Altimexis

I do hope you'll write that sequel, Colin. Although I have never shot a gun in my life and am no fan of the second amendment, I am well aware of the fact that kids who are raised with guns are much more likely to show them proper respect. I'll never forget an episode of the 1960's era TV program, Candid Camera, in which young kids were filmed as they discovered an unloaded handgun. Without fail, all of the kids picked up the gun and played around with it as if it were a toy. The only exception was a kid who'd been taught how to use a gun for target practice. That kid, who looked to be about 8 or 9, actually told the kid who was with him to leave the gun alone, as it might be loaded and someone could get hurt. I would hope that in this age of ubiquitous guns in the U.S., along with teaching active shooter drills in all our schools, that we also teach kids to respect guns and to never handle them except under the supervision of an adult. Obviously, if these young teens received that kind of training, though, they didn't learn from it. Of course teenagers in general think they're immortal. I applaud you for writing the story in such a way that you captured young teens and their behavior perfectly. I think the sequel would be invaluable in reminding teens that acting responsibly takes priority over covering up their mistakes, particularly when a parent fails in their responsibilities as happened in this case. Oh, and Cole, I hope you realize that I wasn't being critical of Colon's story, which was very well written, but was expressing my concern that the young readership of CW might get the wrong idea from it. Not than I expect a 12-year-old to get the idea that they could get a boyfriend by showing them a loaded gun, but kids learn a lot from what they read. One of the most important lessons anyone can learn is that sometimes the consequences of not being caught are much worse than from accepting responsibility in the first place. This would have been a perfect story to illustrate the point in a way that kids would understand it, which is why I hope Colin will write a sequel.

A Hole in my Ceiling by Colin Kelly is a rather troubling story that raises some exceptionally important issues. It appears both on AD and at CW, where it is expected to reach a younger audience. Although the story is a very realistic look at how a couple of young teens deal with the accidental discharge of a gun, it sidesteps some very important issues. I am not myself a gun owner and I'm not particularly fond of guns. In my career I've helped a number of boys and young men put their lives back together after they were shot up as a result of gang violence. Some of them were themselves gang members, but a lot of them were unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire. Although Hole in my Ceiling has a happy ending, it's actually quite likely that the boys will be caught. Just as a drill going through a piece of wood tends to splinter the wood where it exits, exit wounds from a bullet are always bigger than entry wounds. A target pistol may not be very powerful, but it can still kill. The bullet from such a weapon has a low velocity and by the time it exits a rooftop, chances are it would tear away a chunk of the shingle rather than cleanly going through it. There's also a bullet out there somewhere, probably in their yard, and it could still kill someone if hit by a lawnmower blade. Clearly, the best thing for the boys would be for them to fess up, but they're teenagers and they probably won't say anything until a roofer tells the parents that the chunk of missing shingle was caused by a gunshot from underneath. Personally, I think this story was a missed opportunity. It actually minimized the outcome from mishandling what turned out to be a loaded weapon. This was a perfect teaching moment, particularly for the audience at CW. The boys should have had to face the music, and Rafe's father should have had to come to terms with the tragedy he very nearly caused. No child should ever be given a gun or even handed a gun unless they've had thorough training in gun safety. Every gun must be considered to be loaded, even if the clip's been removed. Every gun must be considered to have a bullet chambered. A gun should never be treated as a toy - it's a lethal weapon. Children - even teens - should be supervised by adults whenever using firearms. Colin, this is a nice story with a couple of teens who act like typical teens. It has a happy ending, but it could have just as easily been a tragedy. Unfortunately, I think a lot of your younger readers a probably scratching their heads, wondering how a gun with no bullets could have gone off. I hope you'll consider writing a sequel that deals with these issues.

