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Cia

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  1. Cia

    December Signature Feature: Heart Of The Tree By Graeme

    By Cia,


    Signature Feature
    Welcome to the new Signature Feature where we feature one of our lovely Signature Authors with a site ad banner and signature graphic. This month's featured author is Graeme, and he chose to showcase his story, Heart of the Tree. Check out his ad banner that will run for the next month on the site as well as a graphic you can add to your personal signature if you want to help him share the story!
     



     
    Length: 192,363
     
    Description: The Tree is a local fixture in the rural town of Morton. When it starts to die, the whole town rallies around to try to save it.
     
    Story Reviews:
    Starboardtack
    I am not sure how to contact the author directly, but perhaps this will get through. Thank you for an utterly delightful read. When I started reading the series, I believed this would be just another predictable gay love story. How wrong I was. The twists and turns in the plot were unexpected but most welcome. It is clear that you have a respect for your craft, your characters, and your readers. Again, many thanks.
     
    Stephen
    Graeme, you can guess by now how much I enjoyed this story, and may wonder
    if I'd have anything else to say about this final chapter and the way you ended this
    story. It was happy and real. But I was especially happy to see that you'd managed
    to tie up all the loose ends. They were all tied up in neat, leafy boughs.
     
    I love The Tree.
     
    -Pardon that awful pun, but it popped into my head last night and...
     
    uncle goodheart
    Whew! That was quite a story! I just started it a couple of days ago, so I never had to wait for a chapter, though I did spend ALL DAY on January 1 reading. It may have been a great learning experience, too, as It was an introduction to life in Austrailia, a country I may never visit. I loved the characters, as they seemed to mirror those in rural USA in many ways, though true acceptance in the USA is much more an urban trait. I can generally relate each of the characters and their relationships to people I really know, so thay were all very real. Especially the NEGATIVE ones who try to spoil the happiness of others they refuse to know or understand.
    I can say, too, that parts of the story caused me physical symptoms of grief, as well as moments of elation and joy. Yes, the story "got to me" in a very personal way. Further, I will say that this isn't the only story I've read by this author, and the author's name is precicely what caused me to pick this title, from a list of stories, to read. I am not the least bit disappointed in my selection.
    Unfortunately, too few people (especially the young ones) are interested in reading stories anymore, but I think that's because they're just too damn lazy to put in the effort of excercising their immaginations. That's sad, because authors go to a lot of trouble to produce these stimulating treasures. Thank you for this one!
     
    impunity
    After several false starts (I had a little trouble getting past the prologue), I read this entire story in a couple of days. It was really engaging, and I found myself really caring about your characters. I like that your writing is not necessarily about gay people, per se, but about how they fit into society as a whole. And about how attitudes change as the idea of being gay becomes less "other". Thank you for a great read!
     

    If you want to support Graeme and help share his story this month, download the graphic below for your personal signature!!






  2. Cia

    C S R Discussion Day: A Rescued Life By Lilansui

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    Did you have a chance to read Lilansui's A Rescued Life for our November CSR Featured story? We had a lot of time, so I hope readers enjoyed the 50k tale. If not, well maybe this interview and the reader comments below will help motivate you to check it out. Make sure you leave your comments and review for Lilansui, who promises to pop in throughout the day/night as possible.
     
    Single people often have more time to write. Are you single?
    Yes, I’m single. . It is a source of stress sometimes, but most days I enjoy it. On the more time to write, I think it depends on what is going on in my life. I have a full-time job that keeps me on the move. I often use the hours between office projects to write, or I write deep in the night while the world sleeps around me. If life events happen, the writing time suffers more than my job since I have to make a living…Moan…but otherwise that’s life as a single woman. When I’m shunning writing and responsibilities, you may find me procrastinating in pajamas, and lazing in bed having a really bad hair day listening to music.
     
    Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point?
    I do make my bed in the morning. It’s great coming home to a neat home, so I do my best to make my bed every morning. Unless I’m not going anywhere all day, then I stay in the bed all day, and in that case, I don’t make the bed. (These lazing around days are hard to come by lately; I selfishly guard them when they happen.)
     
    What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
    When I’m not writing, I go out visiting friends and family, which can mean some extensive travel, as I am not always living close to them. When am home, I’ll bake, go swimming, or laze around the house doing absolutely nothing. There is peace in doing nothing too.
     
    What brought you to GA?
    I love reading as much as I write. So, some years back I was following Cia’s stories on another site, and when I had read through everything, and was reading Hypnotic she’d stopped updating for a long time. I wanted to know the ending and thought she might have posted elsewhere, so I searched online and found her work on GA. That is how I found the site. I was a non-participant at the start, reading without signing in, but I ended up registering. That is my ‘Found GA’ story, Cia’s stories brought me. I loved the community, and it gave me the courage to post my first story…it was harrowing making that choice to post, but I did it, and haven’t stopped posting since then.
     
    What’s the best part of being an author for you?
    I’ve always written. Coming up with characters in my head, and making them go through life…that’s always been second nature to me. However, as an individual who has known what it’s like to write alone, and what it’s like to share stories with people, I believe and feel the best part of being an author is getting a surprise email from a reader asking, “How are you doing? That story you’re writing, I love it, and when can you finish it?”. It doesn’t seem like much, but I find that simple connection is the best part of writing. Having someone, even if it is one person, read your work and encourage you to keep going, or even comment on what they find interesting or not. This kind of support is priceless and precious, so I am most grateful for my readers.
     
    Do you have any writing rituals?
    I have this corner in my house, right by the window in the living room. I have set up a desk there, and that’s where I write. I always get the best stuff written in that corner. Of course, good earphones, and music that inspires the muse are a must. I suppose that’s the ritual, listening to music and writing in that particular place.
     
    Did you find it more or less challenging writing a story set in the US?
    I will say it was both. It was more challenging because I had to research extensively…more than when my characters are people in cities I live in and know, going through cultures I know. I was nervous trying to portray a man living in the small town of Penn Yan, and was afraid readers would say ‘well, that’s not how we do things’. I rechecked facts, and freaked out when I had to write Jason’s scenes because of this fear. His scenes saw many rewrites. It was also less challenging in terms of writing Toshiro, the deposed gangster in New York; there were no rules, anything could happen. I could let Toshiro explode on paper and see what happened next. That was liberating.
     
    Many stories contain a scene or character aspect influenced by a real life person or event in the author’s life. Can you share one or more from your story?
    Hmm…on characters: there is Sakura. I have a friend who is tough like Sakura, not as unfeeling or cold, in fact, my friend is a very warm person, but she is also very tough because of her experiences. She can beat a guy up if he causes trouble for her…and I often admire her strength. . Of course, as I’ve said before, Mako, the final villain…was a mean girl in my school days.
     
    As for scenes influenced by a real life person…when I was writing this story, I went shopping with someone very close to me. We were walking down the aisle and I noticed this person putting all these things in the cart I preferred, and that just made me pause, that this person would know that without me saying anything, I think it is a very special thing. Usually you have to tell someone, oh not that peanut butter, I prefer this one because….hehehe so, I included it in this story.
     
    You give Toshiro a lot of challenges to overcome in his back story and in the story itself. How did you keep his character “real” to keep him from being too much of the turned-to-good hero facing his evil past cookie cutter type?
    Toshiro’s story starts with him left for dead, which to me felt like he was a man who didn’t have anything left to lose in life. At that point, he was beyond low, beyond…he just had nothing. To keep him real, I used this template in my mind. From that point, Toshiro’s sense of loyalty, his sense of gratitude, and even his thoughts on life would be different from someone who has always had a secure and comfortable life. The challenge now lay in discovering how this perspective would look like. I relied a lot on Jason as my compass to draw Toshiro from the grey area. Toshiro’s salvation would always lie in his relationship with Jason because anyone in Toshiro’s life would lead him deeper into the grey area. It was a challenging enterprise…and many deleted scenes, but I think it came together without him seeming like a hero.
     
    Do you have a favorite part of A Rescued Life? Why or why not?
    There are many favorites in this novel but if I were to choose two, they would be:
    The scene where Jason visits Toshiro in the hospital when he brings Toshiro newspapers. Jason takes off his silver chain to show Toshiro what he does, and Toshiro decides to keep the flawed silver chain because it is like him. The conversation they have there is my absolute favorite because it is the reason why Toshiro later comes back to Jason.
     
    The scene where Yuriko tells Toshiro his real name. I thought that moment would be profound for any mother who had lost their child as she did. Meeting this stranger she loves so much and not knowing what to say but the truth in her heart…I cried writing it.
     
    Runner-up would be the little getaway from the hospital coz it was fun to write.
     
    What other projects are you focused on now?
    I recently completed A Healing Heart which was the second project following A Rescued Life. Now I am focused on writing A Haunted Love, which is ongoing here on GA. I have also promised someone I consider my little brother …to post something new, so I have been writing a short story. I’m hoping it will go into the December GA ‘Blackout’ anthology. I hope I make the deadline, if not, I will post it on its own when it is ready. I am always writing, so if you come upon an unfinished story on my list, please know I will finish it. This year has been especially busy, so I’m struggling with the writing a lot, but I’m fighting through the logistics of real life and working to give the characters in my head time.
     
    Thank you for this feature.
     
    I actually didn't know I led Lilansui to find GA, but I'm glad I did! Okay readers, don't forget to leave your thoughts and comments below.
  3. Cia
    This month we're featuring CJames' Circumnavigation with a whole new style of Signature features. Monday you probably saw the current ad banner running in Stories, as well as a signature banner fans can use to show their appreciation of his story. If you haven't, go check it out now and download your copy! We also featured several reviews of the story to whet your interest, if you haven't read the story. Now, usually authors will get to choose the excerpt we share on this feature post, the goat has been MIA for some time. I've decided to share the most important part of a story, imo... the initial hook!
     

    Circumnavigation

     

    Prologue
    May 15th, 1997
     

    The dawn came as with a thunder, a fitting omen for the day.
     
    Fifteen miles northeast of Cocoa Beach, Florida, the catamaran Ares, a fifty-five foot charter boat, bobbed in the light northerly chop. The passengers didn’t mind. Not one bit. Their attention was elsewhere; on a structure just onshore to their northwest, which was a collection of pipes and gantries, topped by a lightning rod and holding a large orange tank astride two smaller white columns. At first glance, it looked like part of an oil refinery. It was, however, something far different: Launchpad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
     
    Watching through her binoculars, Captain Rachel Carlson told her passengers, “The orbiter access arm is retracting. Won’t be long now; about seven minutes.”
     
    Rachel tuned a portable radio to NASA’s PA channel, which called out the events leading up to launch. At twenty seconds, they began calling out the countdown, and Rachel smiled as her passengers held their collective breaths. Though it had occurred over ten years before, the Challenger Disaster was still a poignant memory.​
     
    Read more here or go straight to the story!

