Renee Stevens

Glad that you are enjoying the stories! And yes, that is very greedy of you, but who can blame ya! We have so many wonderful authors on site! Thank you for putting in an entry! You're welcome! Thank you for being a part of this anthology!

NOW LIVE!!! The Spring Anthology, "It Wasn't Me" is now available for your enjoyment! Just click on the banner above to read. We had a great turnout for the anthology and there are many different and interesting takes on the theme. Thank you to all of the authors and their teams for the wonderful entries! A Changelings Tale Comicfan Barbara Fleurnois Bugeye Birthday Surprise Lugh Cedris and the Shadow Man Michael9344 Conversations with Strangers Menzoberranzen Elethiel (A Fairy Tale) Dolores Esteban God Gene K.C. Hey Isreal JoejoeGreene Infinite Density C James Invisible Scars Cia Look away Dickie W_L Rebellion Frostina Serendipity Roan Stranger In the Mirror carringtonrj The Prankster Mark92 The Room Johnathan Colourfield What If? CassieQ Who's To Blame? Bill W Who...Are You? MJ85 As you can see, lots of stories for you to peruse, so what are you waiting for??? Don't forget to leave the authors a review!!!! Also, in the near future, we are going to do a special blog entry focusing on the Anthology, so if you want to write a review of one of these stories for the Blog, please contact Trebs or Renee Stevens!!! To the Authors: If you would like a discussion thread linked to your story, please create the thread in the appropriate forum and contact Renee Stevens to link them.

Thank you Cia

This prompt was a lot of fun for me! I got the idea for a haunted library because we actually do have a library that is haunted. Not saying that anything like this has ever happened there, but hey, ya never know! Thank you Trebs for featuring it!

Great little story you got here! I like your take on the "It Wasn't Me" theme, as it is something both different and fun. I think my favorite part though is at the end when you have him talking once again to the reader about how one of these days, he just might become them. I could definitely see a whole series based on this. Different tales from the main character about the people he has become throughout his life. Thank you for sharing it!

HEHE!!! This is great! Thank's Myr for finding it and sharing it!

NOW LIVE!!! The Spring Anthology, "It Wasn't Me" is now available for your enjoyment! Just click on the banner above to read. We had a great turnout for the anthology and there are many different and interesting takes on the theme. Thank you to all of the authors and their teams for the wonderful entries! A Changelings Tale Comicfan Barbara Fleurnois Bugeye Birthday Surprise Lugh Cedris and the Shadow Man Michael9344 Conversations with Strangers Menzoberranzen Elethiel (A Fairy Tale) Dolores Esteban God Gene KC Grim Hey Isreal JoejoeGreene Infinite Density C James Invisible Scars Cia Look away Dickie W_L Rebellion Frostina Serendipity Roan Stranger In the Mirror carringtonrj The Prankster Mark92 The Room Johnathan Colourfield What If? CassieQ Who's To Blame? Bill W Who...Are You? MJ85 As you can see, lots of stories for you to peruse, so what are you waiting for??? Don't forget to leave the authors a review!!!!