Summer Job is the continuation of the story of Jay and Jeff from February Surprise. You might remember that Jay gave Jeff an anonymous card for Valentine's Day, and then invited Jeff to a dance, but Jeff ended up at the wrong dance. So now it's the summer and they're out and proud boyfriends, but now that Jay's fourteen, he's expected to help out in his family's Chinese restaurant, which has been in the family for four generations. Jeff doesn't need the money, but what else is he going to do while his boyfriend's at work? So the two of them will face the challenges of a summer job together. Other than a critical staffing shortage, having to wait on friends, a salmonella outbreak, buying out the restaurant next door and, most importantly, the challenge of learning to love, it's just another summer in the life of a couple of teens.

Now that it's complete, I can say that it's a great story with excellent character development. It was just a tough read as a serial. Some stories lend themselves well to serialization. This one might have been better posted as a complete novella. I think we all write a bit differently when we know our stories will be posted serially over a period of time. That said, some of the greatest novels of all time were published initially in serial format. In many ways, it's a shame that serial publications lost their popularity when I was still in diapers. Magazines like The Atlantic and Harpers Weekly were a great way to get quality literature to the masses while providing support to up-and-coming authors. But I digress… Book chapters have always served as a means of switching story lines and providing the reader with convenient stopping points. Of course a lot of us use end-of-chapter cliff-hangers to build suspense, which leads to the term page turner. What I'm getting at is that at AD and on other story sites, there is a strong incentive to post stories serially. Some outstanding stories have been published as complete novels - Alan Dwight's stories, for example - but the attention given to them is much less than that afforded serial stories. Cole's latest story reminds us that some stories are better told as a complete tale - that at times, perhaps most of the time - it's better to write without regard to breaking a story up into serial postings. A while back we discussed ways to improve the home page to make it more modern and functional. Perhaps it's time to revisit the topic in the Green Room and actually do something about it this time. At the least, complete stories should have equal billing with serial updates, much as is done on the Dabeagle home page. Great story, Cole. Well worth reading in the end.

I too loved this story. Definitely some tears at the end.

I hate to be the one to say something negative about a story, but reading this is torture. Cole has taken a few very depressing days in the life of a young man and drawn them out into a period of weeks for the readers. So far, it's been a very tough read. I know things will probably get better, and given the title, there will likely be a happy ending, if I make it that far. This story is probably better read in one sitting once fully posted, rather than as serialized short chapters. I know Cole probably meant for us to feel the protagonist's pain. I'll reserve further judgement until things lighten up a bit.

I too enjoyed this tale. The character development was excellent and the ending, if predictable, was satisfying. I really like the character, Scott, and although he may be curious by nature, I suspect his interest in gay issues may be more than curiosity. And if the bullies were in fact themselves victims of some sort of prank, that's a whole story, in and of itself. One thing that struck me at fist as unrealistic was the way the Samaritan in the Park ran after the bullies rather than helping the victim. But when I thought about it, how many times have I myself cursed at the characters in a TV police drama for tending to the victim and letting the perp get away? It's human nature to go after a moving target. Our brain's are actually hard-wired that way. Police officers have to be trained to ignore their instincts and tend to the victim first. After all, it's vastly better to let an attempted murder go free than to catch a murderer. Colin does show his advancing age at one point when he mentions catching up on a missed episode of Nova in reruns. I laughed out loud at that one. I may be in my sixties, but I almost never watch live TV anymore. I hardly even use my TiVo and have no intention of replacing it when it dies. Just about everything can be streamed these days, and all the major programs on PBS are available to stream for free. I really feel sorry for the bullies' parents. No matter what really might have led to the incident, they now face a long road ahead and their natural sons' lives will never be the same. I understand why they couldn't continue to foster the victim, but what would have happened if instead the victim was their adopted son or even another natural son. Also, after three years of fostering the victim and claiming that they loved him, why hadn't they tried to adopt him? Financial considerations aside, that should have been a slam dunk.

