Cia

I haven't written it yet, lol. I have so many projects. A contemporary for GA Premium, a contemporary novella set in Washington state for a submission call from DSP, my 4th novel sci-fi novel in the Caeorleia series, a sci-fi novel following the short story Coupled in Synchronicity, and expanding and debating subbing or self-pubbing a 17k contemporary Christmas story. Plus the Wednesday Briefs, any anthologies I might write, or extra projects that pop up. Speaking of which, I should be writing! lol

They're right! I do plan to write more stories for this. It will be a spin off series, with new characters in each one.

Aww, thank you Valkyrie, Caz, and Puppilull! I hope you'll enjoy the story. Cleaner, and tighter, plus it received that new ending to cap off the stories, so this version is the best way to read the series.

For those who enjoyed my A Maze for Three anthology series, I released it as an eBook with about 12,000 more words in edited and extra scenes, like a new ending! Miah’s always had something to prove—to himself, his family, and all the people who thought he’d fail. It doesn’t matter that he has to do it all alone, he won’t give up on his dream. On the cusp of a new beginning that could mean the difference between success and failure, he decides to finally enjoy a night out at a city bar with his roommate before he leaves for the bleak interior forever. He never expected to catch the eye of two unusual men there, but are they even human? Sure, he knows aliens sought sanctuary from the Earth Unity Coalition, but he’s never met any before… that he knows of. After all, the aliens can take human form, so it’s impossible to know them on sight, but the mystery of their kind has always interested him. When they take matters into their own hands and decide to court him in their tradition, things go horribly wrong. Now Miah’s hurt, his dream is on the verge of disappearing forever, and the life he always saw for himself is no longer an option. They'll have to find a way through the wrong turns and dead ends to have any hope of a new path for the three of them. Purchase for just $2.99 at: All Romance eBooks Smashwords (25% off with code: HN89T)

Do you like to write speculative fiction? Fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal? Ever found the contemporary world creeping into your story in ways you don't expect? Is it hard to think up all the nitty gritty that makes the world come alive for readers? Check out this link! SFWA's page for Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions is a comprehensive and mentally stimulating guide to help you figure out just what your characters do when they bow instead of shaking hands or walk in a certain order into the dining hall.

I've seen this. It's funny! This is a humorous take on Amazon's new policy about to go into effect that stories where readers have complained about the editing will get a 'warning label'. Of course, some authors are up in arms over it, but they promise it won't be an automatic event (a real person will investigate the complaints and authors have a chance to fix the issues) that will target and slam authors with speculative fiction and use 'made up' words.

