Cia

Well going again with the theme of doubles, I've picked a scene in Underthehoodter's novel-length coming of age story, Discoveries, where the narrating character is reading a story written in a spiral notebook by the other main character... a story they sort of lived. So a story within a story. Read on! Want to read more? Click here

“Records from last exam?” That didn’t sound good. Were they running in-depth scans on the skimmer? “Look, I know you were probably all over the place looking for me, but I’m here. I’m safe. I have a lot of information I can share with you, but those weapons make me nervous, which make the cerops with me nervous. If we could all stay calm, I think things will go better.” Dr. Vikrish had turned to face the younger scientist who had tapped on his shoulder. As I spoke, he turned back towar

Yep, one of the reasons we feature Classic authors and a story each month to remind new members we have older content they should seek out!

Welcome to November! I can't believe it's the second to last month of 2021. In some ways it feels like this year has taken decades, and in others, it feels like it has sped by. In a fun twist, I'm featuring the 2nd story in Underthehoodster's series, Perry and Jessie, series. Discoveries by @underthehoodster Length: 69,297 Description: Perry (A fairly rich kid who always seems to be in some sort of trouble) and Jesse (A poor kid who is a blackbelt and has a bad past reguarding his previous schools and his father) find love for each other after Jesse moves to Perry's school from another city. A reader said: Nicely done with a lot of characters. ~ Dodger If you want to spread the word about Underthehoodster'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!

"Truly bad" is still your measurement, and it's subjective from your point of view. Everyone starts somewhere, too, so we do allow developing authors to post because how else will they learn the craft but by doing and interacting with other authors and readers? My first few stories are horrendous. Sure, I might have had creative ideas, but my form and editing was horrible. This is where the axiom of "If you don't enjoy it, just don't read it" comes in that Myr mentioned. There's nothing that "needs to be done" about content (plot, characters, or edit) you feels is bad that has cleared the moderation queue because the stick you're holding it up to is just your personal preference, unless there's something that may need a trigger warning which Myr also mentioned. GA's community, as a whole but especially among our authors, is very supportive in a positive fashion rather than critical. Approaching your thoughts from the angle of "how can readers help site authors improve" rather than "what should be done about the truly bad stories" would most likely be better received.

The soldiers immediately took positions against the skimmer, handhelds away and weapons drawn. “Come out now!” one ordered. “Hold on, calm down! I’m Essell Deray, and you’re here looking for me.” I waved one hand in the doorway, but didn’t come out. “Show yourself. Hands out.” The leader of the soldiers harsh orders were not unexpected, but I also couldn’t follow them. “Um, I have a cerops here, one of the lifeforms from the planet. He thinks you’re hostile to me, and I’m holding

“Where did Bouncer go?” Sedating him again had not made him happy. He’d been so close to me for the last few days, his steady presence against my thigh, it was startling for him to be gone. I’d gotten a narrow-eyed stare when he lifted his head after we touched down and I revived him from the sedation, but this was the first time I’d lost sight of him. “He’s outside.” Garjah peered out the door of the skimmer. A vine slithered over the metal and dropped into the space, and he brushed it asi

The resistance against the isolationist policy was fierce. I would never be that convincing but Garjah spoke after my nausea-inducing revelation, and reassured everyone that would be a good thing. I’d had to explain what my mother did, which lead to me sharing stories about other first contacts I knew with alien races. Not all had gone smoothly. I hadn’t paid that much attention, beyond the impact to the planets and the ways entry into the Galactic could impact the flora and fauna. Most cul