Agreed, a very nice story indeed. I suppose Leg-Calve-Perthy's disease is rare to most lay people, but it's actually one of the most common reasons for total hip replacement surgery in young adults. This is particularly true now that what was the most common cause - systemic steroid use in asthma - has been virtually eliminated by the use of long-acting inhaled steroids. LCPD is often missed by most pediatricians, as it's the sort of thing they'll likely see only once or twice in their careers, if that. A rehab physician such as myself will see several in their residency alone, and several more over the course of their careers. In the U.S., the tendency is toward early surgery. By reconstructing the acetabulum (the socket part of the ball-and-socket joint that forms the hip), better coverage of the fragile humoral head is achieved, significantly reducing the incidence of avascular necrosis (AVN). AVN is the frequent endpoint of LCPD - the lack of a viable blood supply to the hip results in the death of the head of the femur and the destruction of the joint. The only alternative then is a hip replacement, but in an active young adult, artificial hips may last only 10-15 years - not the usual 20-30 years seen in the elderly. Also, hip replacement in LCPD is much more difficult than usual, as there often isn't enough of a socket in which to implant the device. The pelvis usually needs to be reconstructed with the use of bone grafts, and the recovery period and course of rehabilitation can take months. This is another argument in favor or early surgery. By reconstructing the acetabulum early, when the patient is still able to walk, they will be in much better shape if they ever do need a hip replacement. Sorry about the Orthopedics lesson. There is no doubt that America's system of health care, or lack thereof, is highly inefficient and often results in unnecessary treatments and surgery. However, my experience with many systems of socialized medicine is that the tendency is to avoid or delay treatment and let nature take its course until the situation becomes dire. What we need to be doing is practicing evidence-based medicine, no matter where we may be. That means collecting the data to support or refute one treatment approach versus another. Oh, and there's no reason young Andrew should have ever needed to be pushed in his wheelchair, other than his being lazy. The best way to build up the muscles to push your own wheelchair is to push your own wheelchair. Thanks again for the great story!

Cole beat me to posting on this one - I was busy working on my Halloween story. Yes, Gull Island Light is an exceptional story, beautifully written and presented. I absolutely loved the way Nicholas weaved together past and present, and how he explored homosexuality and indigenous people at a time when neither were respected. This is a fantastic read.

I really loved this story. I think it's one of the finest short stories Cole has written lately - not that all his stories aren't excellent - but this one is exceptional.

A bit behind these days, so I'm just getting around to responding to this wonderful story. The ending reminded me so much of my one and only experience seeing a true protege in concert. It was the early 1980s and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was experimenting with a new concept to bring the music to the people. There was, and is, a local historic park called Conner's Prarie, centered on a period village and located perhaps an hour's drive from downtown Indy. The Symphony set up a bandstand at one end of a grassy field and patrons were encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and a picnic dinner. The venu proved so popular that they eventually built a permanent amphitheater and the symphony holds a full summer series there now, but the night I remember was the inaugural concert, when my mom, my brother, my nephew and I spread out a blanket near the bandstand and enjoyed a spread of sandwiches, fried chicken and watermelon as I recall. When the shadows began to lengthen, we rolled up our blanket, set up the folding chairs and enjoyed the start of the concert. I couldn't even tell you now what the symphony played in the first half of the program. It must have been very late when the special guest made his appearance, as it was already getting dark, which wouldn't have happened until 9:00 or 10 PM. The special guest was a young protege who lived in Bloomington, Indiana at the time, where he was studying the violin. As I recall, he was only fifteen years old on that night, and he played Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. His performance was absolutely flawless and brought the house, or rather, the field to a rousing standing ovation at the end. The name of that young protege was Joshua Bell.

I remember reading a short story many years ago about a protagonist who discovers that people who are about to die breathe in synchrony. Everyone thought he was crazy and he ended up being committed to a mental hospital. In the end, someone detonated a nuclear bomb in Denver and he was proved right. I'm sure there are other stories with a similar theme of sorts. I don't think I read this one here - I think it was in a sic-fi collection and was by a prominent author such as Asimov. Sorry, but I can't do better than that.

