Welcome!

As an author, connecting to readers is the ultimate reward. I have been quite touched with several of you who have reached out to offer feedback. Even more impactful are those opportunities you have taken to share why the characters in Extracurricular have resonated with you or why you can relate to these individuals I have created in text. That means a lot, and I thank you.

I pondered on whether it would be interesting to have a space where readers can share thoughts not only just to me but to others who are along this journey as well. Thus, this blog. The intention here is to not make something flashy and full of advertisements. I wish to keep it simple, and with that comes the intimacy of friends talking amongst ourselves. I look forward to your comments, both on the writing itself and also how it relates to you, whether through shared experiences or the emotions the characters are feeling. I hope you feel comfortable jumping in and sharing what’s on your mind.

For this first blog post, I’ll share just a bit on how Extracurricular got started. In 2020, we all found ourselves all but trapped in our houses as pandemic news shocked the world. As many did, I found myself cleaning and while I was organizing some things, I found the beginnings of the book — scribbled on paper, no less — that I had written ages ago. In tidying up things, I intended to discard it but thankfully had the foresight to type it up before doing so. More or less, that became Chapter 1. As I wrote the next chapter … and then another … I found it an incredibly enjoyable distraction in the stay-at-home world we were once in. Several chapters into the book, I realized it was the most rewarding thing I had done in quite a long time. Then with a simple Google search, I found Nifty.

I was astonished by the sheer abundance of material out there. I didn’t devote an enormous amount of time to it, but like many of us, I dabbled with a story here or there. I would stumble across a few I really liked, but so many seemed formulaic with lots of “scenes,” but no real substance to the characters involved. When I found one that really made me feel — feel — for the characters, I knew Nifty needed more honest love stories. Certainly, there is an audience out there for those who just want to read the sex, but I also feel there is a large portion of the reading public who would enjoy true gay love stories. That was my commitment: to write a story that shows real love between men.

So, do you agree? Do we need more such stories?

Timothy