Cia

Hi @Sweetlion If the relationship isn't one that includes coercive elements such as the person being someone of influence (teacher, family friend person/someone in charge of behavior, religious leader, etc....) then it would most likely be acceptable if the age gap isn't too extreme. The same element of 'like age group' really does need to apply because we don't want to showcase stories where someone of a much greater maturity level is grooming a young teen either. Not saying your story idea is like that, but it's an overall line we try not to cross.

The door chimed, and I reluctantly uncurled from my ball on the bed and went to find out who was there. I hesitated, my hand hovering over the panel, before I finally let it settle on the cool screen. It warmed briefly, then the door slid open. “Hello, Kohen.” Aparoe stood outside the door with a bag in one hand. “Hello.” I retreated, but they didn’t follow me. I stared at the black bag. “Can I come in?” I darted a look up at their face, then tilted my face to one side and

“Yes. It’s all yours. You control who comes in. All you have to do is place your hand on the sensor and it will open.” I looked at the pad inside the door. “From inside?” “Yes, Cohen. You are not a prisoner on my ship, you’re a guest. It is probably best that you don’t wander around alone, since I don’t want you to get lost, but you’re not trapped here. If you wish to go out, just hit this button which will page the bridge. Someone is on duty at all times and can provide you with ass

Well, there are a lot of holiday 'themed' stories that aren't so easy to find. This CSR is just for stories with those exact words in the title though. I had to limit the theme somehow.

That's right! Your eyes have not deceived you. This month the last Monday is Christmas, and New Year's is a Monday as well. There are other posts we're going to feature those days, so I thought I'd do something a little different these two months for our Can't Stop Reading selection(s). There are so many stories, there's sure to be a favorite for everyone to choose and share with each other! In honor of the holidays, you can use the Advanced Search to find any story with "Christmas" or "Holiday" in the title for your reading enjoyment. Or five. Or five pages... totally up to you! I'd like you to pick 1 (just one) story to write a review of 1-3 sentences. You love it, you want others to read it... now why? On Monday, January 29th, I'll share a blog post with all the great stories our members loved over the holiday season. Sounds like fun, right? Not sure how Advanced Search works? Follow these 5 super easy steps! 1. Click on the Stories tab 2. Click on the Advanced Search option in the right sidebar Browse box. 3. Type in Christmas or Holiday into the title field 4. Scroll down and click Search 5. Enjoy the stories!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Lisa!!

There are, but remember, Kohen has met a tiny microcosm of the ship's crew. The captain, Zeke (briefly in chapter 1), Aparoe (who's gender neutral), Lakshou, and Kemit. I used the general term people to describe the humans, but he hasn't really cataloged individuals because there hasn't been much observation time for him where things haven't been going on or he hasn't been stressed by overwhelming surroundings.

Mebbe. Very true. Influencing the mood of one or many doesn't change their thoughts. And Kemit obviously has some assholish thoughts. Very much closer. And having a safe space is also important. Though... is being alone the best thing for him? LOL! I so got that visual. Yes, we definitely do. They were doing experiments in human psychology with sensory deprivation. And yes, the captain is definitely interested. The why... that hasn't come out yet. Little crumbs laid down haven't become the AHA moment yet.

*snickers* Ahh, the amusement.

I think it's more that it's a real room with "stuff" in it. He was kept in a room, but a small space with little to no sensory stimuli... this room is very different! He explained that the aura a little but there's a lot going on in the background with Kemit and Lakshou that will come out later to explain. Using limited first person POV definitely makes it harder to show all that. However, it does make it easier to imply action without writing it which helps with the word limit. It might have taken too much to try and show it, since I have to keep this around 1k. Thank you, @dughlas Each week's update is written that week prior, so it's hard to "plan" each one, but I try to always be thoughtful as to what I'm showing and why. Oh, definitely. People and animals all respond to soothing sounds and touch when possible. It's not a blanket answer, but the captain has definitely got a strong sense of empathy and charisma.

