Cia

It's no longer a secret that 11 authors took up the challenge for the Secret Author Story Contest! From today, July 4th through July 14th, a new story will post each day and readers can enjoy these great stories with the theme "secret". Don't forget to like, comment, and review as the stories will revert back to authors once the contest ends. Voting for your favorite story happens on Tuesday, July 18th through Monday, July 24th, so remember, through this whole time... Tuesday, July 25th is our big winner reveal! One author will win custom advertising on GA, either for a story of their choice or themselves as an author and one reader who voted will win 3 months free Premium access! Thursday, July 27th, we'll do a blog look back over the whole contest and make sure you get a chance to see what stories were written by what favorite GA author. Click on our Secret Author below (image) to visit the story listing or follow the profile to get notifications on all the stories.

Delayed a bit, but worth the wait! I laughed out loud a few times, gasped at least once (too many books, no such thing!) and thoroughly enjoyed both CassieQ's story Geeks and her interview answers. Please make sure you leave your comments below for her to share your thoughts too! Who was the real villain, ACME or Wile E. Coyote? ACME. Coyote is just trying to eat. ACME looks like they supply terrorists. If you were an animal, what would you be? Probably a cat. I excel at lounging around and sleeping all day and have manic bursts of energy around midnight. What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? France. I’m learning the language (very slowly) but it just looks amazing and like the perfect setting for a romance. I also would have loved to be able to visit the Rocky Mountains for research on being trapped in the mountains (news flash: it sucks), but alas, I had to stick with my Appalachians. If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be? Too Many Books. Seriously. They’re taking over my house. I need an intervention or something. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? I’m a pantser and very character focused. There are parts of my writing where I have to think a lot about plot and plan those things out and I hate every second of it. Avoiding distractions is a struggle as well. I try to circumvent some of it by going to the library when I can instead of writing at home. Is your writing process a daily word count goal or more of a burst of inspiration writing flurry? Closer to a flurry. I write when I want to and while setting a daily habit is a great, having a daily word count goal doesn’t work for me. It’s too much pressure and I don’t want to sit and grind out words that don’t matter to me just to fill a preconceived quota. It’s a hobby for me, not a job. You said Geeks was your most popular story, but what has been your favorite to write and why? It’s not my best writing, but I loved writing Reach. Reach and Not The Sun were some of the first stories where I got to do some world-building and be really creative and I enjoy that. Anime is featured in Geeks, so I have to ask, do you like anime and what would you recommend (read, watch, write, etc…)? When I was growing up in the 90s, we had very few options of anime, it was Sailor Moon, DragonBall Z and whatever the Sci-Fi channel was featuring on Saturday Anime. I don’t care how cringey Sailor Moon was, I will STILL watch it today. I’ve tried a few current shows, but I’ve not really gotten into anything that has been recommended to me, except for Miyazaki’s works, which are the shit. If you haven’t seen Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away, please watch them. You won’t be sorry. Can you sum up Geeks in one sentence? Yes. Anime, Star Wars and lot and lots of sex. What can you share about your current story or an upcoming story with readers? I have a multi-book project currently titled Hazardous that is sitting at a very robust 128,000 words at the moment. I was hoping to have it wrapped up by 150,000 but that is looking highly unlikely at this point. I do have hopes that I’ll finish it this year. It’s currently in the beta reading process, but I have yet to find an editor, in case anyone is interested. I wanted to go back to my fantasy roots, and this features new worlds, adventures, friendship, fighting and a little bit of sex. My former beta reader had a thing for catboys, so it has that too. It’s gonna be wild.

Do you have a good story idea? Are you interested in writing for the Secret Author Story Contest where readers will vote on the Secret Author stories to determine the best of the bunch? STOP! Shhh! Don't tell anyone because it's a secret! The deadline is this Saturday, July 1st!! Time's running out, but you still have a few more days. If you haven't sent in your story, get it to me (Cia) fast!! Review the contest info here and please, please...

“What about this?” Beckett unstrapped his watch. “Do you think I could trade this?” His jeans had been a hit. For all the word human had been said to him with disdain, the gnome had looked pretty greedy when he’d asked for Beckett’s jeans in trade. It wasn’t even like he could trade them to just anyone either. How many creatures could actually wear them? “A human toy? It doesn’t work here, but the bits and pieces are valuable. You could get a lot for that. Barter for azure crescents, over t

He would have been nervous to sleep out in the open of the meadow they were in when night fell, but Valrinda curled around Beckett like a living wall that radiated heat to combat the chill of the air. He blended into the darkness of the night, other than the glow of his large eyes and the gleam of heat whenever he opened his mouth to talk. Plus he’d started a tiny fire for Beckett to warm his dinner, blowing a stream of fire with deadly accuracy onto the pile of sticks inside a ring of rock

The Dawn of Day was Monday's Signature story feature, and I hope you took the time to check it out. If not, this excerpt might change your mind. I've done two, since the story is one of those which gives you insight into two very different happenings.... Want to read more? Click here!

