I hope you were able to take the chance to read the 5k short story, The Answer, that  Wayne wrote back in 2020. The best part of the CSR (Can't Stop Reading) blog features is that I get to pick newer and older stories on the site to bring to readers who either loved the story the first time and are happy to read it again or newer members who might have missed some of the older works. Things are always changing so fast, just like people, but we love to keep these stories alive! Please make sure to share your thoughts below my interview with Wayne. 

Do you eat your fruits and vegetables?

I do! I try hard to get my allotment of healthy stuff, particularly now that I'm fifty years old. I've found the best way for me is to make a shake first thing in the morning for breakfast. Just get it done.

If you were an animal, what would you be?

A spoiled house cat. 100%.

What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know?

Hmm. Well, I am polyamorus. I have a husband and a boyfriend. The husband also has a boyfriend. It works for us.

What brought you to GA? 

The search for quality storytelling above what Nifty offered. While Nifty is fine for porn, I wanted plot, progression, belivable scenarios, and good characterization. Also, GA became a fertile place for me to share my own work, and that has been such a great thing.

If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?

Running from Paradise. It'd be the story of why I left Kentucky, and how painful that was and continues to be. But some things are best left in the past, and that's Kentucky for me.

When you write, is it post as you go passion or finish the story then edit and post? 

Both. I've done both. I'm currently posting as I write for my Engineer Benson story. My preference is to write a work completely and then post it after polishing thoroughly. With Engineer Benson, the post as I go method adds to the journal format it's in.

The Answer includes a poem in your short story. You also have works of varying lengths. Does any style of writing (poetry, short story, novella, novel) call to you the most and why?

I particularly enjoy novels. For a long time, The Answer was my only short story until I wrote Why Pride?  Novels allow me the space to build characters, to make foreshadowing mean something and have an emotional punch, and to just tell the story I really want to tell. That said, The Answer pushed me. I had to do a lot with the space I'd allotted myself, which forced an efficiency in my writing I didn't know I could manage.

As you were writing The Answer, did you feel more of a connection to the characters of Shawn or Ian? 

Ian. While I understood Shawn and could appreciate him and his ways, I relate more to Ian. I suppose that's a bit odd since I wrote it from Shawn's perspective, but if you'll notice, the poem the story is based on is from Ian's. I love that mirror too.

If you were a character in the story, what do you think you’d say or do when Shawn’s struggling? 

Well, it depends. If I were one of his many discarded conquests, I'd probably feel that he deserved whatever struggles he experienced. But if I were looking through the eyes of Ian? Well … there may be someone here who has yet to read it, so I'll stop here.

It’s been a while since you wrote anything for GA, have any new passions taken over? 

No. It's just the struggle to retain sanity in an uncertain world. When there's little currency left after spending all we've got on making it through the day, it's hard to make time for creativity. I'm slowly getting back to writing, though (Engineer Benson). And I've had two unpublished stories in process for quite some time. I'm not ready to let the world win, and I'll post another story at some point. First, though, I need to finish Engineer Benson. And I will.

Thank you for the chance to talk about myself and my story a bit. The Answer was a great writing experience, and I hope new readers find and enjoy it.