A story about love and its opposite, where love wins.

Liam is fourteen. Until lately, he's been happy. No one understands the change. His parents are worried. His teachers have given up. His friends are dropping him one by one. No longer interested in the world, he spends his time plugged in and shut off. But he does what he's told and answers when spoken to, while sinking into the lowest profile he can find.

After many interventions, all unsuccessful, his mother, Ruth, has an idea. Why not send him to spend the summer with her two favorite uncles? The trip will be long. He'll be going alone. But she hopes that the new surroundings will help him break out of his shell. They call it a vacation, but it's really a last resort.

The story starts here. Happy together, Bill, a seasoned high school teacher, and Anton, a health care professional, welcome Liam into their home. They're ready to do anything for him, but unprepared for how difficult that turns out to be.

But Bill persists. With the help of a few of his students who joyfully lighten the load, he works to find the boy he once knew. But Liam's not alone in his tortured mind. Unknown to anyone, including him, a monster lurks inside.

Yet, no matter the challenge, love will prevail because it weaves its way through every thread of the story: the romantic love between Bill and Anton; the growing affection between Bill and Liam; the maternal bond between Ruth and Liam, and the eternal friendship between Bill and Ruth.

Please note. Bill & The Kid contains scenes of sex between men, but contains no descriptions of what happened to Liam. Whatever happened, happened before. The past is the past. The future is now.

Bill & The Kid

Out October 1, 2026

A Queer Family. A Troubled Child. A Secret. A Crime.

More books by Patrick Doyle

By the way —

When writing Bill & The Kid, I hadn't thought that the title may resonate somewhere else. But when the book was uploaded to Amazon and Goodreads and the rest, the algorithms caught it right away.

Topping the results was every single book ever written about Billy the Kid, the cowboy outlaw. That's why we added the subtitle, which makes searching easy.

Just add the word 'Queer' to the title and the book will pop up right away.

Copyright 2026 Patrick Doyle. All rights reserved.