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Renee Stevens

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  1. Renee Stevens
    I'd like to thank all of the authors who participated in the April Fool's Short Story Contest! There were a lot of great entries and I'm sure it was hard to choose who to vote for. Thank you everyone who voted for your favorite story and a big Thank You to Reader1810 for collecting the votes. Stories will be properly attributed to the correct authors very soon. Congratulations to the winners!!!!
     
     

     
    And in a tie for 2nd place!
     

     
     
     
     
    The first place winner will receive a 6 month premium membership. Sorry all, I have updated this post because when reading over the voting, I missed that another story was tied for 2nd place. The 2nd place winners will receive a 3 month premium membership for either themselves or someone they designate. All winners need to contact me to let me know if they would like their prize and/or would like to give it away to someone else.
     
    And now, time for the big Author Reveal!!!!
    Served Cold
    Puppilull
    Suffer No Fools
    AC Benus
    Downhearted
    Valkyrie
    Outwitted
    J.HunterDunn
    Fool's Gold
    Cole Matthews
    Getting Caught
    jfalkon
    Fool Me Once
    Parker Owens
    Happy Birthday!
    Aditus
    Chasing Jayce
    MacGreg
    The Real Me
    W_L
  2. Renee Stevens
    I hope everyone has had a great week. Before we get into the wrap up, I want to remind everyone that the deadline to get your anthology story to the proof team is TODAY! Don't miss your chance to enter a story in the 2017 Spring Anthology. Another reminder, Invision is discontinuing it's chat service after today and at this time we have no immediate plans to replace it. For the time being, we will be focusing on bug fixes, completing Stories 2.0, as well as development of Stories 2.1 and 2.2. With that being said, lets check out the staff blog posts for this week. (And make sure if you're an author that you check out the Author Blog Opportunities for your chance to be featured in the site blog!)
     
     
     
    You can also check out the updated bug information (as of April 28th) in Myr's updated blog post:
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 *TODAY* 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017  
    Premium Updates:
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Classic Updates:
    A Different Road by Ronyx
     
    Signature Updates:
    Going to the Movies--NaPoWriMo 2017 by aditus
    Slice of Life by Renee Stevens
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W; Book 11 of The Castaway Hotel
     
    Promising Updates:
    Buy One, Get Two and Three... by Caz Pedroso
    Choices by LitLover
    Cozy Contemplations by Headstall
    Drifts by Puppilull; Book 3 of Hot and cold
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    One Hundred and Fifty-Five Sonnets by AC Benus; Book 5 of Verse
    Ripped by craftingmom
    Walls by Carlos Hazday; Book 6 of CJ
  3. Renee Stevens
    Well, April is nearly over and can you believe it's snowing outside! I hope y'all have much warmer weather than we do, but if you don't, why not stay inside with a nice hot drink and try your hand at one of the newest writing prompts! Don't forget to post links to your story in the appropriate thread for a chance to have it featured in the blog.
     

     
    Prompt 574 – Creative
    Tag – List of Words
    Use the following words in a story – an emerald, a concert ticket, a bowl of macaroni and cheese, a torn pair of shorts, a clown wig.
     
    Prompt 575 – Creative
    Tag – Spiders
    You woke up and were running last to work. As you run out the door, you hit the button on your key fob to unlock your car door and stop cold. Your car is covered in spider webs. Turning to run back into your house you see it is also covered in hundreds of webs and there are spiders everywhere you look. What happened?
     

     
    For this week, I decided to feature prompt responses from Prompt #573
     

     
    Drifts by Puppilull
     
    ”How can a kid have so much stuff…”
     
    Joel was wading around in the mess in Mason’s room, trying to attain some sort of order so he could vacuum. He knew this was something Mason really should do himself, but with school and hockey Mason had a full plate. What little time the boy had left, Joel felt he deserved to relax. Especially now that he had a girlfriend. A smile crept over Joel’s face as he thought of the two teenagers, so adorable in their puppy love. As far as he could tell, they were “taking it slow” and seemed content to kiss and make out. But then again, what did he know? He went by his gut, hoping it worked not only on Swedish youngsters but the US variety too. Mason’s dad had talked to his son about being in a relationship, so that was one awkward conversation bullet Joel had dodged. Still, he tried to keep an eye on things, ready to give advice or simply be there for Mason should he need it.
     
     
  4. Renee Stevens
    Well, that's it for another week! Before we get too deep into this week's wrap up, please check out this blog entry from Myr.
    There has been a lot going on at Gay Authors this week. We've been updating the FAQ and there was a recent update to the site that fixed a few of the issues plaguing members including the one that kept the second page of story comments from being read. You can read about the recent fixes here. Also, there's a possible new blog feature if enough authors are interested, so make sure to check out this thread as well. Now, lets look at the other various news blogs.
     
     
     
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017  
    Premium Updates:
    Dreams of a Father by dkstories; Book 2 of Dreams of Humanity *Premium*
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Classic Updates:
    A Different Road by Ronyx
    Harry Potter and the Parliament of Dreams by Myr
     
    Signature Updates:
    A prompt a week by comicfan
    April Musings by Valkyrie
    Going to the Movies--NaPoWriMo 2017 by aditus
    Kiss Of An Angel by Comicality
    Left Without Words by Comicality
    Mine! by Cia
    Poetry Book by Dolores Esteban
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W; Book 11 of The Castaway Hotel
    The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 9 by Comicality; Book 9 of The Secret Life Of Billy Chase
     
    Promising Updates:
    Choices by LitLover
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    Ripped by craftingmom
    Walls by Carlos Hazday; Book 6 of CJ
  5. Renee Stevens

    Writing Prompts #572 & #573

    By Renee Stevens,


    Prompts
    Hope everyone has had a great week so far and is looking forward to the weekend. What better way to start it off than with brand new prompts! If you've been feeling stuck, or maybe just want to do something a little different, maybe one of these prompts will jump start a new idea. A reminder: Prompt responses under 1,000 words must be posted as part of a collection.
     

     
    Prompt 572 – Creative
    Tag – First Line
    What do you mean you are leaving now?
     
    Prompt 573 – Creative
    Tag – Trouble
    Most people seen Tommy and said he was nothing but trouble. You seen Tommy and called him a friend. At least until Tommy brought a world of trouble to your door, begging for help. What do you do?
     

     
    For this week, we're going to look at last weeks response to Prompt #571
     

     
    Mikiesboy - The Notebook
     
    The phone was ringing. I knew it was just a dream. The phone kept on ringing.
     
    An annoying dream it seemed.
     
    I reached for the phone, and in my dream, put it to my ear. “Hello?”
     
    “Den?”
     
    I knew the voice.
  6. Renee Stevens

    Weekly Wrap Up (Apr 9 - Apr 15)

    By Renee Stevens,


    Weekly Wrap Up
    I'm not going to do a huge intro today, instead, let's just take a look at what happened in the various GA News blogs today! Oh.... and.....
     

     
     
    And for those interested, Cia has started a Treasure Hunt in the Games and Humor forum!
    Myr has also updated his Bug blog entry!
     
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017  
    Premium Updates:
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Classic Updates:
    A Different Road by Ronyx
     
    Signature Updates:
    April Musings by Valkyrie
    Dribbles by Cia
    GFD 12: Blood Ties by Comicality; Book 12 of Gone From Daylight
    Mine! by Cia
    Sumeru by Dolores Esteban
    The Best Year by Krista
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W; Book 11 of The Castaway Hotel
     
    Promising Updates:
    Choices by LitLover
    Drifts by Puppilull; Book 3 of Hot and cold
    Going to the Movies--NaPoWriMo 2017 by aditus
    Headstall's Reflections by Headstall
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    Ripped by craftingmom
    The End of the Beginning by albertnothlit
    Walls by Carlos Hazday; Book 6 of CJ
  7. Renee Stevens
    Happy Friday, Y'all!!!!! Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend, I know I am! To help start your weekend off right, it's time for some new prompts. Hopefully one of these great prompts will inspire you, and don't forget to share your responses (at least a link) so that they can possibly be featured next week. Also, as always, remember that prompt responses under 1K have to be posted as part of a collection.
     

