Cia

Thank you Bandage. You are always my most ardent fan. Big No, but not only have I worked with plenty of people with disabilities, I have faced situations where I've felt like I could understand them. I'm legally blind without corrective lenses or contacts so quite often I'm forced to feel my way around if I can't find my glasses (ala Velma from Scooby Doo, it's sad really) and I was in a car accident at 19. I mangled one of my legs so bad I spent time in a wheelchair and wasn't that fun! Since my muscles were shredded and my knee fused with scar tissue I had to learn how to walk again. I used a walker and then crutches and then a cane. I got a lot of curious stares, a lot of whispers, and a lot of 'what the hell happened ugh looks' when people saw my scars. I got better and I don't have to live with visible disabilities like many people do and I'm thankful for that. But I think I know how it feels to be the person who faces those challenges. Dating a person with diabilties is more something I had to imagine, though my husband did it quite well, so I just drew a lot from his no nonsense attitude toward dealing with the problems I faced.

Thank you WL. I think when a person is different it becomes not about being 'normal' but making your reality 'your normal'. How people go about that is personal but its something that has to be done. I just wanted to show the other side of the person who is in the chair; the face behind the scars or that walks with the limp. With a sweet bit of romance added in, of course. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

I didn't want a lot of drama or angst in this, just the coming together of two guys who like each other but face obstacles because of how they view themselves. Once they confront that together, things come together. Thanks so much for the review Carrington, I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

Thank you, as always! I truly do appreciate all you do when you read and comment on my stories. It's helped me become a better author in a lot of ways.

I was stuck in a wheelchair for a bit after a car accident. I also walked with a walker, crutches and a cane. I found out first hand how people can react when they think you're disabled so I tried to keep that true here in this story. As for continuing... well, it seems most of my short stories can be expanded on, lol. I just need more time to do them all! If you find it for me, I'll do my best to fit this one in, lol. Thanks so much for the review Bill!

LOL! I love that! I had this grin on my face the whole time I read it. You made it immediate by incorporating something we've all faced; how crazy we all feel the very first time we click that submit button! The interaction between the characters was so very real and your dialogue flow was awesome. Great story and an excellent job, well done!

A cool premise, I thought the overall plot was very interesting. I'd like to have seen more of the changes wrought in the Fades and why. Has the incident created a big upset in those who changed way of life? Other than build and coloring, are they the same? Maybe you'll continue the story later with those thoughts in mind. I would suggest that you work on creating consistent characters. The personality of your lab technician and the quack doctor seemd to fluctuate quite a bit though Randall and Lethon were realized very well as characters.

I really love the honesty between these two guys. With teenager does he or doesn't he like me angst we often get games or the characters trying to sneakily find out how the other person feels. I love the way Brian can just ask Greg to talk without getting super upset and how they communicate and reassure each other. Before they move to 'really' reassure each other about how they feel, that is, LOL. That's what I love about adult relationship stories. Well done! Oh, and I said it before but I really do love the picture you made for this story.

Kinky sex while one partner thinks he's sleeping! Yikers usually but that just works with this story. Jude is on a new evolution and I love how Henri is guiding him, even though he's on the same path. I love the dancing scene-great visual-so very hot!

Happy Birthday!!!! Hey hun! I hope you have a great day!!!

Happy Birthday!

You can have a story that is great; the characters engaging, and the drama highly dramatic. BUT if the details are clearly false or poorly shared then I tend to dislike the work and will often stop reading. Case in point; published book I read a while back that was set in 'Newport, Washington' and was on the coast. The problem with that? Newport, Washington is in the middle of the desert. Newport, Oregon is on the coast though. Other than the state the details of the town were believable enough but that one, to my mind, major screw up made me think the writer simply didn't care enough about their story to do adequate research. It was sloppy. On the other hand, all the research in the world won't make a person like your story about the Australian outback if you flub the storyline or write boring characters. Really, you have to have both. Without a good plot no one will want to read your story. Without good attention paid to the details that bring your plot to life no one will want to read your story. When I come up with a new idea I often will figure out what I want the story to be about. Then I sit down with a notepad and research anything I don't 'know' in the story. I've researched plant poisons, brain anatomy, animal characteristics just to name a few things. Essentially this sums it up for me: You don't have to write what you know but you should know what you write!

Great story and a real spin on the aspect of vampirism! I like the way you introduce the characters and the process through time until we get to modern day and see 'Jude' as he is now. It makes you wonder at how much more violent and indifferent the world is now that his actions can be so easily hidden and 'every day ho hum' than the very violent episodes you showcase in the past.

