Riley Jericho

You can see where it's been photoshoped

Oooohhh - golly, HH, you get me all hot and bothered when you talk like that! I'm lying in the bath writing on my iPad2. What else is there to say?

Magic Powder. Eee gads...ALCHEMY!

Might as well wax them off. Not as bad as the in-growing hairs you tend to get when it grows back! Nasty!!

A note to simply say 'thank you', both for the nominations and honour, though the truth is that all of the stories, poems and characters represented in the final ballot were awesome, and represent hours of hard slog by their authors. Here's a link https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/36058-english-teen-circumcised-in-the-usa/page-2 to say a bit more to all those who've been supporting ET this last year. It's hats off to Jan and the whole team for all the work it takes to pull off this annual event and I also need to offer an apology to SidLove for having such an agonisingly long story title, that it's a nightmare to fit in the graphic! Love ya, and thank you. Riley

Manscaping is what they like to call it! And what guy - at some point in his life - hasn't had a go at trimming back the bush to see what's hiding under there! The thing is, for those that want to hack back the foliage, I think it's quite individual when it comes to the amount of trimming or even shaving. Some guys look like utter GODS shaven completely smooth (eeeek did I just confess to looking at naughty pictures of guys online?). So I tried it and looked a total twerp - and it itched like crazy and I got bumps as it grew back. NEVER AGAIN! So perhaps you have to discover what's right for you, because what might look good on someone else could be complete pants on you. I prefer trimmed and have tried trimming in a few ways. Not sure what looks the best. Maybe I could put up photos, and you could vote? .... .. .. . . …… or maybe not! Riley

Honestly, I think you are unsurpassed in the way that you make your characters come alive and wiggle! Love it! Riley J

Brilliantly well written, Cia. A treat to read! Riley

A poem...

Hi Louis - and thank you. I have to confess that I cried buckets over this one - and yes, probably because it has personal pain embedded in it. It came together one sleepless night in my head and I penned it in a single sweep...unusual for me as writing usually takes ages! In many ways, I agree with you. However you understand 'faith' and an accountability to God, I refuse to accept the traditional biblical view that same sex attraction in itself is pure evil and sin. Even if you accept that gender alignment has both an 'experience' edge as well as a genetic factors, then for someone to 'have' that is no different from another endowed with funny shaped ears or a genetic medical struggle. When it's not of your making, how can it be wrong to be as you are? On the other hand I think we are responsible for honesty and fidelity whatever relationship we're in.

Wow! really good! Proof that a short story can be as potent as a longer one. Loved ir! Riley

OK - i' reviewing your story only so I can be no. 365. Someone else is gonna have to get the leap years! Ri

Well done on your first shot! Gutsy and with some good vocab... Watch out for grammar and spelling, but good flow. Keep it real as you go along and try to avoid falling into areas that are too trite - eg the school swim team backdrop can be too much of an overdone chesnut. Surprise us with something completely unexpected. Riley J

Prologue Silently I watched the boy hanging, lifeless, from the thin line. The room was quiet now. Still. Almost peaceful at last, though none of it distracted from the awfulness of the scene in front of me. It was horrible. It wasn’t at all like the TV shows, where carefully arranged manikins sanitised the viewing. And nothing prepares you for seeing someone like this, when it’s actually somebody you know. Somebody you’ve spent time with. Somebody you care about. That’s just indescribably