New Brother

[C James]

 

New Brother by Graeme

 

I've only read up to chapter 17 so far, but I am really enjoying it.

 

Graeme gives us a look at homophobia and outing, and the trauma of being rejected by your family, from a very unique perspective; that of the straight son of the family that takes in Adam, a teen who was thrown out by his family when he was discovered to be gay.

 

The story as it times heartbreaking and hilarious all at once. It is masterfully done by the author of the superb "Falls Creek Lessons".

 

And lest I forget, one aspect of this wonderful story that I particularly like is that in many ways it seems like a normal family drama, yet ever so often something comes along to remind you that these seemingly normal characters are living in a strange and bizarre alien landscape (Australia).

 

Watch out for the Kangaroos and Echidnas, and enjoy the ride!

Edited March 5, 2007 by C James

[Kurt]

I love the way that this story is written.

 

I like the different prespective.

 

 

Kurt

[Graeme]

This was my first story. As a number of people here will appreciate, new authors are very nervous. One thing I didn't want to do was "more of the same". I wanted to do something original and I didn't have any motivation to write until I had an "original though" (possibly my one and only, but that's neither here nor there).

 

The inspiration was from one of Drake's stories, where a character who has been forced out of the closet lost two friends -- one because he hadn't trusted them enough to tell them earlier, and the other because he came out in the first place. It started me thinking on what the impact is on those around the gay guy coming out. It is certainly not as high as the one in the middle, but there's an impact and it can cause disruptions in their lives, too.

 

To ensure a bit of tension, I gave David (Stick) an initial bad reaction. You can imagine how tense I was, wondering how that would go done. Surprisingly, I have not received a single angry email about it. I've had people say they couldn't stomach the narrator and stopped reading because of that, but no one attacked me because I chose that point of view.

 

I made a lot of new-author mistakes in it. Some have been fixed up in the version you are looking at, but others had to be left because it would've required a major rewrite to fix. It's also one of the reasons I refer to the story when I'm talking to new authors -- I can point out the mistakes that I made, as an example of what not to do when they start writing.

 

And one correction to C James, post: while there are kangaroos in the story, there are definitely NO echidnas

[C James]

This was my first story. As a number of people here will appreciate, new authors are very nervous. One thing I didn't want to do was "more of the same". I wanted to do something original and I didn't have any motivation to write until I had an "original though" (possibly my one and only, but that's neither here nor there).

 

What? New authors are nervous?? If I calm down tremendously, I might qualify as merely nervous.

 

It is hard for me to think of you as ever being new to writing, but in a weird sort of way it is very reassuring to know that you once were.

 

The inspiration was from one of Drake's stories, where a character who has been forced out of the closet lost two friends -- one because he hadn't trusted them enough to tell them earlier, and the other because he came out in the first place. It started me thinking on what the impact is on those around the gay guy coming out. It is certainly not as high as the one in the middle, but there's an impact and it can cause disruptions in their lives, too.

 

It is indeed a unique perspective. I also really enjoyed the mix of humor and seriousness. For example (Spoiler ahead!)

 

Randy's freinds being so supportive and accepting of his homosexuality. Which, of course, give the fact that he's striaght and they just wouldn't bleleive him was hilarious!!! It also, though, raised a very serious issue: being a freind of a gay person can get a straight person "labled".

 

To ensure a bit of tension, I gave David (Stick) an initial bad reaction. You can imagine how tense I was, wondering how that would go done. Surprisingly, I have not received a single angry email about it. I've had people say they couldn't stomach the narrator and stopped reading because of that, but no one attacked me because I chose that point of view.

 

To be honest, my reaction was that I thought he was being a bit of a jerk, but would likely come around eventually. I really had more problems with Aiden, for holding a grudge for so long and for being such a jerk about it at times. But, one of the hallmarks of good fiction is characters who aren't perfect, but are flawed in various ways, just like real people.

 

And one correction to C James, post: while there are kangaroos in the story, there are definitely NO echidnas

 

What? The Author isn't part of the story?

[C James]

Just an update to let everyone know that "New Brother" won two awards in the 2006 G.A. Member's Choice awards!

 

 

[Graeme]

Thanks, C James!

 

Also, thank you Kurt for nominating the story in the first place.

 

As this was the first story I wrote (though I finished another one before I completed New Brother), I'm still amazed how well everyone has taken it. Thanks for the votes, people! It means a lot.

[TalonRider]

Well done, Graeme.

 

Jan

[Kurt]

Congratulations Graeme!

 

New Brother is truly an amazing story!

 

[acassimaty]

Woot! Congrats Graeme, it's truly deserved.

[adblue]

New Brother deserves those awards, and so does Graeme. It is about learning to overcome both what we fear and the obstacles in our paths, whether we think of ourselves as unlabelled, straight, gay, bi, unsure, or questioning. Graeme is one of a few writers whose work is consistently high quality and New Brother is a must-read, one of the finest stories on the web.

 

Congratulations, Graeme. You're a fine writer and a good man.

[Ieshwar]

A wonderful classic! I still remember when I was reading New brother. It was completed at that time. God, I was trying to save each minute so that I could read more of the story. I learnt so much from this story. These awards are well deserved. Congratulations!

 

Ieshwar