Renee Stevens

Before we get into the wrap up today, I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday! A quick reminder that we're approaching the deadline for the fall anthology, and there are a couple authors looking for an editor for their anthology. If you might be able to offer your services, check out their requests in the Writing Support Request forum. Now, let's see what happened this week, shall we? October C S R Feature: Wolf Like Me By Dayne Mora Cia started our week off with announcing that Wolf Like Me is this month's choice for the CSR Book Club. If you haven't already read it, you have plenty of time since the discussion day won't take place until October 31st. Ask An Author #43 Our monthly feature was back again, and as always there were some great questions asked and answered. Curious as to who was featured this month? Or maybe who's coming up for next month. Go check it out. And don't forget, if you have a question you want Dark to ask your favorite author, send Dark a PM. GA's Newest Classic Author: Ronyx A big congrats to our newest Classic Author, Ronyx. He was announced on Thursday and if you haven't already done so, go congratulate him! Writing Prompts #534 & #535 Once again we had a couple of new prompts this week for you to take a look at. If you're stuck on a story, want to write something different, or are thinking about writing for the first time, the prompts are for you! We didn't have any takers on our last set of prompts, so this week we featured Parker Owens response to Poetry Prompt #6. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided / The Forgotten - Due October 28th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 28th, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Studly Ranch Hands by Renee Stevens *Premium* Classic Updates: Door Number Three by Ronyx Love & Loss by Dabeagle Signature Updates: 319 Winesap Lane by CarlHoliday Leopards Leap by Graeme; Book 3 of The Lilydale Leopards Mental Games by Bill W Mine! by Cia Starry Eyed by CassieQ; Book 4 of Not The Sun Weightless by Cynus; Book 2 of Less is More William Walter Williams by CarlHoliday Promising Updates: Fallen Pride by Sasha Distan; Book 7 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories Falling Apart by craftingmom Headstall's Reflections by Headstall Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall Shut Up and Prompt by Sasha Distan Tiger Winter by Sasha Distan

Thanks, Val! I fixed it in the thread, but forgot to fix it in the blog entry.

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 534 – Creative Tag – First Line “And who are you supposed to be? “ Prompt 535 – Creative Tag – God’s Choice You thought you were having a bad day until there is a flash of light in the middle of your living room. There stands a man, who states he needs a champion in the coming battle. While you try to ask who he is and what battle, he waves his hand and you are now dressed in Greek battle equipment. The symbols on your shield mark who this God was. Who was it and why were you chosen? Well, we didn't have any takers on the last set of prompts, so for this week, I decided to feature a response from Poetry Prompt #6:

I've struggled with how to introduce this eBook, but I guess the simplest way is to just come out and say it. After the Pulse shooting in Orlando, many publishers and authors set about doing benefit stories. Dreamspinner Press was no different. The first of these benefit anthologies is One Pulse. The overall theme is that Love Wins. The stories found in the One Pulse anthology show that love wins over any obstacle. At least three GA Authors participated: Renee Stevens, Alicia Nordwell, and MA Church. All proceeds from the sale of the One Pulse eBook are donated to LGBTQ organizations in Central Florida to benefit the victims and families of this horrendous tragedy. AVAILABLE NOW One Pulse Anthology Collection To benefit the victims and families of the Orlando shooting Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Cover Artist: Paul Richmond Genre: Anthology Length: 198,538 Words Rating: Adult/Mature Dreamspinner Press – Amazon – Barnes & Noble – All Romance Blurb: Stories drive life. Sometimes life is good; sometimes life is bad. But it’s the nature of our community that in the aftermath of an act of hatred, we respond with love. Because darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. Cruelty cannot stand against compassion. Negativity will never overcome hope. To show our support for those affected by the Orlando shooting, our authors, editors, artists, and staff have volunteered their talents to create this anthology. All proceeds will be donated to LGBT organizations in central Florida. Join us as we celebrate the triumph of love over every obstacle. Stories: Jon Keys—A Single Night Alicia Nordwell—About Best Friends & Boyfriends Mickie B. Ashling—Adíos M.T. Aspen —Asking for Trouble M.A. Church—Chasing Tyme Caitlin Ricci—Coming Out George Seaton—Cucurrucucú Jayce Ellis—Dance Bree Cariad—Everyday Miracles Chrissy Munder—Everything I Need Ellis Carrington—For the First Time Felicitas Ivey—Get Me to the Church Town Hall on Time John Amory—Happy Pride Grace R. Duncan—Hope John Goode—Let Them Eat Cake J. C. Long—Magical Boys Just Wanna Have Fun Elizabeth Noble—Magicicada Renee Stevens—More Than a Pact Troy Storm—One Big Happy… Bunch Connie Bailey—One Heart at a Time Dev Bentham—Perfection Andrea Speed—Pride Laura Lascarso—Pull Lila Leigh Hunter—Raffled Kiss Emery C. Walters—Ranch Dressing C.C. Dado—Read My Lips Sera Kane—The Stag's Bane KC Burn—The Tithe Vicktor Alexander—The Wooing of the Marqués de Sierra de Outes Edmond Manning—They Danced

Congrats, Ronyx!

