The Soccer Field Is Empty is a story of teen love, steamy romance, friendship, loyalty, understanding and an ancient prejudice that still has the power to kill. Here is a tale that breaks stereotypes of the ignorant and peers into the souls of two boys who want what we all want; to love and be loved. The story of Mark and Taylor, two sixteen-year-old high school athletes, is a tale of love and happiness torn asunder by a world that understands too late.

The Soccer Field Is Empty is a new version of Mark's first novel Ancient Prejudice. The new version is greatly expanded featuring additional material from Taylor's journal that Sean found at the end of Keeper of Secrets. Ancient Prejudice will still remain in print, so if you want to read the original version click on the Ancient Prejudice link above.

Mark on why a new version of Ancient Prejudice

Since completing Ancient Prejudice, I’ve always wanted to go back and delve more deeply into the lives of Mark and Taylor. So much about Taylor in particular was left unsaid. Taylor was based on my “dream boy”, who has been running around in my head since I was a teenager. Mark is the boy I would have liked to have been. There is a lot of myself in both Mark and Taylor, so I feel especially attached to both characters. I enjoy looking at their lives from many angles because I believe there is a little bit of Mark and Taylor in every gay man out there, young or old. SF isn’t simply a revised edition, it has so much new material that it’s largely a new book. The old book is in there, but it’s been fleshed out. I’ve added the viewpoint of Taylor, too, giving the novel many scenes that were not in the original story. As a result of these additions, SF is approaching twice the length of AP. One important addition to the novel is a list of suicide hotline numbers at the end. I’m hoping that SF will not only be a moving story, but a useful reference for gay youth in need of assistance.