Cia

Our beautiful home was being violated, which made me sick and furious at the same time I felt relief that every moment they spent searching in vain for us there, they weren’t out scanning the jungle. We’d been walking for what felt most of the day, and the trees were starting to thin. Sweat had slicked every inch of my body and matted my hair until it started to stand up on its own. A hum, almost on the edge of my ability to hear, and the scent of ozone, made my nose itch. Where were w

I turned on shaky arms, the bile racing up my throat until I vomited what little of the morning meal I’d managed to eat. My muscles clenched, and I heaved repeatedly until nothing was left and spit and snot drooled in nasty strings from my face to mix with the tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, and all I felt was certainty that Garjah was gone and I was going to die. Something nudged me in my ribs, and I collapsed onto my side. Curling into a ball, I pulled my

Bouncer ran circles around us, which was probably a good thing. I was a hot, sweaty and panting mess as I trotted through the jungle. The sun filtered through the tall trees to leave a dim view of the ground, and there was silence all around us. I wasn’t sure if that was because we were pursued, and the jungle sensed the brewing danger, or if the cerops running around us was danger enough. I almost wished Bouncer was sentient right then. If only he could answer some questions about what he

I'm so sorry, I had the wrong author name earlier!! I hope everyone will still enjoy this story, despite my mistake. I know it sucked me in front start to finish.

How do you feel about dragons? They're some of my favorites! I also love to feature all different kinds of stories for the CSR. Established authors, promoted, new authors, brand new stories or stories that are the latest in a long list of author's backlist. Dark said that was the first specific MM fanfic of Anne McCaffrey's Pern stories written and shared on GA, and I thought it'd be good to return to the series roots. What did you think of it?! The Seventh Wing by @Dark Length: 75,572 Description: This is a fan-fiction based on Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. This is kind of an Alternate Universe, because this takes place shortly before the 4th Pass and there is no canon to base this on -- which is precisely why I chose it! Author Note: You may think this story is trash (and you may be right) but I will always love it because this was the first story I wrote explicitly for M/M. I had done some small fan-fics to try it, but this is the one that convinced me. This is the story that led me towards rediscovering my own gender/sexuality and falling in love with the gay stories genre. This story is the beginning. A Reader Said: So in the end, so to speak, patience and tenderness overcame a long history of abuse. This story was well written, but I wish there had been a little more history built into it in some way. The story flowed well, for the most part, and moved the characters forward in a way that felt natural and right. A little more character development might have been nice, or instead of the authors notes, maybe a more detailed information on who was in the book. ~centexhairysub Don't forget to come back and share your thoughts on Monday, August 29th!

Oh no, those comments after update came from me. I'm in Washington, and we do NOT usually have these temps. It's a form of horrible torture. I hope you're surviving. I want my rain back!

Suuuure. It had nothing to do with me being a giant flake. I actually had remembered this morning so GA was my first online stop, but it would have been a big red flag as soon as I logged on so that was a nice reminder.

This sounds like a colloquialism like "twink". Oh yeah... he's so slimsy!