Ask an Author #43 Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors! In AtA #42, we had questions for authors Andrew Q. Gordon, Nephylim, skinnydragon, and W_L. In AtA #43 we hear from authors Mann Ramblings, Mikiesboy, Riley Jericho, and WolfM. Signature Author Mann Ramblings starts us off today. We last saw Mann in this blog about a year ago, back in AtA #33, but he really hasn’t been featured since AtA #7. That takes us back, doesn’t it? I know I’ve got at a couple more questions for him, if he’d answer his emails… Anyway, this nice gent is from Michigan, USA and I can poke at him a bit because I know I can handle the bite of his rather wicked sense of humor. Have you seen his profile pic lately? Mann has designed a few of those! He’s quite the artist, and I don’t mean just writing, which his 7,000+ followers already know. His first year with GA saw 3 stories; now Mann has more than 10 to his name. He writes a lot of drama and sci-fi (naturally), but his stories cross over into many different genres. One of my favorites is Rudolph’s Tijuana X-mas, in which Rudolph leaves the North Pole and, well, goes to Tijuana. Of course, since it’s a comedy, hilarity ensues. Like many another, this gem of a short story made me laugh until I cried. Oh, and did you know? Mann is now a published author with Wayward Ink Publishing. His published works have some changes, so if you liked them the first time, go check it out.  To Mann Ramblings: One of my favorites of yours, So Little Magic Left, is a largely fantasy story, and I'm curious. How do you come up with the detail and backdrop for such a mystical place and have it come out so believable? Lots and lots of notes. Days of brainstorming the details based on what I needed. Since I plotted the entire story out in advance, I knew what my settings would be and what had to be there. The underworld was medieval and stuck in time, so everything around them had to reflect that. So the buildings had to be raw and the businesses had to have limitations. I focused a lot on the world building and made a point to stick to it. Everything had to be consistent and nothing could be added without a damn good reason. I put the fantastic elements in but tried not to make them the centerpiece of the scenes rather than the setting. They're there, but we don't dwell on them beyond what's necessary to move the story along. I guess I did a good job selling the environment. Canadian “Poster Boy for Success” Mikiesboy is our next author today. In the year and change that he’s been with us, Mikiesboy has posted over a dozen stories and collections for our enjoyment. This is the gentleman who cooks all that amazing food he takes pictures of, although, sadly, there are none left in his gallery. Luckily, this word enchanter continues to gift us with his magic; I know a few of you were worried recently, but he promises to stick around awhile longer. Mikiesboy is a familiar name in the weekly prompts, and we’re all eagerly waiting the next longer project. For Halloween this year, why don’t you try out the wickedly tongue-in-cheek Wanted? Main character Sam answers a help wanted ad, and the rest will give you chills … good and bad. To Mikiesboy: Can you describe the process of writing poetry you go through when you want to start a story? Do you just start with an idea and let it develop as you write, or do you outline most of it first? I'm sort of a from-the-gut poet I guess, and often the poem, all or in part, is just in my head (keep notebooks with you always!). But lately I've been working on the different forms of poetry, and so use classic stories, films or something AC Benus specifies in his monthly Poetry Prompt. When I write poetry I just sit down and write it. I don't use an outline for poetry at all. However I do write outlines for stories. Some of you might know our next author. Although he has yet to mark it “complete,” Riley Jericho says he’s posted the LAST chapter to An English Teen, Circumcised in the USA. If I’d foreseen the end was so near, I would have posted this question months ago! At 89 chapters, I believe ET is now the longest single story on GA. Did you see the poster-like image Riley created for his epic? I like the subtlety in the colors. Way back when, Riley said he came over to GA after fighting with his previous website over the story’s name. Aren’t we the lucky ones? Now we can only wonder what Riley will write for us next. Perhaps we’ll learn more about Manchester, UK, where Riley’s from? Maybe he’ll do something completely different, like a horror story…! Oh, by the way, Riley has written some other stuff. There’s some poetry and other teen fics, and the chilling anthology entry Into a Better Place. It will make you think, but, more importantly, it will make you feel. Check out the reviews; they’re powerful, too. To Riley Jericho: Regarding An English Teen Circumcised in the U.S.A.: Is there an endgame---a definite plan or outline of what is going to happen and how the characters will end up---or is it a more organic process or like an ongoing serial? So, is there an endgame, or am I just making it up as I go along and hoping for the best? I have to smile because actually both are true. There is very definitely an endgame, and the last chapter, paragraph and sentence of ET have already been penned. However, what it is that you might possibly say to me when we get there...well, let's see. Anything more at this point would be spoilers! However, at the same time, the story has been quite fluid in some aspects, and I find there's some stuff you don't realise about a situation, until you get into it. I also feed a lot from reviews. You may not know it, but something you might have said in a review could well have sparked an idea that gets written in. Sometimes, somebody will make a comment about how a situation might develop, and for me, it's like 'oh...that's right...how come I never saw that coming?' So to answer the question, mileposts are set in stone, the end is coming into sight, but there are still many twists and turns that will be quite likely to turn up on the journey! In the end, you're going to have to ask the characters! Today’s final author is WolfM, marking his first entry in this blog, which seems funny, because I could swear he’s been around longer than just a year .... Anyway, this is the author behind the dark teen story Alone in the Night and the very popular Running with the Pack. If you haven’t read “Alone,” it’s definitely on the dark side but it’s also been a way for WolfM to exorcise some of his past and re-connect with his younger self. How much of the truth is being shared with us is perhaps something only WolfM knows, but in a world where the truth is so often conveniently brushed under the rug, it’s a story that should never be forgotten. It is in surviving his past that WolfM (like main character Matt) can bring us the gift of the present and the future. Employing a vivid imagination, after all, is how we now have RWTP, not to mention the thousands of other stories on GA. In RWTP, we get a city-boy stepping out into the “wilds” for the first time and discovering werewolves! I don’t know that I’d say it’s light-hearted, but it’s hard to escape drama when you’re writing about teens! LOL To WolfM: From where/what do you draw inspiration? We joke about muses, but what is yours? I've stared at the question on an off since you sent it to me trying to figure out how to answer it. The only answer I can come up with is, "I have no idea." I can sit down in front of my laptop one day and knock out the first draft of a chapter and other times go days to months without even feeling like writing. I usually joke that it all depends on what conversations the voices in my head are having and if they want to let me in on it or not. I have used the character I had in WoW as well as avatars I've created in the virtual world "Second Life" as elements in the current story I'm working on, though that is more an idea bed for how characters might look vs. actual inspiration. Possibly what truly inspires me is my readers as well as my desire to see this current project through to its completion. That’s it for now! For more info on these authors, go check out their stories, post in their forums, and/or catch them in chat! I’ll see you next time, with Ask the Author #44, a special feature dedicated to one of our more popular authors Dayne Mora! I’m always in the market for new questions! Simply PM me (Dark). Until next time! Dark