     
  4. Cia
    This month we begin a brand new feature to promote our Signature Authors. Instead of the computer background each month, we're going to promote the featured Signature author's story with an ad banner that will run in Stories. I'm also adding a banner that works for personal signatures on the site for the authors and their fans to use to help promote their feature! This month, we start off with C James!
     




     

    Length: 1,082,090
     
    Description: Trevor, through little fault of his own, finds himself with few choices. Desperate and hunted, he decides that his best chance is to head out to sea on his boat, for a circumnavigation of the Earth. His boat, Atlantis, is a fifty-five foot cruising catamaran, bequeathed to him by his mother prior to her mysterious disappearance. Come along for the ride and explore with Trevor, as he discovers many things, not the least of which is himself.
     
    Story Reviews:
    Jess 30519 says... What an amazing adventure! What a great story! It is wonderful how you have managed to maintain the pace and energy throughout all 158 chapters. And I cannot imagine how many hours you must have spent in researching so many details, scientific, geographic, nautical and all the other aspects that make this such a compelling piece of writing. I have been a sailor all of my life, owning and chartering mostly monohulls but an occasional multihull, and at no time while reading "Circumnavigation" did I encounter a wrong note or false premise. Amazing!
     
    Thank you so very much for writing this story! I thoroughly enjoyed it and am kicking myself for putting off reading it for so long, but I'm glad I did wait for a time when I was able to enjoy it properly. Thanks again!
     
    Miles Long says... I had to thank you C James one last time for such a thrilling adventure ride. This was my second read, I enjoyed it so much the first time I couldn't stop to comment (it was too damn compelling) but I promised myself that I would go back, because a story this well thought out and researched deserves reviews aplenty and all the likes GA will allow me . Thanks again to you and your team.
     
    Melethen says... I am terribly sorry it took me so long to read this wonderful, suspense filled story. For several months I have been addicted to it and finally finished it today!
     
    Thanks for spinning this tale and sharing it with us. I know I am rather late since the story was written several years ago, but for some reason I put off reading it until now,
    I really can't thank you enough.
     
    NK says... I have read, and re-read all of your stories. I have enjoyed each one, but Circumnavigation is the best (in my not so humble opinion). I hope that you will continue to write, so that your readers can continue to enjoy your work!!
     
    Sandrewn says... CJames
    From the beginning to the end. Thank you ever so much.
    Sandrewn
     
    If you want to support CJames and share you love of this story, download this signature sized copy of his ad banner and share it on your profile now! I've included a link to the story, if you want to make your signature clickable!!
     




     


    https://www.gayauthors.org/story/c-james/circumnavigationCJ

  5. Cia

    C S R Feature: A Rescued Life By Lilansui

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    Who else thinks this is a good month to curl up with a story and a hot/cold beverage? I do, I do!! This story has been called beautiful, fabulous, and wonderful, so I thought it could use some feature time. Check out this month's featured story, read it, then be ready to come back and share your thoughts on the discussion day at the end of the month!
     



    A Rescued Life


    by Lilansui


     

    Length: 53,313
     
    Description: Stabbed and left for dead, Toshiro Shindo is at the end of the rope: no hope, no one to care, no reason to live. And then Jason rescues him, and shows him kindness and then love. When the man who stabbed him returns for him, Toshiro fights to keep the life Jason rescued.
     
    A Reader Said: You really amped it up at the end...it was great throughout, but you finished it with a bang. ~ Cannd
     
    ​

    This month's ​discussion will take place on Monday, November 30th.


  6. Cia

    C S R Discussion Day: Halloween Short Stories

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    'Tis the witching week! Perfect timing to talk about the three short stories we featured this month by GA authors, Gee Whillickers, Cynus, and Bill W. Did you make time to read them? They're only about 5k each, so if you haven't, check out the announcement blog post with links to each one. If you did, now's the time to add your comments and reviews! First, of course, I have a great interview with each author to share.
     
    Cynus:
     
    What’s your favorite Halloween memory or tradition?
     
    This memory starts off really sad, but it has a happy ending. My first boyfriend, and my best friend, died in the spring. He was killed in a motorcycle accident when we were sixteen. Over the next few months, I lost nearly all of my friendships because of the resulting depression. I simply couldn't be around people, and the kids I knew just didn't understand. I did have one friend who stood by me, and as we entered fall he started inviting me over to his house. I was still so entrenched in my depression that I didn't take his invite, but a week before Halloween we were walking home together, and he suddenly grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward his house at the point where we normally said goodbye to each other. I resisted, but he kept pulling, and so I pulled back harder. He eventually gave up and went his way, but I could tell he was hurt by how I was acting. Over the next week, I kept thinking about what had happened. I knew he was going out trick-or-treating with his younger brother on Halloween, and I decided I was going to ambush him and then follow him back to his house, surprising him for Halloween. It worked, and I ended up spending the night at his house. Our friendship grew from there, and we're still best friends today, and have been roommates for almost seven years now. I credit that night with the beginning of the friendship which saved my life, and it happened on Halloween.
     
    The spooky season often inspires new twists based on old tales. Did that come into play with your story?
     
    Can't say that it did. If I did pull from some other story I knew, then I definitely don't remember which story it was. I've always been fond of scarecrows, and martial artists, and pagan gods, and cute kids with mohawks... I just threw them all together. Oh, there is this one episode of Supernatural which influenced it a bit, so I suppose there's a connection there.
     
    Why did you pick your particular creepy critter? A love of ghosts? A desire to tell your own vampire schtick? A fascination with the living dead?
     
    There's something about scarecrows which I've always found fascinating. I don't really know why, other than perhaps the thought of a guardian over the harvest sparks my pagan brain moving in awesome directions. Which is probably why I chose to make Jack a god as well.
     
    Do you have a favorite part of the story? A character or scene?
     
    The big reveal, when Jack jumps off his pole and advances toward Jordan. Don't know how well I conveyed it in the writing, but that part played like a movie in my head over and over again. Jack's monstrous and magical appearance, and the look of horror on Jordan's face... I loved every moment of fear the bully experienced.
     
    Do you have other Halloween/horroresque story that you want to share with readers? It can be your own or one you really enjoy. (include links if you want, and I’ll add those)
     
    Halloween is actually what started me writing online. My first story I ever released was part of a Halloween collection at Awesomedude.com, but it's also hosted here now. The Drawbacks of Being a Monster is one of my favorites, and you can read it here: http://www.gayauthor...ofbeingamonster. I also have a new story which will be released for this Halloween. I don't plan on releasing it until Monday, as it's entered into a blind contest on another website where people are to vote without knowing who the authors are, but I'll surely advertise it once it posts.
     
    One of my favorite authors at AwesomeDude, Lil' Octopus, released this little gem last year, and I found it as exhilarating as most of his work. It's title is "Lost in the Woods", and you can find it here: http://awesomedude.c...n-the-woods.htm
     
    Gee Whillickers:
     
    What’s your favorite Halloween memory or tradition?
     
    Halloween movie marathons. When I was a teen a couple of friends and myself would rent two three Halloween themed movies, the cornier the better, and on the weekend nearest to Halloween we'd get together and watch these until all hours. Afterwards, we'd get into these weird half serious, half ridiculous existential discussions about the 'deeper meaning' of the movies. Eventually this always got sillier and stupider until we were imagining all kinds of things from hidden messages about alien invasions to political critiques on the organization and design of suburban neighbourhoods.
     
    Yeah, we were a weird bunch. But I remember those nights, and the fun we had.
     
    The spooky season often inspires new twists based on old tales. Did that come into play with your story?
     
    Absolutely! The story was a pretty generic teen boy-meets-boy tale, but the boys' zombie costumes gave me a way to have some fun with the too-often used tropes of these kinds of stories. One of the things Halloween stories in our genre can often do is play with the idea of hiding, wearing costumes, playing a role, something that strikes a chord with many of us depending on the challenges we faced growing up and often still face when we become adults.
     
    Why did you pick your particular creepy critter? A love of ghosts? A desire to tell your own vampire schtick? A fascination with the living dead?
     
    There's something about zombies that I find fun. Even before the current zombie craze with The Walking Dead and World War Z and the like. You can do so much with the idea, it's not quite as limited as the rule set around Dracula, or Werewolves, and they seem to strike a real deep primal fear in us when its done right.
     
    Do you have a favorite part of the story? A character or scene?
     
    Absolutely. The climax, when Val and Danny end up kissing with their friends all yelling about zombie rights. The whole 'they can't help being undead' and 'if they're eating each other's brains then they won't go after yours' stuff was just a blast to play around with.
     
    Do you have other Halloween/horroresque story that you want to share with readers? It can be your own or one you really enjoy.
     
    There's so many good ones. 'The Halloween from Hell' by Cole Parker is great, if a bit dark.
     
    http://awesomedude.c...n-from-hell.htm
     
    One of mine from a few years ago that I had a lot of fun with is 'The Costume'
     
    http://awesomedude.c...whillickers.htm
     
    I'm also writing a new Halloween story that I hope to have finished and edited within a short period of time. Look for it!
     
    Bill W:
    ​
     
    What’s your favorite Halloween memory or tradition?
     
    I grew up in the country, so I couldn't go trick-or-treating by yourself until I was a teenager. Out of all of the neighbors' houses I'd be taken too, I remember one place most of all. It was an elderly woman who lived alone and made some extra money by making cookies and selling them at her little roadside stand throughout the year. At Halloween, she'd give us one of those cookies when we stopped by. They were as large as a bread plate and the most delicious cookies I think I've even eaten. We had the choice of a sugar, chocolate chip, peanut butter or molasses cookie, but she always let me take two.
     
    I also remember some of the pranks I was part of as a teen, although I'll skip going into detail about those, in case there was no statute of limitations on our activities. lol
     
    The spooky season often inspires new twists based on old tales. Did that come into play with your story?
     
    Actually, mine started out being based on a news report I'd once heard, where the coroner started to perform an autopsy on a man and discovered he wasn't dead after all. Adding that to my fear of what it must be like being trapped in your body and not being able to communicate, the story just grew from there.
     
    Why did you pick your particular creepy critter? A love of ghosts? A desire to tell your own vampire schtick? A fascination with the living dead?
     
    Although this story isn't quite the same, I think it grew out of my morbid fascination throughout my youth about the stories of people who'd been buried alive. Again, being trapped in their own bodies, although I'm not sure if any of them ever realized what was happening at the time, especially when they were being buried.
     
    Do you have a favorite part of the story? A character or scene?
     
    I like the part where you can hear his thoughts about what he wants to do, but he's unable to put them into action or communicate with anyone that he's not really dead. I also like the very end, when he finally figures out what actually saved him.
     