LOL! Just doing my part to spread the pork products. Lakshou and the captain to the rescue!! Man, everyone focused on the bacon, lol. Kemit does deserve soft and soggy bacon. As for your questions... more to come on that later in the story.

*snickers* Hi Jeffrey! Yes, I wanted to try and keep this "realistic" even though it's a science fiction storyline. People don't magically overcome years of being alone, especially when they were specifically sensory deprived. Clearly, more than Kohen could handle. Lakshou made a misstep, as we all do from time to time.

Nope, as in real life, there are assholes everywhere, lol. And yes, life on Earth is hard in this story, and trying to establish other colonies really isn't any easier. Takes a lot of work (and money) to survive somewhere else. That'll come into play later. LOL! I was wondering if someone would pick up on the food style. I was hungry and it was early morning when I wrote that scene. Religious bigot... or some other kind of prude. Me too, it really appealed to me as I was trying to figure out a fluid name for his character. I still want one of those robes too!! Ha, ha, ha! Yes, yes it does!

Hooray for Wednesday!! No one likes it when they feel like they have created fear in someone so vulnerable. Don't worry, they'll make it right! Yes! Like, can I keep him in my pocket during the day and just pull this character out to help me chill when work has me on edge? Captain returned in last week's chapter, but he's in the current week's as well, so I hope you enjoy it!

Oh, there's something special. We'll learn more later along with Kohen. Lakshou will stay a part of the story, never fear! After all, Kohen has a lot of healing to do. Yes! That was also intended as a direct contrast. Loose, flowing, soft, warm... sooo different. Well, I'm sure ability leads to career in Lakshou's case, as it does for so many. There's more to come, and I'll definitely explore different cultural facets of his role in the story. I'd love an instant calm down myself, but I'd have a hard time with someone else having "control" over it. Kohen's had just his mind to rely on for some time, but there's a lot coming at him. Teaching him specific techniques to use that mental space to handle the physical world is absolutely vital, imo. And a good lesson for most of us in "real life" too.

Self-healing is the best way to start that path, but guided of course. Thanks, @mayday I try to be very realistic when it comes to injuries and that includes this kind of healing as well. I don't like create unrealistic unexpectations. I know, right? I have to say hurt/comfort is a big theme I love to read for that very reason! lol Hopefully you will enjoy this week's update too! I think I was wearing some very uncomfortable clothes when I wrote that scene, LOL!

Too much. Too much. All the eyes on me, the men standing over our table. That sneer reminded me of my dad, when he sold me to the aliens. I’d seen the credits change hands before he walked away and my life became nothing but torment. My stomach cramped and I leaned over, vomiting up the meal I’d just eaten. I retched, unable to stop, as the bile burned my throat. Captain jumped back. I dropped from my chair and scuttled under the table, my stomach muscles still heaving even thoug

Nope, sorry! This was a project that was never to be. The head of the group put the kybosh on it by claiming the cruise ship specific setting as well as some of the peripheral characters were part of the group/event and couldn't be used by individual authors. A bunch of BS, to be truthful, but a battle I wasn't in the mood to fight. So I never wrote more. Sorry!

