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J.T.

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  1. J.T.
    Most of you don't remember me when I used to write and beta on a regular basis. However, since the majority of my friends and family don't know much about me - and I'm trying to figure out a delicate balance between keeping my mother happy by not blasting "my unacceptable lifestyle" (trust me, this is a separate issue way too complicated for one single blog post) and keeping my boyfriend happy - I wrote a section of this as a Facebook note, and promptly deleted before posting.
     
    Two years ago, what started to be a slow process to become serious with my then-ex-boyfriend who I really thought I'd live the rest of my life with decided it were best if we took a step back and allowed each other to date other people. He suggested it would be better so he wouldn't feel trapped. I contemplated that if the relationship needed another person into the mix, then we're not the right match to stay together for the long haul.
     
    Two years have gone by and I don't regret this decision. Instead, I reflect on the decision I made, which took two days to formulate, weigh out, and gather enough strength to end things. I don't think either of us were ready to just end things completely, but I didn't think it would have ended well either way. He had too much temptation from moving into a "gayer" neighborhood, and I guess from his raise in status from his startup being bought out, he felt he had to date upwards. I, on the other hand, was ready to settle down, see the world with him, and even started throwing out ideas about engagement (but not to him directly).
     
    The strangest thing happened during this time. I was an emotional mess, the one friend who I met online and we chatted in a coffee shop eventually became my boyfriend. My ex apparently thought SF was too bougie (yeah... I didn't understand that either) and moved to Chicago. Two years tomorrow will mark 2 years I broke up, and 2/20 will mark the day I added my current boyfriend on FB. It's so weird looking back at my facebook timeline and have "You became friends with... February 20th" with a picture of the two of us.
     
    So yeah, what the hell have I been doing? Well for one thing, work's been crazy. (yeah, yeah, we've all heard this before) I ended up getting promoted to a slightly higher managerial position that now requires me to be suddenly artzy as hell. I now do visual merchandising and I have no art degree! Trust me my color coordination is all over the place and people in the company hate how I can generate numbers for the company without being the artzy snotty stature the role requires me to be.
     
    I got a drunk text from my ex that said he wanted to apologize at how he ended things. I'm not sure if I got the closure I wanted, but I think it's safe to say that we're both strong people who take a lot of time to get over something once something's been decided.
  2. J.T.
    https://www.gayauthors.org/story/fleetingrainbows/asinglepromise
     
    I just finished reading "A Single Promise" yesterday. It look longer than usual to read this story, since work's been crazy busy I haven't had the time to dedicate to reading much.
     
    So I wanted to start off by saying that the dialog in the story was beautifully written. The emotions tied into the conversational dialog between characters were vivid enough that I could picture actors and actresses to be able to pick it up and know exactly how to act out the scene if need be. There are almost purposeful misdirection in the narration to make the reader think that the unthinkable happen, just so it can be fully explained in the next chapter (like the gun-fight).
     
    FleetingRainbows has a distinct ability to describe raw emotions, especially pain, turmoil, regret, doubt, rage, and anger. The ability to describe both the aggressor and the victim of a domestic abuse is a unique gift and he does it superbly.
     
    However, the story did started out kind of awkward. There were definitely times when the overusage of pronouns made it difficult to follow the storyline. In fact I had to reread various sections of the first three chapters in order to get what was happening - but the plot grew on me... By the first night I had the first 15 chapters read and I was happy to see
     
     
    Certain inside jokes like "Who the hell is Vince and where did it come from?" was not answered until towards the very end of the book, which was again, slightly aggravating considering you had to keep reading like you knew what was going on, but knowing you hadn't had a clue who Vince was.
     
     
    By Chapter 33 you knew it was going to be a happy ending, but Chapter 35 the unknowns were tied into a neat package and "they lived happily ever after."
     
    I loved the plot and I really liked the progression of in depth effects of rape victims and how one could potentially feel while getting over traumatic experiences, especially those that happen over time. However, it did seem highly irregular that Alex healed psychologically and was able to "break out of his shell" in such short time. It was explained that Kris was able to do this because the two knew each other so well that they could draw each other out of their comfort zones to "move on", so to speak. However, it was almost too convenient to have Hope be their couples therapist... even live-in counseling.
     
