Cia

Thank you very much, Saavikam!

They were not staying in an inn or anywhere else Beckett could have gotten food or something to drink. He should have known better. The wisps seemed to be universally unpopular. Instead he was sitting on the floor of a ramshackle building that looked like it would fall down around his head if he moved wrong or even breathed too hard. The wisps had all grouped together in a giant pile and they were glowing as they chanted. He watched with nervous anticipation and hoped that something happene

Well, being a 'back to school' month in the U.S. and elsewhere I went with a teen fiction because it's all about the school drama this time of year for so many teens and adults in the world. Who doesn't want to escape their own reality to visit someone else's? The Matchmaker by @Arch Hunter Length: 31,066 Description: Kevin is an insecure teen boy on a journey to find the love of his life. There's Kevin's best friend, Torry and his brother Dexter. There's also Sarah, the prettiest girl in school. And let's not forget James Mitt. The man. The myth. The legend. A Reader Said: A story that kept me guessing all the way through. Good characterisation and plenty of plot twists. Unusual and unique. Don't forget to come back on the last Monday of the month, September 25th, to read my interview with Arch Hunter!

Makes me think of the hole saws construction guys use. 😂

“Okay, it’s fine. You’re fine.” He wasn’t fine. Beckett hadn’t realized how quickly he’d come to rely on the guides that had found him wandering down the path after he’d been sent without a fucking clue through that weird ass portal thing by his best friend’s cat. Or mostly all powerful galactic being thing. Whatever he was. He’d gone from wilderness to a city after days, possibly weeks of travel as everything blurred together. Beckett was exhausted and despite everyone’s assurance that he’

Wow, I can't believe it's the end of August already! Back to school (for me) and time for you all to get to enjoy this interview with northie, hopefully after you've already enjoyed Soul Music: Love Encountered. Did you know there's a sequel too? Make sure you leave your comments below, but first... northie took the time to answer these questions. Do you eat your fruits and vegetables? Vegetables - absolutely. I enjoy eating vegetarian and sometimes, vegan dishes. Fruit? Not so much. I eat little raw and as I don’t bake or otherwise make desserts, there’s no cooked fruit at home. However, if I’m eating somewhere else that offers desserts with fruit, I’ll eat them with pleasure. If you were an animal, what would you be? Something that doesn’t move around a huge amount and doesn’t specialise in chomping other beasts. It should still have a brain though. So not sheep or cattle… Maybe, suggestions on a postcard? If you’re not writing, what would we find you doing for fun? Playing music. At various times, I’ve played piano, orchestral percussion, and recorders. Recorders are my current favourite. Reading. I’ve rediscovered the pleasures of consuming other people’s writing. Quite apart from everything else, it sparks off all kinds of ideas for experimenting. Gardening. For me, flowers and small shrubs only as my garden consists of 40ish varied pots. I also love hearing about other people’s gardening adventures. What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? All my fiction has been located in the UK so far. I quite fancy New Zealand as a location. A couple of years ago I watched a ‘slow’ TV documentary following a train which left Auckland in North Island and meandered right down to the tip of the South Island. Fascinating country with a fascinating multi-cultural history. Will I ever get there? I suspect that’s quite another story. What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story? OK… well, this is where I should say I plan out the entire thing - plot, sub-plots, main characters, pivotal scenes. *hollow, hollow laughter* On current showing, I sit down with an opening scene, a single principal character, and a vague idea of where it’s going to go. Everything else is left to chance / research / inspiration. I am very definitely a ‘pantser’. In Soul Music: Love Encountered there’s obviously music. Research or personal experience? Well, I kinda answered that question earlier. I used to sing back in the day, so I’ve plenty of choir memories to draw on as well. Okay, another research-related question… your characters have personal quirks that make them relatable. How do you decide what to include for defining characteristics, such as shyness for Geoff? Geoff is in many ways an extension of me. All my principal characters reflect aspects of their author but Geoff is the closest. Or the closest to who I was then. Finding my label has made me more confident, more likely to speak out. I still have body image issues but they have a different source now. Geoff as extension was, I think, a consequence of how new a writer I was at the time. Tony’s characteristics came out of what was needed as a foil to Geoff. In more general terms, all my characters are flawed in ways that go beyond those traits commonly found in M/M fiction. I try to make them real people. What is your favorite scene or line from the story? Wow - it’s been so long since I really thought about these guys. The dynamics of them playing piano duets always make me smile - the fun, concentration, competitiveness, and joy. I also liked writing the short scenes of them in the bath together, though I think I’d do a much better job of it now. Thinking back over Soul Music: Love Encountered, since it’s been a few years… is there anything you’d change now? Some readers have asked whether I’ll go back to their story. Finish it off properly. The answer is no. Part of the reason is there’s so much structurally awry with what’s already there. I was too timid when it came to depicting relationships. I had no real concept of developing backstories for characters. Their motivations and psychological traits aren’t anchored properly, and with the possible exception of Geoff, there is no real sense of character arcs. This growth in my writing is evident in the three books of Eric’s story. The first book dates from about the same time as this one. By the time of the third book in his story, I’d progressed a great deal. My invaluable and long-suffering editor / beta-reader, Parker Owens, pushes me much harder nowadays. We know each other much better and we’ve both grown into our roles. Will you share a little of your current work or future projects with readers? I’ve two projects on the go. The first is two guys in the present day who want to change their lives for the better. Ian yearns to live a more authentic life, even if it means him leaving his current relationship. Luke, a younger guy, is uncertain about what the future holds. He wants to escape his family’s influence, make better decisions for himself, but he’s at a crossroads. Expect music, self-discovery, dysfunctional relationships, the North East of England, and maybe, just maybe, a happy(ish) ending. The other is my first attempt at writing a YA story. In a future England, life is very different. The Warming has fractured everything. Heat, drought, ignorance, and the eternal quest for power and dominance form a backdrop to Harb’s first journey beyond the confines of home. Who or what will he find on his way to a long-abandoned city? How will they change his life? This will probably have a more open ending. There again, what do I know? Remember, pantser.