Occasionally I like to take a look in the prompt forum and see what prompts are lonely without any responses. Most of these are creative prompts. I re-feature these prompts and give them a second chance to be noticed. For the next couple of months, every other week is going to feature second chance prompts. The other weeks will give new prompts for you to take a stab at. Here's this week's second chance prompts, don't forget to share your links in the appropriate thread!!!! (I'll even link them to make it easier!) Prompt #475 - Creative A new bakery has opened up in town. Everyone is talking about how good the baked goods are. They seem to make everything from rolls, bread, cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and new concoctions seem to appear on their shelves daily. A side affect seems to be the number of people falling in love or getting their relationships back on track. What is happening at Sweet Seduction Bakery? Prompt #477 - Creative Things had never been perfect for you growing up. Your parents always were attentive, but somehow never seemed to be there either. Unfortunately, as you were about to graduate from college you found out why. Your parents were sleeper agents and have now been activated. What sort of agents are they and what will their activation mean for you and your future? Prompt #479 - Creative You and two of your close friends joke about what would make the perfect date. Each of you list five things that are absolutely necessary to make the perfect person. You read the list of items and wish you could find one person who encompassed them all. The following day the three of you go for coffee and spot someone who seems to be created out of your list of requirements from the night before. Who is this mystery person and is he there to fulfill your wishes or make your lives a nightmare? Prompt #483 - Creative You decided you needed a little vacation and jump in your car to get away. Where do you go on your little trip? Since these are all past prompts from 2016, I figure for the featured prompt, we can also do an old prompt response from earlier this year. Both Timothy M and Doctor Oger decided at the beginning of this year to respond to a prompt from all the way back in 2013. So here's those two features from Prompt #246: Prompt #246 - First Line "What now?"

Well, it's the end of the week and this one was a busy one. Just a reminder that tomorrow is the CSR Discussion Day for Thaw by Puppilull. If you haven't finished it yet, but wish to take part in the discussion day, you still have time! Also, we're only about a month away from the Fall Anthology deadline (October 28th), so start polishing up those stories and get them sent in to the Anthology Proof Team. Now, let's take a look at the busy week we had in the various GA News blogs! September's Signature Feature: The Art Of Being Gay By Cole Matthews That's right! It was time for this month's Signature Author feature! This month goes to Cole Matthews for his story The Art Of Being Gay . There's a banner you can download and use for your signature to help get the word out about Cole's story. September Signature Excerpt: The Art Of Being Gay By Cole Matthews If you want to take a peek at Cole's story The Art Of Being Gay , this is the place to go. To finish off our Signature week posts, Cole provided us with an excerpt from his story. Hopefully you enjoy this little taste and go check out the story for yourself. If you do, don't forget to leave Cole some reviews! Writing Prompts #532 & #533 Are you stuck with your current story? Are you considering writing for the first time? Do you just want a break from what you're working on? Then these are for you! Each week we offer a couple of prompts to help with the creative process that is called writing. If you decide to take on one of these two prompts, then don't forget to provide a link to your response so that it might be shared in the blog! Anthology Discussion Day - September 2016 There's only a month left until the deadline for the fall anthology (okay, a month plus a few days). Anthology authors joined me on Saturday to talk about where they are in their anthology writing efforts. Some are done and have already sent them in. Some are still working on it. And there are even some that are waiting for inspiration to strike. Curious as to who you can expect to see in this anthology? Well, go take a look! Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided / The Forgotten - Due October 28th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 28th, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Studly Ranch Hands by Renee Stevens *Premium* *NEW* Signature Updates: 319 Winesap Lane by CarlHoliday Leopards Leap by Graeme; Book 3 of The Lilydale Leopards Mental Games by Bill W Mine! by Cia Starry Eyed by CassieQ; Book 4 of Not The Sun The Best Year by Krista Weightless by Cynus; Book 2 of Less is More Promising Updates: A Man in a Room, and other poems by AC Benus; Book 6 of Verse Falling Apart by craftingmom Headstall's Reflections by Headstall Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall

Hope you have a great day!!!!

LOL, Thanks, Carlos. I promise another chapter is coming on Wednesday

Thanks, hon. I had a great vacation

Thanks, Val!

I'm back! (For now) Did y'all miss me? Thank you to both Cia and Steve (Wildone) for taking over for me while I was on vacation. I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend, I know I am! To help start it off right, it's time for the weekly prompts. Hopefully one of these great prompts will inspire you, and don't forget to share your responses (at least a link) in the forum 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 532 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – a bank, a blonde wig, a doctor, a fire hydrant, and a doughnut. Prompt 533 – Creative Tag – Police Officer You recently graduated from the academy, and have your own assigned area to protect. However, you aren’t a normal police officer, because your beat is a quadrant of space. What is your job like? For this week, I decided to feature the responses from Prompt #530:

Marc got what he’d wanted for years, but it’s enough to tear apart his friendship with Casey. Marc tries to avoid Casey, but that’s not always possible. A series of incidents puts both of their jobs on the line and Marc and Casey have to decide whether or not the resulting consequences are worth continuing their feud. Or can they put the past behind them and learn to work together as the team they used to be, and maybe even explore what's between them?