Did you read this fun, twisted tale from Richie Tennyson before or after I announced it earlier this month? Readers really seemed to like the new take on the old fairy tale genre. What did you think? Share you thoughts before, but make sure you check out my interview with Richie here first! Do you eat your fruits and vegetables? I certainly do! What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? A small country town with colourful locals. I read lots of books set in small towns and would love to write one. What brought you to GA? I came across GA when I was looking for a place to share my first story, Self-Portraits. Do you like original fairy tales or are you more of a Disney tale fan? I loved Disney fairytales as a child and was also obsessed with a lot of picture book adaptations. I wasn’t as familiar with early versions of fairytales but, when I was researching Happily Ever After, Ltd, I became a big fan of the gory Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella. One of your readers left an excellent review stating how the twists and turns had to be plotted out. Are you a plotter or pantser when you write? Yeah, I did plot most of Happily Ever After, but I was bit of a “pantser” for Ryan and Dorothy’s backstories. Did grown ups read fairytales to you when you were a child? Yes, my parents did – and I spent a lot of time re-reading them on my own too. Do fairytales have an influence on your writing outside of this story, or was it a one-off? I always enjoy playing around with the “happily ever after” cliché. When I’m writing, I like to find ways to subvert expected endings, and bring characters to endings that are realistic and earned, but hopefully still satisfying. Ryan and Dave both have quite the adventure. Do you identify more with either character? I identify more with Ryan. His backstory is adapted from my own life, and as a person, we share a range of traits. We’re both a bit awkward and often exasperated - and we both have a very crude best friend. What is your favorite part of Happily Ever after, Ltd.? Without spoiling anything, my favourite part is the scene where two characters are on a boat. It combines action, horror, comedy, love, absurdism, and more. Can you share more of your upcoming writing or story plans with readers? I am currently writing a psychological thriller about a group of old university friends (including three gay guys), who are reuniting ten years after they graduated. They stay in a very isolated lodge, but one of them has murder on their mind. So again, I’m using a well-known story structure (the “whodunit”), but trying to subvert expectations/tropes. Don't forget to share your thoughts below!

See, and if you're post-dating and/or editing them and the system isn't dating them correctly, we don't overtly see that. We'd need to know what stories, when you posted them, how they posted, etc... I couldn't figure out exactly which ones you meant last week. Myr's mentioned before that there is a post-dating glitch.

There are EXTENSIVE lists of genres and cross-genres coming, guys, and we're not doing away with tags wholesale either. Remember, we're looking to help authors and readers connect over the types of stories one likes to write and the other likes to read--but that means being able to find them!

Heads up, Authors! We're still working on creating a great new sub-system for genres for authors, and during Myr's recent mine for data, one thing we noticed was that "Drama" is being used for many stories with no other genres on a TON of stories. Drama is going away with the new sub-genre system, and we want everyone to have a heads up that those stories will need to be moved to the correct new genre or sub-genre. Is your story primarily a romance? Comedy? One of the sub-genres we're coming out with like Historical Thriller, Tech Noir? Keep an eye out for more to come soon so you will be ready to move your story! Readers, do you love to find hidden gems to read and want to help others find stories to enjoy on GA? Are you a whiz at looking up stories for tags? Good at summing up stories in a few sentences? We're looking for volunteers to help assess the meta data on stories for genres, tags, and even the descriptions for inactive or deceased authors. We'll need helpers to find stories missing the data, and readers willing to help add the correct info for stories as much as possible. Let us know if you're interested! We'll be creating a space for this so you can comment here or send me or Myr a PM via our profiles.

Monday's feature introduced an older anthology story from Myr, and we want more! Well, those of us who have read it. If you haven't, maybe this excerpt will whet your appetite! Want more? Click here

Bouncer growled, but the large creature ignored his threat display. It blinked slowly, shuttering those glowing yellow eyes before it opened them again and twisted back around. Delicate feelers extended from the thick mandibles protruding below those large eyes and swept across Swintik’s hand, tasting the acoji nuts before it scooped them up. It tilted its head and swallowed the entire handful. “Yes, you like that, don’t you?” Swintik chuckled when the segmented insect vibrated under his to

I'm sure that's exactly it. There have been glitches with the post-dating system that Myr has put out announcements about.

A script is used to generate the recent updates list. I'm not sure why they wouldn't have been included! I will look when I get home.

October's a month for fantasy and fun, so who and what better to feature than Myr's short story, A Ranger's Duty? This is one of my favorites of his work, and I always hope he'll go back to write more. Let's encourage him, shall we? Length: 3,930 Description: A trade caravan left on the King's Way as soon as the roads cleared, but Winter hasn't quite given up yet. A storm is bearing down on them, and Ryn needs to get them off the road before it hits. A Reader said: I hope this is the beginning of something grander. This world is intriguing and I'm enjoying learning about the cultures you're creating here. This story was a very nice way to re-introduce your writing to some of us who haven't had the pleasure before now. ~ Mann Ramblings If you want to spread the word about Myr'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!

