The year is almost over, and the time has flown by! Did you find the time to read Comicality's contemporary story featuring one young man's journey as he experiences his first year at college. If you did, make sure you share your thoughts on Comsie's story, but first, everyone can enjoy his answers to the questions I posed in his interview!

If you were an animal, what would you be?
- You know, I'm not sure why, but I have always had a thing for panthers. Ever since I was little, the idea of a huge jungle cat, with all black fur and bright cat eyes...both beautiful and dangerous...I LOVE it! Hehehe!

What do you like best in a story if you’re reading it?
- Character interaction. Definitely. That's my number one allure to a story. Not just in relation to advancing the plot, but just a few golden (sometimes random) moments where the main characters get to truly bond with one another on a human level. A little fun, a little romance, a little humor, some emotional support, some backstory...I think that truly adds something special to what you're reading. I think that's what makes readers truly care about what's going on. They get to be a part of the adventure first hand, you know? I always try to leave my characters some space to just have some fun outside of the main plot in everything that I write. It can be endearing.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
- There's hardly any time during the day when I'm not writing. Hehehe! I've learned to appreciate a heavy dose of isolation each and every day, and I realize that I overdo it on occasion and have to make an effort to reconnect with my friends and family to make up for it. But outside of that, I'm a huge hog for movies and TV shows these days. The stories have gotten so complex that I can really get involved in what's going on and start bingeing myself silly. Video games too. So I can get really absorbed in a good story, no matter what the medium. I've also been learning more about cooking, which is new for me. Well, for the last year or two, anyway. And I've been enjoying that as well. Cooking is an art in itself. I hope to keep getting better at it.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
- Foreshadowing. Hands down. I like for my stories to be built up to a climax and a logical solution as I'm writing them, so foreshadowing is a must. You don't want to get to the end and have something just 'happen' for no reason, you know? You have to leave little breadcrumbs along the way. Unfortunately, I think people have seen sooooooo many movies and TV shows and read so many stories online, that they've become too savvy for foreshadowing to really be effective. They're 'hip to the game' at this point. So every time I write something, most people are already trying to jump TEN steps ahead of me to figure out the rest of the entire story before it's even written. It's extremely hard to beat people to the punch anymore, because nobody just sits back and enjoys the ride. There's a huge race to be the first one to say, "I CALLED IT!!!" With hours of analysis and hints and clues and speculations and fan theories...foreshadowing is a really difficult magic trick to pull off these days. Either your plot twists and endings came out of nowhere and don't make sense, or the story is seen as cliché and predictable. It's nearly impossible to find a Goldilocks type of middle ground between the two extremes. But it's just a challenge. Challenge is what it's all about, after all. So it makes things a LOT harder, but it's worth it when you can surprise a few people every now and then.

Do you plot out your stories or just write as it comes to you?
- I have to plot everything out in advance before I start writing. First for the story as a whole, then chapter by chapter, so I know where I'm going and have an idea of how to get there. So the stories are already finished in my mind, with a major arc covering it all. But there are story arcs to each chapter as well. There are certain events that I want to tackle every chapter, even if it's just a set up or solution to the chapter coming up or the one that just passed. So I have a blueprint, but there is a LOT of room for spontaneous ideas if I feel like adding them at a moment's notice. So I keep a structure in mind, but it's not carved in stone if I think of something better along the way.

Is writing more of a flurry of inspiration or a daily wordcount you adhere to?
- You know, I really try to stick to the word count discipline, but it doesn't always work. I definitely write every single night. I doubt I'd be able to sleep
at all if I didn't. But I always write according to what I'm feeling at that particular moment, on that particular day. The reason I write SO many stories at once, is because they all have different themes, different moods, and different issues and emotions involved. I don't want to force myself to write something happy and cute when I'm having a really bad day. But I don't want to write something that's supposed to have some emotional weight and somber depth to it when I'm feeling silly and fun. Nor do I want to write something 'sexy' when I'm angry at the world and need to vent my frustrations. No matter what I'm feeling...I have a story that I can use to channel that emotion and it feels authentic and has a greater impact. I don't want to 'fake' it. Emotional involvement is what my stories are all about. It's the most important part of writing for me. So when people read something from me...I want it to feel real. Because it IS real. It's my therapy and my release, more often than not. Which is why I can't rush one story over the other, but I work on them all every single day. It's not just words for me, I want readers to feel it like I feel it. I hope that gets accomplished every now and then. Hehehe, when I'm being moody.

Did the characters or the plot of Between the Lines come to you first?
- The plot was the first thing that came to me with this story. The theme of it was something that I wanted to write about before, but never had an idea that I thought would really focus on the ideas I had in mind the way "Between The Lines" did. I wanted to create a story about someone who was finally getting the freedom of the college experience, embracing a new life for the first time, and has convinced himself that he's truly happy simply because he's experiencing something new and different. But he has nothing to compare this experience to. He hasn't really been exposed to what's out there, and just how amazing romance can be with someone who's more than just 'gay like me'. I wanted it to be a journey that displays the way time and experience expands our views on relationships altogether over time. I'm happy to say that I was proud of the way this one turned out.

You use a character who is a writer. Did you model Eli’s writing style/inspiration after your own?
- Definitely! I LOVE being able to write about writing! Hehehe! So the story was one of my early chances to really describe what it's like to have ideas in your head and developing the ability to translate those thoughts into words and what it feels like to be able to put them all down on paper. (Or on screen, in this case) I can remember my first semester of college when I took a creative writing class. Now, this was a film school, also full of actors, writers, etc...and I was SO nervous! I kept thinking, "These kids are going to be soooo much BETTER than me! They've been doing this all of their lives! This is what they want to do for a living! How can I possibly match up?" But I went in and did my own thing, and they embraced it. I made some really good friends in those classes. Even with teachers, who splattered my stories with red ink...but gave me good grades anyway because they liked what I wrote. So this story borrows heavily from my own college experience with creative writing in front of an audience. If it wasn't for those favorable reactions, there might not be a 'Comicality' today.

Do you have a favorite scene in Between the Lines?
- There's a moment in the computer lab where both Eli and Devon go to write and print out their work for the next class together that I thought was endearing. That scene was originally going to be much shorter, only be a random bumping into one another...but as I was writing it, these fictional characters just started having this really cool conversation all on their own. I refused to stand in the way of them getting to know each other better. Hehehe! So that scene ended up being one of my favorites in the whole series. There's something 'organic' and natural about it. I'm glad that it turned out as well as it did. It still makes me smile when I read over it again.

Can you share a little of your future projects with us?
- Well, writing wise, I think the biggest project that I've got in the works right now is a horror anthology called "Darkness Waits". It has four separate stories in it, and I was trying hard to get it done in time for Halloween, but I had two long months of weird life circumstances that took me away from the site, and I wasn't able to catch up to the momentum that I had going before. But, while gay themed, it's actual 'horror'. And it's a bit of a new challenge for me. So wish me luck, and I'll keep everybody informed as to when it's ready.

Outside of that, I've been spending a LOT of time on ebooks, there's a "Billy Chase" animated series of shorts in the works, an audio book for "Gone From Daylight" that already has the first three chapters recorded, Imagine Magazine...the fans of the site have really been coming out to lend their incredible talents to the site as a whole in 2017, and I want to lend as much support as I can so I can be a part of it. I think readers will be surprised with what's coming in 2017! I'm excited about it! I hope everyone else will be too!