Before the year 2000, in the age of HIV AIDS, we were queers and faggots. There was no LGBTQ+, no gay literature to speak of. There has been a Renaissance for twenty-five years. Thousands of gay authors have written our history, but now, it looks like we are heading into a new dark age.

If you aren't a fighter, find the fighters. Assist them. If we join with the black movement, women, indigenous peoples, and minorities interested in establishing their civil rights, the table will be set for us to all stand in unity as a force. Our Destiny is in our own hands, not in the hands of the hateful and mean spirited. If we stand together, we can't be stopped.

Today, we have a history and stories about who we are as a people.

Our history can be found at sites like, Tarheel Writer, Castle Roland, IOMFAtS, Awesome Dude, Story Lovers Home, Gay Demon, Gay Authors, & Tickie Stories. Protect these sites. Preserve gay literature.

Talk to someone over 50. They can describe how hated LGBTQ+ once were.

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Happy Anniversary to Me

In January of 1997, I had been writing for a couple of years, after losing my truck driving license because I could not pass the eye test. I'd written "On Winning" by then, and I had written "Autumn Allies" and "Fleeting Fall." I had a computer for two years, when Windows 95 hit the market, access to what wasn't much of an Internet became easier.

I'd lived in California and I moved to Alabama to be a writer, because it was cheaper living in Alabama. In January of 1997, I went in search of gay love stories on that fairly new Internet. January, February, and into March, I tried to find any gay stories at all by searching the Internet. I came up empty.

On March 30, 1997, I ran across a website, Nifty Archives. There were 4800 of what they called stories. They were the worst kind of child porn. I never got past the first sentence of even one story. To describe it, each seemed to be about twelve year old boys falling in love with a middle aged man.

Give me a fucking break!

I left Nifty Archives and I went to wash my hands and use mouthwash. Those writings were that horrible but, it struck me, as I went back to my search, if they'll post that crap. If I wrote a gay love story, maybe they'd post that.

I sat down the day I found the Nifty Archives and I began writing Billie Joe's Journey, of Billie Joe's Journals, 3 books. That day I was writing for people like me. At first I called it, It Happened on a Bus. A gay boy decides to run away, after his best friend commits suicide, because he won't live in a world that hates him for being gay. Neither him or his best friend knows they are both gay. Billie Joe decides to run away. He's going to find out what being gay means.

Billie Joe doesn't have far to go. On the bus, he is taking to supposedly spend summer vacation at his brother's in Seattle, he meets Carl. Billie Joe meets his first gay man. Carl is seventeen, in the army, and on the bus to Seattle.

I wrote the first chapter of Billie Joe's Journey the afternoon of March 30, 1997, the day I found Nifty. At 3 that afternoon, I sent the chapter to the webmaster of the Archives.

Then, I had a thought. What if no one reads it. I know I could write. I didn't know I wrote anything anyone would want to read, but I was giving it a shot. Immediately I begin to worry. What if no one writes my email address. I won't know if I can write or not. I vowed to never check my email again.

My vow lasted until eight o'clock on March 30, 1997, I went to my email inbox. I had twenty emails. Today, with over a hundred stories, most novels, and adding up to close to 4,000,000 words, I don't get twenty emails a month, but email was the coin of the realm in March 1997 and I got twenty emails.

Okay, I could write something gay men would read. I continued writing Billie Joe's Journey and then I began writing Discovering Gregory. I was averaging ten to twenty emails a day in 1997.

On that first day, after writing that first chapter of a gay love story, each of those twenty emails contained the same phrase, "Don't stop writing this story."

I haven't stopped. I continue to write four to five to six hours a day, depending on the day and the mood of my computer.

This week I've been writing for gay literary sites for twenty-eight years. I am about to post my 4,000,000th word for people like me. I've decided I should croak about the time I hit 5,000,000 words. So, check me out at Tarheel Writer, tarheelwriter.com.

I've been trying to write a story describing all the ways there are to be gay, and put gay people, LGBTQ+ people, where they can be found. EVERYWHERE!

Because we have entered troubled waters, it's up to each of us to preserve our history as told in stories at gay literary sites.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Peace & Love,

Rick

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A Civil Discord
    Rick speaks his mind about violence, guns, shootings and more. When is someone going to stop the madness?

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What people are saying about Rick!

      I see myself in so many of your stories, and not being out, it has helped me get through. My daughter has come out to me as lesbian. She reads and enjoys your stories too, and we talk about them, your realistic characters and real plots that aren't just a way to write about sex.

      My daughter is about halfway thru Bonner, and came to hug me 3 times so far with tears in her eyes.

      I have just finished binge reading all your stories on Tarheel and enjoyed them immensely. Your stories echo my thoughts on the way "gay" works, in real life. I went to an ATOS convention in New York in June of 1969. One week before the riots, my friends and I were "socializing" with the drag queens in the Stonewall. Sometimes life throws "interesting" tidbits your way. Thanks for your work, and please keep going.

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Spotlight
Rick's latest work

"70 Plus 50"
   A complete story in one chapter
   22,320 words

Rated for General Audiences

"Ahead of His Time" 

by Rick Beck
21 Chapters in Three Parts (53,910 words)
Completed 2 July 2025)
Ratings range from General Audiences to Explicit. Check each individual chapter for the rating.

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     Kerry Kane moved two desks together so we could talk quietly and not disrupt the students in Mrs Frump's third grade class. After school, my first day at Eagle Point Elementary, Kerry walked me home. He held my hand.
     I didn't know what friendship was, but I thought Kerry was my friend.
     I was captivated by Kerry. I never felt closer to anyone. For one reason or another, he allowed me to hook my wagon to his star. I was no longer alone. I was small. The world was very big.

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"Mildred's War"
by Rick Beck
10 Chapters (43,967 words)
Completed 24 May 2025

Rated for General Audiences

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     We all know private detective Angus McCoy from Rick Beck's exciting stories "Benz" and "Cory Wade is Missing" and Angus's unforgettable appearance in "The Gulf and the Spy." Now we get a glimpse into a very young Angus McCoy as he served time in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. From overbearing supervisors to a knowing admiral, Angus navigates the intricacies of duty, honor, a sense of rebellion and the eventual love of his life, who has a strong aversion to the Vietman War. Follow along as Rick takes us on an adventure filled mystery with surprises.


