Being the start of a new week, Monday's are also a good time to take a look at some of the different stories that can be found on Gay Authors. With so many great works, it can be easy to overlook one and Monday's provide an opportunity for us to help make one of them stand out and maybe catch your interest. Today, we're bringing you a review by Timothy M. of carringtonrj's story "Presence". Enjoy!

Most stories on GA are about gay men and for good reason, since this is the preference of the majority of members. But luckily there are also stories for readers interested in other aspects of the sexual diversity of humans. One of the authors who explore the questing nature of human relationships is carringtonrj.

His stories are certainly not mainstream, neither in content nor in form. But they are invariably well written, poetic, romantic, heartfelt, and open-minded. And as one of his readers said: ‘your characters always have a fluidity to their sexuality.’ I might add that many of them are as shy, unassuming and modest as the author himself.

RJ has a small but enthusiastic fan group, but I’d like to see it expanded, and I’m sure there must be other readers who’ll appreciate his particular talent. This review concerns his most recent story, Presence, which perhaps is a greater challenge than earlier stories like Vintage or London and Love. One of the reasons is that RJ experiments with different styles of writing, and each chapter has its own distinct flavor. Some chapters contain nothing but dialogue, while others follow the rambling thoughts of the protagonists.

But Presence also has many of RJ’s signature traits: interesting characters with intelligence and empathy, beautiful imagery, and a grasp of the written word which is second to none. There is no rushing or hectic drama, but a calm intensity in every chapter. In fact, I have more than once left a review which comments on the soothing quality of his stories, e.g.:

Let me mention other good points of Presence, a story which according to the description tells of ‘A lesbian romance with a gay boyfriend along for the ride.’ To me the main one is Alex who is a woman of keen but kind wit, at once sensible and sensitive. For some reason I enjoy reading stories with intelligent, strong women, perhaps because they are attractive as both friends and lovers. I despise the Bridget Jones trend of 'helpless, silly women' being cute and desirable. Give me an Alex any day!

I’m also intrigued by the interaction of Alex with the two other characters of the story: Jamie, her boyfriend, and Lucy, who meets Alex at work. The way Alex and Lucy think about and react to each other and to the confusion and joy they feel at their mutual attraction, is so vivid, believable and universally human that I think all of us can relate, whether we are male, female, gay, straight, or anything in between. It is clear to me that no matter their faults and foibles, carringtonrj cares deeply for his characters and their struggles to find themselves, and he makes me engage myself in them too.

Why not give him and Presence a try? You might be as surprised and delighted as I was when I first stumbled on carringtonrj’s genderqueer stories.