By Amy Campion
Most mornings in Frankston you’ll find Dan Stroede behind a coffee machine, steaming milk and sending regulars on their way with a smile. What most customers don’t see is that between cappuccinos and lattes, Dan is quietly building other worlds, ones where freckles are magical, first crushes change everything, and being different is the point, not the problem.
Dan is the debut author of Spencer Sparkles, a young-adult novel blending queer coming of age, magic and realism. He now splits his time between Australia and Europe, chasing summers and catching up with loved ones, before circling back to the Frankston cafe he’s worked in since 2015.
At a Starbucks in Poland, Spencer first appeared on the page. “I’ve always loved magic and fantasy; I grew up on shows like I Dream of Jeannie,” Dan said. “But I also wanted to write something real, something that felt like the way growing up actually is for so many of us.”
Spencer is a teenage boy with a loving home but has a tough time at school. Bullied for being different, he’s just trying to get through the day when mysterious freckles begin to bloom across his face. These are very special spots, though; they’re the start of a transformation that brings strange new powers, an unexpected crush on the new boy at school, and a full-blown identity crisis. As Spencer learns what his freckles can do and who he might be, the story leans into magic to talk about courage, queerness, and the messy, beautiful business of becoming yourself.
Since its release, Spencer Sparkles has climbed the Amazon charts in the Magical Realism and Coming of Age categories and has been warmly received by readers around the world. Messages have landed in Dan’s inbox from teenagers who see themselves in Spencer, parents grateful for a story that opens conversations, and older readers who wish a book like this had existed when they were young.
One message in particular touched Dan. A woman wrote to say she was reading Spencer Sparkles aloud to her 84-year-old uncle, who’d grown up in East Germany and only came out late in life after decades of hiding who he really was. As she read to him, tears ran down his face, so grateful was he to hear such stories being shared with pride.
For Dan, it was a profoundly moving moment, and evidence that Spencer’s story isn’t just for young people. “I want people to feel represented, to feel seen, whatever their age and whoever they are,” he said.
That desire flows beyond the page. With every copy of Spencer Sparkles sold, a portion of Dan’s earnings goes to Minus18, an Australian charity supporting LGBTIQA+ young people. Drag icon Peppermint from RuPaul’s Drag Race even sent a cameo video congratulating him on the book and celebrating queer stories.
Dan says Spencer Sparkles is a “project of the heart” but is also just the beginning. There are more stories brewing – possibly sequels – with definitely more magic and always that core promise that everyone is special and unique just as they are.
Spencer Sparkles is available in paperback and e-book online. Follow Dan on Instagram @danthemanwhocan83
