featured author Mihangel - Featured Author, December 2019

[Camy]

There are a few authors here that I follow somewhat slavishly, because they're really, really good. Mihangel is one of them.

When I stumbled onto online gay fiction, way back when, one of the first stories I read was 'A Scholar's Tale.' It was excellent then, and just after its 18th birthday, remains so. Being a ex public school boy myself, I tracked down 'Yarborough,' which was fun - you should try it. The clues are there.

Amser is another wonderful novel.

Must stop waffling. You lot should now toodle off and read some Mihangel: https://awesomedude.com/mihangel/index.htm

 

[Talo Segura]

I love story recommendations, the good ones. So I picked A Scholar's Tale off the library shelf and started reading the first chapter and didn't stop until I reached the end (now I'm reading two books). This story has all the ingredients I enjoy, set not too long ago, but still it is a world apart from today, a different epoch, with different values and a very British polite and restrained life. Furthermore, it revolves around the scholarly world of Oxford and Cambridge. It's a wonderful novel that evokes a different life and is so very engaging. It makes me think of Alan Turin and The Imitation Game along with Inspector Morse. Thanks for prompting me to open this very gentle story full of restrained yet highly charged emotion.

[Cole Parker]

No one does it better than Michael.  I know he was ailing the last I heard several months ago.  I fear he may no longer be with us.  But he leaves a great anthology of stories, some of the best on the net.  Not only was he a great writer, but also a kind and generous man.

Anyone not having read his large output is in for a wonderful treat.

C

[Bensiamin]

Cole, Talo and Camy are spot on in what they say about Mihangel as a person and about his writing. No one should miss all of his writings, and across the breadth you'll get a lesson not just in love and humanity, but also in good writing, history, philosophy, Wales, and on and on. His personal attributes come through in his writing, and he spent years before his recent cessation of correspondence responding to messages from fans. And not just a quick 'thank you!,' but substantive ones full of help and suggestions. He got me through a couple of my own personal crises, and encouraged me to write as well--I think he'd be pleased (finally!) with the result that Awesome Dude just began to serialize.

One personal antecdote about Mihangel as a person. He loved classical and choral music, and had little time for rock and roll. He also loved poetry, especially poetry about his beloved Wales. We were exchanging poetry, and I sent him some poetry by Robert Hunter (just recently deceased), and finally an an email or two later had to fess up that they were not written as poems, but as lyrics for Grateful Dead songs! He was nonplussed and commended them as terrific poetry. Then, inspired by them, he wrote a story using Hunter's lyrics as illustrations, and dedicated it to me! Pretty wild story, but representative of the man. You'll find Not Understood in the Mihangel collection. 

[Nigel Gordon]

Having spent a day re-reading 'The Scholar's Tale', this morning I re-read 'A Time'. Even though I know how the story is going to go, it does not help. I always end up in tears every time I read it. So, why read it? Because Mihangel is a really good writer who writes really good stories. As Cole says, 'Anyone not having read his large output is in for a wonderful treat'. I would go further and say those who, like me, have read it, will be in for a treat when they re-read it.

[Cole Parker]

A Time is a story I had a lengthy discussion with Michael about.  Did we really need those tears?  I'm not sure we ever came to an agreement, but he was nice enough work through the argument we had.  What a terrific story that is.  Not too many online stories are memorable.  This one is.

C