“I don’t know, it’s your mission.” He was too tired and too frustrated to be indignant. Well, too indignant. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Aren’t you supposed to be my guide?” He’d taken that to mean that Parallax was sending him someone that would know where to find the star that had been taken from him, but he was getting more and more of an idea that Valrinda was more along for the ride. Not that he wasn’t a wealth of knowledge about the world that Beckett found himself in. He’

Did you catch (get it?!) Monday's blog featuring Gone Fishing by Headstall? This little lure of an excerpt should reel you right in if not! (Hey, I can't help it if I was raised by diehard fishaholic and know ALL the puns!). Seriously, though, the story has all the feels too. Read on! Want to read more? Click here

Yay! And I'm glad you like it @Headstall This is exactly why I do the CSR and the promoted author features @raven1 so thanks!! I want to bring different stories to readers from now and the past to enjoy in different ways. I always to love to hear that it's working!

Well, August has nearly come and gone if you can believe it not. I chose this story by Headstall because as my summer comes to a close I felt a certain kinship with the description of shattered dreams. Where have all the days gone and all my plans to achieve ended...? How often do we ask ourselves that.... Length: 11,332 Description: This is a story of life, dreams, and timing. Anthony's life has come full circle as he retreats to his small home town on a northern Ontario river. With shattered dreams behind him, he has no choice but to choose a path forward. Fortunately, his mom and dad, and even his dead grandmother, have his back. A reader said: A wonderful story about a breaking up marriage, going back to childhood place and finding an old and renewed love. Definitely 5 stars. I love this story. Thank you, Gary for sharing it with us. ~ Job If you want to spread the word about Headstall's 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!

You mentioned age then my name in your intro @wildone so I thought you were gonna reference my b-day, and as a lady in her 40s... I thought my next unicorn story was going to have to have a certain Canadian getting the horn (and no, you wouldn't like it!) 😋I did go visit a friend for the weekend (no internet really, hence the late glimpse of this blog) and saw a goaticorn at the county fair... poor thing only had one!

“Friend,” the beast scoffed. “There is so much you don’t know.” “And let me guess, you’re just dying to tell me.” Like he was just going to take a stranger’s word over what he’d experienced with Colby, or how Mr. and Mrs. R had treated him. Sure, he’d never expected their crazy cat to claw him up, grow ginormous, and create all this magic mumbo jumbo crap he was living through right now, but still…. Who in their right mind would just accept a stranger’s vague, supposed dire warnings? B

Damn, he hated being right. Around mid-morning on the next day, when the city was still the faintest smudge on the horizon to Beckett, Valrinda came swooping down. “There’s a large cloud of dust heading our way.” “Dust?” He thought it was just the nature of the desert, not something coming for them. “Well, obviously something is making the dust, but for that to happen, something must be kicking up enough sand and dust on the sides of the road to make such a thick cloud even I can’t rea