Can you believe the first month of 2016 is almost over already? Well, it is! This month’s feature was a story by our prompt guru, Comicfan. The Life of Seeon is a fantasy tale DrPaladin called “very imaginative”. Did you read it? Share your thoughts with our other readers or feel free to ask Wayne your questions about his writing and this story. The Life of Seeon By Comicfan Think back, way back. Can you remember what brought you to GA? Honestly, I was looking for something to read and my computer brought up a story by Lugh. So love me or hate me, I’m here because I joined to comment on story of Lugh’s. What was the last story or book you read/are reading? I read constantly. Right now I’m in the middle of Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs. This part of a series that was suggested to me by a friend. I’m always looking for something different to read. We pass books back and forth; it allows me to find some great stories I might otherwise never have learned about. What advice would you give newer authors, now that you’ve been at it a few years? There are three things I would suggest to anyone who wants to write. First, read. Reading helps you to increase your vocabulary, introduces you to new ideas, and allows you to see new ways to present things. Second, listen. I know it sounds easy, but it isn’t. Listen to what people say and how they say it. Sometimes, by listening you learn what people won’t say. This skill helps you in life and when you begin including dialogue. Third, write. Take a few minutes everyday to write. Do a character sketch, write dialogue, or just a flash fiction piece. You can’t improve or expand if you don’t have something you created. Editing comes later, but for now, write. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? My favorite things to do besides write are cooking and keeping in touch with my friends and family. So I’m often cooking something up in my kitchen—soup, a main meal, or some sort of dessert. Otherwise, because I often have insomnia, I write out postcards to stay in touch with people. I am constantly trying to find something new that has something I enjoy on it. I’ve sent postcards with Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Tom and Jerry, the Flintstones, dragons, and even unicorns on them. How do you come up with names for characters? Mashing syllables? Name generator? Baby websites? It depends on the story. Usually, my characters are named after people I know. Although I will go looking for names occasionally that emphasize what I am looking for. Seeon came about because of a TV show, where this woman was breaking down her name and exaggerating it, altering how it was pronounced. Sean became Sea-n which became See-on or Seeon. Are you a plotter or a pantser? I wish I could say I was completely a plotter, because it would make my life so much easier. I start with a character sheet. Who are they, friends, family, and what sort of problems? For a short story I plot it out. However, stories have a tendency to grow and I find I follow where the character wants to take me. Is there any subject you just won’t write about? Abusing a child is an absolute no in a story. The Life of Seeon is a fantasy story. Is there a specific fantasy element in the story you must enjoyed coming up with/using? The technology used in Seeon is fun. The scanners Oma uses, the walls coming to life with flowers, and the way both cultures use the technology and sciences they have. The Waza family sees it as a tool for all, while the Toleran Empire sees it as power. What’s your favorite part of the story? Seeon’s growth. You watch as his life is constantly ripped apart; he should be angry and mad. Instead, he greets with world resigned to make the best of whatever comes his way. He expects nothing, but you can’t help but be happy for any piece of goodness that comes his way. You recently finished The Life of Seeon. Is it complete or is there a sequel in the future? The Life of Seeon is complete. I don’t know if I will pick up Seeon and Mika to continue the story as I originally planned. My life hasn’t allowed me the time I wanted to finish the projects I started, so until I can, I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.

I can't think of a story that fits that criteria, actually. Most likely, that's due in part to the fact that abuse is not allowed to be shown in any way that glorifies the abuse or justifies the relationship, plus dubious and non-consensual sex is allowed only in a narrow window as well, which those types of stories usually contain.

This December we're featuring Don H's 600k plus story, Beloved, for our Signature week. This story originally brought me to GA, and it's still ongoing six years later. Are you a fan? If you are, make sure you check out Monday's feature showcasing the new Stories ad as well as a downloadable graphic you can place in your signature to spread the love. There are many great moments in this story, but back when I used to follow it, this was one of my favorite between the two main characters, Cam and Kevin. So much happens to both of them, but it's this moment in time where they started to be tested. Did you have a chance to get a copy of the signature graphic posted on Monday's blog, if you want to share your fan appreciation of Don's story? Beloved That's just a small taste of the ups and downs between Kevin and Cam as they face the challenges when life tells you that it's time to grow up. To read more, check out Don H's Beloved!

Midway through January, and it's time to feature a new ad designed for one of our Signature Authors! This month's author is Don H, and the feature is his still ongoing serial (now over 500k!) story, Beloved. For all of our fans of coming of age stories, this is one of the long-time epics available on GA. Length: 643,157 Description: Cameron MacKenzie and Kevin Stolz had been best friends and almost brothers their entire life. When a series of bad things happens to their families, the boys find themselves getting closer than they ever considered before. Story Reviews: ​ Mr. Curiosus says... Loved it cried and laughed so much I nearly had water coming from two orifices California Miss says... I just finished reading the story up to chapter 48 and I'm loving it! I read Working it Out a couple of years ago and was very excited to see that you had another story. Hope to see another update soon! Cheers! JohnJones2150 says... I have been enjoying this story from the begining. Thank you for keeping this story going. Cynaira says... Thank you for this wonderful story. I have been following it for quite awhile now. Cam's struggle with his recovery, the love in this family. The emotions you put into the story. Now, Father Mason's struggle. He has flown to the right home to work through his troubles. Will patiently wait for your next chapter as they are always worth the wait. ​If you want to support Don H and share your appreciation for his story, download and share the graphic below in your signature! I've included the story url if you want to make it clickable. http://www.gayauthor...y/don-h/beloved

Sorry, met the hubby when I was 16 and he was 19.

