Stories

Kevin was seventeen, and unhappy. He was in love with his best friend, but unable to share those emotions with him. And, he lived on pins and needles with his dad, who seemed not to care about anything that went on in his son's life.

Kevin had found some relief in writing - tales of other worlds and other life. But now his best friend was going to prod him into something new; something that would change Kevin's existence altogether.

Chance meetings can lead to casual affairs, but they can also start a slow unfolding of the heart. This happens to an American in Bali when a stranger shows him a thing or two.

**this story contains graphic sexual situations**

On occasion, a long-distance love affair becomes reality, bridging the gap between mere fantasy and real-life passion.

(This short story is several years old, but I thought I'd share.)

Landon pushed his luck too far this time, and nothing's the same anymore.

Jim Blazak lives in a terrifically accepting world. If only his boyfriend would cooperate. Yeah, there are a couple of other problems. But Jim's bright. And funny. And he looks pretty hot without a shirt.

This introduces Jake, the narrator of Moorpark Palms, a funny book of stories about a small Los Angeles apartment building in the 1990s. Jake & Conor is a light little romance, once intertwined with the longer book. I broke it out because it distracted from the apartment stories.

Steve and Chris, who met and became close in Thrift Shop Nation, return in another tale.

Working at the thrift shop has proved to be both interesting and rewarding for the boys. The summer is nearing its end, but both want the job to go on. They have been discovering that the thrift shop is more than just a job, and that Debbi is more than just a boss.

And that life among the world of 'previously owned' items is a long way from being dull...

A short series of salty, savory cinquains for summer.

The continued adventures in sex and friendship, online and off, of Alan Damschroeder, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, high school teacher.

Alan says, "Sometimes I think it takes a triumvirate of saints to keep me out of trouble."

These stories are written as exchanged e-mails and reading this way is an acquired taste. But the first book of this series, Web Guys, has a small, loyal following, so here's the second.

Summer vacation had started out well for Derry and Caleb. There was much to occupy two adventurous boys in the rural landscape in which they lived. They had the woods, and the fields, and the waterways to occupy them.

And they had each other.

But then they made a discovery - a strange place hidden in the forest, a pathway to lands beyond description. And suddenly, the summer was not quite so simple any longer.