I'm back! Did you miss me? A huge thank you to AJ, Cia, Steve, and Slytherin for helping cover me while I was gone. It was much appreciated. Speaking of being back, Ask An Author is returning to start the month off right! Ask An Author is one of our most popular blog features, and I want to give a huge THANK YOU to Dark for supplying us month after month. Now, lets see what Dark has for us this month!

Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors!

In AtA #38, we had questions for authors Andrew Q Gordon, Sammy Blue, and Valkyrie.

In AtA #39, we hear from authors Billy Martin, Dayne Mora, and the return of Mark Arbour.

Our first author today calls the Appalachian Mountains of the U.S. home. With two stories and two poetry collections, Billy Martin is more than the simply country boy we knew way back in 2011. He’s well-versed in current events and many of you have debated with him over politics, so perhaps some of that will shine through in the new story he’s working on now that Trials & Tribulations is completed. Can’t forget about The Field of Love, either. According to Billy, these two stories will eventually merge into one storyline. I have always wondered how close Andy Collins (and friends) is to the reality of Billy’s life … and now we’ve got an insight into Sammy. I confess that when I first saw the title, I flashed instantly to the Kevin Costner movie “Field of Dreams.” The fact that Billy’s story is also about baseball hooked me, even though I’m not generally a fan of teenage dramas. For now, I’ll wait on that update notification and continue rolling my eyes at the back-stabbing and politicking of small towns.

To Billy Martin: What has been your favourite character you have written?

Dayne Mora is today’s next author, though some of you may know him from the additional job he’s picked up: Chat Moderator. Dayne and I have a few things in common; we’re both American high school teachers, though I don’t have half the essays to read that he does, and we both have fur-babies. Of course, Dayne has a hubby to share the babies with. We both also enjoy Publix and Weird Al. I recently saw Weird Al on TV … I was visiting my mom and she was watching “Celebrity Name Game” and told me that Weird Al was a really good player – apparently he’s on the show a lot… The things you don’t know about your favorite celebrities, eh? But back to Dayne… Did you know that "Efrain and Cory" has a new name? It’s now called Wolf like Me and I hear there’s a sequel … looks pointedly at Dayne … If you haven’t yet read about these two college kids yet, the interactions between the friends are well worth it. There’s angst of course, but also humor, and the dialogue is so engaging you eat up the chapters before you realize it.

To Dayne Mora: What do you like to write the most and what made you take the leap into posting stories here on GA?

And now let’s welcome back Signature Author Mark Arbour. It’s been over 10 years since Mark ventured onto what is now called GA and he’s still one of our most popular authors. Could it be his writing style? The myriads of different characters? The dynamics of the forums? The weekly updates? CAP is now 16 books long, a family dynasty as long-lasting as any soap opera, and Bridgemont is on book 7. Each of these series has its own fanatic supporters, and that doesn’t include the other things Mark gets involved with on the site. And although this article is now coming out after Mark’s birthday, he won’t hold it against you for some belated tidings. After all, when you’re as old as he is, each year is a triumph, right? With Black Widow now carrying the CAP series into the current century, eventually Mark will have to write about Obama … dunno if that’s good for an old guy’s blood pressure or heart, so, c’mon, folks, for the sake of Mark’s heart, let’s not add onto those 24,000 likes, okay? We don’t want him to keel over early. Like that word play, Mark? Now let’s get to the next chapter in Granger’s legacy and nobody’ll get hurt!

To Mark Arbour: You are an accurate story-teller of historical events, which I've assumed from reading many of your stories. Your characters are also very believable, with or without their having sex. Question: If you could ask one of your historical people a question, what would you want to know and why?

Now, as a little bonus, how about a bit from yours truly? Like the last question I answered in this blog, I’ve received a variety of questions all wondering similar things…

To Dark: Is there a story behind how you chose "Dark" as a nom de plume?

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 Cole Mathews, MA Church, and Riley Jericho.

I’m always in the market for new questions! Simply PM me (Dark).

Until next time!
Dark