This isn't the first time we've celebrated the beginnings of GayAuthors.org (nor will it be the last). In December 2006, we had a great newsletter entry that we want to share again with you, in this Blast From the Past. We also have a bit of an update posted below the entry. Enjoy!

Dec. 2006

It was September 13, 2002 when the vision of one man began to become a reality. That late summer day would change the face of online gay fiction and substantially raise the bar for a quality fiction site.

Tired of having to dig through fiction super-sites for quality stories, the idea formed that a site was needed that didn’t have your run of the mill smut, a place where people could go and click on any story and find a quality piece of writing. With this vision, a years worth of planning and hard work the day arrived that GA was born.

With its first and then its only hosted author, Comicality, and about 75 members GA persevered through its first year, each year there after gaining members and more authors such as DomLuka and Bill W, soon to be joined by dkstories.

All these great authors had fans, of course, and they had plenty to say. This was the reasoning behind the birth of the forums, which came just under a year later in July of 2003. Fans got the chance to talk about their favorite stories, to have open discussions and be part of a community that was growing rapidly.

Everyone has their favorite authors, favorite stories and favorite features. There’s something for everyone at GA. I asked Myr, the man behind the dream, what his favorite feature is and his reply was:

“For a long time, it was the Story Archive. I programmed the original one. I also did extensive medications to the current one. At the moment, I’m working on the design specs for the brand new one. I don’t really have a favorite feature now. I think now that is the combination of everything, including the community.”

Getting a site such as GA up and running and molded into what it is today was no easy task, but through hard work and diligence it has been accomplished. For Myr, the rewards have been well worth the effort.

He says that, for him, the best reward has been, “The kind words of thanks from teens and others along the way that said that Gay Authors made a big difference in their lives for the better.”

This past year has seen immense growth for GA, with new authors joining, new features and facilities emerging and so much more still to come, even Myr never imagined the site would get so big.

“We’ve gone through a lot of servers now because we kept outgrowing them all," he told me. "We are now on our dedicated server, of course.”
From seventy-five members the first year to just passing the 3,000 member mark last month, and now having over 55,000 posts, 18 hosted authors, 8 shared hosted authors, and a place for up and coming authors to post their works, the numbers themselves speak for the immense popularity and quality of the site.

GA has indeed become a dream to be proud of. For all the lives it’s changed, all the entertainment it has provided and all the friendships the community provides. A man, his computer and his dream have changed the face of story sites for the better and forever!

Pretty cool, eh? And look at those statistics. From passing 3000 members in Dec 2006, to 13,097 this week. And instead of 55K posts, we have over 374K posts. We went from 18 Hosted to our current 31 Hosted Authors, and from 8 "shared hosted" to 28 Promising Authors - and we're still constantly recruiting and reviewing authors to build up these pools. And we have a lot to build from, with an overall total of 701 Authors who have currently written 2606 stories, comprised of 15,566 chapters (for a total of over 65 MILLION words). We're also VERY proud and happy that for these stories, there have been over 36 thousand reviews!

- Trebs