So - after a great interview of Andy021278, what better than to read his review of Author Ricky's Blind Sensations? We also are treated with a review by Dark of Promising Author Comicfan's Mirror Tells the Truth. We hope you enjoy these reviews and check out the stories - I know I will!

Review by Dark
Status: Complete
Word Count: 5,057

Comicfan is one of our Promising Authors here on GA and currently has 28 stories to his name. This particular short story caught my eye with its intriguing title; it’s not every day that the main character is an inanimate object. In reading the author’s description, I found that this was a retelling of the story of Snow White, which seems to be the thing this summer with two movies on the same subject. Of course, he calls his mirror “Mir” for short, bringing our GA Overseer to mind.

The greatest thing about this story and what kept me reading is the tongue-in-cheek narration. The mirror comes out as a solid main character with its own opinions and take on events. I love how he describes the queen and details her rise to Queen and fall through jealousy of her step-daughter’s beauty. I am familiar with different versions of this story and yet Comicfan manages to make the tale unique. The first paragraph with the dwarves made me laugh and they are a great supporting cast.

I think I smiled the whole time I read. At times satiric or sarcastic, the mirror’s narration drew me in and I couldn’t help but empathize with his situation. The witty rhymes were delightful with their double meanings; they make you think. I looked forward to every stage in the story.

Mirror Tells the Truth is a brilliant showcase of Comicfan’s skills as a writer. He kept my attention through the engaging characters and the way he alluded to details in the backstory of the supporting cast. I really loved how his exasperation with the Queen is shown through word choice. And the story doesn’t end with Snow White and the Queen, either. Comicfan rounds out the story by returning to the mirror.

I was completely captivated by the tale and those five thousand words just zipped by. It’s refreshing and the whimsical humor will lighten up your day.

Reviewer: andy021278
Status: Complete
Word Count: 39,102

I’d previously read some of Ricky’s stories on Screeve.org, but have only recently realized that our Ricky is that Ricky (hope that makes sense). I really loved his other works, especially Roll Call, so I curled up with a large glass of Merlot for what, from my expectations, promised to be a great read.

Blind Sensations is about Miles, who is a British boy who was left blind and orphaned at the age of five following a car wreck. In the care of his aunt and uncle, he ends up in America, where his uncle’s job has just taken him. Miles is blessed (or cursed depending on how you view it) with a kind of sixth sense when it comes to people; sometimes he would get flashes of what people were like, he would get flashes of their past or future.

With moving around every few years, Miles is fed up with making friends and then losing them a week later; after all, what kid truly wants to be friends with the blind boy who loves classical music and can’t read the same books, watch the same films and play the same computer games as everyone else? So Miles decides why bother even trying to make friends; disappoint others before they can disappoint you has become his life’s motto. That is, at least, until he meets Jamie, who has a truly remarkable effect on Miles. Jamie is gay and the school outcast, yet the two quickly become friends.

Jamie’s home life is awful since his parents found out he is gay; he is locked in the basement, he has to work to be able to afford school lunch, and worst of all he is not allowed any contact with his younger brother. Jamie falls deeply in love with Miles, and comes to find the love and affection he has been starved of; and Miles, likewise, comes to find the love and the touch of another that he wants.

Miles has an amazing wit, which only serves to endear him to both Jamie and the reader, and Miles even gets share his world of darkness with Jamie. The story builds up as a sweet, lovely story that had me reaching for the tissues, and then Ricky leads us down a dark path; which sadly shows us that there is indeed a dark cloud within Miles and Jamie’s silver lining.

The story does contain scenes of a sexual nature and they are written really well; there is however, one incestuous moment, which I know is not for everyone, yours truly included. There are a few technical issues, such as incorrectly punctuated speech tags and the occasional missing speech mark, which by no means detract from the story. There is name confusion every now and then between the two lead characters which led to me having to re-read paragraphs in places to work out what was meant to be happening in a particular scene; a surprise, considering that there was an editor working on this story

Overall, I found this a really enjoyable read which delivered on its promise and then some, and it managed to throw more than one curve-ball. I for one can’t wait to read the sequel “Blind Sensations A New Adventure”.