empath

Thanks for reading and responding! I appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement. Writing has become an unexpected passion after decades of thinking, “Maybe I should write a book.” Thank you all for sticking with the story through its dark and disturbing moments. As @drsawzall pointed out, this is sadly not all that farfetched. Hopefully we will see prosecution of the “Johns” quicker than the case in Boston he referenced! Good grief. I struggle to imagine what this kind of pressure must be like in a case like this (which is scary since I am supposed to be the one telling the story); Not being able to act on what you know for fear of impacting things you have yet to learn. Luckily, there are those who know better than I how to handle this kind of a situation! Work and the holiday season are slowing down my writing a bit, but I am anxious for the next chapter too! Thanks again for the support, comments, reactions, and recommendations! I find your engagement motivating!

Great story @Gary L! Thank you for sharing it with us! I am rooting for Juan. Hopefully he can find freedom to be who he is and get out from under the guilt and misery of his first forty years! ❤️

The enormity of the case was on display before a tired Daniel Janick. The man tuned out the sounds of the bullpen-turned-command-center behind him as he thought about how much they had learned but how little the ever-growing team knew. His eyes moved from one large whiteboard to the other before finally zeroing in on the handwritten name at the center of everything: Charles Miller, codenamed Darius, the Ace of Spades. Of the fifty-four cards taped to the board, that card remained the only

Thank you to all of you who react, comment, review, recommend, etc! It is very motivating to know people are actually reading and appreciating my stories! On October 15th, I nervously shared my first bit of fiction with the world and your reactions and words have made it very much worth the risk! Special call out to @flesco, who provided my 1000th story/chapter reaction today! I’ve published over 105K words leading to almost 400 comments, 29 recommendations, and 4 reviews. I have no idea how many people have actually read my stories, but it is a lot more than I expected almost two months ago when I submitted what was going to be a single short story. Thank you all for the support and encouragement. I am not the same person I was even two months ago. I am actually writing a novel! Much love, my friends! Sappy post-script: Like so many of the characters in this chapter, I feel like I too am finding a family I never expected to find!

I somehow missed the CJ stories and am also reading through them. I was too busy hiding in the closet to get to know Carlos. It is bittersweet to meet him now through his words.

The last chapter took me a week to get through. Granted, there was a Prompt Challenge to distract me, but it was the chapter I struggled with the most so far. This chapter practically wrote itself in less than a day. I also needed a regrounding after the all the vile-ness.

Friday June 26th, 1992 Oliver White lay awake in the clinging darkness of early morning, thinking about his family. He missed his mom and dad, but it was his little brother he was thinking about currently. Jasper would be seven by now just like the young boy sharing Oliver's mattress. It made him both sad and angry to know he had missed his brother’s birthday. Mark’s small body, nestled up against his own, was so much like his brother’s. The little boy had turned seven the day be

This comment did not disappoint, even if the death of Jason Rizzo did.

“Fix it,” he mumbled into the night. “Fix it, or we will.” He didn’t know how to fix it. Riz didn’t even know what to fix. Charlie was out of the picture. Jason Rizzo didn’t know anything about the crazy man with the cards, or the people he represented. It was Charlie's twisted passion that had gotten the man’s attention. Riz hadn’t cared where that passion led as long as he was getting paid. He pounded his fist against the steering wheel. Joe and Sal were his enforcers. They

Thanks for sharing @Summerabbacat! I liked the lyrics, and the idea of an avatar based concert, but now I like the song even more! ❤️‍🩹

Do I have it in me? I believe it is in there For I know I hear a bittersweet song In the memories we share I Still Have Faith in You, Album: Voyage

Hey @Bill W, thanks for dropping a comment! John Renkin is a character in the ever expanding Land of Lincoln stories. He is a husband and father in Kept Boy to Made Man (1992) and his son Joshua is a main character in a couple stories which happen in modern times (We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident and A Land of Lincoln Thanksgiving). He loves his children but is distant, largely due to an emasculating and homophobic wife. Readers have been asking why he stays with her and doesn’t stand up for his kids. His wife Rebecca is a favorite antagonist who has drawn her share of (justified) angst and vitriol from other characters and readers alike. He hasn’t been given a lot of words elsewhere, despite being a complex and interesting character in his own right. I plan to add shorts to this story about key moments in John’s life. Exploring the human experience is what makes writing interesting and cathartic for me. I love these opportunities to explore and explain characters in more depth.