    I'm glad the plot ended the way it did, but it almost seems like the sense of time in the story was never really constant. Certain times the story would stay in one speed for about 3/4 a chapter and then randomly time flies like a cassette tape was fast-forwarded. Other times time flew by so fast and then randomly someone hits the Slow-Motion Play button and every thought becomes breathtakingly vivid.
     
    Lastly, considering I read the story on the GA Mobile Skin, this might be through no fault of the author, but there was no difference between a story narration, dialog, a thought, a flashback, or the other end of a phone conversation. The random italicization gave little or no actual indication of what was going on until you read about three paragraphs in, which combined with the random time progressions throughout the story, became someone of a weird brain roller coaster.
     
    All in all, the flaws made the reading experience that much more uncertain. It made it actually seem like events were actually unraveling in my mind in such a way that the psychological toll and reactions were brought to me as if I were living them. If this was what the author intended, then a big bravo. It brought me to the edge of my seat... well... not necessarily, I was reading in bed and it's just weird to be lying at the edge of my bed reading... but I digress. The mental roller coaster meant I got to experience the uncertainty as well, which enriched the reading experience that much more.
     
    I think when the pain and hurt was over for Kris and Alex, there wasn't much else left to do but to wrap things up. I would like to see a sequel perhaps, or even a side plot. While I do think that Johnny was a douche for doing what he did, I must say the "I thought it was a good idea at the time" excuse was used by every one of us at one point or another. However, keeping it a secret was never a good idea and I think Johnny knew that, but didn't want to lose Kris. Irony: the truth came out anyways and Johnny lost. I do want to see what happened with Johnny, perhaps a prequel on how Johnny originally met Phil and how they were able to get back together (so conveniently quickly) could be a nice side plot to develop. An eventual meeting/catching up could draw Alex and Kris back in to the picture to really see if they saw each other, one of them would walk on the other side of the street?
     
    I hope I'm not too harsh on the review. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the story and I wept with Alex with his pain, which in itself is a testament of how vivid those scenes were, but there are improvements in which I hope either gets fixed or is brought up prior the next story written.
     
    FleetingRainbows: Thank you for a wonderful mental roller coaster and for making me connect with the psychological effects of trauma victims. It was an eye-opening experience for sure.
  3. J.T.

    Computer scans...

    By J.T.,

    So Microsoft finally decided to come out with that "Microsoft Security Essentials" software... I decided to give it a try and see what I could complain about it... lol
     
    I was kind of bitching at my awesome desktop for taking over 36 hours to scan my computer, but then I found out why:
     

     
     
    Yeah... Remind me to toss some of that out...
  4. J.T.
    So I'm still stuck on Chapter 3 right now... it's been officially 3 months since Chapter 2 came out and I'm no closer to finding a solution that I was 3 months ago... which sucks... I know...
     
    So in order to keep myself interested in the story, here's a "poll"... do you think I should write an additional "character building" chapter with Jack and Dr. Browning before the good stuff begins? I'm thinking that it'd gauge interest in the plot and potentially expose details about Jack that could potentially help me solve the current Chapter 3/5 dilemma
  5. J.T.

    Forum sigs...

    By J.T.,

    Cailen and I both made one coincidentally... for me. So... which one looks better? I like both, but mine seems a bit too plain... which is why I like Cailen's a lot. What do you think?
     
    I don't think I'll ever be as good as Cailen with his photoshop skills... lol I'm just not an artsy kinda guy I guess...
     
    Cailen's:
     
    Mine: <----- CLICK TO ENLARGE
  6. J.T.
    If you haven't noticed, I don't publish who I am on here. There's a reason for that. I'm not out and I frankly have no interest to be out right now. I'm not in denial with myself, I just cannot afford to be out. In terms of my personal priorities, if it means I have a roof over my head while I bounce around trying to pay off my student loans mean that I can't live my life openly as I wish, so be it.
     
    Some of you know me on GA via Chat. I am able to truly be myself in the chat most of the time, and I am glad that you all are able to communicate with me that way. However, I generally don't mix my RL stuff with my GA activities.
     
    If I actually trust you to be on my Facebook friend, it generally means that I trust you well enough to know that you wouldn't be blabbing my RL details to others here on GA.
     
