Cia

Now we were getting down to the churning core. I surreptitiously squeezed Garjah’s hand. We’d wanted to get to this point sooner rather than later without having to explain too much about who he was and why none of the Kardoval had come to negotiate on his people’s behalf. Or really explain why their culture was so strictly regimented. Treaties took trust on both sides, but trust takes time to earn. “We are a simple people. Our culture is made of binary genders with equality between sexes.

Welcome back to this first CSR feature of the 2022! I couldn't help but start off with a bit of magic and one of my favorite fantasy creatures, dragons! What did you think of Xfighter1984's story, Dragonborne? Share your thoughts in the comments below, but first enjoy this interview where he shares a few insights about him and teases about more! Do you eat your fruits and vegetables? Fruits more than veggies Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla, but really strawberry if I can find it If you were an animal, what would you be? Shark (Great White) What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know? I am a total nerd at heart (plastic models, games, anime, books) What brought you to GA? Years and years ago a story caught my interest and the entire collection was on GA, I never left What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? Australia When did you first gain interest in Arthurian fiction? Reading and anime(Code Geass used a lot of Arthurian references) Why dragons versus knights in this tale? Dragons have always been my favorite ‘mythical’ creature but they are usually depicted as the ‘villain’ and the knights the always the hero, I like the conflict being a little bit greyer. Do you have a favorite line or scene in Dragonborne? I do, Levi’s first time transforming into his true dragon state! The events leading up to and after were a joy to write Can you share anything about your current or upcoming fiction with readers? Levi and the gang(Dragonborne) are on a bit of a break until I get further into “A Slice of Life” as I am really flowing with that one at the moment and is updated weekly, but they will be back in grand fashion and I planned on at least three books for the “Fire and Shadows” series.

Don't remind me! We had a 3 day weekend week (Friday), but it wasn't long enough! Upside, we won't have a snow day before Friday so we get an inclement weather day on the 18th and the 21st is a federal holiday so 2 full weeks, a short week, then a 4 day weekend. YAY! Downside, all our extra days off make it really hard to really progress students on IEPs and make their goals before our next trimester ends the first week of March.

Look it up with your favorite sources. It should be easy to find. Honestly, I teach it with Readygen to 4th & 5th graders to primarily use at the beginning and end of sentences or before the verb. This is all information built into my curriculum at school, but I am not going to get into that on my weekend.

Placement of the adverb depends on the type of adverb. Out of those two examples, the first is correct because began is the verb and to is not. Some might write it as "began to truly like Kitchiner" as an alternative, and I might not argue that, but it's good grammar to place the adverb right before the verb you want to modify in the middle of a sentence.

We’d shared some information I’d learned and what the team had compile so far, so there were more than a few murmurs when Bouncer made his little threat display. Of course, he’d promptly yawned and then lay down at my feet again right afterward. Lazy little shit caused problems and then left me to fix them. “Yes, he is dangerous, and he does have natural defenses that could harm others. But so do a great many aliens or creatures from their planets that accompany them among Galactic space. H

Those words rippled in my brain. Peace. We all claimed to want it, to come in peace or welcome others in peace, but both Garjah and I were dressed in suits; that didn’t show a lot of trust in their peace. Then again, I saw armed guards in alcoves. Standard practice, but would aliens unfamiliar with the Galactic Council or Institute know that? Probably not. There’s too much at stake to go off on an intellectual tangent about how capricious peace could be. It was why I was a biologist; animal

Did you see Monday's blog with the ad feature for David McLeod's Pilots II? Dragons, people, dragons!! I love the way David describes the sighting in this scene so I had to share it. Want to read more? Click here

Thanks for the heads up. I don't know why they were broken; they were in there when I posted and featured it. Hopefully everyone can see them now!

This month I'm keeping the fantasy theme going and featuring the second of one of David McLeod's series that have one of my favorite mythological creatures, Dragons! The last ad was for Pilots, so I wanted to make this feature for Pilots II. I admit to indulging myself a little. Hopefully you'll join me (and continue to read on in the next story in this series too). Length: 50,999 Description: Two boys from Earth Analogue III awaken on World, and learn that if they ever will fly again they must find a dragon. You may recall that these boys, Paul and Larry, died when their plane crashed on a search and rescue mission north of J’ville, Wyoming. A reader said: You never cease to amaze me in the way you are able to weave the modern with the mystical or magical. Being able to weave the fabric of a story so well in both cultures is incredible and truly a gift. And I wait for the time when you weave all the stories together. So many dovetail already. Masterful! ~ricky If you want to spread the word about David McLeods'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!

