The Lies We Tell (E-Book)
Dakota James thought he knew where his life was headed.
He was supposed to be a rising star in the literary world — until his debut novel flopped, his agent dropped him, and his boyfriend left him. Lost and adrift in a sea of his failure, he moves back to Seattle, taking a job at a small bookstore and convincing himself that writing is a part of his past.
Then, he meets Oliver Kahan.
Brilliant, magnetic, and carrying the weight of his late grandfather’s literary legacy, Oliver is everything Dakota once aspired to be. His first book was a critical sensation, and his second is coming. When Oliver offers Dakota a chance to write with him — to push each other, to hold each other accountable — it feels like a lifeline. A way back to the ambition he thought he’d lost.
But writing together means letting each other in. What starts as a creative partnership turns into late nights in coffee shops, stolen glances between unfinished pages, and a connection that feels both exhilarating and surface-level. Dakota has spent years navigating the ruthless expectations of the publishing world — he knows what it means to want something so badly it consumes you. And as deadlines slip and the pressure builds, he starts to see the cracks forming beneath Oliver’s carefully crafted exterior.
Because in publishing, perception is everything. And when personal ambition collides with private demons, the fragile bond between them begins to crack. The closer Dakota gets to Oliver, the more he senses something hidden beneath the surface — something Oliver won’t say, won’t show him, won’t share.
And when the truth finally comes to light, it will force Dakota to question not just his writing, but the man he’s let into his heart.
A breathtaking novel about longing, ambition, and the fine line between inspiration and deception, The Lies We Tell is a story of two men caught between the art they create and the secrets they can’t outrun.
Dakota James thought he knew where his life was headed.
He was supposed to be a rising star in the literary world — until his debut novel flopped, his agent dropped him, and his boyfriend left him. Lost and adrift in a sea of his failure, he moves back to Seattle, taking a job at a small bookstore and convincing himself that writing is a part of his past.
Then, he meets Oliver Kahan.
Brilliant, magnetic, and carrying the weight of his late grandfather’s literary legacy, Oliver is everything Dakota once aspired to be. His first book was a critical sensation, and his second is coming. When Oliver offers Dakota a chance to write with him — to push each other, to hold each other accountable — it feels like a lifeline. A way back to the ambition he thought he’d lost.
But writing together means letting each other in. What starts as a creative partnership turns into late nights in coffee shops, stolen glances between unfinished pages, and a connection that feels both exhilarating and surface-level. Dakota has spent years navigating the ruthless expectations of the publishing world — he knows what it means to want something so badly it consumes you. And as deadlines slip and the pressure builds, he starts to see the cracks forming beneath Oliver’s carefully crafted exterior.
Because in publishing, perception is everything. And when personal ambition collides with private demons, the fragile bond between them begins to crack. The closer Dakota gets to Oliver, the more he senses something hidden beneath the surface — something Oliver won’t say, won’t show him, won’t share.
And when the truth finally comes to light, it will force Dakota to question not just his writing, but the man he’s let into his heart.
A breathtaking novel about longing, ambition, and the fine line between inspiration and deception, The Lies We Tell is a story of two men caught between the art they create and the secrets they can’t outrun.
Dakota James thought he knew where his life was headed.
He was supposed to be a rising star in the literary world — until his debut novel flopped, his agent dropped him, and his boyfriend left him. Lost and adrift in a sea of his failure, he moves back to Seattle, taking a job at a small bookstore and convincing himself that writing is a part of his past.
Then, he meets Oliver Kahan.
Brilliant, magnetic, and carrying the weight of his late grandfather’s literary legacy, Oliver is everything Dakota once aspired to be. His first book was a critical sensation, and his second is coming. When Oliver offers Dakota a chance to write with him — to push each other, to hold each other accountable — it feels like a lifeline. A way back to the ambition he thought he’d lost.
But writing together means letting each other in. What starts as a creative partnership turns into late nights in coffee shops, stolen glances between unfinished pages, and a connection that feels both exhilarating and surface-level. Dakota has spent years navigating the ruthless expectations of the publishing world — he knows what it means to want something so badly it consumes you. And as deadlines slip and the pressure builds, he starts to see the cracks forming beneath Oliver’s carefully crafted exterior.
Because in publishing, perception is everything. And when personal ambition collides with private demons, the fragile bond between them begins to crack. The closer Dakota gets to Oliver, the more he senses something hidden beneath the surface — something Oliver won’t say, won’t show him, won’t share.
And when the truth finally comes to light, it will force Dakota to question not just his writing, but the man he’s let into his heart.
A breathtaking novel about longing, ambition, and the fine line between inspiration and deception, The Lies We Tell is a story of two men caught between the art they create and the secrets they can’t outrun.