Josh Aterovis

"You know who's hot?" Kyle asked suddenly, kicking off a conversation none of us had asked for. "Who?" Danny replied, already smirking. "Tara Wetzel." Danny groaned. "Tara Pretzel? Seriously?" "Yeah. Totally. Why? You don’t think she’s hot?" "Uh, no. That’s why I call her Tara Pretzel." Kyle made an exaggerated face. "Fine. Who do you think is hot then?" Danny considered. "Anna Bergdorf." "Anna? Anna, uh..." Kyle glanced over his shoulder at us, wheels sti

Kane and Ty have been friends for a while — good friends, but not the kind who talk about their feelings. All that changes one summer afternoon when Kane wipes out on his skateboard. Kane’s Kiss is a warm, funny, and unexpectedly tender story about friendship, trust, and identity. It’s not a romance. It’s not about falling in love. It’s about the courage it takes to ask questions, and the kind of friend who doesn’t flinch when you ask them. It’s about growing up surrounded by noise and pressure, and finding moments of quiet honesty where you can just be who you are — even if you’re still figuring that out.

I hope the medical issue is minor and easily addressed! As everyone has said, you come first. Your excellent story will continue when you're ready and we will be patiently (mostly anyway) waiting! This was another great chapter, and this line especially stood out to me. "Time is the master of the universe, not the life that rises and falls within it." Beautiful, thoughtful writing...as usual.

Such a cool chapter! Love the "new" ancient ship. Excited to see where it takes the crew!

Always such a pleasure to sit back and dig into a new adventure with the gang! This one is off to a great start, and like everyone else, I can't wait to meet the new AI and see where we end up. I'm already enjoying Edrich, and I'm sure we'll meet some more new friends before it's over. I always know I'm safe in good hands with a @Geron Kees story!

Thanks @Tris! Counting Bleeding Hearts and Eden Revisited, you could definitely say three stories intersected! They were designed that way, though, to be fair. All the Extended Universe stories support the main series in some fashion. Aside from Reap the Whirlwind (which is an anomaly in several senses) the main series is always from Killian's point of view, and while some of the shorts are as well, they're primarily from other character's POVs. You might get more backstory, like Eden Revisited and Bright Things, you might get a cute little side story that tells you more about a character like the next story in the queue — Kane's Kiss, you might get a story that furthers a major plot point from the main series like the upcoming Like Unto a Ring, or I might use these shorter stories to introduce new characters. At the start of each short story, I'll put it into context as to where it fits into the overall timeline and remind you who is narrating (since I prefer to write in first person). While all the shorts can be read as self-contained standalone stories, they work best in concert with the main series. Many of the characters will pop up again. Unfortunately, Cole isn't one of them. At least, not yet. You never know... Glad you're enjoying them! And I'm happy to be a "new" author again!

oh my LORD! Browbeat's new look is the cutest! Always exciting to open this site and see a new Kip and Charlie story! Can't wait to see where it takes us.

You will not like Eve any more in Eden Revisited. 🤣

Standing in the doorway was my dad. In person, he didn’t look all that different from the last time I’d seen him — just not quite as tall. I guess he hadn’t shrunk. I’d just gotten taller. His shoulders were still broad, his reddish-blond hair was still cut short and neatly parted, and his eyes were the same pale blue I remembered. There was a bit more gray at his temples, and he looked like he might be in better shape, but otherwise, he was the same Dad I’d carried in my memory all these

Only one chapter left! Next up will be a very short one-shot called Kane's Kiss.

Mostly because he didn't think he was wanted.

Cole and I stood staring at each other for what felt like forever, neither of us saying a word. The silence grew between us until it became an insurmountable wall. I’d just about given up when Cole brought the wall crashing down with just one sentence, “I think maybe we should start over.” I nodded vigorously, eager to agree to whatever he suggested. “Should we sit back down?” I asked tentatively. He answered by walking back over to the swings and settling into the same one he’d c

@peter rietbergen @drsawzall @Leo622 Thank you all. I really appreciate your kind words. It warms my cold, black heart. 🖤

This is a nice change after the ending of Reap the Whirlwind!

In the end, moving in with Charlie was surprisingly easy — at least on the surface. But of course, there were practicalities and negotiations to work through, even if he liked to pretend everything was as simple as handing me a key. The first point of contention was rent. I’d barely begun to ask what a fair monthly contribution might be before Charlie cut me off with a dramatic wave of his hand. “Absolutely not,” he said, horrified. “You’re not paying me rent. What would I even do with

Uncle Charlie is probably my favorite character I've ever written.