Thanks for your kind words, Gee. You story The Wish has long been a personal favorite. My apologies to those who found the story too complex to follow, I experimented with spreading out the time lines and using fewer periods, but then I just couldn't get all the of the important events to fit where and when they needed to. Perhaps I'll find a way for the movie version! Seriously, though, I had multiple sets of eyes looking at this at various stages and I asked repeatedly about issues of consistency and ability to follow the various plotlines. It probably was harder for me to keep track of everything than it is for the reader, as I took pains to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together seamlessly. I developed that graphic at the beginning of each chapter more for my own benefit, to ensure that the passage of time occurred at the same rate in all time periods. I'm pleased with how things came out and proud of the writing, some of which is my best. The surprise ending turned out to be a surprise to me as well. I usually have a firm idea of where I intend for a story to go at the outset, but often find it veers in unseen directions as the characters take on lives of their own. When I breathe life into a character - when I give them a personality and a history with their own belief system and their own ethics - I give them the freedom to make their own choices and to grow and develop in their own way. Certain things had to happen in the story and were envisioned from the beginning. I knew from the start that there would be a hostage incident, seduction by a spy and that at least one incident of the timeline being disrupted by change. The original Marion Dawson was much more sinister, but he didn't seem real. Instead I imbued him with contradictions in good and evil suited him well. I did not set out at the beginning to have Andy and Frank play the roles that they did in the end. Frank was invented as an enigmatic soul to create a sense of intrigue that added depth to the plot. He turned out to have a much more central role in the end. Likewise, Andy was always intended to be a genious, but my initial intent was for him to play a much darker role. Given the similarities in the two personalities, however, the role that they eventually played now seems as if it had been planned all along. I threw in some clues along the way, but hoped their true relationship would remain hidden until the big reveal at the end. Physics itself turned out to be the star of the show, however - I just hope I didn't make it too detailed or boring. I learned something too out of this. I'd always though of the universe as infinite, as I'm sure most people do. Einstein of course knew better. The universe is finite, as it has to be, and that difference - the difference between a huge but finite universe and an infinite one, makes all the difference in the world in terms of the math. I'll never again look at concepts of time and space in quite the same way. Thanks for reading my story and giving me a way to express my creativity in such a personal way.

I give you guys a lot of credit for sticking with the story. Most of my writing is done in a single pass with only minor changes. This one wasn't like that. I wrote all of book one and half of book two when I realized that it just wasn't working, so I went back, trashed more than half of it out and started over. Eventually I realized that my time scales were inconsistent from plotline to plotline and so I created a diagram - the one that appears at the beginning of every chapter. It was only after creating the diagram that I was able to keep things consistent across all plotlines. It was David, my editor, however, who made it clear that if I needed a diagram to keep things straight, my readers would need it even more. Most people can keep track of 2 or 3 simultaneous interrelated plotlines, or maybe 4. I started out with eight, which was definitely too much for anyone to handle. I ended up taking the top-level plot and relegating it to just the prologue and epilogue. That way, it was separate from the rest of the story and didn't need to be remembered. I then eliminated one of the college level plotlines, getting rid of what was originally a second PhD and merging the undergraduate and graduate years into one, and the late graduate and post-doctoral years into another. I tried stretching things out a bit, but the timing didn't work at all. I ended up starting the story seven years later and making Chris and Frank seven years younger throughout the story. That one change created some real challenges, though, as I had to change every time-sensitive reference I'd used. I went from having Chris and Frank play Pong to playing Donkey Kong. and talking about the newest pocket Casio calculator instead of the HP 35. I had to change songs that were playing, movies that were in theaters and even simple phrases. Instead of Chris seeing Ruby shoot Oswald on live TV, it was Chris' parents who saw it. (I saw it, BTW - it's something I'll never forget.) Still, a few remnants of the oroginal version remain. Kids wouldn't have still used the word "groovy" in 1978, but I left the term in there as a reminder that the story is rooted in the past. Hopefully, it all works. I realize that keeping track of six plotlines is aksing a lot of my readers. I just couldn't simplify it any more than that without eliminating a lot of things that are critical to the plot. However, by adding each plotline slowly over the course of the entire first book, hopefully that gave the reader a chance to acclimate to each one and to recognize the subtle differences in my characters over time. At one time I'd thought of using a different font for each plotline, but that would have probably been more distracting than helpful. The bottom line is that Chris' use of language changes over time, which makes it easy to clue into the individual periods in his life. If you have been reading Conversations as it's posted, you're in for a real treat this Wednesday. Let's just say that if you have trouble with cliffhangers, you may want to wait until Saturday and read the next two chapters together.

