Cia

Featuring a blog has to be done manually, and while I can set this to go live at 1 AM, I'm not getting up to do it at that time.

This month I featured Daddydavek's first story on the site, Dean Warner Intrigues. This story has been called absolutely wonderful and great by reviewers. What did you think? Make sure you share your thoughts about this story below, but first enjoy my interview with Daddydavek! Dean Warner Intrigues by Daddydavek Who do you like best, Jerry or Tom? Neither. Tom is an oxymoron in that he is portrayed as a somewhat lovable bully doomed to fail. Jerry is a diminutive smart alec that loves to turn the tables on the bully. It makes for great sight gags and the cartoons were well received and are classics. The cartoon figure I liked best was Snoopy. Have you ever gone out in public, realized your shirt is on backwards, and just don’t care? I must be incredibly anal, but no, never! If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be? “A Work in Progress” or “Still Enjoying new experiences” Name one entity that you feel supported you in your writing endeavors outside of family members. The internet is the best research tool around if used carefully. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Getting the dialogue 'in character' and keeping it that way. Did something specific inspire you to write Dean Warner Intrigues? I read a lot and noted there were so many stories of young adults with a tortured past filled with hate and/or abuse. I wanted to write something that had more positive relationships. So, when I was thinking about writing it, I wanted a story that wasn't full of teenage angst. I knew the story had to have some tension as I didn't think I could write characters that were so engaging that characterization could carry the story. DWI was the result. While my computer history goes back to the early 1980's and a Commodore 64 which then graduated to Windows 3.0 and continued with Windows 95, 98, 98 second edition, Win2000, Windows Millennial, and Windows 7, I remain a user, not a programmer or a network tech guy. My point is that I'm sure a techie would shoot all kinds of holes in parts of my story. If you could give advice to yourself when you first started writing Dean Warner Intrigues, what would it be? Don't always over think it so much. Sometimes you just got to spin your yarn and see where it leads. Did the characters or the plot come to you first? The characters, all who are an amalgamation of my own invention based on my sixty plus years of reading everything from Aristotle (On memory and reminiscence) to Zelazny (The Chronicles of Amber). What was your favorite scene to write in this story? Being a rather dirty old man, I enjoyed writing the love scenes and hope I didn't go into too much detail, but it was a story of discovering love too. However, my favorite chapter is the epilogue where I wrapped up the story. It was short, but sweet. Can you share a little of your current work with us? I'm divided between doing a story about the red headed Sean from DWI and a look back story by Bill from Abel III's Awakening after he and Steve come into their powers..... Neither story thread has made it into a working outline that I like, so I'm letting them percolate while I continue to catch up on the many hundreds of books on my Kindle... Okay folks, now's the time to share your thoughts!!

I don't know about not wearing 'cologne' but younger guys still spray themselves with crap. After all, Axe was/is hugely popular. When writing contemporary stories, you need to know what the generation/age of your character would use/say/act like, especially if you're not part of that generation. Older guys in their 30s/40s from the 90s might use Drakkar or Aspen cologne. Older generations beyond that might be loyal to using Old Spice. This does make a great point about writing a story where readers can relate involves using the senses too. I love the feel of my husband's smooth cheeks and the smell of his scented shaving cream right after he gets out of the shower, and he definitely gets more kisses then than when he's not shaved for a few days and his scruff is prickly and stabs at my lips. I try to use this sort of real life elements whenever I write a story too.

I'm showing my age here but I remember Whoopi quoting Rilke in Sister Act 2, in reference to a student who wanted to do music even when her mother said it wasn't a responsible choice with a real future. In this book Rilke tells the young writer who sent in some of his work that if he wakes up in the morning and the first thing he can think about is writing, then he is meant to be a writer. That always resonated with me. Not as a writer, back then at least, but that you should find something to be passionate about in life that makes you feel fulfilled. It can't always be your career, we do live in the real world, but everyone deserves to have that one thing just for them.

