warning......serious self exploration ahead

Ok, so I got this email from one of my Nifty readers, and they asked me a simple question....why do my two longest stories and all of my almost all of my poems involve plot lines or themes where the main character has a good family????

I had to stop and think about it for a minute, and then it came to me in a flash.....because I think families are important. Not just because I come from what I think is a good family, but because, as a Christian, i've always been taught that besides faith in the Lord, there's nothing more important for anyone to have.

Sometimes I read stories on Nifty or even here at GA, and it seems like the parents are the villians, and the rest of the family are always homophobes. Now, not all of the stories are that way, and I didn't take any of that into consideration before I wrote my stories, either. I mean, for one thing, What's the Difference Between me and you? is a story about my family, so in a way, I can't help the theme in that story. But Jarred in My Jump Off has a strong family too, and I didn't even give it a lot of thought before I wrote the story. I just let it all flow out as I was writing, and when I was done, he had a cool mom and dad. Well, maybe not that cool, but if you've read it, you know what I mean.

I guess what it all boils down to is this......family means a lot to me. I know it's not realistic for me to think that everyone is going to have a supportive family, and that when they come out that their parents are going to not just accept them, but actually support them and accept their boyfriends or girlfriends. But I think it's okay to wish that it could happen for everyone.

By the way, speaking of My Jump Off, I'm half way done with chapter seven. I'm gonna try to get it finished up by tonight and get it posted either tonight or tomorrow, but no promises

Kisses

Nick