Cole Matthews

I am warming to the forums. This is fun! I just never knew what to say before.

You are so good. The next quote refers to what that conjures up in Danny's mind, more piercings. How did you get in my head? Lololololo!

An excerpt from Chapter Three: “Here, let me put my number in your phone,” Cayden said reaching out towards Danny. Danny dug in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Cayden reached over and took it, their hands brushing. Danny felt a wave of sparks travel up his arm into his brain. He felt light headed. Cayden felt the shock of static electricity as well. It was cold and dry and the air was filled with it. He put his name and number in the phone. He couldn’t help but notice the phone had a lot of entries. How big would this party be? “Okay, I’ll see you at lunch then,” Danny said flashing a big smile at him. “Not if I see you first,” Cayden teased and stuck out his tongue. The piercing in his tongue glinted in the street light.

Thanks so much Cassie. Brian is a character I think. The kind of character who'd capture Danny's heart, if not a bit brash as well. Anyway, I love that I invoked some feelings about him. This is only the beginning. I hope these guys enchant you.

Thanks so much Lisa. Yeah, it seems like an odd scenario to put in a Christmas story but I think it fits the "light in the darkness" motif. Danny will struggle with his decision. You'll see it over the next couple of weeks. Your kind words make me so happy.

December 4th – St. John of Damascus From Catholic Online: “The biography of John of Damascus recounts at least one episode deemed to be improbable or legendary. It reports that Leo III sent forged documents to the caliph which implicated John in a plot to attack Damascus. The caliph then ordered John's right hand be cut off and hung up in public view. Some days afterwards, John asked for the restitution of his hand, and prayed fervently to the Theotokos before her icon: thereupon, his hand is

To dial up the intrigue, Danny's love for Brian hasn't ebbed. Not at all. He loves Brian with all his heart. As for Brian's feelings, I'm sure his love for Danny is the same. That is what makes this terrible situation so painful. But, I promise Wednesday you will understand the situ. No tricks. This is very honest treatment of what real life offers us.

Thank you darling. Couldn't do this without your help!

Let me just say this. Cassie and Lisa are on the right track, as usual. You'll see on Wednesday.

Thanks Mike. I hope you like the rest. It's gonna be pretty emotional.

Thanks Lisa! I'm glad you are reading Advent. I better not say anymore. You're too insightful!

Here's an excerpt from the next chapter of Advent: "So, from then on, Danny was careful about his interactions with other men, especially gay ones. Brian would occasionally interrupt or carry Danny away but it was never like that first time. It was never like with the gorgeous guy at the party but it never really mattered to Brian. Danny was his and Brian was a very possessive man. So this weekend he’d told Brian about Cayden hoping to get his husband to fly into a rage about it. He always had in the past. In fact Danny had told him some of his secret thoughts about Cayden. It hadn’t changed a thing. He’d have given his right arm to have Brian yell at him for his impure thoughts. But, he hadn’t."

Thanks for the review Cassie! I suspect people have questions about where this is going. You'll know a lot more Wednesday when the next chapter is posted. In the meantime, I've posted an excerpt in the Advent thread in the forum.

I'm glad I intrigued you! I do like surprises and I hope you like what's coming up. Thanks for the review.

December 1st - St. Alexander Briant From Wikipedia: “With six other priests he was arraigned on 16 November 1581, in Queen's Bench, Westminster, on the charge of high treason, and condemned to death. In his letter to the Jesuit Fathers he says that he felt no pain during the various tortures he underwent, and added: "Whether this that I say be miraculous or no, God knoweth." He was twenty-five years old when he was executed.” ********************** Danny couldn’t figure out why he was so obs

Brian and Danny are married. But they are stuck in limbo and can’t get past it. Can an Advent calendar, some Christmas ornaments, and a cigarette get them beyond the stasis that has frozen their lives? Will the lights of Christmas shining in the darkness help them find the peace they truly need? This is a Christmas story in eight parts.

Here is the posting schedule for Advent: Chapter 1 – December 1st – St. Alexander Briant Chapter 2 – December 4th – St. John of Damascus Chapter 3 – December 8th – St. Nicholas Chapter 4 – December 10th – St. Eulalia Chapter 5 – December 13th – St. Lucy Chapter 6 – December 15th – St. Mary (Paula) di Rosa Chapter 7 – December 22nd – St. Chaeromon Chapter 8 – December 26th – St. Stephen Thanks for reading!

I have written a chapter that had me weeping the entire time. But, then I always have to pace as I'm writing. It is very emotional most of the time for me. Up and down.

Congrats Sasha! Love your writing. You are an inspiration and earned it! Cole

Thank you so much Lisa for those kind words. You got me tearing up. This has been so wonderful for me. You have been a source of much encouragement.it is appreciated.

What an awesome display of fostering. I am loving this story and Gregg just made me adore it. Thank you.

