Queer Writing for a Queer World
//
It is an emotional time for Martin as he explains to Phil why he ran away the other night. Martin is also awkward around James, who becomes concerned about his brother. Martin tells his brother how the conversation went with Phil, and the three boys meet up.
Later, James is taken to the airport, accompanied by his family. They have a tearful farewell as James leaves them for the next four weeks.
//
Martin wrestles with his emotions and hides away from everyone at the park. Phil is worried about him, but Martin ignores all his calls. When Martin eventually goes home, he confronts James about what actually happened when he was filming the sex-ed video.
James has no alternative but to tell his brother the truth, and by telling the truth, he has to admit that he might be gay. And Martin admits that he may be falling in love.
//
Eric loves his swimming lessons and what his new friend, Ross, teaches him while they are in the group shower afterwards. In this lesson, the teacher shows the boys how to stay afloat in the water. While floating, the friends have some fun playing with their bodies under the water.
//
The time for Martin to unveil his painting has arrived. He shows James and Tony first. Tony is shocked at seeing the painting of his naked brother but quickly learns to like it. That evening, while Tony is in bed, Martin and James show the painting to their parents. Despite its surprising subject matter, they like it.
Martin spends the next day with Phil. The day went well until Phil showed Martin a video in which he appeared. Martin bolts for the door and runs away.
//
Martin is on another date with Phil. They go to the same pub again, and this time, they meet Ed, one of Phil’s flamboyant friends. Martin listens as Phil describes his turbulent adolescence and how he went off the rails, only for his brother to get him back on track.
Martin gains confidence and initiates a passionate kiss with Phil to rowdy cheers from Ed and his friends.
//At his first swimming lesson, Eric comes face to face with a man he calls The Gorilla. He didn’t catch his name so gave him the nickname. The Gorilla is teaching the older boys to be lifeguards. He is gruff and hairy. As we learn towrds the end of the story, he is called Hermann Straub and is originally from Germany. For those wonder where I get my names from, Straub is a Germanic surname that literally means “one with bushy or bristly hair”.
//
I am pleased to introduce you to a new family and their experiences in Cockaigne. The Ashworths have two sons, Billy and Eric. Billy is sixteen, and Eric is fourteen. While Billy learnt to swim at age twelve, Eric still needs to learn. The family have saved up for his lessons at The Cockaigne Young Men’s Association, CYMA. Eric is excited and reluctantly accepts that he has to be naked in the pool. While there, he makes a new friend, Ross.
//You may recognise the name because Morgan has appeared as a minor character in my first story set in Cockaigne about the Walker family. Morgan is a PE teacher at Cockaigne Academy and volunteers at the CYMA some evenings. He is Eric’s swimming teacher; like all the boys, Morgan must be naked poolside.
//Ross is fourteen years old and is the other boy at the beginners’ swimming lessons, the same age as Eric Ashworth. Naturally, they gravitate to each other and become friends. Ross shows Eric some of the advantages of living in Cockaigne.
//I know that there has been nothing new from me since mid-December, but I have been busy editing ‘Three Tears’ (still not finished) and re-publishing it on Screeve. I have also been busy in writing a new series. And now I’m preparing to publish it. “The Chronicles of the Ashworth Family’ is a ten-part series that centres on a family living outside Cockaigne in Suddene.
Eric Ashworth
Eric is the main protagonist of the story. He is fourteen years old and still can’t swim. His father has finally saved enough to take him to learn at “The Cockaigne Young Men’s Association”, or CYMA. The first rule of the CYMA is that everybody swims naked. Eric is learning with a lot of other young boys. But there is one other boy his age learning with him.
Billy Ashworth
Billy is Eric’s sixteen-year-old brother. He learnt to swim at a much younger age and had no problem learning at the CYMA, but he wasn’t going through puberty at the time. Now he is older, he is very body-conscious and unwilling to let anyone see him naked.
Ken Ashworth
Ken is Billy and Eric’s father. He takes Eric to Cockaigne each week for his swimming lesson. Eric wants him to watch, but that means Ken must be naked once he’s poolside. Father and son spend every Monday evening naked together.
I shall be introducing more characters in the story in the coming days. I hope you enjoy these tantalising glimpses into the forthcoming story and the new AI videos of the characters I have created.