Did you have a chance to read Graeme's short story, Street Life? This was originally posted as part of the 2008 spring anthology, and it's an emotional journey of surprisingly short length but with great impact. Make sure you share your thoughts below, but of course, first we have my interview with Graeme! What’s the best part of living in Australia? Checks to see if Tourism Australia has sent me a cheque for advertising. Hmm…nothing so far… Definitely the people and culture. While Australia is by no means perfect, I’ve generally found people across the country to be friendly and helpful (though there are always exceptions). Culturally, Australians are very diverse and generally tolerant (though, again, there are exceptions). As a result, while there is definitely racism, homophobia and religious intolerance here, I find it to be much less than it could be. As an example, it’s rare for the media to report the sexual orientation of a person, even when that person is a public figure (such as the head of a political party, or the president of a major professional body). In Australia, the sexual orientation of a person isn’t a big deal (unless you’re trying to date them). Oh, and would this be a good time to let everyone know that Melbourne has been name as the world’s most livable city by the Economist magazine for the seventh time in a row? Not that I’m boasting.... You’re very busy. How do you find time to write? At times, I struggle. If I’m working from home, I can sometimes squeeze in an hour or two of writing during my working day, but if I’m travelling it can be a chore. I work best first thing in the morning, but if I’m not working from home I lose that time. I generally don’t write at night as I often struggle with motivation at that time of the day. Do you plot out a story or write as it comes to you? It’s a little of both. For many years now, I won’t start a story unless I know roughly how it’ll end. That gives me a goal to write to, and I then fill in the gap with a number of possible events along the way. Once I have done that, I start writing and often find new things along the way that I didn’t original plan. I like my characters to drive the story, rather than have them being puppets to the plot, so while there is some control over what happens to ensure I get to the ending I’ve planned, I give the characters a lot of leeway. As an example, in Leopard Spots, one of the characters shows up unexpectedly at someone’s house. That had been planned from the beginning, but when I first plotted the story, it was a different person’s house to what appeared in the final story. The character interactions that arose during the writing changed the details of whose house it would be from what was originally planned. If you have 30 minutes of free time, what do you like to do? Read. Either on my tablet, browsing the Internet, or I’ll pick up one of my print novels and start re-reading a story. It’s always re-reading, though, because if I have a new novel, the reading time is never just 30 minutes…. Is there a literary character you’ve read (in all fiction) that you really identified with? That’s a tough one. I always like to put myself into a story when I’m reading, imagining what it would be like to be part of that universe. Since I like reading science fiction and fantasy, that means I’m often putting myself in the shoes of someone with special abilities, which is always fun. So, I don’t have a specific character I identify with, but I like to associate myself with lots of characters in different worlds. What are you currently reading? I’m currently re-reading some of L.E.Modesitt Jr’s Recluce series. The exact one I’m reading at the moment is Magi’i of Cyador. I’ve always liked the complex worlds that L.E.Modesitt Jr creates, and how he doesn’t make groups black or white. In the book that started the series, it was easy for the reader to think that those who followed Chaos were always going to be the bad guys, but then he wrote several stories, including the one I’m currently reading, where a Chaos-wielder is the champion of the story. You’re not shy about delving into serious topics in your writing, but do you remember what prompted you to write Street Life? Absolutely. Most people who have read both Street Life and New Brother will be aware that Street Life is a spin-off of the scene at the end of chapter 8 of New Brother. What’s less well known, though I’ve mentioned it before, is that scene is the very first scene I wrote before I decided to start posting my works online. I wrote that scene to see if I could portray the emotions I wanted. I was sufficiently happy with the result that I wrote New Brother. During the early stages, whenever I got stuck, I would go back to that first scene I wrote and tweak it, until it was time to drop it into the story. That is why it’s one of the strongest scenes in the story; it had a lot of work put into it! Since I had put some much effort into that scene, I always wanted to write Craig’s tale as its own story. That task languished for a long time, partly-written but not completed, until the Living in the Shadows anthology came along. That theme fitted the Street Life so well that it motivated me to complete the story and post it online. As for the original inspiration, the basic setup was from newspaper reports from that era. That area of St. Kilda was well known at the time for street sex workers, though most were female. However, I read an article in one of Melbourne’s newspapers about some streets where the sex workers were young men. That article also mentioned how the locals gave what support they could to the kids living on the streets and surviving by selling their bodies, and that was how Mrs. K ended up in the story. AIDS has changed so much since the years this story is set in. Have you written about someone facing the disease in more modern years in your works? Just one other short story: Bad News. I still don’t know for sure but I suspect I wrote that story as a warning to myself about the dangers of straying. As most readers will be aware, I’m a married man who came out to his wife over ten years ago. She stayed with me, and I’ve stayed with her…but I know that I can’t afford to do what the protagonist in Bad News did. I have AIDS as a major part of another story which was originally written as a Valentine’s Day story, but that’s more about how love doesn’t care about things like AIDS, rather than someone facing the disease in more recent years. Despite the tough scenes readers experience in Street Life, you managed to end the story on a note of hope. How important was it to show that scene rather than just let readers imagine it? It was important because the story summary had already been published in New Brother. I had to get from where I started to a place where the events told in New Brother were a logical extension. That, plus the fact that I don’t generally prefer dark endings, meant I couldn’t leave things with Craig in despair. I’m happier if a story ends on an up note, even if life isn’t perfect, and that’s what I did here. How about you share something readers might like to know about your current or upcoming work? I’m currently working on a fourth novel in the Leopards series that follows on from the end of Leopards Leap. Unfortunately, the work has been going slowly (I’ve been working on it for over a year and haven’t gotten very far) but I’m still hopeful that I’ll be able to finish it. Originally, the story was going to concentrate on the group in Sydney, but I’ve expanded it so the story will encompass both the Sydney and Melbourne groups. I hope I haven’t bitten off too much with what I’m attempting....