Awesome jealousy scene. I can't believe how powerful it was. Great job. You are doing something really cool here.

Chapter 5 – GGL Jared threw his coat in disgust as he walked through the front door of his apartment. He was furious with himself for once again awkwardly just watching Scott from afar instead of actually talking to him. He felt the familiar wetness on his cheeks and wiped the tears away. Why couldn’t he get over his nerves and just walk up to the guy and talk? It’s not like they hadn’t met before, they had. Jared went into the kitchen and put on the kettle. He needed something to set

How “Security” became “Porcupines” “Security” was the working title of the story “Porcupines.” I got the idea one day at the end of May 2013 when I saw this security guard standing behind the desk looking so forlorn. I’d long had the habit of making up stories about random people I’d see. He was the ideal that drove the idea behind “Security.” I wondered what it would be like for a gay security guard, filled with insecurities, to fall in love from afar with someone who worked in the building. That made me think, what if the guy he fell in love with had insecurities just as deep and just as severe. How would they make it work? I started imagining how they’d get together and the problems they’d encounter. That got the story going. Along the way, I figured these characters’ back stories, their personal histories would provide the grist in the mill of their coming together. That’s when I hit my first roadblock. What if it became too hard and they broke up? Thus was born that loveable, but mouthy, scamp Isaac. For Isaac’s character to be real, he had to be somewhat irreverent and willful. He would also have to be incredibly faithful to someone who helped him. If not, Isaac simply wouldn’t mastermind bringing these two men back together. What would make him feel so loyal and driven? Someone of his own to love who he lost and was reunited by a friend. That’s how I invented these characters, through shear need for specific kinds of people. Raleigh had to be the walking wounded until he met the man of his dreams. Therefore, he had to have a really bad back story. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get why it was so tough for Chuck and Dylan to be together. So, I had my main characters bopping around in my well-composted mind, but I still didn’t have a clue how to stage it. Sure, I could use a mall, because Paul Blart is one of my favorite movie characters, but where should Dylan work? That came easier. As someone who worked in the restaurant industry for over 25 years, I’d make Dylan a waiter and make the fictional Sweet Nora’s the main stage at the beginning of the story. Lynora was a name I completely conjured out of thin air, mostly because the restaurant name suggested it. Krill started out as a more gruff character but when I realized the two of them would hook up, he became mellower. Finally, I had the pieces all ready to go. But, Chuck had depression issues and so he couldn’t live alone. He had to live with someone and thus Kelli and Brandon came into existence. From there, I found Nanna was the perfect balance in Chuck’s life to Lynora in Dylan’s. I began to see patterns emerge and instead of fighting them I made them part of the story. You see, Dylan and Chuck are mirror images of each other; Castor and Pollex if you will. For each man, I created friends and support systems that were quite different but maintained the same kinds of support. Therefore, Raleigh had to work with Chuck just as Dylan worked with Isaac. Dylan had to have a brother that matched Raleigh’s sister. Suzie came into being because of Brandon. Along the way, I found more and more of these attributes developed naturally, almost without me noticing it. But, by the time the rough draft was done, I realized what had occurred. “Security” was no longer appropriate as a title. These guys were more substantial and had far more complex personal histories for simple insecurity to be the problem. Dylan’s dreams came about almost as an afterthought, but the monster Ron came along with the dreams. But, Ron couldn’t be a simple monster that bothered Dylan. Dylan would have resolved that issue long ago. So, I found the only thing that would explain the nightmares and Dylan’s inability to get past them. I made it cognitive dissonance which made Dylan “remember” only the good parts of Ron while Chuck openly cringed at his own monster, Dewayne. Fascinating how as I recall writing the story, these characters demanded their own sets of circumstances once they got to certain dilemmas. As I write this, I realize there were things I couldn’t really control once character traits came into existence. So, I suddenly found myself in my next great dilemma. What could possibly break Chuck and Dylan up, even for just a short time? That cognitive dissonance part of Dylan was the only possible explanation. However, I didn’t know how to portray that mental state. Of course, the dreams and denial all worked, but how could I make Dylan lash out. I knew it had to be Dylan. Chuck would never run from their relationship. Only Dylan was brash enough to do so. That made the chapter Porcupines so very, very important. The little adage about porcupines and lovers was the lynchpin in the whole story. As a result, after I finished the rough draft, I recognized I had created two porcupines, Dylan and Chuck. They were the porcupines after all. So, it made sense to make that the final title of the story. You see, what makes me giggle a little is the last thing major I did was change the name of the story and I think it was the most important part of the whole thing. Anyway, you’ve read enough of my ramblings. I just wanted to get this on the screen and if I ever have the guts, I just might post this in the forum. If not, then I still had fun writing it. (P.S. I guess I did have the guts. Who'd a thunk it?)

Thanks. Randy kept asking why I threw the Kellies in for a distraction. I guess I just liked the boys finding out that way!