Gay Authors has always managed to remain free to its members, one of the ways that it has managed to do so is through its Premium Subscribers. Members choose to help support the site and keep it going by purchasing Premium Content which consists of a number of stories that are only available on the site by purchasing Premium. There are many great stories to be found in the Premium section. Today, we are going to look at Desolation Angels by layla. Desolation Angels layla Dare gets lost in the music playing inside his head, so lost that the rest of the world melts away. Will giving up the music give Dare a chance at a so called 'normal' life and the love of the bandmate he adores, or will it cost him everything, including himself. Category: Fiction Genres: Drama, Romance Tags: Music, Psychology, Adult, Gay, North America, Depression Rating: Mature Words: 95,330 Desolation Angels Excerpt: Dare sat on the stoop and hummed, his guitar across his lap, fingers absently caressing the strings as his green eyes stared off into the distance. If someone had asked, he never would have been able to describe what he was looking at, the things he saw, when he was ‘dreaming,’ were more shapes and colors and swirls of notes and images bathed in light. Some thought him a bit eccentric, while others out and out called him crazy, though never where his big brother Tommy could hear. Tommy played bass in their band, the Desolation Angels, he lived in the house too, all the band did, but they were at work right now. Dare couldn’t work, he’d tried a few times but it never lasted long, he always ended up ‘dreaming’ on the job, and they’d have to call his brother to come get him, telling Tommy he was fired, because when he ‘dreamed’ he couldn’t hear anything outside of the music that twisted and rolled through his head. It was okay with Tommy though, ‘cause Dare wrote killer songs and the people who came to the bars to hear them loved their sound and the dark, haunting words that Dare belted into the mic. Tommy’s boyfriend Mark played the drums, and his other boyfriend, Paul was their rhythm guitarist. They made sort of a weird threesome, but it worked for them and Dare didn’t mind ‘cause sometimes they let him curl up in their bed too, cuddled to one of them when he was too restless in his own bed to stay put. They’d all grown up together anyway, so who really cared? They were more than just a band, they were family, and as long as they had each other, the rest of the world really didn’t matter anyway. The last member of their band was Sionn, who’d moved into their neighborhood when he was ten. His family had immigrated from Scotland, so he still spoke with the rolling, deep brogue of his homeland, a sound that sometimes sent shivers up and down Dare’s spine. He loved listening to Sionn talk, loved listening to him telling stories of kelpies and red caps and all manner of other lore. Sometimes that deeply accented voice was the only voice that could pull him from the ‘dreaming’ though it felt at times like Sionn resented the necessity of it all; resented him for his oddities and the fact that he only seemed to stay focused when he was standing on the stage, playing one of his songs.

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 528 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – a zoo, a bright green shirt, a hot dog, a security guard, and torn pants. Prompt 529 – Creative Tag -The Trip There is a good news bad news sort of win at your job. There was a trip to the one place you have always wanted to. The trip includes air fare, hotel, and two meals daily. The bad news is the one coworker you can’t stand one the other ticket and will be with you the whole time. You can either go with them or give up the trip of a lifetime. What do you do? Due to my own fault of forgetting to put the prompts in the forum, I only know of Mikiesboy's prompt response to Prompt #527. If you did one of the prompt responses from last week, please feel free to share in the comments!

