Cole Matthews

Elliott pushed the door open, embracing the darkness within. His guitar case was dragging him down, tugging at the edges of the entryway, impeding his movement, but he wouldn’t be deterred. As a musician, his guitar was like a pacifier for an infant or heroin for a junkie. It was a necessary extension of him. Sometimes it was a burden he’d rather not bear. Regardless, he needed to sit down, have a drink, and decompress. The sign outside proclaimed the name of the place as Toad Hall

On my to-read list!!!

Happy Birthday Sasha!!!! And many more...

Awesome!!!!! Congratulations and well-earned tim!!!

You've earned it my friend. Congratulations on your hard work, your efforts to aid others, your humility, and finally, your courage. You represent the best in writing, exposing yourself and also touching others with your truth. I'm so proud of you. Thank you for contributing to our art. I am so thrilled for you. Cole

Congrats Litlover! Well deserved. ?

OMG! I posted this a couple nights ago on Facebook. It's hilarious. Trouble is, some of my favorite works already involve murders! Awesome.

Thanks! I hope this gives people ideas for their writing. I appreciate the post and kind words.

My word! I need to get things moving. I'm thinking about a story based on a man who doesn't know how to love. After all, what is love?

I smiled at the woman before me as she detailed her criticisms. It was something I handled well by now. “These shades of purple are too, well, too...” “Do you want something lighter, airier?” She nodded excitedly. “Yes, that’s it. I want something less drab, not as morose, more lively.” As a premier interior designer, she expected me to read her mind. Luckily, I could. I flicked through the fabric samples with the stiff backings and found a paisley with a beige background that contraste

Happy Birthday Darling! Hope you had a great day.

Such good examples! Max's Garage really packs a punch with characters which keep on giving. Hollow Hills is epic, and I'm sure this will get Valkyrie back to work on it! (Hint, hint, ). Vodka at Midnight is, of course, a favorite because of all the ties it has to us. I'll never forget that fun day. Great stuff people!

Happy birthday buddy! Hope your day is special.

Ray Smith is living a double life. One is conventional and safe and the other is...well, not as mainstream. He misses his lover and that gets him into a pickle. Who exactly is mining for the iron pyrite? Ray or the others?

I loved reading the Bridgemont series from the beginning. The evolution and changes in the fortune of Granger are really amazing along with the detailed research. Mark captures the essence of this era with the perspectives of the scientific era and the vestiges of a more restrictive social moral code. This segment of the story is especially interesting because it shows the beginnings of the modern era in history. Mark lets the cracks show. The transitions in society are the most interesting to me, and Mark shows us how things changed then. We can then see how things struggle to change now and our belief these transitions are clean and clear don't happen. There is an ebb and flow to social mores and it isn't usually pretty. At least, that's my take on it. Thanks Mark.

There are three primary reasons I think this story is a very special one. First of all, the characters are really, really well done, and not just Alan and Peter. The boys had very individual and distinct voices which is tough to do with children. It's easy for them to run together or speak with a single voice. In this story, Bradley and Troy had their own stories to tell and did so with clarity, humor, bluntness, and significance. Second, I appreciate stories that are more than coming-of-age/love-stories. This is a story about a family and about how this couple coped with adversity and survived. I think it was brave and incredibly important you presented Peter with qualms about their role as caregivers and their challenges as a couple. Life gets in the way of things so often. I believe this story stands out because of the questions and problems it presented. Finally, it's a good story overall with solid writing and an interesting theme. Alan giving up his job shows the kinds of sacrifice parents must give for their children. I feel that was an underlying idea throughout the story. Again and again, Alan and Peter had to give something up in order to take care of Bradly and Troy. They almost sacrificed their relationship near the end, though as Peter indicated, he was more committed after the forced separation. Thanks Graeme for sharing with us. I cried during the following scene because it's real and little boys are allowed to say this even when all of us think it sometimes. “Are you God?” Everyone’s attention was drawn to Troy who had slipped away from his grandparents and approached the front of the courtroom unnoticed. Troy continued before anyone could react. “Because if you are, can you give us Uncle Peter back?” “Troy!” Alan slipped out of his seat and gather up the young boy. “I’m sorry, Your Honour.” “It’s okay.” Judge Patterson smiled at Troy, losing most of his mantle of intimidating authority in the process. “Troy, isn’t it?” “That’s me!” “Troy, while there are times that I wish I were… No, I’m not God. Why were you asking?” “Because God took our daddy away, but he gave us Uncle Alan and Uncle Peter to look after us instead. We don’t want to lose Uncle Peter like we lost Daddy. That would be mean.” It would be mean, indeed.