    Bill didn't want to toot his own horn, but I will say he has several other Halloween stories to choose from, such as A Halloween Nightmare, From Beyond the Grave, Role Reversal... and more! You can find them here.
  7. Cia

    Interview: K C

    By Cia,


    Author Interviews
    Ready for more Halloween fun? This month we're featuring KC for the Signature background with his story A Grim Fairytale. Have you read it yet? You can check out my review of his story here. What about his themed desktop background? It's spookily fitting for this time of year! But first, you can't miss this interview where KC shares a little information of the... naughty variety.
     
    What’s your favorite Halloween tradition?
     
    With a name like Grim, Halloween has to be my favorite Holiday! Growing up, Halloween was a big event in our house. Our entire neighborhood was always decked out with lots of creepy crawly things and my family had a huge costume party that everyone came to. It was THE party of the year! If you missed it, you’d hear about it for weeks.
     
    Ever been on the wrong side of an egging? The right side?
    I plead the Fifth! LOL
     
    Oh yeah, as a kid we did it all. Egging houses, toilet papering trees, ding-dong-ditch, flaming bags of poop….you name it, we did it and now that I have a teenager I’m getting payback for all my years as a hellion. We’ve only had our house egged once (knock-on-wood) but we live really far out in the country so it’s a lot harder to pull those pranks than when I was a kid growing up in the city.
     
    Do you have a favorite ghost, ghoul, or gruesome creature? Or do you prefer cuddly creatures?
    There’s enough time to be cute and cuddly the rest of the year. Halloween is for ghouls!! The scarier the better. I love special effects make-up. The entire month of October I work at a local Haunted House called Shocktober and I’ve gotten really good at torn flesh, bloody gashes, and faces being ripped off. It’s so much fun scaring people.
     
    What inspired you to write the story A Grim Fairytale?
    This story was written as a birthday gift for a very dear friend of mine. He loved it ((and I saved money on wrapping paper! )) I’ve always wanted to write my own twisted fairytale and this story was so much fun to create. I tried to keep in the style of the Brothers Grimm, but of course with my own Grim flair.
     
    Do you have a favorite scene or static image from the plot?
    There are so many scenes I like, but my favorite is when Magda kills the piglet and Marcus brings it back to life. Even at a young age, it’s clear that Marcus is a pure soul and his mother can’t tarnish who he really is inside, no matter how much she tries.
     
    Magda means ‘maiden’ and Marcus is ‘dedicated to Mars’, the Roman god of fertility. Given how Marcus was conceived, were those name chosen as a subtle tweak of the characters for the storyline?
    I always put way too much thought into character development. Even if it’s a short story and I’m just scratching the surface on paper, I always have a complete backstory, even if only for myself. Not only do the names need to fit the character, I want it to feel like they have morphed into the personification of who they were made to be.
     
    Your story brings into a question of the duality of good and evil—how does each come into being and do they exist only with or without each other? How do you view that aspect of the A Grim Fairytale?
    I’m a big believer of the duality of good and evil, yin and yang, light and dark. You can’t have one without the other. My favorite lines from the story: “Everyone knows the tales of All Hallows Eve. On this night, the boundary between our world and the spirit world thins. For one night alone, demons can pass through to our realm. Yet as dark and terrifying as this night might be, out of the deepest darkest blackness comes the purest light.”
    Magda’s dark heart is balanced by Marcus’s wholesomeness.
     
    Do you have any other holiday-themed stories you’d like to mention, maybe ones that go beyond the spooky season?
    Yes! I have a Christmas story floating around out there called, “Mistletoe and Handgrenades.” It’s a flash fiction story about what happens after your life explodes and you now have to pick-up the pieces. It is a happy holiday treat. Check it out.
  8. Cia

    Featured Story: A Grim Fairytale

    By Cia,


    Featured Stories
    Welcome to the Signature Author week. This month we're featuring KC's A Grim Fairytale, in honor of the Halloween season. Did you read it? If not, don't worry, my review won't spoil the story for you... but hopefully it will make you want to read it! If you haven't downloaded your background yet, get it here!
     



    A Grim Fairytale

     

    by KC



    Signature Author


     

    Length: 3,176
     
    Status: Complete
     
    Reviewer: Cia
     
    Mention Grimm, and I’m in. I was a fan of the original tales with their non-Disney scenes and endings, so when I then read that this Grim family was much older and darker, I was eager to keep reading. The story soon reads with the ‘Once upon a time’ schtick, but then it definitely goes in a frightening direction.
     
    *Warning* The first part of this story is very dark, just like the reader is warned. We meet a queen bent on worshiping the dark side and dragging her people along with her. The ritual she performs actually summons the devil… but then things go very, very wrong.
     
    And that’s just the beginning of how Magda pays the price of her hubris. We’re introduced to Marcus, her son, but he’s not the heir she expected to have. His nature is very different from hers, and no matter what, he’s rooted firmly in his own path.
     
    That’s about as exact as I’m going to get on the plot. I’d hate to spoil this story, since there is still plenty of October left to enjoy the twisted tale. There are a lot of layers to the story. The names of the main characters, Magda and Marcus, both hold interesting meaning if you relate them to their scenes in the story. (Check out the interview on Wednesday for more information on this!)
     
    KC’s writing, as always, involves a lot of vivid imagery and action. The visuals of the ritual and following scene is especially chilling. There are some complex themes in this story beyond the traditional good versus evil that all fairy tales employ. I also found several subtle tidbits that readers can enjoy, too.
     
    Now, all good fairytales end with ‘And they all lived happily ever after’, but this is a Grim tale, so there’s no guarantee evil will get its comeuppance… or even that you’re rooting for good to triumph by the end of the story. That’s the best part of this short story—it’s full of the unexpected!
  9. Cia

    C S R Feature: Halloween Short Stories!

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    It's a month for a variety of spooky treats, so I thought I'd bring you a few snack-sized Halloween short stories. These are 3 short stories by our site authors featuring a corn maze, a costume party at a bar, and a few zombies--what would Halloween be with a few ghouls, right?
     
    A Halloween Nightmare
    by Bill W
    Length: 5,895
    Description: Colby is a college senior who’s looking forward to dressing up in his costume and spending Halloween having a good time at a gay bar. However, his evening of fun quickly turns into an enduring nightmare, but will it ever end?




    A Zombie Valentine
    by Gee Whillickers
    Length: 5,736
    Description: Halloween parties, zombies, and teenagers. What could happen?
     
     
     



    King of the Corn Maze
    by Cynus
    Length: 4,679
    Description: Every Halloween, Jack works at the "Haunted Corn Maze". Some years are more eventful than others, for sometimes the spirits of the harvest are called upon to protect those who who live within the boundaries of the corn field.
     
     
     



     

    The Discussion day for October will take place on Monday, October 26th. Don't miss out on your chance to enjoy the spooky spectaculars!
  10. Cia

    C S R Discussion Day: The Rainy Day By Graeme

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    Graeme's The Rainy Day is the CSR feature for September. I asked Graeme a series of questions about his time on GA and his story, which, considering the story is from a past anthology was kinda tricky of me. I hope you'll enjoy learning more about Graeme and his writing. He is a busy man, but he will be "live" on the site at 6 PM his time zone, which is 10 PM Pacific and 1 AM Eastern. For our night owls, YAY, and for the rest, make sure you add your questions beforehand so he can answer them then.
     
    You’ve been a member of GA for a long time. Is there one thing you’ve enjoyed most about the changes over the years?
    Without a doubt, it’s been the people. New authors, readers, and forum members. Each with their own personality and charm. I don’t like it when good friends move on, but there’s always someone new to get to know. In particular, the range of stories available now from all the new authors is amazing. That’s been building up every since I joined GA and it’s one of the most exciting parts of the site.
     
    You write a mix of short stories and novels. Do you have a preference?
    Not really. The two serve different purposes. The short stories are for those little ideas that I want to explore. Simple things or special circumstances. The novels are more for exploring bigger ideas. My first novel was exploring the impact on a straight guy when one of his friends comes out of the closet. The second was exploring a different way to present a story, trying to take advantage of online functionality that’s not available in print. My most recent two novels have been exploring the issue of homosexuality and sports. My short stories, are a lot more varied because I can approach each one from a fresh point of view. I’m not tied to any particular genre or situation; I can do what I want. I sometimes consider expanding some of those short stories into novellas or even novels, but there always seems to be something else to do, instead.
     
    What’s your favorite part of writing in general?
    The creation of something unique. The thrill of seeing the idea or scene in my mind taking form in the words on a screen. That’s what I enjoy the most. I love the feedback I get, but I’m not writing to attract readers. I’m writing because I want to write. If it ever became a chore, I wouldn’t do it.
     
    You have written several anthologies, but it’s been a while since you took part in one. Any particular reason for that?
    Sadly, yes. A number of years ago there were a series of massive bushfires near Melbourne; an event now known as the Black Saturday Bushfires. They came close to my home and deeply affected the community in which I live. We know people who lost everything in those fires, including people who lost family members. I was supposed to work the following Monday, but I couldn’t make my mind focus. I rang my boss to let him know I was taking the day off. He was just relieved to hear from me. He knew I lived in one of the affected areas.
     
    My clearest memory from that Monday was going through my closet and collecting all my old suits that no longer fitted me. I took them to the local church where they were collecting donations for people who weren’t allowed back into the bushfire areas to find out if they still had a home. Why was I donating my suits? Because those people needed them for the funerals of known victims: friends and families whose bodies had already been identified...
    I didn’t realise it at the time, but that was the beginning of several years without writing. I tried many times to start, but I couldn’t come up with anything. My muse was gone.
     
    It’s been slowly coming back, but I’ve found that I can only work on one thing at a time. I’m not able to write multiple stories at the same time. Since I’ve been writing about the Lilydale Leopards for the last two years, I haven’t been able to focus my mind onto any short stories, for the anthologies or otherwise. Since I’m currently between novels, at least as far as posting them is concerned, I’m going to try to write a couple of short stories. Whether one of those is for an anthology remains to be seen.
     
    When you wrote The Rainy Day for the anthology “Worth Fighting For” did the theme prompt the story, or did you have to work it in?
    Now you’re straining my memory. That was eight years ago! I believe that theme, in conjunction with the theme of the previous anthology, The Rainy Day, worked together to inspire the story. When combined, the old phrase about putting something aside for a rainy day just jumped out at me. Why would you put something aside? Because of something worth fighting for. After that, it was just a case of working out the circumstances.
     
    As a parent, was this story hard for you to write?
    Not really. While I know of so-called parents like Brat’s mother, and I know of people who are foster parents, I don’t have any personal contact with either situation. I’ve read enough, though, to be aware that it occurs way too often. Of course, in my opinion, once is way too often.
     
