Parker Owens

I don't blame you for your disappointment. Andy kept everyone at arm's length. Terry probably didn't want her head bitten off. You may want to break out the chocolate again.

You could share some with Andy; he could use it. Yes, it's hard going just now.

I love this one Drew! And it is STILL on my classroom door today!

The coach, too? Really? Maybe the father can wake up, and try harder to actually listen to Casey. And Casey needs to give a little too - and try talking. Maybe Karen is the right person, who knows? I really like the way you are constructing this story. You make me hope that Casey himself will find some hope. Lane is certainly doing his best!

I. Like. This. Chapter! Beautifully done. I can see Luke opening up, and Jackson opening with him. Maybe there's hope for them both.

That you like them is enough for me. That you think them so good makes me humble. I just hope you are not infused with the sense of vague unhappiness that drove me into writing them. But if you can sense that I felt it as I wrote these, then perhaps they worked. Thanks Tim for reading these and telling me what you think. - P

I am humbled by your generous thoughts. As I said in an earlier reply, these came from a vague sense of unease and dissatisfaction, as well as from the prompts given. I wonder if what one of my old music profs said was right: that we can be more expressive and inventive in minor keys. That may be so, but I do like my sunshine, too. Number one played with a conversation I had with a colleague that reminded me of Owl Creek Bridge; number two simply came from wondering what anyone would see if I were broken open and examined like an assay. Thank so very much for what you said here, I am glad you liked them.

Thank you so very much! I have a new chapter written (needs to be edited), and a few more ideas for added material. I decided to hold off on doing more as life intervened last fall. A to Z was largely on auto-post and mostly sanded and varnished by then. I am deciding on whether to continue 'Aquinas' as my next project when I get some writing time, or whether to proceed with still another story I have partly done, anyway, I am very glad you found Aquinas. These two characters are compelling in their way, and I am happy you made their acquaintance.

David's stalking and guerilla war suddenly got him into a nuclear conflict. He is lucky to be alive. The evil, unhinged, and utterly unchristian nutcases who attacked David are very dangerous criminals. David knows who they are. Hope David's dad has called the police and the State Police Hate Crimes unit. What a pity that this horrible attack is what was required to get David's father to pay attention. Tommy, Sam, and the gang of four may rally around – it appears they will. Twoey seems excluded when he's really the one David needs most. There are many possible directions for this story – but it would seem that whatever path it takes will have to go through Twoey. Perhaps he can return the meditative favor done by David to get inside David's brain and body and accelerate David's healing. Start meditating, Twoey!

That's really nice of you to say so. I'm delighted you enjoyed "Hazard." I'm a hopeless romantic, so while I can't guarantee a happy ending, I certainly prefer them. And surely Daniel and Ibi deserved one, I agree. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing this story.

The mathematics/physics of number one can be intriguing, but getting bogged down in it blinded me. Number two spoke to a vague sense of disquiet and unease I'd been feeling through February. You're as good at poetry as I am; Tim and AC convinced me to try, and I think I write a little better as a result. Perhaps you can join me on the Poetry Prompts quest. Thanks for taking the time to read and reflect on these!

Both these took me into deeper waters than I was used to swimming in. Both played to a sense of unease and disquiet that I've been feeling in the last month - maybe it was the end of a story I'd been posting for a while. Maybe it was spring fever. I don't know. But I hope they speak to you, too. Many thanks for taking the time to read this and think about them. - Parker

One. Is there some golden quantum universe where all my darkest choices are rehearsed? And learning now what lies in consequence may I now choose the path of lesser curse? The mathematics surely are intense but finding nearer worlds in consonance enables me to leap from where I stand and from a hangman's noose awaiting hence. I make that leap in physics to that land where I may yet have options at command; a cosmos where my fate's unwritten still and I may yet enjoy the life I planned. S

Again, fascinating for what can be filled in, inferred and imagined...and the temperature got quite warm, until the last fragment turned chilly!

How very happy your enjoying the story makes me. Kindness and generosity and love we the hallmarks of our humanity; Andy shows us this, and so did so many others he encountered in Blackburn and on the road. Thank you for reading A to Z, and for your encouraging thoughts.

I am very glad you liked this story. Your encouraging words are very kind, and generous. The world is rarely kind to our brothers elsewhere, and even in the United States, it can be daunting to be gay in many places. And you are right, this tale tells a very complex reality.

The tug of commonality in immigrant communities is very strong. It's often overlooked in well-meaning resettlement programs for refugees. For Daniel, that tug turned out to hide potentially terrible consequences. Deportation would have meant something close to certain degradation or death. Instead, he and Ibi were delivered to the kind hands of Emmett Blueye. Thanks for your er view, and I am glad you liked this.

Thank you very much. Coming from such an experienced writer as yourself, I am humbled and flattered. Daniel and Ibi's tale has a happy ending, and I wish the same for so many of our brothers around the world.

I shave many favorite books, too, and some of them need to be revisited. I am glad this story touched you, and I hope you will find a place you can call your own 'happy after' while the 'ever' has yet to run its course. I know the earlier chaps were hard to get through. It simply seemed to facile to gloss over it all; it was Andy's journal. Thank you so very much for your kind words; they are most encouraging.

Thank you so very much for reading Andy's story and for your kind reactions. I am very happy you enjoyed the tale, and thought it worth the time to read. That you want more is music to any author's heart.

I am so very glad you made your way through A to Z. It is hard to say farewell to Andy and Zander, but we can be happy (for now, at least) they are contented and very much in love. Thank you so much for reading Andy's journal and for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you for reading Andy's story. That you took the time to read it and complete it despite the heavy going in the early chapters makes me very glad indeed.

I am so very happy you liked A to Z. How good it was of you to write. I am also glad that the descriptions of place and people - fairly specific to a region in North America - translated well enough to Down Under. Craftingmom deserves enormous credit for her tireless job at editing. Without her, this story would never have seen the light of day.

Dear Prateek - Your review made me stop and concentrate on drawing breath, it was that lovely. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write it, and so eloquently, too. If A to Z inspired you or helped you see something hidden, then perhaps the story accomplished its purpose. Andy and Zander certainly took over large portions of my own interior life as I wrote the story. They continue to haunt me now, and will for some time, I think. I am most grateful for your very generous and almost lyrical response to A to Z; still more am I thankful that you took the time to read Andy's journal. May the love his story releases in you fill you and the world you live in. I think he would smile at that. Again, many, many thanks.

Thank you for your really kind response. I really appreciate your reading Andy's story!