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"Accidental Cowboy"
by Rick Beck
13 Chapters in Four Parts (58,306 words)
Completed 8 November 2024

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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     Potee left home. He hasn't figured out where he's going yet. He'd like to find a place where no one yells, and where there is plenty of food and some way to work for meals. What never crossed Potee's mind was becoming a cowboy. Had he been twelve or thirteen, being a cowboy might have been at the top of his list of things he wanted to do. He was sixteen and ideas like that didn't seem practical. He wasn't a kid.
     Accidental Cowboy tells the story of young Potee, his troubles at home and his eventual meeting with Pardo, an honest to goodness cowboy.

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A word from Rick on (what I call) "The Running Saga"
     I wrote "Gay Boy Running" fifteen years after I wrote "On Winning", and "On Winning, The Team."
     "Gay Boy Running" was the first time I posted anything in my early days. At the end of "Gay Boy Running," I'm 15 years old and planning to run off to fish in the Gulf of Mexico, if I didn't get to go to school with Tommy, my best friend who lived in Suitland.
     "Gay Boy Running," is Book One. Gay Boy Running, Book Two, is "On Winning." Gay Boy Running, Book Three, is "On Winning, The Team." By putting them in this order, the full experience of a Gay Boy Running will be told. Enjoy!
Rick Beck

"Gay Boy Running"
   BOOK ONE in the Gay Boy Running Saga
by Rick Beck
7 chapters (20,533 words)

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   Our first meeting meant little in the greater scheme of things, but the events surrounding our first meeting left an impression on both of us. It was a chance meeting that set me on the road to discovering my identity. I didn’t know I didn’t know who I was, because I’d never dared to consider myself beyond my family. I still wonder if this was fate, destiny, or an accident. I still don’t know.

"On Winning"
   BOOK TWO in the Gay Boy Running Saga
by Rick Beck
11 Chapters and an Epilogue (69,409 words)
Completed 1 April 2010

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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    "On Winning" is Rick's companion story to "Gay Boy Running."
     When Charles joins the Suitland track team as a sophomore, they're a school joke. The question isn't one of winning or losing but if any points would be scored. After making a promise to his mentor and gym teacher, he feels trapped. Charles finds himself assigned to run the relays. He is disillusioned. He wants to run alone and out front, but older faster boys run ahead of him. He resigns himself to being lost in a team within a team, even though there are juniors and seniors who'd love to have his spot. In Prince George's G County, Suitland can be depended on to finish near the bottom in every track meet. There is little optimism with twenty-five boys covering seventeen events. Any thought of this group of lower middle class boys rising to the top of track and field in the Washington DC area is folly, only don't tell Coach Daniel Becker a thing like that about his boys.

"On Winning The Team"
   BOOK THREE in the Gay Boy Running Saga
by Rick Beck
9 Chapters and an Epilogue (57,493 words)
Completed 2 November 2024

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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    "On Winning The Team" is Rick's follow up story to "On Winning," which tells the story of how Charles got to where he was, "On Winning The Team" tells the story of what he did once he was there.
    It was Coach Becker who told me Whitey died. He'd just read On Winning, and while he hadn't told me for the years we'd been in touch, he felt obligated to tell me once he read the story about his most magnificent team.
    I never heard anyone call Whitey anything but Whitey. It's how he introduced himself to me at my first track practice.     "I'm Whitey. I'm a sprinter too."
    He was a sprinter and my hero. Unfortunately, Whitey's life turned out to be a sprint and not a marathon. His philosophy of life fit with the reality that longevity wouldn't belong to him.
    It was my good fortune, as well as the good fortune of those who knew him, that he came along when he did. Whitey was a shooting star, coming and going too swiftly. I am glad he lit up the sky for Suitland's track team.
    This book is about my second season on the Suitland track team. My most vivid memory of that season was what Whitey would say to me before each of our races, "Get me the baton. I'll do the rest," and that's what he did, up until the final race in our final season together.

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"Hitch"
by Rick Beck
13 chapters & an epilogue (57,217 words)
Completed circa 2021

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   George knows he has a nose for news. He is sure he's on the way to the full-time reporters job. Once he gets noticed. He'll be on his way, as long as he isn't noticed too closely. George Hitchcock, Hitch to other reporters and his friends, is not what he appears to be. That's a story he won't be telling to City News readers.

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"Sea of Tranquility"
by Rick Beck
9 chapters & an Epilogue (30,495 words)
Completed circa 2021

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   After the fastest sprinter in the city, stops appearing at track meets. Levi Cordoba benefits, because of Moony's absence. He now wins the hundred, after becoming accustomed to finishing second to the faster Moony. It has not left Levi feeling good about winning. Unable to get answers about the boy's disappearance from Moony's teammates, Levi decides to investigate on his own. What he finds out is disturbing. He isn't sure what to do, but he has to do something.

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"A Long Time Passing"
by Rick Beck
25 chapters (64,101 words)
Completed 2021

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   I worked myself up for it as the day grew near, but little could I have known that this meeting would lead me on a life-altering journey. It wasn't the meeting itself that would consume me. The events that took place, while I was on my way to the meeting, opened a door that linked me with my long ago past.

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"A Conversation with Carlton"
by Rick Beck
16 chapters (72,708 words)
Completed 2020-2021

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   "I was born the year I turned 12."    Being born is usually a step in what becomes a longer story, but being born is no guarantee those steps will be easy or even point you into a direction that yields up the best result. Being born is merely a condition, and what comes next has little to do with that young and helpless life.

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"Walking Into Clouds"
by Rick Beck
26 chapters (120,523 words)

Rated Explicit: only suitable for adults

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   "I had no difficulty hiding the fact I was gay. I'm an athlete. I played soccer and lacrosse in high school and after high school I joined a local rugby team. Rugby is a rough sport. No one looking at a rugby player thinks he's gay. That doesn't mean he can't be gay. That is no one until I decided to come out and I made my first foray into the seedy side of Aurora. I'd lived in Aurora for my entire life and I didn't know there was a seedy side of town, until my best buds and I went searching for it."

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"Age of Discovering"
The 2018 Revision Edition
by Rick Beck
22 chapters (93,387 words)

Rated M for Mature Audiences

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   It's risky to fall in love while you're still in high school. Making a plan to get the attention of a boy you don't know is tricky. Gordon would need to have some good luck and he hoped for an accidental meeting with Glenn alone.

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"East on St James"
by Rick Beck
Originally titled "Anatomy of AIDS"
22 chapters (90,953 words)
Completed 2016
Young Adult
Drama
HIV+

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   When people cooperate, there is no limit to what they can accomplish. Take an attorney, Dury, newly retired, and a chef and vagabond, Keith, and put them together ..., well you'll see what they come up with. As unlikely as it seems, this meeting takes place over a tuna sandwich on a bench in a North Charleston park. It's all it takes for a beautiful friendship to begin.

