If Come

In If Come, AJ Llewellyn deals with the ancient deadly sin of acedia.

It was once considered the 'noonday demon'—a melancholia that is brought about by repetitive work. Writing, marriage and monkhood were the three main occupations said to induce it.

Zam Carmarthen is a mildly successful Hollywood screenwriter struggling with a debilitating depression that prevents him from completing anything he starts. When he lands an 'If Come' deal with a major Hollywood producer, he's finally forced to focus on his work and not give into the strange malaise gripping him. In order to ever move ahead in the movie business, he must complete the pilot episode of his proposed TV series, Angel Inn. If his producer is able to sell the series, Zam will be a very rich man. Everything he has worked for can be his.

Paralysed by his depression, he finds unusual solace in the form of his arch nemesis, Dominic Glass—a surgeon turned super successful screenwriter…and the man who rewrote Zam's hit screenplay for his own glory.

Can Zam overcome the depression Dominic calls acedia, which threatens to derail his whole life? Can he move on from his long time sex buddy Jason? And what about these new feelings he has for Dominic in spite of their rocky history? Will Zam get it together…or will Dominic once again walk away with all the credit for something Zam created?

Reader Advisory: This story has been previously released as part of the Sins of Winter anthology by Total-E-Bound