"It wasn't me! Maybe it was Julie."

The tension rose inside me the closer we got to the meeting. I didn’t know exactly who would be there, but it was rare—very rare—to meet a race as technologically advanced as Garjah’s. I asked for more information about the ship we were traveling on, and it was good that it was smaller and less overtly threatening. Overtly. Garjah had tried to reassure me by showing me all the hidden defensive capabilities it had, the weapons shielded from scans that also protected their technology and

The dark green markings on his body framed his face and graced his neck and shoulders. Some curved down across his chest and others curled over his belly and hips. I reached up and touched the edge of one over his hip where it pointed straight toward his straining shaft. That bobbed, the gravity pulling it down after the muscles in Garjah’s abdomen rippled at my touch. He pulled in a quick breath and shuffled closer. I closed my hand around his shaft, feeling the supple softness around the

I tend to not overdo on the holidays, plus I faced the parents dreaded reality of a 17 year old senior having her last "kid year". Makes me wax nostalgic a bit. Lol And I will never, ever, enjoy shoveling snow. Course I hate sun too because (redhead) and it makes me have to mow grass more often. I like a nice drizzle that keeps me indoors to read on the couch in a cozy outfit with tea and prompts no outdoor upkeep. 😆

Well, I don't know about you, but I sometimes have a hard time facing the rest of winter after the magic of the holiday season has ended. Now it's just extreme weather and no fun... so I thought we'd enjoy some magic of a different sort and the fun of a coming-of-age short story with Xfighter1984's fantasy tale Dragonborne. And for those who like their tales to continue... a little birdie (read: the author note at the bottom of the last chapter) says there more in store for this world. So if you fall in love, never fear, more to come! Dragonborne by @Xfighter1984 Length: 23,082 Description: Step into a world of magic, mystery, swords, and of course dragons. Young Levi doesn't quite know who or what he is, until one day a mysterious man shows up and everything changes A reader said: This is an exciting chapter. These are a well written series of chapters. The plot is interesting and the characters are well developed. I really look forward to the next chapter. ~JCtoGO2 Don't forget to come back to share your thoughts on Monday, January 31st!

Just goes to show how prolific our authors are! Thanks for sharing all these stories and the links, Myr!

Thank you to all the authors and readers who are dedicated to GA and keep this community great!!

We had to cram together in the tiny, teardrop shaped vessel to get back up to the ship, and the trip gave me a good excuse to be very, very close to Garjah. Bouncer had tried to elude us when Garjah insisted on tranquilizing him again, but the lure of food was just too great for the greedy gullet. He snoozed the entire time and was currently ignoring us in our cabin on the ship. Fine by me. No eyes on me was how I liked it. We’d reported our tentative success, and Garjah had touted pride in