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"Browning Incident"
by Rick Beck
Originally posted on Nifty 18 August 1999
3 chapters (16,149 words)
Completed 1 November 2012
Young Adult
Mystery
Drama

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   The phone call came at 8 o'clock in the evening. It was an event destined to become forever imprinted upon my psyche, although at the time there was no way for me to understand that my life was about to be forever altered. This wasn't an ordinary phone call and the sequence of events that had been set into motion seemed surreal and only a quirk of fate prevented them from becoming fatal.

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"Lancelot and the Big Bang"
by Rick Beck
9 chapters (57,749 words)
Completed 2016
College
Jock & Geek
Drama

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

You can order your own copy of this book on Amazon.com

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   A dorm fire at Maryland University worsens the dorm room shortage. A scramble is on to house two dozen displaced boys from the school's athletic program. When Lance, a dedicated soccer player, goes to room with Bang, a certified geek, neither is aware of the other's propensities or what might be coming. It sets up an age old battle and answers the question, can a jock and a geek inhabit the same room and live to tell the tale?

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"Bonner"
by Rick Beck
6 chapters & an Epilogue (26,502 words)
Completed 2019
High School
Football
Drama
He was a she

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   Everything isn't what it seems at Grant High School. On the road to football glory, Bonner isn't the all-American boy he appears to be. An anonymous note in Coach Winger's Grant High School mailbox tells him the truth about the newly discovered star quarterback, Bonner. The coach needs to decide what to do. Would he forfeit a perfect record, a dream season and his first shot at the league championship, on the basis of an unsigned note? Who would do that? Dropping this bomb could, almost certainly would, cost him his job. It was Coach Winger's football team after all.

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"The Farm Hand"
by Rick Beck
19 chapters & an Epilogue (81,123 words)
Completed 1 November 2005
Young Adult
Drama

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   This story is about a man’s man living in a man’s world and the people he touches. This is a story about how he loves. I do have a request before you start reading. Please be sure to read the first two pages if you want to understand the foundation on which "The Farm Hand" was built.


"Silent Fields"
by Rick Beck
The Companion to "The Farm Hand"
Formally "The Redemption"
7 chapters (33,161 words)
Drama

Rated for Teen and Up Audiences

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   In the novel, The Farm Hand, Robert's desire to leave the family farm falls prey to hard times. After his father is crippled in a farm accident, Robert, the eldest son, is expected to run the farm. In the novella, Silent Fields, the difficulty communicating between father and son is never more apparent. It certainly isn't anything new. And so Robert and Robert Jr. embark on a journey of understanding, after taking a twenty-five year time out. It could be the last thing Robert ever does.

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"A Mann's World"
by Rick Beck
   Formally known as Antiques and Homicide/Homocide
17 chapters (92,140 words)
RATED
   You can order your own copy of this book on Amazon.com

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   "Gay men aren't going to tell cops anything, and the ones assigned to this case are going to be like bulls in a china shop in queer bars. That's why they're scared of us. They've been harassed, beaten up, and intimidated as a regular course of business. They don't trust us, and you can't blame them. Mann will be just another pretty face. They'll love him, and just maybe we'll get lucky and he'll find something out that will lead us to the killer."

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"In Skater's Time"
by Rick Beck
18 chapters (78,534 words)
RATED

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    Acceptance was a tricky substance. You needed to be original enough to be interesting and not so original that people looked on you as being different. Different could be a deal killer. I was different but it wasn't something I was going to spread around. All the guys I ran with back at home were different. It was the kind of different like one of us played classical piano and one of us was taking ballet lessons. Not everyone knew these little details about their lives and those of us in the know would never tell tales. As long as you stayed true blue to your buds you were okay. As long as your wheels turned together you were kewl.

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"Keith's Pictures"
by Rick Beck
   Originally posted on Nifty 9 October 2002
4 chapters (14,668 words)
RATED

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    "Well," he said, "I met this one dude a couple years ago and we got a case of beer. I'm happy as a clam with a six pack understand, but he got me this here case and he says he wants to take my picture, you know what I'm saying. Really take my picture! He says we can go to his place and hang out. He'll give me twenty bucks if he can take these certain pictures he likes. Hell, what was I doing? Not a damn thing. I said yes."

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"Rising Affairs"
by Rick Beck
Originally posted on Nifty 12 August 1999
5 chapters (18,466 words)
RATED

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   "I can't read any better than you can," Billy said. "Hey, Craig, you read it to us. Then I can concentrate on the action. You're on the honor roll, don't cop out on us. We need your reading skills to get the maximum benefit from this rare erotic literature that has only recently come into my possession."

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"Discovering Neighbors"
by Rick Beck
   Originally posted on Nifty 19 April 1998
7 chapters (28,528 words)
RATED

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   When I was sixteen, I was dealing with my sexuality in a big way. I'd been in love with Kent, and had crushes on half a dozen air force guys that had come to my neighborhood a couple years earlier. They were all involved with one another in some sexual undercurrent that had them relating to one another with their dicks in their hands hoping for a way to get them serviced while doing as little as necessary in return.

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"Discovering Love"
by Rick Beck
   Formally Discovering Gregory
60 chapters (273,005 words)
RATED

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   I was walking alone up the gravel section of Schultz Road that led into my subdivision and to my house. That's when I first saw him coming toward me from the opposite direction on Schultz. He was a new boy and he was walking with a townie I knew, Alfred. It wasn't Alfred who got my attention.
   This is the story of my first love. I never loved anyone until I discovered Gregory. I love him still.
   Rick Beck

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Stories with multiple chapters
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Ya gotta love Joe!
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Novels with sequels and more
Short Stories
Stories in one chapter
Poetry
Rick writes poetry? You betcha!
Christmas Stories
It's a magical time of the year!

Joe Buck
   Trucker Extraordinare'
   Ten complete individual works
   Featuring Joe Buck
   73,827 total words in the series


"An Oyster Man" 
A Joe Buck Tale
by Rick Beck

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Joe Buck makes a run from California and Florida, back to familiar stomping grounds when Joe was a youngster. Along the road near where Joe spent summers at his grandparent's home, Joe comes across an roadside oyster stand and get's more than lunch. Enjoy!


"A Run To Misery" 
   Complete in one chapter
   13,802 words
   Added 7 March 2024

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      My eyes fell on the only other person in the entire place. In the last booth along the wall with the windows, a lonely figure sat looking out the window. The light coming in the window plainly lit up a young distraught face. His face was turned toward the window. His cheeks shined from the wetness.

