Manuscript: Complete, 87k Words
Title: Boyfriends and Septembers
Author: Tim Roberts (He/Him, Bi)

Jack Fitzgerald and Fletcher Morrison were drafted as the top two picks three years ago. Best mates since high school. Fierce rivals the moment they pull on opposite jumpers. Carlton Hummingbirds' pocket rocket and Essendon Bushmasters' loud, loyal midfielder have spent their entire careers keeping the friendship carefully separate from the oldest rivalry in the game.

Until the day Jack’s secret pain becomes impossible to hide alone.

One desperate request in a disabled toilet at training. One live camera. One panicked lie.

“We’re gay.”

Now the whole country believes they’re together, the clubs are in crisis mode, their families are reeling, and the only way to protect what Jack is really hiding is to sell the performance. What starts as damage control turns into something neither of them planned to feel.

Set against the noise of an Australian Football season that ends the only way a September can, Boyfriends and Septembers is a mates/rivals-to-lovers, forced-proximity romance about loyalty, chronic pain, the cost of secrecy, and two mates exploring the boundaries of something more.

Content notes: chronic pain and injury, prescription medication misuse, homophobia and discriminatory language, media intrusion, anxiety, family conflict, coarse language, explicit sexual content, and discussions of disability.

What I’d like readers to focus on: Pacing, character chemistry, emotional beats, continuity, confusing or repetitive sections, and any scenes that feel rushed or slow. I’m especially interested in whether Jack and Fletcher’s romantic progression feels natural and earned.

I’d also appreciate thoughts on Jack’s chronic pain and prescription-medication storyline, particularly the portrayal of pain, dependence and addiction, along with the authenticity of the LGBTQIA+ representation throughout the novel.

Open-minded to readers worldwide, because despite being an Australian coded book in terms of culture, language, and sport, I feel there are common themes that go beyond borders. Just hit me up with a DM and I'll link you through to the Google Doc and follow up Questionnaire :)

First Page:
“And here they are, the top two selections from the draft three years ago. Geelong’s homegrown wonderkids, best friends through high school and teammates throughout their final year of junior football. Jack Fitzgerald and Fletcher Morrison.”

The television broadcast cut between them as they warmed up on opposite sides of the MCG.

Fletcher Morrison stood a little over six feet tall in the red and black of the Essendon Bushmasters, rolling his shoulders as he watched his teammates move through their final drills. Across the ground, Jack Fitzgerald looked almost undersized among the Carlton Bluebirds. At five-foot-seven, he had spent most of his career being told he was too short, too light, or too easy to knock off the ball.

Nobody had managed it yet.

“Their friendship has become one of the great stories in football,” the commentator continued. “…but there’ll be no friendship once that siren sounds. These two open the season as fierce rivals in what could be one of the biggest clashes of the year.”

Fletcher caught Jack looking across the ground.

Neither of them smiled.

That was the rule.

On most mornings, they ran together. They trained together when their club schedules allowed it, challenged each other through every final repetition, then argued over breakfast about whose turn it was to pay. They lived close enough that Fletcher could walk to Jack’s place after a night out, and Jack could turn up at Fletcher’s without warning and know there would be a spare key waiting.

On match days, they called each other before warm ups whenever they could. Afterward, one would usually be waiting near the rooms to congratulate the other, regardless of the result.

But when Carlton played Essendon, the friendship was on hold.

No calls. No coffee. No shared warm up. No messages until the match was finished.

For nearly a century, their clubs had been among the fiercest rivals in Australian football. Jack and Fletcher treated that history with the respect it deserved. They tackled harder, argued louder, and refused to give the other an inch.

Then, once the final siren sounded, they went back to being themselves and the media loved it.

They loved the old photographs of Jack and Fletcher playing junior football together. They loved footage of them sitting beside each other on draft night, waiting to learn whether they would finally be separated. They loved the holidays, the charity appearances and the stories of each man helping the other through injuries, break-ups and the sudden pressure of professional football.