Renee Stevens

Jordan barely noticed anything save for the immense pain that held him in its grip. Not even the fact his clothes were soaked from the torrential downpour happening all over the city was enough to make him seek shelter. To be honest, he just didn’t care. Time held no meaning as he trudged down the rain soaked sidewalk, his tennis shoes making sucking sounds every time his foot came into contact with the pavement. The weather forecast he had listened to on his way home had said it was supposed

For today's Blast from the Past we are bringing you an Anthology entry from 2007 written by Graeme called "When the Cat's Away." Why not take a minute and go check out this Anthology piece as well as many of the many other early Anthologies! If you are interested in reviewing a pre-2009 Anthology story, then please contact Renee or Trebs! “When the Cat’s Away” by Graeme Reviewer: K.C. Anthology: Fall 2007~ The Rainy Day In this short story, our previous Anthology Coordinator, Graeme shows us that he can spin a tantalizing anthology tale of his own. His hard work behind the scenes has made the Anthologies a fun read for everyone. I’ve found so many good stories in the older Anthology Categories, but you don’t need a rainy day to enjoy his Fall- 2007 anthology “The Rainy Day.” When Darren’s parents get invited to a wedding, he thinks it’s his lucky day. The Bride and Groom’s request for no children to attend the wedding gives Darren the whole house to himself for an entire day. What could be better? How about spending all day with his boyfriend, Simon with no parents around? If Darren supplies the house then Simon will take care of everything else. Eager for an afternoon of fun, just as Simon heads to Darren’s house, a soaking rain starts to pour, but who cares about wet clothes when they weren’t planning on spend the day wearing any. Things take an unexpected turn when Simon find Darren home, but he’s not alone. Worse yet, Darren’s with a girl! Their plans for a day of passion quickly turn into a babysitting nightmare from hell. The precocious 4 year-old turns their day into an unexpected afternoon twisted with humor. Can Darren and Simon survive the day as substitute parents and still finding a way to fit some romance into their day or will the old proverb ring true, when it rains, it pours?

MJ85~ I will send you a PM, so keep an eye out for it! Thanks for offering to review! Cheers! ~Renee

