Headstall

Finished mowing and I think I got a little heatstroke. So hot I can hardly breathe outside. No breeze at all. Feel better now, but practically crawled into the house. Had a stressful visit with my sister yesterday, and didn't sleep well. That likely didn't help. Thank God for central air.

Hello to the sane and the insane.

Rereading this chapter, all I saw were the writing mistakes. Sigh. As far as Jeremy, I have his whole story in my head... it's been there for ages, and I think it's a good one. Maybe someday my muse will let me choose it to tell. I expect the reaction wouldn't be good if I told it before finishing this one. Kendall is definitely a matchmaker, but we ain't seen nothin' yet. Thanks and cheers, my friend.

Happy Birthday, Page!

The Drewthyclopedia

Love is complicated, but simplified when there is true understanding between a couple... or more. Another entertaining and thoughtful offering from an esteemed author. I recommend you read and absorb this story. You will not be disappointed. Cheers!

Great story, delivered with your usual flair, Mark. I would have known this was written by you if I had read it before the reveal. I know your style so well after many years of reading your stuff, and once again you did not disappoint. Cheers! G.

I have left 100 reviews on other's stories so far. Apparently, I got a badge for it.

@Mancunian Thanks for another great review, Craig. "Big Boy Pants" still holds up.

Hey, all! Happy Sunday!

Thank you! It was really fun to write it, especially after they became a couple. It shows how great a friendship they had before that. Even in darker moments, they have no trouble sharing laughter, and their feelings. They are my kind of men. Cheers! G.

Drag queens often have tough lives. At the time I came out, I was lucky to meet such talented, strong, welcoming queens, but I heard some tragic stories over time. I will always consider many of them as dear friends, though I don't live in Toronto anymore. There are no drag shows in the rural area I live now.

It's a shame that young gay men and women have to carry such baggage, always ready to be hurt. It is never simple to speak your feelings, but it is often ten times harder when you take that first big step as a gay person. Short stories can have an impact for sure... I never used to think so, but I have learned a lot in writing them. So yeah, it is extremely important the reader feels he is in the moment with the characters, connecting to the words spoken, and the things and emotions around them. I can still picture that glorious, old, forgotten barn, and the multitude of dust motes up in the granary, swirled by Caleb's shallow breathing. I've been in barns just like it, and it is almost a religious feeling, these monoliths of the past enduring through time. Thanks for commenting, buddy. I love coming back to this, reminded of how I felt while writing it. Cheers... Gary....

Bonjour!

Lol. Yeah... poor Chet. He's sticking up for Michael to Kendall, and Michael hates him. This was a tough chapter, and humor is invaluable to make the tension more palatable. I got a lot of flack for how Kendall acted in this chapter, but I weathered the storm. It made perfect sense to me. I enjoyed rereading this chapter, and even went in and made a few edits that irked me. Thanks for commenting, my friend.

Spikey, obviously.

Simply lovely. These peeks into the lives of three characters made this reader feel a gentle happiness. I highly recommend reading this well told pair of vignettes. Cheers!

What a lovely surprise, my friend. You are talented indeed. These were well written, hiding wonderful messages within with skill. I have no doubt Carlos would have loved these. I have no doubt anyone who read them did as well. I especially loved the second one. I related, my first friends in my late entry into the gay experience being drag queens. You painted a marvelous picture of Miz Peach Brandy. I could see her. The first vignette was sweet... there is a sigh within as we see this moment in time between Teague and Will. Color me impressed and thankful. Cheers! Gary.

Thank you! I do not mind 'complaints' at all. I welcome them, but I will admit that pressure got to me in this case, upon receiving a bunch of unhappy PMs. It just seemed like they weren't letting up. I don't blame them for being annoyed with me, but it didn't help my state of mind, and I developed a block whenever I tried to return to Cards to tie up loose ends. I see that as a flaw in me, and I am always on guard for it now. Online writing is a process, and there is a lot to absorb and figure out. Cards was my first story, and I should have followed my gut. My solace is that I have written some stories after that I am proud of. I'm proud of this one too, but muses are strange, uncontrollable things. I'm just happy mine still speaks to me. Cheers!

Hi!

Nighty nite, brother B.

This makes me happy, my friend.

Honestly, I don't know what it's going to take. It is the one thing that disappoints me most in myself, and why I will never post anything that isn't finished. There was a perfect storm that pulled me away, and life and a sick feeling in my stomach has kept me away. Still, I am always writing. Sorry, Tony, but while it is not wrapped up with a bow, it does have the ending I originally planned for. I got carried away, to my own detriment.

Thanks, Buddy.