Dean is the author of sexy, kinky, and queer AF novels and stories.

Unlocked:

Seven Titillating Tales of Gay Trans Love and Lust

Through seven enticing short stories, the romantic and erotic triumphs (and challenges) of being a gay trans person are explored. From the new-to-testosterone Julian to the kinky and confident Levi, inside are a variety of transmasculine characters living their best sex lives. Written by a trans author for a trans audience, these tempting tales strive to showcase our unique experiences with dating and sex.

Whether it's the thrill of hooking up or the comfort of a long-term relationship, Unlocked depicts a world where trans bodies are respected, desirable, and celebrated.
As they should be.

E-BOOK
PAPERBACK

ARTWORK BY DEAN ROBERT HOLMES

Paperback ISBN: 979-8-3494-1550-0 // Ebook ISBN: 979-8-3494-1551-7

Get “Unlocked” by Dean Robert Holmes at the following independent bookstores. You may even snag a signed copy!

The 'Tropes & Trifles' logo. Navy stylized text on a lavender background reads: 'Tropes & Trifles' above plain text that reads 'A ROMANCE BOOKSHOP.' In the upper righthand corner is a line drawing of a book with hearts and ferns/flowers.

Tropes and Trifles

Minneapolis, MN

Logo for Witchwood Bookshoppe. A black background with a stylized, cream-colored 'W' and 'B'. There are leaves and flowers scattered over the letters, and in small white text, the base of the image reads 'est. 2025.'

Witchwood Bookshoppe

Grand Forks, ND

The 'Booked Eau Claire' logo. 'Booked Eau Claire' is written in beige against an orange background. Below this, the phrase 'BOLD HEARTS BRAVE STORIES' is also in beige. There are three black stars decorating the image and an 'Admit One' ticket

Booked Eau Claire

Mobile Bookstore

Eau Claire, WI

Little Gay Bookstore Logo on a white background. 'LITTLE GAY' is written in black text above a book with rainbow pages, with the word 'BOOKSTORE' below. Yellow stars are on either side of the rainbow book.

Little Gay Bookstore

Columbus, OH

Book of Choices:

Volume Two

Step into a world where every choice comes with a price. The Book of Choices is an anthology of spine-chilling tales that explore the consequences of decisions made under duress. From haunted relics and cursed books to mysterious forces that twist reality, this collection of short stories by masterful authors will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This anthology contains Dean Robert Holmes’ short story “Blood is Thicker.” Following the death of his father, Jim stumbles across a cryptic diary containing a terrible secret. With a curse nipping at his heels and carving into his flesh, will Jim be able to make a choice that could destroy his life and his family?

The Book of Choices: Volume Two
Herring, Redd

ISBN: 978-1-958329-25-2

The Book of Choices: Collection
Herring, Redd
Queer Home of Craft Zine cover. Background is pink flower-patterned fabric with a greenish house in the center and tufts of cotton above/green and yellow curled pipe cleaners below. Says "Queer" in the upper left & "Home of Craft" in the bottom right

Queer Home of Craft Zine

A BRAND NEW Zine featuring works of 20+ Minnesota Queer artists from across the state.

Minnesota in the year 2025 is a place of 10,000 queers: like lakes we boast a gender fluid and fabulously colorful base of lumberjaxx, snowbirds, drag queens and DIY babes. Now, we get elemental and welcome refugees in a queer great migration.

May our state be a homeplace of acceptance, comfort, and opposition to attempts at marginalization and oppression. May the queer voices in these pages provide a kindling of craft and our scorching hot story.

folaṣade adesanya / editor

BAKIBAKIBAKI / designer

contributors: Aaron Spindler, Angie Mason, Bryce Mason, Dean Robert Holmes, Ease M, Gregory T. Wilkins, Hadar Isra, j.c. bennett, Josie María Manrique, Julie Gard, Keng Xiong, Lachlan (Lake) Montie, Lindsey Reyes, Low, Mikha "mikhamik" Dominguez, Paige Oyaleke, Sarah Royer-Stoll, Shawna Davis, Taiwana Shambley, Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz, Zhi Kai H. Vanderford.

BAKIBAKIBAKI / front cover
Sofia-Rose Nagberi / back cover

Workshop for Independent Publishing / printer & logistical support

Featuring “Alphabet Porn” by Dean Robert Holmes, a personal reflection on life as an aegosexual transmasc who resides in a daydream world of his own creation.