    Not being out and open about myself is a choice I make unwillingly, and I don't wake up in the morning, smell the fresh air around me, and decide I'm going to confine myself in a false persona. It's not like enjoy hiding myself from who I truly am.
     
    I hope you understand the basic mutual decency and privacy that I exercise, and why I seem distant whenever you ask me about personal details. Don't take it the wrong way, but I've probably trained myself long enough to keep my defenses up so no one can get close enough to me to make me feel threatened. And until I meet the one who will bring me out of my shell and face life the way it is, I believe that staying the course I have laid out thus far will be what I end up doing for the foreseeable future.
     
    It's ironic, even if I live in the most liberal cities in the entire US, I still cannot afford to be myself... to say it's sad would be the understatement of the millennia.
  7. J.T.
    Dear Authors,
    Please fix your word usage errors. Grammar Nazis worldwide are cringing at your every mistake.

    Sincerely,
    Not German
     
    After browsing through "Dear blank, please blank." I decided it was time to make a request here.
     
    Please know the difference between "your" and "you're", "than" and "then", etc. If you need help, we have wonderful editors who will be glad to help you. Please, don't butcher your works of art by bad grammar. That's what this community is all about, author support and being able to read works of art that are well-written, and have our readers cling to your every word.
     
    Thanks,
     
    Fmd
  8. J.T.

    My First Story

    By J.T.,

    So Frosty sent me a review of my first chapter of my new story I'm writing. I have to say in some respects I'm a bit garbled with what I want to present, when I want to present it, and how I should do it - well.
     
    I'm not trying to put down any of the authors I've had immense pleasure of reading through their works. However, I believe I like to keep my stories a bit more grounded, a little less extraordinary, with a bit more real-life scenarios - where not only lives are at stake, but money, family, and "common" tragedies creep up at the worst moments and sneak up on you when you least expect or want it.
     
    At the same time, I'm not trying to write a pure sob story that's just completely emo.
     
    This will be interesting as the main character, who will have a name very similar to a Hollywood Star and would never grow up without not hearing the same jokes about his name day in and day out... interact with his own growth process, will take a toll on himself as he begins a long introspection and reevaluation of his life decisions.
     
    Not to give anything away because... well... let's face it I'm writing Chapter 2 at the moment... lol... I'm going to bet that the self-realization will begin a new genre of stories I hope to be writing in the future.
     
    Fixing My Destiny.
     
    ~Jay
     
    To my wonderful Editor + Beta Reader Frosty: zomfg you're the best <3
  9. J.T.

    The Script by Carl DaVinci

    By J.T.,

    I need to stop lying to myself. I think I started to enjoy Carl DaVinci's short stories that I decided to give it another go.
     
    Instead of writing I read The Script between last night and this morning, and I loved the story. I think it is wonderful how people can meet in all sorts of circumstances, however unlikely, and come together despite their respective hardships and impasses.
     
    Carl DaVinci's The Script is a Hollywood-based drama when a teen star takes a starring role in an upcoming Hollywood film as a gay man, when to his knowledge at the time, is straight. He meets his co-star and develops an deeper relationship which flourished into something the two of them could no longer deny was something more than just rehearsals and retakes.
     
    The parental influences, media influences, and other external conflicts that Marcus, the main character faced, only dug deep within himself to find answers he was not prepared to find, and when he dug himself out of the hole after a realization of how much he missed David, his co-star and eventual lover, transformed into a new individual - something that none of the characters foresaw.
     
    It is always fascinating how I find new ways of how authors are able to convey the same, if not a deeper implied intensity and details in short stories. It always gives me perspective on what sort of style I want to write. In a way I want to dive into details of the surroundings, I want to immerse the reader into every detail of every step the character takes, yet something as simple with one sentence can sometimes portray more than what a paragraph can at times.
     
    One contemplates
     
    Again, thank you Frosty for the recommendation to read Carl's work, and thank you Carl for writing another amazing series! I look forward to spending my writing time away by reading your stories instead
     
    Carl DaVinci ~ The Script: https://www.gayauthors.org/story/carl-davinci/thescript
  10. J.T.