It varies for me, depending on the story. You're right about published works not being subject to the comments of general public, but I know I send my work to at least two beta reader/editors, I get feedback when the publisher reviews and accepts/rejects my work, and when it goes into editing I have 2-3 editors as well as 2-3 proofers who review the story as well. Most of the time the content editing happens in the first and second round, but it's pretty comprehensive.

Did you miss Monday's blog post featuring the ad and signature graphics for K.C.'s novel, Pour Me Another? Never fear, you can check it out here and download your copy to help share your love of his story. Today, K.C. has an excerpt he wanted to share with you! K.C. says... I think this glimpse shows the start of Asher and Michael's friendship. They are two guys from very different lives, but their friendship grows into much more. The nightlight, the city, friendship, betrayal, love and hate, this story has it all with a modern twist. Want to read more? Check out the rest of the story here!

Research, research, research. You can't just make things up with historical work and you'd be surprised at what you don't know about the basic habits of a time period, even beyond speech which can change decade to decade, much less centuries. I'd recommend picking a time period and reading a lot about it, plus picking up non-fiction books at the library. As for posting here on GA, our Stories area is custom so make sure you read the FAQ topics that will help you understand exactly how and what to post. That can be found through the Help tab in the red menu bar. Welcome to GA! I hope you'll enjoy your time here.

This month we're featuring K.C.'s Pour Me Another. This story was the Reader's Choice Award winner for a Promising Author back in 2013. Why don't you give it a read and find out why it won? (Hint... a lot of people looooved it!) Length: 78,802 Description: ***Winner of the 2013 Readers Choice Awards for the Best Story by a Promising Author *** The city is full of all kinds of people. Being a bartender, Asher Burkhart has seen them all. Atleast he thinks has until Michael Waters shows up. Reviews: Flamingo136 says... KC, I just "found" your story and read it without stopping; well I did have bathroom breaks but beyond that I was determined to absorb every word as quickly as I possily could. The story was very entertaining, characters compelling and I was blissfully snarled in this world hoping that everything would work out, knowing that it probably wouldn't.....maybe it will...hoping....hoping.....finally !!!!! I really enjoyed Pour Me Another from beginning to end...it must have been maddening to your readers to follow in real time; I feel like I've cheated ...but I don't feel the least bit guilty. You have been added to my listed of authors to follow....what pressure for you....LOL Thanks for sharing; I'm going to read your other works now................Mike Shadowrunner says... Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful story with us. It was great! Ups, downs, tears and kisses. The best I've ever read. You're amazing!!! :D Aaron Alan Addams says... Another wonderful story! I read the entire thing in the last twenty four hours. Your talent of writing characters that make the reader, care for... No more than that. Fall in love with them is remarkable. Your storyline is believable, well thought out and funny. (I have my phone read stories to me when I'm busy doing things. I listen with earbuds. My coworkers think I'm listening to music. I do get looks when I burst out with a laugh every now and then.) As I read the epilogue, I felt sad. It felt as if dear friends were moving away and I was never going see them again. Congratulations on a job well done. I only have one suggestion. Sequel? Slytherin says... Thank you for sharing this wonderful story, K.C ! It's been quite a journey following these two wonderful characters. l love this story Remember to check back on Wednesday to see what excerpt K.C. chose to share with readers! Want to show your support and enjoyment of K.C.'s story? Download the banner above for your site signature!

"Don't tell." There are a lot of secrets in my past, from childhood to adulthood, that I wish weren't secrets. Things that shouldn't have been pushed under the rug or only spoken in whispers. I'm far more open now. Just ask anyone I've beta read/edited for.

To be fair, I was far more focused on the food aspect than the crime aspect. Those scenes felt more visceral than the other scenes. The action in the shooting scene did give a good burst of excitement. I'd just have liked the flow to blend the two aspects a little better.

