title: A New Beginning
author: Follett, K.G.
description: As Brad Kelly studied his face in the mirror, trying to wake up for The Big Day today, he noticed a picture he kept in the bathroom of himself, along with his first partner, Randy Ogden. The picture was taken over two and a half decades ago in front of this very house, when it was brand new. It was the day they moved in, and one of the happiest days of Brad's life. It was supposed to be Brad's and Randy's home for decades to come. Little did Brad know at the time, but the fates had something quite different in mind. Brad's life would soon be thrown into unexpected turmoil, and this house would become Brad's sanctuary, away from the storms that were awaiting him. Thankfully his friends were fast becoming the family he needed to get him through. And when he comes out the other side, his family if far bigger and very different than he ever imagined it would be.A New Beginning is the second installment of the A Different Kind of Family Trilogy. This time in Brad's life mirrors what was happening in the 1990s as the LGBTQ community began to show it could produce families and be a productive part of society as a whole. More and more celebrities were coming out of the closet, and it became easier for gay couples to start families of their own. There were still complications - marriage equality was still decades away, and homophobia and persecution of gays continued. But overall, things were looking up for the LGBTQ community, just as they are in this part of Brad Kelly's life. K G (Ken) Follett has lived in Rockford, Illinois for over thirty years. He has worked in marketing, banking, nursing, and education during that time. He now lives with and is happily married to his partner of nearly twenty years, Brent. Follett started writing A Different Kind of Family in the mid-1990s when the term family was being hijacked by various socio-political groups to be used against LGBTQ+ and other alternative family structures. This series of books is his attempt to reclaim that term to be used legitimately for ANY kind of family in today's society, AND to shed light on what we could lose if we do not remain vigilant in these tumultuous times.