Cia

I do often use the phrases "Walking feet!" and "How do you think that made so and so feel when you did ....?" LOL

I hadn't quite left yet since I had laundry to fold (why can't the sock eating monster just fold the rest of the clothes in payment??!) I think I did the thing that lets everyone read the stories through the links @Valkyrie added here on the blog. I checked via a browser I'm not logged in (as a site guest) and I was able to access Aditus' story chapter text. Myr might need to make more things visible/accessible later, but hopefully that's a good start for everyone. Happy reading!

Maybe it was my way of catfishing readers to the CSR blog this month, LOL!!

Hi all! How many of you have taken the time (or have been on GA long enough) to have enjoyed some of the earliest anthologies? As readers and authors gear up to enjoy all the amazing entries to this year's event, I thought I'd feature a few of the past Hallow-spooky themed events to both fit the season and get you ready for these themed reads! https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/10-2006-fall-halloween/ https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/20-2008-winter-ghosts/ https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/28-2010-winter-haunted/ https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/134-2019-fall-fall-from-grace/ https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/category/63-2013-poetry-anthology-whispers-in-the-dark/ Enjoy and don't forget to comment!!

Did September last eleventy-millionth days for you as well this year? I swear, it just gets longer and longer. Hopefully that just means you got a ton of great reading time in, though you shouldn't have needed too long for this gem. Also, Altimexis shared an image they had on another site for Cliff's Pendant, so I wanted to add that here for you along with the Author interview. Enjoy and don't forget to share your comments below! Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point? Growing up, my room was messy, but there were two things my mom wouldn’t tolerate. Firstly, clothes were never to be left out — if they were dirty, they needed to be dropped in the hamper and if they were clean, they needed to be hung up in the closet. Secondly, I was never to leave my room without my bed being made. It wasn’t that she was strict, but she was firm about keeping my room clean, if not neat. To this day, the first thing I do when I get up is to make the bed. If you were an animal, what would you be? Technically, we are animals. That said, my avatar at AwesomeDude is a crow I photographed while hiking in Bryce Canyon. My avatar for Zoom is a pair of doves I photographed on our terrace in New York. Whether it’s a conscious choice or not, apparently I’d be a bird. What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? If there are no limits, I’d say Mars, with the Moon being a close second. If I’m limited only to places on Earth, it would probably be Cape Town. I’ve traveled extensively and been all over North America, including 49 of the 50 states. I’ve been to Cuba, Argentina, Japan, Taiwan, China and Australia. I’ve been all over Europe, both east and west, before and after the fall of communism. I’ve been to Russia and to Turkey. I’ve yet to get to Portugal or Spain, which are high on my list. Likewise for New Zealand. I’ve yet to get to Southeast Asia, a place I’d very much like to visit. I had planned a trip to Antartica, but was hospitalized the week before we were to go and never made it back. The most glaring omission, however, is the entire African continent. I’ve heard the Cape Town is exceptionally beautiful and of the places I haven’t been, it’s probably the best setting for a story. What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know? Although I consider myself a rather private person, I’ve not been shy about my background. My early history is covered in the Introduction to Naptown Tales, and other aspects of my personal history, my religious and political philosophy and my professional life have made it into my stories in one way or another. Perhaps the most surprising things for a prolific writer of gay-fiction is that I’ve never been in a gay relationship. Growing up as a teen in the Midwest, I thought that homosexuality was a mental illness. I did my best to ignore my feelings. Once when I was twelve, I convinced my best friend to get naked with me, but that was as far as it went. Finally, at the age of 29 while doing a residency at Stanford in the San Francisco Bay Area, I acknowledged I was much more attracted to guys, but I went to see a psychologist who told me it wasn’t a good time to be gay! That was in the Bay Area, of all places. In his defense, we still didn’t know the cause of AIDS yet. However, he also said something of much more significance – that I shouldn’t worry about my sexuality. The main thing was to meet people. Less than a week later, I met a woman who blew me away. Forty years later, she’s still my wife. Do you have any writing rituals? The only rule is that I never post a story until the first draft is complete. Nothing frustrates me more than a story that’s left unfinished, or one with obvious inconsistencies. My stories are character-based and I like to develop my characters over time, which is why I favor story series. Some of my series have lasted years, during which my characters may grow from early adolescence to young adulthood. When I write a new story, I start with a premise and a character or set of characters. I usually have an idea of how I want the story to end and what sort of things will happen along the way, but I don’t work from an outline. I give my characters defined personalities