The Life You Gave Me
by Ren Brenner
Street kid Maddy Cecil doesn't know what he's in for when he gets recruited into a ship of vigilante pirates. He falls for the young captain, Araevin Siannodel, but grows frustrated with constantly having to compete for his attention. When Araevin finally gives him a chance, he falls just as hard, until one day Maddy disappears without a word.Years later the two stumble into each other with new lives and new traumas. It will take a lot of work and dedication to fit all the lost puzzle pieces back into place, but it needs to be done.
Banner art by Grendel Menz.
This site was last updated December 8th, 2025.
About the book;
TLYGM is adult fiction in the romance genre (with a fantasy setting and some relating elements). There's plenty of cursing, as well as a bit of violence and sexual content. Both main characters are trans men, but themes of identity aren't delved into significantly. This book is about the characters, not the labels.
This book has been in development since January 2021, and after completing three drafts it's finally onto the editing phase. For the most accurate, up to date progress tracking, this spreadsheet is updated every writing session. There will be two rounds of editing - one solo, and then one collaborating with my editor - and then after that will be publishing! Yay!
Grendel Menz, the artist who did the art shown on this site's homepage, will be designing the book cover for TLYGM. Check out their portfolio (linked on the homepage) as their artwork is immensely impressive. The homepage art was commissioned based on a scene from draft two of this book, and the entire comic can be viewed in full here.