Gayauthors.org, as with many sites, thrives on its Hosted Authors. They are a valuable part of this board and unlike some sites, we have a formal contract with them, including such things as either exclusivity or preferential posting to GA (the details of which, vary by author). They are authors who are recognized by our site as special, and we here try to make sure that we show our appreciation to them, for the value they bring to the site.

We also have a cadre of wonderful Promising Authors. These are authors whose quality and completed stories have shown they have the potential for Hosted. Typically an invitation to become Promising also comes with additional recommendations and guidance on how to continue to excel here.

And we are additionally fortunate to have many other authors and poets, who start (or move) here, posting and creating a following. It is remarkable to watch in some cases, the changes and growth achieved when resources, such as good editors or beta readers, can help an author flourish. And then peer reviews and blog posts and so many other ways that authors start both sharpening their talent as writers as well as cultivating their readership.

As with most things, we try to provide the opportunities and resources to help this development occur. One of these resources that I'm happy to be personally involved in is this Wednesday blog - the Author Showcase. The Hosted Author's get their spotlight on Monday with the Featured Story. But each week on Wednesday, we highlight two authors - one GA Promising Author and one GA Author or GA Poet.

As this IS Wednesday, I am happy to present two great reviews. First, Comicfan has a review of Promising Author Dolores Esteban. Then we have Kiltie69's review of Kyle and Kodi, by Andy021278. I hope you enjoy these reviews and check out these authors!

Reviewer: Comicfan
Status: Various stories, many complete

Dolores is one of the Promising Authors here on GA. I first became aware of her writing from going through her prompt stories. I found her stories to capture my attention and make great use of the short story form. While she has a multi-chapter, multi-book story entitled Aglanthol, I have decided to focus on two of her short stories.

First up is A Man Like Ethan. Here Dolores sets the scene of two men meeting on a train. Gabriel is stiff, proper, and on his way to a job interview he hopes will alter his future. On the train he meets Ethan. Barely a half a dozen words are spoken between them, but when Ethan leaves the train he has the book Gabriel has been reading. This forces the two men to meet again. Will the rigid Gabriel be able to talk civilly with gregarious Ethan? What will this second encounter mean to both men? Will Gabriel be able to overcome his own prejudices to become friends? Only one way to know, read on.

Dolores states she deals with historical pieces but she does poetry, short stories, and character studies in her writing. In the second piece I have chosen to focus on, Dolores has written a piece entitled Black Magic Woman (Hear My Chant). Poetry is something you find either you like or you don’t. Here her poem tells the story of a man sent to end the evil of the Black Magic Woman. It contains magic, words of power, and even death but it all flows effortlessly and quickly through her poetry.

There is reason why this woman was chosen as Promising Author, and her work shows the craftsmanship that she uses in creating her work. If you haven’t taken the time to read any of her work before, take the chance and read something different from the usual fare. Give Dolores a read, and when you do feel free to leave her comment on her work.

Reviewer: Kiltie69
Status: Complete
Word Count: 22,786

When I come to read a story I'm usually a very blinkered reader I like my genres and I like my styles. Being on GA is helping to expand this in some ways. I recently read a story by Andy021278. Just a short one but through it I started to read some of his other works.

Andy has a number of stories on the site covering off some of the prompts to and single chapter story, all excellent reads. His main story, which is also his first work, is called Kyle and Kodi. Presently there are 10 chapters to this tale, and more on the way.

The story is about two boys, and yes they are boys, just into their teens. But before you stop and leave thinking this another coming of age stories, let me say this story is handled with a care that I found drew me to read more. Having dealt with youth groups in my past I would have tended to avoid the story because of the age of the main characters but from the first chapter I was drawn into their lives.

Not to give the story away, we see the boys, who are best friends to start with, work their way through coming out and realizing love. All of this is handled well, given the characters age. The story is a no sex which makes it easy to read. There is some kissing and suggested "fun" but nothing that would be deemed inappropriate in most eyes. We, ourselves, were all young once and experimented so I found the level to be quite natural.

For a first story, I found it, on the whole well written, particularly when you take into account there was no editor or beta. I found the characters were very well written and you quickly fall in love with the boys. Who from the start show a maturity beyond there years but with still have a child like innocence, which led me to reading more and want the next chapter.

Andy's writing is very enjoyable, if you read this or any of his stories I'm sure you will enjoy them greatly.