June and halfway through the year. I don't know about you, but I truly believe that entire ages have come and gone in 2023 so far. I thought this story, Dawn of Day by Dolores Esteban was intriguing when I read it in the past and so fits how I feel about June so far. What do you think? Length: 40,080 Description: A gravitational wave sweeps the USS Explorer to the star system 55 Cancri. The crew detects a deserted alien airport on a planet in the habitable zone. The planet, however, is not deserted. A young native and a stranded alien crew spots the arrival of the spaceship from Earth. Unsettling events follow. Will the humans ever return to Earth? A Reader said: What happens when an accident send a spaceship with a crew of three earth men on an unplanned trip through time and space? We see how they interact with a more primitive society and a more advanced alien flight crew. Ms. Esteban imagines interesting and some times unexpected interactions between the three groups. I enjoyed reading this story and found it was a thoughtful look at trying to get along. ~ JeffreyL If you want to spread the word about Dolores' 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!

Light-hearted, love is just the right mix for the Pride month CSR, and I wanted to feature one of our long-term Signature authors on GA too! What better mix of the two than Geeks by CassieQ! Geeks by @CassieQ Length: 69,166 Description: A shy Star Wars geek love falls in love with an outgoing anime geek. As friends, family and old flames get in the way, will the two find a way to make it work? A Reader Said: Such a cute story, mikeal is beyond adorable and adam is such a stud. A tale about overcoming obstacles while trying to build a lasting relationship with the boy you love. Very heartwarming with lots of smoldering sex scenes 😍🥵 you won't be able to put this one down. ~ SnowBear Don't forget to come back and share your thoughts on Monday, June 26th!

I thought it was too funny not to share! Of course we are!!

By the time he was dry, Beckett and Valrinda had a long talk. Valrinda had flown all sorts of places, and he knew of the city that Beckett thought he’d seen, but he’d never been there. “I know the path at least.” “Of course you do,” Beckett mumbled. “Wouldn’t make sense for you to be my guide if you didn’t.” This was all too coincidental—too easy—for him to believe it was real. Maybe he was in a coma. He did have a great imagination, one teacher had once said. Too bad real life, and his dad

Did you read Demiurge's story, Dejection and Hope that was featured for this month's CSR? What did you think? Or you can share your thoughts on Demiurge's responses to my interview questions as I dared to let us all get to know them!! 🫣 Well, first (From Demi): Chocolate or Vanilla? Neither. What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know? I’m an emergency dispatcher. What something you like to do when you’re not writing? I really enjoy hiking. Specifically in state/national parks with my partner. What brought you to GA? I came to read originally and then liquid courage persuaded me to post my writing. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? I hate writing dialogue. I get taken out of a story if the characters I’m reading don’t make me feel something or are difficult to relate to. I feel like dialogue can make or break you and so I struggle to make it sound, “real”. How many stories have you written? Do you have a favorite? A lot. A metric eff ton. My favorite is a current work in progress that hasn’t made it to the site yet, but hopefully will soon! What about sharing your favorite scene in Dejection and Hope? My favorite scene, without giving too much away, is a wildly domestic moment between my characters that leads to a slightly traumatizing epiphany for Seth. Many authors write pieces of themselves or those they know into their characters. Do you connect with Noah or Seth, or with one more than the other? There are bits and pieces of me interwoven into both. This was really the first thing I wrote where I found myself in my characters’ reactions and mannerisms. Dejection and Hope lead to I Hate This town where one of my characters has some of the same mental health struggles/thought processes This is vitally important: What is the best add-in to ramen, either on or off a budget? Why is this the hardest question? Chasu pork…or yuzu….or chili oil. Can you share more of your current or upcoming work with readers? My current goal is to finish my fantasy trilogy. After that I have characters from, I Hate This Town that are getting a spin off. I normally have a few things working at once and I’d also really want to branch out into the horror theme.

“What do you know?” Valrinda asked. Beckett thought hard. It was only… yesterday? How could it only be yesterday with all that had happened? He’d been in the bathroom with Parallax in his arms, then in a freezing cold forest with that same cat, but somehow, he’d been completely different. “Well, Parallax said he was the embodiment of the Cosmos, not it’s guardian,” he pointed out. “And you think that the very fabric of space and time needs a physical being to not protect it?” One of Va

Did you catch Monday's zombie-esque Signature feature or did you manage to escape? If you did... I shall get you, or maybe Jody will in the following excerpt from Dodger's story, Zombies Like Us. Want more? Click here

May came in like a scorcher here, and I felt like a vampire hiding from the wicked, evil sun (more than usual). In this story, Zombies Like Us, by Dodger one character doesn't even have to try when it comes to creating his costume... and he's got plans for a select few. I liked this short story shared in one of our anthologies back when I first read it, and I hope you'll like it now too! Length: 10,930 Description: Jody doesn’t need to dress up for Halloween, he’s already a zombie thanks to his ex-boyfriend who has left him for a woman. When he’s invited to the bachelor party though, he turns up prepared and ready to take revenge! A Reader Said: I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's about love, loss, and pain with a lot of humor mixed in. ~ Lisa If you want to spread the word about Dodger'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!

