Renee Stevens

Thank you, Tim! And yes, it’ll all be worth it!

Happy New Years Eve! We hope everyone had a great week and a very Merry Christmas!!! Things have been busy in the various blogs lately, so lets get right to it! Contests 2018 Summer Novella Anthology: Summer - Due April 15th, 2018 Anthologies 2018 Spring Anthology: Now or Never - Due May 15th 2018 Spring Anthology: Encounters - Due May 15th 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 Premium Updates: Strawberry Chapstick by Comicality *Premium* Classic Updates: A Bridge to Yesterday by Ronyx The List by Dabeagle Signature Updates: 1550 Loring Lane by Cole Matthews A Man in a Room, and other poems by AC Benus; Book 6 of Verse Black Widow by Mark Arbour; Book 16 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Daniel's Gift by comicfan Denied by Cia GA Writing Prompts by Dolores Esteban Musings of a Mongoose by Cynus Northern Exposure by Mark Arbour; Book 8 of Bridgemont Promptings from Valhalla by Valkyrie Translation Trashbin by AC Benus; Book 7 of Verse Promising Updates: Disasters, Delights and Other Detours by Parker Owens Fractions for fun by Puppilull Here Kitty, Kitty by Caz Pedroso Musings of a Messed Up Mind by Mikiesboy Stars for the Star by Parker Owens The Christmas Cracker by Mikiesboy The Poetry of D/s by Mikiesboy Who is it from? by Caz Pedroso

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 636 – First Line Tag – First Line “No way in hell am I going with him!” Prompt 637 – Challenge Tag – Emotion No one enjoys dealing with the sad emotions. A breakup, a death, or even a serious illness can put a character through hell. Create a scene where your character is given some bad news and what happens when they are alone and process it. Remember to show and not tell. Bring the anguish alive for the reader. Did you write a prompt response last week? Don't forget to share it below.

Thank you, Reader! Good thoughts are always appreciated!!!

Hope you enjoy it when you do!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, jp!!! i hope you enjoy the reread as well!

Thank you, Sir! We wanted to wait until our family knew, and while we know that it might never be completely "safe" the doctor feels like things are going well and that it's about as safe as it will be to share the news.

Thanks Puppi! We've been crossing fingers and toes as well!

Oh yeah, it'll all be worth it in the end

I told my Hubby that I would rather have "morning sickness"

Told ya! PL was written way before I knew all those rules, lol. I started the cleanup on it last year, but just didn't get too far with it.

I definitely understand, we didn't want to say anything to our families too soon so waited until I'd hit the 11 week mark. We'd have even waited longer, but all my brothers and their families, and my grandma were here for Christmas. And my doctor had told us everything was progressing perfectly and he was fairly confident we would be safe to reveal while everyone was here. Still, every day it feels like i'm just waiting for something to go wrong, and every twinge I worry about what it means. Unfortunately, my cousin has gone through exactly what I'm going through and has told me to call her whenever i need to. I wish it was just morning sickness, unluckily for me, it seems to be all day nausea and achiness, but i've been reassured that's most likely because of the supplements i'm on and my doc is keeping a really close eye on me.

Thanks, Def! We're definitely excited and hopeful that this time things will go well. As much as I hope I start feeling better, I'll deal with whatever I have to. Just a couple more weeks and I'll at least be through the hurdle of the first trimester!

Thank you, moggy! I spend most of the time on the couch for now, but hopefully I'll get some energy back soon!

Thank you, jp! i wish i was feeling better as well, but i figure it will all be worth it in the end and can't wait for July to get here!!!!

Thank you, Kitt!

Hiya all!!!! I hope everyone is doing well and had a wonderful Christmas! This blog is going to be somewhat of a review of this past year and a look forward to what I'm hoping to accomplish in 2018! In April, I published my story "Barbed Wire Cowboy" (the pre-revision copy can be found in Premium under the name Studly Ranch Hands). It did okay, but not as well as I had hoped. Got some good reviews, and some bad, but over all I think it was well received. In October, I was able to go to GayRomLit (GRL) in Denver. There were a few hiccups, but it was a great experience overall and I met some wonderful people that I still keep in touch with and made a few connections that I think will be a great help to me in the future (if I ever manage to get back to writing). In 2018, I hope to finish the rewrite of Forging Trust and post it on GA as well as prepare it for possible publication. I also would like to do another short story for the Something Unexpected series. One other thing I hope to get accomplished with my writing during 2018 is the revision and publication of Puppy Love. But, while that may not sound like a lot to do, there are some changes going on for me that may make completing these tasks a tad bit more difficult. Some might have noticed that outside of posting blogs, I haven't been very active on site lately and I may not be overly active on the site for days to come. Part of the reason for that is I haven't felt very well for the last couple of months, and sometimes being on the computer makes it worse, and on Doctor's orders have been taking it easy and I spend a lot of time resting on the couch. But don't worry, me not feeling well isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it's actually a good thing, as it means things are going well. I know, sort of an oxymoron there, isn't it. Usually not feeling well is never a good thing, but in November, my Husband and I found out that if everything goes well, we'll be welcoming our son or daughter into this world in July. Due to some early complications, my doctor has me on just shy of bed rest. (His exact words were he wasn't putting me on bed rest, but it would be close to it). We're hoping it's just the supplements that I have to be on that are making me so sick, and I only have to be on them for a few more weeks, but only time will tell. I don't have the greatest history when it comes to pregnancies, but this one so far has been extremely different than the others, and we're taking me not feeling well as a very good sign since I've made it to the almost 12 week mark, so we're cautiously optimistic. So all in all, despite the lack of writing on my part, things are going well and look rather promising for 2018! I wish you all a wonderful start to the year!

Thank you, Gary! It's wonderful to hear that you enjoyed it so much!

I've only worked extensively with Mann out of those three, but he's awesome! I always know that if he puts a comment in, there's a good reason for it, and it's something I should look closely at.

Thank you, Tim! Might take you up on that. I'm going to be really careful about not changing much of the story line itself, because before Trebs passed away, we were talking about me doing a revision and he told me then that the story line was strong and he really hoped that I didn't change too much of the story itself.

LOL. Unfortunately, I know that Puppy Love needs some work to clean it up... It's got head hopping (EEK!!!), author voice, etc.

And you were right, Puppy Love was one of my earliest works. Only the 2nd story I ever wrote. Learned a lot since then, and my plan is to eventually revise and publish, and have most of the proceeds go to the Lymphoma and Leukemia Research foundation in memory of Trebs (Puppy Love was his absolute favorite of all my stories).

I think Puppy Love was only the second story I ever wrote (Eternity was the first)

Hey Carlos, yep, you've got Sam Wyer! I've added you to the master list in the first post

Thank you for the wonderful critique, Val! I actually have plans for those spots you had issues with