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    Both Sides of the Fence
    Both Sides of the Fence
    Both Sides of the Fence
    Ebook76 pages1 hour

    Both Sides of the Fence

    By Chris Van Dyk

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    About this ebook

    Both Sides of the Fence is a concise look into the life of a bisexual man living in the United States. From the time he first began to feel the stirrings that something was "different" about him, to his moment of realization, to finally coming to terms with his new identity, this series of anecdotes and social observations are given with wit and humor. The intended audience may be other bisexual men, but it also invites everyone to see the other side of what life is like for someone whose experience may be entirely different from their own. From introspection, to coming out, even to sex, this book pulls very few punches.This book is the perfect afternoon or evening read for anyone interested in seeing the world through the eyes of someone else.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChris Van Dyk
    Release dateJan 3, 2016
    ISBN9781310305221
    Both Sides of the Fence
    Author

    Chris Van Dyk

    Salutations, dear readers! My name is Chris. I've been a writer for a number of years now. My first book, "Awaken: The Hollowstone Chronicles" was originally printed by Tate Publishing in 2009. I have since left Tate and am now publishing exclusively online. My favorite genres are horror, suspense, mystery, fantasy, and sci-fi. Please check back often as I'm getting pretty prolific as of late! The first three books of my Hollowstone Chronicles are now available and have the green light for Premium Catalog status! Book IV has been outlined and I just recently started on it. I'm hoping to release it sometime in 2016 (updated as I was originally planning for 2015... moving to a new state for a new job tends to throw a monkey wrench into writing projects)l. Book V is... well, it's in there somewhere. Stay tuned! I have also written a book about my experiences as an American teaching English in Korea. Trust me, the act of simply taking a shower is enough to write a book over there! Be sure to check out "A Life Less Ordinary!" I've taken up several smaller, but definitely significant writing projects. I took my first swing at including LGBT writing in my arsenal with "Both Sides of the Fence." In May 2016, I hope to release a series of mind-bending short stories in a collection entitled "An Unusual Anthology." Book IV of the Hollowstone Chronicles (should) be released in October. Lastly, my first children's book, another anthology called "The Heroes Chronicles" should be released on Black Friday 2016. Other than that, I'm an English teacher, a martial artist, a linguist, and a pretty darn good cook if I do say so myself. I'm originally from Dublin, VA, but I relocated to Carrboro, NC after living for three years in Baton Rouge. When I figure out what I want to be when I grow up, I'll let you know. Thank you for visiting my page and taking an interest in my books! If you'd like to know more, please feel free to connect with me via Facebook. Sadly, I'm hopelessly addicted to Facebook, but it's a good place to get updates for that reason. Happy reading!

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      Book preview

      Both Sides of the Fence - Chris Van Dyk

      Both Sides of the Fence

      Chris Van Dyk

      Copyright 2016 Chris Van Dyk

      Smashwords Edition

      Licensing Statement

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to

      Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      A Word from the Author

      As I sit at my tiny kitchen table (really a card table repurposed to pass as regular furniture), I find myself at a paradox: so many words run through my head that few find their way to my fingers.

      I suppose the place to start is by explaining whom this book is for. My primary target for this book is bisexual men. Why, you ask? Simply put, as a bisexual man myself, I’ve noticed a distinct lack of literature and media representation for people like us. There is an abundance of LGBT literature, but very little of it – particularly in mainstream media – addresses what life is like for bi men.

      Please don’t get me wrong. This book is not meant to be a gripe fest or otherwise dirge. Nor is this book meant to be exclusionary in nature or cast hate and shade on anyone. If anything, I hope that people other than my niche audience read this and find that they can understand who we are a little better. Perhaps we’ll find we have more common ground than we thought! Wouldn’t that turn the world on its head.

      Thus we come to an important question: who are you, dear reader? You who have taken the time to pick up this book, tracing through the words with your eyes as they scan across the page. Where are you now? Are you in your home on your couch or in your comfy bed? Are you commuting through public transit? Are you slacking off at work?

      English majors will recognize that I’m making an allusion to Walt Whitman. Fitting, no?

      Whether this style of writing has been done or not is a moot point. This is important. At least, it’s important to me. Every bit as crucial as to who you are is why are you here? Are you simply curious? Are you looking for a case study? Are you looking for guidance as you try on your shiny new identity that you’ve only recently come to terms with? Are you looking for comradery? Are you someone who hates me and everyone like me simply by virtue of who we are and are here to find holes in our armor to harm us?

      No matter who you are: welcome. I hope my love for you and everything that you are will pour from the words on these pages.

      As your read through this cesspool of what I’m sure will be atrocious spelling errors and grammatical blunders (in spite of Microsoft Word’s most valiant efforts to fix them on the fly), you will notice a trend. You will find very little, if any, research. This goes against everything within my very being, but there is method to the madness. This book is personal. I will do my best to be as transparent as possible so that we may make a connection on a human level. Why do you think those nostalgia memes on Facebook are so popular? You know you’re a 90’s kid when… Who remembers… We both know the hardest choice you made as a kid was which starter Pokémon was best… so on and so forth.

      The people who write memes and jokes on the internet seldom do any research. Their work, however, spreads like wildfire. Why is that? One is because it is short and accessible across a global community. But two is the fact it strikes a chord with its audience. People see those pictures and words and realize that they, too, feel or felt that way. They pass it along in an adrenaline rush, feeling that sense of community with people they may have thought they had nothing in common with five seconds ago.

      By exposing facets of my life and observations I’ve made – on social media, in my day-to-day life, of the world I can see in general – I hope that we’ll find things start making sense as we compare notes. Who knows? Maybe this little project I’ve been kicking around in my brain will go completely viral.

      Full disclosure: I’m hoping for this. Hey, it’s a book, it’s work, and a boy’s gotta eat. Transparency. Also, adulting is hard.

      I hope you enjoy your foray through these pages and the glimpse behind someone else’s eyes. Thank you for picking up this book, dear reader. To know someone is to love them. When our time together is up, I hope we know each other more. Love, Chris.

      Chapter 1: A Little Clarification

      If you’ve ever felt confused about your sexuality, please raise your hand. Okay, now put it back down. You’re probably reading this on a Kindle in public or something and likely look ridiculous.

      When I was a 16-year-old Junior in high school, I remember staring at the ceiling one night when a thought occurred to me: what if I’m gay? A menagerie of emotions raced through my heart and mind. Fear, animalistic panic, calm, confusion, curiosity,

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