Welcome to our last CSR Discussion day of 2021! What better way than with this interview with Headstall's story, Sidewinder. Did you read it? I admit I'm a country girl so I enjoy a good western tale done right. What did you think of the story? Share your thoughts in the comments below, but first you get to enjoy my interview with Headstall! Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate, hands down. If you were an animal, what would you be? A faithful, devoted companion, like a dog or a horse. I might also have a little bit of tiger mixed in. What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know? Something surprising? Hmmm. I’m pretty much an open book about my life. Maybe it would be that I’m a pretty good public speaker—I seem to have an easy time of fitting in and making people laugh—and I’ve usually been successful in the things I’ve wanted to accomplish. I’m struggling to come up with something interesting, but I’m drawing a blank. I guess I can add that people tend to confide in me, and look to me for advice. I’d like to think that means I’m a good listener. Sorry… that’s all I got. What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? Oh, that’s a tough one. I’ll say the Yukon, but Greece and Switzerland would be up there. I have story ideas for all those places. Actually, since I’ve been watching Yellowstone, I might choose a working horse ranch in Montana if I could go somewhere tomorrow, but that would be for fun as much as research. Do you have any writing rituals or concrete habits when writing a story? I don’t believe so. No… not really, although I most often tend not to read what I’m writing when I’m on a roll. Does that count? Sometimes that will go on for an entire story, and then I’ll have to divide an 80,000 or so word document into chapters after it’s completed. That was the case with “Endings”, and “Sidewinder” was pretty much that way (other than I did separate chapters along the way after I got a ways in). I just kept writing and researching, and had no idea whether my western would be good enough to post when it was finished. Once done, I read through the whole thing in two sittings, editing the obvious stuff here and there as I went along. It was a relief to feel it was good enough to post (the pandemic was still screwing with me). After that, I spent weeks editing and reediting… and researching. I continually edit right up until I post, with every story I write… and am usually still editing in the GA editor before I submit a chapter. I’m a tough man to please in that regard. Others, stories that don’t flow so easily, that’s not the case. I might write a few paragraphs, and then go back over it right away. So, I suppose that means I was right that I don’t have concrete writing habits. I don’t usually listen to music, but sometimes I do. I might have the TV on in the background, or I might not. I write when I’m tired… or not. Sometimes I write for twenty minutes, and sometimes I write all day or evening. I guess I do have a habit in where I write, though. In a big, usually empty house, I always end up writing in one corner of my bedroom at my desk. My chair is comfortable and the lighting is good, and I can stare out the window at the trees when my eyes need a break. What book first inspired your love of the western genre and why? I’m not sure how to answer this. I was a voracious reader, but I don’t remember the names of a lot of books I read as a kid. I do know a lot of the westerns I did read were by Louis L’Amour. I remember someone giving me a box of them. “Hondo” was one of those, as was “Sackett”. And of course I read “Lonesome Dove” by the incredible Larry McMurtry when it came out. I don’t think my love for westerns came entirely from those books, though. I’m sure some of it seeped in because of reading—I’ve been horse crazy my whole life, and read all of Walter Farley’s books about “The Black Stallion”. I also devoured Marguerite Henry’s books, like “Misty of Chincoteague” and “Justin Morgan had a Horse” to name a couple. But even those weren’t the reason for my love of westerns. I would watch any TV show or movie that had horses in it, and I came to love TV shows like Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Rawhide, The Cisco Kid, Have Gun—Will Travel… I could go on. All of those spaghetti western movies too, were like candy for me, so that’s where a lot of my love for that genre came from. To this very day I will watch just about any western that comes on television. Even so, I’ve always known, even as a kid, that a lot of what was presented was not true to life. Indians weren’t savages, and the bad guys didn’t always wear black hats. One of the most powerful movie experiences I’ve ever had was watching a ‘western’ called “Soldier Blue” in the theater. The Indian massacre in that movie devastated me in ways I can’t even describe, and continued to affect me for many years. I’m not sure I could ever write about something so tragic. What part of writing a western story came easiest? Was the hardest? Easiest? I think that would be how I understand that pioneer spirit. I might have been born in the wrong time period. I’ve built two farms from almost nothing, and I had that drive to work from sunup to sundown, building barns and fences and clearing land, all while doing any chores that were required to be done… and working fulltime. Showing horses successfully takes tremendous dedication and a strong work ethic, and is a dream that takes a lot to achieve, and I rose right to the very top. So yeah, I’m familiar with the challenge of that kind of life. I can even make my own horse shoes, being a trained and licensed blacksmith/farrier. The hardest? That would definitely be creating a dialect that sounded authentic to my own literary ear—one I felt comfortable using for my characters. I did a lot of research, and believe me, it is sporadic when it comes to how folks talked back then. There existed such a regional variation that it was almost a series of different languages. Tenses were the biggest thing… they were often mixed up and improperly used, and word choice was vastly different. Language relates to the time period we are in, and so much was different in those times on the frontiers. It was a process, but I believe I found the rhythm, cadence, and word choice I needed to make the characters come to life. I actually find myself ‘thinking’ in that dialect now. Your story description mentions a lot of research. When it came time to write, did that help you develop Boone and Coy’s characters or was it more about the setting and authenticity? It was definitely both. Let me clarify. I needed to understand what made these guys tick, like with any characters I write, and research gave me the biggest key for that. It soon became clear that despite the lawlessness of the time, most folks were god-fearing. Their faith was what kept them going through the tough times in the harshest of environments. Sometimes a cowboy had no company but the Lord’s for miles around, and for months at a time. Faith wasn’t something they paid lip service to… it was the backbone of their existence, and once I understood that, I had my characters. And of course there were a lot of scenes in the story that had to feel right. They included aspects of hunting, weapons, terrain, types of game and edible plants, equipment, and cooking—even types of cattle. They are just some examples that required a lot of tedious research (not that I really minded). I did go down a few rabbit holes… okay, a lot of rabbit holes, but I believe I ended up with an authentic feel to the story. If that isn’t the case, it wasn’t from a lack of trying. And word choice! I can’t forget that. There are so many words we use without thinking today (like ‘okay’), ones which would seldom or never be used back in those times, so I spent a lot of time searching word origins and when some sayings came into existence, or when they were popular. That was ongoing throughout the entire story and its sequel. What is your favorite scene or line in Sidewinder? Can you share anything new about your current or upcoming work with readers? Sure. I am working on chapter eleven of a new story. It’s been waiting in the wings a long time, and it’s just a simple human drama set in contemporary times. I started it a long time ago, but the pandemic played games with my head, and I lost my desire to write. After writing my anthology entry, “Finding Refuge”, I’d always wanted to write another western, so out of the blue I started “Sidewinder” late one evening… and my research began. Later, I returned to this story, only to leave it again to write “Larkspur: A Sidewinder Tale”. Those voices wouldn’t stay quiet. I must admit I am having strong urges to write another western, so we’ll see if this one gets set aside again. I’m not doing a good job of selling this new work of mine, am I? J Thanks for the great questions, Cia. This was fun.