What day is it today? Oh yeah, it's Wednesday, which can only mean it's time to showcase two more Authors! Today we have a review of "The House Always Wins" by Promising Author: Andr0gene as well as a review of "Blizzard" by Admin & Author: JSmith! Enjoy!!! The House Always Wins By Andr0gene Reviewer: Renee Stevens Status: Complete Word Count: 51,936 Before I became a beta reader for Andr0gene, I first read his story The House Always Wins. While I have read all of his stories since then, this story remains my favorite. Though, “Colorado Games” and his “Confounded” series are a close second! The story “The House Always Wins” follows Jason Carter, or JJ, in the days after he has been kicked out of his home for no other reason than he was gay and was caught in a compromising situation. With very little money and with nowhere to go, he finds himself in Las Vegas. After being accidentally injured just outside of a casino, JJ finds himself a guest of the hotel. Before leaving Las Vegas, he decides to try his luck, only to find himself in worse circumstances than he was in before with no money and no place to go. An unfortunate string of events ends with an offer too good to refuse. All he has to do is pretend to be the boyfriend of the casino’s owner, Michael Black, for a month, and he’d walk away with a cool twenty thousand. He quickly accepts, after all, how hard could it be to pretend? Actually a lot harder than he thought. The story follows the month that JJ spends with Michael. When Michael’s nosy mother shows up, JJ has to make sure she believes that he’s in love with Michael and Michael is in love with him, which includes sharing a bed with the man he’s supposed to love. Lines become blurred throughout the story and the reader has to keep asking themselves, what is truth and what is the lie? “The House Always Wins” in an interesting story and I quickly became engrossed in JJ’s plight. Andr0gene shows his skill with this story in that he hooked me from the start and refused to let go until I finished reading. I look forward to reading more by Andr0gene. If you haven’t already, why not check the story out and if you enjoyed the story, leave the author a review or two! 4.5 out of 5 Stars BLIZZARD By JSmith Reviewer: LouisHarris Status: Complete Word Count: 4,074 Having only just discovered this author’s work, I find myself asking why it is I have not read him before. He has the ability to draw the reader in without shouting and whining. The words seem to roll along without any effort at all. It’s like taking a walk through a forest and discovering the soft dazzle of a dew drop, the silky strands of a spider’s web, or the strange moan of an animal one has never met. He writes in hues of peaceful yellow, and mixes his colours until he has a powerful blue and finally a dangerous red. He pulls the reader into these colours without a chance of escape. In short, he is a master of structure. He offers his reader a spellbinding experience through a roller coaster of events and emotions that are difficult to shake off long after reading the last word. BLIZZARD has whispers of Brokeback Mountain, and, although the author claims that it is not a gay work, the nuances are ever present. Jason and Patrick are 17 year old teens on their annual camping trip in the Wauskogee Park. It’s the middle of winter and it’s snowing. They spend their time reminiscing about old times and good times and have brought along all the equipment they require to make a winter camping trip comfortable. But, on the third day they find out that the area will soon be snowbound, and all too late they realize they will have to leave the site. Their friendship takes on a whole new aspect when, on their journey home, tragedy strikes. I read quickly and digest words as I would a good South African barbecue, which we call a braai. The cooking of this story deserves applause, not only because it was written as a class assignment some years ago, but also because the structure of the piece is near perfect. The writer’s intention in this piece, I believe, is to deliver an act of heroism where the hero is not fearful of losing his life through his actions. I also believe, that if the author could have, he would have made this a gay story; however, there are references to a deeper relationship between the teens that compelled me to read more, just to find out. The author has given the reader two characters that are not just anybody. I believe readers want to read about people that tiptoe, and stroll and sprint through a story. Sunny, foggy and gusty characters. Mr. Smith delivers. He writes using the senses of sight, and touch and sound. He writes about characters that have faults and are able to evoke in the reader some measure of emotional response by the way they talk and walk. He paces this story through dialogue and flowing action, and this allows the story to develop until the very last word. He keeps his sentences in check. They are sharp and clean. “After he successfully removed most of the glass, he started crawling his way out the window. He screamed in agony when he tried putting weight on his broken ankle. It felt as though someone were crushing the bone between two boulders every time he put any amount of pressure on it.” But for me, the most compelling part of the story is the nauseating feeling that maybe, just maybe, neither of the lads will survive. BLIZZARD is like a wild gust of wind. I recommend it to any reader who loves a thrill and an adventure. These are two teens that any teenaged boy will identify with as they approach the crossroads of their lives. So, what did you think of our reviews for today? Ready to go read the stories and share your own thoughts? If you are interested in doing a review for the blog, we are still looking for Volunteers! If there is a story that you have read that you want to see highlighted in the blog, please contact Trebs or Renee Stevens!

Today we bring you two new prompts from Comicfan. While they both look like they're going to be interesting, I think "The Sexes" is going to provide quite the challenge! Enjoy! Prompt 128 – Creative Cue – Word List Use the following words in a story: fog, bus, newspaper, coffee roll, and toilet paper. Prompt 129 – Creative Cue – The Sexes Science has always said that there would be new species added as time went on and as Mother Nature needed change. What wasn’t expected was that the human race would develop a third sex. All around the nation this third sex was being born to parents, some who were horrified and others who still seen this new sex as their child. What is this third sex like? Featured this week is a response to Prompt #127: First Line of "Just how many more times can you do that?” written by Jamessavik. To read the rest of this short, go here! Have fun with this weeks prompt, and who knows, perhaps yours will be next weeks feature! Remember to read, write, and review!!!

Thanks for the review, and yes, I do plan to revise this story at some point. To be completely honest, this story was the first m/m story I ever wrote and only the second story I ever wrote. I have learned a lot over the years since I wrote it, probably 7 or 8 years ago, and hope that with my new knowledge I can make it even better. I've never been entirely happy with the scene you are talking about and that is definitely something I plan to look at in the future!

Yeah, Kyle sure has a lot on his plate at the moment. As for Chelsea being his sister, I don't think it was mentioned earlier, but it's been so long since I read this story that I can't honestly remember. Thanks for the review!

Thank you for this review and all the reviews up to this point! I love to read what my readers are thinking about my stories! Yes, the plot thickens, but where will it all end up? You'll just have to keep reading to find out!

LOL! I can neither confirm nor deny your observations. I am glad that this story has you thinking and wondering. I like to keep my readers unsure as to exactly what is going to happen next! Look forward to reading your thoughts on the rest of it!

Yeah, I have the tendency to put my characters through the wringer, both physically and emotionally. As for the part that Matt plays in this story, I will just have to say wait and see. I don't want to give the story away! Enjoy!

Glad that you are still enjoying this story! It was one of the first stories I ever wrote. Matt is a bit of a mystery, I've had quite a few people tell me that they weren't sure what to make of him, which is good, I think, lol. Hope you enjoy the rest!

