Adam Phillips

Yep. If you'll remember, it was two kisses on Matt's neck that initiated their first lovemaking experience on the beach...the one that resulted in so much subsequent pain. Now, in a way, it's been made for them into a symbol of all they've overcome to make it back to each other. Aww, c'mon. She's a sweet girl.

Well...obviously the Prologue sets a tone, and the narrative's gonna have to get Andy back to that condo as he concludes his memories. And the tone of the Prologue is bittersweet, there's no denying it. But I think I can promise nobody is going to want to slit their wrists by the time it's all done. ;-)

Well...after a long delay while we had the interior of our house redone, the new chapter has been posted. It's summertime for Andy...and it's a golden summer. https://www.gayauthors.org/story/adam-phillips/crosscurrents

"I don't know, Angie, it's like the more I talk, the less I can explain it. I just needed you to know, and if you can't handle it, I get it, I mean, we haven't been back together that long and if it seems to you like I'm being whatever or like I don't love you or I'm cheating on you or if it makes you think I'm secretly…I mean, I guess I don't have to have him in—"She squeezed her eyes shut, let out a frustrated chuckle, and groaned, "Andy, would you just chill out, take a breath, and shut up a

I wanted to check in with everyone regarding the delay in Crosscurrents. My house is in disarray. We're having the interior repainted, and new flooring and carpeting put in. The painting is done except for a couple of touch-ups that the guys are doing today. The flooring will be done by Thursday. In the meantime, all our stuff is in boxes and under plastic sheets. My computer is down and under plastic sheets. And it just hasn't been a convenient place to do any writing. I need quiet and order so that my right brain can roam freely to do its narrative thing. Beyond that, I've had some tough personal things to deal with lately. One of them has to do with the death of a close friend. Another has to do with the loss (though not death) of a very, very close Internet friend. I got knocked back by both of those, but oddly enough, more so by the Internet friend. So bad that I'm going to deal with it by writing y'all another story and posting it. As soon as Crosscurrents is finished. As things look, CC should top out at 34 chapters plus an epilogue. By next week I should be able to get back to it. Chapter 31 of CC is done in rough draft form. It'll need about three polishes, then it'll be ready to post. The sequel to CC won't show up right away. Like Dom Luka did with his Log Way series, I'm gonna move on to other stories before I return to Matt and Andy.

I stand corrected.

Enrikay (and others who've asked), "Brian" wrote a postscript to ISWB a while back and asked that it be posted. It'll update you on him and Chris. It's here: It Started With Brian, postscript

We'll see, Cjay, right? Our house is being repainted on the inside and re-floored. It's a long project and everything is in disarray. My computer is not up right now. As SOON as things are back to normal, I'll get back onto CC. I have almost finished the next chapter and will have it posted before mid-month, hopefully.

I've had some distractions for the past couple of months. I'll get on Crosscurrents next week and see if we can't get this dang thing finished by the end of summer.

That's an intriguing post. Thanks. You may be on to something. I should say that I'm currently computerless. My old one fried, and although I have a new one, we're having the interior of the house painted, and nothing we own is accessible right now! Well, it's not that extreme, but my computer's under plastic covers right now. I'll get back on things as soon as this damn project is finished. Thanks for your patience.

Look here, you. Matt's and Andy's sons are gonna be straight, dammit. They may play on the same football team, and they may be good lifelong friends...but they ain't goin' through none of this shit. Oh, no. No way no how.

Well, Tim, because that's not the story I'm writing. There are at least 4 more chapters to go, and possibly 5, depending on how the story writes itself. And anyway, just for the sake of literary-aesthetic purposes, a happily-ever-after ending isn't going to work if the Prologue's to have any literary integrity at all, right? That being said, I promise there will be no wrist-slitting on the part of readers once they've read the last word of the story. This story is not a tragedy. Just got some bittersweet to it. Like life, right? And for what it's worth, for reasons that I may go into later, there will be a short (maybe 10 chapters? We'll see) sequel to Crosscurrents that I'm going to call Finding Home. It will pick up where Crosscurrents leaves off, it will be narrated in the first person, and Matt will be the narrator. I'm thinking, though, that I may not take that up as my next story. You know, kinda like Dom Luka's done occasionally. I got other characters and happenings that want to see the light of day, and I think Andy and Matt need a break. etc. Very well said. I think you've about nailed it.

Haha. You may be right. Seriously, though, when the author's not around to reply and stir things up...it's natural that conversation lags. I had intended to have 31 posted by now. But it's been hella busy here, and early this week a good friend of mine from high school who still lives here in Dallas was killed in an accident, and it has us all reeling just a little bit. I have been working on Chapter 31 bit by bit, and it should be ready to be posted by the end of this week, depending on my proofreaders' schedules.

This story is not over, comicfan. There are about 4 more chapters to go.

For what it's worth, there are several chapters more to go in Crosscurrents. --Adam

It's all in there. Go back and take a look. And even if it weren't, what you know about Matt (and Andy) should enable you to come to the answer. If you're still stumped, I'll bring in my man Jeremy to 'splain it to you. He gets it.

I got a couple of queries from people who hadn't heard Randy Travis's cover of "Somewhere In My Broken Heart," the song that Matt sings to Andy in Chapter 30. You can hear it here. Sorry, country music haters. It's Texas.

Chapter 30 of Crosscurrents has been posted. I think this is a chapter that some readers have been waiting to read. Thanks for your patience.

Ruben's parents had always been a light touch; the first week in June was out of the question, but I managed to get the condo for the third weekend in May, plus the following Monday. I called Matt and told him he could pick up a key from Ruben's dad at his place of business when he got into town; I'd do the same when I got home. Matt wasn't sure when he'd be moving back down, but he told me he'd let me know he was home when he hit town. With that detail taken care of, I focused on acing my

I've written Chapter 30 of Crosscurrents. I'll tweak it today and then send it to my proofreaders. As soon as they find all my stoopidhead stuff and get back to me, I'll fix said stuff and post it.

It's because the story is essentially a story about the love of one guy for another guy. And I guess there is some narrative out there possessed of a "point," but I'm not aware of bringing a point to Crosscurrents. In fact, in my experience, when narrative has a point, it's usually clunky and heavy-handed and self-righteous.

As happens so often, you have entirely missed the point of this post, Grasshopper. I believe you saw in my post that I was not concerned about the rating. The point of the post was to reflect on a certain consistency in the content of those lower-rated chapters, and to muse--with amusement--on that. You're a graduate student now...put your cognitive skills in gear before you post.

I noticed that my chapters all got five stars, except for four of them. I'm flattered and appreciative. But consider the content of the four four-starred chapters. Three of them are about Andy's relationship with females. One of them is about Andy's homophobic rage-fueled encounter with an effeminate gay guy. I get why the last of those might not get universal acclaim. But apparently, somebody or -bodies doesn't like Andy getting with women.

Personally I think you'll love A Map of the Harbor Islands. Not everybody's as crazy about it as I am. It's easy to read...but Joe Hayes is kind of an odd guy, and one of his two main characters, Petey, is definitely an odd guy. But this story had so many points of resonance with my own life and history, though the personalities involved and their adventures were very different, that I was totally riveted. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll smile. It's a book that made me rejoice.

I loved At Swim, Two Boys. But you have to be patient with it. The thick Irish dialect he quotes makes the first fifty pages most intimidating, and in addition to that, the pace is leisurely, so if you're looking for hard-hitting action and plot development, you might be disappointed. But things do get moving eventually. Make no mistake, this is some pretty serious literature. But it's an incredible book. And be forewarned: If your emotions ride close to the surface, you're going to cry buckets at the end.