     
    Prompt 570 – Creative
    Tag – List of Words
    Use the following words in a story – an obnoxious customer, a computer, a school bus, a sandwich, and a yellow couch.
     
    Prompt 571 – Creative
    Tag – The Notebook
    Your best friend left their notebook over at your house last night. You know they write and keep their life in it. When you spot it, you know you need to call them and let them know you found it. However, curiosity takes over and you begin to read it. You flip through the pages fascinated by what you read until you find something that will permanently alter your relationship. What did you learn?
     

     
    Let's take a look at prompt responses from Prompt #568:
     

     
    Timothy M
     
    “You’ve got to tell me everything!” Maria followed her statement with an excited hug, and I tried to act casual.
    “OK, I’ll tell you about my date with Nelson, but not everything.” I raised my eyebrows at her, and a moment later she burst into giggles.
    “All right, you can keep those details private, but tell me everything else. I told you all about my first romantic date with Tony.”
    “Yes, and I didn’t even ask you.” I rolled my eyes at the memory of how I’d been a good friend and patiently listened to her gush over not only that date, but several others, too.
     

     
    JohnAR
     
    “You’ve got to tell me everything!” was all it took for Bradley to feel how the small wet spot formed around his dickhead on his white boxers grew to palm size. And even non-wolves would be able to smell it now.
    There went his resolution not to react like a scared little pup in front of an upset alpha. It seemed despite his respectable size, Bradley was still a pup.
     
  8. Renee Stevens

    Featured Story: Hypnotic

    By Renee Stevens,


    Featured Stories
    I hope everyone had a great weekend, but now it's time to start off a new week. A great way to start the week is to take a look at a story that can be found on Gay Authors. Today's feature is Hypnotic by Cia. Litlover was nice enough to provide us with this great review. If you haven't already done so, maybe it will inspire you to take a look. If you do, don't forget to leave Cia some comments. Enjoy!
     
     
    Hypnotic
    Cia
     
    Reviewer: Litlover
    Status: Complete
    Word Count: 86,395
     
     
    Hypnotic, by Cia, is one of the first stories I read on GA, and it continues to be one of my all-time favorites. I hope by the end of this review you will be convinced to give this thrilling, if sometimes complicated, love story a chance.
     
    In this third installment of Carthera Takeover Tales, we go back to the world of the Carthera clans, a race of humanoids who share their soul with an animal. They are not shifters, and actually display the traits of their clan animal after mating. Although there are many different types of Carthera, Hypnotic focuses mainly on falcons, jaguars, tigers, and snakes, with a few whales and a couple of polar bears thrown in, just to keep life interesting. One of the things I appreciated about the story is that it’s not the typical “find your mate and live happily ever after” plot. Each character is flawed, and make very human/Carthera mistakes on their paths to finding love and acceptance.
     
    Davis Retic is a snake Carthera and club owner who moonlights as a mercenary for the local falcon clan leader. Davis learned from an early age that life is harsh, and weakness will get you killed. In an effort to protect himself he has built some dauntingly high walls around his heart, which will be tough for anyone to get over. Ellis is a human nurse who works in the local Carthera clinic. His work has made him more educated about the race than most humans, and Dav quickly piques his curiosity and interest.
     
    Dav and Ellis’s first meeting is anything but romantic when Ellis, while suffering from a nasty migraine, throws up on Dav’s expensive shoes.  Even with their shaky start the chemistry between the two men quickly ignites. When Davis tells him they’re mates Ellis is skeptical, but for a chance at happiness he’s willing to throw caution to the wind and give the reclusive man a chance. Unfortunately, the outside world intrudes on the two lovers. Misunderstandings, trust issues, and unfortunate decision-making conspire to destroy the fledgling relationship before it ever has a chance to grow.
     
    Hypnotic is packed with action, drama, angst, an epic battle, and some really hot sex scenes involving fangs, venom, and a wickedly nimble forked tongue. To this day, Dav is one of my favorite fictional characters. He’s far from perfect and makes mistakes, some of which had me cursing, but there’s something about the flawed man that keeps you rooting for him, and Ellis, right to the end. If you give Hypnotic a chance I can guarantee you won’t be bored as you delve into this intriguing, and occasionally dark, world. 
     
    Category: Fiction   Genres: Fantasy, Romance   Tags: Disability, Were-creatures, Adult, Modern   Rating: Mature
  9. Renee Stevens
    Well, it's here! Barbed Wire Cowboy (formerly known as Studly Ranch Hands) is now available in eBook! It has been re-edited, new scenes have been added, and there has been a bit of tweaking here and there. Here in the next couple of weeks, Barbed Wire Cowboy will also be available in paperback. If you want to be kept up to date, make sure to visit my website, friend me on facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Google+. I'll also be doing giveaways soon, so keep an eye on my site and facebook! 
     
     
    Barbed Wire Cowboy
    Length: 85,000 Words
    Cover Artist: Mann Ramblings
     
     

     
    Available Now
    Amazon
    Smashwords
     
    Blurb:
     
    After having been kicked off the family ranch by his father, Marc Poulson has made a new home for himself as the foreman of the Double R Ranch. His fellow ranch hands are his family, but he’s still not complete without Casey Morgan, his counterpart at the neighboring Del Rio Ranch. In the middle of a feud with his one-time best friend, Marc struggles to understand why Casey would rather take a swing at him than talk to him. He wants to put the past behind them and rebuild what they once had and make their relationship stronger than ever, but Casey is having none of it.
     
    Casey has his own demons to deal with, and Marc serves as a reminder to things he’d rather forget. Casey can’t see beyond the past and continues to make mistakes that put both him and Marc in harms way. After one close call too many, Casey must decide whether his past is more important than his future, or if he can live with Marc walking out of his life—possibly forever.
     
    Excerpt:
     
    “EARTH TO Marc, come in, Marc.” Rick made a show of waving his hand in front of Marc’s face. He waited until he had Marc’s attention. “Did you hear anything I said?”

    “Sorry.” Marc glanced at him, but the lure of Casey Morgan was too strong to ignore. He returned his gaze to linger on the blond who had walked through the doors of the bar a moment earlier. “I was distracted.” Half of the bar separated them, but he knew from experience that the chances of avoiding a confrontation were slim to nil.

    “Obviously.” Their companion, and coworker, Jason snickered.

    “What is it with you and him?” Rick’s gaze danced between the two men. “You two can’t be in the same room together without going for the jugular.”

    “It has nothing to do with you.” Marc didn’t want to get into it and was desperate to stop the barrage of questions before they could start. “You concentrate on yourself and let me handle my own problems.”

    Marc tracked Casey’s progress through the bar until he sat at a table with two of the hired hands from the Del Rio Ranch. As the foreman for the Del Rio, Casey was the direct counterpart of Marc’s position at the Double R. The owners of the two ranches were close friends, and up until a few months earlier, so were Casey and Marc. It was amazing how one thing could cause friends to become bitter enemies, and it was nothing more than a misunderstanding.

    “We lost him again.” Jason needed to wipe the smirk off his face.

    “Knock it off.” Marc forced his attention away from Casey and back to Rick and Jason. “What were you asking?”

    “Never mind.” Rick shook his head. “Since we have tomorrow off it can wait until Monday. No sense in talking ranch work if we don’t have to.”

