Upcoming Novel: "Darius" by Jake Zuurbier

If you know me and my work so far, you know I've always put in some kind of lgbt-themes in there. Usually not even planned, it just rolls into the stories naturally. But I've never written a book that's purely about being gay, bi or queer. I originally didn't plan to write this book, I only started writing it as a distraction, or rather something with a completely different tone, from the book i was working on at the time called "Deadday 2190". Because "Deadday 2190" is a lot heavier in its themes and very different in tone from this one, it was the perfect balance for me as a writer. I could do the heavy stuff over at Deadday, and the lighter stuff with Darius.

But as time went on, I got completely wrapped up in Darius' story. Deadday got pushed aside so that I could focus on Darius. It's been a very fun ride so far. I've put some character concepts up on social media already but now it's time for me to finally talk about it a bit more.

As i get closer to finishing the novel (Though I'm not quite done with Darius yet) I want people to get to know the Characters and the premise. It is set to release in 2025 on June 1st. Expect updates on my author account on instagram.

Darius

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The Premise of "Darius"

Darius is one hundred percent a character-based story. All of the action happens because characters make choices and change their relationships with eachother. The book is written in two perspectives, one is Darius and the other is Rudy. Like I said in the intro, I wrote this because I wanted to write a story where "queer" is the main story. We're getting more and more queer stories luckily, and I wanted to add one to the stack.

Darius is a story about queer relationships, yes, but it's also very heavy on family dynamics. Each character is so distinctly different from eachother that it's honestly just fun to see them interact about whatever. Because of this, I gave most of them a storyline of their own, even though the focus stays on Rudy and Darius. A section about the characters is two sections below, so if you can't wait, scroll down. It's a cast of twelve characters that we see pretty much throughout the book, but there are some side characters.

Without spoiling the story, Darius and Rudy get into a relationship (of sorts), but Rudy doesn't want anyone to know that they are. This makes things very difficult for Darius, who is openly gay and has a lot of experience with this very thing: secrecy and shame. He doesn't necessarily like the fact Rudy makes him hide whatever they have going on. On the other side of this, Darius meets Lucien, who is a local Frenchman. He's the complete opposite of Rudy in all ways. He's calm, grounded, very sweet. While Rudy is exciting, spontaneous, and rougher. Later on in the story, there is a big twist that fucks with everything Darius thought he knew and completely changes his mind about a lot of things.

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The Setting

The story is set in a small village in rural France. The place is filled with vineyards and hills, calm streams and rivers. As in Darius' words:

"Somewhere in the middle of France there lay a picturesque little village. When you think France, in this case don’t think Eiffel Tower and baguettes. Not in this little village, at least. Even though I’m sure there were some baguettes there. This part of France was more vineyards and endless stretches of land without houses for many, many miles.

In this little village, there were some houses. Some convenience stores, some bakers, and one cinema. But they didn’t play any good movies. They only played indie films and those artsy student projects. But besides those, there was one house there that was a little bit bigger than the other houses in the village. It wasn’t obscenely large, but it was noticeably bigger.

Anyway, that house belonged to a family that visited once or twice a year. The rest of the year it was lived in by only two members of that family. They weren’t blood related to the family who owned the house, but the woman had been married to someone in that family, and she and her son were more or less adopted into the family after she and the man divorced. So, they could live in the vacation house for the remainder of the year when no one else was there. And it was a good thing for everyone, since the house would now be in good shape when the family came instead of being covered in cobwebs and who knows what else."

First Floor

Second Floor

The House's Layout (Official Art)

The Characters

Darius

Our titular character and one of the two narrators, Darius, is a 20 year old Italian-American, born in America. He's openly gay, and has been for years at the time of the story taking place. He has dark brown, almost black curls and dark brown eyes. He studies art. He isn't a masculine type of man, which he is often made fun of for by his cousin Freddy. His clothing style is sleek, usually in black and darker colors, some greys and usually silver accessories. He doesn't usually wear make up, but for parties or festivals, he sometimes smudges some eyeliner around his eyes to make them look deeper. Liza, his cousin, lives very close to him (back in America) and they hang out a lot. They're pretty much best friends. They both have friends of their own, but they usually hang out together. His parents are still together, they just don't have the time or desire to come along on family trips anymore, so Darius goes alone (with Liza, since her parents don't feel like coming anymore, either).

