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I put Lem, by Milos, on the Best of Nifty list several years back when I was in charge of it. Now, there is an extensive rewrite in process at GA http://www.gayauthors.org/story/milos/lem so I'm putting it on this First Alert forum. The rewrite is extensive on the several chapters I checked, with edits in each chapter numbering well over 1000. The completed story is over on Nifty Lem is one of the stories of time and place. It's about a teenager growing up in the rodeo circuit in Montana, as I recall, and his relationship to his boyhood friend Mattie. The writing was the weakest part of the story, the setting and coming-of-age the best. The edits should improve the story. If you like the story, remember to send your encouragements to the author.

What Makes a Family by Julien http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/relationships/what-makes-a-family/ has been posted sporadically since 2008 though updates seem to be more regular of late. The story involves two men breaking up after a long relationship and the raising of a child for most of the years of that relationship. The protagonists have flaws -- nicely developed -- that make for a complicated, complex relationship. Offsetting the quality of the basic story is the need for an AD or GA quality editor to fix primarily grammar and punctuation flaws -- a typical problem with Nifty stories. It is refreshing to see an adult-oriented story.

The final chapter of Marcus McNally's wonderful story is being posted. The directory is http://www.nifty.org...e-on-the-rocks/ His final email note to his readers is: G’day! Sorry! Really, I’m sorry. I know it’s been a wait … Here we are – you and me – faced with the final chapter of ‘Love on The Rocks’. I’m going to miss this cast of characters, and I know many of you will too. Ty and Mike, Lachie and Ellie, Scott and Simon, Dot and Frank, Steve and Fran, George, Vince, Monique, Scruffy and Floppy … they’ve been a part of my life for more than a year and a half. Amazingly for me, they’ve somehow found their way into your lives, too. You’re reading this because at some point, you wrote to me about ‘LOTR’. It might have been one email, or it might have been an email after every chapter was posted – either way, you’ve made me aware you’re out there reading, and your feedback has encouraged and helped me more than you possibly know. I’ve told some of you that when I first started ‘LOTR’, I really had no idea if my “little Aussie love story” would ever be read. There was that nagging doubt that it might be too much of a romance for the ‘Nifty’ audience that, it turns out, I so grossly underestimated. But find an audience, it did! I’m taking this opportunity to let you know that your concern for and appreciation of the characters I somehow brought to life, means more to me than I can express in a few words. I have marvelled at the wonderful, kind things so many of you have written, and I’m equally grateful to those who’ve taken the time to challenge and criticise my work. What a learning curve this has been. Let me take this moment to say to you all … thank you, thank you. Funny to think that when I started writing ‘LOTR’, I expected it would probably run about five chapters. You have all helped me push my own boundaries to somehow keep it interesting for 40 chapters. I know me. When I’ve had a break I’ll want to write an epilogue, a “five years on” in the lives of the Hills and the hot lawyer. That’s the plan – let’s see! In the meantime, happiness and good health to all of you, always. Marc

Chapter 37 has been posted http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/highschool/jake-grimke/jake-grimke-37 A note from the author says that he's close to closing out the current, high-school arc and will return to the story with a college-based arc.

In Nifty's college section there is an story called Noah and Jordan by Ethan Y at http://www.nifty.org...oah-and-jordan/ that shows quality and drawbacks. Plusses: a nice buildup of a relationship, good characters, angst Negative: some overdone angst, need for a proofreader, extremely irregular updates Okay, not great.

Because it is now finished, Mark Peters' story topic has been moved to Roamin' Reader.

Maybe SPOILER THROUGH SPECULATION would be more appropriate.

Over at Nifty in the high school section, there is a story called The Move http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/the-move/ which is almost finished because the To Be Continued tag is at the end of the last chapter or is finished because the author forgot to remove the To Be Continued Tag. I think the former, but the gist of the story is in what has been posted. There is a certain gulp of disbelief that must be swallowed, but it's worth it.

A fine job, as usual.

This is a First Alert of a story, not of an author. Mark Peters has been a longtime favorite of mine despite his occasional lapses in getting stories finished in a timely manner. He's started a new one which is at Dabeagle and Nifty here: http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/highschool/beyond-salvation/ with five chapters completed. He seems to be writing more regularly now. A story further along is Thompsonville at http://www.dabeagle.net/storymainpages/thompsonville.htm

I'm in accord with Dabeagle. I approach adult-youth stories with trepidation. It is possible that such stories are good. In fact, based on Free Thinker's recommendation I read into the story through four chapters, but they weren't good enough the hurdle I see in these categories of stories. I just found the instant love between the two as ultimately not believable. It was the story, not the category, that wasn't good enough to overcome the stigma I find in the category. In fact, if the billionaire had fallen instantly in love with a 21-year-old tenor in some chorus and vice versa, with the other aspects of the story done similarly, I still would not find the story interesting.

I've read four chapters, but I can't get over the queasy feeling of a romance between a 13-year-old boy and a 32-year-old man -- albeit a multibillionaire. I steer right past the adult-youth section of Nifty -- as well as incest, urination, bestiality, and authoritarian -- and I'm not convinced with this story that I should change.

Picture perfect.

Joe College at http://www.nifty.org...ge/joe-college/ is very, very well written but is slow to updatd, now at Chapter 21 after a couple of years. Maybe with some encouragement the author can be persuaded to speed up the chapter completion. I have found it one of the best that I can recommend, with characters that are nicely differentiated.

I've enjoyed Jake Grimke in Nifty's high school section: http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/highschool/jake-grimke/ It's now up to 36 chapters as Jake goes off to the university -- which may or may not be carried forward in a different story. The story takes place in Baltimore in an home environment of music and lacrosse. Recommended.

