortunately, this plan ended up using Luke in an extremely deadly way.

And while I know there will be people who misinterpret the reason why Marco’s the villain, I hope people will understand the reasoning behind it. Because Marco isn’t a villain because he’s gay, he’s a villain because he was never allowed to be gay, and I want young people, and their families, to understand why it’s so important to be able to be yourself. The dangers it can do by remaining in hiding and not being allowed to accept who you are. I wanted people to see what it did to Marco and realise, if that’s what happened to them, they could end up in a similar position.

Because the way I see it, the book series, shows two paths – and it’s a technique I’ve used before when trying to make decisions about my own future. You have Luke who, despite struggling to come to terms with and struggling with it, decides to follow his beliefs and step away from a prejudiced society and in the end, is fully committed to fighting the Atlantic Split. Or you have Marco who pandered to what society wanted him to be and he never allowed himself to be free and it made him angry, resentful and really damaged him. And even though Luke’s story isn’t one of coming out, I hope people will see that analogy and realise, it could actually be about anything – it’s about being you. Accepting yourself. Being free to be who you are.

And I know for most people, it isn’t easy. One thing I heard this month that really stuck with me, was the singer Troye Sivan telling young people that before they come out, they need to make sure they’re in a safe position. That’s really important because if you end up in a worrying situation it could end up going badly. So talk to a close friend, a helpline, someone who you can trust – a teacher for example. And don’t ever feel like a failure if you feel you’re too scared or worried to come out. Everything needs to be on your own terms.

I just hope that my book series can help people stand up for what they believe in and who they want to be. After all, it’s a tale of self-acceptance more than anything else. And at the end, Luke does confront Marco and encourages him to be come out and be proud of who he is. That’s really important for the two of them.

So, whilst at first it may seem like the villain is the villain because he’s gay – and if that ever come across, take this as my absolute answer that it was NEVER the case. Marco’s horrific actions don’t happen because he’s gay, it’s because of the damage being unable to come out has done to him, I truly can’t stress that enough. However, if that does raise questions please contact me and we can discuss it, because it’s all well and good me saying that, but if it does cause issues, then I want to know so I can learn from them.

But I just hope that this month can help inspire young people to really embrace who they are, celebrate it and be proud, and helps them feel happier in their own skin, knowing that there are other people out there who have gone before them. And I hope that someday everyone will be able to feel that way and that the prejudice surrounding sexuality finally disappears.

The Luke Bright Series is out now! The Signs Are Coming will be released in September 2021. Please follow me on my blog and social media links below. Thank you once again for taking the time to read this blog post.

N.A.K.