Cia

OMG. I laughed my ass off at this. The kid is so damn deadpan.

International community, those a few hours ahead start the topic early sometimes I was confused at first too, lol. Happy Birthday Lughbert! *muah*

No book club this month! April Fools! Okay, so I suck at pranks. We are doing a story; this month we're going with the story suggested by Percy. I'm loving all the detailed feedback readers are sharing with each other and our authors. One of the suggestions I've heard a few times is giving short stories a chance. I'd like to feature 3 short stories, up to say, 25k each but they can be less, for next month's selections. That way people can pick and choose what to read, any or all of them. Keep that in mind for the story discussion on April, 29th so you can nominate your favorites. On to this month's selection! Josh's Blog by Carl Holiday Length: 69,713 Rating: Mature Description: Joshua Burk is sent to Pine Corner, Wisconsin, to live with his father. While there, he falls in love, twice, discovers life can be a little strange in a small town out in the cornfields, and begins an unbelievable journey of discovery and wonder. Some thoughts from a reader: I really, really like this story. This is going to be a fun ride. It's July, 1523 and some kid is BLOGGING from there. HA! Don't forget, the story discussion will be held on April 29th!

Good for you hun!

I was so hoping that wasn't the case. However, with a herniated disc, maybe they can do more than palliative measures and get you better, not just not hurting. As for the diabetes, hugs, I know that's a hard road. Keep taking care of yourself.

I hadn't yet had a chance to read and comment in the forum topic for this, so I thought I'd start it off here. I felt like this had some reverse Cinderella vibes going on, which was cool. The father being led around by the nose by the wicked stepmother was a good plot twist from the usual. I felt so bad for the dad, even though he was a dumbass and his son is having to sacrifice his joys in life, possibly, to save him. There are so many things I want to know. Will Caden get along with Rhys? Is the Prince a good or bad guy? What will happen after the wedding? Can Caden live in the world of court intrique? What are his 'differences' and do they go beyond the physical of his eyes (great old time mystique on that one, it is right up there with being 'cackhanded' in the old superstitions) and his companionship with the animals and his unwillingness to talk? I did have a quibble. I liked that the backstory was given in dialogue, however, it was very unbelievable that the dad would need to say all of that to Caden. He already knows what his life has been like, specifically the paragraph where he mentions about Caden's mother being paid off and then Mildred's actions toward Caden since then. The rest is reasonable, but that part at least was extraneous and aimed from the author to the reader, which threw me out of the story when I started questioning why that was something he felt the need to say as it didn't fit. That is a minor quibble, though, and I have so MUCH I want to know. I'd love to see this continued.

Hey Prompt Fans! Check out this week's inspiration served up hot and ready by our flash fiction guru, Comicfan. Prompt 220 – Creative Tag – First Line “Why is my underwear hanging off the chandelier?” Prompt 221 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – bird cage, night club, glass slipper, banana, and a fisherman. This week's prompt feature was written by Layla. I enjoyed the world, and the lack of the appearance of the prince is bugging the crud out of me. I'd love to see more of this, so maybe if she gets a lot of comments, we can find out more! Here's hoping, anyway!

Hmm... what's to stop the good Doc from immediately calling and warning them? I'm sort of wondering why they didn't warn him to stay shut up or they'll kill him, or incapacitate him until they were done tracking down Mr. Containment Agent? That being said, this is one again a very strange blending of OMG, that is just WRONG and awww, how sweet, he's jealous and cute as they threaten lives together. *snickers* You do that in a way like I've seen with no other author. So well done.

I hope you make it home, and stay there! I know, I know, you are probably aware of this and so is Dan, but door knobs! Those things harbor germs like mad. I'm the type of nut job that wipes them down daily. I will think truly good thoughts that you make a complete recovery this time and come out of all this strong AND lymphoma free.

I'm part of several groups on Goodreads, including the MM Romance group. I can honestly say that there are a LOT of dedicated people, should Amazon start mucking around with the site policies/procedures, that will probably be up in arms over it. I use the site daily, but I'm not a part of the system over there. Should it be an issue, I'll have to review my options and see if something else is available. *shakes head* I dislike how Amazon is spreading across the internet.

I am bi, always have been, always will be. It's good to have options ... well, if I wasn't married to a guy already, lol. But twice the eye candy is nice!

