ColumbusGuy

Thanks Iarwain--that means a lot coming from one of my favorite authors.Developments in store as the story progresses, but I'm trying to keep consistent with my feelings at that stage of life, since Miles contains much of my own psyche.

Damn, Tim! Why you haven't tried prompts before, I don't know--but I am sure glad you got to them! I went back the other day and there isn't really a limit on length--just the minimum, and a request that longer pieces be linked rather than posted verbatim. You can kiss your 'amateur prompt status' away...you have taken the idea and subdued it. I am glad you are going to do more of these guys--if you weren't, you'd have many pissed off fans. I also have so many visions of how this will unfold...if you can't find a 'first line' to fit, try the 'word list'--I've had luck with both types for my feeble efforts.

Thanks guys. I've had some very nice comments from the GA community, but only one or two people review my stuff--I was just wondering if anyone liked it--particularly my Jay & Miles pieces. All my prompts so far contain bits of my life, some more than others, but Miles is a lot like I was then, and I hope he will meet with a nice reception as he grows into himself.

I'm glad that the meeting with JJ and Brad went so well...but it is sad in a way that it took Will, Darius and Grand to drive the point home to him. I hope that visiting Cam will be more therapeutic for him than Dustin was--I'd hate to see him descend into a realm of only physical encounters when what he needs is a substantive relationship. Purely physical sex is highly addictive and could be a very tough habit to break--and with his control issues I think his sex life is already fairly unemotional. JJ is handling Alex very well--but I have my fingers crossed nonetheless; if/when it falls apart, it is still going to hurt no matter how he has logically prepared himself. As always, kudos to Will for being the spiritual rock of the group--despite his rocky childhood, he is the one who tries to see that everyone's emotional needs are in order, much as Grand is the one to see to their logic and reasoning sides. You did it again, Mark--there's no other writer who has been able to keep such a complex saga together through generations of players.

He's young, and not overly experienced in urban life...or life in general, like most small-town boys.

Slavery was a different matter back then; race had nothing to do with it at all, it was the fortunes of war or the choice of yourself or a parent who couldn't afford all their kids.It was also not a permanent state: you could earn money with your skills and buy yourself, or be freed by your master--and then, you could make whatever you fancied of yourself with no stigma. Many ex-slaves became fabulously wealthy from their business ideas, and their children could become members of a higher social class if they had money.

Olaf is one of my own characters..he gets more involved later on. Hylas was written by someone else, so you only see him referred to indirectly in my posts. We allowed the other writers to use our minor people so long as they kept them as we wanted them to be.

I've been reading here for over a year, but only got the nerve to write anything in mid-July after getting out of the hospital. I've been an avid reader all my life, mostly sci-fi and history, but I hadn't written anything since college. In high-school I wrote science-fiction and fantasy since those were my favorite reading material, but in college my professors said I had a very good grip on writing more historical stuff, so I did that for assignments. It took twenty years for me to discover writing sites on the internet, and it took me a year to begin writing at an interactive historical role-play site. I've been doing that for the past ten years with a couple other people, and one of the stories has gay-themed scenarios, but GA is my very first attempt to really write gay fiction. My biggest hurdle is not the fact that it's gay fiction, but that it's sex fiction of any sort. I was not raised in a religious house--though we attended services most Sundays until I was 12--but I am hopelessly a product of my small-town mid-60s childhood! By small town, I mean small--2500 people, in the middle of farm country, everyone knew you by name if not by sight; to smoke or even swear was a big deal and done in secret by kids until high-school, drinking was only at a few parties if you could find someone of age to buy beer outside our dry town; and sex?--you heard about it generally in health class, otherwise you might find an older sibling's magazine...and no one spoke about it other than in whispers amongst your peers. As far as gay sex--an entirely unknown quantity. If you were lucky, you might experiment with a friend, but it was never acknowledged or pursued into older school years. In the days before computers or vcrs, or even cable tv, what was a kid who wasn't straight to do? I can answer that: nothing. Until college. Even in college, encounters were few and far between due to my social awkwardness...most kids came from larger, Eastern towns, so I felt like a local yokel with little to offer. It was only after graduation that I went to my first gay bar...with mostly straight friends with open minds! I'd have two drinks, dance a few times then go home. What's the point of all this, you may ask? Just this: I love to write, I love to try to express my feelings in a way others can relate to...but at heart, I'm still a shy country boy who values friends more than being a social giant...so if my prose seems a bit odd, or even a little self-conscious, I'm doing my best to fit into the 21st Century...I only have to drag myself forward another thirty years, so please be patient. Even the still small voice from the wilderness has something to say....

Gosh, even your short stories are wonderful! I kept wanting it to go on, dreading when I'd see 'The End' come onscreen. I nearly cried when Ali told Ren about Diego--it made their bond even more special. Any more 'were' stories coming along? Summer Camp was the first thing I read by you, and I'd love for there to be a sequel of some sort, even if it's a short story! Now comes the hard task of picking anotherof your works to begin--it's just that however long they are, they always end too soon for me!

Wow, Sasha...I started this yesterday and just finished it in one sitting, minus a break to do meds. You have proven that love can conquer anything--even a seemingly impossible hurdle like deafness if both people will commit their efforts to it. Once again, you leave me wishing the story weren't over, but I know you can't write the same characters forever, much as we might wish. Why do I have the awful feeling that the next piece I read of yours will keep me awake just as long?

Now that several writers have gotten me hooked on were-stories, I'm glad to have found yours with its unique insight. Redemption, eh? I've seen the description, but didn't know there was any cross-over...that's what I'll read now...I had tentatively selected Don't Shout...no reason I can't do both!

