Former Author

Tate Kiplinger is really a secondary character. He will be back. You can count on it. But he's definitely not on par with the others as of yet.

So some of you are curious as to how the characters look or who they are based on. I have posted some links to pictures of actors/actresses whom the characters are based on: Casey Beaumont (actor Dylan O'Brien from Teen Wolf) Hugh Beaumont [Patrick Warburton from Seinfeld] Sophia Winter [Holland Roden from Teen Wolf] Michaela Roy [bre Scullark from Cycle 5 from America's Next Top Model] Lucas Lamontagne [Max Adler from Glee & Switched at Birth] Chandler Bloom [actor Ben Whishaw from Skyfall] Fox Winter [actor Stephen Strait from Sky High] Here's going for realness I guess. LoL.

I made an addendum to the previous post.

Thank you so much for your kind words and support. This is truly my first novel. I have written several short stories but one thing about writing short stories is that you get attached to characters you have to say goodbye to a few pages later. Casey, Michaela, Sophia, Lucas, Lenny, Fox, Chandler and Hugh are all based on people I know, have known or would some day like to know. Casey's extremely close to his dad in the way I often dreamed I could be close to my own dad. I think if you keep on reading you will see the many layers to people. That's what I like most about writing. You get to explore the many sides to people. Casey shows certain things to certain people that he doesn't to others. Lucas is my fantasy guy. A very cultured, very complex southern gentleman. He is very family-oriented. Cares deeply about people less fortunate than him. He wants to be a Kindergarten teacher for goodness sakes!!! Thank you so much Gary. Hope you continue to enjoy the journey!

Here is a list of the songs mentioned in The Love Song of Lenny Bradshaw. Music is one of my greatest passions. Since Casey is loosely based on myself, a lot of his music taste are based on my own music taste. Music of The Love Song of Lenny Bradshaw Chapter One: Back to School: This is the song Casey and his dad, Hugh, are listening to on the drive to Kennedy State University. Buddy Holly and the Crickets: Chapter Three: The Mod Squad: This is the song Casey is singing in the shower in the dream sequence with Lenny. Gotye [featuring Kimbra]: Chapter Four: What Does the Fox Say?: This is the song Fox plays for Casey after the girls leave. The Postal Service: Chapter Six: Rainy Days and Mondays: This is the song Casey is listening to on his way from class to the cafe. Portishead: Chapter Ten: Whiskey Girl: Lucas is a big Blink 182 fan. This is the song he is listening to while he is working on his mid-term paper. Blink 182: Chapter Eleven: City Love: On their way to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the start of fall break, Lucas and Casey are listening to a playlist called Road Trip 2013 Redbone: Come and Get Your Love Chapter Eleven: City Love: On their way to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the start of fall break, Lucas and Casey are listening to a playlist called Road Trip 2013. One of Lucas's favorite songs. Charlie Rich: Behind Closed Doors

I wanted to point out something that I find interesting and I totally guilty of it myself. I have been reading a lot of the posts on this forum, especially the 'who does this character' look like. I find it interesting that when we are crafting characters who typically are very average-looking individuals, we usually base them on extremely good-looking people. I am not saying this is a good or bad thing. Just something to think about.

I really hope Button calms down. Plowing through all the girls in your grade ... nothing ever good comes from it. The teeange years are really such a square dance. I don't remember being so guy-crazy at that age. I guess I was more concerned about my schoolwork and getting into a good college and scholarships and such. But relationships and sex seem to be the end all and be all of these teenagers' existence. Poor Brent. I feel bad for him. Kevin was such an ass to him. Hopefully Andy will treat him better. I do think these kids need to put a check on their hormones. I mean they are all emotions but no one is considering the consequences of actions. People's feelings are getting hurt and Button is coming off as very cavalier when it comes to breaking girls' hearts. This was another great chapter. The author does a great job of portraying the teenage years. Teenagers can be very selfish and reckless and the author is capturing this very well.

Never trust a girl with a stripper name. Carmel ... ugh what a ... well I can't say that word. So glad Button got wise at the end and kicked the broad to the curb. I hate users and abusers. She falls into both catergories. So excited about Button reconnecting with Mirabelle. Whether they are meant to be together, time will tell. But I like that the author challenges the readers' notions of what friendship and relationships are. Men can be friends with women. Men can be with other men in a fulfulling relationship much like a man can be with a woman. Parents who are gay can raise well-adjusted children. Straight men and gay men can have friendships without there being something going on beyond friendship. Overall this was a great chapter!