We have two story reviews for you today! First, we have a review on Comicfan's story "Strange Life of Jonas Marks" and then we also bring you a review for Billy Brat's story "Trials and Tribulations". Thank you to the reviewers!!! The Strange Life of Jonas Marks by Comicfan Reviewer: K.C. Status: In Process So many new authors want to write, yet they aren’t sure where to even start. It’s said that everyone has one great story spinning around in their head, but where do you begin? When is the right time to put pen to paper and let the words flow? The GA Anthologies are the perfect place to start. The Anthologies let authors dip their toes into the literary pool without jumping in head first. Comicfan is one author that has produced amazing stories for the GA Anthologies. His 2011 entry for the Walk on the Wild Side, “Strange Family, Unusual Lovers and other Jobs” was my favorite story of all the Anthologies written last year. I was thrilled when Comic decided to turn this smaller piece into a full length story, under the title, “Strange Life of Jonas Marks.” We already know from the Anthology piece that Jonas Marks is a young man who suddenly finds himself without a home, jobless and left with no place to turn after his homophobic father throws him out of their home when he admits that he’s gay. Jonas is an inspiration to any young man or woman facing the same pain of having their family or friends turn their back on them after coming out. The best that Jonas hopes for is to find a mediocre job making enough money until he leaves for college at the end of summer. His best friend, Jenny gives him a place to crash while getting back on his feet. Jonas’ life takes an unexpected turn when he answers a help wanted ad at Kroger’s Department store. He finds himself plunged in a strange new world of fantasy, fulfilling unusual request for Kroger’s exotic clientele which includes playing match maker for their incredible customers. So far, Comicfan has posted 6 chapters to this new story and he’s estimating this story to be about 13 chapters once he is completed. Will the Jonas of ‘Strange Life of Jonas Marks’ take the same path he took in Comicfan’s Anthology piece or will he chose a completely new direction? What adventures will he have working at the fantasy office? What new creatures does Kroger’s store bring into Jonas’ world? So many questions…one thing I know for sure is I can’t wait for Comicfan to post the next chapter so I can find out more. Trials and Tribulations by Billy Brat Reviewer: Kiltie69 Status: In Process When asked to write some reviews of stories I read I was in a bit of a dilemma, where to start? The GA site is full of excellent stories by excellent writers. Ask anyone and they will tell you their favourite. Added onto this is the fact that I am a simplistic reviewer, or I review like a 10 year old. Well, one of my favourites is by a lad called Billy Brat. The story, Trials and Tribulations, is about a young man living in a small town in Rural Kentucky and his coming of age experiences while at school. I first started to read Trials after being asked, as a favour, to see what I thought of the first chapter, I was not disappointed and have gladly read each new chapter within a few hours of release. The story follows Andy, a late teen school boy, through his first experiences of love, having a boyfriend, and the problems you can face being gay in a small town. The actual setting of the tale, for me, is also a good choice. It hints at what Small town America can be like. How things are done and handled. Which, for a Scot, is added meat, giving insight into a different way of life. Billy handles the subject of Andy’s growing sexuality well. The story, from the beginning, shows Andy, due to family circumstances, as mature for his age and that he has, as the story unfolds, a surprising depth to his character for one so young. You learn the reasons for this quickly and see how his upbringing plays a part in this. This maturity and depth are used to great effect in how the young man deals with a number of situations and issues. Subjects covered in the story: abuse, bullying and bigotry to name one or two are all handled with a level maturity and understanding that leave the reader wanting to know more; each chapter leaving at least one or two questions to be answered. Billy shows a depth of understanding of the matters discussed that show in his characters. So far there are ten chapters up but more to come. I find Billy’s writing style easy to read and flowing which makes it enjoyable. You easily fall for the characters and gladly follow them through their day to day life. He handles difficult issues well; leaving the reader, through his characters, with an understanding of the issue. My only issue I have with the story, is the age of the main characters. Putting that aside, the story is well written and enjoyable. With this said, Trials and Tribulations is a read I heartily recommend. Billy has taken a slice of life from the Appalachians and brought it to GA. It’s a feel good story and you will fall in love with many of the characters. If you haven't already gone and read these two stories, what are you waiting for?! As always: Read, Write, and Review!!! If you are interested in writing a review for the blog, please contact either Trebs or Renee Stevens!

I love this time of night at the county library. It’s nearing closing time and most people have come and gone. Even when it is busy, it’s quiet, but there’s something about this time of night, when it’s getting dark outside and all the parents have taken their children home to feed them dinner. There is only one thing that I find slightly disconcerting. I think everybody has their own little niche at the library. Someplace they just like to sit and relax as they read. I know I have one and

What happens at the library is a bit frightening...