    You and Me by Carl DaVinci

    By J.T.,

    I lied, in an effort to sneak myself a preview of what Frosty recommended to me, I decided to read the first chapter of You and Me by Carl DaVinci and then by the time 6AM rolled around I had finished the last chapter and I saw the sun peaking out as it started to burn off the overcast and fog from overnight. As I sit here typing, I feel groggy, yet comforted at yet another author surprises me with a super short but super powerful story.
     
    to Frosty for recommending yet another amazing story to me. You are now the cause of many sleepless nights, and I am thankful.
     
    Anyways, back to the story: You and Me by Carl DaVinci ~ https://www.gayauthors.org/story/carl-davinci/youandme
     
    I was very glad that the identical twins didn't get involved with each other... especially since I just finished with Working It Out. I just felt I needed a break from sibling relationships for a while, even if they were adoptive siblings.
     
    The story showed distinctly how a child's upbringing made it possible to take different paths in sexual orientation, even if they are biologically identical. The home situation was especially heart breaking in the beginning, while the cynicism around Jeremy was a focus for the story ~ how to refine his cynical personality to a more neutral more happy outward person by letting love in.
     
    In some respects, I kind of wanted to see if Jack would make an attempt to not only mend ways with Nathan, but develop a deeper relationship as old times, perhaps even more. While that would cause a identical twin love triangle, it would definitely bring out an age-old question of whether to choose the twin Nathan fell in love with in the beginning or the one he settled with instead. While I agree the ending to the story brought out a hopeful wrap-up to the plot, the short story had definite wiggle room to expand to the future. And I sincerely hope that Carl will be able to take the plot further down the road.
     
    This has been the shortest series I've read on GA, mainly because I don't read short stories too often, but this was the perfect evening reading to get myself tied up before I let myself go to sleep.
     
    While I will regret not sleeping last night, I sincerely enjoyed this heart moving story and only hope that my story writing skills will be even 10-20% of what these authors are capable of writing. In time, I hope to develop my story writing skills to a relatively respectable level (above 5th grade adjectives I hope lol) and be able to publish more polished works in the future.
  11. J.T.
    So, I finally got a chance to finish the entire Working It Out saga. I really enjoy the last novel, as a shift from the main characters began to occur starting from Book 2, and extended even more so in Book 3. A lot more emphasis was placed on the extended family members, even pursuing the majority of some of the chapters on these side characters instead of just focusing on Mike and Matt. This was an interesting approach since I've always commented on some of the other works I've read here on GA that the minor characters did not have enough plot development for my tastes.
     
    While I enjoyed the general progression of the plot, by Book 3 it seemed like Don had somewhat lost a sense of direction of where the story should go. A quick revival of an nemesis from a previous book decidedly became the main plot and a twist that did not finish until the very last chapter.
     
    Don Hanratty had a great plot which he could most likely extend the book another 3 chapters, but he decided to wrap the entire story, all of the characters, and randomly fast forwarded the timeline by a couple decades in the span of a few paragraphs. It felt like the ending was quite forced, but at least DH did a good job wrapping everything up.
     
    I sincerely hope that the story can continue, because it definitely can, as Book 4 can just take the last chapter and somewhat expand on the details a bit more. Just how Matt and Mike raises the kids, how Josh and Chris get along, etc etc can go a long way.
     
    Thank you Don for another wonderful story, and I look forward to reading Beloved after I begin writing my own story.
     
    I encourage you to spend the time to read Working It Out. It is a long story, but the story pace goes so fast you won't even realize it by the time you finish reading the first book, and by then you're hooked http://donh.gayauthors.org/working-it-out/index.php
  12. J.T.
    Working It Out by Don Hanratty's a great, fast paced novel that took me through a series of roller coasters along the ride. I just finished Book 1 (of 3) and I must say it was a great novel. I have to admit that the novel's speed was a bit too quick for me, as in before I could get any time to really realize what's going in the surroundings, the scene changes and you're shocked by the next series of events that happen in the plot. There is no "plateau" where things just randomly settle down for some time and then *boom* - it's just a constant chain and waves of *boom boom boom* you can't slow down, you can't react, you just keep reading. There were typos... some more major than minor, such as in Chapter 11 when uh... wait....
     
     
    that threw me off quite a bit until I kept rereading the paragraph until it made sense. Other than some of the more liberties that the author took to somehow many every single one of his plot twists believable because every single one of them are just as unbelievable as the previous one, it has an interesting take to how the author forces the reader to consistently twist their brains in such a way that the plot twists are never "expected" or "storybook". However, the foreshadowing of "not being able to have kids via conventional methods" definitely came to mind especially at the end of Book 1.
     