It's the first Wednesday of the month again (can you believe it's already September?!) which means that it's time for our monthly Ask An Author feature. A big thank you to Dark for their continued contribution to the blog with one of our most popular features. Don't forget, if you have a question you'd like Dark to cover, send a PM! Ask an Author #42 Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors! In AtA #41, we had questions for authors Headstall, Mikiesboy, Sammy Blue, and Sasha Distan. In AtA #42 we hear from authors Andrew Q Gordon, Nephylim, skinnydragon, and W_L. It’s funny how time flies. Like, I remember when Classic Author Andrew Q Gordon went by something that started with a Q that was hard to pronounce. Back then he hadn’t yet made an honest man of his husband, he was working all the time, and Andy was begging everyone to read Second Shot. Next thing you know, Second Shot is climbing the charts as one of the most-read, most-liked, most-reviewed story on GA, Lil’ Q makes an appearance, there’s publishing demands, a wedding, and a new name to go with that shiny new “Classic” Author mantle. Where have the last five years gone? Did you know that AQG has a website? Visit and you can get one of his published stories for free. Personally, I’d like to see another collaboration between Andy and Anyta. But I’m also looking forward to the new book, due out in the beginning of 2017. It’s called “When Heroes Fall” and the plot is still hush-hush. You’ll have to stalk Andy at RomCom or through his blog to learn more. To Andrew Q Gordon: I notice that you edit for Riley Jericho, for his story 'An English Teen, Circumcised in the USA'. He's English, you're American...how's that all working out, and do you enjoy editing other writers? First let me say that Riley is an amazing person. He definitely makes my "List of people you'd like to meet." The English/British thing isn't a problem, in fact I think that is where I provide some of my value to Riley. Because English Teen (ET) is written from a few different Points of View, he and I go back and forth on word choice. For the most part, when we're in one of the Summers' 'heads' i.e. Luke, Simon, Lucy or Geoff - I leave his British usage, but if we're in an American's head - Ryan for instance - I try to change things to an American usage. There are exceptions. Sometimes Luke is thinking about something at school - say the Gymnasium or an assembly and for those things because the school uses a specific word for it, I try to steer him to an American usage because that's more likely what Luke would think, not the British word. Beyond those types of things, I've tried to give Riley some tips I've learned from my editors with Dreamspinner Press. One thing about Riley, he doesn't have an ego and is very receptive to suggestions and help. If you love the story and think he's awesome, you're correct on both counts. I can point to times he and I have had a discussion about some point or another and then the following chapters he applies it. That's really very cool to see. The trick for me is to not take away his voice. He and I have a running joke about something he does that kinda drives me nuts, BUT it's his voice and I try not to interfere except in those instances where it's needed. (And I shouldn't muck with that because his voice is most likely one of the things people love about his story.) Riley's really great at taking advice and he's good at standing pat when he feels he needs to. I really enjoy working with him and being able to see the story before most others. Like I said, he's on my bucket list of people to meet for a reason. Now if I could convince him to try his hand at publishing something. A task for another time I suppose. As for editing for people in general, I shy away from it for the most part. I like helping people grow as a writer they way others have helped me, but I'm probably a poor teacher. I'm not good at sugar coating things or making them nicey nice. I warned Riley at the start I'm direct and to the point (blunt, bordering on rude I suppose) at times. I've apologized in advance if I do it, and I wish I didn't. I think of us as friends, and I don't want to hurt his feelings. (Sorry if I have Riley, but you know I don't mean to do that.) So, to answer the "do I enjoy it" part of your question; yes I do. Very much, but I'm not for everyone. In fact I'm probably hard to work with, which is why I tend to avoid editing too much. It helps me avoid making enemies. Another oldtimer (to this blog and to GA) is vampire, fallen angel, and Author Nephylim. At one time, Nephy was a Promising Author and then Signature Author (back then we called them “Hosted” Authors). Like myself and Andy, real life has taken Nephy away from GA more than she might wish. With GA since 2009, Nephy has posted some 50 different stories and poems. She has been an inspiration to many, including myself, and it’s been said by many that she’s as nice in person as she is to chat with online. There were a few meet-ups for those GA authors living or willing to travel in Europe, and Nephylim was one of them, traveling at least twice from her home in Wales. She may not be as active on the site anymore, but we still get her stories! She finished posting her latest, My Brother Daniel, just this past summer, and that was quite the ordeal, from the sound of it. Like many of her stories, Daniel, Sara, and Rayn help us readers learn and deal with some tough topics that are not for everyone, but this classy lady makes all the drama and heart-ache worthwhile. To Nephylim: In your story "Boy Called Slave", how did you bring yourself to write about some of the really dark and serious aspects of the story without impacting yourself emotionally? You create characters that readers instantly connect with, so I'm curious about how you shut off those feelings. The truth is, I don't. I'm totally invested in my characters and I laugh and cry with them. I'm often to be found sobbing all over my laptop. I have also cried on a train, at a bus stop, in a legal lecture - all over the place. Wherever I write. I find it cathartic rather than depressing, though. My writing is a therapy and when I'm totally stressed or upset or angry, I sit at my keyboard and torture characters. It's my stress-buster. Perhaps I have a twisted mind, but I find it difficult to write sweet and fluffy without dark and deadly lurking in the background. I recently wrote a book I tried very hard to keep light, and I even wrote a lot of myself into it. I used my own beliefs and experiences and built some very strong characters - only to have one of them jump off a cliff (well not jump exactly). I feel at times as if I have no control over what the characters do. The way I write is strictly pantser. The characters and story carry me and I often have no idea where a story is going until I write it. When the characters/story take a turn for the worse I follow and hold on for grim life, with a box of tissues, coffee and chocolate to hand. Please welcome Author SkinnyDragon to the blog! This young Canadian has been with GA a couple years now and enjoys the “fine” things in life. Currently, he’s off sailing in the shivery-cold waters of stormy Maine. I hope he comes back alive and in one piece! And not blue! But I suppose he is from Ontario…. Something you may not know about Skinny is his skill with the dead language of Latin. I wonder what he makes of the Monty Python monks with their Latin chants just before they smack themselves in the face with a board? Anyway, this guy has recently posted the final chapter to 18 Weeks of Twoey, his first full-length story here on GA. You might have also seen his collection of poetry and flash-fiction, not to mention the prompt responses. For a self-proclaimed non-author and non-poet, I’d say Skinny isn’t doing too bad! Twoey has received over 800 reviews, so Skinny’s definitely doing something right! And don’t let the 122 chapters intimidate you; it’s not a conventional story, but a real gem nonetheless. Don’t believe me, see what some others had to say: “The balance between serious and humourous is perfect, IMO, and all the characters and their interaction is well done too,” and “Loved this chapter, SD. Here is a blockbuster surprise. All kinds of bets just got wiped off the table,” and “You’ve done it again, Skinny! An amazing chapter. I truly felt David’s anguish and helplessness as he began figuring more things out….” To SkinnyDragon: What inspired you to create David in 18 Weeks of Twoey? Was it someone you knew, or was it a situation you encountered? Actually, it was a little of both. I encountered the two boys who would become David and Twoey, or I should say they befriended us, because they correctly guessed we were a couple. The eager young boys had lots of questions for us. The real David had some of the same religion/not-gay issues as the fictional character, but dealt with them in a more off-handed and lighter manner. The brooding and psychologically dark aspect was purely my own invention for the story which subsequently spun from my mind. They were our uninvited beach companions for nearly two weeks during which time I filled a composition book with snippets of overheard conversations. Some of their comments were so hilariously startling they made it into the story, virtually unchanged. I invented neither PPF nor Dannyspeak. Author W_L wraps things up for the blog today. This guy’s been here with GA since 2008 and his title is now amusingly “GA's Electrifying Mouse Writer.” From Boston, Massachusetts, USA, W_L faced the tragic death of his computer in August, which kept us from enjoying his sarcastic wit in the forums for a time. He’s also a fan of odd music (and, yes, I, too mourn Yellowcard) and politics and is currently single, so snap him up while you still can! While many of us remember with pleasure W_L’s writing spree in 2013, the 2015-2016 year has seen the completion of 0s and 1s, a mystery and thriller and young adult novel all rolled up into one. It’s a tragically under-read story, touching on more than one theme in America’s tumultuous present. The boys give powerful life to this intriguing tale which, like many a Disney movie, begins with death and ends with a sequel. Here’s to seeing what Hunter gets up to in Book 2! To W_L: Your story 0's and 1's deals with technology at a very high level of understanding, and also with cyberbullying and youth trauma. Were these things that you already had prior knowledge or experience with, or was most of the information in the story based on research you had done as an adult writer?? Being a gay youth was hard, but being a disabled one eyed gay youth is even harder. I was always slightly more tech savvy than my peers, not just because I was smart, but I needed the technology to support me. I learned how to use short keys at age 8, touch typing (Basically I memorized the entire keyboard and learned Braille) at age 10, and I was playing around with programming at age 12. Despite all my triumphs over adversity, I was bullied by other kids, who knew I was different even without knowing I was gay. In high school, I knew a kid who was bullied so much that he committed suicide for being gay, which I let happen and am ashamed to have joined in bullying him on one occasion just to feel less alienated due to my own limits. I am no ones hero, but I hope to inspire the heroes of tomorrow to rise above this crap and be better. That’s it for now! For more info on these authors, go check out their stories, post in their forums, and/or catch them in chat! See you next time, with authors Mann Ramblings, mikiesboy, Riley Jericho, and WolfM. I’m always in the market for new questions! Simply PM me (Dark). Until next time! Dark

