Secret Author Stories Contest 2024 Talking Topic

[W_L]

To me, the author of Yacht club is a little more meta about the genre and needs to read "other" female romance writers, especially Gen Y and Zs. The mainstream successful female authors of gay male romance are wilder. 

Ironic that I posted a guardian article on romance fiction last night. 

[kbois]

Ok... time to add my two (ninety-nine for inflation) cents in. 

First off.. The Yacht Club was a fun story. 

But the author is male. What proof do I have, you ask? This:

Now I’d be his spouse, as well as being a good fuck. I guess that’s how life was for women most of the time.

No female would ever write that last sentence in conjunction with the previous one. 

Overall this was a good read. Having worked in travel for over 20 years the cruise details were spot on. I've sailed with MSC once but it was probably 15 years ago. 

The secret author did a good job. 

Edited August 6, 2024 by kbois

[CincyKris]

25 minutes ago, kbois said:

Ok... time to add my two (ninety-nine for inflation) cents in. 

First off.. The Yacht Club was a fun story. 

But the author is male. What proof do I have, you ask? This:

Now I’d be his spouse, as well as being a good fuck. I guess that’s how life was for women most of the time.

No female would ever write that last sentence in conjunction with the previous one. 

Overall this was a good read. Having worked in travel for over 20 years the cruise details were spot on. I've sailed with MSC once but it was probably 15 years ago. 

The secret author did a good job. 

Very good point on the spouse line!  It is a very male, traditional way of looking at marriage, in which the man is the provider and the woman is the caretaker being provided for.  This certainly can be the case for straight and gay relationships, probably more common with well-off couples.  My experiences with mainly middle and working class people are very different, more equal.  You brought me back around to my first guess, which is probably wrong, but still male.  Could be @Andr0gene?  He had a couple earlier stories with a similar dynamic.

[Cane23]

35 minutes ago, CincyKris said:

Very good point on the spouse line!  It is a very male, traditional way of looking at marriage, in which the man is the provider and the woman is the caretaker being provided for.  This certainly can be the case for straight and gay relationships, probably more common with well-off couples.  My experiences with mainly middle and working class people are very different, more equal.  You brought me back around to my first guess, which is probably wrong, but still male.  Could be @Andr0gene?  He had a couple earlier stories with a similar dynamic.

[Jason Rimbaud]

3 hours ago, Cane23 said:

I know, you also prefer good sarcasm! 😁

Sunday she claimed to have a PHD in it. 

[kbois]

29 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Sunday she claimed to have a PHD in it. 

It's a fact 

[Bill W]

8 minutes ago, kbois said:

It's a fact 

I love her modesty.  

[Gary L]

I’ve got a DPhil in medieval history but it sure ain’t helping me with this SA puzzle.  I’m useless.   

[CincyKris]

1 hour ago, kbois said:

It's a fact 

When you are right, right!  The Krew will attest to this. 

[Alexmugs]

3 hours ago, kbois said:

Ok... time to add my two (ninety-nine for inflation) cents in. 

First off.. The Yacht Club was a fun story. 

But the author is male. What proof do I have, you ask? This:

Now I’d be his spouse, as well as being a good fuck. I guess that’s how life was for women most of the time.

No female would ever write that last sentence in conjunction with the previous one. 

Overall this was a good read. Having worked in travel for over 20 years the cruise details were spot on. I've sailed with MSC once but it was probably 15 years ago. 

The secret author did a good job. 

I have to agree. I also think the author is on the younger side of the spectrum. They used the word 'rando' which isn't common among older folks.

I did like this one and would put it in the top 5 so far. 

[CincyKris]

Do we know how many SA stories there will be?  When do we get the list and get to vote?  

[kbois]

3 minutes ago, CincyKris said:

Do we know how many SA stories there will be?  When do we get the list and get to vote?  

No @Cia is the gatekeeper and will not divulge the information under any circumstances.  I think she's programmed to self destruct if she does. Then we'll all be up the creek without a paddle.

[Bill W]

5 minutes ago, CincyKris said:

Do we know how many SA stories there will be?  When do we get the list and get to vote?  

I don't know how many stories there are in total, but we'll get the list and a chance to vote after ALL stories have been posted. 

