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Los Angeles, August 11, 1965

A rich old man, a runaway heiress, and a fledgling investigator tale on the grim reaper as the Watts uprising rages. Burn baby, burn.

Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly on the reader.

Venice, 1368. The old doge dies and a new one must be selected. A new ballot boy is chosen at random to count the votes. His life changes forever.

A misfit from the poorest parish becomes a creature of the court. Or not. Is he not still the wily street boy from St. Nicholas of the Beggars no matter how fine his uniform. There is only one certainty. The penalty for loving another man is burning at the stake.

His name is Nico. He fights in three wars with two indelible lovers between the election of his doge and the battle to determine the fate of the Venetian Republic.

"The Ballot Boy by Larry Mellman is something I wish we’d see more of in Indie—LGBTQ+ historical romance. Here’s the setup: “In the lush world of 14th-century Venice, Niccolò ‘Nico’ Saltano is little more than a young peasant. That is, until the Venetian leadership fatefully plucks the 14-year-old from his place in life to serve as the ‘ballot boy’—an attendant of sorts to the new doge.” Nico’s new life is full of love, danger, and intriguing queer personalities. “Absorbing political machinations and sexual tension collide to hook readers.”
Kirkus Review • Karen Schechner •
June 29, 2022