| Authors Speak to Teens |
We have asked and will be asking authors to write articles for this
section of our site. We're asking them to tell us what they would say
to a group of gay, lesbian, bi, not-sure, and straight teens, if they
were to address a meeting of a Gay-Straight Alliance or similar group.
What motivates them to write? What do they hope teens will gain
from their work? What personal things about themselves would they
like to share? What is the main message they convey in their work?
We hope this area of our site will encourage teens to read more of
the good, meaningful, uplifting stories linked from our Stories page,
and fewer of the meaningless instant-gratification stories we find at
some Internet sites.
We're presenting the authors' contributions in the order we receive
them. Click below on each author's underlined name to read
his/her article.
section of our site. We're asking them to tell us what they would say
to a group of gay, lesbian, bi, not-sure, and straight teens, if they
were to address a meeting of a Gay-Straight Alliance or similar group.
What motivates them to write? What do they hope teens will gain
from their work? What personal things about themselves would they
like to share? What is the main message they convey in their work?
We hope this area of our site will encourage teens to read more of
the good, meaningful, uplifting stories linked from our Stories page,
and fewer of the meaningless instant-gratification stories we find at
some Internet sites.
We're presenting the authors' contributions in the order we receive
them. Click below on each author's underlined name to read
his/her article.
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Drake Hunter discusses the power of words, tells us why he writes, and shares some
views with us. Drake's "Through Different Eyes" and "A Yule Tale" are available only on
our site, linked from our Stories page.
Sequoyah tells us some things about himself and why he writes stories, and
encourages us to learn of the dangers of life by reading, rather than risking our lives to
learn such things on our own. All of his stories except "Mountain Magic" and "Moon
Watching" are available in two formats on our PDF Page. UPDATE: There is now a
Sequoyah's Place website containing all of Sequoyah's stories.
Don Hanratty shows us the importance of having open minds and continuing to learn
as we get older. Also, he shares with us his views of Christianity's handling of the
subject of homosexual relationships. Mr. Hanratty's award-winning, book-length
Working It Out is available on our PDF Page in .pdf and .html files. Both Working It
Out and Mr. Hanratty's latest novel, Beloved, are at the Don Hanratty Official Site.
Brew Maxwell, who inspires us and who encouraged us to create this website, shares
some of his thoughts with us, tells us how "Tim" (the first of the thirteen segments of
The Foley-Mashburn Saga) was born, and suggests ways for teens to gain acceptance
and happiness. Brew's wonderful saga is available in .pdf and .html files on our
PDF Page, and can also be found at crvboy.com.
The Carolina Scribbler shows us how his life has changed for the better, by contrasting
his early years with his present circumstances, and shares some of what initiated the
changes. His happy one-chapter story named "A Smokey Mountain Christmas" and his
ongoing, more serious but also happy story called "I Once Was Lost" can be found at
his web site, The Scribbler's Pad. He also hosts stories by other authors. UPDATE:
Johnny has closed The Scribbler's Pad, at least for the time being, but his stories and
those he hosted are available at CRVboy, AwesomeDude and DeweyWriter.
Geoff is a past president of The Campaign Against Moral Persecution in Western
Australia and a member of B-Legits, a support committee for glbti teachers in his
country. He has honored us by contributing to this section of our site. Geoff, through
his many connections, has helped bring more visitors to our site. He is a writer of
non-fiction and edits fiction for some of the writers featured on our Stories page.
UPDATE: As part of the Queen's Birthday Honours 2006, Geoff was named a Member of
the Order of Australia. Click here for a news article about Geoff's accomplishments
that lead to the honor. There's a photo of good ol' "Uncle" Geoff there, too. (depending
on browser, you might have to use your image controls to enlarge the scanned image)
Ryan Keith, 19-year-old Canadian author of "One Life", "Kayden", "Kayden II" and
"Kayden and Zac", tells us some things about himself and makes a small confession.
He also explains his reasoning in writing the powerful and moving "One Life". Some
people have told us they stopped reading "One Life" halfway through Part 6. If you did
that, please reconsider and go back and finish the story and the epilogue. We think
you'll be glad you did.
Graeme, one of our Australian friends, author of "New Brother", "Dear God" and "Falls
Creek Lessons" has addressed an issue that troubles some teens who write to us --
being gay but feeling the need to marry and have children in order to please their
parents. Graeme effectively addresses inter-orientation marriage by sharing some
details of his life. His stories are available at DeweyWriter and AwesomeDude, both
linked from our stories page.
Grasshopper is a teenager who is one of the most popular and most-loved writers on
the Internet. He's near the bottom of this list only because, as stated above, the
authors are listed in the order that we have received their contributions to this feature.
Grasshopper had agreed to write an essay when we first created this page, but
somehow it was delayed. We're just happy to have it now. His essay is pure, simple,
wonderful Grasshopper. Read it and feel good about yourself! Grasshopper's stories are
hosted by Timmy at It's Only Me from Across the Sea.
