Ricky Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 (edited) [Special Note: The new website is now live. As a result the links throughout this thread are invalid except for the latest posting to the thread. All of Ricky stories can now be found at Ricky] This was my very first story in the gay genre and it was highjacked by the characters. It contains loss. But it still has a good ending. It remains my favorite of all my stories even with the loss. And I do go back and read it any time I need my tear ducts flushed. It's the only story I've written with loss and as I indicated, I didn't plan it. It just happened. But I still managed a happy ending. All of my other stories have happy endings also. Oh shucks! Tear of the Dragon boy has some loss in it too. UGH! I never realized until this very moment. *sigh* Edited October 6, 2017 by Zach Caldwell Link website notification D'Artagnon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Caldwell Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Tad lives in the country. And he's out through no fault of his own. Not the best environment to be out in. And he's quite alone at home and at school. The sympathetic old lady next door has a nephew's school picture and he sees it and falls in love. His fantasies keep him from going crazy. Two years of fantasies shows up with bags at the aunt's door with his mom. The laughs and the tears will keep you going. This story will exercise ALL of your emotional muscles as Tad develops a plan. And the city boy finds out about country living and country lovin'. *Warning: This story contains loss. This Story is Completed and well worth the read. Find it at http://www.castleroland.net/library/author/ricky D'Artagnon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Artagnon Posted September 1, 2014 Report Share Posted September 1, 2014 Ricky, i just read "THAT" chapter and I at present hate you vociferously and with enormous anguish. I wont spoil it for those who haven't read it yet, but THAT was just plain painful Very Good Job, Dude. Love it, love it, love it. Hugs and tears, simply, devistatingly.... just wow. If anyone hasn't read this yet, do not pass it up. There is a certain cadence to the story that completely train-wrecks ath "THAT" chapter and then the story really gets interesting. I am looking forward to how it continues, And my local Walmart is looking forward to selling me more Kleenex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted September 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2014 Ricky, i just read "THAT" chapter and I at present hate you vociferously and with enormous anguish. I wont spoil it for those who haven't read it yet, but THAT was just plain painful Very Good Job, Dude. Love it, love it, love it. Hugs and tears, simply, devistatingly.... just wow. If anyone hasn't read this yet, do not pass it up. There is a certain cadence to the story that completely train-wrecks ath "THAT" chapter and then the story really gets interesting. I am looking forward to how it continues, And my local Walmart is looking forward to selling me more Kleenex. It hit me the very same way when I was writing it. I backed up and tried writing it as a dream sequence, I tried changing the story but the charaters would not utter another word in my ear until I went back to the original story line. It wasn't until the end of the story when I received three emails from people that were prescribed my story to help them through their grieving. They thanked me for helping them to get through it. It goes to show you that we don't always know why we're lead to write or say things but that there is a reason we are lead to do things a cretain way. All I can say is it almost kept me from writing ever again and those three emails turned that around for me too. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. It remains my favorite of mine. I still go back and read it again when my tear ducts need a good flushing. I'm just glad that they gave me the rest of the story. Life goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Artagnon Posted September 1, 2014 Report Share Posted September 1, 2014 Well..... I have read to the end. Hard to believe how it ended, but after a fashion it does make sense. Poor Andy certainly has a wellspring of emotional endurance and depth. I wish things had turned out more in his favor, but I feel he's grown tremendously from the experiences he's had. I find myself wanting to hug Andy and let him cry it out on my shoulder as well. He has strengths inside himself that he doesn't even know about yet, and has suffered the most tender of hammer blows and tempering on the anvils of love and life. Still, he remains true to himself, despite what he gives up at the end because of his great capacity to love. Endearing, enduring and engaging. A great character and a great story, full of unexpected turns and a sense of hope after deep loss. This was amazing. Great work Ricky. Give Andy a big hug from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted September 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 Wow, coming from such an amazing writer as yourself that's great praise. And you're right, Andy grew a lot in this life event. And he has become stronger. He became a fighter. He's no longer the weak hiding scared little boy who walked onto the opening pages of this story. But he hasn't lost the capacity to love either. He's going to be alright. Thanks for reading and for talking about it here. I love it when my characters make new friends. ;-) D'Artagnon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Just started reading this story and love it it's great can't wait to finish it. Being a hound person I have the same eyes as tad I know a good dog just by looking it in the eyes. D'Artagnon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Just started reading this story and love it it's great can't wait to finish it. Being a hound person I have the same eyes as tad I know a good dog just by looking it in the eyes. Just try not to hate me when you're done with it ok? It's a really hard story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 That's OK I've lived a hard life just check out "can you spare a quarter" as it comes in and you'll see:) that's why my qoute is life life taste death then do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 That's OK I've lived a hard life just check out "can you spare a quarter" as it comes in and you'll see:) that's why my qoute is life life taste death then do it again. Thanks, I'll check it out. Hugz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Wow our wrote a powerful and great story. and no I don't hate ya! I lost many friends to the streets. and some real close ones, You played everyone one of my emotions and that's what a great story is about. thank you! I will always have those holes in my heart and the blank spots in my life but I always know I will never forget them and they will be waiting for me thanks again for a wonderful story. I knew from the start there was going to be a rough patch but that's how life is. sorry if I sound disjointed, its tough for me to put thoughts to words. so I just plug away at it. Anyways as I was saying Life is full of ups and downs &hit happens and we move on though some more back. I moved forward for one reason but I can't really say why you'll just have to read The story once again Kudos great story 6 stars !!! D'Artagnon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted December 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Wow our wrote a powerful and great story. and no I don't hate