I usually don't respond to posts about my stories until their done, but I have the distinct impression from the lack of posts overall that not many people are reading Conversations, which is a shame. The story took seven years to write and is not like anything I've ever done. The current competition not withstanding, this is a compelling story with a surprise ending that no one will see coming. I realize that it can take some effort to keep track of things, which is why there is a graphic at the beginning of each chapter to help orient the reader to all that is going on in each timeline. Keep in mind that we are following events in our characters' lives at six different stages in their lives. However, because the timeline keeps changing, events that happen in one period may not carry into the next. There are a lot of clues to keep the reader oriented throught the story. For example, when reading about President Dole, it should be appartent that history has changed. If anything doesn't seem clear or for any questions at all, do not hesitate to contact me.

Humanity had always been careless with our inheritance, and I was no exception. I had played with time as if it was mine alone to explore as if I could modify it at will without having to worry about the consequences and now we were facing down the possible end of civilization, all because of my carelessness, and because of others who were all too ready to exploit it. What would you do if you found a way to have a conversation with yourself - a conversation back in time? What would you tell the twelve-year old boy who became you? Would you try to change things? Would you try to make things a little better? Perhaps you could avoid some of the more painful episodes in your life, or maybe even avoid catastrophe. Would you know when to stop, or would you keep on going? While you're at it, would you succumb to the temptation to make the world a better place? Chris Michaels thought he was demonstrating a proof of concept, but the unintended consequences sent ripples throughout the world, and every attempt to go further back in time to fix things only made them worse. Conversations With Myself is a story of intrigue, espionage, kidnappings, betrayal, murder and love. A sci-fi thriller by Altimexis, with more twists and turns than the Pacific Coast Highway, starting on Wednesday, June 29.

Oh, this is soooo embarrassing. I would like to say I simply posted an older version, but I simply failed to finish reviewing Alastair's edits. I've been extremely busy of late, which is why I'm posting so little these days. Believe it or not, all of the ten stories in this series were composed almost entirely on my iPhone whenever I had a spare moment. As a rule, I don't start posting a story or story series until my first drafts are done, so you can expect to see them all posted within the next couple of months. I've checked story #2 in the series and it's fully edited. It will officially be posted on Wednesday, but here's the link. I can't make it active on my iPhone, so you'll need to copy and paste: http://awesomedude.com/altimexis/Crossroads/XR02-TennisAnyone.html P.S. I've fixed the first story, which can be found here: http://awesomedude.com/altimexis/Crossroads/XR01-BedBreakfastBoys.html

Great story with surprisingly rich detail for a novella within a novel. It's too bad Chris doesn't have a Jim Curry to turn it into an award-winning film.

http://awesomedude.com/cy-kun/radio/index.htm (sorry, but there doesn't seem to be a way to make this an active link using the mobile site.) This is an extraordinary tale about growing up and coming out. As much as I enjoyed reading Everything Will Turn Out Alright, I found it stretched reality in a number of ways. The story would have been more believable had the characters been fifteen rather than thirteen. Oh Radio is a much more believable story and it manages to tug at the heartstrings as few stories can. I am particularly amazed at the degree of character development in Radio. How did the author manage to come up with a main character who is so annoying, and yet endearing at the same time? The growth of the character over the course of nearly a year is amazing, as he goes from being the quintessential victim to someone who's confident and able to stand up for himself. This is a true gay coming of age story that will stay with me for a long time. I read it in a single sitting - an accomplishment since it's fairly long - and then I read it again. On a site with some of the best gay-themed fiction on the net or anywhere, for that matter, this one is a standout.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of triumph. It was very well written and captured the nature of true genius beautifully. I think rec handled the nature of Micha's sexual evolution very nicely. A story well done overall. This brings to mind my first encounter with a musical prodigy. I don't remember the year exactly, but I was finishing medical school and would soon be leaving the city where I grew up for the last time. My mother mentioned a concert she planned to attend, featuring a thirteen-year-old boy playing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto along with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. She asked me if I'd be interested in going with her and I readily agreed. The name of the young prodigy was Joshua Bell. An interesting aside is that Bell's violin instructor refused to take him on as a pupil unless his parents agreed to let him have a normal childhood.

