Renee Stevens

Thank you, everyone!

Thank you! Good luck, @wildone LOL. Seriously though, you're welcome Thank you all! We're excited! i know, Sir! At times it seems like it's been forever, and then others i can't believe he'll be here within a few weeks!

Thank you, jp! I'll try

Thank you, all!!! @Mikiesboy Thank you hon. I'll definitely keep in touch

Mine came through about an hour and a half ago....

Thank you, Val & Graeme!!!

Before we even get started with the wrap up, I want to say: Graeme!!!!!! Graeme has been a long time member of GA's staff, and has been promoted to Site Administrator as well as Author Promotion Team Leader. We are very happy to have him as part of our team, so please visit the announcement thread to congratulate Graeme on his well deserved promotion! Now, for some other news. I don't usually use the staff blogs for personal stuff, but the time has come for me to say farewell, for a while at least. Baby J is due in just a few short weeks and, for the next few months, I will be focusing on him and my family. I will be back, but for the time being, the other Admins have graciously agreed to take over my site duties. That's not to say you'll never see me in the online user list, but this will be my last blog post for a while (other than the prompts this Friday which are already scheduled). @wildone will be doing the Weekly Wrap Up for me, while the other Admins will handle the various other blog posts. If you have any questions, please direct them to one of them, otherwise you might be waiting a rather long time for a reply. If you wish to send content in for a blog post, including Improve & Encourage features (which we're currently out of), please send them to one of the other Admins and they'll make sure it gets to the right person for inclusion in the blog. Anything author promotion related, should now be directed to @Graeme. @Cia has agreed to field any anthology related questions. In case I don't see you for a while, I hope y'all have an awesome summer!!!!! I'm sure mine will be plenty busy . Now, let's see what happened this week, and if you haven't already checked out the anthologies, please do so! Please note: The blog opportunities are temporarily shortened, due to the majority of them requiring info from me. Anthologies 2018 Fall Anthology: Fight Back - Due Nov 15th 2018 Fall Anthology: Good Intentions - Due Nov 15th Blog Opportunities Story Critique: Open to all GA authors. Sign up here. Ask An Author: Send your questions for your favorite authors to @Carlos Hazday (no questions = no Ask An Author) Story Recommendations: Open to all GA authors & readers. PM your recommendation and why you recommend it to a Site Admin. Premium Updates: Harbinger by Cia *Premium* Classic Updates: Dancing with Madonna by Ronyx Signature Updates: A Man in a Room, and other poems by AC Benus; Book 6 of Verse Aditus' prompts and circumstances by aditus Clouded Purity by Cynus; Book 2 of The Trial Denied by Cia Dinner is Prompt-ly at Eight by Cole Matthews GFD: Dark Web by Comicality GFD: Executive Order by Comicality Left Without Words by Comicality Mojo by AC Benus Northern Exposure by Mark Arbour; Book 8 of Bridgemont Pride Month, and other Haibun by AC Benus Promptings from Valhalla by Valkyrie Spirit of Fire by Stellar Waiting Outside The Lines by Comicality Promising Updates: Georgetown: As Time Goes By by Carlos Hazday; Book 9 of CJ Tales of the Underground: Blinded by Aceinthehole; Book 3 of Tales of the Underground The Promise by Mikiesboy ***Check out this GA Classic*** How the Light Gets In Duncan Ryder Time, it is said, heals all wounds. The single, deep ones. The thousand cuts. But sometimes, sometimes, the scars left behind are just as debilitating. Can two wounded young men find the path that reaches out beyond their own scars to find each other? Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

I hope everyone is having a great week! It's time for this weeks prompts, supplied by our prompt guru, Comicfan. Just a reminder, and for those who haven't worked with the prompts before: prompt responses under 1,000 words must be posted as part of a collection. Prompt 672 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following words in a story – a computer, an engagement ring, a dragonfly, an orange rug, and a forest painting. Prompt 673 – Creative Tag – Vacation Terror Your first vacation in years and mother nature turns it into a terror filled outing. What happened? Did you write a prompt response last week? Don't forget to share it below.