For those of you following this fine story, Marcus McNally has just posted another chapter http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/adult-friends/love-on-the-rocks/love-on-the-rocks-39

Over at Nifty, there is a nicely written and character-populated story called Oh, Radio, Tell Me Everything You Know at http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/oh-radio-tell-me-everything-you-know/ It is now eight chapters along, so, to date, a serious effort has been made.

The author of Love on the Rocks has just sent me a notice that Chapter 38 -- I think the penultimate chapter -- will be posted in the Nifty May 14 update. The directory is at http://www.nifty.org...e-on-the-rocks/

So, we have a President who apparently was for gay marriage in 1996, "evolved" against it in 2006 and 2008 and now adopts the same position that Dick Cheney took 12 years ago and leaving the issue up to the states, such as North Carolina, where he courageously canceled his visit just before his announcement. The White House will not propose a gay-marriage plank at the Democratic convention, nor likely any legislation before Congress. But Obama is the first President to say that he personally favors gay marriage but will leave it up to the states to decide the issue. Prior to the recent "evolution" he was for civil unions, but even with a Democratic House and Senate in his first two years, he proposed no changes in crucial Federal issues, such as the IRS code, Social Security (including survivor benefits) and a whole host of other Federal-level changes to make that would benefit gay relationships. A cynic might suggest that this "evolution" had more to do with his need for campaign funds from the gay community. A cynic might suggest that his cancellation of a trip to North Carolina before the gay-marriage vote might have had more to do with the 15 electoral votes than with his beliefs -- or maybe he had his epiphany after the North Carolina vote.

More Romney bullying. Definitely a pattern: What kind of man – not teenager, but man – is Mitt Romney? Consider this episode, recounted by Boston Globe reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman in their book The Real Romney: It was shaping up to be a hard Christmas for Mark and Sheryl Nixon. They had recently moved their family to the Boston area. . .and didn’t know many people. And then. . .they got the kind of phone call every parent dreads. [Their sons] Rob and Reed had been driving back from a youth gathering at the Mormon meeting house. . .Shortly after leaving the parking lot, Reed lost control of the red Oldsmobile minivan. The car sideswiped a utility pole, struck two trees, and. . .flipped over. . . .In a flash, the two Nixon boys, standouts on the high school cross-country team, became quadriplegics. . . . The family suddenly needed a major addition to their house. They needed a special van to transport their sons. Their financial and emotional burdens were vast. Shortly before the holidays. . .Mark Nixon, a professor of accounting at Bentley University outside Boston, got a call at his office. It was Mitt Romney. He said he wanted to help. Would they be home on Christmas eve? That morning. . .the Nixons opened their door to find not just Mitt but Ann Romney and their sons. They held large boxes. Inside were a massive stereo system for Rob. . .and a VCR for Reed. They’d also brought Reed a check, not knowing what else to get him. The Romneys stayed for a while. Their sons helped set up Rob’s new stereo. “What a Christmas surprise for the boys,” Sheryl wrote in her journal at the time. The Nixons were floored. They shared a faith with Romney but didn’t really know him – they weren’t strangers, but neither were they friends. At that point, Romney held no formal leadership position in the Mormon church. He bore no direct ecclesiastical obligation to help. . . .What impressed the Nixons more than anything was that Mitt and Ann, despite their own packed holiday calendars, made a point of delivering the gifts themselves, spending time with family, and, by bringing their children with them, leading by example. . . . That wasn’t all. Romney had also told Mark not to worry about Rob’s or Reed’s college education; he would pay for it. The Nixons, in the end, didn’t need to help. But Romney continued to quietly lend his hand. He participated in a 5K road race and fund-raiser for Rob and Reed at Bentley the next spring. He contributed substantial financial gifts toward golf tournament fund-raisers in subsequent years. Then, in 2007, when Reed graduated from Bentley with a degree in finance. . .Romney sent him a Bentley desk clock engraved with a special message of congratulation. “It wasn’t, Mark said, a onetime thing.”

Chapter 37 is now up at Nifty: http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/adult-friends/love-on-the-rocks/ There is the obligatory I-am-the-same-person-I-was-before-I-came-out statements, blessedly short, and a continuation of Mike's struggles. Well done, as usual. Nearing the end.

I've long been a Mickey S. fan, and his recently completed story Blitzed http://crvboy.org/stories/mickey/s004/c01.html is well done with a fine sense of time and place -- here World War II in Britain. Mickey S is one of the few authors that I will tolerate reading chapters weekly because his characters are so well defined that they hold their place in my memory. The story is now finished. Highly recommended.

'52 Panhead is carried at Crvboy.org

Another powerful chapter of Love on the Rocks http://www.nifty.org...e-on-the-rocks/ was posted yesterday at Nifty.

I use Word, as I have for many many years, so I find it cumbersome to use other word-processing programs -- finding how to do things that in Word are now instinctive. As an editor, though, there are several features of Word that would have to have equivalents in competitors. First, I use the Comment function that in Word is on the Review tab in order to remark on what has been written -- that is, to make comments outside the text of the manuscript. Second, I use the Compare function to create red-line versions of the edited pieces -- where the red lines show all the changes that I have made in a document. In my view, the Compare function differs significantly from the typical red-line-markups-as-you-go function, which is also available in Word. The Compare function allows me to edit a perenially "clean" copy of a manuscript -- that is, showing no markups. I find the instant markups shown, as I go through the text, difficult to read and I'm prone to creating new errors, particularly when the changes in text are complex. In short, I have considerable capital built up in the use of Word (and Excel). This does not preclude use of another word processor, but notes the hurdle to making a change.