     
    I'm starting Book 2 now. I can definitely get used to this Great job Don H. http://donh.gayauthors.org/
     
    ----
    In other news, I have a few ideas for a novel of my own, which are spread out from a weird "40 year old virgin" story for a gay guy... a high school gay romance that forces both to take on fake straight lives... a city boy/country cowboy romance... I just hope that when the time comes I don't get too much writer's block - and it doesn't read like a messy third grader's scribbled text.
  14. J.T.

    Everybody's Wounded

    By J.T.,

    Everybody's Wounded, by Duncan Ryder, is an award winning story here on GA.
     
    Link: http://duncanryder.g...org/stories.php
     
    This story was a very complicated yet refreshing love story - yet to describe the story with mere words like intimate, intense, shocking... all just sounds too bland to properly give a description as to the powerfulness of how DR presented the novel.
     
    I think Duncan Ryder has brought me outside of the realm of dkstories finally and I think I'm going to begin moving towards other hosted authors here on GA.
     
    I can't wait until How the Light Gets In is finished so I can begin reading it.
     
    I want to thank Frostina for recommending me to read Duncan Ryder... and I wanted to thank Duncan Ryder for writing the story... he made me want to live in Canada even though I don't like the cold sometimes... props to him.
  15. J.T.

    Reading Dawn of Tears

    By J.T.,

    I've read 28 chapters of Dawn of Tears and so far I've loved it as much as I've loved the first Do Over novel.
     
    Although I really would have liked the specifics to be a little more consistent along the storyline, from simple things like calling Dylan's jet first a 797 and then a 787 to more important details along the plot, I really would had a better time reading if the story text was better edited and reviewed.
     
    I wonder if people could help Dan edit these stories and republish them?
     
    There are five chapters left and I'm not sure if I'll like the ending, but at least /so far/ there weren't as many plot holes or flaws with the delivery of the plotline to justify an ending quite yet.
     
    I really hope I enjoy the last few chapters.
     
    As a musical compliment: last time when I read Do Over I said that Inception Soundtrack played over a loop syncs up perfectly...
     
    For Dawn of Tears, although it doesn't sync up perfectly, I've found that the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 soundtrack also does a pretty good job with getting the story synced up sometimes (All 10.7 hours worth of game soundtrack )
     
    Dawn of Tears, by dkstories, may be found here: http://dkstories.gayauthors.org/dawn/
  16. J.T.
    These are the dkstories stories I've finished, reading, or waiting to read.
    Dreams of Humanity
    Dreams of a Father
    The Beard
    The Bully
    Dawn of Tears (Completed 17JAN2011)
    Goon
    Do Over
    Do Over Redux
    Doing It Right
    Let's Do It
    Rich Boy: Awakening
    Rich Boy 2: Growing Pains
    Rider's Pride (Not going to read until I get a chance to read the other book first)
    The Wreckers (No longer offered on the LuLu market...)

    dkstories's stories may be found at: http://dkstories.gayauthors.org/
  17. J.T.

    Fixing My Destiny

    By J.T.,

    Yeah, I just placed my story to On Hold status for now. I haven't worked on it in over a year and a half, and I need to revisit the concept and work around that damn catch 22 in the story I've never really been able to work out. It has been a wild year and a half though.
     
    I am very thankful for Sara and Maria for helping me through the initial processes of my story. I don't think I would have published the story and kept writing without them constantly pushing me to do so.
     
    The story is on hold, eventually I'm going to just edit the chapters directly instead of taking the story down completely. It will mean you'll probably have to reread the entire thing when I'm done, but we'll see what happens.
     
    I have a plan to work around certain aspects of the plot that's been putting my entire story to a dead halt. It involves a rubber mallet and very loud music. My boyfriend would hate being in the same room when this happens.
     
