Gary Devore is an archaeologist and has taught at universities in the US and UK. He has led archaeological excavations at Roman forts in Britain and the ancient Italian city of Pompeii. He now teaches classes exclusively online for Stanford University and enjoys writing fiction from a house in the New Hampshire woods.

These are the current creative works Dr. Devore is working on:

Bachelor Boys of Mother's Ranch
A Collection of Gay Historical Short Stories

This collection contains ten short stories:

On the High-Guide-Path of the Wind-Riders:  In prehistoric Colombia, two male hunter-gatherers develop a new language for love.

Thebes vs. Athens:  A wounded soldier in the famous Sacred Band of Thebes meets his enemy, an Athenian who recalls his lost beloved, Niko.

The Arch of Gallienus:   As the Roman empire falls apart in the 3rd century, the emperor Gallienus seeks security in the arms of one of his cavalry officers.

A Tomb, a Grave, and a Painting:  When observing same-sex desire in antiquity, the only constant is that straight archaeologists and historians will try to suppress it.

The Stone Bride:  There is only one response to cruelty, and some Vikings knew it.

To Fuck a King:  It’s not easy being the secret boyfriend of the 14th century King of England, less so a misshapen stablehand enamored with a carpenter.

A Conversation Between Two Dutch Sailors (18 and 21):  In 1727, two young, shipwrecked sailors were executed off the coast of Australia for loving each other. This is their story.

Bachelor Boys of Mother’s Ranch:  In this novella, a rural ranch in West Texas becomes a refuge for 19th century men who love men, and who are desperately searching to name such desire.

What’s To Be Done?:  Five years from now, violence breeds more violence.

The PRISM Directive:  On an intragalactic spaceship in the distant future, a group of four astronauts (and their android assistant) explore how to finally claim queer happiness.

STATUS: Complete- Currently seeking publisher for collection and submitting individual stories to anthologies and contests

A Party at the End of Death
Even mighty wizards can completely screw up

Deep in a primeval ruin, Arch Enchanter Zheras has blown himself up with a miscast spell and accidentally conferred eternal life on everyone in the world. Now, all living things, from the richest baron to the lowliest orc, simply revive when they die. And not everybody is handling immortality well.

A group of misfit adventurers stumble upon the wizard's corpse (with its grumpy, tethered ghost) and must decide if their fantasy world ultimately needs death to survive.

A Party at the End of Death is a heroic fantasy novel. Its style is more Pratchett than Tolkien, more compassionate than cynical, and more "inclusive modern D&D adventure" than "violent The Witcher episode."

STATUS: Complete- Currently querying literary agents

A Murder of Crows on the Wall
Historical Murder Mystery set in Roman Britain

Gaius Pedius has always hated his job...

On the chilly, northern frontier of Britain, Pedius works for the Roman emperor as a mapmaker and surveyor (second class). Usually his days are spent either settling boundary disputes between quarrelsome neighbors or finding the least objectionable build-site for a legion's new latrine. When the emperor's youngest son orders him to investigate suspicious deaths along Hadrian's Wall, Pedius is drawn into a dangerous imperial conspiracy.

Assisted by a beautiful commander's daughter dabbling in espionage and a handsome cavalry soldier turned deserter, Pedius must infiltrate a mysterious religious cult in the area. If he is unmasked as an imperial spy, not even a surveyor (first class) will be able to locate Pedius' corpse.

A Murder of Crows on the Wall is a historical mystery novel set in the dangerous world of 3rd century Rome.

STATUS: Complete- Currently querying literary agents

The Testament of Perfect Villains
A story of Pilate and Judas, and how they took revenge on the world

Pontius Pilate is the frazzled prefect (governor) of Judea, one of the most turbulent provinces in the Roman empire. Judas is a Jewish zealot, incredibly skilled at one thing: slaughtering Roman imperialists for his Lord. In the year 30, Passover brings both men on parallel paths to the city of Jerusalem. There, Pilate destroys his life over an unrequited same-sex love affair and Judas gets his zealots killed trying to bring about the Kingdom of God.

Thirty years later, the two finally meet for the first time in Rome as bitter, old men when they hear a new religious sect has laid claim to both their names. False stories are being circulated. Pilate and Judas are being blamed for killing a Messiah they know never arrived in Jerusalem. To get their revenge on this new cult, and finally reclaim some peace, they decide to anonymously compose a ridiculous story about some guy named Jesus and masquerade it as holy gospel. To make it believable, they use their own failures and agree to cast themselves as the villains.

The Testament of Perfect Villains is a literary historical fiction novel set in the ancient Roman world.

STATUS: Complete- Currently querying literary agents

Gigantomachy
Apotheosis
The next two books in the Fallen Olympians Series

These sequels to Pantheon continue the narrative of the ancient Greek gods and their attempts to reclaim their divinity.

Gigantomachy takes place immediately after the gods have been betrayed. They must cooperate (something they have never been good at) to defeat worldwide religious fanaticism brought about by their own failures.

Apotheosis is the final book in the series. After remaking the world, some of the earth-bound gods search for a way to finally die, while others do everything they can to hold on to their reclaimed power.

STATUS: Currently being written