I hope everyone has had a great week and a wonderful August. It's hard to believe that it's already September, this year just seems to be going by so fast! I can't think of anything special that we need to cover today, so I guess this week we can just get right to the wrap up! August C S R Discussion Day: Treading Water By Headstall We started out the week with the CSR Discussion day for Treading Water. There was a lot of participation and Headstall answered a lot of great questions! Did you have a question that you didn't get a chance to ask? If so, you can still go ask! Grammar Rodeo #9 To finish off the month, Cia provided us with a new Grammar Rodeo. In just about every longer story, there's going to be a number used at least once. Are you writing numbers correctly? Cia goes over the proper way to use numbers in your story. Writing Prompts #526 & #527 We had two new prompts for you from the prompt guru. If you're struggling to write, or just don't know what to write, the prompts are a great resource for both established and new authors. For our featured response, we featured JohnAR's response to Prompt #524. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided / The Forgotten - Due October 28th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 28th, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Classic Updates: Grip by Topher_Lydon Signature Updates: Fearless by Cynus Leopards Leap by Graeme; Book 3 of The Lilydale Leopards Mental Games by Bill W Mine! by Cia Promising Updates: A Man in a Room, and other poems by AC Benus; Book 6 of Verse Bruce and Naomi have a Hard Day's Adventure by AC Benus Caesura by aditus; Book 2 of The King's Mate Falling Apart by craftingmom Life Seed by albertnothlit Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall Storms by Thorn Wilde

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 526 – Creative Tag – First Line “Damn, where the hell am I supposed to go now?” Prompt 527 – Creative Tag – First Love Again It has been years since you seen your high school love. In fact it was the summer you both left for college. You’ve been home many times, but this is his first time back due to a family death. You run into him and talk only to discover both of you are single. Is this the rekindling of an old romance or just an old friendship? For this week, I decided to feature the response from Prompt #524 :

It's been a while since we had a Grammar Rodeo from Cia, but this month that feature has returned. Let's see what Cia has to say about.... NUMBERS! Let’s talk numbers! 01 001 1 100 0... no that’s not what I mean. LOL One of the subtle details that refines writing is how an author addresses numbers. Let’s face it, you can’t write anything at length without running into this issue because our lives are dictated by things like time and money. Numbers in Fiction Numbers at the beginning of a sentence. Basically a no no. Write these out instead of using the numerals, but if that doesn’t work, rephrase. You really don’t want to start a sentence with a numeral. Zero through One hundred. You’ll notice I spelled those out. That’s the rule! Zero through one hundred is written out. 101 and more, you can write the numerals. But what if I’m talking about hundreds, or thousands? Well, if it’s an odd number like 4759 you write it out with numerals, but if it’s a whole number like forty-seven thousand or five hundred, you’d spell those out. Dates. Years: Write these as numerals, though you could use twenty-twenty instead of 2020 if you really wanted to, but odd years, like 1999 would be awkward spelled out so numerals are just fine. Abbreviated years: You need a single apostrophe that is a ‘closed’ quote (the quote that comes at the end of closed’ because it’s taking the place of the missing numerals) such as ’99. Decades: 90s is plural for the years involved, folks, so no apostrophe needed! Months and days: Spell the month and write the day as a numeral when they are placed together, like December 21. If you are just using the date without the month, you spell it out like, “We’re going on vacation on the twenty-first.” Time: Not too complicated. If you’re doing a general timeframe, “Meet me at five thirty” you write it out. Same thing for “Meet me at a quarter to five” or any other variation of quarter of, half past, etc... and if you use o’clock you always spell out the time instead of using numerals. Where this does get a little tricky: The rule is if the time is emphasized, you can write it out as numerals. “Meet me at the airport on December 21 at 5:55 p.m.” but that’s more of a judgement call than a do or don’t rule. Noon and midnight. Always spell these out instead of using 12:00 a.m or p.m.. Money. Oh, so complicated this seems! Not really, though. Follow the zero through one hundred spelling rule and write out any money that can be written out like ninety-nine cents or five hundred dollars. If you are writing out a dollar and cents number, you can use numbers such as $500.95. If you have a number like 4759, you can write it out as $4,759 but don’t include the decimal and cents numerals unless you have other numbers that include them, like: “She charged me $500.95 to $4,759.00 for grammar lessons” for example. Addresses. There are three main components of this, and it’s not too hard. Specific addresses: Building numbers always precede the street name when you’re giving an address. Like: I live at 1234 Fifth Avenue. (Ha! I’m not really giving out my address!) If you’re naming a location, you would spell it out, like “One Police Plaza”. So those are the most common number usages I’ve seen in fiction. What about you? Anything you don’t think I covered and still need to know?

