Hiding in the Spotlight
Heated Rivalry captivated audiences with its forbidden romance between two professional hockey players, but beneath the steamy rivalry lies something deeper: an unflinching portrait of the psychological cost of living in the closet. Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov aren't just hiding a relationship—they're fractured by years of pretending to be someone they're not, performing straightness in one of the most aggressively masculine environments on earth.
This book uses their story as a lens to explore what it actually means to live a double life: the compartmentalization that fragments your psyche, the internalized shame that becomes your harshest critic, the exhausting performance that drains everything, and the near-impossibility of building real intimacy on a foundation of lies. Whether you're a fan seeking deeper understanding, someone navigating your own closet, or anyone interested in the psychology of authenticity, this book illuminates the gap between who we are and who we pretend to be—and why that gap extracts too high a price.
Is AI Conscious?
As artificial intelligence systems grow powerful enough to reshape entire industries, hold sophisticated conversations, and produce creative work that’s hard to distinguish from human output, one question looms large: is anyone home inside these machines?
Is AI Conscious? cuts through the hype and dismissiveness that dominate public debate to confront the question head-on, drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience, philosophy of mind, evolutionary psychology, and ancient contemplative traditions.
Dennis Hunter is the author of four nonfiction books:
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Is AI Conscious? What We Know (and Don't Know) About Consciousness and Artificial Intelligence
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You Are Buddha: A Guide to Becoming What You Are
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The Four Reminders: A Simple Buddhist Guide to Living and Dying Without Regret
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Bloodlines: A History of Vampires (also in Spanish as Linajes de Sangre: Una Historia de Vampiros a Traves de los Siglos y las Culturas)
His nonfiction writing focuses on themes of mind and consciousness, mythology, psychology, artificial intelligence, and spirituality. He also writes fiction.
His forthcoming fifth book is about humans and AI.
A former Buddhist monk, he is a lifelong student of philosophy, consciousness, spirit, and human potential.
Professionally, he has worked for over three decades in the advertising industry, and has spent the past three years exploring how LLMs and other AI platforms can augment human creativity.
He studied English, French and Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma and Communications at City University of New York. He lived in New York City for 25 years. He currently resides in Miami, Florida.