Percy

Great blog J! i wish i had more time to read the great stories posted here.

That's a good idea. Maybe, too, one of the admins could leave a comment on the stories read by the CSR group along the lines of "This story was nominated and discussed by GA's book club. Check out their reviews here (and insert the link back to the blog page)."

Nominating Josh's Blog by Carl Holiday. Everything I've read by Libby Drew has been good so probably can't go wrong with that nomination either.

Well written and easy to read. The plot moves along at a quick pace and there’s plenty of action and sex throughout to keep it interesting. I had trouble getting into the story at first. It felt anachronistic – Travis’ gay sex is limited to anonymous blowjobs for fear of reprisals from his employer, family and community. Tyler is so homophobic that his sexual attraction to another man makes him physically ill (evidently). I do know this is still a current reality in many places. That said, it made me reflect that much of society worldwide has changed because the first few couple chapters sounded like a way of life that was left behind about 35 years ago. So, the guys in this story have a lot of sex. Because jwolf writes so well, this makes for great reading. Notably, none of the sex scenes were gratuitous and this is a credit to fantastic plotting and story development. The sex is integral to the plot, advancing the story. The scenes also offered greater interiority to Travis’ character and showed Tyler coming to terms with himself and his past. (There may have been a couple gratuitous scenes with the sheriff’s deputy towards the end of the story.) Neither of the main characters invoked my sympathy. I identify with characters who have a sense of purpose, even if that purpose is flawed or downright evil. Neither of these men had any apparent goals, no plan beyond mere survival, no direction. Travis, particularly, could have benefited from some stronger sense of himself as a person and what he wanted out of his life. He had no reason not to continually go along with Tyler. He didn’t mind giving up his present life for the man and since he had no plans for the future, there was nothing to give up there. This made Tyler’s coercion of Travis that much easier. Either of them could be the “Nowhere Man” of the story’s title.

Here are some suggestions for next month: Travelling Home by podga Nowhere Man by Jwolf Double Down by Cia

I’m glad Riley pointed out Nephylim’s technique of structuring the story through conversation. As the conversation was largely between Noah and Luke, or a conversation about Luke between Noah and another character, it did have the effect of focusing the story solely on their relationship. I had wondered about the lack of development of other relationships during Noah’s year of recovery in the hospital. Particularly, it would have been interesting to learn his impressions of the man he was coming to know as his father. Given the author’s description of the parameters under which the story was written, it makes sense that there simply wasn’t room for an in depth exploration of his relationship with his immediate family. The story circles around two major issues, and Nephylim packs them in very neatly. Firstly, Noah and Luke need to resolve the issues between the two of them. Noah senses that Luke is holding secrets about their past and Luke is fearful that those secrets will destroy their future. Their relationship reaches a point where it won’t progress until they can trust each other and they both struggle towards that trust. Secondly, Noah is aware that their relationship is subject to close scrutiny, but lacking memory, he can’t identify the reason for it. Eventually, it becomes clear that Noah’s father disapproves of Luke, doesn’t want to believe his son is gay and doesn’t want a gay relationship being conducted in his house. Again, Noah and Luke need to surmount the tragedies stemming from Noah’s father’s disapproval for their relationship to succeed. I liked that the story had a happy ending for the boys and that they persevered through all the obstacles thrown in their way. The tale highlights an all too common issue with relationships between teens. They are learning to negotiate a romantic and sexual relationship for the first time and often living with parents who are not willing to accept that their child has reached that point in life. Stressful enough that, but as Nephy’s story shows, as a gay teen Noah must also weigh the consequences of coming out to his parents versus keeping his sexuality a secret. While parental disapproval of teen-age relationships is likely ubiquitous no matter a teen’s orientation, it is alarming how quickly that disapproval can turn violent and the lengths otherwise good parents will go in eradicating any indication of gay sexuality in their sons and daughters. Nephy delved into some very powerful and emotional themes in crafting Noah and Luke’s story.

Great way to learn about good stories and to find other readers with the same interests.

Joann, I am sorry to hear that you lost such a well loved member of your family. You are a remarkable woman. Very giving. I get something from reading your perspective on life and am glad you come here to share it.

You write with a great deal of clarity. Good attention to detail. I must say, though, that this had me listening to my own speech and making sure I've extracted every bit of southern drawl from it. I grew up in the south and could vividly bring these good ole boys to mind. The only thing missing was some Red Man chewing tobacco. Good, action packed story!

Dark and grim material here, very well handled. The writing was concise, no fluff. Always a mystery as to what turns people into monsters, isn't it? Enjoyed this one from you, Wayne.

I am glad you chose to submit this for the anthology and that you took the time to translate it. Though this had a common premise for a fairy tale (suitors from the kingdom compete for the hand of a princess), you wrote in a lot of twists to the story and to the motivations of the characters that kept the tale interesting. Super cool that you opened the competition up to suitors of "all genders".

Thanks Dolores. This story shows how one desperate act leads to another and another, none of them with a satisfactory end!

The person who wrote this has an amazing spirit, strong and gentle, someone who has dreams and still attends to the needs of daily life. You have a lot to share and write so vividly; I love reading your stories and blogs.

Cool. Your stories always make me wish I could write fantasy. I like the hopeful suggestion that deep unconsciousness could actually be an alternate reality, a place of expansiveness, and not the emptiness we remember on awakening.

Definitely a fitting story for this anthology. Tragic. I liked all the insight into the organ donor process and the twist with both donor and recipient being minors was interesting.

Really interesting story! Great job of showing the emotions of the characters via their interactions in the dark room. Nice twist at the end.

Exercises, stretches, and finding the right pair of shoes and inserts will help with the pf. It's no joke and is prone to flare up if it's not continually managed. Hope you're able to deal with your dad's issues and a busy work schedule okay in the meantime.

Thanks for another interesting interview. It's interesting hearing from the authors here and about how the site has developed.

Joann, This is an emotionally vivid piece of writing. Between this and the prompt you recently did, I hope we hear more from you. Hope too, that your Thanksgiving and Christmas weigh heavily on the merry side with nothing on the misery. -Percy

I'm sorry for your sadness, Joann. It sounds like there's a lot all of us could learn from this couple about how to live.

I was thinking recently that you had not posted an update in a long while. Thanks for a very thoughtful post. You have a wonderful perspective on life and share it so beautifully.

Your blogs always give me so much to think about; your joys, your melancholy beautifully expressed.

I recently finished my first two graphic novel books, both published by northwest press. "Teleny & Camille" which is an adaptation by Jon Macy of the erotic story "Teleny" sometimes attributed to Oscar Wilde and his circle of friends and "Transposes" which is a collection of stories about gay transmen compiled, written and illustrated by Dylan Edwards. I liked them both and it was a nice change from regular books. As a download on itunes books, they turned out great and look sharp on the ipad. easy reading on a screen. Don't think I could make the graphic novel or comics my exclusive fare though.

Thanks for sharing this personal experience. I like the way you've woven perspectives from that experience into a broader view of community and our interactions with each other. Very interesting insights.

I don't always comment but I enjoy your blog posts, Rob. Always thoughtful, spirited and always punctuated with a song!