It’s RELEASE DAY!!!! Woo hoo!!! Felt like today was never going to come. Wide Open Spaces is a never been seen before story written for the Dreamspinner Press' States of Love series. AVAILABLE NOW WIDE OPEN SPACES States of Love – Wyoming Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Cover Artist: Maria Fanning Genre: Contemporary Length: 35,659 Words Rating: Adult/Mature BUY NOW Dreamspinner Press Amazon: US I CA I AU I UK I DE All Romance Barnes & Noble Kobo Blurb Devon fled Wyoming as soon as he turned eighteen, leaving behind his high school love, Levi. After six years in the big city, Devon returns to his hometown. Not much has changed, except that Levi is no longer in the closet. He’s also single and living his dream—managing the local wild horse population. Both of them are very interested in picking up where they left off, but Devon is no more ready to reveal his orientation than he was as a teenager. No one is going to shove Levi back in the closet—not even Devon. For a relationship to work, they’ll have to put the past behind them and find the courage to face the future as who they really are—a couple in love. But Devon doesn’t know if he’s strong enough. Maybe Levi would be better off without him—and his hang-ups. States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States. Excerpt Devon sank down on his couch as exhaustion swamped him. Most of it was from moving in, but the change in elevation didn’t help. He’d gotten used to being closer to sea level, so going back to the dry air at over six thousand feet was going to take some getting used to. Bloody noses had become the norm while he stayed with Blake. Devon didn’t want to deal with them repeatedly and considered getting a humidifier until he managed to acclimate. He looked around his living room. Boxes were scattered everywhere, and he should be unpacking, but he was too tired. At least he hadn’t had to carry everything in himself. Blake, Travis, and Seth were waiting for him when he pulled into the apartment complex. They shrugged off his objections and insisted they had nothing better to do. Devon appreciated it, but he wasn’t comfortable around them anymore. He managed to be a proper host, but damn, he was glad they left after a couple beers each. They made noise about getting together again soon, but Devon had used getting settled in as an excuse to keep from committing to anything. He stood and wandered into his small kitchen. He didn’t bother opening the fridge or any of the cupboards. He knew they were empty. His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten for a while. Devon dug his keys out of his pocket and headed for the door. He’d get something to eat and then maybe stop at the store to pick up a few staples. Paper plates, sandwich fixings, some chips, and he’d be good for a couple of days. At least it would give him time to get a few things—like pots and pans—unpacked. Then he could do a full grocery shop. An hour later he was comfortably full from a greasy burger, fries, and a shake. He’d never eaten a lot of fast food, but he had few other options. He headed to Walmart, determined to stick to his list of sandwich stuff and maybe some eggs. Surely he could dig out some pans before the food expired. He headed to the chips first and scanned for the familiar bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles. They were his all-time favorite, though he also knew he’d want something else after a day or two. So he grabbed a couple of other bags and headed for the eggs and then the freezer aisle. Sandwiches and chips would get old fast. He found some frozen breakfast sandwiches he could microwave, tossed them in the cart, and moved on. Frozen lasagna quickly joined the few other items in his cart, followed by some potpies, a few TV dinners, and a bag of chimichangas. So what if he wasn’t sticking to his mental list? He was more focused on getting groceries for the next few days than on the people around him. “Devon.” He froze when a familiar voice spoke his name. He closed his eyes briefly, ducked his head, and steeled himself. He knew it would happen eventually, when he found out Levi still lived there. He thought he’d have more time to prepare. He swallowed—hard—and turned to face the man who had at one time meant everything to him. The man he’d risked being found out for. He lifted his head and gazed into the moss-colored eyes. “Levi.” Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Website

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope everyone has had a great week so far and are well rested for a new week to begin. Don't forget to join us for the CSR discussion tomorrow (August 29th) to discuss Treading Water by Headstall. Before I get into the wrap up for this week, I wanted to announce that the 2017 Anthology Themes have been decided. A huge thank you to all the members who sent in suggestions and to all the authors who helped narrow down and select the upcoming years themes. A reminder that we'll have two anthologies, Spring & Fall, and that both anthologies will include two themes for the authors to choose from. The themes for the 2017 anthologies are: 2017 Spring Anthology Jagged Edges Unintended Consequences 2017 Fall Anthology The Fall Out Secret Spaces Featured Story: About Carl We feature one or two story reviews each month to held drive readers to a story that they might not find otherwise. This week we featured About Carl by Diogenes. Timothy M provided us this great review and based on the comments, About Carl has been added to a few to be read lists. Don't forget, if there's a story that you'd like to give some recognition to by way of a story review, just send Renee a PM. Premium, Advertising, Software Updates, Oh My! There's going to be a few changes coming in the very near future, and on Wednesday, Myr joined us in the blog to discuss some of them. Myr talked about becoming a Premium Member, the new forum software that is coming soon, some advertising opportunities for our great authors, and we also put out a Premium Stories call. Make sure to check this blog out if any of this catches your interest. Weekly Prompts Unfortunately, Renee had a busy end of the week, and simply forgot to do this weeks prompts (bad Renee). But don't worry, they will be back next week! If you still wish to do a prompt response for this week, I encourage everyone to take a look in the Writing Prompts forum and pick a previous prompt. (There's a few that have had no response). Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided / The Forgotten - Due October 28th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 2017 Spring Anthology: Jagged Edges / Unintended Consequences - Due April 28th, 2016 Premium Updates: Dreams of a Father by dkstories; Book 2 of Dreams of Humanity *Premium* Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Signature Updates: 319 Winesap Lane by CarlHoliday Fearless by Cynus Leopards Leap by Graeme; Book 3 of The Lilydale Leopards Mental Games by Bill W Mine! by Cia The Best Year by Krista The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 9 by Comicality; Book 9 of The Secret Life Of Billy Chase Promising Updates: Bruce and Naomi have a Hard Day's Adventure by AC Benus Headstall's Reflections by Headstall Life Seed by albertnothlit Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall One Hundred and Fifty-Five Sonnets by AC Benus; Book 5 of Verse