I hope you all enjoyed the last Improve & Encourage feature, because it's time for another one. These features are meant to both provide feedback to authors and, similar to story reviews, point out stories that readers might not otherwise have found. It's similar to a review, in that the person doing the critique tells you what they liked about the story, but it differs in that they also provide constructive criticism. Each author signed up to participate, and sign up's are still open! These will post once a month until the last author signed up is critiqued. If you'd like to provide a critique for the blog, sign up in the thread. Just remember, by signing up, you are also volunteering to have your story critiqued and featured. I'm currently out of these critiques, so if you've already signed up, and haven't yet provided your critique, please get them in as soon as possible. As I will be gone for a while, for the time being, please include @TalonRider and @Cia in the PM. Stars for the Star Parker Owens Critique By: CassieQ Please give us a short summary of the story you chose. Beau left his hometown of Lafayette to brave the colds of Ohio only to have to deal with bad Southern accents, jealousy, stage fright and his handsome and charismatic coworker George. What do you see as the strengths of the story/poem? This was delightful to read. There is a fantastic subtle humor in it that I wasn't expecting, from Beau's opinion of the Ohio winters, to his coworkers ridiculous Southern accents. Beau's emotions were so vivid; I could feel the way he seethed with jealousy over Harold, the paralyzing trepidation of being on stage and the sexy undercurrent of all the scenes where he interacted with George. What do you see as the weaknesses of the story/poem? This was extremely well done, but the ending felt a bit abrupt. It was a sweet and delightful conclusion, but it didn't appear to match the pacing of the rest of the story and therefore came off as rushed and a bit jarring. How do you think the story/poem could be improved? A little bit more resolution near the end. It was a lovely conclusion to the story, but after all the build-up to it, I would have liked to see just a little bit more. (Also, I was a little bummed because I liked reading about these characters so much). What was your favorite part? I liked the scene where George brought in some Vietnamese shrimp fried rice for Beau. It showed that George was thinking of Beau when he was out to lunch and knew him well enough to know that he liked the rice and would be hungry. It was very sweet and thoughtful. And this line: " Something definitely pinged, and it wasn't just my brain." Nuff said.

Thank You, Michael Sir. We’re getting very excited and it won’t be much longer now! i hope you and tim are doing well, Sir!

Thank you, Sir, for both the compliment and the task. We are considering tim's suggestion of printing it on nice paper and framing it for his bedroom.

