Cia

I have little practical advice, honestly. I've straddled the line between genders a lot because I am not overly girly and have always preferred hanging out with guys if I have to be with group of men or women, but I am not transgender. The days of 'Alicia is a girl!' all my friends exclaimed when the substitute teacher would tell a classmate to "go ask 'him' how to do it, because 'he' seems to know what 'he's doing" ended when I got boobs. Unhidable boobs. What I do know from a lifetime of not being what people expect is that most folks have NO idea how to handle anything outside of their comfort zone, even if they clearly aren't trying to be offensive. However, like I've told many a teen who's come to me for advice on talking to their parents, you have to be patient. You've had your whole life to come to grips with your sexuality/gender/differently-mindedness. Those you tell might have had seconds, so when they come out with a non-politic response or general lack of understanding... try to remember how you felt when you first realized you were different. Then teach them what you learned.

Thank you Wayne for the wonderful comments, and Jo Ann too! I love creating new twists on old... well, I can't spoil what twist I throw into the story, but I will say it's not just a contemporary piece. Thanks for the feature!!

Let's put it this way: For every rule there's a counter example about an author who can break said 'rule' and do so well. What I like to see is the varied opinions on what makes 'good fiction' and discussion of the 'rules'. There are a lot of valid points in this topic. The key for authors is to learn everything they can. Check out different 'camps' on the rules and see what works for you. What flows for you? What do your readers respond to best? Most people don't focus on one single technique and never try anything new. Be open! Try new things!

Very nice beginning. We get an image of the location, your characters, and the mindset of your main character. I'm not usually a fan of first person present tense, but it's well done when you stick to it. You have a few places where you slipped into past tense, but overall you have a nicely begun story, and I'd like to read more. I'm a big fan of paranormal tropes, so this is up my alley when mixed in with animals (looove cute vet stories) and the men who like to care for them. I can't wait to see how you bring Bill back and how we find out about his nature.

No, I meant passive writing. That does include verb choices, of course, but goes beyond that element as well. I had the bad habit of letting sentences meander. The semi-colon is not my friend, lol, and nor is the ellipses, or exclamation points. Minding how I phrase each line, breaking them up as needed, and using the actions I already included in narration increases the dramatic impact of the story far better than littering it with punctuation. Often those issues aren't obvious to readers but still detract from the simplistic beauty of a compelling scene. Of course there are settings, times, and characters where passive writing suits my needs, but far more often they are a hindrance and not a help.

Thanks! I love him too. Thanks for reading, Gpete!

Benny stared at the blood soaked rag around his hand. Ellis made him drive to the clinic to see Dr. Pannar. He’d tried to make Benny get out and let him drive, but that wasn’t going to happen. Benny didn’t own much, but he loved his truck. He avoided thinking about the fist sized hole in the dashboard he’d probably pay out the nose to fix. He had the money, but what if Ellis said Yuri needed treatment from some high priced specialist? Fuck. Benny ran a hand through his hair. When was he going

“It would never work. Your father’s plan to modernize the Tigers, I mean.” Velaku cocked his head to one side. “Why not?” “Birth defects and rising infant mortality rates aren’t enough to convince them, even when they had concrete research results from Tiger scientists and doctors. They cannot see past the way things were done to anything else, much less anything better. “Sully the bloodlines or deign to ask for help without precedent? Tigers do not accept anything new or different. Hell”—Ben

Oh yeah... plot threads are a'twisting! Thanks for the review!

It's rare to find a woman who is 'normalized' in gay fiction. Either they're great moms, or bad moms, or good, loving friends who adore their gay besties or they're the biggest traitor or bitch around. Breaking stereotypes is hard though it can be done. My bigger pet peeve in a lot of gay stories, especially high school ones, is where ALL the guys end up being gay. Unless there's a damn good explanation, that just doesn't make sense! Oh, and friends insulting each other? I kinda get it... I've done that with online friends, but the last person who called my bff a name got a giant dent in the side of his precious car, compliments of me losing my temper. LOL I couldn't imagine insulting her, but that might be because she's someone who wouldn't like that.

