Typically, this would have been posted last week, but better late than never. For those who don't already know, Dark provides us with the Ask An Author feature. Members send in their questions for authors and Dark goes about getting the answer and then compiles those into this wonderful feature. Don't forget, if you have a question for an author, but don't want to ask it, send it to Dark!
Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors!
In AtA #33, we had questions for nine different authors in an extra-special feature.
In AtA #34, we hear from authors ColumbusGuy, craftingmom, and pmdacey.
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.
First up is author ColumbusGuy, who first appeared in AtA #29 a few months back. I’m sure it’ll come as a shock to know that this author is from Columbus, Ohio. You probably will remember this guy as the author of Jay & Miles, but there’s also Pompeii Passions, which is way better than the movie. Of course, I like historical fiction and convoluted characters. Still, if you haven’t branched out to some of ColumbusGuy’s other stuff, you’re missing out. For shorter works, check out his prompts. Oh, and did you know this guy likes to garden? Perhaps he can talk some sense into my black thumb…
To ColumbusGuy: I think Jay and Miles is very evocative of its time and setting, and I have read in your forum that this is your first attempt at non-historical fiction, so what inspired you to begin writing the piece?
In all honesty? Regrets for lost chances, and a desire to go back and explore what might-have-been. Miles' thoughts and feelings are so bound up in how I was in high school back then, that it is like a second chance to go back and do things right this time; knowing what you want in your relationships isn't enough if you don't have the courage to try for it--I had the same invitation that Miles was presented with--the very same circumstances and joking references leading up to it--despite his fears, Miles took the risk and said yes to himself, and opened up to his Jay. I didn't, and what could have been more than a casual friendship lost any hope when graduation came around.
More recently, the historical fiction was going well, even with some male-male experiences thrown in since they were acceptable in the Ancient World--but it was academic in a sense...it wasn't real--and the only way I could begin to gather myself together was to tell my own experience in my past where it would have made a difference. My urge to write at
GA
came after reading AC Benus' Dignity--it showed me how much more there could be to gay fiction than simple eroticism or blatant sex. Without that story, I wouldn't have written Jay & Miles--his was the first hand extended in friendship to a newbie. Subsequent events morphed it into more than a series of prompts.
I had a health scare this past summer, and I realized that if I was going to be true to myself, then I had to stop hiding behind historical creations and situations--my real dreams needed to come out into the open, hence: Jay & Miles began as a series of prompt responses--and well--Mikey and Jay just won't shut up until they tell me I've gotten myself out there completely.
This had been eating at me since 2007: I've had some good relationships, but none the life-long kind I'd always wanted--in that year, my longest one (and it could have been the life-fulfilling one) came to an end when my love succumbed to overwhelming stresses he was under from family and other problems and took his own life...the allegedly homophobic ex-military man came to me, sharing his feelings, his sad poetry, and himself physically and spiritually with me for years until he couldn't handle things anymore--so besides helping to reweave my past I hope I'm helping to give him some peace of mind--that in a better world, we both could have finished our lives in a happier place together.
Next up, in her Ask an Author debut, is Promising Author craftingmom. You can find stories from this author in many a genre, including young adult. Look her up on GoodReads under pen name Taylor Ryan. Craftingmom likes stories filled with angst. She likes taking hurt, lost, and abused characters and giving them a new start in a safe place with people who love them. Tears of the Neko was her first story here on GA, but her latest is just as compelling. Recently completed is Lie of the Serpent, a story filled with monsters, mystery, and revenge and, of course, friendships and love. Find a new character to fall in love with and read craftingmom today!
To craftingmom: Is it difficult writing a character's struggle to get through abuse and hardships? Finding ways to resolve them?
Yes, I cry--a lot. I often try to put myself in the character's place, getting into their head, their thoughts and feelings of guilt and hopelessness and such, relaying as much of the emotional turmoil that I think someone would almost have to be feeling in such a situation--and I try to write it as realistically as possible. I figure the more emotion and struggle that I can convey that the character is going through, the more the reader will feel it as well. I go through a lot of tissues when I'm writing highly emotional scenes, often having to stop to dry my eyes long enough to read the screen. I know that I sometimes drag my readers through a bunch of emotional turmoil, but I hope that it's because I've managed to create for them a connection to my characters that makes them feel real. Then when the resolution finally comes, I hope readers feel some satisfaction in the ending, hope that things will be better; healing takes time and patience, and of course love. Yes, I'm an emotional sap.
We finish up today with author pmdacey, who comes to us from Portland, Oregon. 2014 brought us more chapters of Things are Different, which was sadly put on hold in early 2015, but was very much enjoyed by readers. It’s the story of Jay, who moves from Texas to Portland and made me wonder from early on how much was based around pmdacey’s own life. In addition, google his husband’s name to find some cool art.
To pmdacey: How did you overcome the writers blocks that almost overwhelmed you the first time you tried to tell your Portland story "Things Are Different?”
I have to overcome it every time I sit down to write (when I can find the time to write). I have to constantly remind myself to not care what other people think, that I am telling this story for myself. It is a story I would want to read and if other people like it, then that is a bonus. Not only that, but it is also a deeply personal tale. It is fiction, but the characters, in a sense are very real. I suppose I have always struggled with some form of writer's block and it initially took putting "Things Are Different" out there anonymously and getting some positive feedback to let me expose more and more of myself and grow some of the confidence to handle criticism. The fear of criticism is, after all, what keeps writers from putting pen to paper or an artist putting brush to canvas.
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 A.C. Benus, Aditus, and the return of Mark Arbor!
Want to ask your favorite author a question? Simply PM me (Dark).
Please note that all author replies are copied as is, spelling errors and grammar eccentricities original to the individual.
You probably will remember this guy as the author of Jay & Miles, but there’s also Pompeii Passions, which is way better than the movie. Of course, I like historical fiction and convoluted characters. Still, if you haven’t branched out to some of ColumbusGuy’s other stuff, you’re missing out. For shorter works, check out his prompts. Oh, and did you know this guy likes to garden? Perhaps he can talk some sense into my black thumb…
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