Cia

I thought we really needed to move beyond the character POV we already have, and I always wanted to see more from Park. I hope you'll like this half of the story too.

I aim to please! I couldn't resist that moment. Thanks for the review.

Cynus's story "From the Cup of the Worthless" was Monday's Signature Feature. Did you grab your copy of the signature banner so you can share your love for Cynus's story? If not, you can do that here! Today we're featuring his chosen excerpt. Cynus says: I chose this excerpt from chapter 10 for a number of reasons. It not only offers a view at the high stakes involved in this organized crime story, but it also shows a number of different connections between the characters, most importantly the connections between Nobuyuki and Viktor, between Nobuyuki and Masahiro (Nobuyuki's father), and the connection between Masahiro and Daisuke (Masahiro's second-in-command). It also offers a view of things to come, but without spoiling the ending, as this scene comes from just before the midpoint in the novel. Want to read more? Check out the rest of the story here!

I smacked my head against the head rest once Ritch was inside. I shouldn’t have touched him, not even to pat his back. It only made the want and desire to touch him in other places that much worse. Ritch was such an odd mix of vulnerable and strong male that it was hard to remember why I needed to stay focused. The first time I’d met him was only a brief contact, with him as one of several werekin moving between clans. I’d been out of my head with grief over the loss of my brother, and I’d b

January brings a peak in the season's weather, hot or cold, and either way it's a good time to stay inside and read! To help you find great stories on the site by another one of our Signature authors, this month we're featuring Cynus' story, "From the Cup of the Worthless". Length: 150,127 Description: In the world of organized crime, your crime family is all you can count on. Nobuyuki Sato is no exception, and as he tries to navigate the political climate of his new city, his Yakuza family is there to support him. But then Nobuyuki meets Viktor Karimov, son of the Chief of Police, he begins to question if there might be more to life than crime. Love, intrigue, and drama abound. Cynus's Favorite Reviews: Valkyrie says: Great beginning. I'm hooked! You've woven a rich tapestry of cultures in a realistic, futuristic setting. I'm very interested to see how the sons of such diametrically opposed backgrounds develop their relationship. I don't think Nobu is only interested in Viktor to gain his father's favor, but I can see betrayal in their future. I'll hang on for what I'm sure is going to be a bumpy ride! drpaladin says: All those double entendres from Nobu during the phone call were marvelous. Nobu is a really clever boy. So did he know what he was doing there or was that his subconcious feelings for Victor coming out into the open? We have two boys who hide what the are to keep their respective father's approval. Both the same, but with mirror opposite situations. Victor has a brother who would accept him and protect him from anything, but Nobu doesn't have that. There is so much potential here and I can't wait to see what happens. RobV says: Loving this so far. It's amazing how your stories are all so wildly different. The way you craft a whole new world every time, with new characters that aren't rehashes of any of your old ones, is very impressive. And it's always original and intriguing. Keep it up! Mikiesboy says: Cy, you are the mad weaver! So many associations, lots of intrigue, plots and plans. Not sure which way is up or who I can trust. Really well done my friend! tim xo Onim says: Wow...perfect ending (beginning) to an awesome story!! You've evoked every emotion...laughter, tears, smiles, groans, shocks, intrigue, excitement, sex and most of all Love...and we absolutely adored every written word!!! I'm just hoping this is just a book 1 to a series.. and we can look forward to more from the brothers and more from you!! It's been a great following this tale...and we thank you for sharing your talent with us!!! Remember to check back on Wednesday to see what excerpt Cynus chose to share with readers! Want to show your support and enjoyment of Cynus's story? Download the banner below for your site signature!

I say that I can't see the words for the story in my head. I know what it should say, so I don't see when I have the wrong or missing word. Beta/editors are invaluable to identify plot holes, character flaws/issues, or phrasing that comes across poorly on top of finding mistakes, but I've also found my self-editing skills increase by a change in formatting. You can try something as simple as inverting the screen so you have white words on a dark background, saving the Word file as a PDF and reading it in a PDF app/program and making changes as you go, putting it on an eReader, printing it out (for short stories), or even just reading the story aloud or using software to read it to you.