[Lee Wilson]

12 minutes ago, CincyKris said:

Do we know how many SA stories there will be?  When do we get the list and get to vote?  

Cia's post yesterday said today's is the last.

 

[chris191070]

36 minutes ago, kbois said:

No @Cia is the gatekeeper and will not divulge the information under any circumstances.  I think she's programmed to self destruct if she does. Then we'll all be up the creek without a paddle.

@Cia posted that today is the final story of the contest.

[kbois]

12 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

@Cia posted that today is the final story of the contest.

Ahh... I did not see that. Thanks!

[W_L]

I agree with @kbois that the author might be male. As for younger side, rando is a word i hear and occasionallyuse, 20-40 range use similar language. 

As for cruise detail, I came back from NCL cruise in  late march-April to Alaska recently and have been loyal to them for a decade. I love big ships, exotic ports, and off-season trips (Tip: Avoid school vacations or you can't get quiet sun time). 

Lots of gay guys cruise (no innuendo) , usually couples. A really cool YouTube channel called Cruising with Ben and David taught me alot about ships and amenities.

Edited August 6, 2024 by W_L

[Cia]

FYI... the Secret Author was keeping a secret... from ME! There's still one more story to post tomorrow, Wednesday 8/7. 😮  😮   😮   😮  

No, really, it was my fault for miscounting. Forgive me, I was at my union convention last week and the weekend, and yesterday was crazy busy trying to catch up on EVERYTHING that falls apart when I dare to do something off-schedule. (Like, no one could go get milk? I don't even drink milk!)

[W_L]

3 hours ago, Cia said:

FYI... the Secret Author was keeping a secret... from ME! There's still one more story to post tomorrow, Wednesday 8/7. 😮  😮   😮   😮  

No, really, it was my fault for miscounting. Forgive me, I was at my union convention last week and the weekend, and yesterday was crazy busy trying to catch up on EVERYTHING that falls apart when I dare to do something off-schedule. (Like, no one could go get milk? I don't even drink milk!)

It's nice to have another story, no apology needed

Edited August 6, 2024 by W_L

[wildone]

21 hours ago, Bill W said:

I only suggested the idea of a Canadian author due to the British style terminology and the mention of Jr. High, which I don't believe they have in the UK.  

So read the story and actually liked it . It was laid out in a different way than probably most of the stories we are exposed to, on a life of a character. Actually found it a bit refreshing for a new way to look over the life of a best friend.

I, like @Mikiesboy, did not see anything at all to indicate British, Canadian or Australian. After reading the first run, I did a quick skim for any words spelled properly  like neighbour, colour, honour, etc  Didn't find any. The one line though, even though doesn't give me an idea who the author is, but maybe will tweek someone else's memory, would make me think we have a seasoned or mature author. The Walton's was a wholesome family show with southern names that was all American. I don't think we even got it in Canada until the show stopped filming probably in the seventies when we got US channels finally on cable. 

Also, the terminology is more succinct. Factual and accurate like 'from perinium to portal' just doesn't seem like something a 'younger person' might use, although portal is different  . I actually thought of someone who might be more academic in their writing. Just the feeling I had. Unless they did it to throw everyone off. 

Anywho, I really enjoyed the story! Great job mystery person .

Wondering if that person might be @W_L himself  

 

[Lee Wilson]

1 hour ago, wildone said:

I did not see anything at all to indicate British, Canadian or Australian. After reading the first run, I did a quick skim for any words spelled properly

One touch British, Devon Coombe. There’s a Coombe Abbey near Coventry, UK. I’ll be there next month.

[W_L]

4 hours ago, wildone said:

 

Wondering if that person might be @W_L himself  

 

I am not as proper as you may think  

Besides, I'd probably hide my writing style by pretending to be French  

[Cane23]

1 hour ago, W_L said:

I am not as proper as you may think  

Besides, I'd probably hide my writing style by pretending to be French  

[BendtedWreath]

For the last two stories...

For Ever Young cut me deep since I happen to have a friend with stage 4 cancer that I know I'll have to eventually bid farewell to. 

The Yacht Club was a good read, certain opinions aside.

I think I just barely made it before the next story is posted.

Edited August 7, 2024 by BentedWreath

[chris191070]

Well today's story is not gonna be a quick read, it is 31,683 words long.