"A Run from Baltimore" 
   Complete in one chapter
   4,743 words
   Added 2 October 2023

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      The first time I noticed Mark, he stepped out in front of my car. There are many ways to get someone's attention. This is how Mark got mine. It began years of him coming and going from my truck. Even in those early days, Mark proved his value to me. Mark wasn't what I'd call handsome, but he exuded sexuality.

"A Run to Aurora"
   Complete in one chapter
   14,134 words
   Added 31 January 2023

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      An hour after I drove onto the super slab, my windshield wipers weren't keeping up with the rain. I strained to see ahead. I was on the verge of pulling off the highway. I'd lose way more time if I had an accident. The traffic was almost nonexistent but it only took one car to do something stupid that caused accidents.
      It was then I saw a lone figure walking along the side of the road. He was walking. Before long he'd be doing the backstroke. I was looking for a reason to pull over. This seemed like it.

"Breaking New Snow"
   Complete in one chapter
   2,949 words

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      The streets continued to be wet and it looked like three to four inches of fresh snow had fallen. When I turned onto the ramp that led down onto Route 43 that I stopped. The snow was crunching under my wheels. It hadn't been plowed. Chemicals hadn't been put out on 43. There was snow for as far as I could see and I could see a long way. The sky had become crystal clear and a full moon shined overhead. A million stars were spread out toward the south as I pondered my situation.

"Six Days on the Road"
   How I became a trucker
   Complete in one chapter
   2,956 words

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      I rarely looked at people. They didn't interest me for one thing. I was always in trouble when I got too close to people. I was either doing something I shouldn't be doing, or I wasn't doing something I should be doing. One thing was for sure, anything I did needed to be criticized. After a while I didn't do anything. It was all very confusing to me. Did I mention I was ten.

"Buffalo Creek"
   Complete in one chapter
   3,790 words

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      "At forty miles per hour it'll be eight tomorrow morning if we keep moving at this rate. I don't think we'll keep moving at forty if the snow keeps coming down like this. We've got some big hills ahead of us."

"Amarillo by the Afternoon"
   Complete with 4 chapters
   12,420 words

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      I'll be keeping my eyes open for the next hitchhiker, somewhere down the road, and once he gets in, his story won't be much different from the story of the boy who has just left me. The road is weird that way, and how many reasons can there be for a young guy to hit the road.

"Darnell Rice"
   Complete in one chapter
   3,145 words

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      As a truck driver you’re always moving. You’re always meeting new people. A few you remember, but most are gone from your mind as quick as you leave them in your rearview mirror. Darnell was one of the guys I remember vividly. He was more impressive than most.

"Endless Black Ribbon"
   Complete in one chapter
   17,829 words

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      Joe Buck doesn't have a lot of creature comforts but he'd trade comfort for a good lumper. A good lumper handles the freight, cleans the truck, and has it ready to roll when it's time. For a cross country trucker, that's as good as gold. The best lumper is an indispensable friend on the long haul. Troy is about to become Joe Buck's best lumper.

"Flagstaff"
   Complete in one chapter
   1,054 words

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      It was mile marker 212 where the first signs of the snow started to show up. By marker 218 there was six inches of snow on the ground and it was coming down hard. I did my usual, cutting my speed, and taking my time. There were a few cars and a few trucks traveling along with me. From time to time, one of the big boys would come sailing past, slowing down neither for hell nor high snow.

"That Iowa Boy"
   Complete in one chapter
   13,178 words

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      The road is a hard lonely place filled with opportunity and adventure. Joe Buck rarely needs to look far for a friend and those friends often find themselves admiring the man who takes them on. Giving them a little taste of hard work along with a good dose of TLC, they remember him long after they've gone back to sort out their own lives. Even a few of them thing they might become truckers.

"The Lumper"
   Originally posted on Nifty 28 September 2002
   Complete in one chapter
   4,419 words

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      He was a polite boy, a college sophomore, working on Saturdays to help buy his books and supplies. That wasn't so much a surprise as his appearance. His eyes were deep blue and they played well against his shinny black hair that had been cut short and with precise styling. And he was my lumper for the whole day.

"I-Beams and Infinity"
   Complete in one chapter
   901 words

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      A fraction of an inch made all the difference to me. So, when someone tells you, an inch here, or there, doesn't matter, I'm hear to say, a half inch was enough to save my life, and if it wasn't the difference between life and death, it was the difference in me getting a frontal lobotomy.

"Bridges of Mendocino County"
   Complete in one chapter
   1,917 words

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      I don't know if I've told you how handy West Coast mirrors can be. They are great for passing and they make lane changes a breeze. They're instrumental in watching your backdoor so smoky don't sneak up on you.

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Stories with multiple chapters
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Ya gotta love Joe!
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Novels with sequels and more
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Stories in one chapter
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Rick writes poetry? You betcha!
Christmas Stories
It's a magical time of the year!

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Note: It is suggested the reader start with book one in order to immerse oneself in the entire experience.

"Indian Chronicles"
A FIVE BOOK Series
An Introductory word from Rick Beck
     I wrote these stories thirty years ago, when I had the idea I could be a writer, but I'd written nothing but autobiographic tales like Gay Boy Running, which wasn't about being gay, but it was about running.
     The Indian Chronicles was my first fiction. I was learning my craft and I had no idea I'd spend the next 30 years writing a mixture of gay fiction mingled with the times of my life.
     I went in search of gay literature on the Internet in 1997. In January and February I came up empty.
     There were no gay love stories. I began writing stories about gay people's lives. There was no LGBTQO+, only fags and queers, and my life was spent knowing I was hated.
     Indian Chronicles came before I went in search of gay literature. The two people I would love most in my life were part American Indian, and thus, I wanted to write something to honor who they were as people.
     I hope you enjoy the Indian Chronicles.
Rick Beck


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The Gulf Series
   It took me from 2014 to mid 2018 to complete the first three novels. I didn't write anything else for those four years.
   Rick Beck

"The Gulf Between Us"
   Part One of the story of Clay and Ivan
   Complete with 32 chapters
   158,043 words
   
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      Clay Olson and his family are leaving Tulsa. At fourteen it’s the worst thing to happen to him. Life in Tulsa is good. His friends live on his block. They don’t do anything that exciting, but they’re kids. Their job is to have fun together. The family is uprooted and moves over a thousand miles. They’ll live near a tiny town in a house on the Gulf of Mexico. The closest house is nearly a mile away. There’s only one. There are no kids except for the ones living at his house. While testing the boundaries of his new world, he sees Ivan Aleksa. Clay decides this handsome, graceful, athletic boy is going to be his friend. Too scared of rejection, he hesitates. Ivan disappears. Clay’s first opportunity to make a new friend, and he doesn’t talk to him, but he doesn’t forget him. He has no idea how he’ll find this regal boy again. The distance between them proves not to be so great, but the question remains, why would a popular talented boy like Ivan want to be friends with the very ordinary Clay?