Welcome to the last Monday of the month. I hope it's gone well for you, and if not, you're here not to enjoy this interview 😉 with @James Matthews and share your thoughts on his story, Him in the Dust. Don't be shy now!! Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point? I really had to think about this question before giving an honest answer. I'd say my bed is unmade most of the time. I do like to get into a made bed as I'm sure we all do so on a weekend I usually make it as Saturday is housework day. But I'm going to have to come up with a classic answer, and that is I just don't have time in the mornings. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I like to do as little as possible if I'm honest. When I'm not working I like to chill out and eat through a Netflix series. Right now I am playing Death Stranding on the PS4 (I like to play games as well). I try to keep fit by exercising at home with an app I use from the internet. So fitness is quite enjoyable if you have good music to do it with. And of course reading. I do surprisingly very little of it, but if you ever can't sleep, read. What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? There are two places I'd love to go research for a book. One place I've been to three times and that's Egypt. The other is the Utah. With the latter I find the landscape amazing and I fell in love with the place after seeing a documentary presented there. What brought you to GA? I can't even remember. I would like to give you an exciting answer but I'm sure it was just a case of stumbling across it, hmmm. I was hosting a couple of my books over on IOMFATS and I think someone from there told me about GA It was tip off or a stumble, I can't remember ha!. I will big up the site and say it's the only place where you get consistent quality. I think authors put a lot of effort in on this site and it shows. I like the fact that as an author GA gives you almost complete control over your work and how it is presented. Nowhere else does that. What’s the best part of being an author? There is one thing, and that is expression. To be able to express yourself through a novel or a poem is the most rewarding thing about writing. I used to write for readers, and I used to write stuff that I thought people would like. Now I write for me, and hope that the reader can enjoy my work too. I'm so grateful and humbled that I have a loyal readership. Those people I know by name who read my stuff - It's great when they get really onboard and excited with a story. Each novel I write I try to tear a little bit of my life out of my mind and add it to the book somehow. Writing is also a way for me to heal from the bad time I had as a gay kid growing up. Anyone who has, or is reading my stuff knows I throw in a lot of mental health topics and give my characters the problems and issues I had. That is healing! You stated there have been a lot of wars in your author note on the story. How did you pick the time period and war to write about? Everyone will have their own views on the war in Iraq and you could debate forever on whether it was a good thing or bad, right or wrong. But I found that time fascinating. I also think it was the first time where the media really got involved in a war to this scale. It was on the TV 24 hours a day, live, and nothing like that had ever been shown to the public before. There was also the relationship dynamic between Bush and Blair, the USA and the UK - we had never been so close... so together! It was a controversial time, and I think in a nutshell I chose this time, and this war because I followed it from day one. I remember those first explosions when the UK and US bombed the palaces. I did my best to get accurate information and put it in the book, and I would be really proud if anyone who served in the armed forces read it and said yeah, that's just what it was like. Because I spent hours researching before I wrote a single word at some points in the book. But it was a rewarding book to write. Which character from Him in the Dust do you most identify with and why? That's a good question. and a hard one. I am nothing like Sebastian, we're totally different personalities. I'd say Jack. He was the funny one and I was always the class clown trying to make people laugh. Jack is a softie and loves everyone. I think that's more me than any other character. What is your favorite part of Him in the Dust? I liked the slow, almost accidental coupling of Seb and Lukas. I also love the fact that the more war they saw, the closer they got. They needed eachother in a few different ways. Can you sum up this story in one sentence? RAW Do you have anything to share about your current or upcoming work with readers? Luke Hanson's Mind and Punishment (a play on Crime and Punishment) is my current project. That will be complete probably by the end of July. D'you know, I keep thinking about doing something set in ancient Egypt with the protagonist being a Pharaoh.... alive around the middle kingdom period perhaps. It's been whirling around in my mind for ages. I've never attempted something like that before, I mean, I just write romance and drama!! So it might turn out crap! haha. So yeah, apart from that nothing on the books the moment. I find many readers asking writers for sequels. I guess they are easier to write because you've already built the world, now you just have to carry those characters to another place or time. But sequels don't do much for me anymore. I want to try new stuff and push myself harder to get out of my comfort zone.

On the forum sidebar the link does go to the story instead of being both a chapter and story link, you're right. You have the option to also follow a story, which should get you a notification that will take you to the chapter.

Did you catch Monday's blog featuring @Ronyx story, Stuff People Do? It's a great binge read, and it has a lot of moments that catch you in the feels. Case in point... Want to read more? Click here

Hello Luca, Yes, the views on the story are the number of times the meta data page is viewed. Keep in mind that includes every single time you've gone to it, I have, another staff member, plus readers or visitors, etc... It's one of many of the different types of data you have available to you to help track what is interesting to readers. As you get more stories, you may learn that you need a better description, or more accurate tags, or sub-genres, or that people tend to jump right to your chapters... it all varies. Longer stories tend to average out views more accurately than short fiction, I've found. My long running flash fiction weekly work has a narrower range of chapter views to total story views, but I have a short-one piece that is at an almost 50% ratio of actual chapter views to story views. As to our layout and the focus on stories, GA is first, and foremost, a community of authors and readers. The landing page for someone who searches for GA isn't actually the forums, it's the home page (link here). If you pay attention, you'll notice the first few links, and in fact the majority of the links, on that page focus on content for our Stories area, not the Forums or Clubs. However, the popular authors here on GA who have the most readers? Those are the ones who are active on the site forums, and clubs, and who engage with readers and each other all over the site. You'll get out of GA what you put into the site as a whole, because as much as we are all here for the great stories, we love the rest of it that brings us together too. As an aside, this blog which is a fun Word of the Day that Myr posts, also points out just how many visitors are going to Stories compared to the rest of the site.

