Don't Push Me - Just Released - December, 2023
Inspired by true events, “Don’t Push Me” is an intergenerational saga of gay romance and the shame that cripples it. On a ski vacation in the Alps, Elliott discovers that the owners of the inn where he is staying are the descendants of a physician who took care of his grandfather, a prisoner during World War 1. Elliott falls under the spell of Max, who, like his great grandfather, is haunted by an intractable sense of sexual shame. Characters grapple with an existential question – whether their sexual desires are a madness corrupting the soul or a grace nudging them toward authenticity. The narrative goes back and forth between World War 1, the 1960s, and 2007, underscoring the historical context of sexual identity and expression. The story explores the parallel worlds we inhabit and the people that invite us to cross borders. Echoing ancient poets and philosophers, the book celebrates the enchantment of the Jungfrau region of Switzerland, a place where spirits hide in the upper reaches of glacier-studded peaks and inspire mortals to grow wings and soar.
Love Unearthed
Two Roman university students, Luca and Donato, spot each other in front of an ancient Christian sarcophagus in the Vatican Museums – one that depicts Jesus as a magician. They both feel a mysterious and deep attraction for each other – one that ignites a passionate relationship set against the backdrop of Italian cultural politics. Donato struggles to come out in the face of antipathy from his father, a politician. And Luca must grapple with lingering wounds and self-doubts from an earlier relationship. The story celebrates the erotic tension of young romance in magnificent settings – Rome with its art and archaeology – and Provincetown with its galleries, restaurants, and the parade of handsome men on Commercial Street and at Boys Beach. The fast-paced plot offers a window into the dynamics of new and established relationships, as Luca’s gay dads — Oliver and Giancarlo — face tests in their own marriage. Everything comes to a climax as people gather to celebrate Oliver’s mothers’ 50th anniversary in Ptown. Anna’s and Rita’s wisdom and affection guide their family and offer a reminder of the chrysalis of time and love. The story is part of a larger saga recounted in the books Oliver and Henry, and A Roman Spell. The narrative weaves together romance, art, history, archaeology, and magic for a rich and mesmerizing read.
A Collision in Quebec
On his way to meet friends at Winter Carnival in Quebec City, Brian wrecks his car in a snowstorm. The incident precipitates an interesting collision of cultures – Brian’s gay secular world - and the conservative Muslim one of the garage owners in Sherbrooke. One of the owners agrees to drive Brian to Quebec City only to get stranded with him as the winter storm intensifies. Later in the week, the owner’s handsome nephew, Omar, delivers Brian’s car. Omar and Brian experience instant sexual attraction, setting in motion a chain reaction of passion, self-discovery, and international intrigue linking Quebec, Morocco, and Boston. Will Omar sacrifice his own sexual identity for a lucrative job in Morocco? Can he evade the sentinels of Islamic tradition as he seeks to balance career and passion? Brian faces his own demons as he finds himself drawn to Omar. Can he trust love again? How does he extract himself from a curious encounter with US intelligence? Can Brian and Omar cross borders or will they remain entrenched in vastly different worlds, repeating history? This fast-paced and erotically charged romance weaves together rich descriptions of Quebec, Boston, and Morocco. Michael Hartwig imagines characters that mirror our own age as they seek to forge a new culture of inclusion and respect. The story offers a glimpse into colliding worlds and the transformation that ensues.
Our Roman Pasts
This is a hauntingly beautiful story of two men whose pasts collide in Rome – an artist and a professor who discover more in common than just their love of archaeology. Our Roman Pasts celebrates the allure of raw physical beauty – the elemental attraction of light, color, and form – and the carnal desire of the human body with its unique language, drawing two people inescapably together. In meeting, Julian and Bruno must face their pasts to heal and move forward. The tale is a tour de force – a penetrating exploration of sexual identity amidst iconic sites in Rome, Ostia Antica, and Capri. A feast of art, food, land, the body, and love. This is gay fiction at its best.
