Becoming Spenser

Finding Magic in Ordinary Places

Dan was warm and welcoming from the moment I met him at Project 1 Café in Frankston. The kind of warmth that isn’t rushed. The kind that makes you feel at ease, like you’ve known someone longer than you actually have.

If you’ve ever ordered a coffee at Trims Restaurant, you may already know him. Dan Stroede has been part of the Frankston café scene for years. Friendly. Kind. Familiar. What you may not know is that between coffee shifts, international travel, and quiet moments of reflection, Dan has written a novel that is now touching hearts far beyond our coastline.

Dan was born in Germany and originally dreamed of becoming a journalist. He worked hard, studied, interned, and chased opportunities, until one difficult workplace experience left him questioning his direction. Instead of staying stuck, he made a brave decision to step away and travel. That choice brought him to Australia, where a year of backpacking slowly turned into something more permanent.

Life took a few turns along the way. Some relationships stayed, others didn’t. But Australia always felt like home, and over time, Frankston became part of that story.

Today, Dan’s life is shaped by movement, family, roots, and return. And through it all, one constant has been his café work in Frankston, where he was given something rare: trust. The freedom to leave, and the certainty of a place to come back to.

That sense of belonging matters to Dan. You can hear it when he speaks about Frankston. The beach. The evolving energy. The feeling of home without the noise of a big city. It’s a place where he feels grounded.

It was in one of those quiet in-between moments, sitting in a café overseas, that Dan finally began the story he had always carried.
There was no plan and no outline. He just sat down and started writing.

What followed was a year of words flowing freely. A story inspired by his own experiences, but shaped through imagination and magic. A coming-of-age novel about a teenage boy named Spencer, who feels different without fully knowing why. A boy who faces bullying, uncertainty, and the confusing pull of first love. A boy whose life shifts when magical freckles appear on his face, opening the door to both self-discovery and fear.

The result is Spencer Sparkles, a magical coming-of-age story about identity, courage, and learning to be yourself in a world that doesn’t always make space for difference.

The magic in Dan’s story is not about spectacle. It’s about identity. About that moment in life when you realise something about yourself has changed, and you don’t yet know how to hold it.

Spencer is Dan, and he isn’t. The feelings are real, and some of the experiences are too. Writing it as a story gave him space to explore them, safely, on the page.

Dan speaks about Spencer with protectiveness and affection. “He’s my little hero,” he says. In loving Spencer, Dan has found a deeper way of loving parts of himself too.

When the book was released, the response surprised him. It debuted at number one in Amazon Australia’s Hot New Releases for Magical Realism, and number two in Coming of Age. Much of that early support came from Frankston locals. Familiar faces. Café regulars. People quietly backing one of their own
But the impact has gone further.

One message Dan received told of an elderly man who read the book in his final days, tears falling as he finally saw himself reflected in a story. Proof that this was never just a book for young readers. It is a story for anyone who has ever felt different, unseen, or unsure of where they belong.

Dan says Spencer’s journey may not be finished yet, hinting that there might be more for him to say, and feel, and experience – when the time is right.
With every copy sold, Dan donates a portion of proceeds to Minus18, supporting LGBTQIA+ youth. Not as a grand statement, but as a natural extension of care. A way to give back to the kind of young people he once was.

Sitting with Dan, you don’t feel like you’re talking to an author chasing attention. You feel like you’re talking to someone who simply followed a quiet calling, and understands how important it is to feel like you belong.

It’s a reminder that some stories don’t begin with ambition, but with listening. To yourself. To where you’ve come from. To the parts of you that have been waiting to be heard.

Sometimes magic doesn’t arrive loudly. Sometimes it shows up in freckles. In kindness. In cafés. In stories written from the heart. And sometimes, it’s sitting right across from you at Project 1 Café, smiling gently, and reminding you that ordinary places can hold extraordinary stories.