As the year begins to turn, I thought what better than to bring a story all about changing. It's not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one that hits you in the feels. Please check out this month's Classic Author feature, and don't forget to leave a comment. Length: 92,791 Description: Matt Stevens is a normal sixteen-year-old. He goes to school and makes good grades. Even though he is being raised in an extremely religious home, he manages to do well. Then, unexpectedly, his life takes an abrupt turn late one night when his best friend, Ricky, kisses him while wrestling on the bed. Matt starts to question his own sexuality, and he begins to realize he is gay. His life starts to spiral out of control, leading to many unexpected twists and turns. A reader said: I really enjoyed this series. Through trials and tribulations, Matt forged forward to build his family outside of his given one. Sometimes to achieve happiness, you must not look back, which was what Matt ultimately decided. ~ J.El If you want to spread the word about Ronyx'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!

“Is there any way to bring him out of that?” I wasn’t even sure what it meant. “Ordinarily? No. Our minds are different from most species. We can retreat within our memories, sort of lock our consciousness away. It’s the opposite of learning how to bring forth memories as we become adults instead of needing to be taught.” Which means the male who attacked, or at least who was left holding the remaining silver ball thing, wasn’t young. Seedrah was still learning from Garjah, which meant

Happy July, folks! Can you believe the year is half over? I can't! I thought I'd share a story that has a theme that is as enduring as these last few years seem to be... war. It's a heavy topic, but readers seem to enjoy James Matthew's departure from his normal fiction to share his work with Him in the Dust. What did you think? You'll get a chance to share your thoughts on the discussion day on Monday, July 25th. Him in the Dust by @James Matthews Length: 33,793 Description: Whether you follow war, like war, read about war or are interested in war it is sadly a fact of life, but can make fascinating reading. The war in Afghanistan is still in play even as I write this in 2021. The country has been through many wars but ‘Him in the dust’ is a point in history (2005-2006) where I decided to start the book that you will read. A Reader Said: It was a great read packed with powerful emotions that, as far as I'm concerned, were true to form detailing real scenarios of a very difficult war zone! Excellent writing considering this was "outside your comfort zone"! Thank you James. ~ KayDeeMac Don't forget to come back to share your thoughts on Monday, July 25th.

Thanks for sharing these again, @Myr It's a lot of fun to look at what genres and stories are being read, and the links make it easy to check out popular ones!

“You do seem to get in even more trouble now than you did when we were in training.” Ases sank into one of the chairs. He curled up, sitting sideways. “It’s weird none of these chairs have arm rests.” “Not really. What are they going to do, put two of them on each side? It’d be like a restraint device.” I could always rest my upper pair of arms along the cushioned back of the couch if I wanted, but the chairs were open. “Besides, Bouncer likes it so he can sit close.” Well, when he was