Old Vines
Patrick, cleaning out his parents’ house after their deaths, discovers an old photo of his grandfather arm in arm with another man, their shirtless torsos gleaming in the Italian sun on the edge of the family vineyard. The photo stirs curiosity and restlessness as Patrick, nursing wounds from a failed relationship, travels to the Amalfi Coast to connect with his family and uncover the truth about his grandfather. Patrick’s ancestral quest bares family secrets and arouses passion as he falls under the spell of the handsome men who tend the vines, serve tourists, and fish the waters off the stunning coastline. Michael Hartwig uses his skills as an author to tell a steamy tale that spans generations and asks tough questions about sexual identity, love, and traditions in one of the most picturesque parts of Italy.
Oliver and Henry
Oliver, raised by a lesbian couple in Boston, goes to Rome during a summer break from college to meet his biological father. Their long-anticipated meeting forces each to face deep and complex questions about their sexual identity in the shadows of the Vatican. Intrigue abounds as Oliver falls in love with a handsome Roman man. Their sudden and all-consuming relationship sets in motion a series of twists and turns, some fortuitous and others tragic. The plot unfolds against Roman history and the art and patrimony of the Church – with magnificent descriptions of each. The book is a touching story of love and an insightful exploration of Catholic views on sexuality and whether the Catholic Church can change or not.
A Roman Spell
This sequel to the book "Oliver and Henry" follows the story of a young gay couple in Rome who discover that their son, Luca, has special abilities – magical ones – and is connected to a past life, to a person who lived in their house during the 1500s. Through the discovery of a cardinal's journal and the grimoire (a book of magic) of his resident scholar, pieces of a puzzle come together, and karmic justice paid. This compelling story - based, in part, on actual historical events - takes seriously the modern search for new models of spirituality and family – particularly parenting by same-sex couples. It explores contemporary evidence regarding psychic phenomena and seeks to formulate coherent theories about them. The story takes place in Rome, Milan, and Courmayeur in the Italian Alps. The title - A Roman Spell - refers not just to the magical abilities of Luca but to the enchantment of life in Italy - to beautiful medieval town centers, to a slower and richer pace of life, and to the cuisine and culture that make Rome so special. "A Roman Spell" is an invitation to explore Roman, Greek, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim mysticism - to recognize the depth and mystery of human existence that we often overlook. This is a tale of another age and a story about our own! Enjoy!
Crossing Borders
The ski slopes of the Swiss Alps are the backdrop for this steamy gay love story. Bernard travels from Boston to Grindelwald to put the pieces of his life back together after a painful divorce and career change. He meets a local couple who inspire him to cross borders he had never anticipated. Bernard discovers that his past wasn’t what it seemed, and this liberates him to embrace a new identity and set of relationships. This unconventional coming-out story challenges traditional gender and marriage categories with unexpected twists and turns including a little Swiss spy intrigue. You’ll fall in love with the winter Alpine setting, exhilarating runs down the slopes, enchanting après-ski activities, and the magic of two mature lives that cross paths, stirring passion and love.
Forthcoming - Winter 2024 - Tránsito Seville
Miguel Martin goes to Seville in search of his ancestry. He is plagued by a blood disease that runs in Sephardic Jewish families. He is estranged from his birth father who abandoned him and his mother when it was discovered he had Beta Thalassemia, protesting that Miguel couldn’t be his son. While in Seville, he has an anemic episode and ends up in the care of Carla Reyes who is a transwoman. Miguel uncovers curious information about his father and the ancestors who left Seville for Mexico. Moreover, Miguel who has always considered himself gay, struggles with mounting affection for Carla, confounding his sexual identity. In the end, armed with new information about his ancestry and undeniable feelings for Carla, Miguel must decide whether to return to Mexico and the life he has always known or remain in Seville and embrace a new identity. The story takes place during the rich pageantry of Holy Week in Seville – with its enchanting processions and traditions rooted in a fiercely devout Catholic culture dating back to the 1500s when expeditions were sent from the city to colonize Mexico and secretly practicing Jews were hunted by the Inquisition and expelled in order to form a pure Catholic society.
Roman Bonds Trilogy
Oliver and Henry
A Roman Spell
Love Unearthed
Roman Bonds comprises three works — Oliver and Henry, A Roman Spell, and Love Unearthed. For those who love gay romance, esoteric themes, and Roman art, archaeology, and culture, the books are rich and compelling page turners.
What is it like to live in a time when institutions and practices undergo profound change? Who are the pioneers and visionaries who usher in a new age? What do they see and how do they advance new ways of living? How do established institutions react and either become irrelevant or transform themselves to remain vital in the future?