I hope you all have had a great week this week! Have you had a chance to check out the Spring Anthology yet? Nine brand new stories for you to sink your teeth into. Before we get started this week, a couple of reminders for you: Reminder #1: New authors are automatically put into the moderation queue and have to be approved by staff. Please read the FAQ on posting stories prior to uploading your first story. One common mistake new authors to the site make is uploading multiple chapters, if not all, of their story at once. We ask that you please not do this as only one chapter a day will be approved, providing the story meets site quidelines. In the end, it may even make more work for the author if changes are necessary before the chapter can be approved. Once out of the moderation queue, authors can post up to two chapters a day, but those chapters must be spaced at least eight hours apart so as not to flood the story update list. Reminder #2: There are certain perks to being a promoted author here at GA. One of those perks is having your weekly story updates in the Weekly Wrap Up. Please, if you are not a promoted author, refrain from posting your story updates in the comments of the Weekly Wrap Up. We are happy to help you showcase your work in the various GA blogs, all you have to do is sign up for one of the many opportunities that we offer. These can be found in the “Blog Opportunities” section of each Weekly Wrap Up. Otherwise, you are welcome to use status updates, a forum thread (one per story), or even a personal blog to notify readers of updates. Anthologies 2018 Fall Anthology: Fight Back - Due Nov 15th 2018 Fall Anthology: Good Intentions - Due Nov 15th Blog Opportunities Story Critique: Open to all GA authors. Sign up here. Ask An Author: Send your questions for your favorite authors to @Carlos Hazday (no questions = no Ask An Author) 3 Story Promo: Open to all GA Authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Author Interview: Open to all GA Authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Favorite Self-Written Story: Open to all GA authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate Story Recommendations: Open to all GA authors & readers. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Premium Updates: Harbinger by Cia *Premium* Classic Updates: Dancing with Madonna by Ronyx You Don't Know Me by Dabeagle Signature Updates: Ace by Valkyrie Clouded Purity by Cynus; Book 2 of The Trial Denied by Cia GFD: Business As Usual by Comicality GFD: Divine Right by Comicality Headstall's Reflections by Headstall Jessie-101: Online Celebrity by Comicality Leopard Hunt by Graeme; Book 4 of The Lilydale Leopards Mojo by AC Benus Poetry by Renee by Renee Stevens The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 9 by Comicality; Book 9 of The Secret Life Of Billy Chase The Sphinx by CarlHoliday Touch by CassieQ Promising Updates: Georgetown: As Time Goes By by Carlos Hazday; Book 9 of CJ No escape by Puppilull Tales of the Underground: Blinded by Aceinthehole; Book 3 of Tales of the Underground The Poetry of D/s by Mikiesboy The Promise by Mikiesboy ***Check out this GA Classic*** Living in Surreality shadowgod You can't please everyone, and sometimes, you just have to settle for pleasing yourself. Matt is forced to accept this when he has to defend the life he realized he doesn't want to live without. The life that has been so carefully laid out for him for the last 17 years is changing, and Matt decides that it must be changing for the better if it includes Jacob, even if along with Jacob comes some hard decisions and some fights he didn't know he was quite ready to fight. Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Thank you, tim! It was a struggle to write as there is so much I could say. Framing it is a definite possibility

Fear and hope do battle Each struggles to prevail The future stretches before me The winner remains unclear The world can be a scary place So many dangers to behold How will I ever keep you safe When so many things can go wrong The birds are chirping around me The sky is bright and clear Is this a sign of things to come Or the calm before the storm We’ve wanted you forever It feels too good to b

I know a lot of people have been looking forward to the release of the Spring Anthology. Luckily, the wait is over! Nine new stories have now been released for your enjoyment. I hope you find something you enjoy and don't forget to leave the author's a review to let them know what you think of their work! Thank you to all the Authors and their teams, the Anthology Proof Team for giving the stories a final polish, and Mann Ramblings for the Anthology banner! A special thank you to Valkyrie who took over pairing authors with members of the proof team. Thank you!! It Was Supposed to be a One-Night Stand JayT An Accidental Clarity Menzoberranzen No Escape Puppilull Feeling Blue Timothy M. Life's Decisions northie Touch CassieQ Ace Valkyrie Disco Camping jfalkon The Sphinx CarlHoliday 2018 Spring Anthology Support Team Anthology Coordinator Renee Stevens Tech Support AJ Myr Proof Team Cia Rec Valkyrie craftingmom Parker Owens Anthology Banner Creation Mann Ramblings