Question: How do I change my email? Short Answer: Go to Account Settings and select "Email" tab. Enter the new address and then check your email and confirm the change worked. View full question

Welcome to your weekly update brought to you by yours truly! Big reminder to all our site authors, you only have until October 31st to get your Anthology into the Review Team. If this is new to you, see the anthology info below for more details. Monday readers got a glimpse into The Thousandth Regiment by AC Benus with a review by Parker Owens on the humanization of war and the power of poetry. Please check it out! Want to brush up on your Word-smithing? Learn what these words mean in Myr's luftmensch cumshaw enhance chimera reverie duopoly volant Friday brought a refresh to Wayne's Prompt #7. Please look forward to a return of this feature coming soon from some new Prompt Volunteers!! Comicality created dread in our Saturday Writing Tips, and if you're an author and you don't know what that means, take a peek now! Story goals for October have a lot of red! Can we bump these up before the end of the month? Upcoming Anthology 2021 Anthology #2 Top Theme 1 - A Winding Path - Due October 31st, 2021 2021 Anthology #2 Top Theme 2- An Unconventional Gift - Due October 31st, 2021 2021 Anthology #2 Pot Luck Themes - Due October 31st, 2021 Anthology 101 - In the Anthology Forum. Everything you need to know about GA Anthologies Ask an Author 3.0 - Submit a story you like and 3 questions you would like to ask the author about. Send them to @astone2292 or @Renee Stevens **Please submit so Aaron can have a bank of stories and questions** Blog Opportunities Guess the Author: Open to all GA authors. PM @Renee Stevensor @wildone to participate Story Review: Send it in to @Renee Stevens or @Timothy M. Now, let's look at new stories and chapters posted this week! Premium Updates: On Fire by Cia *Premium* Classic Updates: Bloom by Dabeagle Stuff People Do by Ronyx The Brilliant Boy Billionaire by Altimexis Signature Updates: Ancalagon by Cia Gap Year by Mark Arbour Larkspur: A Sidewinder Tale by Headstall On Fire by Cia Picture Me And You by Comicality The Great Mirror of Same-Sex Love - Poetry by AC Benus The Great Mirror of Same-Sex Love - Prose by AC Benus Promising Updates: Never Too Late To Believe by northie Let's get those goals up.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!! (and Recommend with a share to the forum topic!)

“Aren’t you hungry?” Cheisumn asked. “You must have traveled a long way.” “We did. But these pleasures are not meant to be eaten alone. Please, can we have the use of some cups and a bowl?” She rolled a table over, the dishes upon it clattering on the bumpy rug. “Anything else?” “No, but thank you for the hospitality of your shop.” Garjah flicked something from his pocket to her, and she caught it and winked. “What was that?” I hissed. “Cred card.” “A what?” I scrit

Wishful thinking. The market was chaos with Four Arms everywhere, but all eyes were on me. If the Kardoval were looking for us, and people wanted to turn us in, we’d be easy to find. I had to hope the rebels here would accept Garjah. I wasn’t sure if they’d be more or less suspicious with me in tow, but he’d refused to leave me in the shuttle. Bouncer had been equally insistent on coming with me, so he paced at my side. Maybe they weren’t staring at me so much. The predator with poison

Who wants a happy ending? 😆 Come now, I meant this month's feature, Happily Ever After, Ltd by @Richie Tennyson. This lighthearted Cinderella remix is just what the season ordered! Happily Ever After, Ltd. by @Richie Tennyson Length: 62,791 Description: Prince Charming goes missing from the pages of Cinderella, resulting in chaos in the offices of Happily Ever After, Ltd. The manager of the Cinderella division, Dorothy Weaver, has to try to salvage a happy ending. She temporarily replaces Prince Charming with nineteen-year-old Ryan Hooper, without realising he’s gay. Inside the fairytale, Ryan tries his best to find a happy ending … A Reader said: This fantastic story is a modern day re-writing of the Cinderella, but not as you would expect. ~Chris191070 Don't forget to come back to share your thoughts on Monday, October 25th!

I leaned heavy against Garjah, and he gripped my hips with two hands, locking our lower bodies together. Despite being on top and having leverage, and two sets of arms, there was no way I was getting away from him. Good thing I didn’t want to. “We don’t have anything to slick the way.” His voice was a low rumble that vibrated against my chest. “Hmm, guess we’ll have to do something else.” I wormed a hand between our bodies. My shaft was slender beside his, but rigid. He was flexib

I can't count the number of times the touch screen flubbed me like that when I first started using them way back when (OMG that makes me sound old, lol).