I've always wanted to write the great American fantasy story, and here it is, giving the reader a glimpse of my life as only I wish it could have been. Native American culture has so many fascinating aspects, and through copious research I found just what was needed to make this story work.
Once again this story attempts to bring the reader those positive aspects of gay life, love and family, along with a travelogue of the American scene as it was not too many years ago. And yes, as always in my stories, there is controversy and triumph, but what is life without those elements? So come with CJ and Matt as they discover America and the future that awaits them.
I've never lived in a big city before, how different my life would have been. Could I have survived the experience as a young gay boy...I don't honestly know, but I think not.
This is a story about contrasts and character, about love and family, and most of all about the hope I discovered there. Once again I have tried to bring forth the best qualities of gay youth in my characters. The needs they each share, the love they so desire, and the support they need to find.
All of my characters are fictional, but the streets in this story are very real...too real. It's a rough town, built of hard stone and even harder people. A tough place to grow up, where even the smallest signs of weakness can destroy a young man's life.
Even so, precious flowers grow in vacant lots, amidst the weeds and debris of the crumbled buildings in this city. Only through determination could a young boy survive in this climate. His dreams would have to be bigger than the reality of life. And here on the fertile plain of our imagination, he flourishes.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real people is purely coinsidence. This story will describe the love between two teenage boys. By clicking on the chapter links below, you acknowledge that you are aware of the story contents and are of age to read it. Thank you.
From Jevic, The Tarheel Writer: Chris James wrote this story for me because he knows I like to sail. He didn't ask me to post it, but after reading it, I just had to ask for permission. He agreed and here's the story. Enjoy!
I was twelve years old before I saw my first television program. Growing up overseas in the nineteen-fifties meant missing out on the conventional upbringing of the average American boy. To entertain myself I read books. Not just some books, but all the books I could get my hands on. Fortunately my international school had a very large library and I tried to consume it. Writing came as a natural byproduct of my voracious appetite for words and I began my first short story when I was in 6th grade.
It was also a time of self discovery, and my sexuality seemed to sharpen my writing pencil. I wrote about other boys. In the early nineteen-sixties, I began writing stories to entertain my friends. My closest friends have seen the lot and there are hundreds and hundreds by now.
As I became more involved with my extended family of friends in the gay community, I began to realize we needed a more positive image. The biggest need seemed to be in the relationship our adult community has with gay, lesbian and transgender youth.
Over the years I have visited the State of Georgia many times and always found a rich abundance of rural life to inspire my words. The main character in this story was just a strong young man sitting beside the road at a fruit stand. The image he evoked stuck in my head until I began to write this piece. And then I asked myself, are we always what we appear to be?
This young man was so soft spoken and yet a great feeling of power emanated from him, a level of self assurance that I quickly recognized as befitting a military veteran. The best part of writing is allowing the reader to see the characters in more than one dimension as they grow within the pages of a story.
This is a tale of two young boys in more trouble than they can imagine and how a chance encounter becomes their salvation. But it is also a story about redemption and the folly of youth, especially the gay kind. There are some mean people out there in the world, but there are also some like Charlie who feel the need to put aside doubt and stand up for the little guy.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real people is purely coinsidence. This story will describe the love between two teenage boys. By clicking on the chapter links below, you acknowledge that you are aware of the story contents and are of age to read it. Thank you.
"Dumb Luck"