I have to admit, I JUST about didn't have him forgiven, but then again, that would be sooooo out of character for me to write a story, no matter how short, that doesn't have a happy ending. As I was writing, I could picture everything the characters were doing, and whether it came alive as much in the actual story or not, I just had to get it out the way they told it! Thanks for the review hon!!

Thanks for the review Wayne! I’m glad that you enjoyed the story, and you’re right, I think we’ve all done something that we’re not proud of. It would have been wrong of him to get married without confessing his sin, especially when it could have had such disasterous effects later in the marriage. At least by coming clean now, he was able to regain the majority of trust that he probably had lost by his actions. Thank you so much for coming up with the prompts as sometimes they get me thinking and allow me to write a tale such as this!

Thanks for the review Seraph! I think your response pretty much covers how you feel about the story! Glad that you enjoyed it!

Thanks for the review Percy! The story was actually much more dramatic than I planned when I started writing it. These characters decided to take a twist that I wasn't expecting, but I think it did escalate the suspense and made the story better in the long run! Glad that you enjoyed it!

Thank you so much for your review Louis! I guess I never really thought of this story as a confession story, but you’re right, that is what it is. I never really think of a formula when I’m writing. Many times I just sit down and write what comes to me and hope that it turns out into a semblance of a story. Sometimes I rewrite and rewrite until the story has a good flow, but this short story hit me and I just went with it. Glad that you enjoyed it and thank you for pointing out something that I didn’t even realize I had done!

Thank you for your review, Terry! I am glad that you felt as though all the loose ends were tied up. I always struggle with that in my short stories, especially the ones I do from the prompts. I agree with you that honesty is the best way to go, especially with a serious relationship. I’m glad that you enjoyed this story and hope you enjoy any other stories you might read!

Hi FleetingRainbow! Yes, coming up with a believable reason was not an easy task, but hopefully I succeeded. Don’t want to spoil any of the future chapters, so all I can say is you’ll have to wait and see where the story takes these two. Thank you for the reviews!

Thanks for the review! I hope that by the end of the story you feel that all the questions have been answered. There is still a lot of Kyle and Jared’s story to tell and I hope that you enjoy it! Can’t wait to see what you think of the rest of the story!

Thanks so much for the review! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the story enough to want to know more about the characters! The other story here on GA that includes these characters is called Eternal Christmas, I hope you enjoy that one just as much! Thanks again!

Jesse stared at his reflection in the mirror. Today should be the happiest day of his life and it would be if it wasn’t for the cloud of deceit hanging over his head. He should have told Mike his biggest secret a long time ago, and now was definitely not the time to be thinking about it, but he couldn’t help it. He was supposed to marry Mike in less than an hour and now he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to go through with it. How could he when Mike didn’t even know the type of man he wa

Jesse has a secret and while Mike knows part, he doesn't know it all. Will Mike be able to forgive them, or will their wedding end in shambles.

WOW! Thanks for that wonderful review Roan! And to Trebs~ Thanks for the great introduction! It seems forever ago that I posted Eternity on nifty. Glad that you both enjoyed the story so much and hopefully I can manage to write something else that you'll enjoy as much! Hugs to both!

Today we have another very informative writing tip from Cia! Enjoy!!! Said-bookisms I'm betting you have NO idea what a said-bookism is, do you? I know I didn't; I do know what the term means though, in a general sense. A said-bookism is a speech tag other than said or asked. Quite often they are used to describe the speech or the tone. A few examples: He laughed She shrieked They intoned He smiled Now, these are really common in usage, yet frowned upon more and more. Something so many articles I've read by editors and publishers expound on constantly is 'Show, don't tell!'. Said and asked are so common in writing that most readers don't see them, which is why they say the use of them is the least obtrusive to the story telling itself. The complete elimination of said-bookisms is not necessary, but they should be used sparingly. I'll give 2 examples, one with and one without said-bookisms. Amais looked up from his book. Respectful of the library rules, he whispered, "I'm try to study." Lucan flicked his book shut and stole it from his desk. "You're always studying," he sneered, "you're a geek." Amais' fists clenched in his lap. Lucan had been taunting him for months. "Just give me back my book," he ground out. "Maybe I will," Lucan taunted, holding it out and then pulling it away when Amais reached for it. "Nope, too slow, geek." Now, without the said-bookisms: Amais looked up from his book. Respectful of the library rules, he kept his voice quiet. "I'm trying to study," he said. Lucan flicked his book shut and stole it from his desk. "You're always studying." His lip was curled as he rolled his eyes. "You're a geek." Amais' fists clenched in his lap. Lucan had been taunting him for months. It was hard to keep his temper and not yell, but somehow he managed it with clenched teeth. "Just give me back my book." "Maybe I will." His face smoothed out into a smile. He held out the book, one eyebrow raised when Amais hesitated to reach for it. The second he did, Lucan yanked it away with a snicker. "Nope, too slow, geek!" While the difference isn't great, we get a greater visual from the physical cues shown in the second example. Instead of saying someone shouted angrily, you can mention that the person has their hands clenched and spine rigid-a common stance to associate with someone who is angry. Instead of saying 'he joked' you can mention the sparkle in his eyes or the wide grin on the guy's face. With those small changes, the reader will still get the idea that the character is mad or acting silly from the dialogue and the physical cue, but they will get to 'see' it, not just get told that the character is acting/feeling that way. So, the next time you write, examine your use of said-bookisms. Where could you use the advice of 'show, not tell' to the best effect to reduce the amount of them in your writing? Thank you Cia! So, what about you? Any tips that you would like to see in the blog?