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 About Carl by Diogenes. Timothy M 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 Diogenes some reviews. Enjoy! About Carl Diogenes Reviewer: Timothy M. Status: Complete Word Count: 52,148 You know the kind of story which grips you right from the start? Where you engage yourself in the main character and want him to find love and happiness? The type of tale which has you longing for and dreading new chapters in equal measure, because after reading each one you’re left with an aching heart and your guts in knots from the unfairness of it all. Yet, you’re hooked and keep hoping it will get better ‘next time.’ About Carl by Diogenes is such a tale in my opinion, as well as one of the hidden gems of GA. Judging by the number of followers and reviews we’re a small, but dedicated fan group, but I’m sure plenty of other GA readers will love the story. Especially if you’re in the ‘mature’ age bracket and can relate to the theme, but younger readers can gain an understanding of past issues here, too. Though, I guess there are places in the world where the events described here may still take place. You won’t find lots of dramatic events or wild outbursts of emotions. Rather, the story begins on a lonely drive home where a song playing on the radio takes Mark back in time and into profound sadness. To the time when he was young and met Carl and fell in love. But Carl is not only in the closet, he’s also in denial, yet the attraction between the two men leads to the inevitable moment of passion. That’s when Mark’s life becomes all about Carl and starts going downhill. Due to the lack of acceptance from society and the expectations of family and friends, indeed of Carl himself, their love is doomed. The story takes us on the journey toward the present, and we suffer and cry along with Mark. Mark keeps trying to forget about Carl and their unrequited love, and I, for one, admire his efforts to create a life for himself, away from the shadow of the man who broke his heart. But the beginning of chapter 1 keeps looming in the background as a dire reminder of Mark’s continued sadness about Carl and their wasted chances of a life together. If the story is so upsetting, why do I recommend it? One reason is it’s well written, making us believe in the characters and their actions and feelings. Another is Diogenes’ story clearly shows the hurt caused by the lack of acceptance from our surroundings, which keeps gay men in the closet and destroys the happiness of so many young people. About Carl should be mandatory reading for those heartless idiots who discriminate LGBT people and refuse to accept same-sex marriage. Finally, Mark is a wonderful man who I would like to have as a friend in real life. Go make his acquaintance and discover for yourself what his future turned out to be. Please make sure to tell Diogenes you would like to see the promised sequel. The fan club eagerly await news about Mark. Category: Fiction Genres: Creative Non-Fic, Romance Tags: Mature Adult, Adult, Friendship, Gay, Coming Out, Love Rating: Mature

Okay, it has been a very busy week, so I'm not going to dawdle too long. However, we also have some info we'd like to share with you. First off, if you are a site author, then please check out the author forum "Anthology Private Discussion" as there are a couple of things in there that require you're attention. Also, as a reminder, we’re always looking for Premium content, and you don’t need to write a novel to have one of your stories included! Do you have an anthology story that went awry or missed the deadline? An idea that just doesn’t quite fit the theme? We’re asking for authors to consider writing a short story, of any genre, 2,000 to 20,000+ words. They must fit within our site’s guidelines and have at least a basic edit. Cia is willing to work with authors who need their stories proofed to ensure they are Premium quality. When? As soon as possible! Or anytime, really. We can never have too many stories. What do authors get? Great stuff!! Premium membership and Amazon Gift Cards will be provided based on the story length if it fits within the above-stated guidelines. 2,000 to 5,000 words = 3 months Premium membership AND $5 Amazon Gift Card 5,000 to 15,000 words = 6 months Premium membership AND $15 Amazon Gift Card 15,000 to 20,000+* words = 12 months Premium membership AND $25 Amazon Gift Card *Content above 20k will be offered additional site benefits such as ad space, site features, or eBook services August Signature Feature: Reece's Choice By Renee Stevens We started out the week with the Signature Feature, and this time it was my turn! Cia created a great banner for my story Reece's Choice, which you can download, and shared some of other readers' thoughts. August Signature Excerpt: Reece's Choice By Renee Stevens If you enjoyed hearing about Reece's Choice on Monday, then you were in for a treat on Wednesday. Cia shared an excerpt that I picked, and it's a great excerpt if I do say so myself. Hopefully it made you really want to read the story! Writing Prompts #524 & #525 For our Friday post, we had a couple of new prompts for you to take a look at. Hopefully one of them will spark and idea, but if it does, don't forget to share it in the Writing Prompts forum so that you might be featured next week, just like the responses to prompt #522 was this week. Anthology Discussion Day - August 2016 Normally we'd finish out the week with the prompts, but this week it was time for another Anthology Discussion day. Are you curious if your favorite author has a plan? Maybe you want to know if they've started writing? Or maybe you're planning to participate in the fall anthology and would like to share your thoughts. Regardless of the reason, you should check this post out. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided / The Forgotten - Due October 28, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 Premium Updates: Dreams of a Father by dkstories; Book 2 of Dreams of Humanity *Premium* Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Signature Updates: 319 Winesap Lane by CarlHoliday Fearless by Cynus Leopards Leap by Graeme; Book 3 of The Lilydale Leopards Mental Games by Bill W Mine! by Cia Safehaven by Comicality The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 9 by Comicality; Book 9 of The Secret Life Of Billy Chase Promising Updates: Bruce and Naomi have a Hard Day's Adventure by AC Benus Falling Apart by craftingmom Life Seed by albertnothlit Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall My Twentieth Year by AC Benus; Book 4 of Verse Storms by Thorn Wilde Don't forget.... Read, Write, and Review!

I feel for you, Drew. Teeth pain is the absolute worst. I will say I'm glad you're getting it taken care of. I can tell you from personal experience that it tends to just keep coming back. It will start feeling even better as the infection goes away, but keep that appointment. Just because it feels better doesn't mean it will keep feeling better. I go in the end of this month to have more work done on my teeth, and they've already pulled the 5 that repeatedly got infected. This is a case of "Do as I say, not as I do" lol.