Great interview and I love the feedback on GA. We are actually working on navigation, so go us for keeping up with the site. There is just so MUCH to GA, it can be intimidating to newbies. I love it when folks break through that barrier and become successful though!

Oh good lord, they're having their 'first date get to know you' over cutting up a body and delivering it to a pig farm to get rid of the evidence. The blend of ordinary and completely fucked up has me totally amused. This story is good, but we need it to go somewhere. Too many chapters with just the basic life events or history get banal, even with it is happening with a psychotic immortal and pissed off vampire. I did like the sexy growl there at the end. What can I say? I love posessive jerks, lol.

This week we have a great installment by Yettie One once again, focusing on what keeps GA going ... the members! Read on to find out more... Pulse Behind the GA Crowd by Yettie One So as I hinted last month, we are going to meet a member of the horse loving community here at GA this month. Yup, I’m going to have a good chat with the writer of the Riding Lessons series of books that can be found on the profile works of Andrew Todd. Andrew has been writing and sharing his stunningly detailed stories of boys and horses here at GA since November 2012, and if you haven’t check out his stories as yet, I would suggest you do. You’ll get lost in summers of fun, childish pranks, the wonders of sexual awakening and the joys of a youth spent in the freedom of large open spaces, and in the company of some quite majestic animals. But enough about the writing, let’s discover a bit about the man. It may come as a little bit of a shock to us, but Andrew is a passionate horse loving man. 45 and a resident of Florida, Andrew describes himself as a man who’s been after finding happiness as possibly one of the more important things in life. A guy who had a thing for Jaclyn Smith, despite nature explaining to him at a later stage in his life, that she was clearly on the other team in the cricket squad. Andrew came to GA in search of the Castaway Hotel series by Bill W, a hosted author here on GA. On his blog, Andrew speaks fondly of GA, and the support and community spirit that he found here, and at the suggestion of a reader he finally plunged in and began posting his Riding Lessons series here. I asked Andrew what his favourite features of GA were, and he instantly pointed to the freedom as an author. “On GA, I am free to post stories as I want, when I want. I’ve been frustrated by being at the whim of an archivist or webmaster on other sites, so this is one of the freedoms that I cherish here at GA.” “I would have to point to ‘The Foley-Mashburn Saga’ by Brew Maxwell as my all time favourite story. Brew only submitted the one series, a wonderful legacy of love, acceptance, gay kids growing up strong. It’s a story I’ve read about 7 or 8 times and one I’ll never get tired of.” Andrew’s exuberance as he talks of this story has prompted me to add it to my list of books to find and read. Others included in his top five favourite tales include. The Adventures of Trey and Jay, The Castaway Hotel series by Bill W, A New Life & Life Goes On by The Eggman and Andrew indicated to me he couldn’t leave out ‘Dust and Ash’ by TMcCallahan. When it came to his favourite authors, Andrew struggled a bit. “It is so hard to chose just five,” he complained at me, but still, at my insistence he managed to come up with this list. “If you are going to check out some really great writers, then I’d recommend; Brew Maxwell, Bill W, Sequoyah, The Eggman, Jeff Allen.” I asked Andrew if he was ticklish, and with a cheeky giggle he answers, “Hell yes, but please stay well away, I don’t want to squeal like a girl.” I can’t help but giggle with him at the thought. Weakness discovered. Andrew finds deep blue eyes attractive. “Actually the deeper the better,” he confirms. I asked Andrew about a positive impact he’s experienced from his time on GA, and after a short pause he points firmly to the feedback he’s experienced on the site. “Everyone has been so welcoming and encouraging. It’s a great community to be a part of. Writing, for me, started as a whim, and the fantastic encouragement I get here has only helped me continue.” It is a common trend I find talking to members each month. There is a wonderful sense of community here at GA. I ask Andrew if he had one thing he’d improve about GA, what it would be. “I’d make the site a little more navigable,” he suggests. “I’ve had readers that read my stuff on other sites refuse to come to GA as they find it too hard to navigate,” he tells me. As ever, meeting, chatting to, and listening to Andrew has been a pleasure this month. I really do enjoy my time finding out about the Pulse Behind the GA Crowd series of interviews, asking writers about their time on GA, and discovering more and more hidden gems here at GA. Next month, I have a chance to chat with a rising star here at GA, a young man who’s writing I’m learning to admire and thoroughly enjoy. Until then, I am so greatful to Andrew Todd for his open and candid answers to my questions, and please if you haven’t met him yet, visit, read, say hi and get to meet a really great guy, just one part of the big picture that makes GA such a special place to be. Until next month, be good everyone. Hugs and snuggles The Yettie.

