Daryl Lopes | Author of STAYED
Debut author and music producer. STAYED — a novella about a father who never left and was never quite there — is available now.
THE DEBUT NOVELLA BY DARYL LOPES
STAYED
A father who mistook
survival for presence.
He never left.
He was just never quite there.
FAMILY / FATHERHOOD / PRESENCE
Discover the story
STAYED / A NOVELLA
01 / THE STORY
Daniel Mercer never
left his son.
He was just never there.
Tired, distracted, always meaning to try harder tomorrow, until tomorrow ran out. Now Eli is grown and gone, and Daniel has started seeing a boy at the end of the hallway, watching him the way Eli once did.
STAYED is a novella about a father who mistook survival for presence, and the son who has to decide whether it's too late to let him back in.
02 / THE READERS
A story that stays with you.
You’ll never take the ordinary things for granted after this read.
A quietly intense, emotionally provocative read.
This short story has remarkable depth and encourages meaningful self-reflection for any parent.
03 / BEGIN READING
Every story starts
with an open door.
Read chapter one of STAYED for free.
See where Daniel’s story begins.
Read Chapter One — Free
DARYL LOPES / AUTHOR
04 / BEHIND THE STORY
Daryl Lopes
Daryl Lopes is a debut author and music producer, originally from Massachusetts and now based in North Carolina, writing and recording under the name The DL. His work — whether a song or a sentence — circles the same question: what does it actually mean to be present with someone?
STAYED, his first novella, follows a father who never left and was never quite there, and the family that spends a lifetime learning the difference. It's a book for anyone who has ever mistaken proximity for presence — in others, or in themselves.
He lives with his wife, Suzy, where he's already at work on what comes next — on the page and in the studio.
Get in touchSTAYED / AVAILABLE NOW
Start with one chapter.