Through the magic that is GA staff who never seem to sleep (we're always watching you, so be afraid, be very afraid!) the Prompts are coming to you slightly late, but not so much. Ever get bogged down on your serial posted story? The novel you're dying to write just not flowing? Take a break and enjoy one of the prompts brought to you by our very own prompt guru, Comicfan! Prompt 470 - Creative Tag - The Pants Today is the big day for you. Everything seems to be going well until you dropped your pen, bend over, and your pants split. With your meeting about to start what pants are you now forced to wear? Prompt 471 - Creative Tag -List of Words Use the following words in a story - a gift, a sandwich, handcuffs, silk sheets, and a ring. the feature this week, we're taking a look at Carlos Hazday's response to Prompt #468: To read more, click here.

The start of 2016 is already here, as hard as that is to accept. Where does the time go? I just realized today that we’ve been doing the CSR Features for 3 years now! Is it still popular? Do you have any ideaas for tweaks from the usual feature? Let me know! In the meantime, this month we’re going to enjoy an oldie, but goodie, in Comicfan’s story, The Life of Seeon. The Life of Seeon By Comicfan Length: 28,566 Description: Seeon Toleran is the fifth child of the ruling royal family. His life was one of study and devotion to his Gods. Then war came and the world Seeon knew ended. There were decisions that were made for him which drastically altered the direction of his life. Suddenly the world of the priesthood is gone as an option in Seeon's life. Instead he is made Ma' Nee. What will this mean to a youth who has known neither love nor choice? Will this end his world or open new vistas? Time will tell. A Reader Said: This is a very imaginative story that ends up highlighting the differences between two countries and their cultures. In a significant way the reader can draw parallels with real existing cultures and customs. ~ drpaladin This month’s Discussion day will take place on Monday, January 25th. Make sure you’re ready to take part!

I played softball at age 14 for my school for one season. I broke a finger, got 8 stitches in my face after I took a softball to the glasses/eye, and split my top lip and broke a tooth when I got nailed a 2nd time in the face. Sports... not for me. You wouldn't believe how many injuries I took in PE classes too. It didn't matter what it was, soccer, football, hockey, volleyball... bruises, blood blisters, twisted ankles, jammed fingers abounded. Weight training took up my last 2 years of PE in school--the only safe place in the gym for me, lol. Most people don't consider it a sport, but I do archery now (practice for hunting) and I'm very competitive about my groupings when I'm at the range. I even have a set of arrows I robin hooded.

To expand on Graeme's message, if you go to Stories and click the Advanced Search button (on the left sidebar) you can then pick the author category, genres, rating, status, length, tabs (hold down control and you can pick more than one tag to narrow down to say romance, college, coming out, etc....) and then at the bottom you can choose to sort by posting date, but you can also select number of reviews or likes or follows, for example, which will let you see the stories that are more popular than others. It's a very comprehensive search to let you find exactly the type of stories you want to read!

Ughs. No, no, no. I haaaate that movie and my brother-in-law had it the all day marathon TV channel on Christmas. Then we switched over to Christmas Vacation. What ever happened to people enjoying the claymations and cartoons? I adore those and Garfield's Christmas special was a holiday fav for me! I will definitely admit to being more of a traditionalist rather than big on the newer Christmas stuff.