    “Sounds good to me.” Jason finished off the beer in front of him.

    Marc swallowed the last of his own drink and headed toward the bar for the next round. Despite being the sole bar in town, it wasn’t busy, and within a couple of minutes he was turning to head back to his table with three fresh beers. As he turned, his shoulder brushed against a newcomer, and Marc turned to apologize, but the words stuck in his throat when he found himself face-to-face with Casey. If he’d realized Casey had the same idea, he would have stayed in his seat and let one of the other two go.

    “Poulson.” Casey’s greeting dripped with hostility.

    “Morgan.” Fuck the apology. Marc pushed past him but stopped when Casey mumbled something under his breath. His entire body went stiff, and he struggled to breathe through the anger. He should have ignored it and walked away, but it built inside him until he was seething with every breath he took. “What the hell did you say to me?”

    “You heard me.” Casey leaned against the bar and tried to stare him down.

    “That’s bullshit and you know it.” Marc took a determined step forward. He had a couple of inches on his former friend and wasn’t above trying to intimidate him. Not anymore.

    “It’s not bullshit if it’s the truth.” Instead of backing down, Casey straightened up, anger flashing in his eyes.

    “I’ve had it with this crap.” Marc clenched his jaw. He’d tried to keep his cool, but if Casey was itching for a fight that bad, Marc was ready and willing to oblige. He ignored the little voice in his head telling him it was a bad idea. Marc plunked the bottles he was holding onto the bar, flexed his hands at his side, and waited. He wouldn’t throw the first punch, but if Casey did, he wouldn’t walk away. “I wasn’t the only one there, and you damn well know it.”

    “You may as well have been.” Casey sneered and grabbed the beer the bartender set down. He tried to shoulder his way past, but Marc refused to move.

    Marc reached out and grabbed ahold of Casey’s arm to keep him there. “Oh, I don’t know about that. When are you going to admit you liked it?”  

    With a wrench of his arm he whirled Casey back around. The bottle clutched in Casey’s grasp slipped free, shattering on the floor, and beer splashed up onto their boots. Their gazes collided, and Marc could see the fury simmering in Casey’s eyes. Determined to use his height advantage, he took a step forward until there were a mere couple of inches separating them, forcing Casey to look up to meet his eyes. When Marc didn’t release his hold on him, Casey knocked his hand away.

    “Don’t.” As cliched as it sounded, if looks could kill, Marc would drop dead on the spot. “You have no fucking right to touch me.”

    “Like this?” Marc reached out with one hand and shoved Casey’s shoulder.

    “Bastard,” Casey replied.

    “Point being?” Marc repeated his earlier action, this time putting enough force behind it to cause the infuriating man to stagger into the table behind him.

    “Go to hell.” Casey growled and turned toward his table.

    “I’ll meet you there.” Marc laughed and moved to grab the beers from the bar. He heard one of the Del Rio hands yell and turned a second too late. Casey’s fist connected with his jaw and sent him stumbling back into the bar.

    “Fucker!” Marc launched himself toward Casey and placed a couple of well-aimed blows to Casey’s stomach and ribs. It didn’t bring near the satisfaction he’d expected. Instead, regret trickled through him and was enough to throw off his concentration. Casey didn’t hesitate to take advantage, but Marc managed to deflect the blow with his shoulder. He grunted in pain as the next one connected with his ribs. Thank god Casey hadn’t managed to land a shot to his liver. That would have had him writhing in agony.

    Shelving his feelings of remorse to study later, Marc shoved Casey hard enough to send him careening into a nearby chair. Taking advantage of gaining the upper hand, he pressed on and within moments Marc was rolling on the floor with Casey as they each tried to gain domination over the other. Marc managed to land a few more punches, but then someone grabbed his arms and pulled him away. His entire body hurt, but he ignored the pain and struggled to get free.

    “Fuckers. Let me go.” The more he fought, the tighter he was held. Despite his attempts, Marc was no match for the men intent on dragging him away. Through the haze of anger he saw two men pull Casey to his feet and resumed his struggles, but there was no freeing himself.

    The adrenaline drained out of him, and, as his vision cleared, he recognized the two men holding Casey back as the two hired hands from the Del Rio Ranch. He turned his head to see who had him and met Rick’s gaze. A groan slithered from his throat as he looked on his other side and found Jason regarding him as if he was a snake about to strike.

    “You can let me go now.” Marc tried to jerk his arms free.

    “Sorry, boss man, can’t do that.” Rick’s grip tightened to the point Marc was sure he’d have bruises. On top of the ones he’d have from Casey.

    “You’ll fucking pay for this.” Casey struggled against the two men holding him, blood flowing unimpeded from his nose.

    Marc glanced at his hands and winced at the blood coating his split knuckles. With his quarry now out of his reach, he allowed Rick and Jason to lead him toward the exit. He couldn’t believe he’d been goaded into yet another fight. Though, if he was honest, he’d egged Casey on as well. Now he had to figure out how he was going to explain the night’s events to his boss, once word got around, and it would. That should be fun. Rick and Jason almost had him to the door when it opened and revealed the lean body of the sheriff blocking their escape.
     
    Author Bio:
     
    Renee Stevens first started writing in her teens but didn’t get serious about being an author until her mid-twenties. Since then she’s written a number of contemporary stories, as well as delved into the paranormal. When not writing, or spending time in the outdoors, Renee can usually be found working on GayAuthors.org in her capacity of Admin, Blog Coordinator, and Anthology Coordinator.

    Renee resides in Wyoming with her wonderfully supportive husband and a menagerie of four-legged critters. Making the most of the nearly constant negative temperatures and mounds of snow, Renee spends much of the winter months in hibernation with her laptop, the voices in her head keeping her company while her husband works.

    When she needs a break from writing, Renee takes to the sewing machine to design, and make, beautiful quilts. When the snow finally disappears, usually around May or June, Renee can be found in the great-outdoors. She spends her time on the mountain, at the lake, and just anywhere that she can do some camping, take some photos, and ride the four-wheelers with her hubby. Once back at home, it’s back to writing.

    Website * Facebook * Twitter * Google+
     
     
     
     
  10. Renee Stevens

    Weekly Wrap Up (Apr 2 - Apr 8)

    By Renee Stevens,


    Weekly Wrap Up
    Are you ready for a new week? Before that happens, let's end the week with a look back at what happened this week in the various GA news blogs.
     
     
     
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017  
    Premium Updates:
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Classic Updates:
    A Different Road by Ronyx
    War by Ronyx
     
    Signature Updates:
    April Musings by Valkyrie
    Mine! by Cia
    Sumeru by Dolores Esteban
    Switched On by Comicality
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W; Book 11 of The Castaway Hotel
     
    Promising Updates:
    Buy One, Get Two and Three... by Caz Pedroso
    Choices by LitLover
    Drifts by Puppilull; Book 3 of Hot and cold
    Going to the Movies--NaPoWriMo 2017 by aditus
    Headstall's Reflections by Headstall
    hic sunt dracones by AC Benus
    Innocent Sacrifice by Sasha Distan; Book 8 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    Ripped by craftingmom
    Walls by Carlos Hazday; Book 6 of CJ
  11. Renee Stevens

    April Fools Guess Who!

    By Renee Stevens,


    Fun Stuff
    Have you been inwardly guessing which April Fools Contest entries were written by which author. With the voting for the contest over, it's time for the GA members to try and guess who wrote what! The "reveal" will occur on April 1st, so try and get your guesses in before then. The only prize for this game is bragging rights, if you guess more right then anyone else. Remember, only one story was allowed per author.
     
