empath

Once I wrap up Kept Boy to Made Man, I will spend some more time on the Renkin men (both John and his son, Joshua). Each of them allowed societal pressures, real and imagined, and internal homophobia to trap and later define them. Like father, like son in this case although neither knows that yet since they don't have a real relationship. Thanks for reading and responding. A lot of this story feels familiar to me too, minus the sexy Italian. 😢

Well, that was a strange trip. A fun read with some creative Sci-Fi elements and ideas. I enjoyed this little saga, @Lee Wilson. Thanks for sharing it!

Quick update. This American can confirm, Original Tim Tams are essentially chocolate crack cocaine. ‘Dark' are less addictive, but decent. ‘White’ are sickly sweet - yuck. ‘Caramel’ were the second favorite in my house (similar to Twix bars in the US). Good fun! The story was better, though.

Hmmm, indeed… Certainly ironic and likely consequential. You have a good grasp on a key but quiet plot point @Philippe, if not immediately, definitely in the future. ❤️

High praise indeed! 😎🎶🐈‍⬛ Thanks friend. Apologies for making you cry…. again. It was Arturo’s fault. 💔

lol. Boystown (northside) gets its mention soon. Liberty Academy is in Kenwood (southside) so between the two, Chicago is nearly surrounded.

Thank you for the encouragement and validation. I spent a lot of years not really feeling anything so I’m making up for lost time. Plus, I have to keep Kleenex in business since I bought all those stocks several chapters ago.

I see what you did there! ♣️

No worries they are close (not really, but…) There is a lot going on. Even I have a tough time keeping everything straight (not that I even try to do that). 🏳️‍🌈

His boss mentioned someone was coming from Chicago, which was the only reason the man was in the office on a Sunday afternoon. Cassius Morales was extremely curious to learn why their visitor, an agent he recognized as a guest instructor from his time at Quantico, was staring at Arturo as he might a ghost. “Special Agent Fisher?” The El Paso SAC, Mario Espinoza asked as he stepped into the doorway of his office; he received confirmation with an almost imperceptible nod from the man who

My son’s high school just canceled classes for tomorrow. It’s currently -20F in Minnesota with -40F wind chills. It’s a special kind of cold which is almost impossible to describe. Stay inside, stay alive. 🌬️ 🧊

Seconded for the northern, northern hemisphere folks. I am sitting at -10F right now, so I feel you. 🥶

This is first a beautiful love story, but it is also a story full of realistic people with traumatic pasts. The significant and lasting effects of domestic abuse, homophobia, military combat, and the sex trade are what make this story stand out. Real and raw emotions impact each character as well as those around them. @JJQuinn thoughtfully and artfully holds his readers into the very real tension of family, friendships, and intimacy as each relationship vacillates between the hopelessness of the past and present and hope for the future. This is a survivor's story, which is what I liked most about it. I met the characters largely post-trauma, and while those damaging years and moments are mentioned, they are not the plot. Each character is in the process of picking up shattered pieces of their heart and mind in an effort to find peace, belonging, identity, and love. I cried. I binged. I set it aside for a few days. Then it was over and I wished it wasn’t, but I was also deeply satisfied. I highly recommend this passionate and poignant tale. I will be back for the future installments.

A beautiful ending to a wonderful story. I found it very moving and inspiring. A difficult read full of hope just under the surface, a lot like life. Thank you for sharing it! I'm a fan. ♥️

We are almost out of new threads, at least ones added in June of 1992. Micah has been very patiently waiting along with the rest of us for his past to be revealed at least in part. ❤️

Hi friend!

Sunday June 28th, 1992 Breakfast was noisier than it had been in the condo the previous day. There were more people present, and the cafeteria allowed for them to spread out into small groups which encouraged more unrestrained conversation. The exception were the three boys sitting quietly in the corner, together only because that was how they had woken up. Thomas and Brendon made up plates from what remained once everyone else had been served. The less than hot scrambled eggs, brea

👋 Thanks for the warm welcome!

This!

I have written some shorts that take place in 2024 with many of the same characters (eventually). I have a suggested reading order for the Land of Lincoln stories.

Agreed, and that completely makes sense! Thanks for the welcome as well. Glad to be here. ❤️

Hey @Tim Hobson. I’m late to the convo but thought I’d chime in. I always appreciate when a reader points out a typo, and I always take the time to fix them. I don't have an editor or a beta writer. Even though I take editing seriously, I still miss things since it’s just me. I would consider looking for an editor and/or beta reader, but making friends isn’t currently a strong point for me - read reclusive and depressed. I’m curious to understand where your personal threshold is? Are you frustrated by abundant and repetitive issues or even an occasional typo? Personally, I can read over the occasional missing or misspelled word. Commas can be more problematic as the author's meaning is sometimes confused by poor punctuation. I often publish a bit too soon in my hurry to share what I have created. The first readers get a few more typos than the ones who wait an hour or two to dive in. My process often includes several re-reads after it’s live. Thank for sharing your point of view!

Works in DuckDuckGo again as well. Thanks!

I’m using DuckDuckGo. I tried in Chrome and it did work.

Same issue.