Wow, we've come to the end of the year and the final CSR of 2015. This month I featured 4 holiday short stories of all different types for readers to enjoy. Since we have 4 authors to feature, I did something a little different. Enjoy their take on these questions and their fun little micro flash giving you another taste of their stories. Don't forget to leave your thoughts and reviews! HOLIDAY SHORT STORIES Mann Rambling with Rudolph's Tijuana Christmas Do you have a favorite holiday tradition or memory? Every Christmas Eve after I get off work (I do retail, pity me now...) my partner and I setup a table full of finger foods that require minimal or no cooking such as: shrimp cocktail, flatbread pizza, fruit, crackers and cheese, and anything else we can think of. Then we start a fire in the fireplace and dim the lights while we drink cocktails, eat until we burst, and watch the marathon of A Christmas Story on TNT. 24 hours! Booyah, baby! On Christmas morning we open gifts with mimosas in hand and have a breakfast of fresh fruit and sweet danishes from the deli. That's pretty much all I need. What’s your favorite holiday story? (folk, fairytale, play, fiction, etc…) The movie A Christmas Story came out when I was a kid in 1981(?) and it's always held a special place in my heart. The fact it's a stock broadcast on Christmas (see previous question) only reinforces its dominance for me over all the stop motion Christmas specials I remember as a child. Which I absolutely loved, by the way. What inspired your story? My cousin Ken, who was my age and we grew up together, used to torment the younger kids about how Santa crashed during his test runs and there wouldn't be any gift for Christmas morning. (We were awful as kids. LOL) He was also the first person to make jaded comments about Rudolph's less than ideal growing up conditions. The “Santa, get a f*cking flashlight” line was all his. I give him full credit even if he never gets around to reading it. Micro-flash update: Can you share where your character(s) are this year for the Christmas season in 100 words or less? Santa and Rudolph have made a killing selling a new line of brandy flavored candy canes to the kids on the naughty list after peppermint was banned from the workshop. The profits allowed them to retire during the off-season and leave the continuing production to the elves. Mrs. Claus has taken her new stage act to Vegas, making insane amounts of money in spite of her not needing a job after becoming the majority share holder of Amazon. Let's put that on a snowglobe. Valkyrie with Penguin's Christmas Gift Do you have a favorite holiday tradition or memory? When I was ten years old, my parents offered me a choice for Christmas. I could start taking riding lessons, or I could get my usual slew of presents. If I chose riding lessons, it meant that I wouldn’t have any presents on Christmas. It was a no-brainer for this horse-crazy young girl…I chose the riding lessons. On Christmas day, I went downstairs fully expecting to not receive any presents, other than my stocking. To my surprise, I had three presents waiting for me! A model horse, a pair of jeans, and a shirt. I was thrilled! I still have that horse, and little did they know that those riding lessons would be the spark for my first career. What’s your favorite holiday story? (folk, fairytale, play, fiction, etc…) This is a tough one. I like a lot of holiday stories. I would say my favorite from when I was a child was Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. I’m also partial to the Little Drummer Boy. What inspired your story? Penguin’s Christmas Gift was inspired by characters from my story Penguin. I’ve had a lot of requests for more about these characters, so this was my ‘thank-you’ to my readers last year. Micro-flash update: Can you share where your character(s) are this year for the Christmas season in 100 words or less? There’s a follow-up story called A Penguin Prompt that gives another glimpse into these guys. I think that Sean and Daniel are in a good place in their relationship, and may be ready for the next step. They have a nice kitty family now, so maybe it’s time that they expanded their human family… Carlos Hazday with Muscle Bear Santa Do you have a favorite holiday tradition or memory? Christmas 1966 was the last one my family celebrated while still living in Cuba. It was years later I realized the meaning of what at the time had no significance: my mother is a very strong willed person. Communism had done away with official celebrations, but mom was obstinate. No such thing as Christmas trees around? No problem, let’s whitewash a dead tree limb, making it look like a snow covered tree, and decorate it. No toy store full of things to buy? No problem, send Dad to the docks, to do a little trading with Canadian sailors. Cuban cigars in exchange for some trinkets I can’t even remember. But I do remember getting a pack of minty chewing gum, something I’d never had before. The indomitable human spirit triumphed over ideology. What’s your favorite holiday story? I don’t really have one. Christmas isn’t a big deal for me, commercialism and silly countdowns spoiled it for me a while back. What inspired your story? A fraternity brother sent me a Christmas card a few years ago; the image of it served as inspiration. A muscular, bearded, hairy man; wearing a Santa Hat, red velvet briefs with a black belt, and black leather armbands; standing in front of a fireplace with a beautifully decorated Christmas tree to the side. The setting became Tony & Colt’s living room, and the model became Muscle Bear Santa. Micro-flash update: Can you share where your character(s) are this year for the Christmas season in 100 words or less? “ANTONIO! Get up!” “Crap! What’s my mother doing at our place so early?” asked Tony, burrowing further under the covers. “Cooking!” replied Colt, wrapping himself tighter around his boyfriend. “How’d she get in? I haven’t given her a key.” “My mom probably let her in. You know they were planning on getting together to cook a couple of things.” “But at 8:00 a.m.? The meal’s catered anyway.” “I know. I’m starting to think it wasn’t such a hot idea to invite my family to spend the Holidays with us in New York.” “Next year we fly to Miami for Christmas.”