Benny yawned. He had a rare day off to spend watching Yuri. He’d brought a blanket to lay on since the ground was still damp, but the sun was shining. Spring was in full swing. The sun warmed the damp ground, and the smell of dirt and green, growing things surrounded him. He’d moved closer to the eyrie than ever before, confident the myriad of smells would hide his scent. Yuri was playing with the young, letting them climb like a tree before they jumped off and ‘flew’ to the ground. The Falcon

Actions speak louder than words. This is especially true with fiction. I'd rather see the story scenes than be told them by the author. In many ways, of course, this is letting the characters tell the story... but why belabor the obvious? A headed glance, a touch, a need, a kiss, *ahem* something more... all scream I am gay without having to say it. You're right, with coming out stories this is a hard phrase to avoid, but other than that it's far preferable to not tell the reader what should be obvious if you develop a complex, compelling character.

Several editors over the last year have pointed out passive writing, which is my latest and greatest nemesis. It is very hard to break the habit of writing that way. Before that I struggled with independently moving body parts, which still like to find their way into my stories sometimes. My first lesson was to use smaller, more descriptive words that more folks could understand instead of the fun, fancy words I know. Not everyone was a giant geek and liked to read the dictionary growing up (when you only have a few books, and you're a bookworm, you make do, lol). Of course, my greatest lesson in basic writing was dialogue punctuation. It is still my number one pet peeve as a reader, especially with long-time authors who have a lot of posted work. I can forgive most typos--no one is perfect after all--but authors should at least attempt to learn the fundamentals of their craft. This can be extremely frustrating if I check reviews and see the problem pointed out multiple times to the author but they make no effort to fix the problem. And if I see two characters talking in the same paragraph? I will not continue reading the story, no matter how inventive the plot. So maybe my pet peeve is just laziness? We should all work to better ourselves, even if it means boring research and memorization of rules until they become second nature.

Gah! It's not In Process. It is definitely complete. That must have been a glitch/misunderstanding of the status when we moved all the stories in 2010/2011. I'll fix it.

LOL! I remember my bff having the barbie dream house with the elevator when we were kids. Tres chic! An elevator! LOL. I cringe now, thinking about playing with Barbies, ughs. I don't think anyone could find that pink plastic monstrosity scary though.

Grief does come and go. Life must go on, and we can't dwell on our feelings all the time. That's healthy and normal.

To me it sounds as if you are trying to write the story of your experience, not for any legal purposes, but as a piece of fiction. However, if you are pursuing a legal case, I would not recommend writing about it until after you have been through court and gotten a verdict and appeals are done, if they crop up as well. It could only complicate your case.

Well that's all part of the mental issues. I don't want to give too much away about Yuri's diagnosis until I actually share the chapters, since that might give away something. Thanks for the review!

We do need the water! The West Coast is going to be in trouble this summer, I think. Still, of course it pops up when you have plans. LOL Stay dry, have fun, and keep doing well!

Me too! But, the trilogy really had an underlying plot, which wasn't as obvious in Bashta's story, but was still there with critical characters. I had these 'side stories' planned for some of the secondary characters the whole time, but time/inclination hampered me. More will be coming on this though, which was my real drive with tying it into my Wednesday Briefers group. At the very least, you know you get a little more each week. Thanks for reading!

Great interview, Cassie and Myiege! I'm a big fan of angst and drama too, but sometimes it's nice to write something light and sweet. Variety is the spice of life. And I feel for you and your VC Andrews phase. I never did... but that's only because my sister used to have me read it to her and I was disgusted by HER phase, lol! So a quick question... what is writing to you? Is this just a side hobby? Do you have any hopes of publishing something one day?

He might! You never know, you know? LOL! I can't spill what's going to happen, that would be no fun. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. There's definitely more to come.

Well, like I said, Ellis is extremely persistent. I'm all about twisting a story, maybe in ways you don't expect. Don't worry, Yuri will play a much bigger role in the story soon. Thanks for reading, Belann.

Oh, there's much to come. I can't give away my plans to help Yuri, but you can trust he's persistent. I don't think he'll stop til he's tried everything he can possibly think of. Thanks for reading!

Me, happy ending? Noooo!