Cia

They were best friends, planning on going to college together. Sayer left for his annual summer trip; everything was fine ... until Sayer didn't come back. Birch waited for him but eventually tried to forget him; he went away to college and got his degree. Now he's moving back home, back where he was with Sayer last. Will the other man have come back to town while he was gone? Will Birch ever know why Sayer didn't come back to him?

Welcome back to another Discussion day with the Can't Stop Reading Blog Book Club. Whew, is that a mouthful. What isn't a mouthful is the story that is the subject of today's discussion. Quite a bit of the problem we're introduced to right away is that fact that one character doesn't talk at all, at least not out loud. I hope everyone is ready to discuss their thoughts about Don't Shout by Sasha Distan. First, though, we're going to learn a bit more about Sasha, who I subjected to another one of my interviews! When did you first consider yourself a writer? 2007, the year I turned 20. I’d been writing since I was like 9, and writing online for all the world to see since I was 16. But 2007 was the year I wrote my first book. I entered NanoWriMo because my Godfather, who gave me most of my writing advice asked me to for his birthday. I entered, and I won. That was the point when writing stopped becoming just a hobby and started becoming something I defined myself by too. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Mostly, allowing my brain to finish a sentence before my hands catch up. I tend to get overexcited, then you get lots of errors, especially continuity ones. I make no secret that I write quickly, as some people will know, I wrote the whole of Don’t Shout in something like 28 days flat. It took up half of February and half of March, which is why the weather that Cole experiences on the farm is so awful. Anyone in my part of England may recall that those were the two months where it basically rained every day. The writing is fine, it’s the not writing which I find challenging. I don’t really think up my characters, they just show. If they don’t show, I don’t write. I hate not writing. Do your characters try to make like bunnies and create ever more convoluted plots for you? Or do you have to coax them out of your characters? No, they pretty much run with the story and I try to keep up and not burn my fingers. There were a couple of scenes that never made in into Don’t Shout (an awesome Cole-is-thick cinema moment and some riding-instruction stuff that was going to be building between Cole and his little sister) because by the time I’d gotten to the keyboard, the boys had moved on and there was something else to write down furiously. So how did you come up with your idea for Don’t Shout? The inspiration for Don’t Shout…. Is sort of tricky to explain. I was reading a story on another site (I didn’t know about GA then and I hadn’t found my new family here) which featured a boy who for some unexplained reason didn’t talk. It was appallingly written and I didn’t read more than two short chapters in which nothing of note happened but the apparent shy and mute boy had sex with his friend a lot. The whole thing was nonsense. I went to bed thinking “Wouldn’t it be interesting to write about a couple who maybe couldn’t communicate easily?” And then there they were. The story, both the boys, Wilton and his (fabulous) guitar, Jared’s over protective twin sister, all laid out for my with about the first two pages, verbatim, of the first chapter, in my head. Then Cole turns and looks at me and goes “Well, get on with it.” So I did. I met a friend during NanoWriMo who signed, and she’d taught us a few bits. Let me tell you, she, and various deaf-signing YouTube videos, got a lot of attention that month. I bought a book on BSL and studied up. The kids (I teach) thought I was amazing and nuts. Sometimes we sign to each other in class, mostly emotions and stuff. They seem to think I rock. What is your favorite part of Don’t Shout? I have a couple of favorite moments. I love the end of Chapter 5, where the boys are riding Dune on Blackrock Farm, and the sun comes over the lake. I love that moment because I was there, Blackrock farm exists, under another name, and I have ridden my horse into that sunset. It’s a great moment to be in. The photos of Cole and Jared though are my favourite things though, the way they keep the boys going when they are physically apart. I can see that picture of Cole, in love, in his truck in the moonlight, so clearly I’m surprised sometimes that it doesn’t exist. How did you find your way to Gay Authors? Cannd. I was referred by a user who got in contact with me through a lesser site that shall remain nameless. GA came highly recommended and when I started branching out, I decided I wanted an actually community to branch out to. I like it here *sits* I think I’ll stay. Okay, now a bit about you! I know you recently got married, congrats! Does your spouse read your stories? Thank you, married life rocks. Short answer, no. Long answer, he promises that he will read something I wrote… one day. He’s a proper geek, and it’s not really his sort of thing. I don’t write in code. Where do you do most of your writing? The biggest chunk of my writing is done on the sofa. I write on a little 10 inch netbook, and I have an ordinary sized PC playing music, movies, or episodes of old TV shows. I do quite a lot of writing on the train, at school at lunch times, and sometimes in the pub. The best place I wrote in was at The Workshop where I trained as a jeweler, lots of other people being quietly creative, good music in the background and whirr of dentist drills. The weirdest place I ever wrote was in the tattoo studio while getting tattooed. Do you eat your vegetables? Yes. I eat everything. But if a meal doesn’t have meat in it, I will lay back my ears and get stubborn. And oh so very important … Chocolate or Vanilla?. Vanilla with chocolate ganache sauce. But I’d rather have lemon sorbet with a key lime pie. Thank you Sasha, for putting up with my questions! Okay... now I'm going to open up the floor to readers to discuss the story. Don't forget to check out the poll above and vote on your choice for September's CSR story selection. Accidents Happen be Comicfan Colorado Game by Androgene The Paladin by David McLeod

I might have made the lawyers in this story not have too many morals.