Hope everyone has had a great week this past week. Let's take a look at what happened in the various GA staff blogs. Anthologies 2018 Fall Anthology: Fight Back - Due Nov 15th 2018 Fall Anthology: Good Intentions - Due Nov 15th Blog Opportunities Story Critique: Open to all GA authors. Sign up here. Ask An Author: Send your questions for your favorite authors to @Carlos Hazday (no questions = no Ask An Author) 3 Story Promo: Open to all GA Authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Author Interview: Open to all GA Authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Favorite Self-Written Story: Open to all GA authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate Story Recommendations: Open to all GA authors & readers. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Premium Updates: Harbinger by Cia *Premium* Classic Updates: Dancing with Madonna by Ronyx You Don't Know Me by Dabeagle Signature Updates: April Musings by Valkyrie Clouded Purity by Cynus; Book 2 of The Trial Denied by Cia Exes and Ohs by Headstall Mojo by AC Benus Promising Updates: Georgetown: As Time Goes By by Carlos Hazday; Book 9 of CJ Here Kitty, Kitty by Caz Pedroso The Horse on the Iceberg by Mikiesboy The Promise by Mikiesboy ***Check out this GA Classic*** Desert Dropping DomLuka Rory's mom just died and soon after the funeral his life is turned upside down when he finds out that his mom has contacted the father that he never knew. Now, he's forced to live in the desert with a family he doesn't know, a father he doesn't want to know, and to top it all off, Rory's gay and no longer has anyone to confide in. Friends will be made and the meaning of family will be found as Rory discovers that everything isn't so bad in the desert. Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Happy Birthday, Myr!!!! Hope it's a great one!

Hope everyone has had a great week so far. It's time for this weeks writing prompts. If you're stuck, or you're considering writing for the first time, these might be perfect for you. Don't forget that stories under 1,000 words must be posted as part of a collection. Prompt 670 – Creative Tag – First Line “After this, I never want to see you again.” Prompt 671 - Challenge Tag – Historical Fiction Authors like to write in a genre that they are comfortable with. Some genres require more work than others. Your challenge is to write a scene or story that is set in a particular time period. Think Victorian, Elizabethan, World War I, Colonial America, or another time period. You’ll need to research the clothes, tools, items, attitudes, and language so everything is appropriate. Good Luck. Don't forget to share your prompt responses from last week!

Please join the Author Promotion Team in congratulating Aceinthehole as GA's newest promoted author! Aceinthehole has been a member of GA for approximately two years and during that time, he has written five novels and over 800,000 words to share with the members here at GA! His current story Tales of the Underground: Blinded is over 175,000 words. If you want to read more from Aceinthehole, you can visit his author page (and check out his new banner while you're there). Please join us in congratulating Aceinthehole on his well deserved promotion.

Well, it's the start of a new week, and for today's schedule, we're bringing you BlindAmbition's review of Button by Cole Matthews. Featured story days are a great way to highlight one of the many stories that can be found in GA Stories. With so many stories, it's easy for a single story to get lost in the shuffle. Now, onto the review. Hopefully you enjoy BlindAmbition's review enough to go check out Button for yourself! Button Cole Matthews Reviewer: BlindAmbitionStatus: CompleteWord Count: 77,786 I’m happy to be providing my first official GA story review. There are so many wonderful stories on GA, so it was hard to choose one. I decided on highlighting the story Button by Cole Matthews. It’s a little gem that flies below the radar. The story is full of heart and meaning, without being preachy. It offers a little something for everyone. I read this story before joining GA, and it still resonates with me. The story revolves around a full cast of characters, but it’s truly Button’s story. He is left on the doorstep of his father Craig’s house. Craig and his partner Graham take on the Herculean task of raising Button. Each chapter represents another year in their lives. Craig is the buddy and most relatable figure to Button, whereas Graham is the overprotective nurturer. Each father plays an invaluable part in what Button will become. Button will experience hardship through his learning disability. He will also learn to achieve and overcome adversity. Button gains confidence through an abundance of love. Learning how to deal with the curves life throws at you can be difficult, but it’s what you make of any situation that counts. Cole has written a story with a lot of heart. It’s not fluffy and sugarcoated. It’s also not depressing and a Debbie Downer. Button is just an honest portrayal of life, life that isn’t certain and often changing. The story's strengths come from showing people are flawed, constantly evolving and resilient. These are all things we inevitably learn in the game of life. The only criticism I have of the story is wanting more. Each chapter represents a year; this limits how much of Button’s life can be included in those chapters, although I feel writing in another format would have taken away from the story’s special quality and voice. Category: Fiction Genres: Drama Tags: gay, light-hearted, parents, psychology, modern, love Rating: Teen

