The Layover

Written by Roe Horvat

Narrated by John Solo

Eight years ago, Ondro Smrek fled Slovakia and the bigotry that drove his first lover to take his own life. The demons proved impossible to outrun, though, and now, desperate for somewhere to belong, Ondro is returning to start over. During a layover in Basel, Switzerland, he meets Jamie, an American living in Scotland who is as brilliant as he is beautiful.

Jaded Ondro never would have guessed he could fall in love during a brief layover—until now. When he is put in a position to offer Jamie comfort without hope of recompense, Ondro doesn’t hesitate. Soon, he catches a glimpse of the home he longs for. But with their separation looming, confessing his feelings would only lead to pain and humiliation. Life has taught Ondro not to hope, but then, he never believed in love at first sight either...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author's Republic
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667929859

Roe Horvat

Queer fiction author Roe Horvat was born in former Czechoslovakia. Equipped with a dark sense of sarcasm and a penchant for good beer, he traveled Europe and finally settled in Sweden. He came out as transgender in 2017 and has been fabulous since. He loves Jane Austen, Douglas Adams, bad action movies, and stand-up comedy. When not hiding in the studio doing graphics, he can be found trolling cafés in Gothenburg, writing, and people-watching.Roe writes gay fiction and romance, paranormal, and erotica.

Reviews for The Layover

[Susan Grunner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is well written, incredibly sweet. Not particularly happy. It's short though, so that helps. It really captures the feeling of being a foreigner and never feeling like you're "home".

[Becky Wenzel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fresh story idea. Wonderfully human characters, beautifully flawed and just lovely.