"The Gulf of Love"
   Part Two of the story of Clay, Ivan and Dylan
   Complete with 36 chapters
   184,532 words
   
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      The Gulf of Love begins a decade after The Gulf Between Us ends. Clay is a marine biologist working at the Sanibel Island Conservancy. His job is to preserve the Gulf of Mexico. He takes it seriously. Boris has been lost. Ivan has set out to find him. That means Ivan has left the beach and Clay knows Ivan intends to find Boris, no matter how long it takes. Clay intends to wait. Clay's son Dylan, his wife Sunshine, and his sister Lucy figure prominently into what Clay needs to do to finish growing up. These are turbulent times. The beach has not escaped the sting. Ivan promises to return. Clay believes he will but the wait seems endless.

"The Gulf and The Cove"
   Part Three of the story of Clay, Ivan and Dylan
   Complete with 32 chapters
   159,121 words
   
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      The Gulf & the Cove is a story about Ivan being home to stay. He has big plans for the cove but the old Bait Shop and a dozen slips in the marina hardly amount to the empire Ivan envisions. Clay lets Ivan back into his life faster than he thought was possible. Ivan is saying the right things. He's making the right moves. This piece of Clay's life comes together but his career is coming apart. Recapturing his passion for the sea is impossible. On the rise as an expert on the Gulf of Mexico and things in the sea, Clay struggles to regain his momentum.

"The Gulf and the Horizon"
   Part Four of the story of Clay, Ivan and Dylan
   Completed 10 September 2022 with 33 Chapters
   143,534 words
   
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      Look as far as your vision takes you and you'll see the horizon. The Horizon is also a state of the art research ship. Clay's former professor, Bill Payne wants Clay to join him in the Pacific for a summer of reseaarch. Clay's boss, Senator Harry McCallister isn't too keen on Clay going, and neither is Clay. Clay and Ivan's son Dylan is becoming quite the photographer. Is he headed for the Pacific too?

"The Gulf and the Spy"
   Part Five of the story of Clay, Ivan and Dylan
   Complete with 32 Chapters (143,887 words)
   
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      Clay and Dylan are back from the summer's research trip in the Pacific. Almost as soon as they returned, Clay was reminded of why it wasn't a good idea to spend a lot of time away from the Conservancy. Ivan remains at the cove to take care of business. He has promised Clay and Dylan, he isn't going anywhere, and that means giving the Cove Campground his full time and attention.
      But there's trouble afoot. A murder brings Angus McCoy into the picture to find the killer!

"The Gulf and the Gift" 
   Part Six of the story of Clay, Ivan and Dylan
   29 Chapters (114,768 words) Complete
   Completed 21 June 2024

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    The story opens with Dylan in the South Pacific Ocean on board the research vessel Horizon. His father Clay stayed home this year and didn't accompany his son. Dylan is once again teamed up with Logan, the expedition's filmographer. A mystery lies on the ocean floor beneath the Horizon, a mystery and something. Something that might be a ... monster? And Dylan has it on film!
    Half the world away, Ivan is under contract with the Company in Vietnam. Ivan is the bate to hopefully, for the Company, entice a Cambodian General out so he can be captured/killed. Ivan remembers him as a friend, humble, intelligent and engaging; not someone that needs to be captured/murdered. Ivan feels like the Company is going to kill his friend and kill himself too.
    Clay is at the conservancy slowly driving himself crazy with worry about his men.


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Angus McCoy Mysteries
   

"Benz"
   Book One of the Angus McCoy Mysteries
   Complete with 20 chapters
   63,280 words
   You can order your own copy of this book from Amazon.com

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   Take one prominent neurosurgeon, a lovely new acquaintance, a street kid and his girlfriend, and you get the ingredients for a criminal case that defies logic. The unexpected meets the unexplained in a maze of dead end leads, as Angus McCoy sorts through the clues.

"Corey Wade is Missing"
   Book Two of the Angus McCoy Mysteries
   Complete with 24 chapters
   106,838 words

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   Cory Wade has gone missing. Angus is asked to find him. Cory's father is a hood from New Jersey. He's financed by the mob, and no matter which way Angus turns, Tony Wade is in the way, which does complicate the case. Each time Angus gets close, Cory slips away, which leaves Angus with one question. What makes Cory run? The answer surprises even Angus McCoy.

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The Taz and Kodak Series
   Completed 6 January 2010

"Taz and Kodak"
   Book One of the Taz and Kodak Series
   Complete with 18 chapters
   98,213 words
   You can order your own copy of this book from Amazon.com
   
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     Paul Anderson, photojournalist, wants to cover a war. First he must do battle with Taz, an irregular soldier. War seems a simple affair to Paul, nicknamed Kodak by 1st squad, when compared to the verbal jousting Taz foists upon him. Always irreverent, sometimes poignant, war has never gone so far out of bounds.

"Montana Sky"
   Book Two of the Taz and Kodak Series
   Complete with 15 chapters
   57,546 words
   You can order your own copy of this book from Amazon.com
   
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    Taz and Kodak have settled into life on the mesa above Gen. Walker's Montana ranch. Taz rides fence to help to keep the cattle contained, while Kodak goes about making the line shack their home. When Kodak gets an offer from Nature magazine, he takes it. While heading for an island to photograph the animals, Kodak's plane goes missing over the Pacific. Once hearing the news, Taz realizes Kodak may never return. Confronted by rustlers, helped by Indians, a Shaman threatens Taz's stability by giving him a message from the lost Kodak.