Rudy

Our second narrator, Rudy, is a 21 year old bisexual guy. He's got dark blonde hair and blue-green eyes. He is Freddy's best friend, which is why he is at the house, too. Rudy is spontaneous, social and (usually) has a carefree attitude. He likes to wake up early and has good routines. He lives in the village in a hotel down the road, with his parents. His parents own the hotel, they moved to France after his father got caught up in some questionable tax work. Rudy was very young when they moved, so he has known Freddy for most of his life. His relationship with his father isn't great, but the one with his mother is better. He prefers spending time at Freddy's house, though, with Freddy's mother Rita feeling more like a mother to him than his own does. He works in a furniture shop.

Freddy

Darius' cousin, though not by blood. He's a 23-year-old Hispanic-American with short, neatly styled dark hair, and tanned skin. His sharp jawline and intense, focused eyes give him a confident and dominant appearance. He lives in the family's house in France with his mother Rita. He is very masculine, loves to do sports and as a result is built like a bodybuilder. He loves his family, but is hard on Darius. Deep down, he is very insecure and jealous of how easily Darius is himself. He works for a logging company. He likes it well enough but doesn't see himself doing it forever. He's too afraid to study what he really wants to study, though, since he thinks it's not masculine enough of a job.

Lucien

Mid-20s with tousled dark hair that curls just slightly at the ends, giving him a bit of a carefree, unpolished look. His eyes are a light blue, with flecks of gold that catch the light, and he has a tendency to smile with just the corners of his mouth, a subtle but genuine expression. He works in a library in the village (Darius jokingly calls him "Beau", as a play on "Belle", since he has brown hair, lives in a French village and loves books). He is openly gay, which is a breath of fresh air for Darius since Lucien doesn't ask him to hide. They can walk around town hand-in-hand. Lucien studied Astronomy, and while he was doing the study, he started working at the library to make money. But after finishing his study, he stayed at the library since he loved the work so much.

Liza

Darius' cousin by blood. She's 19 years old, with long, dark brown hair and olive skin. She's a beautiful girl but doesn't really care about it besides the fact she can get things with it. She always takes friends with her when she comes to the family house in France. Different ones each year. She loves Darius and thinks he's the coolest guy there is, she looks up to him. They're almost like siblings. Liza studies to become a realtor. She's straight. Her relationship with Freddy is better than Darius' relationship with Freddy is. She used to have a crush on Rudy when they were younger but since they spent so much time together, they became more like cousins, too. Besides, there's plenty of handsome frenchmen in the village.

Brittany

One of Liza's friends that tagged along this year. She's 19 years old, straight, and American. She likes attention from men. She met Liza through a party from a mutual friend and has never been to Europe, so she's very happy to come to France. She has light blonde hair, blue eyes and an attractive smile. She usually gets what she wants. She studies to work in human resources. She doesn't have a side job since her parents are fairly wealthy. She has a following on Instagram of around 48K, which is fairly unimportant to the story besides the fact that Darius sometimes gets annoyed at her for constantly taking pictures of everything she sees.

Tiffany

Tiffany is the second friend Liza brings along this time. She is African American, 22 years old and has a feminine style. She met Liza through her study, since she is in the same class as her. She studies to be a realtor, too. She doesn't really care about social media, in contrast to Brittany. She's also got a thing for older men. She’s one of those people who seems to know exactly what she wants and doesn’t waste time pretending otherwise. Tiffany prefers to live in the moment, sipping wine by the pool or joining in on deep conversations with the others after dinner.