Definitely not. Tap's huge, loyal, and totally pissed off!

Ego knows no bounds!

Ego knows no bounds!

Unfortunately guilt doesn't respond to reason. Sorry for putting the sad screws to you again. There is a lot left in this story to read, and Dane's not out of the woods yet.

Yeah, it wasn't a very difficult thing for the reader to figure out, but it works with how egotistical Dane's father is. I am so glad Tap got him the phone too!

There's a lot going on in this story. Abusers are so good at hiding. It's not too hard to believe that he hid most of his atrocities by using his influence at work or away from her.

Aww, I have to agree. Physical abuse is hard, but mental abuse often scars a person worse and with longer repercussions. This is definitely an emotional story to read.

Dane is definitely having a rough life. I really like Tap too. He is probably my favorite character of all time (if I had to play favorites).

He is really callous. Trust me, it's not hard to tell you won't like him from the very beginning.

I tend to only buy series, actually, but I don't have any one favorite and I've found after so long, they tend to get blah. Some of the ones I own: Black Dagger Brotherhood Immortals After Dark Anita Blake Argeneau Series Dark Hunters Wheel of Time Sword of Truth Dune LoTR Little House on the Prairie Outlander Dragonriders of Pern Freedom Series Anne of Green Gables New Species Xxan War ... and many, many more

He was also part of the 2 brother leads in the kids' 4 hour movie, Dinotopia. He has striking features and a lovely voice, always has.

There is a report button for reviews that are questionable in Stories, yes. The moderation team reviews the issue, from both the side of the reviewer and their comments, and the author and their reply, if any. Each case is individual. Usually, unless there is a clear cut case of extreme abuse on the members' part (such as cursing, threats, intention to escalate the problem beyond the initial review/conflict), we allow the author to decide on deletion of the review. Any formal moderation for rule breaking for abuse, toward either or both, is private between the team and that member. We do not discuss that resolution with the other members involved, addressing each separately to preserve the privacy of the members individually.

If the argumentative vein in this topic continues, I will close it. Quit beating a dead horse, over a past issue, and creating a potentially bigger problem. If you disagree, you disagree. Continually stating that is not going to change anyone's mind.

LOL! Keep them coming, everyone!

The removal of review is exceptionally rare, and is almost always requested to fix typos or accidentally blank reviews. I mentioned the removal of a story, and that also is rare. Occasionally staff does step in, if they see uncalled for reviews happening (repeated trolling) or a report is made by either the reviewer or the author, but even that doesn't happen often. The initial message of this post isn't to rail about our review/report system but to point out an experience and discuss member views regarding the leaving of reviews for authors. (I hope Ron doesn't mind me speaking for him here) This subject has been discussed before and there has never been a consensus on the best way to approach a review with critical, though not necessarily even 'negative', elements. Everyone has their preferred styles and explaining that and discussing it openly is a good thing, especially as our membership grows. Please don't beat on a dead horse, though, guys and don't pick at those who do not agree. Accept that your style of preferred review may not be the style others like, but if it works for you and you're not trolling Stories, then it is fine.

I had lunch with my best friend for the last 26 years (we met in the first grade) today. Someone mentioned to me that I'm just happier after I've been with her. She makes things better, no matter what. She's my family, my comfort, and even though I'm married, she will always be the person I'm the most 'me' with. Through all the rough times we've tried to be there for each other. It hasn't always worked but what matters is that we made the effort. Be her shoulder, take her small pick me ups of a coffee, offer to pick up or drop off or whatever needs to be done and you'll be just what she needs. Sometimes just knowing that you have that person behind you, ready to pick up some of your slack, is enough. I'm really sorry that your family is facing this. Cancer is a horrible thing to have diagnosed, and to face it in your children is terrifying. I truly hope that the doctors can help him.

You know I'm always here to vent and commiserate. I say we boycott 2013!

The bad days are often hard to remember as finite. (hug) Bob I hope that your natural positivity returns, but remember to give yourself a break. Sometimes things are hard, and it's okay to feel bad about that. I truly hope that you and your wife can weather this spell and return to the peace you deserve.

I think the verdict is in. You're human. I have to admit that I once had an author stop writing, take down a story, then come back later with re-edits and posting ... and then, and only then, did I find out it was all in reaction to a comment I made that I felt was helpful but they felt was callous and condescending. I learned the same lesson you did, in much the same way. That has not stopped me from offering my thoughts, and help, to many authors on this site and off. I do try to phrase things better, but I don't only focus on the positives or repeat what others have said to play it safe (though I had that urge at times). I've written this many times, but the best way to help a person is to mention what you like, why you like it, what you don't like, and why you don't like it. Be specific, back it up with thoughts and suggestions and try to keep your feelings out of it if you need to tell them a character is coming off badly, or not believable, or a plot event isn't remotely possible in real life, etc... I combine my thoughts as a reader and an author, but both viewpoints can be valuable on their own too. All that being said ... GA is a pretty forgiving place with a healthy community. It takes all kinds of people to make the site work. Your first bit of a go at being a vocal part of that community might have been a bit of a rough go, but you can still be that type of member, if you want.

That they do!

Thanks again guys! :D

I want to share my thanks again to Jo Ann for the wonderful review as well as for all the Happy Birthday wishes I received, I really do appreciate them!