"Metal Peace"
   Book Three of the Taz and Kodak Series
   Complete with 15 chapters
   63,622 words
   
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     Taz is back to work on the mesa. He’s accustomed to a Spartan life, leaving the jungles of Vietnam before settling in Montana. He mends fences, herds cows, chases rustlers, and lives in a cabin with the beloved Kodak, his trusted companion. They like a life where they depend on themselves and each other. Little does Taz know that Sam Jones, head of the White Brotherhood, cultivates a grudge. Taz helped bring down the WB's foothold in rural Montana. Jones calculates the best way to get to Gen. Walker is through the B.A.R. Wielding cowboy. Out of reach, Sam Jones is determined to strike back. After spending years stockpiling weapons and manpower, it's destroyed in a couple of days by Gen. Walker, who knows a thing or two about tactics and how to flush an enemy out into the open. Forced back into action when his ranch and Taz are threatened, Gen. Walker doesn't plan to let Jones win. What Sam Jones has set into motion can't be stopped.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Outside the Foul Lines Series
   Complete series with six books
   278,549 total words in the series
   This series of books may be set substantially on a baseball diamond, but have no doubt, the story is about love, and as I've tried to demonstrate in over two dozen novels, it isn't the setting that matters, it's the love my LGBTQ characters share that is important.
   Thanks, Rick

"Outside the Foul Lines"
   Book One of Outside the Foul Lines
   Complete with 13 chapters
   42,270 words
   
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  Before I knew it my senior year was fading fast with no way apparent for me to afford my plan. At eighteen I needed to use the awkward talent I’d mysteriously discovered in the infield of the high school baseball team to reach my goal. Baseball was never a central piece in the plans for my future. The pastime I took up to pass time at fifteen would now surprise me by opening doors I hadn’t considered.

"Starting Shortstop"
   Book Two of Outside the Foul Lines
   Complete with 8 chapters
   22,737 words
   
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  At the end of my first year at State I brought Andy home with me. My mother fed him, thinking he needed to add some weight. My father played catch with him in the backyard, wanting to keep him in shape, and I took him with me when I caught up on my lawn mowing. That took all the first week and into the second, but the weather was perfect and Andy followed me everywhere.

"Captain John"
   Book Three of Outside the Foul Lines
   Complete with 10 chapters
   35,885 words
   
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  Andy spent two weeks at my house the summer between my sophomore and junior years. He seemed totally comfortable and we settled in there almost as easily as we did at school. My parents had never crowded me as long as I didn't require attention by acting like a fool.

"The Senior Season"
   Book Four of Outside the Foul Lines
   Complete with 9 chapters
   27,830 words
   
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  I was captain last season. I was Coach Bell's captain. Coach Bell is gone. The heart of the team is gone. I don't know if Coach Martin will be back. Jeff Henry is probably going to be starting shortstop no matter who the coach is. I got the scholarship from Coach Bell. I don't know they want to honor the final year. He arranged for me to have the final year on it on his way out the door. If they don't want to honor it I won't fight them.

"A Minor Success"
   Book Five of Outside the Foul Lines
   Complete with 19 chapters
   59,405 words
   
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  John Dooley graduates college and settles into a temporary job as supervisor for Bartlett Roofing. Mr. Bartlett has given him a pay boost, fitting of a college graduate, his own car, but little else has changed. John is left to his roofing, while lamenting his unanswered applications for work he is qualified to do. Nothing seems to run smoothly after John’s baseball career ends. Baseball was in his blood and he has had little success in getting it out.

"A Major Success"
   Book Six of Outside the Foul Lines
   Complete with 26 chapters
   90,422 words
   
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  Having left their small farm in south central Indiana, where Do and Andy have called home for several decades, they get ready for an induction ceremony in a hotel room near Cincinnati.

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Billy Joe's Journal
   Billy Joe's Adventures

"Billy Joe's Journey"
   Book One of Billy Joe's Journal
   A complete story with 23 chapters
   125,931 words
   
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   After his best friend commits suicide, Billie Joe decides he must leave home to find out what it means to be gay. He wants to find people who are like him and accept him as he is. He never imagines the hardship and emotions he'll face on his journey to find a place where he's welcome.

"The Return Home"
   Book Two of Billy Joe's Journal
   A complete story with 16 chapters
   67,267 words
   
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   Yes, Billie Joe has come home, and getting off the street turns out to be easier than getting the street off him. He has to learn to live back at home once more, but that’s the least of his troubles once his adversary finds out he is testing for AIDS and he spreads it around school.

"The Center"
   Book Three of Billy Joe's Journal
   A complete story with 29 chapters
   126,427 words
   
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   There is still something Billie Joe needs to do. It doesn’t become clear to him until he is back in Carl’s arms, but their happily-ever-after must be put on hold. There is unfinished business. The one thing he’s vowed never to do, return to San Francisco, is the only thing that will quiet the upheaval that lives inside him. The happiness Carl’s return brings only makes the unfinished business more disturbing.

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Quick Move Menu

Novels
Stories with multiple chapters
Joe Buck, Trucker Extraordaire
Ya gotta love Joe!
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Novels with sequels and more
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Poetry
Rick writes poetry? You betcha!
Christmas Stories
It's a magical time of the year!

Short Stories
Stories complete in one chapter.

"70 Plus 50" 
   A complete story in one chapter
   22,320 words

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   Love is a sticky commodity.
   Songs are sung about love. Poetry and novels are written to express love. While love is illusive and hard to define, love is never the same twice, because each time the lovers are new to each other, as love rises in an uncertain world.
   Brandon loved as a young man. Love and lust were in the air and all around him and his lover Casey. They loved each other, they loved their friends, they loved life and the lust love created. Some love is not forever, but true love always is.
   Brandon and Casey lost at love. Brandon was young, successful, and smart enough to make a good living. He didn't forget Casey. He didn't forget love. He was sure love would find him again, but at his age, time was running out.

"Eric and Eugene Get Married"
   A complete story in one chapter
   2,001 words

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   It was raining in Seattle. No newsflash there, but it was also raining in Portland. That meant something to Eric and Eugene, although, in spite of the rain, the sun is shining brightly on them. You see, Eric and Eugene are going to get married.

"Palisades Park 'I Got You Babe'"
A complete story in one chapter
13,951 words
Completed 5 March 2022

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   You start with a layer of hot fudge. On top of the fudge went a layer of vanilla ice cream. On top of the vanilla ice cream you added a level of chocolate ice cream. One more layer of vanilla goes on top of that and a rich level of hot fudge followed. Then you liberally applied the whipped cream and an obligatory cherry on top and you had a Mighty Mo sundae.
   This isn't a story about the Might Mo. It isn't even a story about high school. This story is about love. This story is about David. If there is great love, David was mine.
   We both liked Mighty Mo food, David and me. It was on the way home from anywhere we went, because it was a habit. David was a habit to. Many a night I sat admiring him as he dug into a Might Mo sundae.

"Pat Batt"
   A complete story in one chapter
   5,371 words
Completed 1 April 2016

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   This story is about the author's relationship with David and then Pat. It sets the stage for Palisades Park.