Again, this is an Invision bug, not one we control or can quickly fix.

Well, just think about what you described. Are they both in a similar place in their life and maturity? Clearly, if they grew up together, then yes, that would make them in a like-age group. 10 and 11 year olds can't do anything graphic, but you said they were just friends to start of with anyhow And16 is the age of consent in most US states anyway. Sexual content would not be restricted. You can always send me these kinds of story-specific questions via PM, btw.

Feelings based on crushes, especially young teen crushes, are rarely very accurate. I happen to think, though, that you shouldn't approach people (guys for you if you're gay) simply as if they have the potential to be a romantic interest. That limits you so much! Friends are very important for our social and mental health, if not our libido. If he's gay or straight, I'm sure you'll find out over the course of getting to know him again, especially if you're able/willing to talk about your own sexuality if the question of dating or anything comes up as you reconnect. So... yeah. My advice: Don't be so focused on a person's potential as a romantic partner only and just get to know him.

No, I don't. When I write a science fiction story, I don't randomly throw out settings, technology, or terminology willy-nilly, and it frustrates me that people make these assumptions about writing in the genre. You can't just change certain terms and call something science fiction. That's exactly what the authors of this study did when they admitted taking a contemporary piece and just changing the setting by using science fiction terms/technology, which they didn't even do logically (lights don't make sounds!). They didn't expose readers to science fiction, they exposed readers to terms they thought quantifies science fiction. They, themselves, created a bias against the genre with readers by doing so. And that drives me absolutely crazy.

That article title is such clickbait. There are soooo many assumptions and randomizations being made by the authors of those "studies" that it makes their whole process not scientific at all. A randomly sampling of people with little to no background history on their reading preferences, much less the rest of their basic make up (education, income level, religious status, region they were raised in, family history, etc...), reading generic texts written by these authors (not recognized texts in either genre), giving their opinions on how much effort they put into things... yet, 'This is a scientifically grounded claim'. All it did was expose biases and assumptions people make as to 1) What "qualifies" as literature and 2) what stupid criteria people tend to use to decide that. And the fact that the authors of the study believe that taking a contemporary story and adding in some scifi "vocabulary" makes it science fiction is the hardest part to swallow and completely derails any valid feedback that might have been gathered. I mean, look at this line: "The download light on his mobile screen plinked". He's indicating a light makes a sound! He calls the trash on his device a 'cartoon trashcan' in one paragraph and the 'trashcan icon' in the next. Using that word creates a certain simplistic connotation rather than using a word such as illustration or graphic. A pet space squid crapping on a desk? It's like a caricature of a science fiction story than anything else, and I'd have to spend a lot more time trying to understand the illogical way he approaches showing things without garnering more understanding too. I think the poor quality of the fiction pieces and flawed assumptions and criteria of the study show far more about the authors' stupidity than anything scientific about literature and how to assess people's perceptions of it.