The longer you're on the site the less 'new author support' authors tend to get. You'll find your core readership tends to stay the same, but the push to read and motivate a new author tends to fade after a while. One of the reasons the new software for Stories was first conceived was that promoted authors, who had their work on a separate system, didn't receive nearly as much feedback as regular site authors who were in a single database with eFiction. Sometimes genres and themes resonate with readers more than others [high school contemporary tends to be most popular on GA]. Some stories drag on beyond their plot arc, which does tend to turn off readers. Different readers prefer longer or shorter lengths. The only thing you can really do as an author is to 1) continue posting consistently 2) vary your content by genre, length, posting frequency [weekly stories, anthologies, story contests, prompt responses, personal flash fiction, etc...] 3) refine your craftsmanship and quality 4) engage your audience by asking questions at the end of chapters, linking to a topic where you have a conversation about how you're writing, inspiration, story ideas you want input on, etc...

I shoved another shirt in the spare bag. We really needed to stop at a store somewhere so Ritch could run in and grab some clothes. He couldn’t wear mine forever, though I liked seeing him in my clothes. I hadn’t been even remotely subtle about my interest and need to protect Ritch. That was probably why Deke had accepted him, even while he was on edge after just mating Kraig. With everything going on, though, it wasn’t the time to say anything to Ritch. He’d been abused, used in the worst way

I like to point out that it's a flawed concept to focus only on one aspect of the character, whatever that might be as far as culture, skin color, sexuality, age, gender, etc... This is something I've noticed all too often with people who believe writing 'gay' romance must focus and create drama based just on that aspect of sexuality. That's too narrow. People are people, and an author is a person too. Different aspects of your personality/experiences/family etc... can come into play, and a lot of authors use themselves and those around them for inspiration. The rest is often made up with research. I find that the life of a gay man is no harder to research than the life of an astronaut, a chef, or a single parent or a gay astronaut, bisexual chef, or transsexual parent. For the most part, I've found that most readers find my characters believable, no matter who they are or what they do for a living, because I just focus on writing them as a person with all their individuality on display without harping on one thing to the exclusion of all else. On the practical side, if you are writing something beyond your life experiences, try to get input from people who can relate to your character and their life. There is often 'insider' information you might not have that they can help with. Just don't let a fear of using the unknown keep you from trying something new.

Happy Birthday, Krista!!

“It’s driving you nuts, isn’t it?” Kraig asked. He was sitting on the couch in my office while I paced from wall to wall. Park had been gone just one day, and I was already antsy for his progress reports. He’s send them to all the alphas, but I instructed him to let me know of any leads he found, not just the ones that panned out. “Don’t pretend that you don’t feel the need to hunt down those bastards too.” Kraig eyed his claws and ran his tongue over his sharp fangs. That horrible stench came

It's 2017... how did that happen?! Ups, downs, good or bad, time marches on. As we look ahead to what may come in 2017, maybe even making a few resolutions, I can't help but enjoy looking back at the past. Given that Mikiesboy recently finished a historical story--with a bit of paranormal thrown in for fun--I wanted to give readers a chance to enjoy this short story hopefully everyone will have the time to finish and be ready for the discussion day on Monday, January 30th. ​ The Pledge by Mikiesboy Length: ​10,295 Description: Young Tristan, sent to work for Lord William discovers much about life and love. ​A Reader said: Nonetheless, the richness and complexity of this tale was terrific. ~ Reader1810 Don't forget, this month's Discussion Day will take place on Monday, January 30th.

Why am I not surprised you two posted those sorts of resolutions? LOL!!

Do you have a New Year's Resolution? The top 10 resolutions are usually to lose weight, eat more healthily, exercise more, stop smoking, stick to a budget, save money, get more organized, be more patient, find a better job and to just be a better person over all. What's yours? Authors: Are you going to write a set amount of words? Get so many stories done? Participate in the anthologies? Readers: Do you want to get so many stories read? Do so many reviews? Get in touch with your favorite author(s)? Or, are resolutions not for you?