Usually my 'unfinished ideas' are my short stories and GA anthology responses, lol!

*nods* I agree with FieldMan. To be more specific, foreground images need to be sharp and background images can be faded, but reversing that makes it look very fake to the eye. Your horse is the foreground image in this. Beyond that, it feels disproportionate because of your foreground/background images, which is a direct result of the sizing. Bigger/brighter/sharper is the front and paler (or blue tones) and often blurred. My best friend raised horses growing up, and had some up to 2 years ago. Even when they'd come up and head butt against my chest, they weren't that big to go from belly button to my eyes, so that size and blurriness are creating most of your issues. When you create a cover, you need to make sure that your image ppi (pixels per inch) makes sense. You can always shrink down an image with the better resolution but you can't do it with a lower resolution and make it larger. Plus, if the image ppi sizes are that off, it makes them appear off. I always try to use 300 ppi for covers since they need to be larger, and it creates a better image overall. The only time I buy a lower ppi image is if the element is going to be tiny (like a toy under a Christmas tree) and/or I'm just doing a digital cover or graphic that won't be used for anything printed.

April already! Spring is coming to some parts of the northern hemisphere (my local forecast has a record-breaking 85!) but other parts are still snowing. The southern hemisphere is moving into fall and equally capricious territory... so you know what you could do? Stay inside and beat the heat OR cold by reading this month's CSR. Dean Warner Intrigues by Daddydavek Length: 62,293 Description: A bullet crashes into Dean's room and the intrigue starts. A Reader Said: From start to finish and everything in between, what an absolutely wonderful story The epilogue was short and sweet with a nice wrap up on a positive note. ~ Reader 1810 Remember, this month's CSR Discussion day will be Monday, April 25th!

She was very happy to help! As for the cover, the model and background blend reasonably well, but the outline on that horse when it was cut out is very rough (it looks almost like part of the mouth was missed) and it doesn't blend in the image. My favorite stock site is 123rf.com when I look for cover elements.

It was a good idea, just not feasible. Usually I need at least a month to be able to arrange the CSR and author feature posts for interviews and any special content between me and the author, and the times when I've dropped the ball and had to do it within a week of the blog date, it's been extremely difficult unless the author can make up for the lack of time frame. Renee has it even harder trying to get readers to write reviews for the blog or even author self-promo posts, so any new blog features that require lead time just aren't usually possible because it already takes many hours per week to arrange for future content, post current content, track past content, etc....

Thank you, Timothy! The captain will definitely play a role in the next story.

