I have known Mac for about nine or 10 months at this point (early January, 2004), and he has rapidly become a very good friend and confidant. I first �met� him on-line as the result of reading one of his stories. I was so impressed, I made an effort to track him down, and I wrote him a �fan� letter, something I am NOT normally prone to doing, and I supposed that would likely be the end of it. Not so.
A week or so later, I received a response from Mac that was obviously not a �form letter� of any kind, which sort of surprised me. His letter was warm and personable, and made me laugh in a couple of spots, and he invited me to write back to him again, with a more thorough critique of his story. So, over the next few days, I wrote a rather lengthy letter to him, outlining what I did and didn�t like in his story, and in the process telling him a great deal about my own history and background.
Well, one thing led to another, and Mac and I became regular correspondents. Eventually, he enticed me into doing some editing work on his story, which is not yet completed, and I happily agreed. Thus, every so often, I get the latest installment from Mac, and I tinker with it for a few days (or slightly longer, depending on my schedule) and then send it back to him. Some of my suggestions he takes, some he doesn�t. That�s the joy of having a friend for an editor! As well, he has a couple of other friends editing for him too, so he�s getting advice from three sides, and has to pick and choose what advice to take. I�m sure that sometimes he just ignores us all and goes with what he thinks is right.
I need to explain here that Mac is NOT a �professional� writer. The only �training� he has ever received was through the public school system when he was a boy. Other than the rudiments, he is largely self-taught, but he is one of those fantastic people who is �a natural.� As a writer myself, I appreciate that the �effortless� style is often not achieved so �effortlessly,� and I constantly marvel at Mac�s ability. He works hard at it, but he loves doing it, so it is not an onerous task, and he loves getting �feedback� from his readers. I swear, there were a few times I thought I could hear him �purrrrring� through the �net when he responded to a compliment I�d given him, but they were all fairly and honestly earned.
It was largely Mac�s example, as well as his constant encouragement, that has led to me once again developing the �writing bug� myself. I have never actually stopped writing, but for the past number of years, all my writing has been �work� (ie: job-related.) Mac coaxed me back into writing for myself, once again. I had forgotten how much pleasure I derived from writing, and I am having a blast! Thank you so much, Mac! He has also encouraged me to pursue several other projects (more on them at a later time), and he has been a tremendous source of inspiration and encouragement. I am very grateful to him for all of this, as well as just being happy he is a friend of mine.
As far as personal details, Mac is a gay man in a long-term (21 years!!) committed relationship with his partner, Jae, who is a witty and well-informed man, as well. Over the years, Jae and Mac have run a number of their own businesses, as well as earning a living in the food services industry or by teaching dance classes. At the moment, they live in southern California, but they have recently sold their house in Palm Springs, CA and are looking to relocate to a quiet locale where Mac can concentrate on his writing full-time. As a result, Mac is �incommunicado� while they are in transit, and I admit that I miss our semi-regular BS sessions.
Mac has his own website, which is far and away cooler than this one, and which also has a link to his story and some of his other prose and poetry writing. I probably will post a link to that site eventually, but I want to get Mac�s �okay� first, so please be patient.
One word of caution, though. Mac is VERY open about the fact that he is gay, and his site is...um... shall we say �adult-oriented.� It will NOT appeal to everyone, just as his story won�t� although he already has a book deal, just based on the first 15 chapters. Therefore, I am warning any and all in advance. If depictions (visual and written) of gay men and what all they �get up to� will shock or offend your sensibilities, you�d better not go to his site. Not that it�s �porn� or anything� there�s LOTS and LOTS of politics, for instance. (Jae and Mac are very left-of-centre politically, and they loathe G.W. Bush and his unnecessary �war� in Iraq.) There�s also a brief rundown on Mac�s life, his relationship with Jae, some jokes, some songs� a whole lot of good stuff, and some really cool graphics and artwork, too. But there IS also some erotic photography of naked men. As I said, if you can�t handle the sight of the human body, better take a pass.... but it�s your loss.
I will come back at a later date and re-do this page, with up-to-date info. and (possibly) a link to Mac�s site. In the meantime, I will post this as it is, largely because I want to acknowledge my friendship with Mac, and the fact that I feel I owe him a debt of gratitude for all the encouragement and support he has given me in so many ways.
Oh, and the �mijo� at the top? It�s a Spanish word that Mac taught me. He told me it is a term that means much more than �amigo.� He said it�s the term you would use for a very close personal friend� �something you would call a lover, or your very best buddy, when you really MEAN it,� was how he phrased it. To say I was touched is an understatement. I feel much the same way about Mac. He�s a wonderful man, and Jae is very lucky.
ROCK ON Mac!!!! Hope to hear from ya soon, buddy!
