William King

It has been more than two years since I poked my head in here. It was over five years ago when this first story, I'll Kiss You in the Rain, was born. Originally, simply one chapter which developed into a book and later got revised and tidied up. As @Rutabaga mentions (and thank you for your kind remarks and comments on the story), this is the first book of a series, the sequel (recently published here - a second edition, changed a little and edited by @Pedro - special thanks to him for all the work he put in) being, Time May Change Me. I was asked, a long time ago, to come up with a series title, seeing as each book is a stolen title from a Bowie song, it seemed appropriate to title the series Absolute Beginners. There has always been a third book in this collection, titled - A Sense of Doubt (Mike has it and if you ask him nicely it might get published here). The third book (not edited, so you will have to excuse typos and errors, I did not want to prevail again on young Mr Pedro - we are all young at heart!) is a short book, because the chapters had been sitting on my computer for a few years. They tend to say in the artistic world, "he took a break," which is vaguely true, I stopped writing. I have not found the courage to pick things back up, but decided to bring the third book to a conclusion and publish it. This seemed due to my readers, indeed it was requested, and very remiss of me to ignore everyone, my only excuse is that real life happened to get in the way. Now despite what it says on another site where this third book is currently being published, it is not the "final volume." It is, however, a good place to leave things (for now) and an answer to some, if not all, of the questions left at the end of book two. In a perfect world, I would be able to pick up the story (God knows with this health crisis I should have the time) and write the fourth book, which was always planned. I must be honest and tell you that despite my love of these characters and the (to me) interesting inter-relationships, which are a little more complex than boy meets boy, I am not sure at all about a fourth book. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the saga as it stands, and you wont, I think, be disappointed with any incomplete ending, only perhaps wanting a little more of their lives, which if you do would be a huge accolade for me as a writer. William King (would be author, confined by a curfew and awaiting, like everyone, by the grace of God, a recovery to some kind of normal life). Happy reading! Absolute Beginners I'll Kiss You in the Rain - book one Time May Change Me - book two Sense of Doubt - book three.

It's getting posted twice weekly so not too long to wait for chapters. The edition posted here has been tidied up a bit from when it first got published. I'm really pleased you like it (its the first book I wrote). There is a sequel to look forward to. That too is published elsewhere, but I found someone to edit for me (thanks @Pedro, I know you hate taking any credit) and we're working through a second edition, which will be a better read when it's published here.

There are a lot of good points made here in reply to my question. @Merkin I appreciate the evolution of the English language, but tend to think that what I am picking up on is more likely, as @Cole Parker made the point, Americans (and probably British as well) are lazy when speaking (and writing) which fractures the language. When this is in dialogue I have no objections, however in narration it's not so good. @Camy here is a bit more (I don't want to write too much as I don't want it identified): In a couple of weeks, we have a game coming up, and I don't believe I am able for it. I have been crappy the last couple of sessions, ... Perhaps this is simply a question of word choice and differences in the way of speaking, if I were to replace - able - with fit, it would read perfectly, I don't believe I am fit for it, or it's American English v British English, because in British English - up - would work as well, I don't believe I am up for it. However, this latter expression I would only use in dialogue, not narrative, because it is a colloquialism. Maybe I'm too finicky and should simply follow the story... 😁

Perhaps we need to get the terminology clear: cannabis whose active ingredient is THC does not cause any physical addiction, unlike some other drugs, including tobacco. It is possible to become psychologically dependent, a condition labelled cannabis use disorder, but such dependency is purely a mental state and applies to a minority of users. So as @Jason Rimbaud mentioned his boyfriend being continuously stoned for three years, from morning to night, was/is not an addiction. If he chose to stop, there would be no physical withdrawal symptoms. The one important fact to consider is the strength of the cannabis (amount of THC). If you draw an analogy with alcohol, the percentage proof of an acholic drink is an indicator of how little you need to consume and how quickly you become intoxicated. There the similarity ends, a potent amount of cannabis may well induce mind-altering properties, the downside of which is paranoia. Making it legal can only be good, because the user should then know it's pure and what strength, potentially avoiding bad side effects, and as a bonus, no more criminal activity.

I didn't think that as a topic this subject fitted in the writers workshop, because it's not a positive aspect of writing, or a tip, or recommendation. Rather it is a question that has plagued me ever since coming online to read stories and it is pretty much connected to American English. There have been discussions about differences between American v British English and this question is not about which words are used, but about phraseology and missing words. Take the following example: I don't believe I am able for it. I don't understand that phrase, which was written by an American author. I am not talking 'any old' amateur writer, but more a 'professional' top dog. My question is: is that phrase American English? It certainly is not British English as I know it. This is one example, at random, from one writer, there are hundreds of others from various American authors. There is the phenomenon of missing words, sentences which read incomplete to my British ears, because a simple word like 'and' or even 'a' or 'the' is absent. There are expressions which are common in British English, but get written slightly 'askew' by American writers. I can't go through endless examples, I have discussed the subject with some authors, I have edited to highlight differences, but essentially the reply is: this is how I always write/talk. It leaves me wondering, and asking myself this question: are these oddities that don't read smoothly to my British ears differences between American and British English, or are they errors? Does anyone else read stories and find themselves stopping, rephrasing something in their head that doesn't read right, or putting in a word here or there because it's missing, even occasionally shaking your head and saying to yourself, "that's not English!"?