    Your main character, Brat, is a dichotomy. He’s hostile and yet dedicated to his siblings. Did you set out to make him this way, or did it evolve as you wrote the story?
    His apparent dichotomy stems from his motivation. I always try to give my characters motives for what they do, and in Brat’s case it was easy. He is protective and he has an Us-vs-Them attitude because of that protectiveness. ‛Us’ is his brother and sister. ‛Them’ is everyone else, including his mother. Because of his mother and her succession of boyfriends, Brat doesn’t trust other people. He’s had too many years of experience that told him that trusting people was a bad idea. Unfortunately, that mistrust extends to people who could be trusted, like Stephen. Brat’s not old enough to develop a strong sense of grey. To him, everything is black or white. People are either part of his family or they’re not. If they’re not, then they are a danger.
     
    Brat’s sarcasm leads to a lot of one-liners. Do you have a favorite?
    I think it would be when Brat snapped at school and yelled at Stephen about football boots:
     
    I don’t have parents who’ll buy me whatever I fucking want. I don’t even have parents who’ll buy me what I fucking need!
     
    It’s so easy for other people to not understand what it’s like to be poor. I’ll admit that I don’t really understand it, either, but I remember being told once about a counsellor who was trying to help a family who couldn’t make ends meet. The counsellor couldn’t tell them what they had to give up. All they could do was keep going through their expenses, pointing out the monthly phone bill, and silently hope that they would realise that, for them, a phone was a luxury. That’s where the comment in the story about not having a phone came from. For Brat, it was a luxury he couldn’t afford. Football boots were so far down the list it wasn’t funny, but Stephen didn’t understand.
     
    This story has a compelling theme that really draws the reader in emotionally. Do you find themes like this work their way into your writing often?
    I try to work with emotions a lot. To me, the situation the characters find themselves in is merely the setting that allows them to express how they feel. They do that in many different ways, but it’s the characters and what they feel that drives my stories, not the situation. That’s my goal. To put it another way, I try to write character-driven stories, not plot-driven. The type of character-driven story that appeals to me is where the characters have goals to strive for. It’s the striving towards that goal that makes the story. In this case, it’s Brat trying desperately to keep his family together.
     
    With the special anthology where authors can return to past anthology themes, do any of them draw your interest for jumping back into the anthologies?
    I’m sure there will be, but as I mentioned above, my muse is being temperamental at the moment. The anthology story that I had the most fun writing was the 2007 Fairy-Tale anthology, the same year as The Rainy Day. That’s the one I’d like to write another story for, but I don’t know if I’d be inspired as I was then.
     
    If I’m going to go back to a past anthology, I’d probably look at the ones during that period when I wasn’t writing. But I would have to find the inspiration first, and the tough part. Sorry, no promises (which, if I’m allowed to say it, isn’t a bad anthology theme itself).
     
    Thanks to Graeme for taking part in the CSR this month, and don't forget to leave your thoughts and questions for Graeme in the comments!
  11. Cia

    The Ugly P Word

    By Cia,


    News Archive
    Which P word? Well it be similar to the way I stole that title from a Skype conversation with Wildone... Figured it out yet?
     
    Plagiarism.
     
    Yep, a thief struck again. I'm sure many of you remember my rant from a few weeks ago about how one of my stories, and 6 other authors' works were plagiarized on another site. A conversation ensued about how to protect your work, as an author, but I never had a chance to post it officially on the site. Well, this time we had a thief try to post their stolen work on GA, but they were busted. I contacted the original author and confirmed the theft, removed the work, removed their account, and our site integrity was restored.
     
    There is a silver lining to plagiarism, which often brings the community together. Unfortunately it happens more often than you might think. Previously we had a large incident with multiple stolen works, which brought us the lovely Cassie Q. She found she liked the site, so she stuck around and continued posting her stories. This go round we have gained another great author, Gee Whillickers. While I hate that it took a theft of their work to bring them GA, I am happy they decided to keep posting here. Make sure you say hi to Gee Whillickers when you see him on the site, or check out his stories posted so far.
     
    So how do you protect yourself against having your stories stolen?
     
    Write bad stories no one wants to steal?
     
    Some think it's a form of flattery, but I'd rather just get a nice review. If you post a story for free online, there's no way to prevent someone from copying it, unfortunately. Some plagiarists, the really lazy ones, just rename it and post it as their own. Others take more effort, changing names of characters, locations, and significant events/themes in the story. I had a daemon story turned into a werewolf fiction. I saw a contemporary story where the main character's gender was changed.
     
    Fortunately for us, the MM reader community is pretty tight. People who read here also read on Awesome Dude, or Archive of Our Own, or Literotica... or many other sites not as well known. Reader discovery accounts for about 25% of the plagiarism we've caught here on the site; usually on work that's posted after the author has left the moderation queue. Why did they wait until then?
     
    Every new author is subject to the mod queue on GA until they hit 75 likes. Until that point, their stories and chapters are checked, partly for our posting and content guidelines, and partly to verify the stories aren't stolen. That's how we tend to catch the other 75%. How do we do this? Can you do it? Yes, you can, and it's really simple.
     
    How to check your stories for plagiarism:
     
    1. Pick a distinctive phrase such as: Nyle looked up nervously as he rode under the portcullis.
    2. Search the phrase within quotation marks "Nyle looked up nervously as he rode under the portcullis.".
    3. Repeat search with a distinctive phrase without names: "The austere chapel and rigorous training had been a sharp contrast to his youth".
     
    Tips: Search on both Bing and Google. Search phrases from the first chapter and later chapters. DO THIS OFTEN.
     

    How do I get the story removed if I find one that's been stolen?
     
    How to report plagiarism:
     
    1. Look for a report button or a contact us link.
    2. Copy the story link to the stolen story.
    3. Share the stolen story title, author name, and links to your original. Haven't posted online? Keep copies of all sent mail to beta readers/fans with advanced reader copies of your work to prove when the content was written and sent. Offer to provide a forwarded copy of said email. If you really want to protect your work, purchase an official copyright, especially if you might publish later.
    4. Follow up. Most sites will work with you to remove the content. Sometimes you have to take it further to the ISP.
     
    How to issue a DMCA notice:
     
    1. Contact the site owners/ISP with the following information: Your signature, links to your copyrighted work, links to the plagiarized work, your physical and online contact information, a statement in good faith that the plagiarized work is unauthorized, and a statement that your information is accurate under penalty of perjury....
     
    There's a lot more to DMCA notices I don't want to outline here, but there is a great website which explains the process: The DMCA Takedown Notice DeMystified by Ken Liu
     
    Sample notice:

     
     
    So that's basically it. Search your stories proactively, but feel free to let me know if you need any help. I've had to deal with this type of situation many times, and I'm always willing to give advice or guide a new author through the process.
  12. Cia

    Interview: Rob Colton

    By Cia,


    Author Interviews
    Today I'm featuring an interview with Rob as part of his Signature feature. Btw, did you download your copy of the background yet? Now, Rob is a popular man, so we've featured interviews with him in the past, so I didn't want to go with the usual author questions. This time I asked him a different series of questions, so I hope you'll enjoy this insight into the flash group, writing Noah's New Plan, and Rob's future plans!
     
    What brought you to the Wednesday Briefers flash group?
    I was contacted by Julie Lynn Hayes, who runs the group. We knew of each other through another Wednesday Briefer, M. A. Church. I thought it would be a great way to practice my writing and to get something “out there” every week, during a time frame when I didn’t have any new books coming.
     
    Did you like having the prompts for the following week posted just 7 days in advance?
    Seven days works – it’s a perfect timeframe. If it was longer, I think you’d lose some of the spontaneity the briefs group inspires.
     
    Was writing in short bursts, just 500 to 1000 words each week, easier or harder than your normal method?
    Most weeks I didn’t have an issue with the word count, though several times I went over the 1000 limit by a few words. Having a deadline was definitely the worst part – I’ve found I just don’t write that way by default. I needed to have it ready before Wednesday each week, and there were plenty of times where I struggled with that.
     
    Did the inspiration for the characters or the plot of Noah’s New Plan come to you first?
    The character inspiration definitely came first. When I wrote the first chapter, all I really had was Noah’s backstory: a man who has to start over after a long-term relationship. Eli would come along to shake things up, breaking Noah out of the rigid shell he’d boxed himself into.
     
    Your story—as most of them are—is unashamedly sexual, but in this one that contrast was made far more marked by the lack of sex in the long-term relationship Noah got out of before he met Eli. Was that aspect written purposely or just part of the evolving changes in Noah as you wrote the story?
    Oh yes, that was an aspect of Noah’s life I knew in advance. Eli busted onto the scene and turned Noah’s world upside down. Noah didn’t realize that passion was missing from his life until he met Eli.
     
    Eli worked as a security guard and a bar bouncer… but he seems like a very multi-layered character. We don’t see any career aspirations outside of his current jobs, but is that something that might change, say in a sequel?
    It’s not fair for me to say Eli doesn’t have ambitions; he is just happy where he is. He’s a laid back kind of guy, but he knows what he wants and goes for it. And in this story, he decided he wanted Noah. By the end of the story, I’d say he has everything he needs.
     
    Do you have a favorite scene in the story?

     
    Noah’s New Plan had a great stopping point—which I won’t spoil for potential readers—but do you have any plans to go back and share more of Eli and Noah’s story?
    At this time I don’t really have plans to revisit Eli and Noah. I think they ended on a great point, as you said.
    I did continue the story in a sense, though. Rex, Eli’s friend and boss at the bar he works, gets his own story in “The Buckle” – part of the Stranded anthology of short stories, published by Wayward Ink Press. Eli makes a brief cameo at the beginning of the story.
     
    Can we expect a new Wednesday Briefs story from you?
    Yes! I plan on starting up a new short story for Halloween.
  13. Cia

    Featured Story: Noah's New Plan

    By Cia,


    Featured Stories
    So, in honor of the title, and the general theme of Rob's story, Noah's New Plan, I decided to do something a little different this month for the review of the Signature Feature story. Instead of one reviewer giving us their take on the story, I asked a series of readers the same questions and asked them to pick a few to answer (and some picked all of them, lol). I hope you'll enjoy this new feature format, and don't forget to download your copy of the signature background for this month if you haven't yet! Plus for Wednesday's feature I asked Rob a few questions to answer about the story too!
     



    Noah's New Plan


    by




    Rob Colton


    Signature Author


     

    Length: 32,356
    Status: Complete
     
    What was your original impression of Eli: The same as Noah's, based on his description, or were you into his rugged looks from the beginning?
    Mann Ramblings: I was into Eli from the start. Rob has some eerie psychic connection to my preferences for top characters. I've yet to find one I didn't want to push the bottom aside and steal for myself.
     
    Clochette: I was not really into Eli's looks and as the story is being told from Noah point of view, even if it's not at the first person, my view of Eli was obviously a bit influence by how Noah was seeing/describing him (a big bald man with a beard and a gun at his hip).
     
    So, yes Eli not looking like the type of person you imagine walking into a library every day, even could pass as kinda scary my thoughts were "What is he doing here? what could he possibly want? is he going to be troubles for Noah (for who I already had a soft spot)?"
     
