[2] Some of his favorite writers include James Baldwin, Carson McCullers, and Truman Capote, as well as John Rechy.

The novel was praised by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cunningham and was acclaimed in reviews by The Advocate,[3] Publishers Weekly, New York Daily News, The Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times.

[4] His first collection of poetry, Sugar (2005), was published by Suspect Thoughts Press, and it centers on the lives of outsiders, especially Cajuns and queers.

The collection was praised by Alfred Corn and Jake Shears, and it was named a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards in 2006.

In 2005, he was named one of the Leading Men of the Year by Instinct magazine, alongside Jake Shears and Keith Boykin.

Black Sheep Boy was praised by the Los Angeles Times, The Millions, and Lambda Literary, as well as by the writers Justin Torres, Aimee Bender and Chris Abani.

In 1993, at Loyola University New Orleans, he founded Out/Here, the first LGBTQ student organization on a Southern Jesuit campus.