    Author List
    MacGreg
    Puppilull
    W_L
    Valkyrie
    Parker Owens
    Aditus
    jfalkon
    J.HunterDunn
    Cole Matthews
    AC Benus
     
     
    Story List
    Happy Birthday!
    Outwitted
    Served Cold
    Fool's Gold
    Suffer No Fools
    Fool Me Once
    The Real Me
    Getting Caught
    Downhearted
    Chasing Jayce
     
    Happy Guessing!!!!!
  12. Renee Stevens
    Hope everyone had a great week this week. It's been a very busy week here at Gay Authors and we even had the April Fool's Short Story Contest author reveal! There's still some bug hunting going on with the new site, so please be patient. If you think you've found a bug, make sure to check out the blog and the forum to make sure it isn't something that has already been answered. The blog has the most recent fixes as of April 1st. Now, let's take a look at what happened in the various GA news blogs this past week.
     
     
     
    Some of you might be wondering about the stats for the April Fool's author Guess Who. Well, you can thank our "Secret Nerd" for compiling all the statistics for us!
     
     
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017  
    Promoted Author Story Updates
    *Please note that I had some issues compiling the recent update list. Hopefully the below list is correct, but for the time being, I am not including the book number and series information)
     
    Premium Updates:
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Signature Updates:
    Mine! by Cia
    Sumeru by Dolores Esteban
    A prompt a week by comicfan
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W
     
    Promising Updates:
    One Hundred and Fifty-Five Sonnets by AC Benus
    How To Be Gay Without Ever Being Gay by CarringtonRJ
    Buy One, Get Two and Three... by Caz Pedroso
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    Prompts 2017 by Caz Pedroso
    My Wife Tells Everyone I'm Gay by Carringtonrj
    Walls by Carlos Hazday
     
     
  13. Renee Stevens
    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. Hopefully you'll find something in this weeks prompts to spark an idea and get you writing!
     

    Prompt 568 - Creative
    Tag – First line
    You’ve got to tell me everything!
     
    Prompt 569 – Creative
    Tag – The Garden
    The winter snow is covering the ground in thick dirty layers. It seems everywhere you go people are waiting for the snow to melt and spring to arrive. As you walk through the woods near your house, you slip on the ice, roll down an embankment and into the garden of your neighbor. No matter which way you turn you see beautiful flowers, thick grass, and butterflies. How can this be?
     
     
    We had three takers for Prompt 566
     
     
    Caz Pedroso
     
    I sit here, on the porch, thinking, thinking.
    Floating on the breeze I can hear our song…
     
     
    Hudson Bartholomew
     
    “Cup of coffee, please?” Cam reached into his battered knapsack to pull out his wallet.
    “Sure. How do you like it?” The guy behind the bodega counter was about as typical a New Yorker as he could get. Big guy with a tattoo sleeve on one arm, scruffy face under a Mets baseball cap, and an accent so thick it took Cam’s brain a second to translate.
    “Just black. Thanks.”
     
     
    Comicfan
     
    Tony had gotten up before the sun had even risen. It was the first day of his vacation and he didn’t want to waste it.
    He tossed a change of clothes into his old knapsack and figured he would hike across the city, maybe climb some of the hills overlooking the water. He wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to do yet. He slipped on his hiking boots, slipped his keys and wallet into his knapsack, and marched out of the house.
    The early morning fog clung to him like a damp second skin. He was determined that the weather wouldn’t stop him.
     
     
  14. Renee Stevens

    New Author Advice #3

    By Renee Stevens,


    Writing Tips
    Hey All! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. Today we're going to look at a writing tip provided to me by Cole Matthews. Cole has put together a bit of a primer on a way to build character. As he told me, it's something that he's always reminding himself of and he was hoping that by sharing his thoughts that it would help other authors out as well. Thank you, Cole!  If you have any advice that you would like to share with the GA authors, send me a PM!
     
    Builds Character
    Cole Matthews
     
    So, you’ve got an idea.  You even have the beginnings of a main character and a hilarious best friend/sidekick.  You have started writing about how your protagonist feels about things and views the world.  You are kicking into high gear and then you hit your first speed bump.
     
    Your character is alone in the world. 
     
    The point of your story is to convey how a young gay man navigates the difficult shoals of a changing world and a kaleidoscopic life.  Yet, you are stymied by these details, and creating the annoying back story.  For example, you need a difficult past, a troubled childhood, parents who don’t understand him, and a hostile environment.  Right?  This is what we must get past in order to discover the many crannies and crevices of our character’s deep personal history.
     
    Quickly, almost without effort, you create a distant, absent family, no room for siblings or cousins or even grandparents.  You have a best friend/sidekick who gets your character, but haven’t taken the time to flesh out the rest of his world.  You cobble together the most likely antagonist to act as a foil for your intrepid main character.  Obviously, she/he’s a bully who hates/scorns/ignores gay people as a matter of course.  You invent the perfect love interest, and now your novel is practically writing itself.
     
    Done. 
     
    Well, not really well done, but you get the picture.  Consider this, we are not just the internal aspects of our being.  Human beings are a myriad of roles juxtaposed against a series of situations.  Everyday.  Several times a day.  Unless we’ve sailed alone into the sunset or moved to a remote cabin in the woods and are writing our manifesto on an antique Underwood typewriter on hand-made paper created from soaking woodchips in spring water and pressing the pulp into sheets and drying on racks in the sun, we interact with others and these actions define us. 
     
    You get the picture, or at least my first stab at it.
     
    Look at your day.  You get up and pour a bowl of cereal.  Your roommate is already eating his toaster treats and looking at his phone.  He’s bleary-eyed from last night’s late night at the bar.  He’s grumpy and you’re sick of hearing about his stupid love life which he is screwing up because he can’t commit to the love of his life. 
     
    You are a good roommate though so you chat and say goodbye because, well, that’s what roommates do.
     
    You check your phone on the way to work.  It’s your mother.  She left a message about your sister’s birthday party.  Your sister’s lazy, good-for-nothing, boyfriend is planning it, but needs help finding a cake.  Apparently, he’s too stoned to Google a bakery or find a grocery store or buy a stupid ice cream cake at the local Dairy Princess.  Regardless, you call your mother back and tell her you’ll help.  After all, you’re a good son and an even better brother. 
     
    When you get to work, your boss has sent you a nasty email about performance.  Instead of finishing that boring market research project, you blew it off.  You get cracking at it right away.  You’re a good employee, generally, so you work diligently at it. 
     
    In the meantime, your co-worker stops by to complain about the way her boss is treating her.  You listen and nod and speak encouragingly about how things will get better.  Let’s face it, you’re a team player and you really want to help make her feel better. 
     
    You look up at the clock when she leaves your cubicle, and it’s 10:30 am already.  Today you’re meeting your best friend for lunch so he can talk about his upcoming wedding to that girl you set him up with.  You’ve known Stephen for ten years now and he’s so happy you can hear the enthusiasm in his voice in your memory.  You’re thrilled he’s found someone.  If only… [End scene].
     
    Note, I haven’t talked about how he feels about things, how the light from the morning sun glinted off the windshield of his car and blinded him revealing his empty life, or even about how he feels like a cog in this immense machine which we call the world.  Nope.  I used the ensemble cast of his life to build character.  We know him through his roles and his relationships with others. 
     
    This is one way to build character, through the actions and interactions with other people.  Think of all we know about him without any descriptions whatsoever.  He thinks of himself as a good person who tries hard to fulfill expectations others may have.  He works hard and tries to be a nice person.  He’s operating by rote for the most part.  His life is empty, but that’s by implication.  You feel some empathy for him because you have experienced days, and episodes, like his.
     
