An English Teen, Circumcised in the USA - Prologue. Author's Note

A personal note from the author:

With its real to life characters, ‘An English Teen, Circumcised in the USA’ is an account that’s been patiently waiting – and a heartfelt thanks to all those who’ve continued to 'hang' around for it!

We started to put it on paper several years ago and it was being published on the old eFiction section of GA. Was it any good? Well, I’m British and it’s genetically impossible for our culture to even THINK something we’ve done ourselves might be good, let alone come out and SAY it! J - but I know a great many were reading it and giving reviews…I know, I know - they were probably just showing pity!

So why did I - we - stop writing?

Not going to dwell on that much here – but suffice it to say, I never quite expected to be personally experiencing the types of hard situations that we were narrating!

Some tough times meant I didn’t write for a year. Anything. But, after completing ‘In Safe Hands’ (and I recommend you read that at some point as it provides quite a bit of background to ET), I think I’m ready to come back to it and be part of finishing the telling of a tale that was never actually mine, but Luke’s.

I think I have to point out that ET wasn’t without controversy when it was first published. There are some difficult bits – some said even a bit shocking. I don’t apologise for them, but give fair warning.

If the reality of same-sex relationships distressed you, then I guess you wouldn’t be here. Also, despite the arguably contentious title, the story isn’t about circumcision per se; different people see that in different ways, so let’s not argue about it. Rather, ET is about Luke Summers; a very ordinary young man, moving from the UK to the USA; crossing from one culture to another, and discovering more than he expected, both about the world around him and about himself in the process.

I’ve always tried to take the basic flow of the rambling notes I had, to recreate them into a narrative that remains readable but, frequently, the only way to adequately tell it ‘how it was’ has been to put Luke’s scribbles in just as they are.

I hope you’ll keep following - just add yourself to the story follow list to make it easy - and that you’ll give feedback on each chapter as it gets published, on what I hope will be a regular basis.

Thank you for reading!