Of course people do. When it comes to covers, it is very important to use something that will draw the reader in and also focuses on your story. I hate misleading covers, like Crossing Borders by ZA Maxfield. It doesn't fit the story or the characters imo. That being said, I'm also not a fan of artistic covers or illustrations for online eBooks. Oddly enough, when going through my personal books, especially the fantasy ones, I notice those are prevalent by comparison and I actually like many of them. We are most often stimulated visually. An intriguing title and a well constructed cover draw the eye, and the reader to the author's work. I use those first to judge when scrolling through eBook stores, then I read the story blub. If that sounds interesting, without telling me the whole damn plot, I will often move to the excerpt to judge the author's writing skills. Then I search the title and/or author if they're unknown so that I can find reviews and/or ratings on various fiction websites. Sometimes I find the story free somewhere that way too. I can spend hours and hours trying to find just the right image for a character when I create them. The cover I used for Heated Blood (in the eBook store here on GA) was my creation. I have a wide stock of personal photography for nature backgrounds, such as the sunset lit clouds for that background, which is nice, but I also haunt stock websites for free images. I did pay for the photograph of the guy in the picture, but I bought a small pack of credits on 123rf for under $15 so I will be able to download several images for my graphic work. I will be putting some covers here on GA for purchase once I have more created, which is acceptable for 'stock' non-royalty purchases. Cover artists do it all the time. As long as you are not re-selling the image as stock yourself, and it is non-royalty (meaning you don't have to pay a portion to the original owner for each time the image, or eBook cover, is downloaded) you're good to use it once. Most websites cover what kind of product you can and cannot use their stock for based on various purchase levels. Community property images are also fair game, though you have to be VERY careful to follow all the rules of the stock owners. If I get free stock from a private website/gallery, I always take a screen shot so that if questions come in the future I can clearly demonstrate at the time of download, the image was free to use per the owner's own rules/copyright notice.

a ) There really isn't a way to pin it, though I could do a site wide announcement each month for it. However no one every pays attention to those. b ) We're not doing over 90k. There are too many people who don't read that fast. I could consider doing 2-3 short stories people could pick to read from, any or all. c ) Readers are more than welcome to add their reviews to the story. Even I can only do 1 review per chapter. So I can't add them. Plus it takes readers 2 more minutes to copy/paste their own review, it'd take a lot longer for me to try and add them in some super review or something and I wouldn't be able to add new ones if people go back to comment again. Basically... we do put a lot of work into the blog, and dealing with mod issues, and other projects on top of our real lives. We try to vary content and keep the site busy and interactive for members, but the more we try to do, the harder it can be and the more staff members that burn out. Suggestions are great, and I appreciate them. I know we will definitely take things into consideration and apply what we can, as we can. Thanks!

I'm not sure, Option. It must have been a deleted member. I found the same story on Nifty *shudders* but only with an email contact info, no author name, so I can't pinpoint whose story it was. To be safe, we've deleted it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

