John Henry

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't let anyone else edit my material, so PZA would be out of the question. Again, I'm willing to send links, so you can go directly to the story or my list of stories. All the new submissions will be in HTML, while I slowly convert the others. My email here is the same as on Nifty. You can search my name "John Henry" in the Author section and get the list that way, too.

I don't try to please anyone, and I made that clear to him. Also, I've added a new "disclaimer" to my newest submissions this week that I don't want to hear people's political opinions and to keep it to themselves. I think that should work. With future stories, I've added, "If you don't like my stories, don't read them," and that I won't change anything because one or two people think I should. He's seriously the second person ever to complain about Thicker Than Water and the very first person to drag me into a political argument and accuse me of using this story as leftist propaganda. 🙄 I blocked him and left it at that. As for the Nifty, I wasn't aware they had a new website. I've been posting to Nifty.org for years and never knew there was a different site. I have a fairly regular release schedule over there and usually try to set up chapters well ahead of time. For example, Thicker Than Water is submitted every Monday at 1am PST and is in the Young Friends section, while the last novel dealing with Billy, Ry and Charlie (Growing Up Ry) is submitted on the 1st and 3rd Friday. I'm not sure what the new release schedule will be yet, but it will likely be Fridays. The anthology has 12 planned short stories (6 have been written), and I'm likely to release those on Fridays, as well. The submission guidelines on Nifty still aren't as restricting as Gay Authors. Chapter 32 of this story barely touches on what Will Parker Sr did to Charlie's abuser, but in the second book, Growing Up Charlie, not only do I go into details about that but also the abuse Charlie suffered at the hands of Justin (If made into a film, it would be NC-17 at best). There's absolutely no way that could have ever been published here, not to mention other elements of that whole trilogy and other stories that are being connected to Washington High. As of right now, Nifty hasn't told me to edit or tone things down, though I have quite a bit; Growing Up Charlie took a lot out of me emotionally and creatively, but it also showed me what my limits were as a writer and storyteller. @Mattyboy, who had read the Growing Up Trilogy was concerned this story was going to be just as dark, and without spoiling anything, had to assure him it wasn't going to be, while also not changing my plans for the outcome, themes and mood of this story. Now, you can DM me here or send me an email, and I'll send you a link to all of my stories on Nifty. I'm in the process of rewriting/resubmitting the older stories that will be connected to Washington High to make those connections more obvious, so some will change over the next few months. With that said, Washington High and the first anthology, Only The Beginning, will be in the Gay/High School section, and I'm happy to send links to those who want them.

Just a quick update here about this story and future stories. I got my second complaint from a "fan" on Nifty, where they only just got this chapter (31). He condemned me for making the story political and not knowing what I was talking about and said that I needed to cater to both liberal and conservative gays. He kept repeating that he was done reading it at every chapter but kept going until this chapter. He made sure to qualify that he was "liberal/progressive." I told him he could blow it out of his ass. *shrug* With that said, it's only made me appreciate the positive feedback I received from all of you, so thank you for that. I've also started working on the next series, which will feature the Padillas, Kenny, Terra and other characters from this story. I still can't post it here due to a lot of the content, which would violate the site's guidelines; however, I will post when the new story--an anthology--is set for publishing on Nifty. Things are going be more intense for sure. Thanks again, y'all.

@Arch Hunter I hope all is well.

I had to stop reading the last few chapters, because everything that happened from the date onwards is still too fresh and raw, emotionally. They are some of the best writing you've done, thus far, @Jeff Burton, which is also why they're difficult to get through in hindsight. I know what's coming, and I can't cope with that kind of anxiety right now. Please, take it as a well deserved compliment for the empathy you allow your readers to have. Hopefully, the next chapters are on their way.

I don't think I could've forgiven Max, and if I were Corey, I wouldn't want him around Nate. The advantage to rereading is knowing how the date goes, and downside is knowing what happens after.

I had forgotten why I hated Max, but this definitely brought it all back. I get that some people aren't fighters, but, to leave a guy you want to be friends with (or more than friends with) to get attacked by a group of thugs, is absolutely unforgivable. Max is lucky Jess did use her spoon on him. If I were Corey, I would've knocked out a few of his teeth.

Even better the second time.

Not any less emotional the second time around. The deeper I get back into the story, the easier it is to visualize Corey and Nathan. Corey's personality is also becoming more clear, and it's easier to see who he is outside of Nathan's perceptions and bias.

I liked Corey's microaggressions to get Nathan's attention. Yes, he takes things literally, but he also uses that to his advantage for humor, which disarms Nate and pleases Corey more. Well done, Sir.

I first read this chapter on Nifty and decided to reread it on here. In retrospect, knowing what I do about Corey, his behavior after the fight makes sense, but it doesn't really explain his bullying. Love this story, though.

I'm very much the same way, except I go out of my way to get people to not acknowledge my birthday (some family and little kids are an exception). Having the school support Nathan is to be expected, but if I were Nathan, I'm not sure I would've handled it as well as he did. I'm glad he got through it without losing his shit. Hope your B-day was a good one.

This was very emotional, and I'm glad that Nate and Corey are back together. The scene when Nate returned to school was very cringy for me, as I don't those kinds of moments in real life or in fiction. I love the scene where Carla wasn't letting Nate object to their plans; that's something I would do in that situation. It's a great chapter, and hope chapter 11 isn't devastating.

I honestly thought you were going to kill Chris off in this chapter, though.