What is it like to fall in love during a pivotal moment in history, particularly if our relationships bridge diverse worlds, paradigms, or institutions? In the Roman Bonds Trilogy, Hartwig has imagined romantic loves stories with characters who struggle to make sense of their identities, sexuality, families, and values in a moment of paradigm change. These page-turning books are sexy and thoughtful, intriguing and sensual, insightful and world-altering.
Oliver and Henry follows the journey of Oliver, a college student raised by a lesbian couple in Boston. He wants to meet his biological father, Henry, who he discovers is a priest in Rome working to thwart Roman Catholic acceptance of homosexuality and gay relationships. Using the Vatican and the Roman Forum as backdrops, Hartwig asks whether the Catholic Church can embrace new information about sexuality and, if not, what follows. There is lots of intrigue around the Vatican and Oliver’s relationship with Henry and the Roman Catholic Church. The plot is a tender coming of age story and a steamy romance between Oliver and the handsome Italian, Giancarlo, who he falls in love with.
A Roman Spell picks up several years later when Oliver and Giancarlo are parenting their son, Luca, who is five. They discover he has unique gifts – magical ones. He is intuitive, psychic, and connected to a past life where he was a sorcerer in a Cardinal’s household in Renaissance Rome. The plot is inspired by actual historical characters - Cardinal Salviati, his resident artist Francesco de’ Rossi, and Gian Pietro Carafa (who became Pope Paul IV). Set primarily in Rome, the story takes seriously the questions of magic, past lives, and energy healing. For those who are inclined to embrace psychic phenomena or who are at least curious, the book is an accessible and realistic primer on the topic. What if they are true and part of what makes us human? What should we make of them? How do we integrate them into a coherent sense of ourselves? What might this suggest about religion and spirituality? Using Renaissance Rome as a backdrop, the story highlights the magic and mysticism of Renaissance scholarship and the backlash against it by figures like Pope Paul IV who established the Roman ghetto and who suppressed progressive learning and interfaith relations. Oliver and Giancarlo have a second son, Francesco. He inherits a terrible blood disease that Luca is pivotal in healing – both through a marrow transfusion and psychic healing.
Love Unearthed follows the lives of characters introduced in the earlier books, particularly Luca who, at twenty-one, falls in love with Donato, a contemporary at the university. It takes up similar themes – magic, intuition, gay romance, and past lives as Donato and Luca struggle to navigate the progressive views of Luca’s family and the conservative ones of Donato’s. The plot weaves together awkward attempts at Romance for twenty-year-olds with the challenges mature couples face – such as Oliver and Giancarlo (who struggle with a potential rupture) and Anna and Rita (Oliver’s mothers – who celebrate 50 years together while facing frightening health issues). Hartwig narrates steamy and erotic scenes between twenty-year-olds in Rome and Provincetown as well as ponders what it might mean if one discovered he/she was not only gay but also a wizard, sorcerer, magician.
The books are not hard-core phantasy stories, nor are they primarily gay erotica, although there are plenty of steamy scenes. Rather, the series is an attempt at realistic portrayal of magic and psychic phenomena with real characters in the real world – people who are pioneers in advancing cultural change and new perspectives. Readers grow to love the characters and keep asking what happens next!
Michael Hartwig Author Bio
Michael Hartwig is a Boston and Provincetown-based author of LGBTQ fiction. Hartwig is an accomplished professor of religion and ethics as well as an established artist. His original oil paintings are represented by On Center Gallery in Provincetown.
Hartwig grew up in Dallas but spread his wings early – living in Rome for five years, moving to New England later on, and then working in the area of educational travel to the Middle East and Europe.
His fiction weaves together his interest in LGBTQ studies, ethics, religion, art, languages, and travel. The books are set in international settings. They include rich descriptions and are peppered with the local language. Characters grapple not only with their own gender and sexuality but with prevailing paradigms of sexuality and family in the world around them. Hartwig has a facility for fast-paced plots that transport readers to other worlds. They are romantic and steamy as well as thoughtful and engaging. Hartwig imagines rich characters who are at crossroads in their lives. In many instances, these crossroads mirror cultural ones. There’s plenty of sexual tension to keep readers on the edge of their seats, but the stories are enriched by broader considerations – historical, cultural, and philosophical.