Today we're featuring a review of Libby's story, State of Mind. She graciously gave out eBook copies, and members could read it on the site, of course. Fishwings accepted my request and wrote up an excellent review to entice you to read the story, just in case you haven't already. Bear in mind, however, there *are* some spoilers. Read ahead at your own risk! Fishwing's Review: First of all, I'd like to thank Cia for letting me write this review. She knows that I'm a huge fan of Libby Drew and I am honoured to be able to review one of my favourite stories on this site. “A State of Mind” was actually the first Libby Drew novel that I read, after which I became an instant fan. I still remember staying up at four in the morning on a school night, loathing myself because I simply couldn’t summon enough willpower to put it aside for later! The story follows the Organization, a secret agency consisting of "gifted" men and women with paranormal, psychic powers of persuasion and telekinesis. "A State of Mind" thrives on several strengths, including a riveting plot and a clever concept that is an entertaining nod towards other secret agent and superhuman novels. However, I think its biggest strength lies in its amazingly well-developed characters. One such character is Nicolas – one of my favourites. He is an egotistical brat, a jealous bitch, with borderline ambiguous motives, but at the same time remained a reliable friend. I thought this combination of flaws and strengths really humanized him to the point that I felt sorry for him being third-wheeled. Both protagonists were similarly well-fleshed out. Grier is a brooding, cynical, at times socially awkward, wisened, deadly warrior with a sad childhood who eventually becomes quite devoted to Alec. Alec is archetypically blond and stubborn to the point of irritation, but he’s also quick witted, reserved yet flirty, with enough loyalty and good heart to make him both a relatable and an admirable character. Another thing that I enjoyed is how Libby balances the romance with the action. It was simply perfect. The unresolved sexual tension keeps on growing and doesn’t get in the way of their pulse-racing escapes, nor does the action subvert the chemistry between them – it enhances it. Libby builds up their relationship through several sweet (and life-threatening) moments until that one, explosively huge, satisfying bedroom scene. I usually skip over sex scenes in novels, or I observe them with the detached manner comparative to how an entomologist might regard the dissection of an insect specimen, but this scene worked for me because of how well it was planned. I remember screaming into the air: “Well ABOUT F*CKING TIME!” (pun intended) Now regarding the action. Libby’s prose is vivid, without a touch of purple, and she knows how to structure her sentences to amp up the adrenaline. The most memorable scene of the entire novel I thought would have to be Alec and Grier’s confrontation with Kay at the restaurant. I was hanging on every single bloody word, and the way the situation was resolved I thought was very clever. Libby’s characters were proactive, and their autonomous thinking/actions impressed me on numerous occasions. One area that I wasn’t entirely convinced was regarding the villains. In contrast to the protagonists, I felt that they weren’t very well developed and were rather stereotyped. In particular, the way Kay dismissed Alec’s friendship was unrealistically abrasive, and she quickly faded from being a source of intrigue. I thought if she had suffered from more ambiguity it would have humanized the antagonists a little more and made them more interesting. Another thing that I noticed is that Libby sometimes uses the mirror technique to describe character appearances, which kind of makes me go “oh I see what you did there…” … and now I’m just being nitpicky. Although I can’t seem to think of any deep-rooted themes that correlate to this book, I honestly don’t really care. "State of Mind’s" primordial purpose was to entertain, and it more than delivered. I laughed, bit my knuckles in anticipation, fell in love with Alec, with Grier, with Nicolas, pumped my fist in the air when Kay fell to her death, and didn’t regret going to school the next day feeling like death because I had stayed up all night reading. And typing up this review. Overall, I loved "State of Mind." Thank you so much Libby Drew for writing it and allowing it to be hosted on this site (and for kindly PMing members free copies of your book), and for just existing in general. Keep doing your thing, you amazing writer, you. So what did YOU think? Leave your comments on the section below, BUT don’t forget to post a review on Libby’s story as well! Authors thrive on feedback. Thank you, Fishwings, for the excellent review! Now on to more thoughts from readers! Comment below with your thoughts of the story. Don't forget to suggest a story for next month, between 20-90k, completed! After today we'll have had 3 months of CSR's book club. The last 2 months have netted some great reads and thoughts for the authors chosen. How about some feedback for the blog itself? You can pm me or post here, but I'd like to know if we're going along great or if there are any features/suggestions you might have!

Yet a lot of straight men love porn that isn't solely f/f. lol One never knows why some people are so weirded out by things.

Homophones! I am a visual reader, I 'see' what I'm reading if it is interesting. I pointed this out a few weeks ago in an eBook where a character cried out in a 'horse' voice during an orgasm and I got this instant visual of a man neighing. It was soooo wrong, and totally screwed up the impact of the scene. This is why having a beta or editor, or just a second pair of eyes doing a line edit, is so important. Spellcheck often won't catch homonyms/homophones but you can be certain readers often will. Words that bug the crap out of me: Shutter for Shudder Taught for Taut Reign for Rein (and vice versa) Come for Cum (and vice versa! Come = verb, cum = noun) Cents/Sense/Scents Queue/Cue Peak for pique Shear/Sheer Though... some of these do make for some laugh inducing visuals.