I am 29. No children. Button made me furious in this chapter. Fifteen years old. Lying. Sneaking out. This is so foreign to me. Yeah, maybe I was a pretty boring kid growing up but to outright defy his parents in such a big way, I wanted to shake some sense into the kid. Button's parents are so amazing and I think they handled the situation perfectly. There comes a time when dealing with kids where physical punishment no longer is effective. When I reached a certain age, if my mom expressed that she was disappointed in me, well that was the worst form of punishment of all. I feel bad for Kevin. Kevin did something many of my female friends did in high school. They gave a part of themselves they can never get back to guys who didn't appreciate the gesture. Unfortunately for Kevin he was then rejected by the person he loved most of all. The saddest part of all of this is that Button is getting older which means his dads are getting older and as time progresses we become less and less dependent upon our parents. Great chapter!

Hi. My name is Bryce Lee Wynn. I am from Chattanooga, Tennessee. I have been writing for most of my life even going so far as to get a degree in Creative Writing. I also love to read and listen to music and spend time with friends and family. I am currently writing a novel entitled The Love Song of Lenny Bradshaw which I am posting on here. Just wanted to say hello!

The wedding of Graham and Craig was absolutely well done. I especially love the endings with the dads' commentary on everything. Being that this is a story steeped very much in reality, I know Graham and Craig and Button have a very long road ahead of them. Enjoyed this chapter so much. Button is growing up so fast!

I am so glad Button is making progress. I love that Craig and Graham love him so much. There is so much love in this kid's life. I am glad he is being social. This story is proving to be very magical. I was up until 4am reading. I am hooked. Can't wait to read more.

I love the difference between Graham and Craig. Craig is the rational one who is very slow to anger and Graham is very raw emotion and passion. I loved meeting Graham's family. His brother was amazing and honest in a way that only a family member can be honest. I'm glad the dad eventually warmed to Button.I don't know how to feel about the Mom. Maybe later chapters will reveal her to be more likeable. I like the titles of the chapters. I found the title to be less about Button and basically about Graham's parents. GREAT CHAPTER!

One of the most difficult parts about being gay is that society, as a whole, has very low expectations of you as a person. You are told you can't have certain jobs, certain benefits, etc. Now compound that by being in a relationship with someone who has a certain level of success while you are barely able to make ends meet. And then there's a child involved. The circumstances facing both Graham and Craig and little Button are so realistic. I love Craig's parents. His dad ... bless him. Reminds me of a few well-meaning people in my life who have the propensity for shoving their foot in their mouth. The mother is also interesting. I love that the title of the chapter is reflected in the gift. I honestly cannot wait to read more. Something tells me I am in for a rollercoaster of a ride with these wonderful characters.

What works: I really like Bryce (then again I may be biased, LoL). I also like Davis. I like the depiction of Bryce's family. They all seem like a very supportive family. I like the interaction between Bryce and Davis. There seems to be a comfortability there. What I struggled with: The girl - Melissa - came off extremely aggressive and unless she is intregal to the future plot, I felt the scene with her to be a bit ... overkill. Then again ... perhaps there are ladies out there who are forward like that. Maybe I just did not like her. Perhaps that is the intent of the author. One minor criticism: Please remember that this is merely a criticism and it does not have any bearings on whether or not I liked the story - which I do like the story. One of my professors in undergrad told me dialogue tags, for the most part, are not really needed as much as we think they are needed- especially when two characters are interacting. The reason he said this is because as readers, we tend to see dialogue as green lights and dialogue tags as red lights. The goal of a writer should be to have as many green lights in their writing as possible and if there are too many dialogue tags (red lights) eventually your readers will start running them. Like I said ... we all have our own unique writing styles and I don't think there is one particular way of writing but as a reader I did find myself ignoring the dialogue tags especially when the dialogue was just between Bryce and Davis. Overall: I am completely invested in your story. You ended the chapter with a cliff-hanger. I want to know who the man in the car is and who the woman is. I want to know more about Davis and his homophobic family. I want to know why Bryce's family is so supportive of him. I think you're off to a great start.