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Treading Water

COMING SOON!

In his debut novel, Treading Water, Dean Robert Holmes weaves a story of woe and resilience. Treading Water is a contemporary romance between a bisexual cis man named Wally and plus-sized cis woman, Suzy.

Suzy moved to Minnesota with a box full of rocks and a heart full of hope. But when she gets fired for her snarky mouth, all she wants to do is relax by the pool. Fuck the fact that her bikini is a size too small, and fuck her joints for rebelling against the lounge chair–she’s determined to find her chill.

For Wally, “chill” isn’t just a verb, it’s a lifestyle. Discarded by several divorcees after fulfilling their pool boy fantasies, he doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love. And it doesn’t help that his last (and first) boyfriend abandoned him for a younger man, leaving him confused and ashamed.

When Wally and Suzy meet at the pool, everything is sunshine. Smoking weed in the storage shed, chowing down on burgers, rock hunting at the North Shore. With Suzy, Wally finally discovers a partner who wants more than a one-night stand. And, for once, Suzy’s body is revered rather than ridiculed. But life rarely keeps the clouds at bay. The perils of poverty, trauma, and tragedy hurl Suzy and Wally into the shadows. Their relationship may withstand the weight of a single pebble, but when those pebbles become an avalanche, Wally and Suzy are forced to ask themselves one question: Is love enough?

ARTWORK BY DEAN ROBERT HOLMES

Still They Rise / Gods Among Us

Upcoming Short Story in Wolf Grove Media’s Modern Mythology Anthology “Still They Rise/Gods Among Us”: “Pearls Before Thine”

“Pearls Before Thine” tells the story of the siren Aglaope. As her waistline expands with the passage of ships and she ages with the passage of centuries, her ability to lure sailors to their demise fades. And it doesn’t help that her tech-savvy sisters have mastered the net and the art of destroying her confidence. Settling for scraps, Aglaope offers her song to the sea.
But can anyone hear her voice? 

“Still They Rise/Gods Among Us” will be available soon. If you have an idea that reimagines a figure from the Greek or Norse pantheon in a modern or near-future setting, showing how ancient myths adapt to new worlds, submit here!

ARTWORK BY DEAN ROBERT HOLMES

Additional Publications

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Additional Publications 〰️

Zine cover featuring a wheelchair partially visible in the background and a partially visible nude person in the foreground facing away. The title reads "Deductible Hitters II" in white font against a black background.

Celebrate disability pride month with hot disabled transexuals in magazine form!

Featuring Holmes’ contribution, “Leather and Lace,” an erotic T4T tale with psychosis representation.

Degenerates Collective: Deductible Hitters II

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A lavender background with the words "Coming Soon" written in pink text with a maroon outline, followed by a pink heart.

Sserp Press: Headstone Zine

A headstone is a marker for those who have passed: it can be a representation of one's identity or legacy, a last word, a sense of closure, a transformation, or a reminder from the past carried into the future. Who or what do you want to memorialize?

Featuring Holmes’ contribution, “Time Reveals All Wounds,” a bitter and raw reflection on the loss of his mother to suicide.

The Zoetic Press logo. Features a stylized 'Z' above the words 'Zoetic Press.'

We're looking for speculative poetry and prose that work best when read out loud. Stuff that's unimpressive to the naked eye, but a treat for the naked ear. The kind of works that might fall flat on the page, but come alive with the right reader. Nouns that sing. Verbs that dance. Adjectives whose eyelids flutter. Adverbs that play the bongos while wearing a beret and cat-eye sunglasses. You know what we're saying.

Each 30 minute episode will be made up of multiple pieces, both prose and poetry, read by the buttery-voiced Zoetic Press staff. Close your eyes. Give your imagination free rein. Because good stories hit harder that way.

Featuring Holmes’ contribution, “Where Will You Wind Up?” an alliterative afterlife adventure in which Ryan, recently deceased in a car crash, must confront his earthly failures during an intergalactic gameshow. Available as a podcast starting August 25th, 2025! TW: References to SA and ICE.

Zoetic Press: 4LPH4NUM3R1C

Read/Listen Here

Still want more?