I am thoroughly enjoying reading Exit Stage Left by Chris James. My wife and I are frequent theater goers. (Yes, I'm married, yes I'm gay, as explained in The New Job.) One of the joys of living in NYC is the ability of taking in an Off-Broadway show or two every weekend - as much as our budget allows. I've always been fascinated by what makes for a good stage set, but this story is really making me think more about what goes on behind the scenes. For example, last week we saw the play Belleville, which is a rather depressing play that takes place entirely in a Paris apartment. Although not fancy, the attention to detail in the set was astounding. When the actors open a window to the outside, not only does the traffic noise become louder, but the temperature in the theater drops. Amazing. Kudos to Chris for making the theater so real, and helping me to appreciate the work behind the plays we see.

I just finished it. The scientist in me is screaming at the improbabilities, but then that's what makes it science fiction. Great job, Chris. It's a wonderful read.

I just read the first installment of Chris James' new story, On the Wire. I usually don't post until a story is well underway but with this one, all I can say is, 'Wow!' Interestingly, I too am in the midst of writing a story in which a major character is a pederast and was wondering how well it would be accepted. Chris has beaten me to it with a story in which the main character is a pederast who, as with my character, was himself a victim. Not to give anything about Chris story away - at least so far, the fact that he is a pederast is secondary - it allows him to sympathize with the victims and to understand the thoughts of the perpetrators he seeks to avenge on their behalf. It is a very timely story about sexual predation on the Internet - a premise that may hit a little close to home for some of our readers - and our authors. I've never hidden the fact that I'm attracted to teens, but would never pursue a relationship with one. I'm happily married and channel all that unfulfilled sexual tension into writing about teenagers in love. I very much doubt that I'm the only one, and suspect that a lot of straight authors of teen romance stories do the same. Kudos to Chris for taking on such a challenging genera. I look forward to what is to come.

Cole and I have had discussions about sequels with each other before - some authors like to finish a story, put it to bed and start work on a new, completely different universe of characters. I, on the other hand, tend to have trouble letting go of characters and enjoy seeing how I can let them develop over time. The whole Naptown Tales series arose because I liked what I accomplished with the first short story that started it all. Some writers do a great job with sequels while others are lousy at it Free Thinker's writing typically involves the seventies, the very era when I came of age. The term 'gay' was brand new and no one had even heard of retroviruses yet. In many ways it was easier for a teen to be gay, as everyone assumed you were straight, but it was a lot harder to accept being gay and some of us never did. I agree that this wonderful story about dance would make for a great sequel, but a painful one. We all know what the 1980s did to the world of dance in New York. We aren't talking about losing a few good dancers. Virtually an entire generation of dancers and other artists was devastated. Unless Rafael and Jeremy became strictly monogamous, one or both of them would have died. Even if they both survived, most of their male friends would have succumbed. It wouldn't be a cheery tale.

Knowing the quality of Chris' writing, I did not hesitate to read this one, even though the Civil War is not a topic of major interest to me. Actually, I read a lot of historical novels when I was much younger, and remember John Jake's serializations quite well. As with Jake's novels, Chris researched his material well and interjected real characters to anchor the story solidly. BTW, this isn't just a Civil War story - if anything it reminds me more of Dances with Wolves. The Civil War serves as a backdrop for an epic adventure that takes the reader from coast to coast. I'm not going to say anything more than that for now. If I've peaked your curiosity, then read Blue and Gray. You won't be disappointed.