Hope everyone is having a great new year so far! Not only is it the first Wednesday of the month, but it's also the first one of 2015, which means it's time for this month's edition of Ask An Author. A big thank you goes out to Dark for continuing to provide us with this great feature. Remember, Dark can only provide the Ask An Author feature if members keep providing questions.

We return to Ask an Author following December’s Special Edition (#22), in which we had questions for authors Comicality, Nephylim, Rob Colton, and Sasha Distan.
In AtA #23, we hear from authors Mark Arbour, Thomas Nealy, and Thorn Wilde.

For their protection, the members who asked these questions shall remain nameless (unless they choose to reveal themselves). Please note that all author replies are copied as is, spelling errors and grammar eccentricities original to the individual.

Our first author has been featured on AtA twice before, and why not? Mark Arbour is one of the most prolific authors on GA, and remains one of the most popular. Although he may only have posted 20-something stories, those “few” stories have created some 5.5 million – yes, I said million – words, 20,000+ likes, and more than 200 followers. Ever since he joined GA in 2005, Mark has posted chapters more regularly than a heartbeat. There’s the CAP saga and the Bridgemont series, but Mark has also posted stand-alone stories, like 2011’s Sink the Bismarck. Find out what all the hubbub’s about and read Mark Arbour today.

To Mark Arbour: How do you decide what historical events you are going to include in your stories? There are so many smaller yet significant events, what criteria do you use to decide which will fit your stories?

American Author Thomas Nealy is next. A member since 2009, Thomas has posted two stories, the fanfic A Love Through Time featuring characters from Harry Potter and Twilight and the romantic original Lives and Trials of Jupiter. I love Cedric from Harry Potter and so, although I’ve never read Twilight, the fan-fic is quite humorous because Cedric takes the place of the vampire Edward. Just read around the typos to find the gem inside. Last time we heard from Thomas, he talked about Lives and Trials of Jupiter, which he refers to here again, but also hints at something new!

To Thomas Nealy: How did you come up with so many ideas to keep it fresh and exciting? And do you plan to write more within the world of your series in the future, or is there new work we can expect?

Our last author, Promising Author Thorn Wilde, has also been interviewed for AtA before. When asked about the speech habits of his characters, Thorn replied that his characters’ traits are a reflection of himself. From this, it’s quite fitting that Thorn takes his pen name from one of his favorite authors: Oscar Wilde. But he’s also said he struggles when writing in his favorite genres, though Teddy makes that hard to believe. The sweetness of the story perfectly balances the horror. And then there’s Sleeping with Ghosts, written for Halloween 2013. Let go of your New Year’s Resolutions with the help of this charming ghost story.

To Thorn Wilde: Have your stories been (or do your stories get) influenced by stories you've read?

That’s it for now! For more info on these authors, go check out their stories, post in their forums, and/or catch them in chat!

See you next time, with authors Q, Andy78, and Sasha Distan.

Want to ask your favorite author a question? Simply PM me (Dark).
Until next time!
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