    Valkyrie: A man in a wet uniform clinging to his bulging muscles, with a beard and tattoos...what's not to like?
     
    Noah and Eli's first "not-a-date" was pretty awkward at first and then smoothed out when they started to talk honestly. Did you relate to that scene in any particular way? Did it make you enjoy the chapter more?
    Timothy M: To be honest most of that chapter made me cringe. But I did laugh about Eli’s backwards compliment on Noah looking young. And Eli was quick to understand ‘what a prick’ Noah’s ex is.
     
    Headstall: I loved the 'not a date' scene, especially when Noah actually laughed out loud at the thought of having cake with ice cream. I think that revealed a helluva lot to Eli. When Eli took it upon himself to order chocolate cake a la mode--with two forks--I was all in. It was amusing that Noah thought of this date as practice for a real one. So naive lol. I fooled myself the same way one time as well, so I did relate. Sometimes we don't see it coming... and in Noah's case, Eli sneaked (I want to use 'snuck', but the red lines, you know) up on him without our librarian realizing it.
     
    Noah jumped from a prudish, quiet book-lover to geek chic wildman in bed. How believable was that transition over the course of the story?
    Puppilull: I didn't find his transformation strange at all. He went from a relationship where his partner liked an idea of him that wasn't really Noah. When Eli set him free so to speak and actually loved Noah, his true self could come out. No fear of not being loved or respected.
     
    Headstall: I didn't look at Noah as having a transformation as a lover, so much as he was finally with a partner that let him be his true self. He wasn't restricted anymore by what Derek considered acceptable or proper. For me, his sexual development with Eli rang true at every step. I loved that he was able to finally ask for what he wanted. We saw the real Noah rising (no pun intended) when he said to Eli, "That sounds like a challenge. I do love a challenge." Another 'nutshell' moment, I think.
     
    Did you have a favorite chapter or scene? Why did you like it?
    Mann Ramblings: My favorite was the scene where Derek interrupts Eli and Noah after sex and Noah holds him at gunpoint before shaming Derek's lack of familiarity with Eli's pleasure noises. I think Derek is the perfect example of every shady, slimy guy I've ever met. Watching him fail to gain the upper hand is balm to my soul.
     
    Timothy M: Apart from all the hilarious scenes with Noah’s coworkers, and the moment where
    I think my favorite scene may be in ch. 18:
     
    Derek's face went red and he pointed his finger at Noah's face. "I don't want you seeing him!"
    "Well, I didn't want you screwing what's-his-face while we were still together. I guess neither of us gets what we want."
     
    I enjoyed seeing Noah not only stand up to Derek, but to put him in his place with a few sarcastic sentences. Just perfect. I like shy, but intelligent guys with a dry wit.
     
    Headstall: Favorite scene or chapter? Too difficult to pick only one, but I will say one of my favorite chapters was Chapter 6. Possibly the best line in the whole story was in the scene with the cab driver. "Like he was going to take advice from a woman in a mullet." I laughed my ass off because this was so Noah at that point. I went from laughing to feeling sad for Noah when he took her advice and went to 'Rainbow' instead of 'The Buckle'. The harsh reality of the twink bar made me feel so sorry for our hero.
     
    When he got up the nerve to go to 'The Buckle', I mentally cheered, and when Eli told Crane, the pushy muscle/bear guy to "get his hands off his boy", I cheered again.
     
    Another note: In Chapter 7, when they kissed for the first time at the door check at 'Buckle', and Noah waved a guy through, saying "You're good", I thought it captured the moment perfectly. It was hilarious, and nothing mattered but the kiss.
     
    Did you like the posting style of flash chapters between 500 words and 1000, but a guaranteed update almost every week? Why or why not?
    Puppilull: I know a lot of people complain about short chapters like these (I might have done that myself on occasion...), but to get updates at such regular intervals and so often make up for that. I find it more annoying to wait months and months for an update of a story I like, even if I truly understand that inspiration and time are sometimes rare commodities for writers.
     
    A particularly greedy reader could exercise restraint and "collect" a few chapters and read every other week. But that would mean putting a leash on your curiosity....
     
    Valkyrie: Yes. This was the first story I read that's a part of the Wednesday Briefers, and I am currently following two more. I like the frequent updates. The short chapters, while frustrating at times, allow the author to convey a lot of information in few words. It's a great exercise in creativity, and difficult to do well.
     
    Where would you like to see Noah and Eli's story go from the ending?
    Clochette: The story ended with the two of them living together happily, so maybe seeing what kind of life they build for themselves after that would be nice.
     
    But we already had a happy ending so for me it was a good ending for the story.
     
    Timothy M: Normally I’m all for sequels and ‘More!’ but in this case I think the story ended at the right place.
  14. Cia

    C S R Feature: The Rainy Day By Graeme

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    The weather has turned, and it's rainy... which reminded me of a story from a past anthology I really enjoyed. Renee has announced a special anthology redo for 2016 allowing members to pick any--or all--past anthologies they didn't participate in to feature a new story. One of the older anthologies I really enjoyed was "Worth Fighting For" and my favorite story of that series was this one, so I hope you'll enjoy it too!
     



    The Rainy Day


    by Graeme


     

    Length: 7,598
     
    A Reader Said: What I liked best about this story was the juxtaposition between Brat's behavior and attitude and his "doing the right thing". That's far from easy to do, and Graeme did it very well indeed. ~ C James
     


    The CSR Discussion Day will take place on Monday, September 28th!


  15. Cia

    Csr Discussion Day: The Phantom By Dark

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    So, the tables turn and the interviewer becomes the interviewee! This month the Discussion day is coming a bit early, but that's so Dark can do a live chat! Make sure you come back for the live chat at noon, Alaska time. Just cause that's not the usual zones, so that will be: Pacific 1 PM, Mountain is 2 PM, Central is 3 PM, and Eastern is 4 PM hours. On to the interview!!
     
    Single people work more. Are you single?
    Yup. Been single since 2008.
     
    Who do you like best, Jerry or Tom?
    That takes me back. I always rooted for the cat.
     
    Do you eat your fruits and vegetables?
    Being in a rural Alaskan village, fruits and vegies are a delicacy, so, yes, as much as I can get and as often as my mom sends them.
     
    What are you wearing (and no fibbing!)?
    Jeans and a t-shirt, normally, unless it’s during school hours, in which case it’s business casual.
     
    Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point?
    Most of the time I make my bed. I trace that back to my first cat, who would burrow beneath the blankets if the bed was left unmade. He also had a penchant for eating shoelaces, so I learned to put my shoes away, too.
     
    Chocolate or Vanilla?
    Definitely chocolate, the darker the better.
     
    What brought you to the site?
    I followed a writer to her blog and she had a list of favorite stories, among them DomLuka’s Desert Dropping.
     
    Do your characters try to make like bunnies and create ever more convoluted plots for you? Or do you have to coax them out of your characters?
    I’ve had characters do both. Ben and Rick from The One I Want just would not leave me alone for the longest time. They still pop back into my head off and on, harping about the ending to their story (they don’t think it’s done). Then there’s Mordred from The Return, who still takes a lot of coaxing. He doesn’t like being the main character. It’s maddening.
     
    Name one entity that you feel supported you in your writing endeavors outside of family members.
    I’d say the biggest supporter I’ve had in regards to writing is the woman who became my best friend. We first met on writing.com as part of a round-robin type of writing venture. We wrote together for years and it was only in 2009 (?) that I found out she was almost ten years my junior. I was a bit unnerved. Still, we got over that and she’s been my chief cheerleader ever since. Plus, she’s one of the few people brave enough to say “this sucks” when I write crap. Can’t beat that kind of feedback, lol.
     
    Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
    I find action scenes the hardest to write because words rarely seem like enough after watching the scenes in my head. It’s a repeated criticism I continue to struggle with, that the action gets confusing, that readers have a hard time figuring out who’s doing what in a scene.
     
    When did you first consider yourself a writer?
    I can remember writing my first stories about my GI Joes and my sister’s Barbies back in 5th grade. That’s also the year I wrote some role-plays with my best friend at school (though I didn’t have words for what we were doing then). I used to dream about being a writer. I would fall asleep at night to the stories in my head. Some of them are still clear even after all this time. I played around with role-plays and short stories (though again without really knowing what I was doing) through high school and wrote one novel in college. But in college I discovered Dungeons and Dragons and writing.com, which switched the vast majority of my writing to role-plays because I felt that I was missing some key element in my writing and besides, writing was just a hobby – engineering and the Air Force was my future. Eventually, I told myself, I would grow up and leave it behind. I didn’t, but my family thought I kicked the habit after that one novel I wrote (no, I never submitted it to a publisher). Sometime in 2007-2008, I got back into writing more seriously, found y-gallery, and wrote The One I Want, the first novel that I seriously considered getting published. It won a writing contest on that site (that was back when it was a series of novellas, one of which was titled TOIW). I think looking at the message from the contest moderators was the moment when I first truly considered myself a writer.
     
    How did you come up with the title for The Phantom?
    This was a story whose name was actually easy to decide on. The whole story revolves around Mark’s interactions with the entity he names the Phantom. It seemed obvious to me.
     
    Did the characters or the plot come to you first?
    For almost every story I’ve written, the characters came first. My inspiration was a picture and the characters just popped into my head. I asked the owner of the picture and the author of the characters for permission, and The Phantom began. Now the lead-up to that point is rather convoluted, so I’m going to try and make it understandable.
     
    First, there was y-gallery, a website designed for sharing pictures (as in what folks drew on paper or computer tablet) for the M/M genre. Pretty soon people figured out how to add fiction to the site. I was getting into online comics at the time and followed a link to a fansite (or “club” as they’re called on Ygal) for the comic I was reading and slowly started exploring the rest of the site.
     
    One of the clubs I discovered was for the old comic Spy vs. Spy. I started following an artist who drew fan-art, which she posted into the fan-club. At first, it was the old, original characters, then they evolved to be more human/realistic, and eventually the artist started adding original characters to the mix.
     
    Then the club exploded … with her art and with people clamoring to know more about this world she was building (that was based on the old Spy vs. Spy comic). It got to such a point that she formed her own club and moved all her comics there as she started adding fiction to the mix and inviting others to join in.
     
    Next thing I knew, there were alternate reality fan-clubs for these characters in different settings. “Bruce” is the spy name for Mark in the origina club, so named from the shark in Finding Nemo. How that came about is something I don’t remember anymore.
     
    I enjoyed all the nonsense as it was a break from the very long days I was putting in working full time and going to school part-time. I was taking 9 credit hours at the time, plus my volunteer hours. I spent a lot of time on the train, which left plenty of opportunities in my day to read.
     
    So, one day I saw a new club (spin-off of the new original club, do you follow me?) based around this superhero theme. One of the pictures posted was of Bruce and Sheila, intrepid reporters. I was hooked and just had to write a fanfiction to go with the fanart of the original characters that were themselves born from fanart of the original comic.
    Capiche?
     