and the stories pretty much write themselves. That said, I love to leave clues of what is to come, and nothing is more fun than using deception or distraction to keep the reader off base. Because I get frequent migraines that can last for weeks, I don’t like to write on a deadline. Indeed, the migraines forced me to retire early, leaving more time for writing. I write when the urge strikes me, which may be at home or when out and about – even while riding the bus. I’ve written entire stories on my iPhone. How many stories have you written? Do you have a favorite and why/why not? That depends on how you count my stories. My series may include stand-alone short stories, multi-part novellas and full novels. I’ve been writing for about twenty years and have written dozens of short stories. I’ve written four full-length novels: Love in a Chair, which was my first story and an embarrassment, Legacy, which is a Naptown Tales sequel, Conversations With Myself, which is a sci-fi thriller, and Brilliant Boy Billionaire, which is nearly a half-million words in length. My favorite story is Conversations With Myself, even though it didn’t seem to get much traction with readers. The premise was of a government scientist who develops the technology to communicate with himself in the past, but through his dreams. However, meddling with time is serious business and to avoid it falling into the wrong hands, he does much of his work in secret. Then he makes a critical error. As a test, he contacts his past self on the night before September 11, 2001. It was only supposed to be a proof of concept, but his past self acted on the information, preventing the 9/11 terrorist attack. Things spiral out of control as he goes farther back into the past to try to fix the problems he creates. It was the most challenging story I’ve written because there were seven periods in the main character’s life that were involved and each time he made contact with a past self, it affected events in all timelines after that. Presidents changed. History changed. It was lot to keep track of. I ended up creating a graphic to keep track of the seven timelines as they progressed simultaneously. Of course there are aspects I would do differently if writing it today, but I’m particularly proud of how well-it turnout in the end, in spite of a two-year hiatus in writing it. When writing Cliff’s Pendant, did the idea for the character or the plot element of the pendant come to you first? Because the theme of the anthology was the gift, it was the pendant that came to me first. A lot of the characters in my New York Stories series are Jewish and so I imagined a Star of David, inscribed with the Hebrew word for ‘life’, with a rainbow background of iridescent glass. My next door neighbor’s kid, who’s currently a student at the University of Michigan, attended Brooklyn Tech High School at the time, so I conceived of a kid of similar age and wrote the story about Zach. To make the gift unique, I came up with the story of Cliff. Is there a particular line or scene in the story that you love the most? That’s easy – the scene in front of the Stonewall National Monument. Zach’s father hadn’t given him the gift yet, but the way his parents let him know how they felt still brings me to teas. Coming out stories can be very popular on GA. This is a very personal event that can go very different ways. Do you want to share your choices on the plot development for Cliff’s Pendant for that? I think the main reason Zach was still in the closet was because his parents, both emergency medicine physicians working staggered shifts, just weren’t around. I think the real coming out story was that of the father’s best friend, Cliff. After all, it’s Cliff’s name in the title. Cliff grew up in a much more restrictive environment, in Indianapolis in the 80s, and he led a double life. Zach’s dad didn’t even know his best friend was gay until he developed AIDS. However, out of the tragic story of Cliff came the pendant – a beautiful symbol of love between friends – which became a symbol of love and acceptance between a father and his gay son. Then when Zach made a duplicate, it became a symbol of shared love with his boyfriend. Can you share anything about your current or upcoming works with readers? My current story, A Summer in Iowa, is in progress right now. It’s a prequel to one of my New York Stories, and it’s partially autobiographical, based on when I was sixteen and spent the summer at the University of Iowa. The characters from Cliff’s Pendant have appeared in two subsequent New York Stories, most recently in October Fire, which is about the Hamas attack on Israel of October 7, 2023. I’ve been planning a sequel ever since, but then the world went off the rails. For a while, I wasn’t sure where to begin. My next story doesn’t have a final title yet. The working title is Fallout. I’ve written two chapters so far and there will probably be a dozen or so. Rather than focus only on the aftermath of 10/7, I’m going to try to tie up most of the loose thread in the New York Story series. Whereas October Fire involved multiple primary characters and was written in third person. Fallout is told in first person by Zach’s kid brother, Jake, who’s now sixteen years old, and he’s straight. Jake is a budding journalist who’s given the chance to take a summer trip in the American West with a group of his friends, most of them older, established characters from the NY Stories series. A number the kids are victims of 10/7 and two of them are in wheelchairs. Jake will go, hoping to write a story about the survivors of 10/7, but he’ll come away with much, much more. He’ll experience personal loss and the triumph of the human spirit.