Edit to add: As of the latest number of results on a poll, 25 indie authors/indie publishers/publishers have reported their 4th quarter earnings, and the total, just for those 25, is $29,101.71 Keep in mind, ARe already cut 40% of the eBook price for themselves, and that's total is just the remaining 60% royalties authors are supposed to earn. At ten cents on the dollar, that would leave them keeping an additional 26,191.54. *nods* This is bad for the publishers who are only being offered 10 cents on the dollar owed, but everyone who actually signed with them as a publisher has been given the option of accepting no payment at all and getting their rights back or a long legal battle where they don't get their rights back until it's over and it's highly unlikely they'll ever see a dime either. More and more information coming out about ARe's owner is pissing everyone off. The address she's had since ARe became a business just sold for over a million dollars. She supposedly splits her time between that house in San Diego and Big Bear. Apparently back before ARe got big, she was part of a publishing company that closed with just 45 minutes of warning to the authors, even after signing recent contracts (though I don't believe she stole any royalties then). Lawyers have been contacted by some of the authors, I know at least on publisher has their lawyer on it so there are likely more too. This is going to be very, very ugly. I lose some money, but not a ton, but some of my good author friends are out big bucks, like thousands to tens of thousands, with no recourse to get any money at all.

Well, ARe "was" a reputable site and had a pretty good reputation in the industry. Per their own words, in an attempt to get authors to purchase 2017 advertising on just December 23rd (which is a total BS situation in and of itself since they only accepted direct payments and not paypal), this is what they posted for their website stats:

All Romance eBooks started in 2006 as a site just for publishers/self-published authors to post their work for sale, for a portion of the sales. They branched out into contracting eBooks, audiobooks, translations, etc... in more recent times. As soon as just 5 days ago they were sending out business as usual emails, including one to get authors/publishers to buy 2017 advertising packages. Not that they'd take a payment via paypal, of course. Wonder why that was...? Then today they send out an email to publishers that they are posting a loss for the first time ever in 2016 and, as a result, can't pay publishers the royalties they've earned. If we don't accept the "compromise", we probably get nothing. Of course they sell books from some big publishers who probably will sue them, and they deserve it because they HAD to know this was coming but chose to screw everyone, both readers and publishers. I'm hearing, just from the MM authors I know personally, stolen royalty totals are enough to equal tens of thousands of dollars. And that's just a drop in the bucket. More of their BS to screw people? They told buyers to finalize sales, download books, etc... before the site goes dark, because they're closing the site in just 3 days!!! Of course publishers are pulling their books out now, so if you didn't download it before that happens, you won't be able to if the book was pulled. Not to mention it's VERY hard to get on the site at all, of course, because so many people are on it. . This is so frustrating, and only makes it harder to trust anything or anyone but the biggest of markets and publishers. *shakes head*

Kraig’s insight sent the alphas into an uproar. They spoke over each other, everything from denying the possibility to declaring it a reason to hunt down and eradicate everyone involved. I let them get it out of their system before I spoke up. “You’ve seen the evidence I’ve presented.” I pushed my chair back and stood. “My streak has born the burden of this discovery, but and the ongoing conspiracy against all werekin. We know, from my mate, that those who set this in motion will harm those inn