Well, I don't know about what it's like where you are, but I'm stuck in a heat wave. What a time for some ocean-related story fun! I can imagine enjoying the cool water now, and if there were dolphins? *squee* I hope you enjoyed reading, or re-reading Carlos's Earth Day story, Dolphin Delivery. Share your thoughts in the comments below after you enjoy my interview with him! Who do you like best, Jerry or Tom? Jerry Maguire or Tom Cruise? Aren’t they the same person? LOL. I love the way you start these interviews with questions out of left field. Smart way to put the interviewee at ease. The mouse! Although the sound of ‘Jerry, Jerry, Jerry’ rattling in my head reminds me too much of Jerry Springer. The fact I’m not a big fan of cats may have something to do with it. Top sheet or no top sheet? Top sheet. The question reminds me of something that happened a couple of years ago. I wrote a scene where a character pulled a bed sheet over himself and his other half. A reader mentioned I was obviously a Floridian because I didn’t mention blankets. It was a learning moment in my writing career. I’ve been careful with little details since, taking into account my experiences don’t always fit a character. It’s helped me differentiate my men and women enough readers sometimes recognize who the individual is through speech and actions before I identify them. If you were writing a book about your life, what would that title be? So little time… I’m a wannabe explorer and a bit of a daredevil, and I’ve realized I’ll never live long enough to experience everything I’d like to. I mean, I still have nine states I’ve never visited! Having characters do some of those things I haven’t has been a poor substitute, but at least I’ve been there in spirit. In CDMX I wrote about visiting Chichén Itzá, something I haven’t done. But researching and writing about it made me feel as if I was traveling with my characters. I hope my feelings translated well enough readers had a similar experience. Are there any new authors or books that have grasped your interest? I don’t read as much as I used to and most of what I do read is non-fiction. Biographies, history, journals, and current events analysis. On GA, I’ve enjoyed works by some of our recently promoted authors. @Mawgrim has me hooked on his PERN fanfiction. @astone2292 deserved his promotion; I’ve been helping him clean an older story and he most definitely shows promise. @Mrsgnomie writes beautifully, but with her stories, I have to pace myself; everyone knows I’m allergic to romances. LOL For some reason, shifter stories attract me. Surprising since I’ve taken a couple of stabs at the genre and haven’t been happy with the results. @kbois and @WolfM have written stories I’ve enjoyed reading. What advice would, or do, you give to new authors not sure if writing is something they can do? Try it. The worst that could happen is you’re not good at it. Success is sweet and failure can be painful, but we learn more about ourselves when things don’t go well. And when you do try it, take your time. Read other authors for inspiration. If you’re posting on GA, figure out who the popular authors are and study their work. Why do readers enjoy their stories? Pay attention to how they write more than what. Research the subject you want to tackle and don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Is there a theme or plot device you’d never be able to write into a story? Not sure about plot devices. I think I want to try a story told by a narrator. Would that be second person? I’m so ignorant… However, there are plenty of themes I’m not interested in writing about. Most involve sex. I also don’t do well with angst, so I’m unlikely to write a story where the character’s overly introspective, tentative, or indecisive. My characters, males and females, tend to be take-charge people of action. And sometimes they act or speak before thinking! If you had to cast two people or actors as Pete and Tag, who would they be? CJ Abellé and Owen Liston. LOL Okay, for those scratching their heads, CJ and Owen are the MCs of a series of mine. The Earth Day stories were supposedly made up by Owen, an environmental attorney, for their daughter, Liebe. Hence the name of Dolphin Delivery’s protagonist. Pete and Tag are stand-ins for CJ and Owen and therefore resemble them. Pete’s of Hispanic descent, olive complexed, and hairy chested. Tag’s a fair-skinned blond. If you become interested in CJ and Owen, google Maxi Iglesias and Alexander Ludwig. Those are the actors I think could play them when the movies are made. But I may have to interview a few candidates before settling on the ones that fit well. Did you have the dolphin rescue idea first or the knowledge that Tag was a fishing guide? The rescue came first. Along with Liebe. Then it was a matter of creating the right conditions for the action I envisioned. I chose the Florida Keys as the setting because it’s an environmentally sensitive area, and it’s a place I know well. Enough so I could write about it without constantly consulting google to see if I had it right. Since the real Liebe’s parents are wealthy, white-collar men, I wanted Tag and Pete to be of more modest means and work with their hands. Tag as a fisherman/guide/diver epitomizes the Florida Keys and gave me a character I could have out on a boat constantly. When you read the other stories in the series you’ll see what I mean. What is your favorite part of Dolphin Delivery? It used to be the actual rescue. I’ve seen similar ones live and they’re thrilling. Today, I’d say it’s how Liebe interacts with her fathers and describes them. WARNING- You had to know if I was involved, there was a chance politics would surface. For the change in my preference, you can thank Florida’s governor, and his championing of a law trying to eradicate the acceptance of GLBTQ individuals. For that is what could happen when children are not allowed to learn. When we don’t teach about differences. I’ve been wondering if Liebe would be allowed to talk about her family with classmates. Would the teacher get in trouble for letting her do it? What would have happened to my niece when she wrote about her favorite family member? Me. The one she said liked boys better than girls and had a really nice boyfriend. Revolutions never end. We fight daily to preserve the country we call home and the LGBTQ community must continue fighting to prevent hate-mongers from taking back our hard-won rights. Off the soapbox. Can you share a little of your current or upcoming work with readers? I set myself the goal of publishing something every month this year and so far I’m six for six. The next six months will see a variety of short stories, mostly following my most recent story. I have a short character story for someone I’m introducing as a recurring character in the series, a wedding as the backdrop for an anniversary—that will be for GA’s Anniversary Anthology—a week-long sailing trip in the Med, and I’m outlining something involving the Coast Guard, a foggy port, and a creature of the sea. That one’s just for you, Cia. LOL Thanks for the feature, thanks for the opportunity to ramble, and thanks to all of you for reading. Okay, I open the floor for questions and comments.