Codey is a teen who writes poetry and has also gotten into story writing. He shares
with us some of his views and advice concerning friendship, and also touches on the
topic of being/not being sexually active. As you will realize when you read Codey's "My
Two Cents Worth" essay, he's had some really rough spots in his life, but he's a
survivor who keeps his chin up. [Please see the note on our Stories page regarding the
November 4, 2007 passing of Codey.] His writings are an inspiration to many, and we're
proud to have his contribution to our Authors Speak to Teens feature. Codey's stories
and poems are posted at Codey's World. February, 2008: Blue at Codey's World has
made an audio recording of this essay.
Gabriel Duncan is a teen gay activist and author whose work is hosted at
AwesomeDude and at his own Lonely Ocean website. Gabe has experienced a lot of
life during his 19 years, as you will realize when you read his contribution to this
section. We thank Gabe for sharing his wisdom with you and with us.
views with us. Drake's "Through Different Eyes" and "A Yule Tale" are available only on
our site, linked from our Stories page.
Sequoyah tells us some things about himself and why he writes stories, and
encourages us to learn of the dangers of life by reading, rather than risking our lives to
learn such things on our own. All of his stories except "Mountain Magic" and "Moon
Watching" are available in two formats on our PDF Page. UPDATE: There is now a
Sequoyah's Place website containing all of Sequoyah's stories.
Don Hanratty shows us the importance of having open minds and continuing to learn
as we get older. Also, he shares with us his views of Christianity's handling of the
subject of homosexual relationships. Mr. Hanratty's award-winning, book-length
Working It Out is available on our PDF Page in .pdf and .html files. Both Working It
Out and Mr. Hanratty's latest novel, Beloved, are at the Don Hanratty Official Site.
Brew Maxwell, who inspires us and who encouraged us to create this website, shares
some of his thoughts with us, tells us how "Tim" (the first of the thirteen segments of
The Foley-Mashburn Saga) was born, and suggests ways for teens to gain acceptance
and happiness. Brew's wonderful saga is available in .pdf and .html files on our
PDF Page, and can also be found at crvboy.com.
The Carolina Scribbler shows us how his life has changed for the better, by contrasting
his early years with his present circumstances, and shares some of what initiated the
changes. His happy one-chapter story named "A Smokey Mountain Christmas" and his
ongoing, more serious but also happy story called "I Once Was Lost" can be found at
his web site, The Scribbler's Pad. He also hosts stories by other authors. UPDATE:
Johnny has closed The Scribbler's Pad, at least for the time being, but his stories and
those he hosted are available at CRVboy, AwesomeDude and DeweyWriter.
Geoff is a past president of The Campaign Against Moral Persecution in Western
Australia and a member of B-Legits, a support committee for glbti teachers in his
country. He has honored us by contributing to this section of our site. Geoff, through
his many connections, has helped bring more visitors to our site. He is a writer of
non-fiction and edits fiction for some of the writers featured on our Stories page.
UPDATE: As part of the Queen's Birthday Honours 2006, Geoff was named a Member of
the Order of Australia. Click here for a news article about Geoff's accomplishments
that lead to the honor. There's a photo of good ol' "Uncle" Geoff there, too. (depending
on browser, you might have to use your image controls to enlarge the scanned image)
Ryan Keith, 19-year-old Canadian author of "One Life", "Kayden", "Kayden II" and
"Kayden and Zac", tells us some things about himself and makes a small confession.
He also explains his reasoning in writing the powerful and moving "One Life". Some
people have told us they stopped reading "One Life" halfway through Part 6. If you did
that, please reconsider and go back and finish the story and the epilogue. We think
you'll be glad you did.
Graeme, one of our Australian friends, author of "New Brother", "Dear God" and "Falls
Creek Lessons" has addressed an issue that troubles some teens who write to us --
being gay but feeling the need to marry and have children in order to please their
parents. Graeme effectively addresses inter-orientation marriage by sharing some
details of his life. His stories are available at DeweyWriter and AwesomeDude, both
linked from our stories page.
Grasshopper is a teenager who is one of the most popular and most-loved writers on
the Internet. He's near the bottom of this list only because, as stated above, the
authors are listed in the order that we have received their contributions to this feature.
Grasshopper had agreed to write an essay when we first created this page, but
somehow it was delayed. We're just happy to have it now. His essay is pure, simple,
wonderful Grasshopper. Read it and feel good about yourself! Grasshopper's stories are
hosted by Timmy at It's Only Me from Across the Sea.
Codey is a teen who writes poetry and has also gotten into story writing. He shares
with us some of his views and advice concerning friendship, and also touches on the
topic of being/not being sexually active. As you will realize when you read Codey's "My
Two Cents Worth" essay, he's had some really rough spots in his life, but he's a
survivor who keeps his chin up. [Please see the note on our Stories page regarding the
November 4, 2007 passing of Codey.] His writings are an inspiration to many, and we're
proud to have his contribution to our Authors Speak to Teens feature. Codey's stories
and poems are posted at Codey's World. February, 2008: Blue at Codey's World has
made an audio recording of this essay.
Gabriel Duncan is a teen gay activist and author whose work is hosted at
AwesomeDude and at his own Lonely Ocean website. Gabe has experienced a lot of
life during his 19 years, as you will realize when you read his contribution to this
section. We thank Gabe for sharing his wisdom with you and with us.