Rita

Freddy's mother. She's 44 years old, Hispanic, has very dark brown hair and brown eyes and is the one that always organizes the family vacations (in the sense of food, activities etc) since she lives in the family home all year round. She isn't blood related to the family. She married Gene, who is Darius' uncle. Gene turned out to be a bad guy (he is cut off from the family, too) and divorced Rita. The family sort of adopted both her and Freddy and let them live in the family house. Rita is an artist, she creates her art in the house's garage and puts some of her work in the garden. She has a dedicated part of the garden that is used as her art garden. Locals love her, and so does the family.

Samuel

Grandpa is a 73-year-old Italian man with dark hair that’s graying at the temples. He is Italian, moved to France when he was in his early teens and grew up there, which is why the family has a house in France. He studied archaeology and traveled the world after he graduated. He became a famous archaeologist, married the American grandmother, Lucy (who has now passed away) and moved to America to be with her to start their family there. But they kept Samuel’s family house to visit on vacations and for Rita to live in. He is an alcoholic but no one says anything about it. Pretty much the same guy as Samuel singretti from "The Detective", down to the name. He dresses casually but with a touch of class, often seen with a drink in hand, sharing stories from his past with a warm, lighthearted vibe.

Genevieve

The wine aunt. She is 48 and Samuel's second oldest child. The oldest is Darius' father. She is married to rob, they don't have any children. She has shoulder-length, wavy dark hair and olive-toned skin. Her expressive eyes are always filled with mischief or a knowing look. She’s often seen with a glass of wine in hand, dressed in flowy, bohemian-style clothing with bold accessories. Confident, witty, and full of life, she has a playful energy that lights up a room. She is a talent manager and enjoys her job a lot. Her and Rob have a very good relationship and often go on dates to keep the magic alive. She loves the fact Darius is gay.

Rob

Rob is Genevieve’s husband, and at 45, he’s the laid-back, cool uncle everyone wishes they had. A big, broad-shouldered guy with ginger hair and a full beard, he’s the kind of person who can have a serious conversation one minute and crack a dad joke the next. Rob runs a bike shop back home—regular bikes, sports bikes, you name it. He’s passionate about what he does, though his tendency to talk about bikes at length can sometimes get on people’s nerves (in a lovable way, of course). His style is casual and practical, often seen in flannels, graphic tees, and sturdy boots. He’s always ready to lend a hand. Rob and Genevieve have a strong relationship, built on mutual respect and a shared love of fun. They often sneak off for dates, even during the family trips, and they’re always laughing together. Rob’s dynamic with the rest of the family is refreshingly uncomplicated. He’s supportive of Darius and his choices and gets along well with Freddy.

Tony

Tony, short for Anthony—not that he ever lets anyone call him that—is the family’s fitness enthusiast and self-proclaimed health guru. At 43, he’s built like a tank. Dark-haired with just the right amount of gray at the temples, Tony has sharp features and an intense gaze that pairs perfectly with his no-nonsense attitude toward life. Despite his intensity, Tony’s got a heart of gold. He’s endlessly supportive of his family, always ready with advice—fitness-related or otherwise. He’s particularly close to Freddy, often pushing him to train harder or try new routines, and he has a soft spot for Darius, even if their personalities couldn’t be more different. He likes to joke that he’ll get Darius into the gym one day, but deep down, he respects his nephew’s individuality. He’s the guy who will literally carry your suitcase up the stairs and then challenge you to an arm-wrestling match, just for fun. His full name might be Anthony, but as far as he’s concerned, that person doesn’t exist anymore.

The Plot

The story kicks off with Darius arriving at the family’s vacation home in the French countryside alongside his cousin Liza and her two friends, Brittany and Tiffany. What starts as a typical family gathering—filled with shared meals and the usual blend of love and tension—quickly spirals into a summer none of them will forget.

At the first dinner, we get to know the rest of the group: Freddy, Darius’ older cousin, whose brash personality dominates the room; Rudy, Freddy’s long-time best friend and an undeniable presence in his own right; and the rest of the family, whose quirks and dynamics bring both humor and conflict to the table. The summer stretches in a series of moments that define the relationships between the characters. A casual trip to the market gives us the first sparks of connection between Darius and Rudy, while Freddy’s sharp tongue and overbearing nature create cracks in the family’s balanced dynamics. Truth-or-dare games at the river, late-night conversations, and quiet encounters in the house slowly unravel the secrets everyone is keeping.