    Oh yeah, bf! Yeah that happened - almost five months and we're acting like an old married couple already. Hell, we're so damn co-dependent I officially miss him while he's across the country spending Thanksgiving with his college buddy. Also, I have officially banished the bed in my house and deemed it as absolute crap... even if my bf has the exact bed from IKEA in his apartment. (his mattress is waaaaay firmer) I've taken a constant hobby of cuddling, something that he enjoys, so it works out. However, I have definitely done some weight gain because of my inactivity, which means guess who's back on a diet???
     
    Reading through my old chapters, it seems like I had a very polished writing style - one I probably wouldn't repeat. There's a constant nagging feeling I got when reading through that there's like a neat, overly-polished writing, as if I took a little too much time fixing grammar (which Sara and I in fact did)... and honestly it's nice to read, but it's kind of sterile at the same time. I probably have a bit more dialog, internal or conversational, but it will be more casual to see if I can get potential readers to be able to connect with the character faster.
     
    Aghhhh soooooo much to fix...
     
    Anyways, I hope everyone's having a wonderful Thanksgiving today. I have work on Black Friday, so I'm really not looking forward to it. Seriously, only in America would we spend one day to be thankful for what we have, only to line up like drones and stomp all over each other the very next day to get whatever they can grab their hands on. Irony, folks, include it in your writing (subtle or not).
     
    Turkey or not, think of those in your life who have influenced your life that you want to be thankful for, big or small. Spend a moment to thank them in person, or at the very least, poke them on facebook or something. Let them know they matter - you have no idea how many people spend Thanksgivings alone - and that thank you can make their day. :-)
     
    ~Jay
  18. J.T.
    The Left is a pretty cool band from Vancouver apparently... hooked on their song right now... it's playing on repeat.
     
    lyrics
    slow wandering the city blocks I know you by the way you walk and white knuckled searching the atmosphere but I won’t find you cause you’re not here
     
    I’ll be falling through the cracks for you and always coming back to pull you through
     
    if the rain starts to fall you’ll be safe in my arms I’ll carry you and the waves when they crash you’ll be safe on my back I’ll carry you
     
    leaves blowing like dynamite thieves stealing my appetite everything I see is in black and white but I won’t find you cause you’re not here you’re never here
     
    I’ll be falling through the cracks for you and always coming back to pull you through
     
     
    if the rain starts to fall you’ll be safe in my arms I’ll carry you and the waves when they crash you’ll be safe on my back I’ll carry you
    the loneliest souls usually fall out where you’re heart was there’s a hole now the only way out when you’re lost and low is to find your heart or let your love go
    if the rain starts to fall you’ll be safe in my arms I’ll carry you and the waves when they crash you’ll be safe on my back I’ll carry you
    if the rain starts to fall I’ll carry you and the waves when they crash I’ll carry you
  19. J.T.
    Working It Out Book 2 was a great read - and excitingly picks up right off from where Book 1 ended, which some authors sometimes decide to move the timeline forward quite a bit to introduce enough uncertainty to introduce new characters, new settings, and new conflicts without opening up questions to why the conflicts did not occur in the previous novel. Don did a spectacular job in making sure that the plot progressed just as quickly as Book 1.
     
    I loved the plot, and it gave me the long awaited "ending" I have been looking forward to reading in a long, long time. One relationship I would have hoped that Don pursue before
    was to pursue what happened between Arnie and Sean, if there were any developments or how they grew apart. While keeping up with the novel, I like the contrast that not everybody in the character list somehow find inseparable love, but I would have liked to see why they were or were not meant to be.
     
    I can't wait to get started with Book 3. I'm guessing since DonH hasn't released more books to this novel that this will unfortunately be the last novel I will read for this Saga, which is extremely unfortunate. I hope there's a good reason for it, and I sincerely hope that I can enjoy the rest of this saga soon.
     
    Again, if you didn't read the first post, Don Hanratty's Working It Out can be found at: http://donh.gayauthors.org/working-it-out/index.php
     
    And yes, I will read Beloved next. I read the first line in of Beloved, and I found it is not a plot continuation of Working It Out, so I know I need to prepare myself for this.
     
     
     
     
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