While both parents are married, they both have the legal right to make decisions for the child. If and when one of the parents believes those decisions aren't safe, for whatever reason, they'd have to apply to the local legal system for custody, usually requiring proof the child is at risk because of the decision(s) the parent made. At that point, the court might require the minor to be returned (in your proposed situation) and placed with one parent and/or the custody of the state until the situation can be investigated. I don't think the parents would stay together after something like that happened, so it would probably lead to separation and/or divorce, and of course, usually there are legal custody decisions made at that point and anything afterward violating the agreed upon custody or state-ordered custody would be custodial kidnapping. Sexuality is no longer a motivating factor for considering a person unfit to care for a child--as long as you're not in a state/legal system where you're likely to run into bias and people in the system working in an underhanded fashion (such as the deep south) where that could be hidden based on other factors: living situation (having a bedroom for the child), care (working long hours), criminal history, etc....

Thank you, Defiance! I had to think to myself... what would I do? How would I go out? This was definitely my solution, because good or bad, how about I just go to sleep while the inevitable occurs? lol

This month we're featuring Graeme's story, Heart of the Tree, which he picked for the Signature feature. You'll notice he has a graphic running in the story and site ads, and you can also download a graphic for your signature if you want to help support Graeme. Today we're sharing an excerpt from his story he picked to share with you. Enjoy! Heart of the Tree Everyone’s attention was drawn to the sound of a motorbike being ridden at well over the speed limit, and then to the squeal of tyres as it pulled up at the edge of the park. “Rhys has arrived,” Vince said, smiling wryly. The rider took off his helmet and shook his head to release a coal-black ponytail that reached down between his shoulder blades; a ponytail that Vince and Mia knew annoyed Rhys’s dad. The peroxide-blonde strip down the middle was calculated to push that annoyance to the limit. His shirt, with the slogan “COOL AS FCUK,” added to the overall image of teenage rebellion. “He likes to make an entrance,” Mia replied, secretly pleased by the distraction. “Come on,” she added, using their friend as her excuse to escape from The Tree. “RHYS!” Senior Sergeant Dresden’s face went red with rage. “Do you think he’s in trouble again?” Mia asked Vince as they headed over. “That depends. Has he stopped being in trouble from last time?” With the ease of years of practise, Senior Sergeant Dresden was reading the riot act to his son. Rhys just looked wide-eyed back at his dad, the perfect picture of innocence. “...Now give me the keys!” “But you can’t confiscate my bike for that!” Rhys said, surprised at the demand. He was suddenly uncertain. That was not the way things normally went. “As a cop, no. As your dad, yes I can. Now hand them over, or I start writing charges. I’m sure I can come up with enough to keep you off the road for at least a year.” Mia couldn’t help grinning. Rhys normally perfectly rode the line between a minor infraction and a major misdemeanour, but he’d gone too far. When he dropped the keys into his dad’s outstretched hand without further comment, Mia could tell that Rhys knew it, too. How long it would take before he got them back remained to be seen, but Rhys had suffered a rare loss in his ongoing duel with his dad. To read more of the story click HERE!

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!!

There are a lot of techniques for overcoming writer's block, but if you're writing a novel, I once read a way to prevent it that I thought was ingenious. Don't stop writing when you run out of time or a scene to write, always stop writing when you still know what's going to happen next. That way, when you sit down to write again, you're not stuck going, "What's going to happen? Shit, I don't know! Gah!" Instead, you sit down with a clear direction in mind which often leads you to get ideas on what you don't know yet, keeping you writing instead of getting blocked. Sometimes, to keep that direction in mind I'll leave myself a little teaser blurb, especially if I don't have the story plotted out to keep me directed, such as: He's going to find the photo of the locket! or She walked in on something she never thought she'd see again....

Well I have been slapped with that title a few times. I've been working really hard on trying to make my descriptions tight and keeping the words out of the way of the story. I'm glad you liked it.

But there's always a chance I'll revist him in future anthologies or a story continuation. He did make the logical choice about his survival--plus, if he is going to die, I certainly wouldn't blame him for wanting to avoid feeling it!