Wayne, while I wish that you weren't going through some of the stuff that you are, I'm always here for you to talk to . That's what friends are for

Today's writing prompts brought to you by Comicfan Prompt 116 Cue – the gift Years ago you came across a child crying because everyone had forgotten their birthday. Feeling bad you took the child into the nearby store and picked up a small gift for them and wished them a Happy Birthday. Well years have passed and it is now your birthday and they have arrived to repay your kindness. What is their gift to you? Prompt 117 – Creative Cue – First Line “What is that smell?” This weeks feature is in response to Prompt 114 and comes from andy021278!!! Prompt #114 I saw Mischa in his front yard shooting hoops. I’ve fancied him since I first saw him six months ago. My name is Samuel and I’m thirteen. His family have lived here for years and everyone in town seems to know Mischa and nobody seems to have a bad word to say about him. I think that’s why my parents don’t have a problem with us being friends. I walked down to his place. “Morning Mischa.” “Good Morning Samuel.” I love his Russian accent; I think it was either that or his pale violet eyes that I fell in love with first. “What’s happening Mischa? You got family visiting?” I looked at all the cars parked in the drive and on the street. I’d seen people arriving since yesterday, and they were all greeted so friendly by Mischa’s parents. “Yah, something like that.” Another car arrived and a very large burly guy got out. Mischa’s dad ran over to him and greeted him in what I presume to be his native Russian. They kissed each other on the cheek and hugged briefly. The large guy was being escorted into the house when he looked at Mischa. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I saw fear in the man’s eyes; but how can that be? He was at least eight inches taller than Mischa and a hundred plus pounds of solid muscle heavier. Mischa smiled at me and that was enough to distract me from what I was thinking; I just shrugged it off as me being me. We played around for a couple of hours before mum called me in for dinner. “Bye, Mischa. See you tomorrow.” “Good bye Samuel.” Mischa smiled and thought to himself, “And I will see you sooner that you think my friend.” I was just getting to sleep, when I heard a tap on my window. I looked out and saw Mischa. I wondered not only why he was tapping on my window, but tapping on it at nearly midnight. I opened my window to find out what he wanted, and was shocked when the burly guy I had seen earlier dragged me through my window and stuck me in a sack. I was unceremoniously dropped out of the sack a few minutes later. I saw I was in a large room, surrounded by many of the people I had seen arriving over the past day. “Ah, the guest of honour has arrived. We can begin.” I looked around to try and find the source of the thick Russian accent, and saw someone wearing dark robes standing behind an altar. I only had time to think about why Mischa’s family would have an altar, before I was roughly grabbed around the neck, dragged over to the altar and chained in front of it. “On this day ninety-five years ago, the greatest man who ever lived was assassinated. We, the loyal followers of Rasputin, are here today to honour him and his living spirit here on Earth.” The hooded figure turned to face Mischa and bowed. Everyone in the room turned to Mischa, dropped to one knee and began muttering, again in what I presumed was their native Russian. Mischa walked over to me and placed a hand on my head. “Samuel, my friend. You are here to play a most vital role in today’s ceremony. Shortly before the body I was in died on December 29th in the Year of our Lord 1916, I left it and entered the body of a near-by child. The closest you can come to understanding what I am is a soul. I have now been in this body for those ninety-five years, and it is now dying. It is time for me to move on to a new body. I have chosen to move on to yours.” I looked on at the boy I loved in sheer terror at what he had just said. The thoughts whirled through my head as fast as the speed of light. Mischa’s wrist was cuffed to my own. The hooded figure cut each of us on our palms, and Mischa clasped my hand in his own. The hooded figure began chanting, and he was then joined by the rest of the assembly. As our blood mingled, I could feel something passing into my body; a feeling of pure evil, of malice, of insanity. It began suppressing every thought I had, every feeling of self. It was like being wrapped in a cloak which had its own identity. The boy I had known as ‘Mischa’ turned to me. “I beg your forgiveness. I could not fight it, nor stop it. I . . . am . . . tru . . . ly . . . .” The last thoughts that were my own, were forgiveness for the boy who had played host to this demonic being for nearly a century, sorrow for myself (wondering what damage, what carnage, what acts I will be forced to commit against my will over the hundred years to come), but most disturbingly of all was how much of the boy I knew and loved was really Mischa, and how much was this ghost . . . this soul . . . just trying to bait its next host. We look forward to seeing what you can come up with for this weeks prompt and maybe next week, yours can be the featured prompt!!! Happy Reading & Writing! Don't forget to review!!!