"Ode to Robbie & Bill"
   A complete story in one chapter
   1,320 words
Completed 27 February 2022

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   A Writer's letter to two friends too soon gone from us ...

"The Levee"
   A complete story in one chapter
   6,482 words

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   I caught sight of my father coming toward me. He came right to me and grabbed me in his strong arms. I could feel his weariness. He walked like an old man. He held me in a way my father rarely did. "Ian," he said with a gasp. "You came home." I did my best to ignore his tears. My father didn't cry. The river was beating him and it took its toll. My being home would steady him the way nothing else would.

"Brandy"
   A complete story in one chapter
   5,001 words

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   Brandy was a Labrador Retriever. Brandy was no longer a young dog. Brandy belonged to Doctor Jim. He started out working at the local children's hospital. He worked in the cancer wing and he was accustomed to the pale faces, bald heads, sunken eyes, and pained expressions of his patients. He wanted to work with children because he had none. He wasn't sure he would have children anymore.

"Mama's Kitchen"
   A complete story in one chapter
   8,618 words

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   "People fall on hard times for a lot of reasons. No one sets out wanting to beg to eat. There's a genuine need by folks who've lost everything. If they ever had anything. They are humiliated by a needing to seek out a free meal. I suppose there are always freeloaders, but it isn't my job to worry about them. I'm here to feed the hungry," Mama said matter-of-factly.

"A Teenager's Wisdom"
   A complete story in one chapter
   12,362 words

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   At a time when the world faces the coronavirus pandemic, there are children at risk who aren't considered. They are the throwaway and runaway children, who can no longer live at home. 40% of homeless children are LGBTQ. While Bart Jordan, a busy teen, might not have the covid-19 epidemic on his mind, he does have less fortunate kids there.

"A Summer Passing"
   A complete story in one chapter
   5,336 words

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   Tonight Rick took Joanne, his accountant, out for a long overdo dinner treat. It might have turned into a trick on Rick, after he saw his long ago lost love.

"Principal Miscalculation"
   A complete story in one chapter
   7,573 words

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   It's said, 'Revenge is sweet.' It's also said, 'Success is the best revenge.' Kenny Lutz knows the truth about revenge ...

"Careful Picking Friends"
   A complete story in one chapter
   5,532 words

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   It had to be a Wednesday, because it's my day off. I wouldn't have paid any attention to the ad otherwise.

"To Convert or Not to Convert"
   A complete story in one chapter
   865 words

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   This story was prompted by a petition to outlaw Gay Conversion "Therapy" in the UK in May 2021.

"Heron Island"
   A complete story in one chapter
   5,109 words

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   Nylin didn't hear the boat arrive, but when he stood and turned toward home, there was the boat and the boy in it was watching him.

"That's a Lot of Bull"
   A complete story in one chapter
   7,057 words

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   Lying in a combination of rich Wyoming soil adulterated by bullshit, which was obviously too close to his nose, Pardo Hemsley lie dying for all he knew. With spit and sweat from man and beast thrown in for good measure all he could do was to lie there and pray he wasn’t.

"Hitchhike"
   A complete story in two chapters
   14,843 words

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There are two stories that tell a tale of hitching up Route 101, going north out of San Francisco. One story tells it like it happened. The second story tells a tale that can only emerge out of a writer's imagination. You'll need to decide which version is true.

"Robbie's Desire"
   The much requested Adult Version of "To Robbie with Love" (6,819 words)

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This is the adult version of 'To Robby With Love.' It has been requested by many. Hope you enjoy a glimpse of my world.

"To Robbie with Love"
   A complete story in one chapter (14,981 words)

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Love is like a feast after a famine. You live in and through someone else and they live through you and for you. There is no longer a border between you, only things that connect you.

"Bombardiers"
   A complete story in one chapter (7,625 words)

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Danny, a colorful ice skater, was a rose in a bouquet. In the roller derby he'd bloom on his own. He'd be the orchid among the crab grass. Doing it differently made Danny dizzy with delight. He saw no reason for fright.

"Blue Jean Bulge"
   A complete story in one chapter originally posted on Nifty 22 June 2003 (3,104 words)

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Sometimes a roommate is not quite as straight as he claims to be.

"Bean Ball"
   A complete story in two chapters originally posted on Nifty 20 May 2003 (8,956 words)

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Pete knew better than to get into the car. He was aware of all the stories about what could happen when you did. He wasn't going anywhere but it was such a great spring day he didn't want to go to his house and so he disregarded all the precautionary tales he'd been taught.

"Sailing, Sailing"
   A complete story in one chapter (13,690 words)

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Avery was my summer friend, but he was hardly a friend back then. We'd only met a few weeks before. He was Granny's selection as friend of choice for me on my first summer vacation in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It was my first vacation anywhere and my first time away from home for more than a couple of days.

"Train Trip Trick"
   A complete story in two chapters originally posted on Nifty 7 October 2002 (7,457 words)

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Bobby got on in a small town in Illinois. He was carrying an oversized gym bag. He was dressed in what turned out to be college travel uniform. Bobby was a wrestler. I was dressed in my navy uniform because it got me a discount.

"Farm Fun"
   A complete story in one chapter originally posted on Nifty 17 February 2000 (1,516 words)

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I suppose I didn't appreciate it much. After a month they let me get hooked up to the Internet. My provider was Hooterville or something like that. You only got fifty hours a month and then it was ninety-five cents an hour added to the bill. I suppose it was three months or so before I met Biff in a chat room. He was from Lincoln and only a hundred miles away. He was my age and had some of the same interests. It took several more months before I told him the name of the town where I lived. I didn't think he'd recognize it or care.
"Do you know Mick & Mike Moran?" He shot back.

"Bike Boys"
   A complete story in one chapter originally posted on Nifty 21 January 2000 (4,938 words)

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We road our bikes for a long time before we stopped for sodas at the DGS store near the elementary school where I'd first met Larry. We sat on the curb sipping orange Tru-Aide he'd bought because I hadn't brought money for the ride. "Did I tell you about Bobby? Bobby likes to do stuff."

"A School Story"
   A complete story in one chapter originally posted on Nifty 17 January 2000 (1,310 words)

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I knew Larry Burton in elementary school. We were in third, fifth, and sixth grade together. When I went to a new school in ninth grade, it was the first time I'd seen Larry since I'd left the sixth grade. He had grown tall and thin and still smiled all the time.

"Civil War Battlefield"
   A complete story in one chapter (5,526 words)

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Brian and Gene visit a Civil War Battlefield, but only one leaves alive. The other fights a battle 150 years in the past.

