Published books

In a universe drowning in information, the truth may be the most dangerous signal of all.
Captain Andrew T. Planes never expected to become humanity’s last credible representative. Frankly, no one else expected it either.
When a mysterious transmission cuts through the static of deep space, Planes and his wildly unconventional crew are pulled into an interstellar crisis fueled by misinformation, bureaucratic absurdity, and one spectacular misunderstanding after another. Alongside the brilliant Professor Barnaby, the enigmatic Vark, the unpredictable Nebula-9, and the eternally burdened Jenkins, Planes must navigate alien politics, questionable technology, and Chancellor ZE’TRE’s increasingly alarming agenda.…

PRIDE 2026: Chapbook
Pride is more than celebration. It is memory. Resistance. Defiance. Love. Survival. And the radical decision to remain visible in a world that still asks too many people to disappear.
PRIDE 2026: Chapbook is a poetic journey through identity, belonging, courage, loss, desire, and the complicated beauty of becoming exactly who you are.
Through five acts and the closing piece, “Still Here,” LJ Bechtel, The Unexpected Poet explores Pride beyond the rainbow-colored surface. These poems look backward at the people who fought for visibility, inward at the battles we rarely speak about, and forward toward a future where authenticity requires neither permission nor apology.…

Grief does not follow a map. It arrives without permission, alters the landscape, and leaves us searching for a language powerful enough to carry what words alone cannot hold.
In this revised Second Edition of The Grieving Creative: Finding Your Way Through Loss, Art, and Becoming, L. James Bechtel offers a compassionate path through sorrow using creativity as both a refuge and a guide. Through reflective insight, expressive exercises, and accessible artistic practices, readers are invited to explore grief through writing, painting, movement, nature, sound, ritual, and stillness.
No artistic experience is required. This is not a book about creating something beautiful for the world to admire. It is about creating something honest enough for the heart to recognize.…

What if the life you've been searching for begins the moment you stop being afraid?
NOT AFRAID! is an inspiring collection of contemporary poetry, life reflections, and original music by LJ Bechtel, The Unexpected Poet. Through powerful verse and honest storytelling, this collection explores resilience, healing, self-discovery, grief, hope, mental wellness, personal growth, love, loss, and the courage to become your authentic self.
Structured in five emotional acts, the collection guides readers through life's most transformative moments:
• To Live
• To Fail
• To Grow
• To Refresh
• To Die…

NOT AFRAID! is a poetry collection about courage in its most honest form: not the absence of fear, but the decision to keep moving through it.
LJ Bechtel, The Unexpected Poet, writes from the places where life leaves its deepest marks: love, loss, identity, resilience, grief, memory, relationships, injustice, hope, and the complicated work of becoming who we are meant to be. These poems do not ask the reader to look away from difficult truths. They invite us to sit with them, name them, and discover what remains when the fear begins to loosen its grip.…

The Grieving Creative
A Literary Companion Through Loss and Becoming
A Cairn Collection Book
Grief rarely arrives alone. It carries with it questions of identity, purpose, memory, and the quiet uncertainty of who we become after loss. For those who create—whether through words, art, music, or simply the courage to keep living—grief can feel both overwhelming and strangely transformative.
The Grieving Creative is not a self-help manual, nor does it promise easy answers. Instead, it is a literary companion that walks beside you through the landscapes of sorrow, creativity, and becoming. Blending reflective essays, original poetry, mindful artistic practices, thoughtful prompts, and gentle therapeutic exercises, this book creates space for both mourning and meaning.…

NOT AFRAID! is a poetry collection about courage in its most honest form: not the absence of fear, but the decision to keep moving through it.
LJ Bechtel, The Unexpected Poet, writes from the places where life leaves its deepest marks: love, loss, identity, resilience, grief, memory, relationships, injustice, hope, and the complicated work of becoming who we are meant to be. These poems do not ask the reader to look away from difficult truths. They invite us to sit with them, name them, and discover what remains when the fear begins to loosen its grip.…

NOT AFRAID! is a poetry collection about courage in its most honest form: not the absence of fear, but the decision to keep moving through it.
LJ Bechtel, The Unexpected Poet, writes from the places where life leaves its deepest marks: love, loss, identity, resilience, grief, memory, relationships, injustice, hope, and the complicated work of becoming who we are meant to be. These poems do not ask the reader to look away from difficult truths. They invite us to sit with them, name them, and discover what remains when the fear begins to loosen its grip.…

Pride is the recognition and celebration of the dignity, resilience, and equality of LGBTQ+ people. It honors the history of those who resisted discrimination, commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, and reflects an ongoing movement for civil rights, visibility, and authentic self-expression. Pride is expressed through community, remembrance, activism, creativity, and joy. Within Pride 2026, the term represents both a public celebration and a deeply personal journey toward self-acceptance, healing, and belonging. It acknowledges that Pride is not only a month or a parade, but an enduring affirmation that every person deserves to live openly, love freely, and exist without fear.