Life is crazy, which is why I need new lined sticky notes after only being back working in school for 1 month!! We all get it, and no one should feel guilty if they just don't reach a goal. I basically put writing on the back burner 2 years ago, which makes me sad, but at least we are all still here on GA! This community is about writing and reading great gay fiction, but also just showing up for each other in our little niche. I love the connections everyone here shows all the time, but especially around our big events!

While Wildone is still off being his wild self... I'm bringing you the blog. I am SO not wild! My day consisted of cleaning, laundry, running errands with my daughter to Daiso for lined sticky notes (my FAV for work) a stop at the local health food store and Kroger (titled Fred Meyers) to top off my grocery shopping. I did find some delectable looking peaches... so make of that what you will! Hopefully you all are making the most of the weekend! What are your wild and crazy plans? Are you polishing up your anthology story if you haven't submitted it yet? 3 Days LEFT!! to submit to the proof team for the 2025 GA ANTHOLOGY before the Deadline: October1st. Myr's Deep Dive this week can keep you on the edge of your seat: Here's Valkyrie's Anthology reminder if you need it! You're invited to get "technical, technical" in this week's prompt blog: Myr brings us new knowledge or a wordy refresh with his words of the day: brontide cacoethes choler dolor ennui frisson nostomania Upcoming Writing Events 2025 Yearly Anthology - Creature Feature - Due Oct 1, 2025 - All the information you need is here. 2025 Prompt Team Event - More information to come! Member Participation Blogs - Great way to promote yourself!! Ask an Author 3.0 If you have a author you want to get some answers from, write a PM to @astone2292 Author Guess Who Get our members to guess who you are and also let everyone know who you are. Also write a PM to @astone2292 Here is the look at the past weeks postings on all our Authors and Poets! 3 Recently Updated 'Signature Author' Stories The Freshmen by Mark Arbour In Process Learned to Lie by Krista In Process Kandanga Falls by Mark Ponyboy Peters In Process 7 Recently Updated 'Classic Author' Stories Carter's Order by Topher Lydon In Process Swing for the Fences by LittleBuddhaTW In Process Capt vs Goofball by Topher Lydon In Process A Summer in Iowa by Altimexis In Process Secrets 3: The Road to the Future by Bill W In Process The Watchers: Paradox Lost by Topher Lydon Complete Ottawa Tales by Topher Lydon Complete 37 Recently Updated 'Author' Stories Confessions of a Gay Supervillain by Jason D. Karl In Process What the Ship Remembers by andy cannon In Process Misaligned by Laura S. Fox In Process LEGALLY BOUND by vanalas In Process In My Mind by ChromedOutCortex In Process Love on Campus by chris191070 Complete Rókus by E K Stokes In Process Traded Goods by Yeoldebard In Process The Librarian and the Assassin, a Sapphic Romance at the End of the World by Adam Andrews Johnson In Process Another Time by Celian In Process Welcome to Redwaters by Hardianarcher In Process Peter's Story by Connectwriter In Process The Storm Wolf: Gathering Clouds by RedMoon In Process The Field of Love by Enoch In Process Essence of Life by W_L In Process Reverent: Six by Tony S. In Process Serenity by Albert1434 In Process A Grave So Haunting by solemnity In Process Family life, but not as we know it by Robert Hugill In Process Jude by E K Stokes In Process How the Coronavirus Jump-Started my Sex Life by KKirk In Process The Truth of Yesterday by Josh Aterovis In Process The Golosina, the Forgotten Land and the Skurkene by J92 Complete Kill the Messenger by mastershakeme In Process Surrounded by the Darkness by Lupus In Process Bell(e)s in the Woods by Celian In Process The World Out There by Drew Payne Temporary Hold Angel Awakened by Painawakened In Process Down In The Holler by CasualWanderer82 In Process Not just another Summer by Robert Hugill In Process A Jewel in the Dirt by Celian In Process The Seducer: A Gone From Daylight Inspired Story by MrM In Process Chess Friends by Thomas Lindblad In Process Northern Lights by Golden Ghost Pen In Process Spring And A Ring by Griz Complete Ark II: Life on Gaea by R. Eric Temporary Hold Beyond the Veil by Laura S. Fox In Process 1 Recently Updated 'Poet' Stories Marvin B Erotic Poetry Collection by Marvin B Temporary Hold Read, Write, and REVIEW!!! (Don't forget to Recommend too!)