It was time to cut out the bureaucracy, and I didn’t have much tact to start off with. Garjah actually seemed to do better with his people’s politics than I did with the jockeying for favor and positions I’d faced within the Institute, but he wasn’t experienced enough to deal with these people. Officious oafs were going to just get in the way. “We appreciate that you have encountered a race that may have a claim to Ardra, and that we have much to learn. Rushing does not benefit anyone,

This story captured many of the years, and it is one of the favored genres by a large group of readers on GA. Why? Well... tell us in the comments what you thought about Crosscurrents! If you haven't had the chance to read it yet, maybe these promos and the except I'm sharing on Wednesday will draw you into its web! Crosscurrents by @Adam Phillips Length: 266,118 Description: Andy and Matt, best friends and teammates from childhood, grow together, learn together, and struggle to remain friends when their evolving relationship outpaces their ability to understand it. A reader said: ... I can count on my fingers and toes the number of net authors who have the craftmanship to write words that can shine the lights on various characters that elicit those emotions. Adam Phillips has done a superb job giving his readers such expansive insight into the thoughts, actions, reactions and events that cause his characters own actions. He also built a well-crafted story, using great characters inside a well-painted setting to bring the reader to a conclusion that satisfies all of the threads within the story. Well Done, Adam Phillips. Thank you for the hard work and effort you put into painting Crosscurrants for us to share. We - the readers here - will never be able to fully thank you and the other authors for such hard and great work. ~ DaveinLA If you want to spread the word about Adam Phillip'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!

Writing has taken an unfortunate backseat to my life, but I still try to get 3-4k in each week. I'm all about my space being set up with a spot for everything but clutter does tend to build up (and my family are horrible at making messes). I reset each week because it drives me bonkers. I am also neurotic about organizing my digital resources too. Everything is in folders and subfolders then named and sorted as I go, etc...

I work with several men at my elementary school who are straight who are great with the kids, imo. Then again, I am SO not maternal. "Aww, did that hurt? You won't do it again, will you?" is more my speed. LOL With my own kids it was a raised eyebrow and a dry, "Stupid hurts." I do know better than to say that to students though. 😇

Aww, but we are the kinder, gentler sex... just ask my kids. 😆

Was that some sort of political non-talk they taught the higher ups? Dr. Vikrish and now this woman had both said it was an ‘unexpected development’ that the Four Arms claiming Ardra as a planet they had used for centuries as a resource planet in their territory. This was on the edges of the Galactic explored space, which is one of the reasons I’d applied to the Rinta. I would have far more opportunities to explore new biological environments on the fringes of society than if I’d signed onto a s