You are not wrong that coming out for me was a very painful and difficult process. I grew up in a very tight-knit, very Christian family. My father was a pastor, one of my brothers is a pastor, one of my brothers-in-law is a pastor. I knew I was different from a very young age. All my crushes were on my male friends, but I was so sheltered and isolated, I never really knew what that even meant. I didn't know being gay was even an option. I remember with perfect clarity being on the school bus in 6th grade, and hearing someone call another boy a 'faggot.' I'd never heard the word before. I turned to the boy sitting next to me and asked him what it meant, and he said "it's when a guy only likes other guys." And I remember thinking, "oh. so that's what I am." But of course, being from an extremely religious family meant I couldn't just accept that, and it was clear from the way the boys on the bus used the term that it wasn't something you wanted to be anyway, so I repressed it as hard as I could. I was self-hating, suicidal and depressed through my entire teen years. I'd fall asleep crying and praying and begging god to either make me straight or just let me die. Obviously, neither of those things happened, and when the Internet became widely available, I was able to discover an entire new world of people who were gay and happy and living openly. I still knew that coming out would essentially mean losing everything I'd ever known, including my family to a large degree. In the end, I didn't get to make the choice. I was outed by my roommate at the time. And everything I'd feared (and more) came true, but it also freed me from that prison of fear and made me a much stronger (and perhaps a much less trusting) person. I love hearing stories like yours. It's such a stark contrast to my own. And of course, stories like yours became more and more the norm as time went on, thankfully, but when I wrote these stories originally, I was very newly out so it was all still fresh in my mind. I actually started Bleeding Hearts when I was still very much closeted. Reap the Whirlwind was written right after I was outed (and my family held a surprise exorcism for me...so sweet), so I think that dark mindset is really reflected in a lot of what Will experiences. Bright Things and Eden Revisited came somewhere after that, and you can start to see a little more hopeful frame of mind. By the time you get to All Lost Things and The Truth of Yesterday, I'd worked through a lot of those demons and the stories are more mystery focused and somewhat less angsty. Although, there's always some angst with Killian. LOL I do fear we're slipping backwards again in the current political climate, but we're here, we're queer, and we're not going anywhere!

Thank you. ❤️

I tried not to overthink things on the drive home. One thing at a time, I told myself again and again, gripping the wheel tight enough to whiten my knuckles. Just get in. Get your clothes. Get out. But the second I turned onto our street, my stomach dropped. Eve’s car was still in the driveway. I pulled over and stared at the house, pulse pounding. What now? I couldn’t risk another confrontation. I didn’t have it in me. Just then, the front door flew open and Seth came barreling o

Thank you! You have no idea how much that means. I really struggled with this story. The original version I wrote 25 years ago was so far out of date I basically rewrote it from scratch with only the barest of bones from the original draft. I got bogged down in this chapter, mostly because — like you — I've never experienced anything quite like this. The question everyone kept asking during Bleeding Hearts kept echoing through my mind: Why would Adam marry Eve? Coming from a very religious background, though, I could have very easily been Adam. In an alternate universe, this probably is me. It's funny, when I first wrote this, I was closer to Killian's age than Adam's. Now I'm much closer (and maaaaybe even a little older) to Adam's age. I understand and relate to him a lot more now. Once I broke through that barrier, the rest of the story just flowed. I can't wait for the last two chapters to come out next week. 😊 I couldn't figure out how to undo that weirdness above, so now you all have to live with it.

In all the time Eve and I had dated, we'd never slept together. To Eve, the idea of saving yourself for your wedding night was just the expected thing to do. For me, it was simply a matter of lack of interest. Our wedding night was...uneventful. I couldn't get an erection. Eve was not amused, but I passed it off as nerves. The next night I knew I had to perform, so I did the only thing I could think of, I closed my eyes and pretended I was with Eric. It worked, but later that night, after E

The rest of the week dragged by so slowly I thought I’d go crazy. I spent most of my days avoiding Amira and my nights avoiding Mom and Kane. Mom hadn’t even noticed. Kane, on the other hand, gave me a look like a kicked puppy every time he caught my eye. Amira was less obvious, but I could tell my reaction had hurt her feelings. I felt terrible, but I just wasn’t prepared to deal with being gay. Why couldn’t she understand that? I was also dodging Cole. Trying to avoid both him and Amira m

I had a breakthrough with Adam's story, and since it is so intertwined with Seth's, I decided to post them at the same time, more or less. The next chapter of Bright Things Come to Confusion will come out tomorrow. In the meantime, I've posted the first chapter of Eden Revisited, Adam's story. From there, the stories will unfold like this. Like this: Bright Things Chapter 1 Eden Revisited Chapter 1 Bright Things Chapter 2 Eden Revisited Chapter 2 Eden Revisited Chapter 3 Eden Revisited Chapter 4 Bright Things Chapter 3 Bright Things Chapter 4 Happy reading! Can't wait to read your reactions and thoughts!

I had a breakthrough with Adam's story, and since it is so intertwined with Seth's, I decided to post them at the same time, more or less. The next chapter of Bright Things Come to Confusion will come out tomorrow. In the meantime, here's the first chapter of Eden Revisited, Adam's story. From there, the stories will unfold like this. Like this: Bright Things Chapter 1 Eden Revisited Chapter 1 Bright Things Chapter 2 Eden Revisited Chapter 2 Eden Revisited Chapter 3 Eden Revisited Chapter 4 Bright Things Chapter 3 Bright Things Chapter 4 Happy reading! Can't wait to read your reactions and thoughts!