So sorry to hear about what you’ve been going through hon. Lots of hugs and good thoughts coming your way! This one might make you chuckle. A few years ago, my niece and a bunch of my cousins were staying with me for a few days. A little summer get together for them to spend time with each other since my niece lived in seattle at the time and they didn’t get to see each other much. Anyway. We had a tv for them to watch movies on, in the room they were all staying in. They wanted to watch Paranormal Activity, whatever the newest one was at the time. My husband rigged up a teddy bear with fishing line so he could make it move from outside the room. They were in there watching the movie, the lights off, and he started pulling on the fishing line. Well, one of the girls noticed what was going on. They all laughed and one of them said something to my husband about nothing he could do would scare her. Well...challenge accepted. He waited until they decided to take a short break for the bathroom and to get some snacks and snuck into the room. This room has a really really tiny closet in it. He hid in there and waited for probably a good five minutes after the girls restarted the movie before he made his move. All of the sudden, there are blood curdling screams coming from that room, the door flies open, and seven girls run screaming from the room. Yes, even the one who told him nothing he could do would scare her. After that, they kept a close eye on where hubby was and checked the closet and under the bed every time they went back into the room.

⚠️ Only 2 days left to send your anthology entries to Valkyrie to be proofed!!!! ⚠️ Now, with that being said, let's take a look at what happened in the GA blogs this past week! Anthologies 2018 Spring Anthology: Now or Never - Due May 15th - 2 days away!!!!! 2018 Spring Anthology: Encounters - Due May 15th - 2 days away!!!!! 2018 Fall Anthology: Fight Back - Due Nov 15th 2018 Fall Anthology: Good Intentions - Due Nov 15th Blog Opportunities Story Critique: Open to all GA authors. Sign up here. Ask An Author: Send your questions for your favorite authors to @Carlos Hazday (no questions = no Ask An Author) 3 Story Promo: Open to all GA Authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Author Interview: Open to all GA Authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Favorite Self-Written Story: Open to all GA authors. PM Renee Stevens to participate Story Recommendations: Open to all GA authors & readers. PM Renee Stevens to participate. Premium Updates: Harbinger by Cia *Premium* Classic Updates: Dancing with Madonna by Ronyx Signature Updates: Clouded Purity by Cynus; Book 2 of The Trial Denied by Cia Exes and Ohs by Headstall GFD: Blade Of Shadows by Comicality GFD: Circle Nocturnus by Comicality Leopard Hunt by Graeme; Book 4 of The Lilydale Leopards Lyrical Laments by Headstall Mojo by AC Benus Northern Exposure by Mark Arbour; Book 8 of Bridgemont One Hundred and Fifty-Five Sonnets by AC Benus; Book 5 of Verse Promising Updates: Disasters, Delights and Other Detours by Parker Owens Georgetown: As Time Goes By by Carlos Hazday; Book 9 of CJ The Promise by Mikiesboy tim's Bits and Pieces by Mikiesboy ***Check out this GA Classic*** Kombat Kids GhostRyder15 The Kombat Kids belong to Unit One. Unit One was Started by James and Matt Bateman to give the local boys an option to the mostly homophobic Church run youth groups and the scouting programs. The Unit is located near the Columbia river in the South East Corner of Washington State and is made up of mostly gay boys and men. Members learn to cope with their own fears and problems during the first year and a half of the Units existence. Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Okay, after some thought (and because I REALLY needed the May 16th slot for something) I have extended the deadline again, lol. Now, the challenge responses will be posted, along with the prompts, on June 1st! So if you really wanted to do this, but couldn't because it was due the same time as the anthology deadline, you have a couple more weeks! I just need to have the links by the 29th of May

Who's been waiting for their weekly prompts?! Just a reminder, and for those who haven't worked with the prompts before: prompt responses under 1,000 words must be posted as part of a collection. Prompt 668 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – a campfire, a ripped tent, a skunk, a rain storm, and a book. Prompt 669 – Creative Tag – A Wish It’s your birthday, but you’ve had the worst day and go out to celebrate alone. When you get home you make a wish and pass out on your bed, totally exhausted. The following morning you wake to find your whole life is different. What was your wish? Did you write a prompt last week? Don't forget to share it below.