Wow... the last CSR Discussion day of the year. I can't believe how fast 2016 has gone. Ups, downs, the world has really changed for so many of us. And that's the theme of Kuragari's story, My Life Started at the End of the World. Did you find out how her story ends? Make sure you don't miss your chance to share your thoughts here! But first, as always, my interview with Kuragari. Do you eat your fruits and vegetables? Oh hell no, I'm terrible at eating my fruits and vegetables. If you had 30 minutes of free time, what would you do? Probably pull out my 3ds and play Pokemon. I basically play pokemon whenever I can so that's probably what I would do. What brought you to GA? Originally, I have no idea what brought me to GA. When I actually started putting my stories on GA I had another site ask me to submit my stories on there. And then I got told the story I was asked to submit didn't fallow their rules/guidelines. So I went onto here, looked at the guidelines and put up the stories I was able to put up. Do you have a favorite story on GA that you’ve read? Paradox of Friendship by InTheMindOfSunshine. It was the first story on GA that I read to the end and one of the stories that inspired me to write my own. It's a very serious story and has some dark themes in it. What’s the first thing you do when you start to write a story? Concept or plot usually. What kind of plot will this story have or what kind of concept the story will bring forth. Every story is a little different. Was there any particular reason you chose an apocalypse setting for your plot? I simply thought of one question to myself, “I wonder what happened with gay kids around 2012?” and that turned into “I wonder if they came out in fear that the world was actually going to end.” And that became the basis of my story. How did you come up with My Life Started at the End of the World as the title? Oh man, MLSEW was started back in 2014 and I have no idea what exactly happened to get the name. I knew I wanted to start the story at the point where Aidyn came out in front of everyone. So it probably spawned from the idea that your life really starts when you come out of the closet. Did the characters or the plot come to you first? Definitely the plot in this case. Like I said before, the story started with asking about coming out before the end of the would. So the plot came before anything else. Though I think I had Aidyn's name ready right off the bat. Noah and Skylar were also names I wanted to use for a while at the time so I decided on their names rather early in development. Greyson was the only character that needed to be made from the ground up. Was it a challenge to write two different couples in one story? My first story actually had 4 couples in it, so having many couples wasn't new to me. The part that makes it easy for me is knowing who each couple will end up with. When I have the endgame planned from the beginning I can play with what happens to each character easier. It helped that Aidyn & Noah and Skylar & Greyson had different relationships to work with. What are your future projects? At the moment I have three current projects; My Life Started After High School(MLSAHS)(MLSEW's sequel), Life's Unexpected Surprises(LUS) and Life of Phoenix(LOP). I am just finishing LOP and that will let me focus on MLSAHS and LUS. With that in mind I have had a story idea in my head for a while and just haven't had the time to do it with all my active stories, so maybe I'll finally get to writing it! For right now like I said, I'm focusing on my current projects in the works.

Look at all those stories! What a great week. I hope everyone has a lovely holiday!

Thank you, LBO! Sorry about that, V a l k y r i e

“An army of feral human werekin?” Alpha Trein snorted. “Ridiculous. This is why you called us all here?” “You were informed of the basics when I called for the counsel. You have copies of the information we’ve discovered.” I leaned forward and glared at Trein, the sanctimonious ass, and growled. “You’ve heard everything we said, and you still doubt the threat? You’re a fool.” I’d had it up to here with the older alphas who sneered down on anyone younger than them. I held far more power than ma

Valkyrie's story, Alex's Legacy, was Monday's Signature Feature. Did you grab your copy of the signature banner so you can share your love for Valkyrie's story? If not, you can do that here! Today we're featuring her chosen excerpt. Valkyrie says: This story started as my response to Prompt 305, although the characters existed before I wrote the prompt. Even though they were created as peripheral characters in another story, they captured my heart, and I wanted to learn their whole story. There's a tie-in to The Hollow Hills, and anyone who can find it earns a gold star. lol I picked this excerpt because it shows the connection between Sam and Alex. It also shows Alex's playful side and the romanticism that's a main feature of the story. Want to read more? Check out the rest of the story here!

This month we're featuring Valkyrie's story, Alex's Legacy With it's poignant theme and cozy bookstore setting, this is a great novella length story is a perfect December read. Make sure you don't miss out on it! Length: 22,494 Description: Sam and Alex meet and fall in love. Their relationship manages to survive some very dark and trying times, until tragedy strikes. Valkyrie's Favorite Reviews: Geron Kees says: I hope you have just researched this very well and that no one in your life has suffered through something like this horror. [He] is exhibiting all th correct signs for his personality type after an incident of extreme abuse. Your storytelling is spot on. I'd like to think that someone reading this story will gain some hope and insight from it in dealing with a problem in their own life. That, in my opinion, places what you've written well beyond the realm of entertainment writing. Renee Stevens says... Great job on this chapter Valkyrie. These two are so cute together and there was so much about this chapter to enjoy: the teasing, the descriptions of the scenery, etc. I was actually glad to see Alex slow them down, it just shows what a great guy he is. Slytherin says... Beautiful story, sad but it felt very authentic. It's good that they talked about Alex so Aaron understands Sam more They need to adopt a cat lol.Poor Chinese delivery man Great story, Valkyrie ! Cole Matthews says: My favorite part of this chapter is the teasing until the kisses final came. Very nice touch! Awesome chapter! Remember to check back on Wednesday to see what excerpt Valkyrie chose to share with readers! Want to show your support and enjoyment of Valkyries's story? Download the banner below for your site signature!