"Explore"
   A complete story in one chapter originally posted on Nifty 7 August 1998 (3,201 words)

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When Gene accepted an invitation to a special camp in the Great Smokey Mountains, he knew there was much to be learned, and he loved to practice his survival skills.

"Birthday Bat"
   A complete story in one chapter (1,405 words)

Sometimes packaging around an item is almost impossible to open. Here is a humourous story about just such situation with not so good results. Enjoy.

"Always Called Him Johnny"
   A complete story in one chapter originally posted on Nifty 29 July 1999 (7,043 words)

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I lived down near Dupont Circle in my first year of college at Maryland University. It was the center of activity in the lower part of Northwest Washington D.C. I met a lot of people there, and one of those people was Johnny Davis. He preferred to be called John, but somehow he just wasn't a John to me, so I always called him Johnny.

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Joe Buck, Trucker Extraordaire
Ya gotta love Joe!
Series
Novels with sequels and more
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Poetry
Rick writes poetry? You betcha!
Christmas Stories
It's a magical time of the year!

Poetry

"David in My Arms"
   A complete poem (178 words)

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words about David

"Cherokee Rose"
   A complete poem (355 words)

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words about Native Americans

"Sioux Time"
   A complete poem (178 words)

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words about Native American Sioux

"Brain Bombs"
   A complete poem (221 words)

words about young gay youth

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Quick Move Menu

Novels
Stories with multiple chapters
Joe Buck, Trucker Extraordaire
Ya gotta love Joe!
Series
Novels with sequels and more
Short Stories
Stories in one chapter
Poetry
Rick writes poetry? You betcha!
Christmas Stories
It's a magical time of the year!

Christmas Stories

"A Christmas Meeting"
A Joe Buck, American Trucker Story
   Complete in One Chapter Now Available
   4,470 words

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     Everything that could go wrong for a trucker seemed to plague Joe Buck until he met "Rowdy Ralphson's my name, the US Navy is my game, Partner."
    Rick says "Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night with your favorite man."

"A New Home For Sampson" 
by Rick Beck
   Complete in One Chapter as of 15 December 2024
   3,648 words

The Christmas tree rivals the turkey in taking center stage. The Christmas tree is where the day starts. Gifts are exchanged. The tree's brilliant lights, tinsel, and perfectly placed Christmas balls stand as testimony to the beauty of the day. I think you will agree, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the Christmas tree.

"Dear Mum" 
   Complete in One Chapter as of 10 December 2024
   2,322 words

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"Dear Mum" is based on historical fact but it is told only the way Rick Beck can. A soldier's letter to his mum tells about the extraordinary events that took place on Christmas Day in 1914. Enjoy!

"A Christmas Demon"
   A complete Christmas story in one chapter (7,414 words)

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   Horatio Arnold stood at the door of the stable. He liked smelling horses, what they left behind mingling with smells of hay and oats. He listened as a commotion came from the rear.

"A Christmas Demon Part Two A Father's Joy"
   A complete Christmas story in one chapter (3,756 words)

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   Father Samuel parked his car off to one side and he walked toward the pasture fence. He'd seen Michael's blond hair flowing in the breeze on top of the black Arabian that adopted the boy before the Horatio Arnolds adopted him and young Kenny Kelly five years before. And the story continues.

"Comfort and Joy"
   A complete Christmas story in one chapter (5.558 words)

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As you enjoy your friends and families, don't forget to smile at people you pass. Say hello. It could brighten someone's day. It'll brighten yours.

"A Lasting Loving Christmas"
   A complete Christmas story in one chapter (3,441 words)

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Tom only left Afghanistan three months ago. Most of that time was spent in hospitals. He moved into the small residence once he was an outpatient. The community center van came once a week to take him to the library and then to the community center for a hot meal. Tom was a giver and never asked for anything in return.

"Rainbow Ranger Rescue"
   A complete Christmas story in one chapter (2,458 words)

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   Cold, homeless, hungry, Christmas, all is lost until the Rainbow Rangers arrive.

"A Pleasant Valley Christmas"
   A complete Christmas story in one chapter (6,123 words)

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A Christmas Card from Rick Beck from Mama's kitchen somewhere in North Charleston, South Carolina.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


A note from Rick

    Realize life isn't about stuff. It's about us, the people. If we want to be first class citizens, we need to work toward it. Resist the need for greed. Take seriously our challenges. Create the better gay nation we seek. Why be in a hurry to follow a belief in greed that's bankrupting a society too fond of war and too quick to hate.       Hatred corrupts the heart. See the Middle East. Is that what we aspire to become?
      When AIDS struck, our government and society turned its back on 'the gay.' LGBT people united, figured out what needed to be done, made a plan, setting up free services to feed, cloth, house, and get medical attention for those in need. We didn't hesitate to take action.
      Society ignored AIDS for 5 years, content to watch gay men die.
      We took a massive deadly problem and tamed it, keeping it in manageable terms to allow as many of us to stay alive as possible. No, everyone wasn't saved, but without the LGBT nation, double or triple the number would have died.
      How heroic was that?
      Celebrate our past, present, our future. Give one day a month to help homeless gay kids survive. Devote a day's pay a month to create a better place to be for you and the rest of the gay nation. Renounce greed and embrace brotherhood. This will serve us all.
      You don't know how? Follow the young. They've just survived the most dangerous period in any gay person's life, when gay youth are killing themselves in record numbers. They are cruely handled because they are able to love in a society too fond of hatred and war. We can make suicide less likely if we give the young a vision of a gay nation that cares and is in touch with the love we share. Let society fight over who gets the last crumbs, as we take care of each other.
      We aren't merely a people. We are a movement. The movement will succeed when we refuse to be ignored.
      Tarheel Writer, Awesome Dude, Gay Authors, Author's Haunt, all figure into the many ways there are to be gay. I am a single writer, writing to tell you of things that are and of things that can be.
      Before we can succeed we must have some idea of who we are and of where we want to go. I do my best to give you a view of all the ways to be gay I know about. I'm one source among endless sources, all speaking of the many ways to be gay. Seek other writers out, search the identities for one closest to your own in a world that's at your fingertips.
      If none of the stories speak for you, write your own. Tell us how you feel. Each story is a milestone, making it more difficult to see us as anything but the beautiful creative diverse people we are. We have nothing to be ashamed of. The shame is in those who can't love and hate us because we can. They deserve our pity not our hate.

Love & Peace
Rick Beck



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mail $20 (US Funds) to
Rick Beck, PO Box 892, Stanardsville, VA 22973

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