Time for a new author promo! This month we're taking a look at Dodger. Dodger was asked to pick three stories and answer the three questions: What gave you the idea for this story? What was your favorite thing about writing this story? & Please tell us something about this story that is not already in the description. If you would like to do an author promo for the blog, please check out the blog feature opportunities thread. Now, let's take a look at what Dodger has for us. Dodger Author 8 stories · 1,918 comments · 683,683 total words The Cockney Canuck Description: Following the death of his mother, fifteen-year-old Robbie is forced to move from England to start a new life living with his uncle’s family in Canada. Homesick, confused, and missing his close friend, it soon becomes clear to his new family that Robbie is carrying a lot more baggage than he arrived with. What gave you the idea for this story? It started out as therapy before turning into a bit of an autobiography, but my life wasn’t interesting enough to sustain it, so I invented Robbie and turned it into fiction. What was your favorite thing about writing this story? It was fun because it was my first attempt at writing fiction and I became totally absorbed in the main character. I was, of course, completely out of my depth and the early chapters definitely reflect this. They are, perhaps, a tad raw in places but for those who have ploughed through regardless, the ending promises a real treat! Please tell us something about this story that is not already in the description? Most of the characters are based on real people, but only one of them is aware of their inclusion. The infamous Nicola is my sister in real life and reads the story on GA. It’s quite bizarre because she calls me after each chapter is posted to give me her valued opinion. Inevitably, she has had some influence, but no direct input and of course, the storylines are all fiction. Incidentally, she also enjoys reading the comments. So remember, the next time you rant about ‘that horrible bitch Nicola’, the real one will probably be reading it!!! A Soldier’s Guide to Single Parenting Description: After losing his wife to illness, a decorated war hero is determined to keep his family together, but his parenting skills are tested during the summer break by financial restraints, an increasing reliance on alcohol, and the discovery that his eldest son is gay. What gave you the idea for this story? I think that everyone loves a fictional character who they can really hate. So I thought it would be a good idea to give the villain the lead role in a story. The narrator, therefore, is a thoroughly dislikeable, homophobic, alcoholic, sexist, bigot, with some serious mental issues. Yeah, it’s a biggie and he’s only saved by the fact that his adversary in the story is even worse! What was your favorite thing about writing this story? Believe it or not, I’m not a homophobic, alcoholic, sexist, bigot, but I may have some serious mental issues because I enjoyed pretending to be one while writing it. There may even be a hint of sadomasochism in this work because I’ve revelled in some of the abuse that has been understandably levelled at the main character, even though I’m innocent. Don’t shoot the messenger is the theme here. Please tell us something about this story that is not already in the description? Jeff is dislikeable but not unlikeable. He has some almost redeeming qualities which the reader would not be aware of if he wasn’t the narrator. There’s a well-worn cliché that may apply. You can’t judge a book by its cover. A Night at the Opera Description: Georgie’s younger brother Simon turns up with some friends to celebrate his seventeenth birthday, but the next morning, a monumental hangover and an unexpected discovery threaten to cast a shadow over their close family bond. What gave you the idea for this story? I wanted to write a short story from a different perspective and allow the readers to jump to the wrong conclusion simply by not mentioning things which they take for granted. I can’t say much more. What was your favorite thing about writing this story? Dropping little clues here and there and trying to work them into the story. I like that kind of thing but I didn’t know if it would work until I received some feedback. I think that most people were fooled. Please tell us something about this story that is not already in the description? It’s very tongue in cheek with a little more comedy than I would usually use but it’s an easy read for the unsuspecting.