Nigel Gordon

Just going to check the odds of Maria Le Pen becoming French President. Though whilst that would be a disaster for France it could be good for the UK. Would really upset the power balance in the EU.

It seems that if you want to know the outcome of an vote, check the odds at the bookies. They were right on the General Election, right on the Brexit Vote and right on Trump becoming president. What do they know that the pollsters don't?

Hope you make it before the Canadians get round to building a wall!!!

Mihangel has a knack of being able to tell interesting stories. He also has a knack of being able to tell interesting history. What is infuriating for many other writers is that somehow he seems to be able to combine the two in one with ease - it is enough to make one sick with envy at his ability. In this story we get both an interesting story well told and a lesson in history. Ancient history, specifically Greek and Roman has been an interest of mine since doing it for A levels many years ago. As a result I thought I was fairly knowledgable about the period - especially about Roman Egypt. Reading this showed me just how much I did not know and how much more I have to learn. So I strongly recommend that you read this story. It is both entertaining and informative and I am sure you will learn something that you did not know before. You can find it here: http://www.awesomedude.com/mihangel/the-clock-of-crocodilo/the-clock-of-crocodilo.htm

​The story of two boys who both have a remarkable musical ability. One grows up an orphan within a rich family. The other adopted by a gay couple is blind from birth and has a father who is a gay homophobic. This is the story about how two people both come to have the inner demons that they have and how they fight them and conquer them. It is also about the cost of that fight. It is difficult to say much about the book without giving away plot details which are best left undisclosed. EM Lindsey is a remarkably good writer who has a feel for her characters. Unlike a lot of gay writing available in E-Book form this is far more than wank feest material. Yes there are sex scenes in it, but they are well written and are integral to the story - if you are wanting graphic detail this is not the book for you. Verismo is available for Kindle from Amazon, I do not know if it is available in other formats.

The Halloween Collection is one of the highlights of the Awesome Dude year. It is something I look forward to every year. This year though it is something special. These stories are some of the best stories by some of the best writers on the site or any gay writers site for that matter. I could go into detail about each one and pass judgement on their quality but that would be unfair on the authors for they are each in their own way small masterpieces of writing. Read the and enjoy them.

​In Kindle rather than physical print, this is a well told story of two young men finding love. The one Wes, full out and proud gay man. The other Mal, high school graduate and constant victim, just about to go off to college. In the intervening summer they get to know each other and Mal finds out that he is not as weak as he thought he was. ​A good book, despite it forays into wank feest sex at times, that unfortunately seems to be a requirement for gay books on Kindle. It it perfectly possible to read the book and jump over those passages without losing any of the story.

I was told some years ago that she kept that card in her personal collection rather than the archives. Don't know how true that is, though the source I got it from was in a position to know, it would be nice to think it is true.

This has just started to be posted on CRVBOY. So far only the prolog and chapter 1. I am hooked already. Nicholas has a way of writing about the environs of the northern wildernesses of the United States that makes you feel that you are there. He also builds a fine pictures of places and the characters which inhabit them. This story looks as if it is going to be very interesting, already one senses it is going to be very different. Hopefully we will see in posted here soon but in the meantime you can find it at: http://www.crvboy.org/stories/nh/s010/p01.html

I had already read this elsewhere and must say that I really enjoyed it. Well up to the standard we have come to expect from Nicholas.

Thank you Graeme for a delightfully well crafted and well told story.

They've been talking about it for a few years, it is about time they got round to doing it. Of course it has upset some of the 'lit writers' and academics but they need to understand that literature is about far more that wordy books that most people can't understand.

Just heard a comment on the Presidential Election - "it is not about choosing the best person to be president, it is about choosing the second worse person in the world!" Sorry can't say who said it as I heard it from the radio of a passing car.

I have just finished reading this. It is a moving story well told. Not being American I find it difficult to comment on writing about the American Civil War, however, this story though set in the Civil War is more about war in general and how it impacts on those who survive. it is well worth reading. You can find it here: http://awesomedude.com/alan_dwight/gone-for-a-soldier/index.htm

Small firms in the UK have had similar problems with him and his companies. That was until he found out the costs were capped in the Small Claims court (for actions up to £10,000) and a number of them took him to small claims and won. Most English contractors know the court limit so always break jobs down into units that can be invoiced for £10K or less. That way they can go to court on individual invoices and not on the total owed, so making sure the costs are capped. Most large firms just give in as soon as a Small Claims summons is issued.

Just listened to the first episode of this on BBC Radio 4 and found in chilling. Not in the awfulness of the events or the horror of the killings, but in the mundane nature of things. The killing of a nine year old boy being just another event, nothing special, nothing unusual. There are four more episodes to come, not sure I want to listen to them, but I will. I am not certain what access the BBC website has put on this reading but if you can I suggest you listen to it. You can find it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xs9hb

Personally I am terrified by the idea.

Graeme is a fine writer and the extent of his ability is well illustrated in chapter 23. Not only has he managed to incorporate a reference to the injury to Phil Hughes, the cricketer, in a story about Australian Rules Football, he has done so in a way that makes it relevant to the story and provides information to the reader. He uses the incident to challenge the reader about some perceptions around professional sport and the fees paid to athletes. In his afterword Graeme says he struggled with putting in the reference to Phil Hughes. I am glad he did. It fits well with the story, illustrates an important issue and gives an insight into the thinking and motivation of the characters. A fine bit of writing that is very well done.

Sounds about right for him. I was involved, very much on the periphery, in a property deal that he was part of some years ago. The deal fell through but it turned out that the other investors involved had been paying Trump just so his name was on the project. Then as his name was being used he insisted that certain reports and checks were done - these had to be done by companies he approved of, which he owned!!

Unfortunately if we do not know our history we cannot learn from it. I recently heard a couple of gay twenty somethings say during a discussion on the possible withdrawal of the UK from the European Convention of Human Rights, that it was not that important, there were laws that protected us anyway. The only reason those laws exist is that back in the 60s and 70s some of us were using the Convention to fight for them.

I hate to worry you folks over there but I have just noticed that the local bookies now have Trump as favourite to win. Given their track record on elections this is very scary!

There is a difference between writing what you want and writing about anything you want. Golding in 'Lord of the Flies' and Burgess in 'The Clockwork Orange' both tackled subjects which were unpleasant and distasteful. They both did so in a way that was not only not distasteful but was extremely good writing. One of the jobs of the writer is to explore that which is "unexplorable" and to ask those questions that should not be asked. To do that we must be prepared to go where other think we should not go. Our only excuse for doing so is that we do it with style and good taste.

In my random voyages of discover amongst the gems that litter the archives of Awesome Dude I stumbled across this story. Freethinker describes it as a treasure. That is an understatement. A delightful story that is exceptionally well constructed and put together. Well worth a read.

Apparently it has been put up with World Wide access. So anyone should be able to hear it. Just hurry up as it won't be there for that long. Yes, you do need you handkerchiefs!

Often the best writing on any subject is done by those on the outside looking in. It is hard to think of any writing on male homosexuality during the second world war that is better than Mary Renault's "The Charioteer". Look at how Arthur C Clarke deals with the issue of race in 'Imperial Earth'. The outside can often take a view of something that the insider cannot see.