The first two chapters of Shane’s Big Break got rave reviews from Bgklmangler, so I put a rush on re-posting the next two chapters to my new homoerotic wrestling fiction archive, Sidelineland Stories. I’m a sucker for praise (feel free to manipulate me, now), and truth be told, I’m really pleased to rediscover these stories that I wrote more than 10 years ago. And I’m really, really pleased/pleasured by how compelling I find them, even in hindsight (which often makes me cringe when looking back at old work).

While the first chapter was a fun thought-experiment between me and Bearhugs (Bearhugs writing chapter 1, and then seeing what I’d do with chapter 2), I grew seriously attached to the characters and the backstory of Shane and his old high school classmate, Neil. So, both of these next two chapters were all mine, and I set out to complicate Shane’s world in a way that might set up still more chapters to come. In chapter 3 (“Home Town Hero”), Shane returns to the ring before a roaring crowd wanting to see him do them proud and make up for the squash he suffered at Neil’s hands the week before. He’s lined up to wrestle a lightweight rookie, a former champ, who willingly puts Shane over and whips the home town crowd into a frenzy to see their old high school quarterback make good.

But this is pro wrestling, so get ready for a healthy second helping of melodrama, when heel-turned bodybuilder and former “friend” Neil interrupts Shane’s virginal victory celebration to, quite literally, wipe the mat with him all over again.

Honestly, I love Neil (holy fuck, am I a heel-fan after all!?). I’m infatuated with the new character, Mikey (nope, nope, I’m still a sucker for a babyface). And for some reason, I love/hate, love hating, Shane, and I do not grow tired of watching him (in literary fashion), with the taste of victory just brushing his palate, have glory slapped out of his mouth, humiliated all over again. If you read chapter 4 (“Scores to Settle”), you may sense my ambivalence about poor, poor Shane. Let me know what you think. I’ve sworn off writing new fiction for a while, while I enjoy doing some graphic adaptations of my homoerotic wrestling fiction, but damn it all, if I don’t seriously want another couple of chapters in Shane’s Big Break. Where do you think the story could take us next?