Did you have a chance to read Renee's three chosen short stories for this month's CSR? No? Well why not? Go, read now! You can do it, but make sure you come back here and leave a thought or two on what you read or Renee's writing in general. First, though, we have an interview to share with our very own site Blog Host, Anthology Coordinator, and Signature Author! Friends First Line of Sight More Than A Pact Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point? I usually at least toss the blankets up over it, because my dogs and cats like to jump on the bed, and if I don’t, then I end up with lots of dog hair and dirt between the sheets. It drives me nuts and makes me itch, so I try to prevent it if I can. If you were an animal, what would you be? So many choices that it’s hard to choose just one. Based on my love of the outdoors and hunting, I’d have to say maybe something like a wolf or a bear. Natural hunters who get to spend their entire lives enjoying the mountains. (Though sometimes I think it would be cool to be a shark, I mean, all the things you’d see!!!) What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know? I’m actually very shy and really hate confrontation. I’m the type of person that goes to a bbq (or other gathering) and keep to the people I know. It takes time, but if I’m around the same people a few times, then I’ll start to get to know them, but it’s really hard for me to do. And, while I will stand up for my family, there’s very little that I’ll actually confront someone on. I prefer to try and keep the peace. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? That kind of depends. Outside of spending time with my husband, it kind of depends on the season. During the fall, I’m usually hunting on the mountain with my family. During the summer, I love to go camping and fishing. And while I haven’t been doing it as much, throughout the year I also enjoy sewing and designing quilts. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Coming up with names. Whether it’s the name of a character or a title for a story, it’s always a struggle because I want to find just the right one. Outside of that, I think lately my most challenging thing is focusing enough to actually write. I’ve very easily distracted, so sometimes that makes it hard to actually just sit down and write. What’s the first thing you do when you start to write a story? It depends. It’s rare that I plot out a story from start to finish. For me, I basically just sit down and start writing. I rarely even have the entire cast of characters in mind when I start something new. I basically have an idea of where the story starts and where I want it to go. Now, if it’s a sequel, the first thing I do is go back and skim through the first story, because I want to make sure I don’t have any annoying little continuity issues. Are any of these stories based on a personal experience? None of these ones, but I do have a couple stories on here that are. I think my most personal story on here is “Take a Ride”, which is based on when I had a dangerous drop in blood sugar and scared the crap out of my hubby. Is there a particular character or theme in these stories who you most identify with, and how so? Not really. I guess if I absolutely HAD to choose, I’d say maybe Keith from Friends First, but only because we’ve both been cheated on and found out through friends. Can you sum up each of these short stories in one sentence? Eek, that’s a difficult one, but I’ll try. Friends First: Keith’s life is falling apart around him, thanks to his cheating bastard of a boyfriend, but things start to look up when his best friend reveals some truths that he’s been hiding. Line of Sight: Brad was devastated when his boyfriend walked out on him, but, thanks to his six year old son and his son’s teacher, he finally starts realizing that the future he envisioned is within his grasp. More Than a Pact: Paul and Mac made a pact during college about when they both turned 35, but Paul had forgotten about it until Mac shows up on his doorstep on his 35th birthday, ready to make the pact into reality. Can you share a little of your current work with us? I have a lot of projects in the works, but the one that has most of my focus is Studly Ranch Hands. It used to be called Rough Stock Wranglers (love that title!) but thanks to some major plot changes, the title no longer works, so AJ came up with the working title of Studly Ranch Hands. Here’s an excerpt from close to the beginning:

We all start somewhere.

I know, right? Poor repressed guy stuck seeing all that flesh. I could see it being weird with the inlaws, though. lol Thank you! Synchronicity is an anthology short story. You might have missed it based on that.

I don't search for a lot of inspiration and motivation in my day to day life as I write. I just try to do the best job I can to tell a story that will make others feel what the characters and story have to say. As I was taking a break to enjoy a snack before striving to finally finish my latest contemporary novella, I was struck by the perfect quote to what I want this story, and all my writing, to embody. This is the epitome of what I'm trying to do... and it was right there on the lid of my yogurt.

Did you miss Monday's blog where we announced Nephylim's Damphir is this month's Signature Author feature? You can still check it out here and see what her reviewers had to say about the story! Don't forget to download your copy of the signature graphic if you want to support Nephy and promote her story. If the reviews weren't enough to tempt you to read Damphir, Nephy has picked an excerpt to share with readers: Check out the very dramatic beginning to Nephylim's story in this excerpt she picked to share: Want to read more? Check out the rest of the story here!

That is always the greatest compliment when someone reads something they might not otherwise try, and they find themselves sinking in and enjoy the story. This was all about creating a world in the background while connecting with Sudal as he faces the pressures of his life, so I'm soo happy it worked for you even through it's paranormal. Thank you so much for the review, Lisa!

This was definitely not a run of the mill story. It wasn't a happy ending, and there are a lot of questions left... because I left the door open for him to survive. The question really will be how, definitely. I don't know about landing in a human's backyard, but I'm thinking he's going to come down somewhere. Thanks for the review, jfalkon!

Maybe he did, maybe he did. It's pretty unanimous, so I'm thinking I'll have to keep writing. Thanks for the review, Craftingmom.

Thank you, Defiance! Those are such great compliments. I think we definitely have to have more.