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Post by SimonH on Feb 9, 2024 11:26:42 GMT -5
Not sure what to write other than my confession that I find most of the stories quite gripping. Despite the fact that reading about gay teenagers is not favourite genre.
I'd like a little biographical detail on each of the authors if that's possible??
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Post by Dabeagle on Feb 11, 2024 1:36:16 GMT -5
What sort of details?
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Post by glh on Feb 12, 2024 13:44:17 GMT -5
I suppose I'd be interested, but mainly just to satisfy my curiosity. I've usually been surprised by many authors' bios over the years. A short synopsis of one's life story, perhaps, along with age and geographical area?
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Post by mattyboy on Feb 12, 2024 18:46:47 GMT -5
I had a couple of thoughts on this.
Most of the authors chose to write under pseudonyms. Dabeagle and Cynus may be maintaining continuity with their writing-names as much as being secretive, though. I've always assumed that Ryan Bartlett and Cole Parker were real names, but I realize I have no particular reason for assuming that.
But some authors might not want this, or to be singled out for not having one. There's a few authors (I'm thinking of Colin Kelly)haven't been heard from in a little while, and I'm not sure that they can be contacted even by Dabeagle. There's (I hope only) a couple that can't consent for other reasons. Dabeagle getting bios and and the permissions for this would be a task of some time-commitment.
Also, while I take Simon's request as genuine, troll farms and malicious people are out there, and they are one of the reasons authors use pseudonyms. "I don't like this genre, but could you give me your name and address please" has a possible dark side to it. Or could backfire into unintended unpleasantness.
That said, Dabeagle, would you be comfortable at this point telling us more about Ryan Bartlett? I think there's a medium amount of information about him scattered around the forums, and I've always regretted a little not having been around in the 2015-2016 heyday.
That's a bunch of words for a "not up to me" issue, but there ya go.
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Post by Dabeagle on Feb 13, 2024 18:22:06 GMT -5
I can tell you Ryan was a very private person, sometimes - in my opinion - to the point of silliness. I always felt sympathy for the man as he never came out. He felt that, in his chosen profession, he'd never find work. He was, as many of us are to differing degrees, a victim of his upbringing. Some things were very restrictive for him and is showed in his character creation. His grandfather felt that 'a boy should have short hair' and so none of his characters could have any real length to their hair. In many ways he was a contradiction - often felt as though he were the smartest in the room, but quite uptight and didn't like people to question him. He would be deliberately provocative, but I felt it was more a symptom than who he wanted to be. Again, although he wasn't out, in his private life some of the people who were closest to him thought he was a bigot and wouldn't go to pride with him - or rather wouldn't invite him - be cause they felt he'd embarrass them. I think he'd been shaped by forces that told him this part of himself didn't matter as much, therefore should be sacrificed and it hurt him. He'd probably be angry at me for feeling sympathy for him in that.
He was the type, rather than to say he missed you, he'd say he'd noticed your absence. He admitted to being a snob and thought it was okay. In many ways I think Kale Kirkwood was himself, under circumstances he felt should have been appropriate. We spent nearly every night for a year talking, creating, testing ideas. He was a decent person who often had indecent reaction/behavior.
I guess I'd have to go with he was complicated. I was devastated when he passed away. He'd been on his way to a Gay Community center for the first time - in another town so he'd not be recognized - and that was the day the supreme court handed down the decision legalizing same sex marriage. He turned around for fear of being caught on a news camera in case they went to the center for commentary. I wish things had been better for him so he could have been happier.
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Post by dgt224 on Feb 14, 2024 1:44:32 GMT -5
Depending on his chosen profession, he might have been right, although in this century that seems less likely than formerly.
Quite a few years ago, when I lived in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, at one of the Minneapolis gay bars I ran across a guy I recognized from work. Not someone I knew, just someone I'd seen in the same building. We both worked in software development for Sperry Univac, and it was some time in the middle to late 70s. We talked very briefly; the conversation consisted mostly of him making it quite clear that if we ran into each other at work, we had never met. We did see each other a few times, but not often, as we worked on different floors in groups with no overlap in responsibilities. I don't think we ever exchanged a single word after that one encounter. Working for a company that did business with the Department of Defense, his caution was entirely understandable. I think there were four or five companies in the United States that did the sort of work we did, and I don't think any of them would have knowingly hired a gay man, for basically the same reason. |
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Post by Dabeagle on Feb 20, 2024 19:46:34 GMT -5
Ryan worked in a political capacity for a party that is currently more cult-like than governing entity. He claimed to believe in small government, but.... In any case, I'm not sure he'd have ever truly felt comfortable.
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