ya! I lost many friends to the streets. and some real close ones, You played everyone one of my emotions and that's what a great story is about. thank you! I will always have those holes in my heart and the blank spots in my life but I always know I will never forget them and they will be waiting for me thanks again for a wonderful story. I knew from the start there was going to be a rough patch but that's how life is. sorry if I sound disjointed, its tough for me to put thoughts to words. so I just plug away at it. Anyways as I was saying Life is full of ups and downs &hit happens and we move on though some more back. I moved forward for one reason but I can't really say why you'll just have to read The story once again Kudos great story 6 stars !!! Wow, Thanks so very much. Like I said, its a beautiful and yet tragic story. I read it anytime my tear ducts need a good flushing. I'm sorry your life was so rough. Mine was no picnic either but not as bad as others. I'll read it for sure. It sounds familliar so I may have already. But I'll have to read what's there to know for sure. If it's the one I think it is then it was most excellent. On to it soon. I usually don't read until it's complete. Cheers. D'Artagnon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I just started this story today, and I finished only Chapter 1. I was looking forward to more, but after reading some of the comments above, I'm worried about the "loss" part. I will persevere and read it, being no stranger to tears from a good story, mostly because this is excellent writing. I was captivated in the first few paragraphs - something about the cadence and flow and "realness" of Andrew's thoughts. Plus it was hot! I've never skinny dipped in my life, but I sure wish I had. Never really came up for me, but the idea of it is the stuff of many a fantasy. Thanks for writing this story and I'll let you know how I handle the "loss" part of it. Probably need to save that for when I'm not in public...grin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted January 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I just started this story today, and I finished only Chapter 1. I was looking forward to more, but after reading some of the comments above, I'm worried about the "loss" part. I will persevere and read it, being no stranger to tears from a good story, mostly because this is excellent writing. I was captivated in the first few paragraphs - something about the cadence and flow and "realness" of Andrew's thoughts. Plus it was hot! I've never skinny dipped in my life, but I sure wish I had. Never really came up for me, but the idea of it is the stuff of many a fantasy. Thanks for writing this story and I'll let you know how I handle the "loss" part of it. Probably need to save that for when I'm not in public...grin. Hi Jack, Thanks so much for those kind words. I will not lie, the loss part is very difficult so it is best that your reading be done in a place where throwing things and ranting and crying is easily explained and accepted. I really hate it when this is the first of my stories read. I am SO not a sadness person. I read to escape myself. I always said if I want to be depressed I'll turn on CNN or watch the congressional proceedings or when I REALLY want to get depressed I'll look at my paystub. I prefer to laugh and make people feel good. I have a really warped sense of humor sometimes and I love when my characters banter. I'm always afraid people will read this one first and decide I'm not the author to deliver them from their own miseries for a few minutes to re-energize. It may be the best story I've ever written but it's not the flagship of my writing so far. I think that one would have to be "Roll Call". It has changed many lives and although it was not a goal, it is certainly more representative of my style of writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm always afraid people will read this one first and decide I'm not the author to deliver them from their own miseries for a few minutes to re-energize. It may be the best story I've ever written but it's not the flagship of my writing so far. I think that one would have to be "Roll Call". It has changed many lives and although it was not a goal, it is certainly more representative of my style of writing. Ricky, I will definitely check out "Roll Call". It sounds wonderful. I like a story that energizes and makes people feel good as well. I think that's why people like my story Forever - it's about hope and love and joy. We all need that escape from time to time. That being said, I think I will press on with "The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of" because while it may not be the most pleasant, you yourself declare it to be the best. I'll let you know how much damage I do when I get to that part of the story. I think I have an extra monitor in storage, so if I go crazy I have something to fall back on....grin. Ricky 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Schaeffer Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ricky, Okay, I finished it. From the time of the "loss" to the last paragraph I pretty much had tears in my eyes. This is magnificent writing, and I can see why you consider it your best. And I will also say, that while the "loss" is profound, it turns out to be absolutely essential to the rest of the story. This was fiction with a purpose, and I can imagine many people, especially young people who have experienced loss themselves, finding a path to wholeness in this story. I know that I am energized and full of hope after reading this. I wish that in my day a club such as you create here would have existed. I can think of half a dozen or more lives that would have been profoundly helped if there had been. Thankfully, times do change, and people do as well. It make take a frustratingly long time, but it does happen. Bravo for sharing this beautiful manifesto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ricky, Okay, I finished it. From the time of the "loss" to the last paragraph I pretty much had tears in my eyes. This is magnificent writing, and I can see why you consider it your best. And I will also say, that while the "loss" is profound, it turns out to be absolutely essential to the rest of the story. This was fiction with a purpose, and I can imagine many people, especially young people who have experienced loss themselves, finding a path to wholeness in this story. I know that I am energized and full of hope after reading this. I wish that in my day a club such as you create here would have existed. I can think of half a dozen or more lives that would have been profoundly helped if there had been. Thankfully, times do change, and people do as well. It make take a frustratingly long time, but it does happen. Bravo for sharing this beautiful manifesto. You honor me. Thanks for those kind words. As I said, I wrote it through tears because they wouldn't talk to me unless I returned to the original storyline. And although it was heart-wrenching, it was also healing. I'm so glad you found value in it. As for the club, the way the government changes a society is to change the children's perceptions and wait for them to grow up. I hope to see the day that all are free to be who they are. 20 years ago even the 'thought' of a GSA in a high school was outrageous. Look at us today. There is hope. Everyone deserves the opportunity to grow up happy and unafraid. Thanks again. Now maybe on to something fun and happy. D'Artagnon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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