Now, I could almost feature this whole story, that's how short it is. But hey, that just means you have no excuse about reading it!! Want to read more? Click here

How about some another feature of an older story by a popular site author for our readers who might have missed it? Rated "G" for a feel-good story by the author himself (and I agree!) you can't miss this story that's just *ahem* a little Bonkers! Length: 1,263 Description: Two fearful boys meet an outstanding dog. Dedicated to all the dogs out there who are sometimes smarter than their boys. A Reader said: This snapshot of life creates a feel-good moment as you see a young boy overcome a great fear. Thanks, James. ~ raven1 If you want to spread the word about James' story, download the graphic below and add it to your signature! Make sure you come back on Wednesday to see the excerpt I chose to share!

In light of the time of year, the start of the school year for so many from preschool to college, and the nearing deadline of the coming anthology, I wanted to feature a past anthology with a school tag. I plugged in those filters (have you tried that system?!) and viola! This month readers get to enjoy Cliff's Pendant, a short story written by Altimexis for the 2021 Fall Anthology themed "An Unconventional Gift". And if, like me, you're going crazy with your IRL schedule, this is a snack-sized submission! If you like it, though, it's part of another series you can submerse yourself in! Just another gift to you. Remember to come back to share your thoughts on the Discussion day! Cliff's Pendant by @Altimexis Length: 7,527 Description: Zach thought he was fooling everyone and was only out to Jake, his kid brother. Then on his 15th birthday, his dad gave him a rainbow pendant inscribed with the Hebrew word ‘Chai’, which means ‘Life’. His dad had had it made to give to his best friend, Cliff, who had AIDS, but never got the chance. Zach promised to wear it with pride, but hid it under his shirt, forgetting he had to undress for gym, a class he shared with Tanner, his secret crush. A Reader said: A brilliant and worth-while read from this year's Anthology. The amount of detail sucked me in and wouldn't let go. Filled with the character's intelligence and awkwardness, this short story put a smile on my face. Very well done! ~astone2292 Come back on the last Monday of the month, September 29th, to check out the Discussion day and share your thoughts!

It depends on how graphic the language gets. If you are using words that describe body parts, acts, how that might feel, etc.... Google will ping those as graphic content. It would then be better to rate the story as Mature, for language only, which you could put in a story note if you're worried about the rating putting people off. Thanks for checking!

What Myr is referring to is that our Stories Archive automatically creates a copyright notice for content posted to the archive. Therefore if you are including images that were AI generated to your story, that could be interpreted as adding those under your copyrighted content. I always recommend that only images authors own (self-created, purchased rights, or creative commons) are added to Stories content, with no AI generated images directly added to your stories archive content (cover art/banners). If you want to use those images you can put them in the gallery and then link to your album. It is a workaround that avoids any legal complications.

