Cynus

That was kind of what I was going for. Elected Coroners are easily bribed. I was expecting a lot more hate mail from leaving Silas in a cliffhanger like this. I'm surprised at how light the protest has been. Don't worry though, the answer comes next chapter.

Jack was driving, and for the first time in forever it was Brady who sat in the passenger seat instead of Stacey. Normally he moved for her when Jack took the wheel, but Brady hadn’t even noticed when Theo had moved to the back seat and Jack had started driving. There was too much going through his mind for him to even realize that they had pulled off to the side of the road. And the whole time Brady could think of nothing but the growing anxiety in his heart. He had tried calling Silas mult

Actually, he was put straight. There's a lot that can be done once you have a man in that position.

Finding love by finding friendship I recently had a young man come out to me. We had been friends for nearly two years, and I had mentored him in a number of ways. There were ten years of age between us, but we had a great deal of interests in common. He felt that he could trust me when he couldn’t trust anyone else with his sexuality, because he knew that I was a member of the LGBTQ community, and because of our friendship. After the initial conversation he began to ask me questions, many of

Non-fiction. My perspective on getting through life, and specifically adolescence. This is a resource that is open to be shared should anyone find it useful.

I think that's a very neat idea, though I admit that I am mostly ignorant about my LGBT history. I'd be willing to contribute when I find something, though.

Silas cringed as the step creaked under his foot as he began to put his weight on it, but he eased off and reconsidered his approach. The light above him flickered as if adding to the ominous task he saw in front of him, but he knew it had to be done; exposing Pastor Simms was the single most important thing for Silas to accomplish, and being hesitant wasn’t going to help matters at all. But then when the door opened and the gruff middle-aged man with clean cut black hair and dark brown eyes

Accidental Talmudist Willem Arondeus was a Dutch resistance fighter who gave his life trying to protect his Jewish countrymen from the Nazis. Born in Amsterdam in 1895, Willem was one of six children. From a young age, he was a talented artist and his parents encouraged his creativity, until he came out as homosexual at age 17. In a time when nearly all gay people were in the closet, Willem’s parents could not accept his choice to live openly. Their rejection led Willem to run away from home. On his own, Willem took odd jobs and eventually became a successful visual artist and writer. He was commissioned to paint a mural for Rotterdam’s town hall, in a style that combined modern abstract painting with a traditional Dutch motif. Willem was a well-respected author who published a popular biography of Dutch painter and political activist Matthijs Maris. In 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Willem immediately joined the resistance movement, and urged his fellow artists to fight against the Nazi occupation. WIllem published illegal anti-Nazi pamphlets calling for mass resistance against the Germans. Willem was especially committed to saving Amsterdam’s Jewish community. Bringing in others to the cause, Willem arranged for Dutch Jews to be hidden in people's homes. He used his artistic skills to create false identity papers. In 1943, Willem hatched a brazen plan. Dressed as a German Army captain, and with 15 men behind him, Willem boldly marched into the Public Record Office, where lists identifying people as Jews were kept. Willem drugged the guards and planted a firebomb. The resulting blaze destroyed tens of thousands of documents, and delayed or prevented many Jews from being identified by the Nazis. Unfortunately, Willem was captured by the Germans and sentenced to death. Willem's last words before being executed in July, 1943 were, "Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards.” In 1986 Yad Vashem recognized Arondeus as Righteous Among the Nations. Because of his sexual orientation, Willem’s story was omitted from Dutch history books. Only in the last 20 years has his courage become widely known. For his efforts to save lives at the expense of his own, we honor Willem Arondeus as this week’s Thursday Hero at Accidental Talmudist.

I think Adam pretty much covered it. If your intent is to scare the reader, then you're writing horror. if not, then you're writing something else. However, you can write both. There's nothing to say that you can't write horror fantasy, even if the tag doesn't exist.

What should I feature on the tumblr next? Character inspirations, or the development of the plot? Or do any of you have particular things you're wondering about that you would like to read?

Good point. I'll go . . . do something (I'll figure it out) to it to make sure no one gets the wrong idea. I agree. He completely took control from me and demanded to be made into his own thing. I'm going to expand a bit on how the story developed soon; where the band came from, how Chelsea and Tara came into play, and the appearance of Adam and the Daniel story line. Only Chelsea was in the original concept, taking the place of Kristin. I love my SS boys, and I love Silas, but it was definitely better to avoid mixing the families. Although, I am thinking about an SS crossover at some point where the Demons of the Crossroads stop in Sanitaria Springs on their way somewhere else. Obviously this would be written as an SS story rather than another novel in The Navigator's universe, but I think it would be fun nonetheless. I'm glad that you're enjoying me going through the process. With the next novel I'm going to be taking notes along the way so that I can make even more in depth observations about how the story was conceived. I have a lot more to say on The Navigator, but I want to keep the posts a bit shorter, as that fits better with the tumblr audience.

Despite the fact that he's running off on his own terms, Silas is ALWAYS careful.

That's all I was able to ask of him while writing it.

This part was written somewhat from my own experience. I mean, I wasn't going off to face some homophobic preacher, but there was a time where I was going to do something life-threatening, and I knew that the people I left behind wouldn't understand why I was doing it, or why I didn't tell them. What I'm getting at is that I've written that kind of letter before, and more than once. This chapter is probably the point where Silas and I are the most alike.

Sorry, but cliffhangers are going to be the norm up through the end. I've got to keep you on the edge of your seat, don't I? I think that if there is doubt in the letter, it's not in his course of action, just in his ability to actually pull it off. He's covering his bases, which is something he's always been exceptional at.

Well, we'll find out soon enough. Chapter 23 is going to be here soon, and then all will be revealed. Well, maybe not all, but certainly some questions will be answered. I like to think of this moment as the time that Silas really figured out who he was, and he's going to take his own way, no matter the potential consequences.

It has arrived. http://cynusstorybook.tumblr.com/post/123619653780/the-making-of-the-navigator-part-i-the-concept

Started work on the tumblr today. It should be up and running by tomorrow at the latest.

"Thank god you guys are all right," Adam said as he opened the passenger door to his car. Adelaide nearly jumped into Silas' arms but Silas slipped into the car immediately afterward and pulled Adelaide up into the space between his legs. Tara and Chelsea climbed into the back and Adam turned his headlights on and started driving. The group was silent for several minutes until Silas decided to speak up. "We have to trick him. It's the last thing we have left. Pastor Gregory didn't know anyth

There's a reason for that, and I have to admit that I'm slightly embarrassed that I let it slip by me. Originally, chapter 23 (Which hasn't posted yet) was written so that it could post as chapter 19, with a major cliffhanger that would have pissed everyone off, but was going to be a gimmick that hopefully kept everyone coming back for more. With that thought in mind, chapter 19 would have been chapter 20 instead, and Brady's chapter would have come right after Pastor Gregory was introduced. For some reason I didn't alter chapter 21 to fit into the timeline properly, so yes, it does take place timeline-wise before chapter 20. Good catch.

I'm creating a tumblr to serve as my new homepage. I'm going to be doing posts about my muses for individual stories, and sharing pictures and articles there that helped shape my storylines. The Navigator is going to be the first story I talk about, which is why I'm mentioning it here.

We'll be there soon. I've got to tease you for another chapter though. Sorry, everyone.

You know the great thing about cliffs? Silas is an outdoorsman and excellent climber.

It's reviews like that which tell me to get working on the sequel.

25 1/2 hours as of the time of this reply and counting. It'll be there, and hopefully worth the wait.