    Instead of stock-in-trade characters who become static furniture to your main character, these characters have motivations, hopes, fears, and dreams of their own.  None of them are paper dolls with premade, tabbed clothing to press over their two-dimensional bodies.  In fact, this makes your main character even more complex and richer because he’s showing character while dealing with their issues. 
     
    Take care to consider your cast and the richer their stories are, the richer your main character is.  Does he snap at another co-worker, his rival, which begins a conflict neither can control?  Is this how his antagonist comes into being?  Be creative and think deeply.  Not every antagonist is a homophobic, religious fanatic with sadistic tendencies.  In fact, most aren’t. 
     
    Developing a well-rounded antagonist is just as important as creating the supporting cast.  In fact, a good foil can make Protagony look even better.  Our guy, Protagony, and the other guy, Antagony, are bucking for the same promotion.  They don’t get along, at all.  Antagony is a jerk who cheats on his girlfriend with his wife. [Yes, I love the cheating inversion for effect.]  However, he is good at his job.  He loves his two kids.  His mother has cancer, which she is fighting and winning.  Antagony runs in marathons to support this cause.  That’s not all.
     
    He stole our main character’s idea for a new promotional idea and is passing it off as his own.  Protagony needs to figure out how to prove it’s his baby.  The problem is, Antagony is really good looking and everyone likes him.  In fact, Protagony hates him in part because he’s so attracted to him.  He tries to hate him, fails, and then remembers about the stolen idea, and writhes in frustration. 
     
    The truly memorable and interesting antagonists are complete human beings.  When their humanity is compared to their monstrous actions, we are intrigued.  How can Antagony live with himself after stealing his co-worker’s idea?  Doesn’t his cheating nature show what a horrible person he is, or is there something else there?  Let’s explore.
     
    Antagony’s wife cheated on him, but doesn’t want a divorce.  He tried to make the marriage work, but she’s cold and distant.  Their marriage is a farce kept alive by the children. 
     
    Antagony has his work and that’s all that seems to be working in his life.  His mother is sick.  His kids are having trouble in school due to the family issues they don’t even understand.  The idea he stole will give him a much-needed promotion, and even more importantly, a boost of self-confidence in his life.  He’s even persuaded himself he really did come up with the idea.
     
    He’s convinced himself that Protagony tried to steal it from him.  The rat bastard. 
     
    This makes both characters more interesting and gives them motivations, perspectives, and even character traits which will color and flavor their interactions. 
     
    To summarize:
    Build a better main character by using the supporting cast and antagonist to flesh him out.  Give them back stories which align with the main character. Let them have motivations and their own tales.  Don’t be afraid to sprinkle both good and bad traits since we don’t know people with all good or even all bad tendencies.  Craft the story using these other characters to help, hinder, advise, trip, and otherwise baffle or enlighten the main character.  Don’t be afraid of using an antagonist to refine your character and challenge, but make them whole and not cookie cutter.  Using characters to fill up your main character will make a more interesting and richer storyline. 
     
    That’s my advice to new writers and to myself as well.  Trust me, I have to remind myself about this all the time.  It’s another device to consider using. 
  15. Renee Stevens
    It has been a very busy week here at Gay Authors. While the site upgrade has been completed, the staff is still working on all the little bugs that can happen with such a major switch. Please be patient, and if you find what you believe to be a bug, PLEASE check to see if it's already been reported and answered. We have a bug report thread specifically for reporting bugs. Some questions are being asked repeatedly and the staff is doing their best to answer, so help us by checking to see if your question has already been answered. The new forum software has some great new options, but with the good comes the bad. Please remember that some of the options that were in the old software are not available/possible in the new software and these things are not something that Gay Authors can change.
     
    Here's a couple of the most asked questions and their answer.
     
    Q: Can you please restore the ability to delete notifications.
    A: No. While the old software allowed this ability, the new software does not. That aspect of the notification is not something we control and we cannot change it.
     
    Q: When I try to change notification settings, the option is grayed out and says "The administrator has disabled this option from being toggled."
    A: It is something that we are aware of, but unfortunately it is not something we have been able to fix at this time.
     
    Q: My list of friends has disappeared.
    A: "Friends" has been replaced with "Followers". To add a member to your list of people you follow, simply go to their profile and click the "Follow Member" button next to the member's name.
     
    These are just a few of the questions that we keep getting. We know that there are a lot of questions with the new system, but once again, please read through the bug thread to see if your question has already been answered. Also, when reporting what you think is a bug, please include the following information so that we can try to replicate the problem:
     
    What area of the site were you using (Stories, Forum, Blogs, Gallery, etc)?
    Specifically what were you attempting to do (post a topic, edit a story, etc)?
    Tell us if you succeeded, if you succeeded with an error, or if the result was not what you expected.
    Tell us if the error is repeatable - did you try again, and did it work?
     
    Provide links if you have them: Please link to the story, forum topic, or specific post if you can.
    Please provide a screenshot if you have one, by attaching it using the image button in the toolbar.
     
    We also need some information about your system:
    - Your hardware platform (Mac, PC, iPad, Surface, iPhone, Android, etc)
    - Your operating system, including the version number if you know it (Mac, WIndows, Linux, IOS, Android, etc)
    - Your browser and version (Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc)
    - Did you have any ad-blocking software or pop-up blocker running, and was it active at the time?
     
    Now, let's take a look at what happened this week in the various GA News Blogs!
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017  
    Premium Updates:
    Dreams of a Father by dkstories; Book 2 of Dreams of Humanity *Premium*
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Signature Updates:
    Dribbles by Cia
    Fanfic by Comicality; Book 0 of Fanfic
    Lame Duck by Cynus
    Mine! by Cia
    Sumeru by Dolores Esteban
    The Best Year by Krista
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W; Book 11 of The Castaway Hotel
     
    Promising Updates:
    A Man in a Room, and other poems by AC Benus; Book 6 of Verse
    Buy One, Get Two and Three... by Caz Pedroso
    Innocent Sacrifice by Sasha Distan; Book 8 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    Prompts 2017 by Caz Pedroso; Book 4 of Prompt's
    Ripped by craftingmom
    Walls by Carlos Hazday; Book 6 of CJ
     
  16. Renee Stevens
    Sorry all, I know that we missed out on the February discussion day for the current anthology. Before we get started, a quick reminder that the deadline to get your votes in for the April Fool's Short Story Contest is 2:00 PM EST TODAY. The themes for the Spring anthology are Jagged Edges and Unintended Consequences and the deadline to get your story to the Anthology Proof Team is April 30th. So, let's get this discussion started! Feel free to answer any of the questions, all of the questions, and/or ask your own!
     

     
     
     
     
    Are you planning on participating in the 2017 Spring Anthology?
     
    Which of the two themes are you thinking about using?
     
    Have you started writing your anthology? If so, how far along are you?
     
    If you haven't already started, do you have an idea of what you want to write?
     
    Do you have your anthology planned out?
     
    Do you work from an outline or just write as you go?
     
    If you've already started, would you like to share anything about your story?
     
    If you've already submitted your story, are you planning a second story?
  17. Renee Stevens
    It's time!!! For everyone that has been waiting, we've got 10 brand new stories for you to take a look at. After you've read all the stories, make sure to vote for your favorite. The winners will be announced on April 1st, 2017. The top three stories will receive not only the recognition, but the following prizes:
     


    1st Place



    6 month Premium access


     

    2nd Place



    3 month Premium access


     

    3rd Place



    1 Month Premium access


     

    Reminder
     
    Authors and editing/beta teams are prohibited from revealing the author behind each story. Revealing the authors' identity will disqualify the story in question.
     