Thank you so much Sasha for a wonderful story! Your vision of the werewolf idea was deeply touching. Like many others, I hoped for synchronization, but they make it work anyway, and it's the love which counts. The only bad part is, it's over--now I have to find something else to try to fill that warm spot you've left in me. I'll be browsing your work for my next fix after lunch.

POV: Mikey For the first time in a while, I slept well last night--my eyes in the mirror were brighter, and the smile on my lips was genuine...was it thanks to ‘Kurt’ or my date tomorrow with Jay? I pulled my black windbreaker over my bright-yellow tee-shirt and took a last look in the mirror as I went out the door: faded blue jeans--check, grey sneakers and long white socks--oh yeah!, medium-length dark brown hair-wavy and parted in the middle, with that damn cowlick in the front--

POV: Mikey “You want me to do what?” My voice was hoarse with surprise and excitement--but even so, some of my shyness was coming through. I wasn’t used to talking about personal things--especially not this--I could think it, I could even write it--but only in the privacy of my own journal! Now, my caller wanted me to do some of the things I wrote about...while he was on the phone! --Tell me what you look like...it makes it better, much better! I’m 5’10 with reddish-brown hair and

POV: Mikey When I walked up the long driveway after getting the mail from the box, I couldn’t suppress the smile which came to my lips; Jay is taking me out for pizza Friday! Since it had rained the previous night, I walked on the grass strip down the center to avoid the muddy gravel. I approached the long single-story ranch with it’s tan narrow-bricked façade by way of the garage, patting the bi-colored side of my ‘new’ car as I passed it. The ‘55 Pontiac I had bought just before

POV: Jay “I can’t believe you asked him that!” Linda’s voice went up an octave as she looked at her younger brother standing by his ancient blue Ford pickup. Jay looked around the school’s parking lot, but it was nearly empty this late in the afternoon; while taking Miles home, he remembered that he had to pick up his sister after cheerleading practice, so it meant another trip to the high school--two in one day was one too many! The high school lot was at the north end,

POV: Mikey “Why didn’t you just tell me that?” Though the words were nearly whisper-soft, I could tell that Jay was angry. I looked around to see if we were alone, and thankfully, we were. I’d seen him around a long time, but this junior year art class was the first we had shared--and the first where I had dared speak to the blond boy. I was nearly eight inches taller than him, and a good twenty pounds heavier, but he was the more outgoing and popular one with many friends and a conf

This is the story of two high-schoolers in the mid-70s growing closer and learning about life and love in rural Ohio. All songs and key phrases are linked to a video.

I wondered if you'd catch it...perhaps he only suspected, or maybe he calls guys randomly? This was my first fairly explicit scene...beyond writing one back in high school as described--which my mom found! I told her somebody put it there. Didn't even occur to me that she might know my handwriting.

Thanks James...an interesting idea about Gunni's sexuality; with that in mind it only amplifies my confusion over why his is so interested in Siggi...at first it sounded like a sexual attractionn but if that isn't his main drive, then why can't he be happy with Dmitri? Personally, I don't like the fact that, even if Dmitri is willing, Gunni is still using him to get to someone else. The whole plot strikes of dishonesty and I have little sympathy for Gunni. The person I feel the most for is Dmitri, who seems to be getting the raw end of the deal from Siggi and Gunni both. Happy Birthday, though--25 was a fun year for me...just wish it wasn't so long ago now. College was over, and though I was in the real world for a few years now, it still felt like I could do anything I wanted, without the peer pressure we undergo in school. Can't wait for the next installment!

Your chapters are always great Mark, but this one? I can't find an appropriate enough adjective to describe it--and I have a B.A. in Literature! You have built the tension with Brad's meeting and Matt's distaste nicely, and yet given us far deeper insights into our two sports stars! I still consider it a shame that Zach must hide himself from his peers, but he has shown how resourceful he is in dealing with the problem by his actions at the team meeting. He used the truth to insure that future problems will be handled by the coach as they should be. As for JJ, what have you done? Never been a favorite character in the story--but he has just soared past most of the others in my charts to rank right next to Will--who is at the top! His prior bitchiness I think was a screen to keep others at a distance so he could manage his own life; he clearly has had the skills to do that for some time, growing out of the need he had to keep what his coach did a secret--it created vulnerability in one sense, but also an inner resolve and strength to deal with the outside world. However the meeting with Brad goes, I think it would be best for JJ to move out--there is no way that Matt will just let things alone no matter what happens. He just isn't good at keeping his feelings hidden. Next time, the meeting with JJ and Brad--yes? Please?!

Very nice ending Val--I keep forgetting to read more of your stuff, which I really like. I promise I'll amend that later today!

***Sextus assures Philon that he is his only love; a visitor arrives from Alexandria, who seems to have plans to disrupt things at Green Acres; Praetorians have appeared in Pompeii, causing unrest.*** Philandros went downstairs from the guest room where he and Sextus had spent the night--Hylas having been alone in the big bed Sextus had provided specially for them. Now, Sextus seemed to be talking with someone in the study, and Hylas...who knew? Arrius had gone off, m

Good job, Tim! I liked it very much, and the information on the main character just brought him to life for me--but then, I'm a sucker for detail in writing. Some people are more formal in speech than others, I'm one of them, so I'd only suggest loosening the reins on some of the characters--I have trouble with dialogue sometimes, and I try to imagine how people talked about things when I was hanging out more. One thing is a bit confusing, I'll paste it here: I’d been following Rob with my eyes until the moment I saw him met up with his two-years-younger brother. Shouldn't that be 'meet'? Otherwise, you've switched tenses. I too hope you write more prompts...and to hear more about these two might be a cool thing, either in more prompts or a story!

Miles is certainly confused--Jay is the one who he knows best, and is fairly comfortable with--and now, the anonymous caller isn't anonymous anymore and seems to offer some experienced action. I wonder if Miles can be less shy when it comes down to the crunch?