    If The Phantom were made into a movie, who do you picture playing each characters part?
    I could see Taye Diggs as Bruce, perhaps. He has just the right blend of comedic and seriousness for the part (not to mention being really handsome). He might be too short, though. The guy who played the Hulk has the right look for Sheila, as I envision him, anyway. He was a villain on the latest Star Trek film, one of the Romulans.
     
    What sort of coffee would your characters order? Simple coffee, complicated soy-non-fat-extra-espresso-half-caff-nightmare?
    I think Bruce only drinks coffee thick enough for a spoon to stand upright, but Sheila probably drinks his blond (with cream). They both drink too much of it to worry about the fru-fru stuff. In fact, I find it difficult to envision Sheila waiting in line for one.
     
    What was your favorite part of the story?
    My favorite part of the story was finding ways to incorporate as many different references to the fan-clubs and various sci-fi films as I could. That and using the old text-speak. I know, I date myself, but it was fun trying to stump my readers, knowing that they also followed the same artists and infinity-loop of fan-clubs. There are hidden gems in there for the loyal readers, like a scavenger hunt, not like I do that with any of my other work at all….
     
    What are your future projects?
    Currently, finishing The Return is my top priority. Next to that, I have waiting a story about teenaged ninjas in an alternate, future Earth, and a space opera featuring a sentient A.I., dragons, and time-travel.
     

    Some great answers! Thank you, Dark! Okay, don't forget to leave your questions for Dark or come back for the live interview.
  16. Cia

    Self-Editing Tips!

    By Cia,

    http://thewritelife.com/self-editing-tips/
     
    This is a great post fo​r all authors! I'd also recommend poking about the rest of the site, especially if you have a goal of becoming published.
    ​
  17. Cia

    Writing Prompts #438 & #439

    By Cia,


    Prompts
    Today we have a slightly new method to the madness, me! I'm a little bit later than Renee on posting these, but I hope you'll enjoy this week's prompts as well as the feature prompt selection. Sometimes an author hits a road block that they just can't seem to make their way through. The weekly prompts are a great starting point to jump start some new ideas. Whether you're looking to just do a quick flash piece or maybe you want to do a bit longer story, why not give them a try! A couple of things to remember: Prompt responses under 1,000 words must be posted as part of a collection. Do to the high number of collections containing only a few "chapters" we have set a limit of five collections per author, any more than this requires prior Admin approval.
     
    Prompt 438 – Creative
    Tag – Vampire
     
    You’ve had a friend who just keeps trying to set you up on a blind date. You hate blind dates with a passion and had successfully dodged all attempts to set you up. Unfortunately they finally caught you on a night when you didn’t think fast enough and here you are on a date with a dark mysterious stranger. You remember having a good time, but not much else. When you wake up the next morning you feel really tired and find marks on your neck and upper arm. At work you mention it to your friend, jokingly. Another coworker over hears and says it sounds like you are dating a vampire. Are you?
     
    Prompt 439 – Creative
    Tag – List of Words
     
    Use the following in a story – a clown, a motorcycle, vacation tickets, chocolate cake, and a ring.
     
    Today's prompt feature is from James Savik's response to prompt #437:
     

    Read the rest here.
  18. Cia

    Author Interview: Adam Phillips

    By Cia,


    Author Interviews
    Our July feature for the Signature Author Background is "Crosscurrents" by Adam Phillips. If you're a fan of Adam's story, I hope you'll like the background featuring the moment in the story where Andy and Matt's relationship takes a turn. Haven't read the story yet? Never fear, we have a lot of incentive to get you excited. Download your background, check out Tyler's review from Monday's blog, and then read this interview with Adam... then get started!
     


    Author Interview: Adam Phillips on Crosscurrents


     

    Single people often have more time to write. Are you single?
     
    No. I'm married and have a 8-year-old son and a 4-year old son. On top of that, I write nonfiction stuff for a living now, in addition to a part-time gig as an adjunct math professor at a local juco and chasing after one other income stream. The money's great, and the diversity appeals to my ADHD. But time gets precious. So the best time for narrative-writing for me is before everyone gets up or after everyone's gone to bed.
     
    Do you eat your fruits and vegetables?
     
    Absolutely. My wife's a doctor, and she'll put me in Food Detention if I don't. Also, I have kids watching.
     
    What are you wearing (and no fibbing!)?
     
    Jeans and a polo shirt with a couple of holes in it. Yeah, I know. Boring, huh? That's the nice thing about being self-employed. Lots of "dress-like-you-want" days.
     
    Have you ever gone out in public, realized your shirt is on backwards, and just don’t care?
     
    Seriously? Who does this?
     
    What brought you to the site?
     
    I love good writing, and for all kinds of Freudian and autobiographical reasons, I guess, I gravitate toward coming-of-age stories. I'd discovered the Nifty site some time before this one, but the quality is so variable there, it's kind of hit-or-miss for the reader. I wanted to find a place that was a little more selective, and I knew it had to be out there if I could locate it, so I Googled "Gay Stories," and Gay Authors was one of the first five hits that came up. With a name like "Gay Authors," I figured the writing mattered to the folks who ran the place. So I jumped in as a reader. And I haven't been disappointed.
     
    What books have most influenced you?
     
    As a writer of gay/bi narrative? Let me see:
     
    Jamie O'Neill's At Swim, Two Boys. Masterful, beautiful, devastating writing.
     
    Jim Grimsley's Dream Boy. The stylistic minimalism packs an incredible punch in this sexual-awakening tragedy.
     
    J. G. Hayes's A Map of the Harbor Islands. Joe Hayes is all about pain and redemption, and his characters are endearing and unforgettable. Also, he tends to like the happy ending, and while I don’t require that, it’s nice.
     
    A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I know it's the butt of all kinds of jokes and object of all kinds of scorn, but that's because too many high school teachers make kids read it. It's not a book for high school kids. Only a few of them have the stuff at that age to see what the author's up to. Still, it's a memorable story of the innocence of youth and the darkness of the human heart. And the writing's rich and vivid.
     
    What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
     
    1) I'm a gym rat and a sports enthusiast. I play in an old guy's soccer league (I'm 35); I enjoy getting out and tossing the ball around with the neighborhood kids; I'll get into a pickup basketball game at my gym; and I coach my older son's soccer team. So there's that. Oh, and over the last couple of years I've taken up boxing. There's a real art to it that involves the whole body and mind; it's not just about pounding people's faces until they crumple.
     
    2) I read. Voraciously. Especially fiction, philosophy, math & science, and politics.
     
    3) I like to watch good TV and good movies.
     
    4) I listen to music. Of all kinds. And I'm a halfway decent pianist.
     
    5) I grill outdoors in the summer and avoid the kitchen in all other seasons. I like having friends and loved ones over—with their kids or without--for a summer meal. The guys can hang out in the back yard, drink beer, and shoot the breeze with me while I’m attending to the manly art of searing flesh, and when it’s time to eat, the bonhomie is soul-restoring.
     
    If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
     
    My only real mentor for the kind of writing I've done on Gay Authors was my first editor. He's a guy who edits scripts for TV and movies for a living. He saw some early posted chapters of Crosscurrents that he liked enough to ask if I'd be interested in his help. I've learned so much from him.
     
    Just in terms of how to write a story people want to read, the stories of Dom Luka at this site have taught me a lot about how to set up a scene, how to tell what you need to and show most all of the rest, how to transition scenes skillfully and with style. How to make your characters live and breathe, and how to make them memorable. Dom feels in his bones, I think, how the narrative formula of western civilization is best executed to brilliant effect, and he turns that formula into art in his stories. Each novel of his has a story to tell. That may seem so obvious as to not need mentioning; don’t all stories tell stories? Well, not always, as you discover when you survey the landscape. But with him, there’s a start, a rise, a high point, and a coast down to a smooth landing, whether the landing is upbeat or more bittersweet. When you finish one of Dom’s novels, you feel as though you’ve read a story. And his genius is that he doesn’t just paint by the numbers; he takes that long-honored template and puts freshness into it.
     
    Where do you get your ideas?
     
    Well, my only large work here is Crosscurrents. My ideas there came from my life experience. I also have one short-short at Gay Authors, The Confrontation, and one short story, Brushfire, in progress here. I have ideas sketched out, or in some cases, partially written, for 12 more works of various sizes. And, as is the case with the smaller stories I have at Gay Authors, the ideas for each of the 12 came from my own inner reactions to something I’ve experienced in my everyday world. Not always anything that has to do with me. It’s common for me to notice something out there as I'm walking through my day and be so struck by it that I’m mentally off-to-the-races, taking that thing I saw, asking “what if…” and starting to tell myself a story in answer to the “what if.”
     
    Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
     
    I always have to watch out for dialogue. So many writers are abysmal with dialogue. I try to imagine the scene in my head and think about the way the character in question would say it. Then I just transcribe what he said. That said, it’s not the easiest part of writing.
     
    I'm also tempted with lack of restraint, which I absolutely hate. Rewrites frequently involve ratcheting a scene back a notch so I'm not sledgehammering the reader with it.
     
    What’s the best part of being an author?
     
    Well, if we're not talking about the money I make doing nonfiction writing for hire, I guess it's connecting emotionally through my narrative writing with so many readers who’ve written me telling me how deeply they’ve been moved by the story. Many of those readers have had a crosscurrent experience of their own in their pasts, and it’s been humbling to have so many of them share the details with me.
     
    Did something specific inspire you to write Crosscurrents?
     
    The story’s about me and my childhood best friend, actually, and I was at a place—when I started—where I feared that the realities of young-adulthood would end up unintentionally and gradually removing us from each other’s lives, until he was just “somebody that I used to know.” The heartbreak I felt as I was contemplating this caused me to start this story for him and for his eyes, as a sort of cri de coeur and as a way to Say It. And to move on.
     
    How much of the story is based on personal experience or is the story primarily research-based?
     
    Yeah, it’s all me. I’ve distorted to a minor degree some facts of history and geography and chronology; I took one “minor character” from real life and split that person into two “narrative characters,” and I did the reverse: I took two people from real life and combined them into one narrative character. I also changed the gender of one minor character because I felt that person needed the extra protection of anonymity that change might produce. And some of the characterization has been slicked-up a little bit for "publication" in order to make the appeal more immediate and to conform to the conventions of the genre. Beyond that, it’s all personal experience. There is no fictional narrative material in it.
     
    How did you come up with the title?
     
    I felt it was a perfect description of the way people who experience themselves as bisexual often feel: Pulled by strong currents in two different directions at the same time.
     
    How long did it take you to write this story?
     
    (Winces hard) Ten years. Yeah, I know. But I was busy living life, you know? I promise my upcoming stuff won’t be so slow.
     
    What was your favorite part of Crosscurrents?
     