Did you catch Monday's feature with the ad for this month's Classic Author feature, Everybody's Wounded by Duncan Ryder? I have to say, I really liked the model for that one! What did you think? If that didn't entice you to read the story, maybe this excerpt will! Click here to read more

Maybe he had a point about Bouncer. But that was just because we were his pack and he spent so much time with people instead of animals. Garjah just snorted. “Eat your food, you took it after all. And we’re not going back to the party.” I looked at Garjah. “Right?” “No. My staff can finish up there. I’m more needed to question the man Bouncer just caught. Zeekah, go back and get Ases. We need his mech.” “Yes, sir.” The officer behind me saluted, then rushed off. I guess I

Welcome to June, Pride month, and halfway through 2022! How's it going in your corner of the world? In this month's story, we follow along with the characters as they learn about the damage love and life can cause and hope that things turn out all right in the end. What do you think? Can love heal all wounds? Length: 75,883 Description: Three young men, all wounded by past relationships. Can they learn to trust and to love again? Are some wounds deep beyond healing? A Reader said: Amazing story. Stunning. The characters were so real and beautiful and their pain so intense. The writing was gorgeous and subtle. You are an extremely talented writer. Thank you for sharing your writing with us. ~adamo If you want to spread the word about Duncan Ryder'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 was on my feet and chasing after Bouncer, but he’d already been across the room from me. Plus, despite his muscular bulk, Garjah was fast and used to his planet’s gravity. I had increased muscle mass and bone density after the incident on Ardra but I still struggled in the higher gravity to move at speed. Besides, I didn’t want one of the nervous security offers to shoot at me. If Garjah threatened to shoot anyone who took a shot at Bouncer, when he’d probably either dodge it or manage to

“Is he always that sarcastic?” Ases asked. “I never noticed that before. He always acts so serious and deadpan. Will his face crack if he tells a joke?” “Maybe. We haven’t had a lot of opportunities to make jokes since we met.” I sat in a chair in the corner where Garjah had put me and Bouncer sat beside me, leaning against my hip and thigh. I stroked the base of his skull, and he arched his neck. I mindlessly stroked each itchy spot he presented, watching Garjah start interviewing all the

When you work a full-time job, run a website full-time (unpaid), and take care of family members... it sort of cuts into writing time. Sleep is sort of important too. Writing is as much an art as a craft, and sometimes things happen. I have abandoned and unfinished/on hold stories too. How readers ask me about them or comment makes a lot of difference because showing you care and would love to see something be finished is a far cry from simply expecting it just because an author was once inspired to write something but then didn't finish because (insert something here). Honestly, that is why we have story statuses; if readers are bothered by reading other than completed works... just don't start them!

So I'm a huge sucker for ocean animal stories--even if they aren't paranormal ones. As one of GA's most popular authors, I knew if I picked one of Carlos' works, readers would love to share their thoughts and comments on the discussion day, and it's been far too long since his last CSR feature. So if you have a short reading window, pick this story to read, or reread! As a bonus, Carlos has 4 total Earth Day stories to enjoy, so you can keep reading if you get caught up in his storytelling. Dolphin Delivery by @Carlos Hazday Length: 2,467 Description: Liebe, a young girl living in the Florida Keys with her two fathers, encounters a dolphin in distress while fishing. When one of her fathers helps save the animal, they make a friend for life. A Reader Said: Somehow I missed this story when it was posted. It is sweet in the best way, and reminds me of the stories I read to my daughter when she was young. Thanks for including descriptions of the illustrations. It makes me wish I was better at drawing. I could see how they would look in my head. Nicely done! Thanks. ~JeffreyL Don't forget to come back to share your thoughts on Monday, June 27th!