For my FINAL 2025 Secret Author Story "Reveal the Truth" reveal ... our Contest Winners!!! The "Reveal the Truth" Reader winner is... @impunity The "Reveal the Truth" Author winner is.... @Thirdly Winners receive a Premium Subscription. I will reach out to you via PM with more details, so be looking for that. Authors, if you haven't noticed, all stories have been revealed and returned to you. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to write a story, read a story, like, comment, review, participate on a blog, poll, or topic game! As always, this is a fun event that creates a lot of buzz and connection for the passion we all share our community that just shows how great you ALL are!!

The Poll users have spoken!! The readers' favorite stories with the use of the theme "Reveal the Truth" are... 9 Votes Family Secret 8 Votes - Tie!! My Dead Ex is Haunting Me Through Grindr & What It Takes 7 Votes Thetis

That's right, it's time to Reveal the Truth... of the Authors! You've all been waiting for this! I'll put the list here and in the guessing topic as well for comparison. I hope everyone has had fun with this year's Secret Author Story contest, and I appreciate all the patience with my absence and the short delays. I'll be assigning back the stories to the authors this week and doing the Random.org drawings for the participants & authors. Carpe Veritas by kbois What It Takes by CassieQ Busted by Thirdly Exposing My Own Reality by Gunther Allen Thirteen by EK Stokes Unmasked by BentedWreath Fledgling by lawfulnetrualmage A Chorus Director’s Dilemma by Chris191070 The Reunion by Jeff Burton The Case of the Scallopini-ed Mayor by Mikiesboy Four Hours by Cole Matthews Angel Keeps a Secret by Lee Wilson No Doubt About It by Jack Poignet Can I Tell Ya a Secret? by Topher Lydon Family Secret by Valkyrie Thetis by Mark Arbour Green Lightning by Aditus Adrift by northie Well, This Happened by astone2292 The Rainbow’s Unicorn by drsawzall Liminal by Camy My Dead Ex Is Haunting Me Through Grindr by Inkognito Septima’s Potential by Lorenz Qatava For my secret (medical)

Thank you all. I closed the poll.

What so many readers & authors have been waiting for! It's time to guess which story begins to which author! I'll provide 2 randomized lists of the story titles and author names below. You get to match them up! Yes, authors can play along. Yes, they MAY tell the truth about which story they wrote... or they may NOT reveal the secret. Muahahahahaha! Visit the topic to PLAY ALONG! FYI, I won't be responding much today or tomorrow. Why? Want to reveal that secret? It's medical, so if that icks you out, don't open the box!

It was brought to my attention I forgot to feature the poll topic in a blog this week. Oops!! 🤯 Make sure you vote on your top 3 uses of the "Reveal the Truth" theme in the stories you read. I did have to split the titles across 2 questions, and you have to have at least one story picked in each, so if all 3 of your top choices are in 1 question/answer, please place your votes in a comment and I'll add them in at the end!

I had to look at this word because I have expected it to be one of those fancy flavored bubble waffles my daughter loves or something! Lol

Funny how polarizing that one question can be depending on the answer!! I am the opposite because I hate the flavor and smell of coffee. But I'm not a purist either way. I either drink white coffee (can't taste it) from Dutch Bros or hide Javy extract in my homemade hot cocoa mix if I need a caffeine fix. And if we're talking ice cream, when I ate it, I'd add a scoop of peanut butter to my vanilla and pour some orange juice on my chocolate. Maybe I'm mad too (or so I've been told, lol!)