You are most welcome Cassie! It was a wonderful story and one that I will probably revisit again in the future!!

Thank you TalonRider! Happy to do what I can to help with the site! As for my own team. I have worked on my stories with many different people over the last year, but my current team consists of three people. Cia~ Thank you for all the encouragement. Even when I'm not sure I can do it, you're there to help me push through the blocks. You're always there to bounce ideas off of and help to make the story ideas stronger. Once done, I don't know what I would do without you. You're never afraid to suggest rewording an entire sentence (sometimes a paragraph), or telling me that some visual needs work. You are invaluable to me as a beta, an editor, and a friend. Thank you for all the hard work you put into making my stories what they are! Sometimes I might grumble, but in the end, I usually have to admit that you're right and make the changes you suggest! lol Lugh~ You're always willing to help me flesh out a story idea and are always willing to suggest ways that a story could be even better. The times that have hashed out ideas with me have helped me more than I could possibly tell you. Once written, you have been wonderful in pointing out the flaws as you find them and you help each story that you work on become the best they can be. You've been there not only as a trusted beta, but as a friend, and I thank you for everything! Wayne~ You're the newest member of my team, but thank you for always being willing to look over a story or talk out an idea. I don't know how many times I've written the beginning of a story and if I'm not sure about it, you're always there to tell me to hand it over. It's never seemed to matter how busy you are, you always make time to help a friend and have become and trusted member of my team. You're never afraid to call me out on something you disagree with and have caused me to re-look at sections from a different point of view. Thank you for everything you do as both a beta and friend. While these are my main team at the moment, I have worked with others over the last year, especially on Joined by Blood. Both Nephy and Frosty were an awesome help and along with the rest of my team, they helped me make it through to the conclusion. Thank you both of you for all the help you've given me! As a last, but certainly not least, thank you. I know there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep GA open and improve the site. I'm not going to name names, because with my luck, I'd forget someone, so.... To all of those who put their time into making GA what it is, thank you.

Head hopping is something that can easily happen in early drafts of any work. When i wrote the above story, I didn't know better, but my editor's and beta's have been really good about pointing it out to me in my more recent works and I've learned to recognize them, though I don't always catch them before I send a story out for editing. Head hopping probably isn't the technical term for it, that's just what I use. I do know that some people just call it a Point-of-View shift.

I agree with Cia on that... There have been times that I have beta's when I'm really not at my best and then afterward, find mistakes that I typically would have caught. Sometimes you just need to take care of yourself and put other things on the back burner. It happens to all of us eventually. *hugs*

Really nice beginning chapter. You have my intrigued.

Really enjoyed this story Cassie. I could feel Jack's concern throughout the story, though his waiting to "visit Emanuel" was a bit stalkerish, lol. Your story was intriguing enough to keep me reading to the end, and I definitely didn't expect the twist when Jack returned to the hotel. Great job and I really enjoyed the ending as well.

Thank you for the review Terry! I'm glad that you enjoyed this story and are looking forward to the final story of the trilogy. Hopefully the wait won't be too long as I'm already working on the final one!

I'm working on it, promise! lol... Hopefully the wait won't be too tedious! Thanks for all the reviews hon!!!

LOL! I always have to throw a wrench into the plans. Sometimes it's not even planned! hehehe... I'm just evil that way!

I have to keep the reader guessing, otherwise, it wouldn't be one of my stories, lol.

I can definitely see what you mean about his approach not being what you might expect from him. As you say, he is older and more experienced, but at the same time, love can make all of us do things that are outside of the things we would typically do.

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from! Thanks for the review hon!

That is the one good thing about waiting until the story is complete to read it! And yeah, definitely not the wolf he was hoping to see! Thanks for this and the other reviews up to this point!