Darius finds himself drawn to Rudy, who's got a carefree charm that Darius can’t ignore. But their connection is anything but simple, they get stuck in unspoken feelings and the weight of choices they’re too scared to make. At the same time, Darius meets Lucien, a calm and grounded local whose presence offers him a sense of safety and stability he hasn’t felt in a long time.

As the summer progresses, tensions get higher. Family dynamics shift, relationships fracture, and the idyllic setting becomes a pressure cooker for the emotions everyone is trying to keep in check. Freddy’s behavior grows more erratic, Rudy’s loyalty is tested, and Darius is left in a world where love, desire, and fear collide in ways he didn’t expect.

At its heart, Darius is a story about people—about the ways we hurt and heal each other, the truths we hide, and the moments of connection that make it all worth it. It’s messy, emotional, and, in the end, a reminder that even in the chaos, there’s always room for growth and hope.

Themes and Genre in Darius

Genre: Darius is firmly rooted in romantic, queer, and dramatic storytelling. It’s the kind of book that explores the complexities of relationships, both romantic and platonic, while weaving in the raw emotional weight of family dynamics. At its core, it’s a story about love in all its forms: the exhilarating highs, the heartbreaking lows, and the quiet moments in between.

Themes:

1. Queer Identity and LoveAt its heart, Darius is a celebration of queer identity. The story doesn’t shy away from the messy, complicated, and sometimes painful realities of being openly queer in a world that doesn’t always make space for it. But it’s also about joy—the joy of being seen, loved, and accepted for who you are. Through characters like Darius, Rudy, and Lucien, the novel delves into what it means to navigate relationships while staying true to yourself.

2. Family DynamicsFamily is a central theme, with all its imperfections and contradictions. The characters are tied together by their shared history, but that doesn’t mean it’s always smooth sailing. From Freddy’s tension with Darius to Rita’s struggle to feel like she belongs, the story captures the complexity of familial love and the expectations that come with it.

3. Secrets and Self-DiscoveryNearly every character in Darius is hiding something, whether it’s a secret relationship, a fear of rejection, or a desire they’re too scared to admit. The novel explores how these secrets shape their choices and relationships, often forcing them to confront truths they’d rather avoid. At the same time, it’s a story about self-discovery—about figuring out who you are and what you want, even when it feels impossible.

4. The Complexity of RelationshipsRomantic or otherwise, the relationships in Darius are layered and dynamic. From the quiet understanding between Darius and Lucien to the volatile connection between Rudy and Freddy, the novel dives into the ways we connect with—and sometimes hurt—the people we care about most.

5. Growth and AcceptanceUltimately, Darius is a story about growth. It’s about learning to let go of the things that hold you back, whether that’s shame, fear, or the expectations of others. It’s about accepting yourself and finding peace in the chaos, even if it takes time.

Darius by Jake Zuurbier is an upcoming romantic queer drama novel set in the French countryside, following the emotional complexities of love, identity, and family. With a character-driven plot, the story dives into themes of self-discovery, secrets, and growth, offering a raw, heartfelt exploration of relationships. Perfect for fans of layered, emotionally rich narratives. Coming in 2025!

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Jake Zuurbier, born in 2002, is a writer with a broad background. With a degree in both Business and Management, his work in writing is combined with a business in books & home decor and multiple forms of other output like art pieces or meditations. He also started Bluecliffe, an old money x streetwear clothing store. He has worked jobs in retail and horeca, ranging from working kitchen in a hotel-restaurant to refugee center work.

In his free time, he is just as occupied. Photography, weight lifting, kickboxing, cooking and reading are amongst his hobbies. Most of the art in his books (and some pieces on this site) are made by himself.

To learn more, or get in contact, visit www.apolloimperium.com/jakezuurbier

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