    Writing about Andy’s and Matt’s estrangement after their high school beach encounter was excruciating for me. I wrote those three chapters (15-17) in one sitting, and when I finished, I was emotionally wasted. Drained. But as I looked at the writing, I realized it was quite strong there.
     
    Chapter 30 was also really gratifying to complete. It charts a pivotal turning point for Andy, and for the reader it releases a lot of the emotional tension that’s been generating for fifteen chapters.
     
    Can you share a little of your current work with us?
     
    By summer’s end, I want to have my little short story Brushfire finished. There will be between two and three chapters more.
     
    I have an unfinished five-chapter short story called Tumbleweed Connection languishing at Nifty. It's mostly erotica and not really narrative-centric. It's about a small-town West Texas assistant football coach and an 18-year-old on the team. I’m also planning on finishing this one up this summer.
     
    What are your future projects?
     
    Well, in addition to the above, I actually have ideas for 6 novels, 6 short stories, and a sonnet (!!!). I have no idea in what order I'll work on these. Here they are with their tentative titles and general summaries:
     
    One short story (“Remix”) and one novel (Not to Touch the Earth) each deal with a bisexual man who wakes up one day to alternate realities, realities that present him with important and potentially life-changing choices. Although the stories are completely unrelated, both have science-fictiony elements to them, but the sf is not the main thing in either case. That's just a vehicle for showcasing the protagonists’ conflicts and life paths.
     
    One (“The Tree”) is a short story that uses a minor para-natural situation to explore recognizable universal themes about love and life and the various distractions and temptations we face when we try to live with integrity.
     
    One book-length story (Small Town Boys) is a nostalgic/erotic piece of Americana, hometown values, and hometown boys. Imagine a sexy gay period-piece with a feel like that of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine.
     
    One novel (Rage) and one short story (“Solve”) are each about the scary and devastating consequences of rage; rage at self, and rage at others.
     
    Two short stories are pure erotica: One (“Piel Canela”) is about a casual encounter between two men who come out of completely separate orbits and collide. The other (“Spunk”) is an abstract three-part literary experiment focused on men and on, uhh...semen.
     
    One (“Gate”) is a short story dealing with deep, sustained, and unresolved longing.
     
    Two novels (It Happened Online and Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters) are tales of young men who meet up by chance, snap into place together as if they’d been fated to, and experience the way that plays out.
     
    One (Sculpt) is a sonnet on male beauty. Ok, I fell in love with the genre a while back and want to see if I can do one that honors the structural conventions of classic sonnets but feels completely contemporary.
     
    And one novel (Finding Home) is the frequently-requested sequel to Crosscurrents. It tells us The Rest of the Story between Matt and Andy.
  19. Cia

    C S R Discussion Day: Frozen Heart By Dianjin

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    This month I featured Dianjin's Frozen Heart. This story features two boys who have a lot to overcome in their lives... and it's just possible they might be able to help each do that. Did you find the time to enjoy their journey this month? What did you think? We won't be doing any chat time, since unfortunately Dianjin is sans internet for today, but please remember to share your thoughts about Max and Aaron's story.
     

    Single people often have more time to write. Are you single?
    As I wrote Frozen Heart I actually had a boyfriend, but since we weren’t living together I still had lots of time to write
     
    What are you wearing (and no fibbing!)?
    Shorts and a t-shirt! Though I have to admit I was topless a few minutes ago
     
    Have you ever gone out in public, realized your shirt is on backwards, and just don’t care?
    Yes and no, Once I noticed in the metro so it was out of the question to fix it on the spot, another day I was just too lazy to do it.
     
    What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
    Video games, reading, watching a few TV shows (Doctor Who first and foremost)
     
    What brought you to GA?
    I was looking for erotic gay stories one boring afternoon.
     
    Where do you get your ideas?
    All around me, books I read, games I play, even a few moments from my day to day life are in there.
     
    Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
    Let me be honest, I’m not a native English speaker, and sometimes I get carried away with my sentences, you see in French we tend to have very looooooooooooooooooooooooong sentences. I really have to force myself to not make run-ons.
     
    Is your writing process a daily word count goal or more of a burst of inspiration writing flurry?
    Depends, for Frozen Heart I set myself a goal of a chapter per day, and to achieve that I start thinking about the chapter early in the day, outline and stuff, but can get to writing it at noon, or very late at night. For my new story A Companion for all Time it’s more of a come and go thing, two days ago I wrote at least 3000 words, though I had not touched it for two weeks.
     
    If you could give advice to yourself when you first started writing, what would it be?
    Make an outline, plan, setting page or something. When I started writing I just thought of things and wrote them down, and soon I was overwhelmed, my very first story went too far too fast, with big ugly holes in the middle, reason why I put it on hold for now (I have some ideas for it actually, but I’m thinking of scrapping all of it for now). Now I have a sepearte document that is always open when I write with character description, things that I did and have to do, ideas, setting, stuff like that. I’m always updating it.
     
    Did something specific inspire you to write Frozen Heart?
    My boyfriend, Maximilian is heavily inspired by some of his struggles, of course I really magnified it (don’t worry in real life he’s not like that at all). I wanted to do something deeper than just a simple gay story, I don’t know if that came through well or not
     
    I noticed you have several AHA moments. Do you have a favorite readers picked up on?
    I don’t really know ^^’ I just enjoying writing the story, all of it, though if I had to pick a favorite moment it would be the end of chapter 9, I had been planning that one for a while
     
    Do you identify with Max or Aaron, and how so?
    A little of both, as said before Max is inspired after my boyfriend (a bit), but he has somethings that are me, and Aaron would be the sort of person I would like to have as a best friend!
     
    How long did it take you to write Frozen Heart?
    I didn’t count I’d say about a month or so, maybe more, probably more.
     
    If your story were made into a movie, who do you picture playing each character’s part?
    I have no idea on that one I’d say someone that fit their physical description as best as possible, and for Max a really, really shy person
     
    What are your future projects?
     
    Finishing A companion for all Time, and continuing Max and Aaron’s journey in Golden Heart, then taking another look at French Touch.
  20. Cia
    It's Monday, but never fear, we have something to keep you entertained through the week... cause it could take that long to read this story! Have you read Adam Phillip's epic-length novel, Cross Currents? First go take a peek at the Signature Background we featured last week and download your copy, then enjoy the reviews some of Adam's fans shared about his story!
     



    Cross Currents

     

    by




    Adam Phillips


    Signature Author


    Reviewer: Tyler
    Status: Complete
    Length: 288,623
     

    In April of 2001, before the world changed, before Facebook, before Glee and sense8, before Obergefell vs Hodge, a man writing under the nom de plume of John Walsh began publishing the serial auto-biographical novel Fraternity Memoirs. The widespread use of the Internet was fairly new, and the advancement of online social communities to the point where non techies could use them to form tight-knit groups around common interests fueled an explosion of outpourings of support; men (and women, but mostly men) from many different walks of life found each other discussing Walsh’s novel and reaching out to Walsh to say “your story is my story”, “your pain is my pain”, “that there is someone like you in the world, who knows what it is to be like me, gives me hope.” And also, of course, “that was so hot.”
     
    Adam Phillips, at the time a senior in college, was one of those men. And as a reflection of the shared pain that bound this nascent community together, he decided to write the novel Crosscurrents, hoping he could tell a story that would provide similar encouragement, solidarity and arousal. At its core, Crosscurrents is a coming of age and love story of the protagonist Andy and his childhood best friend Matt. But it touches on many themes: fluidity in personal sexuality, internalized homophobia, sex as a tool to use people, sex as a tool to love people, the natural tendency to believe you know what is in someone else’s head, life as a popular guy, life as a traumatized guy, how to date a cheerleader. The unbelievably common but incredibly bizarre belief that bisexual people don’t exist. Many more.
     
    The writing itself is pretty good. As in almost any well-thought-out long form narrative there are some places where it feels as though Phillips were trying too hard. But far more often than not, you’ll come across gems such as “It was the solstice of the Endless Summer in our lives, a time that, while I now understand it as cruelly brief and ephemeral, seemed during those days as if it stretched out ahead of us forever” or the simpler but equally compelling, “My heart was never far from broken.” By and large, the story doesn’t merely draw you in, it sings to you.
     
    I have had my own personal tragedies, and I, like the character Andy, and like everyone who grew up before this sometimes more welcoming modern era, have had to deal with the internal trauma delivered by the pernicious homophobic conception that somehow it is bad, it is wrong, to be who you are. Every time I read a chapter of Crosscurrents I learn a little more from Andy about myself and how to get away from my own self-loathing and its associated anxiety, and that’s the best recommendation for a novel I could offer.
     
    As a warning to readers, know that this story will make you laugh and cry; you will fall in love with the characters, and at the same time you may occasionally dislike them; it will get you hard (or wet if that’s how your equipment works). But if you are offended by straight sex, this story isn’t for you. The first half of the novel is not really overtly sexual, but the parts of that half that are [very] erotic are primarily m/f. The m/m stuff mostly doesn’t get going until chapter 20.
     
    A note regarding the author: If you loved his story, if you felt a strong connection to the characters—especially if you felt a strong connection—if you need someone to talk to, drop him an email like I did; I’m sure he’d love to hear from you. After all, he told this story for you.
  21. Cia

    C S R Feature: Frozen Heart By Dianjin

    By Cia,


    CSR- Can't Stop Reading
    Are you enjoying July yet? This is the pivotal month of the year, hottest or coldest depending on where you live. Most of us just try to get through it, hiding inside whenever possible to enjoy the heat or AC. So, while you're inside, why not check out a new story?
     

    Frozen Heart


    by Dianjin


     
    Length: 34,082
     
    Description: Ice, the best barrier one could hope for.
     
    A Reader Said: Very sweet. Thanks for taking the time to write. ~ Fiddlerbob101
     

    Don't forget to read and review! Plus you can come back and share your thoughts on the story overall (or the series, this is Book #1 in a series) on the CSR Discussion day taking place on Monday, July 27th.
  22. Cia
    This month we featured a compelling story about an orphan and his journey to find a home in Where Life Takes Us. Did you get a chance to read it? What did you think? Today we're going to discuss and share thoughts with the author, Kuragari129, one of our newer authors on the site--though not new to writing--so don't be shy with the feedback!! Of course, first you get to enjoy my interview with him!
     
    Single people often have more time to write. Are you single?
    I am Single
     
    Chocolate or Vanilla?
    We talking Ice Cream? Vanilla either way
     
    What are you wearing (and no fibbing!)?
    Sweats, a hoodie and a Jack Skellinton Toque
     
    What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
    Mostly Video Games and reading Manga. I've never been one for sports. I have all the leading game consoles and play on them regularily. As for manga, I look forward to the weekly releases of Fairy Tail and the monthly releases of Fairy Tail Zero and Pandora Hearts.
     