Probably. It’s a nice mental shift from the long form narrative. Who do you want to read about?

You pretty much summarized John Renkin’s life story @Summerabbacat, at least to date. Your analogy is apt. As for that question, it is perhaps the question I am exploring through all of my writing. What did any queer kid do to deserve the hate, the isolation, the fear? Now who’s making who cry? 🥲 Thanks for reading and responding. I’m off to work now that my mind is completely distracted with thoughts of pious puritans and the Cuntess of Chicago! Cheers, mate! (Says the man sitting in Frigid Minnesota as he peels away the warm fleece blanket before moving to his desk…)

LoL. Tears (happy, mad, and sad) seem to be inevitable in the Land of Lincoln. I should probably see my therapist again as well. 😅

Special thank you to @mayday as well. I had my prompt almost a month ago, but they gave me the inspiration to use on John Renkin! The author glared at the words messaged to him by @Valkyrie … It had been difficult to get started, and the prompt in front him didn’t feel like a valuable tool. The author looked at the prompt again. He stared at it. He didn’t like this prompt in the least. He thought about deleting the message and pretending he had never received the prompt at all.

It was so much more difficult than I thought it would be! I was literally seconds from throwing in the towel two days ago! 🫠

Thanks @Gary L! I learned that starting with a prompt was way harder for me than starting from nothing, at least in this instance. I struggled to build a story around it (this was my second attempt - I just couldn’t get the first story I wanted to tell to work with the first-person prompt). I’m glad to hear I landed somewhere that worked! I don’t think he is bitter as much as he is isolated and repressed. John is 68 in this story when he sits down with his journal, but is only beginning to question and reflect on the events of his life. I don’t want to ruin the story between 1974 and 1992, but by the time he appears in Kept Boy to Made Man, he has managed to contort himself into a “normal” existence. By 2024, he has lived for well over 40 years rejecting and hiding large parts of his identity. Thanks for reading through the typos. Hopefully I have now found most of them! The story ended up very rushed - I started this version six hours before the deadline! A huge thank you to @Valkyrie for putting up with rushed publishing and after-the-fact editing. 😅 Thanks for reading and responding @pvtguy! I have been distracted from the current tale which I need to return to, but I will not abandon John Renkin in such a fragile state of mind! ❤️‍🩹

You'll never believe how we first met. The aging man glared at the words printed on the page. His therapist had encouraged him to keep a journal. It had been difficult to get started, so the Prompt Journal in front of him had been a valuable tool. John Renkin looked at the prompt for the day again. He stared at it. He didn’t like this prompt in the least. He thought about ripping the page out of the spiral-bound book and pretending the copy he bought had never contained the prompt at

John Renkin has recently retired, but his investment firm in The Land of Lincoln is the only thing he can look back on as a success. His painful life and brighter future are revealed in a series of shorts. Each will stand on its own, but the sum will eventually tell his story. Be sure to follow for periodic updates.

Posting mine now. It’s short, and I need to edit it. Can I edit after I submit, or will that screw up your scheduling magic?

I've been struggling with what to do with my prompt in the Prompt Event. You, my friend have inspired me. Editing Chapter 17 will just have to wait! Thank you!

Got it! What time tomorrow is my deadline? I am planning to use every minute.

My comments were not meant to be a commentary on either British or American culture or norms. I apologize if I came across as critical, as that was not my intent. I really appreciated your thoughtful comments! The twins' experience, while very different than Mary and Joshua’s is also similar. Stan was a stand-in just as Rosa is. Their lives and circumstances are not at all the same, but the effects of parental neglect are. I’ve been thinking a lot about that as I’ve been writing these chapters.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings. Boarding schools and shipping kids to the countryside are not common themes in the US, although we were once a British colony as well. That fact can still be felt, especially along the East Coast. Kids are kids, regardless of class, and neglect is traumatic even if the only thing kids lack is love. Narnia, The Secret Garden, even Harry Potter hide the characters’ painful loneliness behind magic and mystery as the kids rely on friendship and adventure to discover their identity and find belonging. In many ways, John Renkin is like Archibald Craven. Perhaps one day, he too will come to his senses!