    Voting Procedure
     
    We are going with a blind vote for this contest. Neither the voter, nor the staff member collecting the votes will know which author wrote which story. All stories have been posted under the author name of Anonymous Jester. The only site member/staff that knows the identity of each story's author is Renee Stevens. Reader1810 has willingly volunteered to collect votes. After you've read all 10 stories, PM the story name you'd like to vote for to Reader and use the subject April Fools Vote.
     
    Members get to vote for one story. Please wait to vote for your choice until you have read all the stories and are certain as to which story you'd like to vote for.
     
    Voting will conclude at 2:00 PM EST on March 25th, 2017. No votes will be accepted after that time.
     
    Now, onto the stories!
     




     
     
     


    Chasing Jayce

     


    Downhearted

     


    Fool Me Once

     


    Fool's Gold

     


    Getting Caught

     


    Happy Birthday!

     


    Outwitted

     


    Served Cold

     


    Suffer No Fools

     


    The Real Me

     

    Happy voting, and just a reminder, ALL votes should be sent to Reader1810.
  18. Renee Stevens
    And the prompts are BACK! With all the site upgrade stuff going on last week, we didn't do any prompts, but this week we're back on schedule and it's time for a couple new prompts from the prompt guru Comicfan. Just remember that to post in GA Stories, prompt responses under 1,000 words have to be posted as part of a collection. And don't forget to share a link to your prompt response in the appropriate forum thread so that it just might appear in next week's blog post.
     
     
     
    Prompt 566 – Creative
    Tag – List of words
    Use the following words in a story – broken watch, boardwalk, heavy rain, knapsack, and a cup of coffee.
    Prompt 567 – Creative
    Tag – Fire
    The night started out  calm and peaceful. You had just finished dinner and were curling up on the couch ready to watch some TV when a bright red glow caught your eye. Turning to look out the window you see your neighbors house engulfed in flames. Rushing outside you find nearly all the houses on the block burning, including the house next door. What do you?
     
     
    I don't see any prompt responses posted in the thread for Prompts 564 or 565, so here's your chance to share your own past prompt responses.
  19. Renee Stevens
    Hey y'all! Hope everyone is having a great end of the week. While we didn't have the regular site blog features, this past week was a very busy one here at Gay Authors. On Friday, the site was upgraded to the current forum software, and we also upgrade to Stories 2.0. As with any major site change, there are bugs to be found and fixed and we are working on getting the kinks smoothed out. If you find what you believe to be a bug, share it with us in the Bug Collection thread. Prior to posting, please check the other posts in the thread, as well as the Site Upgraded Blog Post that is pinned on the main forum page. The blog post includes a list of many of the bugs that we are working on.
     
    The biggest thing we ask right now is to please be patient as we work to get everything running smoothly. We know that change can be difficult and we are doing our best to get everything back in working order. Now is a great time to explore the site and the new features that are available with the upgrade.
     
     
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017  
    Premium Updates:
    Dreams of a Father by dkstories; Book 2 of Dreams of Humanity *Premium*
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Classic Updates:
    The Sky Full of Stars (an HP story) by Myr
     
    Signature Updates:
    Mine! by Cia
    Sumeru by Dolores Esteban
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W; Book 11 of The Castaway Hotel
    Veil of Shadow by Stellar; Book 2 of Aspects of Dawn
     
    Promising Updates:
    Buy One, Get Two and Three... by Caz Pedroso
    Cadet by Sasha Distan
    Confide/ant by Sasha Distan
    How I Met Him Here by carringtonrj
    Innocent Sacrifice by Sasha Distan; Book 8 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    Ripped by craftingmom
    The Gay Experience by AC Benus
    Walls by Carlos Hazday; Book 6 of CJ
     
    *Note* As the story update list was compiled later Sunday, if you posted a chapter on Sunday prior to the list compile, your story posting may not appear.
     
  20. Renee Stevens
    Oops! Sorry guys, the weekly wrap up went up before I finished it. Now, a couple of quick things before we get to this week's wrap up. During the next week, there's going to be a lot going on behind the scenes, and all of our regular site blog posts are going to be suspended until after the site upgrade. This will leave multiple opportunities for us to share information if necessary.
     
    On another front, the April Fool's Day Short Story Contest is now available for you to read. Don't forget to read them all and get your vote in to Reader1810 by the 25th. You can see a list of all the stories in yesterday's blog.
     
    March C S R Feature: Crave By Litlover
    This month's CSR book is Crave by Litlover. It's a novel length story, so get to reading soon so that you will be ready for the discussion day on March 27th.
     
    Site Software Update Coming Soon
    We've already touched on this a bit up above, but Myr joined us on Tuesday to let us know when the site upgrade will be happening and what you can expect during that time. Please read this so that you aren't surprised and remember that the next couple of weeks is going to be hectic and patience will get you further than demands.
     
    Author Promo: Valkyrie
    We did an author promo for Valkyrie this week where she chose three of her stories and shared some insight on how they came to be, what she liked about writing them, and something about the story that can't be garnered by reading the description. Check it out, and if you'd like to see some of your GA stories featured in a future promo, send me a PM.
     
    Prompts #564 & #565
    If you need a little inspiration to get to writing, then you should check out the two new prompts. Don't forget to share your prompt responses in the appropriate thread so that it might just be featured with next week's prompts!
     
    Anthology Announcements:
     
    ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team
    2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 30th, 2017 2017 Fall Anthology: The Fall Out / Secret Spaces - Due November 15th, 2017

    Premium Updates:
    Dreams of a Father by dkstories; Book 2 of Dreams of Humanity *Premium*
    Negative Splits by Cia *Premium*
     
    Signature Updates:
    Mental Games by Bill W
    Mine! by Cia
    Promptings from Valhalla by Valkyrie
    Sumeru by Dolores Esteban
    The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 2 by Bill W; Book 11 of The Castaway Hotel
     
    Promising Updates:
    Buy One, Get Two and Three... by Caz Pedroso
    Confide/ant by Sasha Distan
    Eternal Life, Limited by aditus
    Give Me Back My Prompts by Sasha Distan; Book 4 of GA Prompts
    Here Kitty, Kitty by Caz Pedroso
    Innocent Sacrifice by Sasha Distan; Book 8 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories
    Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall
    Ripped by craftingmom
    Short Rides by Carlos Hazday
    Walls by Carlos Hazday; Book 6 of CJ
  21. Renee Stevens
    Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week and is ready for the weekend. To help start your weekend off on the right foot, we have a couple of new prompts for you. Don't forget that prompt responses under 1,000 words can be posted in GA Stories as long as they are part of a collection. And also, remember to share your prompt responses in the appropriate forum thread so that we can possibly share them next week!
     

     
    Prompt 564 – Creative
    Tag – List of Words
    Use the following words in a story – a dress, a sewing machine, a basement, a radio, and a rose.
     
    Prompt 565 – Creative
    Tag – Meeting
    For weeks you’ve been talking to someone online. Tonight you plan to meet for the first time. What is your date like?
     

     
    We had one taker for Prompt #563:
     

     
    Oh, God! What should I do? by Timothy M
     
    “Oh, God! What should I do?"
     
    “Calm down, Tobias. It’s no big deal,” Mitch said.
     
    “But she’s real pretty and clever and…and there’s no way she’d want to go on a date with me!”
     
    Rob face-palmed himself while Jasper chuckled and Mitch sniggered. The four teens were in the showers after baseball practice, with Mitch and Tobias facing him and the redhead.
  22. Renee Stevens
    Sorry for the lateness of the prompts today. I completely spaced that it was prompt day and then a lot of things happened that kept me from posting them earlier (including forgetting to hit publish earlier). So here they are, and just remember, prompt responses can be posted in GA Stories, but if they are under 1,000 words, they have to be posted as part of a collection. Happy Writing!!!
     