Summer is still going hot in the north, so why not feature a heated love story by northie? Plus, I'm always a sucker when one of the characters is described as shy. Soul Music: Love Encountered by @northie Length: 57,168 Description: Geoff is shy, lacking in self-assurance, and not out to his family. When by chance, he meets Tony, a fellow musician, he can't believe that anything will come of it ... A Reader said: Just finished reading and I have to say I love this story so much! I especially like the character of Geoff, he is definitely the type of guy I fall for - shy, reserved and modest, but kind and loving. Also, it's beautiful to see how Tony is patient with him, they are a perfect match for each other. I can't wait for the sequel! ~ WhenItRains

Landing on the road, Valrinda was panting heavily. Beckett scrambled to his feet. “Are you okay?” he asked. There were cuts on his chest and face, slices marring his beautiful dark scales. “I’ll heal. Are you hurt? Did it get acid on you?” “Acid?” Beckett spun, checking the back of his body where he’d thought the stones were too hot. He sighed. “No, no acid. I’m fine. What was that thing?” “That was a chacory. We were lucky that was a young male, probably just left it’s maternal f

Yes, it's time to unmask the Secret Author and put all the guessers out of their misery. Just so you don't forget who you guessed, here is the Guess the Secret Author! blog so you can compare who you thought wrote them versus who REALLY wrote these 11 great stories. 1. 14,000 Days of Virtue by Libby Drew *Contest Winner* 2. Adrift by James Carnarvon 3. Baring My Soul by kbois 4. Learned to Lie by Krista 5. Life of a Pet by astone2292 6. River City by Bill W 7. Searching for God by Mikiesboy 8. The Book of Poems by Tim Hobson 9. The Case of Cloud Rider by Valkyrie 10. The Egg Stone by drsawzall 11. Unchained by lawfulneutralmage AND, since the Secret contest was such a success letting authors try writing stories in new genres for readers to enjoy, we're going to do this again next year! I want to say a big thank you to all the authors above who participated and all the readers who took the time to read and share the 427 likes, 228 comments, and 61 reviews!

“Working with wisps,” Valrinda grumbled. “I’m telling you, this will go bad for us.” The wisps were bustling around, setting up a camp for the night. They’d spent the morning flying, and then Beckett had spent the afternoon passed out against Valrinda’s side. He’d nearly froze to death, and for what? To avoid these cute little characters who were skipping around and putting up colorful tents while chattering at each other? Everything they had was bright, or stitched with metals and stones t

You all are HILARIOUS! Now that I've revealed the winning author, I'm going to reveal the list of AUTHORS.... in no particular order so you can keep guessing. 1. kbois 2. Bill W 3. Libby Drew 4. Valkyrie 5. Tim Hobson 6. astone2292 7. Krista 8. James Carnavon 9. lawfulneutralmage 10. Mikiesboy 11. drsawzall

Yes, you did it! You read the stories, liked, commented, reviewed... and voted! I have tallied the poll (it was so close!) and the story receiving the most votes was: 14,000 Days of Virtue by... LIBBY DREW!!! Libby has won custom advertising for her story or stories, and one reader who voted is also a winner, and that is: @George Richard to both our winners

All right, then! You've been on tenterhooks with all hush-hush of the Secret Author Story Contest, but here's your chance to make a guess in the blog comments on who wrote which story. Guess one, guess them all.... It's up to you. Bonus, you'll have a few days, since just for funsies, I'm revealing the winning story and author on Tuesday, 7/25, but the rest of the contest authors won't be revealed until Thursday, 7/27. Yes, just because.... A reminder of the stories for your guesses below, our sneaky Secret Author purloined: 1. 14,000 Days of Virtue 2. Adrift 3. Baring My Soul 4. Learned to Lie 5. Life of a Pet 6. River City 7. Searching for God 8. The Book of Poems 9. The Case of Cloud Rider 10. The Egg Stone 11. Unchained