This group of stories is really great. That is the power of anthology story writing. It makes you distill emotions, ideas, and craft into a few words. You then need to perfect, edit, respond to beta reading, and soul search. I would encourage ALL authors to see all anthology calls as classes in writing. When you work this hard to present to the entire audience, you dig deep. I'm proud of Jager, but even prouder to be with some awesome stories and writers. These people helped me, and I helped them. Be part of this! My two cents. Love this place. Cole

You're inspiring me to get a couple more stories added. I love this character cuz he's a lot like me. Of course, he's like lots of people. There is more haunting to come. Thanks for reading.

I'm glad you're enjoying the premise and liked the story. I've always love the Twilight Zone style of twists and turns. Hope you enjoy!

Wonderful interview. You are a very important part of this group and we love you. Thanks for making us your place to grow and express yourself. Please keep up the good work.

Very good story and amazing characters. I'm addicted to this tale and can't stop reading. I wanted to say that and also this. I really love your 'It' theory a lot. It's much better than the well-worn phrase 'gaydar'. There is a hyper awareness for gay men that I noticed when I was in my late teens. It comes about for two very different reasons. First, we are looking for like-minded people for coupling purposes. Since there is such a small pool of potential partners, it means we have to catch even minute tells like pupil dilation, breathing, and stance. Given a possible pool of two or three eligible males per hundred people, it's hard to find like souls. When we are in 'predator' mode, our awareness of these things is crucial. However, we also look for safety in numbers and camaradarie. Even when we're not in 'predator' mode, we are more careful at reading signs in others. I believe this makes for the 'it' or light which turns on within us. It also gives others who are hyper-aware notice of our own inner lamp. At least, that's my theory and I'm glad it seems to fit neatly within your own. Gay men must be very self-aware at all times especially in this era of the 1980s. It was vital for surviving both possible physical and social safety to be circumspect in your openness. Thanks for sharing this with us.

I did a Google search for my high school car because of your story. I graduated from high school in 1983 so this story is right in my era. I was never much of a car guy, but I remember my first car very fondly. Perhaps its the independence a car gives a farm boy. Maybe having a car, even a very modest one, is a symbol of being your own person and not just the oldest child, somebody's son, and other various labels. Regardless, I loved my Chevy Chevette. That car took me to my first college and then to cooking school. I went to my first gay dance at the Unitarian Church in that Chevette. I picked up my first boyfriend in that car and we went to dinner. We went to movies and to friends. Eventually, we hooked up a U-Haul trailer and moved to Florida in the Chevette. It was my way of moving around from age 17 to when I was 22. It died after 122,000 miles. I was sad when they carted it off. This story reminded me of my Chevette and all the times I had with it. Thank you.

This is a fantastic interlude. It gives us some needed depth and breadth of Travis. Until now, he was the gay cowboy who was reticent and had fallen in love with a str8 man. In other words, he was a bit of a stereotype. This interlude gives him some history. It shows us his loneliness. He is selling himself for the goal of owning the ranch in solitude. I think he's fooling himself a little. He's doing it for more personal reasons like punishing himself. I wonder about a couple of things. First, did he start selling himself after Boston and Eric? Is that when he no longer had his self-esteem? Obviously, he's repulsed by what he's doing, yet still willing to do it. Then he uses some of his 'stud fee' to buy the sunglasses, ones that make him think of Ben. Is this a memento he's using to hurt himself again or a reminder of the actor? Lot's of questions and unknowns which make Travis so much more. Great job and continue mining your story for more gold like this.

Great action adventure story with riveting scenes, two characters you will cheer on, and interesting ideas to ruminate on. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I wasn't going to review, but I can't resist. This chapter flows well and holds together cohesively. To begin, having Luke reject his mother's commands to be with Jackson for the meet was the perfect touch. It's exactly what two guys who are still unsure about things wouldn't be able to resist. His presence was crucial to their growth as a couple because it enabled two things. First, Luke got his first peek at what a guy couple is like with Charlie and Simon. But more importantly, it's their first journey together as a couple. Luke helped calm Jackson and cheered for him and in the end comforted him on the trip home. Using this scenario really effectively showed how they are coupling without even trying. I thought the Townson brothers showed something important as well. It was a fantastic compare and contrast with Jackson, Charlie and Drae. We saw how dedicated those three swimmers are and how childish the brothers were without telling us or giving us a scene with a tantrum or something. Their sandbagging the race gave us even more faith that Jackson is growing compared to other boys. He tried harder than anyone. Really good chapter!!!