Today, for our Author Showcase we bring you two more stories. One is by our Promising author, Dark, and it titled "Over the Precipice. The second story is from one of our newer authors, Jasper, and is called "Out of the Woods". Enjoy!!! Over the Precipice by Dark Reviewer: Frostina Status: Complete Word Count: 8,249 The reason I keep going back to check whether or not Dark has posted yet another short story is because he never fails to surprise me. Each one of his stories has a flavour of their own, and there is no way I can draw a comparison between any two. In this story that quickly draws us into Alex’s seemingly boring life as a mundane call center employee, we get drawn into the ups and downs of his co-worker, Dallas’, life. Dallas, having just received the most painful news a husband can, in a yet more painful manner is dealing with the loss of not just the only family he knew, but also coming to terms with a loss he thought could be reverted. In a moment’s decision, he decides to accept the help from Alex, who, till then was just a friendly co-worker and nothing else. It’s safe to say that for a man in Dallas’ position, trust doesn’t come easily, but he thinks he could be just about ready to take a leap of faith. The emotions in the story leaps off the page (or the monitor, if you will). The characters are complex, the situations unforeseen, and there are surprises waiting in almost every turn. The characters in the story are well mapped with just enough description to comprehend and sort of justify their actions in the given situation without ever making them predictable. Dark has a unique way of showing us how some common yet exceptional people behave when they face a situation that can make or break them. What drew me to this story is the realism of the characters’ actions. They’re not perfect, they’re not infallible, they’re unique, and they more often than not do things which makes us want to smack them on the head and at the same time sympathizing with them. There is a fair bit of head hopping in this story, and at times, it really helps in understanding the actions of the characters because they don't really fall under ‘regular guys’. For everyone who is looking for a break from the regular romance genre, heck, for everyone who is looking to read about how different people deal with their broken hearts, this story is a must read. It is bound to make an impression on you, and I am sure that most of you will never see the ending coming! Out of the Woods by Jasper Reviewer: Michael9344 Status: In Process Word Count: 57,790 I’m very busy these days, but sometimes when I either can’t stand it anymore, or I have the time, I take the time to read on here. Either new chapters on a story I follow, or new stories (by new authors). That is how I came across “Out of the Woods” by Jasper, which turned out to be a page-turner. An intriguing story by an interesting character, Elijah, Out of the Woods stands on that exciting place between exotic and sensational. Elijah’s tale has been capable of grabbing and holding onto my attention. With a little twist from the usual high school stories, Out of the Woods is upgraded from mini-fantasy to full blown pleasure. It’s one the few recent stories that has been able to really appeal to me. I really liked how Jasper narrated the story through Elijah. I didn’t have to wonder what he was thinking, because believe me, he leaves very little to wonder about. The fact that the story is this good is a plus, but added to the fact that this Jasper’s first on GA is a huge plus. He let out some of his youth exuberance and sometimes I got a load of his usual frank, wild side. But he has also showcased a commanding level of control in his writing. Out of the Woods is just different in its own kind of way. Tantalizing, deep, and capable of creating an insatiable want for more. If you haven’t read it, get it a peek. But before you do, grab some snacks to go with it. So there we go! Thank you to our reviewers and if you are interested in writing a review for the blog, please contact Trebs or Renee Stevens. Renee will be without internet from the 23rd of March to the 27th, so if you need an immediate response please contact Trebs.