Wildone is on wild camping vacay, so I'm bringing you the Weekly Wrap up. We shall all have to hope that he doesn't get eaten by a wild bear (*coughs*) so he can come back next week to resume his usual posting. In the meantime, onward for a refresh on last week's goings on from yours truly. Monday I featured a short story by our very own long-term Signature member and admin, Graeme: Tuesday we started voting on the Secret Author Story Contest. Remember1 reader who votes wins free Premium! Did you read the Torn in Two excerpt on Wednesday? Or check out the list of all 11 Secret Author Stories on Thursday (and find out you get to guess the author on Monday?) Friday, you were invited to go take a hike... no, it's fine, I promise! Saturday Comicality talks about the "Author Experience". What is that? Well... Words of the Day: agnosia coot whine muddleheaded preternatural corral bubbletop Upcoming Writing Events Leap of Faith Anthology! All Submissions due Sunday, October 1 Guidelines here. Here is the look at the past weeks postings on all our Authors and Poets! Recently Updated 'Premium' Stories Paradox Lost by Libby Drew (In Process) Recently Updated 'Signature Author' Stories Gap Year by Mark Arbour (In Process) Northern Exposure by Mark Arbour (Temporary Hold) By Chance or Appointment by Parker Owens (Temporary Hold) Dichotomy of Love by Mrsgnomie (In Process) Broken Path, Starless Tail by Cia (In Process) The Great Mirror of Same-Sex Love - Poetry by AC Benus (In Process) GFD: Fanboys by Comicality (Long-Term Hold) The Cockney Canuck by Dodger (Temporary Hold) The Great Mirror of Same-Sex Love - Prose by AC Benus (In Process) The Best Year by Krista (In Process) Recently Updated 'Classic Author' Stories Paradox Lost by Libby Drew (In Process) Seth on the Road to Chaos by Ronyx (In Process) Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed by Bill W (In Process) Recently Updated 'Promising Author' Stories No stories Recently Updated 'Author' Stories The Discovery by Jdonley75 (In Process) The Case of the Short, Short Prince by Geron Kees (In Process) Kidnapped by a Vampire by Thirdly (In Process) Chasing Rusty Parker by Laura S. Fox (In Process) Taming Of The Beast by ASH PHOENIX (In Process) 593 Riverside Drive by RichEisbrouch (In Process) Don't Blame The Band by Lee Wilson (In Process) Thicker Than Water by John Henry (In Process) Aedan's Story by RichardWrites (In Process) A Wizard's War by TeamStilinski (In Process) Heartbreak To Healing by D.K. Daniels (In Process) Unchained by Secret Author (Complete) Lone Wolf Ranch by Justin4Fun (In Process) Never walk alone- Walk on by Andre Delport (In Process) Disputed Sea by quokka (In Process) Desafinado: Slightly Out of Tune by LJCC (In Process) The Egg Stone by Secret Author (Complete) Wicked Games by CasualWanderer82 (In Process) ARROW by CLJobe (In Process) The Case of Cloud Rider by Secret Author (Complete) The Book of Poems by Secret Author (Complete) Silvered Spell by PrismaFox (In Process) Quantum Shift by Luca E (Complete) Searching for God by Secret Author (Complete) Connor and the Wolves by Yeoldebard (In Process) Beyond Imagination by W_L (In Process) Revival with "Firebird" by Georgie DHainaut (Complete) River City by Secret Author (Complete) Recently Updated 'Poet' Stories Musings of a Wordsmith by JACC (Temporary Hold)

Voting is happening now! (click the image below) What, you say you didn't get a chance to read all the stories? Well just click on the preceding link or check out the list of awesome stories below! Or... maybe you want to refresh your memory or look for author clues. Yes, that's right! Monday we're going to have a fun 'Spot the REAL author' blog feature. Do you know? Of course not, only I know! Muahahahaha! 1. 14,000 Days of Virtue 2. Adrift 3. Baring My Soul 4. Learned to Lie 5. Life of a Pet 6. River City 7. Searching for God 8. The Book of Poems 9. The Case of Cloud Rider 10. The Egg Stone 11. Unchained

“Are you okay?” Valrinda asked. He craned his neck and tried to peer at Beckett, who only looked up for a brief second before the icy wind of their rapid flight made it too unbearable. “F-f-fine,” was all Beckett could get out without risking biting off his own tongue. He patted Valrinda’s neck, and his hand burned from just the light contact. There wasn’t a choice. They had to stay higher in the atmosphere, and he was going to tough it out. His core was warm enough, pressed against Valrind

I know this may seem like a story you've read before... but Graeme has a way of bringing emotions to life that you can't help but absorb and follow as if they were your emotions and your choices. Don't pass up this short story if you ignored the comments by Wildone featured on Monday's featured blog post or this excerpt tidbit! Want to read more? Click here!

I'm going to do a blog next week where readers get to guess who the authors are.