    What inspired you to begin writing your first story?
    Well I first found Gay Authors in 2012 while on vacation. Paradox of friendship is the story that stands out for me at that time. From there I discovered Nifty and looked into what it took to submit stories to these sites. Then I began production on Life's Expectations(LE), my first story. I had read a story on Nifty called “The Big Time” or started to, before the story telling me it was a squeal to “The Perfect Game”. So naturally I went back and read it first. The story focused on a group of kids each with their own plot lines, intertwined with one another. I liked that Idea of swapping Point of Views between characters. So I decided I would focus LE on 4 central characters. I wrote the first three chapters while still on vacation, but when got home and re-read them, I decided to rewrite them. What you see on nifty now was that product. In short, reading other people's work on Gay Authors and Nifty inspired me to write.
     
    Is there anything you find particularly challenging when you write?
    Explaining the little details in things, specifically sex scenes. I've never been a fan of reading books, weird I know. I find the detailing in them to be extensive, while it does bring you into the tale more. I'm impatient and I just wanted to read the story. So when I go into details on things, I know I could describe them better, during sex scenes especially. Every time I finish one I feel like it could have been done better but can't figure out how to get it better.
     
    That said though, Greyson in My Life Started at the End of the World(MLSEW) has some of my best little details. Little known fact about Greyson: he's blind. So when I go into detail with him, I REALLY go into detail. In fact I had a blind reader email me(He has a program that lets him do it) and tell me how good of a job I did with Greyson. He even gave me pointers on it.
     
    What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
    Funny you ask this next. I consider the email I got from that man to be one of my best compliments, if not the best. I actively ask my readers on Nifty to email me what they think of the story and what they think will happen next. That way I can see where they see it heading and I can get to see the story at a different angle. Sadly, since all my stories on GA have been just transferred over, you guys haven't had your chance yet. It is coming though.
     
    A while back, I got an email about my story Little Life of Nolan Parks(Because of it's content it cannot be posted on GA, Sorry.) and he gave me details about every character. It was so insensitive that I saved it and took many of the things he saw could happen and made them so.
     
    As for toughest criticism... I had a guy tell me he didn't like how I started at ended chapters on Nifty. To quote him: “At the beginning of each chapter, you prattle on needlessly at a length which rivals the length of the chapter itself.” He further went on saying “you recapitulate each of the previous chapters, and explaining how you considered different scenarios in the plot. Likewise, at the end you recapitulate what has happened in the chapter and preview what is coming next..”
     
    I was kind of taken back. MLSEW was in it's early chapters, just over a year ago now. And I had done this for all of my chapters in LE, Where Life Takes Us(WLTU) and Colby's Life Expectations(CLE). So I wasn't sure how to take it. Pretty sure I told him if he didn't like what I did to move on. He wasn't wrong, I just didn't know anything different. I still do it, just to a lesser value.
     
    What brought you to the GA?
    Like I said before, I had originally found the site in 2012. I think I thought the idea of the account to be stupid, or something. And I decided to post on Nifty. As my stories got popular I opened my facebook page and then thought about posting them on other sites. At first I did so on another site but that didn't work out. I re-found GA and posted MLSEW and WLTU. Which have turned into this apparently!
     
    Did something inspire you to write Where Life Takes Us?
    To be completely honest I don't remember if something did. What I believe it was, I was bummed out laying on my best and I just started thinking. I thought of Wyatt laying alone in the orphanage. From there it took off. I started with the names of the Luis family. They are all named after League of Legends champions, other than Grandpa Nickolas. Talon is Talon. Caitlyn is Caitlyn. Kayla is Kayle. Diana is Diana. Kenneth is Kennen. WLTU is just a a story that I made up. Some things inspired by my life experience, but mostly what I thought up.
     
    The story involves a character who’s been in the system. How did you nail down Wyatt’s emotional upheaval through the story based on his life experiences with that aspect? Growing up I wasn't the happiest kid. I never really felt accepted into a group of friends until I was in grade 10. So I more than likely tapped into that to get into Wyatt's emotional states. When he starts to feel accepted, he's also scared of his budding sexuality. I mean, kids who are born into a family go through that fear. When your adopted it's gotta be more difficult. You want to feel wanted and you feel like this will not only disappoint your parents but they might disown you, in Wyatt's case they could have even sent him back to the orphanage.
     
    I'm a theatre kid, a techie more specifically. I have acted though. When you're on stage you become a different person. You are not you anymore, and that's how I like to write. I like to try and think as the characters would. Wyatt is afraid, so I am. He's sad, so I put myself into that state. Alone I even act out some scenes, weird I know, but it helps with my writing.
     
    What was your favorite part of the story?
    Dam... that's a loaded question. My favorite part to write was Wyatt's reaction to Grandpa Nickolas' death.(Spoilers?)
    My favorite part of the story has to be in the epilogue though. Wyatt has become a teacher, and teaches at the orphanage he grew up in. Above that, Wyatt and Talon have chosen to adopt a pair of twins, who have the odds against them to be adopted together. It's that giving back moment that I like so much about it.
     
    Can you share a little about your current work with us?
    Well I have 4 stories currently active and a few in the wings waiting.
     
    The active ones being Life's Little Lies(LLL), My Life Started at the End of the World, Little Life of Nolan Parks, and Those Nights of My Life(TNML). MLSEW and TNML are in their ending stretches. They will be finding their ends rather soon. LLNP is nearing it's end with less than 10 chapters left. LLL has just gotten off hiatus and is ready for almost 20 more chapters.
     
    That's not the juicy stuff though, the waiting ones are. In total I have 4 ready to get started. One will be a GA exclusive, you'll get 5 chapters before Nifty gets one. Another will be released in three burst of five chapters at a time. There is a sequel planned for one of the active stories. And finally I'm going to bring one of my favorite reality TV shows to a story.
     
    Now, cause this is GA I will focus on that one. Like I said, you get 5 chapters before Nifty will get chapter 1. The reason for this, I think this site will be able to do what I want with it better than Nifty. This story is going to be a co-operative effort between author and reader, more details will arise when the story comes out on GA.
     
    Thank you Cia for featuring Where Life Takes Us on CSR Book Club feature. I know I didn't talk much about Where Life Takes Us, it's been almost a year since I finished writing it. If this happens again in the future I'll be sure to talk more about the story that is featured.
     
    Thanks again! Kuragari129
     
    So much great information to get to know him, so I have to thank Kuragari129 for taking part in the interview too. Now, let's get to the discussion! Kuragari will try to be online around 7 PM, Pacific Time, but leave your thoughts and questions here in the meantime!
  23. Cia

    Weekly Wrap Up!

    By Cia,


    Weekly Wrap Up
    Renee's off enjoying some family time in the summer sun, so today you're getting the weekly wrap up from me! This is a crazy busy time of year for me too, as summer returns and the kids get out of school. This month we have a lot going on at GA with the summer anthology, our Gay Pride Month contest, and the general shenanigans happening. Let's see all the happenings this week:
     
    On Monday I reviewed the featured Signature Author story, Crash Landing, by Bill W. This story was written as part of the 2011 Aftermath anthology, and it really took me in directions I wasn't expecting. Have you read it yet?
     
    Wednesday let us learn more about Bill W in his author interview. Did you know he identifies with the underdog and originally came to GA upon a personal invitation from Myr, way back in the day? Learn more about Bill and Crash Landing by checking out the interview here.
     
    The Gayauthor's Summer Anthology, Road Trip went live on Thursday and has remained our featured blog entry for the last few days. This anthology saw stories from 8 site authors including Aditus, Renee Stevens, Cole Matthews, Valkyrie, Comicfan, Krista, Cia, and Carlos Hazday. Special thanks go to the proof team: Rec, Andy78, Valkyrie and Cia, plus Mann Ramblings for his great anthology banner, and AJ for his invaluable tech help getting the anthology live!
     


    Bulletin ..................... Bulletin ..................... Bulletin


     

    Wow, everyone's been ripping right through these! Are you playing along with the scramble contest? Well you should be! You can go back and hit weeks 1 & 2 if you haven't already, but then enjoy this week's scramble. If you're lost and need a bit of a clue, these all have something in common... try to find out what and you may figure out why I picked these stories and/or authors to feature!
     
    There will be 10 every week posted in a topic and then you PM your unscrambled answers to Cia. DON'T post your answers in the public areas of the site--or you hurt your chances of winning!
     



    What are you playing for?

     

    First Prize: A year's digital membership to Out magazine
    Second Prize: 2 Months Premium Access
    Third Prize: 1 Month Premium Access
     
    Rules: Both parts of the scramble must be correct to count. The person with the most correct answers at the end of the month wins the first place prize, 2nd most correct 2nd, etc... If there are ties, Random.org will be used to determine the winner, and those not winning will be entered in the 2nd and then 3rd place prizes as necessary.
     


    PLAY THE GAME

     

    In Premium
     
    Pretty Little Thing by Nephylim
     
    By our Classic Authors:
     
    Dreams of a Father by dkstories; Book 2 of Dreams of Humanity
     
    By our Signature Authors:
     
    Leopard Spots by Graeme; Book 2 of The Lilydale Leopards
     
    New York or Bust by Krista
     
    Are We There Yet? by Renee Stevens; Book 2 of Something Unexpected
     
    From Here to Forever by Comicfan
     
    Picking up Strays by Cia
     
    Sword of Kings: Tested by Adversity by Bill W
     
    HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont
     
    Global Explorer II by David McLeod
     
    Fortitude by Cia
     
    Cosmic Inception by Cia
     
    By our Promising Authors:
     
    Beneath the Current by Craftingmom
     
    3 PM by Aditus; Book 2 of Clockwise
     
    Boy River by Cole Matthews
     
    Exit to Redemption by Valkyrie
     
    Alex's Legacy by Valkyrie
     
    Presence by Carringtonrj
     
    Hollow Hills by Valkyrie
     
    Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!
  24. Cia

    Ebook Cover Contest

    By Cia,

    So I'm part of a group of authors and readers on Facebook called "Queer Sci Fi". They had their 2nd annual Flash Fiction Contest, just 300 words in a speculative fiction theme incorporating the subject: discovery. Last year in the contest I took 2nd place. This year, I didn't place in the written contest, but the group is putting out the submissions in an eBook so they also ran a cover contest. Out of the 10 covers submitted, I took 2nd. I do get a $20 cash prize, but they won't be using my cover for the eBook.
     
    So now I need to come up with an idea to write for it. What do you think of the cover and does it inspire any plot bunny ideas?
     



  25. Cia
    Please join the Author Promotion Team in congratulating Craftingmom as GA's newest promoted author! Joining just about a year ago, Craftingmom quickly gained popularity on the site and became a favorite author for many readers. Her Tears of the Neko story, both the original and re-write, garnered a lot of interest on the site and launched her into GA's author and reader community. She also has a lot of other stories, but likes to focus on the theme of hurt/comfort so they have a fair bit of angst, so if you're into a story that has a lot of twists and turns, check out her work!




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