     
    Prompt 562 – Creative
    Tag – The Children
    You thought you had your life all figured out. Then your best friend and his partner were killed in a plane crash. You get the call in the middle of the night, asking you to pick up the children. It seems they named you guardian of the kids. What do you do?
     
    Prompt 563 – Creative
    Tag – First Line
    Oh, God! What should I do?
     

     
    We had no responses to last week's prompts shared in the forum, so feel free to share any of your past prompt responses! Don't forget to share your responses to this week's prompts in the forum threads!
  23. Renee Stevens

    Featured Story: Prophylaxis

    By Renee Stevens,


    Featured Stories
    Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you. I'm back! A huge thank you to everyone who helped cover the blog while I was gone. I hope everyone had a wonderful week and that you're ready to forge ahead into a new one. To start off our week, Timothy M. has brought us a review of Prophylaxis by Rambling Robin. Let's see what Tim has to say, shall we?
     



    Prophylaxis


    by




    Rambling Robin


    Author


     
     
     
    Reviewer: Timothy M.
    Status: In Process
     

    Do you like supernatural stories with beings with different abilities ? (a la Cia and SashaDistan)
     
    Can you accept threesomes and sex as recreation / healing ? (a la Cazpedroso and Mark Arbour)
     
    Are you able to stomach cruelty and violence, but told with compassion ? (a la Nephylim, craftingmom and InTheMindOfSunshine)
     
    Will you be OK with occasionally tearing your hair out, shouting ‘NoNoNo’ at the main character, and swearing at the author ? (a la aditus and jwolf)
     
    If so, you may like Prophylaxis by Rambling Robin. It’s still in progress, so I have no idea where it’ll end, but at least the author is posting chapters again after a long pause. Apart from the qualities listed above, the story may be described as full of secrets and plot twists, sad and scary memories, the worst villain I’ve met on GA, but also some seriously sexy and huggable guys.
     
    One of the things which hooked me right away was how we got thrown into the middle of a tense situation together with Mick Williams (as Nate calls himself on assignment). From hearing his thoughts and seeing the reactions of him and the people around him, we slowly build an understanding of who he is and what he can do. As the story unfolds, the multiple consequences of Mick’s empathy skills become clear.
     
    Further enjoyable traits are the snarky humor and the sarcastic comments, both internal and out loud. Nate has a way with understatements which leave me chuckling and serve to release tension most of the time. A couple of my favorites are:
     
    I liked my guts on my inside, not hanging from the light fixtures, thank you very much.
    “Nope, I'm just really good at being an idiot.” I said dryly. “I even practice in front of a mirror sometimes.”
     
    Another fun surprise is Nate’s normal job, but when he explains why, it makes a lot of sense. It gets even better when we learn how some of his ‘clients’ find him online, unexpected yet weirdly logical at the same time. I won’t spoil it by telling you more, but so far it’s one of my favorite scenes – together with the clean restaurant date, the compulsive cuddle, and the garden fight. Nate is a complex person with lots of issues and behavior which occasionally makes me cringe with discomfort. Yet I cannot help caring about him and wishing the best for Nate.
     
    I hope I haven’t scared you off, and I want to repeat that you must be open-minded about sexual stuff. This is a story where many of the characters are non-human, and their morals and customs are very different from what’s acceptable in our religion-based culture. Due to his past, Nate fits well into the hidden supernatural culture, including the sad but understandable fact he doesn’t date or want a boyfriend. But he does enjoy sex…a lot. His explanation: ‘Empaths are easy.’
     
    Go read and find out more, if you dare.
     


    Category: Fiction Genres: Fantasy, Romance Tags: Abuse, Psionics, Were-Creatures, Gay, Anal, Violent Rating: Mature


  24. Renee Stevens

    Secret Admirer Special Review

    By Renee Stevens,


    Anthologies
    One year ago, the thirteen stories written for the Secret Admirer Contest posted in time for Valentine’s Day. Like the regular GA Anthologies, the contest let authors try their hand at short stories within a common theme. But in this case readers could vote for the story they liked best - all without knowing who the author was.
     
    After the contest there was a guessing game about who wrote each story. Half the stories were so well disguised no one was able to pinpoint the author. Three stories were distinct enough that the authors (Cole, AC Benus and Thorn Wilde) were recognized by four people each. Perhaps the reviews below will give you the answer why.
     
    The Valentine's Day stories were very different; some made readers cry and others made them laugh. The genres ranged from Romance (naturally) over Drama to Mystery and even Historical. Why not explore or revisit the stories as a prelude to this year’s holiday? There is something for every taste whether you feel happy or sad. Don’t forget to leave a like and comment for the authors so they know how you felt about their stories and as an incentive to keep writing.
    If you're not sure where to start, the reviews below may inspire you to choose a story.
     




    Valentine’s Day 2016

    Secret Admirer Contest
     

     


    Cupid Central


    by



    Aditus



    Reviewer: Timothy M.



    Word count: 3,961


     
    Of all the wonderful Secret Admirer Contest stories last year, this one was probably the most light-hearted and fun. Did you know Cupids have arrows of different colors depending on the situation? Or that missing a shot can have dire consequences, not only for the humans involved, but also the hapless Cupid who bungled the job. The management at Cupid Central assigns punishment for tardiness as well as sloppy jobs, but also rewards good work. If you want to know how, you’ll need to read the story.
     
    I was chuckling most of the time, and I’ve asked Aditus to lend me a couple of his angels to help out in my A.I. story. But most of all, I hope we’ll get more Cupid Central stories, because the concept is delightful, the dialogue is funny, and the characters are vividly portrayed.
     

     


    Jager


    by



    Cole Matthews



    Reviewer: Aditus



    Word Count: 3,332


     
    This is the story of Adam and Glenn, ‘the dynamic duo, in love and in charge for more than forty years, always having each other’s back.’
     
    They share a life of genuine affection and care: from the beginning, when it took great courage to be together as gay men, to overcoming a severe loss, raising their son and having a grandchild. Now that old age has finally caught up with them and joints are stiff, and hips hurt, Glenn fears Adam is slowly losing his sanity. Why else would he talk to people who aren’t there or suddenly drag Jager, the old rocking horse Glenn’s grandparents gave him when he was a kid, from the garage into the house?
     
    They are only ‘two old queens on their last leg in the journey of life. No one is there. They only have each other.’ Right? So, what is Adam doing?
     
    If I had to associate one word with Jager, it would be trust─trust to follow through with the words they might have had promised to each other in the past: to have and to hold/from this day forward/for better, for worse/for richer, for poorer/in sickness and in health/to love and to cherish/till death do us part.
     
    Jager won first place in the Secret Admirer Contest for a reason. Make sure you have tissues ready. And then there is this brilliant twist Cole invented, but you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out what it is.
     

     


    Lupercalia


    by



    Puppilull



    Reviewer: Cia



    Word Count: 7,169


     
    Valentine’s Day usually makes you think of love, sweets, and romantic nights… but Puppilull’s story, Lupercalia, is set in the most unlikely of places for this: a prison. An ancient prison in Rome, actually. The story revolves around a tortured prisoner sentenced to die by the emperor in the annual Lupercalia celebrations. Varius is warned about him, but he can’t see why the prisoner might be a danger to him or any of the other guards.
     
    But as the days leading up to the Lupercalia pass by, Varius finds out more about him, and his reason for being imprisoned, than he likes to know about those condemned to die. Varius questions the dictates of his life and the strictures put upon him as a soldier of the Roman empire, and it’s nearly impossible to accept the prisoner's fate, even though he remains steadfast in the convictions that led to his death sentence. Love and compassion should never be forbidden.
     