"She's just a girl! She said ... she said ...." Mr. Caplin eyebrows rose. "What's the matter, Perry?" I wiped at the tears streaming down my face and held out a letter. It trembled violently. "I thought ... I thought it was from school. They use these envelopes. B-but i-i-i ..." I shook my head violently. "Why?" I cried. "Oh, hell." Mr. Caplin dropped the letter and pulled me into his arms. "We don't know why, Perry." He rubbed my thin shoulders as I sobbed against his chest. "Sometimes th

That's awesome Robert. Blood transfusions suck, but whatever it takes to get you healthy and home asap! I'm so glad you're keeping us in touch with what is going on.

Man, he is just so sadistic! He broke her, but kept on doing it, just for fun. Truly shivered on that one. I noticed in this chapter you have a lot of punctuation dialogue issues. If you check the writer's forum there is a topic in there on it, and I've shared a really comprehensive rule sheet that I found online a while back. Or, you can pm me.

Hey folks! It's that time again, prompt time! We have 2 more creative prompts from our resident flash inspiration guru, Comicfan. 218 is right up my alley so I'm going to try to do something for it later this week, I think. Site flash fiction is something I have, to my embarrassment, been neglecting. It's a cool little way to inspire authors to write-even if it's just something small and fun. You can do a 30 word poem, or a 100 word microflash, or an under 1k regular flash, or a prompt could inspire a whole new world for you to dabble in. That part is up to you. But try doing one, because it is a valuable tool in a writer's arsenal, I believe. We need to be able to stretch ourselves from our routines now and then. There are literally hundreds of prompts to choose from too! Prompt 218 – Creative You were promised to another before you were even born. Your whole life you knew you would have no choice in this marriage. Now your life partner is due to arrive in mere hours and your entire kingdom has been working none stop to make sure everything is perfect. What is your life partner like and how will you survive with that person for the rest of your life? Prompt 219 – Creative A letter was mistakenly delivered to you. You had opened and read it before you realized it wasn’t meant for you. What was the letter about and what do you do about it? Last week we bypassed the prompts, but in the last two weeks no one opted to try a new flash piece. So I'm going to whip something up, right here, right now, for this week's prompt feature to get everyone started. Hopefully there will be many more added! You can post these in your flash collections, in the topic, etc... but write, post, have fun!

<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17201647-fragile-bond" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Fragile Bond" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357056386m/17201647.jpg" /></a><a I read Fragile Bond last night and wanted to write the review while it was fresh in my mind. I read, A LOT, but this book caught my eye and went on to my wishlist when it came out. I finally got a chance to read it, uninterrupted, and it kept me interested start to finish.<br /><br />The synopsis of the book actually sums up the story quite well, in my opinion, without giving too much away. Several of the plot elements have been used in science fiction books I've read before, like the pheromones, mistaken status of non-sentient creatures for sentient beings, and a first contact/military character. <br /><br />Still, I enjoyed this ebook quite a bit. I felt the tawnies, aka furrs, were amazing characters. We got several glimpses into their society and social structure throughout the story, enough to get a detailed picture of their culture. The sensory perceptions of the world, or Soma as Hamm named the planet, were amazing and it was nearly visible to my mind's eye. Hamm and Marc's bonding was confusing and arousing and not neat and tidily wrapped up in a bow-which I fully appreciated. <br /><br />However, I did still have a few issues with the story. The human culture made ZIP sense. We didn't get much explanation of the 'Mother Commander', or their ship, or their evolution. I'd have loved it if the author had seen fit to share more of that since to me, the reader, both cultures were foreign, not just the 'aliens'. It was integral part of the story that I felt was missing. I also disliked the rapid head hopping between multiple characters, though that was more the 'style' not any sort of mistake, and while I'm not alone in my aversion to it, it's a style preference more than anything.<br /><br />Overall, a good story, but one that I had to really focus on to understand-especially at the end with the large cast of characters-to follow and understand. It was an intriguing plot, and I loved the poignancy at the end which really capped off the story well. Even with my quibbles I completely enjoyed this eBook. A definite recommendation with a 4 out of 5 star rating. <br /><br /> <br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5881541-alicia-nordwell">View all my reviews</a>