I will say there has been a submission to the Secret Author Story contest already. I will not say who has submitted it. Muahahahahaha! 😈 Challenge to anyone who's interested, though, get your keyboard to work!

“How come I know your name?” And he wanted to smack himself in the forehead. That was not the first question that Beckett actually wanted to ask. Or thought he should ask. Of course it was the first one that popped out. He tried to think back BTT or as his brain was already labeling it, Before The Touch, capitals all the way. Beckett stepped back. “You never said it, right?” He might as well find out. “I’m your guide.” Valrinda shuffled his weight on those huge clawed feet of his and t

So Secrets (I hope that's the story I went too, please remember to add links your story for help) showed as set to publish at 7:10 AM my time (Pacific) so you may have accidentally messed up the publish time? When you manually toggle the publish button on, the calendar/clock should disappear and when you save it should override that to immediately go live. I didn't have any trouble getting it to publish. It's live now. Let me know via PM if you have issues via the next chapter; it gets my attention faster though this was overnight my time.

Back when Space Balls was the funny... Ha! Someone was a bit prophetic on the idiocy to come!

Twin thumps outside rattled his tree, startling Beckett awake in his soft bed where he’d spent the best hours of sleep he’d had in weeks. He bolted up, looking around wildly. Then he collapsed back, groaning. He was still there. He’d slept so hard, dreamless for once, that he’d been sure he’d wake up in his own bed. Not that this bed wasn’t tons better. His head wasn’t throbbing for once and his stomach wasn’t churning. He wasn’t even hungry. Other than being stuck in this dream, he was ove

Well May's a nice, loooong month, so you get a nice looong story. Let's see if you can get past the urge to just keep reading. I know I started to check which story I wanted to feature, and once I read chapter one, before I knew it I was on chapter ten... so I knew this was it! Dejection and Hope by @Demiurge Length: 129,052 Description: All Seth wanted was ramen. A small, androgynous, blond was not on his shopping list. Nor was an outspoken new friend and therapy. He’d obviously turned down a wrong aisle somewhere. Noah has a great best friend, a great job, an okay car, and an awesome apartment. Things are great. Except he’s watching his life from inside the closet. Also, he has…eclectic tastes. Most of which involve lace and silk. He didn’t mean to take “niche” and run with it. Will the closet door open? Will everyone accept Noah? Most importantly, will Seth get his ramen? A reader said: So worth the read! ~ leeoeder Don't forget to come back and share your thoughts on Monday, May 29th!

Ire had left him after flitting down the path, or rather up it toward the house he was supposed to have. He still couldn’t see it, just a few big trees. It was probably some shack. Or, knowing his luck and that he’d led there by a tiny dragon, he’d find a pile of heated rocks or sand to sleep on with a few branches to block any unfortunate rain showers that might come his way. Did dragons sleep on a bed of hot coals or sand? Meh, what did it matter? At least his clothes would get dry that w

April showers bring... May showers, at least where I live! How about you? If you've been stuck indoors, maybe you checked out this month's looong featured CSR story, A Love to Last? Or it'll be this week's evening entertainment of choice after this interview with the author, vanalas! (Or maybe you might pick another of vanalas' stories!) Q: Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point? A: It depends with my mood. There are mornings when I wake up and want to be responsible and other morning when a demon of laziness possesses me lol Q: If you were an animal, what would you be? A: Definitely a cat. I like to be a little mischievous sometimes…. Okay, lots of times. Q: Did you like to write in growing up or start as an adult? A: I started as an adult. I was 17 when I wrote and published my first story, don’t know if that’s adult. Q: What brought you to GA? A: One of my fans on the first site I published my stories (Literotica) suggested I also Publish my stories on GA. I checked it out, registered and I’ve been publishing ever since. Q: What is your favorite genre to read, and do you like to write it as well? A: Hmmmm… quite a number, but I am gonna go with fantasy. And Yes, I love to write it. My fantasy series “Unbroken” has been a major hit. Q: What is the first thing you do when you start a new story? After you end a story? A: I try to think and find ways of developing it in a way that will get my fans hooked. And after I end it, I always take a deep breath, lie down and think about the journey I have had with the story. Q: What inspired the plot for A Love to Last? A: A TV series I was watching and I loved the plot. So, I said to myself, let me make something similar but not exact. Q: Do you identify or connect the best with any of the main characters: Ben, Jim, Jerome, or David? A: Definitely Ben. This is a character I took so much time developing because I wanted people to relate to his emotions and I am glad they did. I did too. Q: What is your favorite scene in the story? A: I have got a couple of scenes that I can mention. But if I can pick one, it has to be when Ben and David first met, the connection David felt. Q: Can you share anything about your current or upcoming work with readers? A: I have got an amazing upcoming series at the end of the year. Unfortunately, I cannot give any information. Let me just say, “stay tuned”

All of the anthologies that were submitted to site staff by the deadline were published with the event to date in the 3 weeks of planned blog announcements, plus this week's Wrap Up which will review the overall event. Authors are always welcome to publish their works afterward and mention they were intended for the event if they didn't meet the deadline, word counts, etc... however.