I began writing short stories as a teenager however soon concentrated on poetry, writing the odd story here and there. In 2004 I published a chapbook of early verse titled A James Schwartz Reader.

 This collection also contains some early stories i.e. Housewives Who Wear Diamonds, Cold and Murder in Blue.

This is a collection of gay fiction written by a gay youth.

Although the older stories (written 1995-2000) have been freshly polished these are hardly set-the-world-on-fire stories.

 No, these are the writings of a queer youth which I've collected here after a decade of mouldering in notebooks.

Of the new stories i.e. A Private Fire, The Return of Mary Garden, The Sign of Three, The Deal, The Kabbalah Factor and A Price Above Rubies they were written Feb-Mar 2005.

 

 

Murder in Blue was written in the Winter of 2001 in Sarasota, Florida inspired by my hag April Hoskins (author of True Spoken Lies) who spent her days lolling about the swimming pool. The Signal Pointe Apt. pool photograph is the very pool in the story. Miss Hoskins' was modeled after the main charecter, Diana, the shape shifting vampire. The reason I give away the story's murky ending is just that: to de-mystify readers. The story was orginially written for a Gothic fiction zine but was never sent.

 

Cold is probably the oldest story and perhaps the best, although I personally tend to favor The Return of Mary Garden. Cold seems to sum up young gay love like a perfect white rose unfurling upon the winter tundra. It was also my first taste of rejection from a guy that, in hindsight, wasn't worth the lavender tears!

 

Housewives was a romp to write, written alongside a short story titled The Gay Thanksgiving (published in The Scarlet Band and Other Poems along with a story titled The Visit--my all time favorite story of mine).

 

FORMIDABLE is the lone non-fiction piece here, a tribute to it´s subject, drag legend Chelsea Del Ray.

 

THE RETURN OF MARY GARDEN was included in the e-anthology SHORT STORY SITE @ http://clever-professor.tripod.com

 

 These works, as I´ve stated, these are not set-the-world-on fire stories. Only the writings of a gay youth. Not Hemingway-esque however--- I was always a Capote fan so perhaps it´s for the best.

 

This e-collection of short stories is dedicated to gay youth everywhere and to the GLBTQ community: every story, every poem, every word is for you.

 

Special thanks to April Hoskins for her divine madness and inspiration as well as her devoted friendship: my heart is yours. And to Monsieur Kreig Landrum: my heart too belongs to you.