    Their tragic romance might be doomed, but don’t let that keep you from reading Puppilull’s tribute to love in all its bittersweet glory. There’s always a chance… if you’re brave enough to face the potential pain in pursuit of love.
     

     


    Making Sense of Secret Gifts


    by



    Timothy M



    Reviewer: LitLover



    Word Count: 12,488


     
    Timothy M’s submission to the Secret Admirer contest was a story about a very private man, named Colin, who starts receiving some very public attention, in the form of gifts left on his desk by a secret admirer. The gifts are thoughtful, and some, such as a carving of his cat, give the impression the benefactor knows Colin fairly well.
     
    Colin is a caring, if lonely, man who has been hurt in his past. In order to alleviate some of his loneliness he gives up his weekends to volunteer in a group home. Colin’s partner in crime is Sol, his sneaky cat, who can coax a smile out of the most sullen teenager. The more I read about Colin the more fiercely I found myself hoping he would find someone to care about him as much as he cares for others.
     
    This sweet, but introverted man is unsure of what to make of the mysterious packages. A part of him is flattered someone would put so much thought and effort into these gifts, but his discomfort is almost palpable when he starts to become the center of attention in the office. It takes him a great deal of courage to leave a message for his admirer, and ultimately decide to meet him/her in person.
     
    I’m not going to give away the identity of the secret admirer because it would spoil the fun of reading the story, and trying to puzzle out the mystery for yourself. All I can tell you is you will be more than satisfied with the answer.
     

     


    Nobody’s Valentine


    by



    Thorn Wilde



    Reviewer: Puppilull



    Word Count: 4,664


     
    So it’s that time of year again. Hearts everywhere and everyone acting so lovey-dovey it’s making the air turn pink. Or red. But what if your reality doesn’t fit in? What if your life has taken a completely unforeseen turn, leaving you feeling disappointed, lonely and perhaps even despairing?
     
    A story of a Secret Admirer that deals with these less written about sides to this thing we call love can be such a relief. If that story is friggin’ well written as well, things are looking up. Thorn Wilde has provided us with a story of Mike who is fighting an uneven battle to get over the boyfriend who dumped him. When that infamous date rolls around, he finds the sadness flares up and seeks ways to deal with it. One remedy turns out to be the one to lead him on his way. But where will it take him?
     
    This is a truly bittersweet story telling us life isn’t always a bed of roses. I think it’s important to not lose sight of that. It’s actually somehow comforting to know bad stuff will happen, but you will be OK. A bit scarred perhaps, but OK.
     

     


    Sunshine


    by



    AC Benus



    Reviewer: Timothy M.



    Word count: 9,480


     
    Writing a Valentine’s Day story filled with sadness, loss, longing and even anger, and naming it Sunshine, is the kind of chutzpah few people can get away with. But AC Benus has the unique ability to pluck at our heartstrings and fill our guts with dread, holding the story on the precipice of anticipation, yet letting us hope for a miracle.
     
    Will the two characters make the right choice? Will their innate goodness break through like a ray of sunshine? Will it become a Valentine’s Day to remember for the triumph of love and kindness or for the loss of innocence and trust? Go read the story, and afterwards go hug someone you care about and tell them they matter.
     

     


    The Cupid Complex


    by



    Valkyrie



    Reviewer: spikey582



    Word Count: 5,127


     
    In this little treat from last year’s Secret Admirer Contest, Valkyrie takes us through one year in the life of Gabriel as he searches for that special someone. He doesn't always have the best of luck in his search, but he is a romantic at heart with a penchant for holiday decorating.
     
    A Valentine’s Day misstep leads to a humiliating situation, and some accompanying depression that he battles throughout his journey for the relationship his heart desires. Dealing with obvious hurt, Gabriel plays the “hook-up” game, hesitant to really put himself out there. As the year progresses, some new friendships are forged, but everything in relationship territory remains starkly “casual.”
     
    Yet, as the next Valentine’s Day approaches, Gabriel discovers gifts and notes being left on his doorstep. Whose admiration has Gabriel drawn? Will Cupid’s arrow strike after all?
     
    This was the kind of story that left me smiling in one instant, and frowning and frustrated the next. Valkyrie packs quite a lot into such a short tale. I found myself feeling Gabriel’s sorrow and rooting for him to finally be with someone he truly deserves. Join Gabriel through this fun little tale, as he realizes life is full of surprises, which are often much closer than we think.
     

     


    The Lady in the Flames


    by



    jfalkon



    Reviewer: Lisa



    Word Count: 7,711


     
    Imagine driving past the scene of a car accident and noticing one of the drivers slumped over the steering wheel. What would you do? There was already rubbernecking on the road, so you know someone must have called 911. Would you just drive on by, assuming the driver would be taken care of? Or would you stop and try to get him out of the car? What if you had the day off from work because you lied and told your boss you were home sick? What if, by helping this person, you were ‘found out’ and you were fired because you lied to your boss about being sick?
     
    Our protagonist James has a lot on his mind as he ponders these questions. Of course being morally sound, he saves the driver’s life and pulls him out of the car before the big chunk of metal explodes into a ball of flames. On the news, the flames in the background make him look like a woman, so he thinks he’s pretty much off the hook of being found out.
     
    I found this fast-paced story captivating, and I was riveted from the first line. It didn’t hurt that the characters were very relatable also. What I liked best about it, however, were the beautiful words jfalcon used toward the end of the story to describe a moment of passion.
     
    I would highly recommend reading The Lady in the Flames if you haven’t already, and if you have, why not pick it up again and enjoy it a second time around?
     

     

    These are by no means all of the stories from the Secret Admirer Contest; there are more wonderful stories for you to take a look at. You can read all of the Secret Admirer Contest stories here.
     
    And don't forget the upcoming April Fool's Day Short Story Contest. You still have time to submit a story. Entry deadline is March 1st, 2017.
  25. Renee Stevens
    Crafting a Story... More Work than You Might Think!



    by



    Cia


     

    There's a lot that goes into writing a story, more than what the average reader would think. After thinking up the story, and writing then it, there comes the many rounds of editing. This is the nuts and bolts process, when you strip something down to its basic components and put it all back together--hopefully without any extra pieces! For me, that involves several reads of the story. Then I ask for help from my team members. Then I go over it again, lol. This is my usual process:
     
    1. Spellcheck.
    2. Read straight through for phrase changes and any mistakes that catch my eye. I often do this aloud as it is the best way to make sure the story has a good 'flow'.
    3. Spellcheck.
    4. Read backward one paragraph at a time from the end to look for errors.
    5. Spellcheck.
    6. Send on to betas/editors for beta/edit.
    7. Make changes and run them by team if necessary.
    8. Spellcheck!
     
    Now, this is just the process for a story I'm posting online for free. I've recently had a publisher accept a story for e-publishing and have been going through the editing process. First, the agent that accepted the story had suggestions for lengthening it and changing some scenes. I made those changes and sent it back. Then it went to an editor. We sent the story back and forth three times before it was to the point she approved it. Then ... it went to the editor-in-chief who suggested even further scene additions and changes. Then we moved back into pure line editing for typos and errors. That went through two rounds until the EiC approved all the changes and had no further spots for me to fix.
     
    At that point, the story went through about fifteen rounds of editing!
     
    I had no idea writing could be so involved when I first started. It is a great hobby, and a lot of fun, but if you want to do it right, there is also a lot of work involved. You have to really dig in and be prepared to put in the time and effort if you're going to be successful.
     
    What are your editing habits? Do you write and edit in different formats? Do you prefer to self-edit or work with a team? What type of team do you use: betas and editors or strictly one or the other? Do you have a favorite editing manual or book that helped you refine your work the most?
     
    Share your editing tips with the rest of the site here!
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