As many of you already know, I am a LGBT Youth advocate and donate half the proceeds from The Value of Rain to help two local nonprofit organizations whose dedication and goals match my own. Occasionally I post updates here about what they are doing and how they are affecting the LGBT Youth community. Considering the age of both of these organizations, what they have done in such a short time is nothing less than phenomenal, and it is exactly why they will continue to get my support. [Read more…] about Helping LGBT Youth – January 2012
The Value of Rain – A Top Read of 2011
I am extremely pleased to announce that The Value of Rain was chosen by The Reading Life as a Top Read of 2011. The company and the writing on that list is breathtaking and includes some of the best authors I have ever read. So, the mere idea that Rain was included among them has left me quite speechless. (You can read her original review here. )
I must admit that I am greatly humbled by the reaction I have received from both readers and reviewers. Both groups have sent me emails detailing personal and intimate past experiences and have advised me how Rain has helped them to grow and overcome. Quite honestly, I don’t think that any writer could ask for a better testimonial than that.
It took me ten years to write Rain and I am the very first to tell you that it is not an easy read, but nor was it ever meant to be. Rain is a journey through tragedy and loss and life; and from my perspective, I believe that this is why it speaks to people so intimately. You will either love it, or hate it, but you won’t walk away untouched, and that may be the ultimate lesson in all of Charles’ words.
Thank you all for your encouragement, kind words and appreciation.
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The Advocate – a poem
Those you have turned from
I have held their hands
Those you have demeaned
I have wiped their tears
Those you have silenced
I have become their voice
Those you have buried
I will help to live again
Listening to Dust – Excerpt
Synopsis -Listening to Dust
Stephen lives in London, is the orphan of parents murdered by terrorists and has a cavity of loneliness growing in his chest.
Dustin has escaped his Southern upbringing but holds dark fears about his sexuality. He has never known a simple kiss or a hug that wasn’t attached to brutality.
Finally finding the love that they have both searched a lifetime for, Dustin has one last request before he returns to his previous existence: Please forget me.
NOW AVAILABLE from Kindle
Listening to Dust – Excerpt
A storm had blown through London that night and driven them back to the flat, sopping with laughter and a wet chill. When Dustin pulled his shirt off suddenly Stephen froze and gaped at him because it was the first time Dustin had ever exposed his torso in the three months they’d been seeing each other.
“What happened there?” Stephen asked. He cringed and squeezed his eyes shut as soon as the words left his mouth; realizing, too late, that Dustin’s scar was the very reason he and Dustin had never shared a shower together; why he’d never been allowed to caress the smoothness of Dustin’s chest; why Dustin had always acted so adamantly withdrawn about his upper body. He turned into the pantry before Dustin could respond and busied himself with a fresh pot of tea; hoping that the casualness of his actions would make his question seem much less intrusive than it sounded. [Read more…] about Listening to Dust – Excerpt
A Talk For Parents of LGBT Children
Here’s a video from a close friend specifically for parents of LGBT children coming out. Probably the most important point to convey before I step off this stage and let David talk to you is the fact that children simply want to be loved, but his video goes beyond that and is well worth watching.
Note: I’ve also added a few resource link below for parents seeking more information, and you can also click over to LGBT Youth Orgs for more.
GLBT National Help Resource Center (for finding LGBT resources near you)
Ten Things I’ve Learned About Gay People in Ten Years | A Christian Perspective
Gay youth, family rejection, and health problems
The Link Between LGBT Youth, Bullying, and Suicide
18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda
Lost and Found Youth
The Lost and Found Organization is a grass roots Atlanta based movement working to get LGBT kids off the street right now, at this very moment. It is still in its infancy, but it is already changing lives. Below is just one of the latest updates about what’s going on with the movement and with the organization. I am very proud to say that this is one of the nonprofits that benefits from sales of Rain and one of the very few I have ever worked with that is out there going to the kids instead of waiting for them to show up. This is the gay community helping lgbt youth. Read below how such simple acts of kindness change lives, perceptions and eventually… life outcomes. And please consider a donation. $20 gets one kid off the street for the night and gives him/her a warm bed, and the hope that tomorrow will be a better day.
FIRST – I am happy to report that the Lesbian couple and baby get to meet their GOSTER= Gay Foster Family tomorrow nite. If all goes well and they approve of each other, they will be moving in next week. [Read more…] about Lost and Found Youth