I have no 'good' news but what I have is plans to see everyone on this side of the country in my family for the holidays, my health back to normal finally, and a gingerbread house to make this afternoon with my kids. Life mostly as usual... nothing spectacular but I'm quietly satisfied and happy. I wish for your sake that you can get to this point at least, in the meantime, big

Hun, chalk this up to one of MANY conversations you'll have that will be sensitive and probably upsetting to one or both of you. Maybe not on this scale but in a marriage, when you really work at communicating, they happen. You had a situation that was iffy, you dealt with it and I"m guessing things will go back to normal for you both very soon. If you hadn't mentioned it how long would it have bothered you? In retrospect it's always easy to say oh, I shouldn't have worried but logic doesn't always drive emotions. I'm just glad things all worked out.

OMG, my ocd is killing me, I want that mirror clean. You've cleaned it, right? Cause yeah... that's just... GAH Oh, nice picture, btw

I agree with practically everything you said Graeme, except for the part about Nephy not being a romance writer. Granted, most of the pairings are anything but ordinary, but most of her stories include some type of love affair. It's the way she varies them and really challenges the idea of romance that I think makes that aspect of them seem so unromance-like. In that, I think she is doing exactly what you said, taking a 'cliche' type of story and going beyond what the reader expects to receive when they start reading. That also supports your theory as to why they have been so popular.

Do you offer your critiques via pm? Because by checking your content I saw 1 story topic that you replied to and not a single review. So... I don't know you and I would guess most members here don't 'know' you since you've only been here just over 2 months. I've been accused of coming across wrong to people who don't know me so I can see how that would happen. As far as I could tell you didn't critique anyone's work specifically in this but those comments you made certainly judged the site. That will get to those of us who work so hard with the writers and the story portion of this site. I'm part of the Writer's Support Team, I help moderate GA Stories; I also often help guide new members in how to post and try to review and offer advice on their stories. There is a reason why I've beta read the most stories on GA and I'm in the top 10 for editing. I want to help writers by offering whatever I know to them. I think everyone has room to improve but no one can without someone being honest when commenting. Pointing out flaws or offering advice is a great way to connect with the writers on the site and I would hope more readers would do so. I get what you were trying to do here; I'll even agree with you on those cliches, I've seen them time and time again. Asking for help finding the types of stories that aren't full of them that was even a good idea. But you should watch HOW you ask, especially when you're a relative stranger to most of the writers on the site.

Okay, you say you don't want anyone suggesting stories to you but I'm going to in order to refute your point there is little variety on this site. Myr pointed out DK. There are other hosted that don't focus on teenage angst driven drama, look at Gabriel Morgan's work or Mark Arbour's historical series or Topher's sci-fi work Falcon Banner that is heavy on the not so modern high school drama. Promising includes Androgene who writes stories about adult couples primarily; Bugeye who writes poetry and short stories that rarely revolve around high school, or Corvus' story Mike and Winston about a 30 something and a college guy. I found all of the authors and specific stories I quoted, that I've read before since I'm willing to look at many different authors and types of stories on GA, just by clicking on the Sci-fi genre and scrolling through 1 1/2 pages. That's it! The thing with the genres is that you can pick more than one. Quite of my stories have drama in them so I use that along with fantasy or mystery or whatever else I use. So yes, drama tends to get glutted. That doesn't mean it's all teenage angst, even my high school story was focused on the fact the dad was trying to kill the son for a multitude of reasons well beyond the fact that he's gay and meets a guy. If you're not finding anything but gayngst stories, you're being lazy and not looking. They're here on the site and I'm sure if I were to spend another 10 minutes looking I could point out a dozen or more that I've read that go well beyond your basic high school coming out angst that everyone seems to be denigrating.

Ah yes... this one is a real teaser. You get introduced to the characters and the plot but there's so much left to find out. I hope you enjoy it! Keep reading.

Yes, I'm posting this on Lit with the chapters condensed. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. The Carthera stories are some of my favorites. It's a fun world to explore and write. Thanks so much for joining and leaving me reviews!!

In no way did I suggest we don't have very skilled writers here. We also have writers that are just starting out. I don't care about critique to my own work or to individual pieces based on their merit; I welcome it because I prefer honesty about my stories, good or bad. However, when I see someone say, "Actually, I was about to give up on GA altogether and just dismiss it as place where semi-illiterate teens come to get cheap thrills. Just kidding. Or not. Ouch!" I'm not inclined to think that they have read all that much on the site and if they're going to make condescending comments such as that, perhaps they shouldn't. That's not a critique, it's an insult to both the writers and readers on GA, imo.

I'll try! Just have to not get sick or anything else, lol! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter, sorry for making you blush

I blinked at the doctor's explanation. I tried to let go of Dav's hand, but he wouldn't let me, tightening his fingers until I stopped trying to pull away. He relaxed and caressed the back of my hand with his thumb, making me shiver. Dav's voice was steady when he spoke, “So, you're saying that all I have to do is bite Ellis, and he'll get better?" "That's what we think. Even with his type of migraine, his episodes were not severe enough to explain the damage to the vessels in his eyes."