Hey M!
I was rereading Disenchanted again, and found that spent a good four hours in front of the computer reading the entire thing. I was hanging onto every word, even though I had read it in the past.
I think the whole issue with Sammie and Steve and dealing with the cancer hit harder than it did in the past for me. Whatever Sammie was talking about and feeling, I understood completely and could feel myself in his shoes. It made me a bit emotional.
You really captured the reality, the harshness, the ugliness of dealing with a terminal illness- whether as the terminal person, or the caregiver. And everyone scrambling to help out, as best as they could.
Steve's passing was truly beautiful. It will stay in my mind forever. It was written so simply, but so beautifully---he just passed silently and quietly. Again, in the past, when I read it, it didn't hit home as much, but it did this time around and I felt I had to write something about it.
Oh and another thing- Tyler's story was so, what's the word, tramatic, even to read! I was glad it wasn't too long an explanation, because I hate hearing stories like that. Gay guys being treated so unfairly by the law and then having to endure agony in prison. *shivers*. But again, it adds a real element of truth to your stories, that not many other stories or writers can do.