Can you believe all the stories we've had this month, the authors we've had return, and the reading I've asked you to do? C'mon... it's good for you! A favorite series of GA readers more than a decade ago (I sometimes can't believe I've been here that long either) I hope you enjoyed reading Topher's story, Carter's Army. Check out his interview and what he has going on past and present with that and more! Make sure you share your thoughts below once you're done; maybe we can keep encouraging our Classic Authors to keep returning to GA! Chocolate or Vanilla? Neither, I’m a coffee purist. What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know? Most people are surprised when I tell them I’m a dad. I kinda of adopted a foundling a while ago, and did my best to give him a home and stability. Most people assume being a gay man I wouldn’t be. I kinda like subverting expectations that way… plus half my grey hairs are his fault, and worth every one. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Reading, I am a voracious reader, I churn through them. I was a teacher, a professor, so reading has been such a vital part of who I am. I got to share that love with my students, and there is nothing more enjoyable than finding a book that you can share. What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? I’ve gone to lots of places, and draw on them for stories. I’ve sailed seas, walked deserts, sat in Jungles. I’ve eaten a Big Mac outside Lenin’s tomb, crossed the Great Wall and climbed the peace tower. Been down under and up north, walked in mud huts, and through palaces. All of this travel is research. My favourite place is Hong Kong, never had a chance to write about that yet, but I will. What brought you to GA (originally and/or recently returning)? Myr invited me. He reached out and offered a home, and it has been a home. Recently I got a new pair of glasses, that allowed me to read again after nearly a year of eye surgeries and being unable to… I wanted to read a book on here, One of dkstories’s Do over books. That required logging in, and a converation with Wildone… and myr… and I realized I hadn’t put the last few chapters of a book I’d started on here… it was like Dominos falling. I reread one of my old books, disliked how it had gone, and decided to edit it, and next thing you know… I am writing Breach. What’s the best part of being an author? Knowing that I can hold a book with my name on it’s cover. Something that is truly mine that will be around after I am gone. Legacy. Do you have a favorite line or scene in Carter’s Army? The rink scene, where Andrew teaches Will to skate. I have always felt that scene to be witty, fun, and full of real emotions. There’s a magic on ice, and at least to the half of me that is Canadian, a genuine love for it. What about a favorite story in the overall series & why? Carter’s Shadow, and the West character. A departure from the rest of the series I wanted to write the Anti-stereotyical jock. He was already out to his parents, accepted for it. The trouble he was having wasn’t convincing anyone he was straight, it was convincing them he was gay. I loved the flip of the script. Peter and West’s interactions vibrate with tension that I’ve not had with others… maybe Luke and Scott from Return of the Sun… but no West was a unique soul on page. Hockey… personal sport you enjoy or just something you used for the plot? My first job was as a goal judge at a hockey rink. I sat behind the goal and watched to see if the puck went over the line. I was on track to becoming a hockey referee/official. In small town Canada life revolves around Hockey rinks. You played, you were a parent, or you worked there. I’ve grown around hockey players, dated so many of them. Loved a fair few of them, and been loved in return by them. Can you share something about your current or upcoming work with readers? After Breach, I am going to go one of three ways. 1. go back to my roots and write a simply little love story like Return of the Sun, of like Army. 2. Another thriller…. or 3. Well that’s the trick there, I might, and I am not trying to get readers hopes up, but I might open Book 6 of the Falcon Banner and finally finish it. But I cannot promise it, I am intimidated by the book, the series is so tight, so filled with it’s own lore that I am going to have to go over every book to figure out where to begin. I am suffering a bit from George RR Martin syndrome, stuck on the last book.

Yes. We do have stories with abuse and where bad things happen to characters. If you interpret that this is a positive that would be appalling. This is not a positive. I have added yet another warning to the story page, and the abuse and dark tags since I do not want people who are triggered to read this story. If you are triggered or it bothers you, obviously stop reading it. Please spend your time on GA to read something different. It's okay not to read every story in the event. It's okay not to read every story on GA.

This story is very borderline for GA, but what it brings to the conversation is what happens when teens feel like they hold a secret so overwhelming that when one adult knows and "gets them" that, despite knowing what is right and wrong in their own brain and core, bad things can happen. Normalizing bodies, attraction, all the spectrums of who we are and what we feel... in the right way is so vital to keep our kids protected. In this case, someone has failed Lucas because he's been left to fall prey to Morris who clearly knew to look for a marginalized, questioning youth who didn't have the right person to turn to in a safe way. This is one secret that can do a lot of harm.

Poster found the story

Sorry. I'm still recovering from the flu and up half the night coughing (I sleep upright on the couch). With the 24 stories (I love the participation, but WOW!) I just don't have that much function in me to draw it out as much as I have in the past. This way binge readers can hit them all up and slower readers can use their own pace. We'll still have plenty of time to read, and the poll won't be open/closed in a single day either, promise! I also put up that Discussion topic so readers can choose to talk there about the specific stories, so we can avoid spoilers here for slower readers who choose to savor the submissions!