The Bear Houston Chronicles

Growing up. Coming out. Finding where you belong.

The journey begins here

This Is Bear’s Story

David “Bear” Houston has spent much of his life trying to understand where he belongs. In small-town Kansas, he was the dependable football lineman everyone thought they knew. But beneath that familiar exterior was a young man learning to accept himself and wondering whether the people he loved would accept him too.

The Bear Houston Chronicles follows Bear as his world grows beyond the football field—from coming out and leaving home to discovering art, college life, friendship, brotherhood, love, and the people who gradually become family.

Set in the 1990s, before smartphones and social media transformed the way we connect, Bear’s story is about the relationships we build face-to-face, the courage it takes to become ourselves, and the unexpected places where we finally find belonging.

Start with Book One

A page from Bear's sketchbook with drawings of hands, an EMU wolf, fraternity letters, and a football. — Bear’s sketchbook reflects the images and ideas that travel with him: connection, art, EMU, Tau Phi Epsilon, and football.

Published novels

The Story So Far

Book One

High School Lineman

Before Bear could leave home, he had to decide whether he could finally live as himself.

Bear Houston is a star high school lineman in small-town Kansas, surrounded by people who think they already know exactly who he is. But beneath the familiar image of the dependable football player is a secret Bear has spent years trying to understand—and hide.

As senior year unfolds, new friendships and unexpected feelings force him to confront the difference between the life everyone expects him to live and the one he wants for himself.

Explore Book One Buy on Amazon

Book Two

Freshman Year

Leaving home gives Bear freedom. Now he has to figure out what to do with it.

Hundreds of miles from Redfield, Bear arrives at Eastern Missouri University ready to begin again. College gives him the chance to explore art, friendship, independence, and life as an openly gay young man—but freedom brings its own uncertainties.

As Bear begins building a life beyond football and the expectations of home, he discovers that finding yourself is only part of growing up. The harder question is deciding where—and with whom—you belong.

Explore Book Two Buy on Amazon

The Journey Continues

Book Three

Strength in Unity

Coming November 2026

Bear’s sophomore year opens new doors—his first professional experiences as a designer, deeper ties to his fraternity brothers, and relationships that begin to challenge what he thought friendship and love were supposed to look like.

Explore Book Three

Friends, family, first loves

Meet the People in Bear’s World

The site will grow with the published series, introducing characters only after readers have met them on the page.

Bear Houston

Artist. Former lineman. Still figuring himself out.

The central character and emotional heart of the series.

James Houston

Father. Handyman. Learning alongside his son.

One of the strongest influences in Bear’s life and his journey toward acceptance.

Kyle Wilson

First love. Best friend. A catalyst for change.

Kyle forces Bear to confront feelings he can no longer explain away.

Alex Rollins

Artist. Friend. Guide to a much bigger world.

One of Bear’s earliest friends at EMU, opening doors to art, technology, and college life.

Chip Atwell

Roommate. Geology major. Quiet heart.

A fraternity brother and roommate who becomes one of the most significant people Bear meets during freshman year.

Meet the Characters

Places that shape the story

Explore Bear’s World

Redfield, Kansas

Where Bear’s story begins.

Wheat fields, Friday night football, familiar faces, and the expectations of home.

Eastern Missouri University

A bigger world. A new beginning.

Art studios, residence halls, Greek Row, campus traditions, and new possibilities.

Hillcrest, Missouri

The college town beyond the campus.

The community around EMU and the world Bear discovers beyond university grounds.

91.7 KEMU

The Voice of Eastern Missouri University.

College radio, music, student voices, and another place where Bear’s world begins expanding.

Explore the World

ΤΦΕ

Tau Phi Epsilon

Fortes in Unitate

Strength in Unity

Tau Phi Epsilon becomes more than a fraternity to Bear Houston. It is a place where friendship becomes brotherhood, where responsibility leads to growth, and where a young man who once wondered whether he belonged discovers what it means to help create that sense of belonging for someone else.

Enter Tau Phi Epsilon

Illustrated portrait used by B. Mac as the public author image

Behind the Chronicles

About B. Mac

The Bear Houston Chronicles grew from a simple question: What does it take to become the person you were always meant to be?

Set in the 1990s, Bear’s story explores growing up queer in a world that offered far fewer examples of what an authentic life could look like. Through football fields, college dorms, art studios, fraternity houses, friendships, first loves, and chosen family, the series follows one young man as he learns that belonging is not something you simply find. Sometimes, it is something you build.

For B. Mac, the series is also deeply personal—a chance to revisit a formative period, explore experiences that helped shape his own life, and create the kinds of queer coming-of-age stories he wishes had been easier to find when he was young.

Meet the Author