Absolute Beginners is the title for a series of books which tell the story of Alex and Matty, of their friends and family, those others around them, and the people whose paths they cross. The first book in the series is titled I’ll Kiss You in the Rain. Alex, the principal character who narrates the story is a gay teenager who hides his real self until he discovers his best friend is gay. The idea for the story of Matty and Alex's relationship came from the first chapter, originally just a short story about two best friends who reveal to each other that they are gay. As the novel builds and introduces other characters, we meet Jake, an older guy who hits on Alex. There are other things going on in the background concerning Alex's group of school friends, but the main storyline is the interplay between Alex, Jake, and Matty. Matty looked up at me, caught my eyes, "I know." I was shocked, how could he know? Is that why he needed to see me? Is it over between us? With that last thought I felt a pang of emotion in my chest. If it was over, if it was over... I had no answer for myself. I felt sick, that feeling of butterflies in the stomach. He didn't wait for me to reply, but continued, "Brandon came to see me, to make sure I hadn't said anything about the watches. He had no idea I was gay or that you and I were anything more than best friends. Anyway it all came out, Jonathan, Jake, you." "Do you hate me?" This is a revised second edition, the book was first published in 2016 and received some favourable comments: As for the story over all, well done! It challenged the usual thinking of a story like this. Alex was a good kid with flaws. He got himself into circumstances that were way over his head, and he kind of got lost for a while, but he owned up to his mistakes and is a better person for it. Jake and Jonathan sullied the waters for each other. Alex walked into the middle of a complicated relationship and got caught in the middle of their lovers' quarrel. They prove that you can love somebody and not really like them for a while. Matty surprised me in a good way. He didn't interest me early in the story and it took a while for me to warm up to him. But he did warm up in the last half of the story and proved to have more depth than just being the happy, innocent, perfect love interest. He grew on me as the story progressed. I really liked this story. All my stories contain elements of personal experience, I don't think they would be real if they did not. The most extraordinary thing about writing this book is the character development, the way in which the characters took on a life of their own and lived. I have confined the story limits by giving attention and detail to the three principle characters, but if that were not the case, any of the characters could be developed, but of course that would tell a different story. I hope you like this story, and enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’ll Kiss You in the Rain will begin publishing here on Saturday 17 November.

I agree with @Cole Parker , a little tidying up here and there, but well written. Regarding the storyline: there is plenty of scope, a whole lifetime. Personally, I would avoid the 'well off' benefactor who can arrange things that wouldn't normally happen, by exerting his influence (time off school, chauffeur etc.). It's a ploy used all too often, to easily smooth through the story progression, but is not at all realistic. I would watch carefully how the older boy, Matthew, reacts. He begins to exhibit the characteristics of someone much older, 'I really can’t expect you to feel the same way as I do, you’re much too young to start thinking about relationships, and it would be unfair of me to try and get you involved in one.' Do fourteen and twelve year olds start discussing relationships? That aside it was engaging and I immediately liked the characters, so good job ?

The definition of hypocrisy, the country (USA not Canada)that started the war on drugs and screwed the world, now legalises it???

I came across this short story Desert of the Real on the story lover site and I was deeply moved by it, a story from the soul, an allegory of the search for salvation, acceptance, companionship, sacrifice. It's all in there, in one short story.

I haven't read this story yet, but I am guided on what to read by the posted comments: so, I won't be put off by the title (although I was, before @Ivor Slipper commented); I agree with @Merkin that Geron is a force to be reckoned with (so, another great tale from him); but @Jason Rimbaud I don't know what to make of a half comment, you'd recommend it, but a couple of things bothered you? (What, would it be a spoiler to mention them? Is that why you didn't?). Generally, I do find peoples comments and recommendations very useful in choosing what to read.

I'm not too sure how many people will get that allusion... we're in danger of everything going tits-up!

I have always read it as odd that our American friends use the word "tidbit," rather than its equivalent "titbit," which being British I am much more familiar with. By chance, I happened across this rather interesting, even humorous, explanation: It is not, of course, that the British do not use the word tit for ‘breast’; it’s more that they use it for some other things that North Americans don’t really use it for and so it doesn’t have as naked an association. https://sesquiotic.com/2014/05/04/titbit-tidbit/

LOL... but I bet if we go back far enough you used to be one of those funny looking college students that didn't work much!

That's just too funny... ?

I found it was like an epilogue to the Valentine's Day short story February Surprise, interesting to find out what happened, but nothing more, except it gave a great insight into life in the US as an American Asian.