Renee Stevens

Ingredients: 24 oz Peanut Butter 8 C Oatmeal 12 oz Reece's Pieces 12 oz M & M's 1 sm package Chocolate Chips 1 sm pkg Vanilla Chips 2 C Sugar 2 1/4 C Brown Sugar 1/2 lb Butter 6 eggs 4 t Baking Soda 1 T Light Karo Syrup 1 T Vanilla Directions Mix together Reeses Pieces, M & M's, Chocolate Chips, & Vanilla Chips - Set aside In a VERY large bowl, mix together sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, peanut butter, baking soda, karo syrup, and vanilla. Combine candy mixture with wet mixture and mix well (Will probably have to use your hands) Slowly add oatmeal, until thoroughly combined Use ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop to place on pans Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes Makes A LOT of cookies (I've never counted)

Happy Friday everyone! And if you didn't notice, it's Friday the 13th to boot! Do you have any Friday the 13th superstitions? If so, let me hear em! Just for fun, I'm going to do a "special prompt" for Friday the 13th, on top of our regular prompts. Since we missed prompts last week, I'm also including the newest Poetry Prompt for you. Have fun writing, and don't forget that prompt responses can be posted in GA Stories, but any under 1K must be posted as part of a collection! Special Prompt #1 Tag - Friday the 13th It's Friday the 13th and you're having a movie night with all your friends. You're having a marathon of the Friday the 13th movies. You've just put the second one in when you get a creepy phone call and start hearing sounds from outside. What was said in the phone call and what sounds are you hearing and who, or what, is making them. Prompt 498 – Creative Tag -List of Words Use the following words in a story : a pen, a blonde wig, a bag of groceries, a swan, and a deck of cards. Prompt 499 – Creative Tag -The Achievement You going to working long and hard on your project. It is taking years to get to this point but you have finally completed it. What is this major achievement? Poetry Prompt #20 Write three Found Poems on the themes of 'Loss,' 'Memory,' and 'Celebration.' Your source material is The Dead, by James Joyce. You may decide if you wish to explore metre in your poem or not, or rhymes to accent certain parts. You may also wish to consider using a repeating section as a refrain. Let your imagination run free, as long as you allow the three principal themes to guide your creation of three freestanding works. You can learn more about Found Poetry in the thread. For our featured Prompt Responses, I decided to take a look at the poetry responses from Poetry Prompt #19:

It's been quite a while since we've focused on our Premium stories. While the majority of the site is free, Premium Stories are available to members for a small fee. Premium access can be purchased in increments of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. We'll take a look at each of the stories that can be found in Premium to give you an idea of what is available. Some of our Premium Stories are part of a series. This go around, I'll be combining stories for those that multiple books in the series are found in Premium. For this first post, I wanted us to take a look at the currently posting story, Journey's End, which is also the second book in The Harvest Series. The Harvest Series MA Church Taken Book 1 Complete In 2050, humanity finds out they are indeed not alone. Massive crafts appear without warning above the capitals of all major nations. The planet Tah'Nar is dying. Chemical warfare reduced the warrior race to sterility. They need fresh DNA in order to reproduce... and so they turn to Earth. Dale Michael assumes he's safe since he's under the age limit for The Harvest. How wrong he is! Category: Fiction Genres: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Tags: Medical, Aliens, Adult, Off-Planet, Space, BDSM Rating: Mature Words: 74,277 Journey's End Book 2 Currently Posting Chosen by the Tah’Narian starship captain Keyno, Dale's adapted to life with an alien and having his body mutated so he can carry a young. He’s closed the chapter on his old life. On Tah’Nar, Dale has a loving mate and good friends. He’s helped cement peace with the Onfre. Dale's happy. But life is never that simple. Join Dale for non-stop adventure and a love that crosses several worlds. Category: Fiction Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi Tags: Aliens, Gay, Off-Planet, Space, Anal, Love Rating: Mature Words: 26,309+ Series Excerpt: From Taken I was seventeen when the aliens first appeared, so my parents assumed I was safe. The final collection would occur before I turned twenty-three. I didn’t fall within the guidelines the aliens had established, so I thought I had nothing to fear. I was wrong. Exactly one week before my twenty-third birthday, an extraction team showed up to collect me. My parents were distraught, and I fought them, but nothing stopped them from taking me. Somebody somewhere had made a terrible mistake. But no one would listen to me. “I’m not supposed to be collected!” Men in SWAT gear dragged me to a waiting van. One of the aliens stood off to the side, watching. I dug my feet into the ground, trying to halt the parade of their progress. Two human soldiers were beside me, trying to secure my arms behind my back, but I kept twisting and jerking, frantic to break their hold on me. “Listen to me! I’m only twenty-two years old.” “Son of a bitch, stop jumping around, you little fag,” the man to the right of me hissed as he grabbed at my wrist and twisted. “Fuck!” I yelled as pain radiated up my arm. I managed to get my other arm free long enough to get in a good solid shot at the asshole who was currently trying to twist my hand off. I busted his nose. Anger boiled in his eyes as he whipped his arm back to strike me. Before the blow could land, the Tah’Narian with the extraction team jerked the man away from me by the front of his shirt. Another human took his team member’s place immediately, but my focus was on the alien, not the other man holding my arm.

Congratulations, Cole! Well deserved

Monday, Monday, Monday. What could we possibly have for you on a Monday? Oh yeah! We have a new featured story for you. This week, courtesy of Timothy M., we are taking a look at Red Running Shoes by aditus. Remember, if you're reading a story (or have read one) that you'd like to see featured in the blog, simply write a review and send it to me! Red Running Shoes by aditus Reviewer: Timothy M Status: Complete Word Count: 72,095 Looking back over the featured story reviews I’ve done, I realize they tend to revolve around story content or characters which annoy or upset readers. Maybe this is because such stories make more of an impression, or maybe I just like ranting in reviews after I read chapters. In any case, the subject of this review certainly fits the bill. Indeed, Red Running Shoes may take the prize as the tale which has sparked the most intense reactions so far. It had readers leaving incensed reviews and arguing heatedly in the story discussion forum. Not everyone agreed with Aditus about the way the story ended, and there were plenty of shouting and at the characters during the unfolding of events. I have to admit it took me a while to start reading RRS. I was put off by the story description outlining the main character of Jonah who is ‘quirky, irrational, impulsive, talks to Zach, his imaginary laptop friend, collects people who want to take care of him, and slightly possessive, manipulative boyfriends.’ Most of all the word irrational gave me severe doubts, but I decided to trust Aditus and my GA friends who seemed to enjoy the story. Did I regret this decision? No, I guess not... in spite of all the and Once I took the plunge, I was quickly caught up in the magic Aditus weaves. Jonah was betrayed and hurt by someone he loved and trusted, and his reaction was to run away to another city/country. As the story starts, he returns and tries to pick up his life. He longs for love but is scared of another broken heart. The author makes us engage ourselves in Jonah and the people around him, we hope the best and fear the worst, as we alternately laugh and curse over his antics. There are some wonderful people in Jonas’ life but I think my favorite is the Sicilian hat maker and photographer who plays a crucial role in the story. In fact, the description of the landscape and the food in Sicily has me eager to go there on vacation. That reminds me: While reading the story please make sure to have your favorite snacks available, since Aditus’ detailed descriptions of delicious meals will probably make you crave food as well as wine or coffee. If you like romance rollercoasters, RRS is worth trying. I guarantee all your emotions will be played upon. And the image of a dove tattoo will stay with you forever. Category: Fiction Genres: Romance Tags: Adult, Friendship, Gay, Europe Rating: Mature

I hope everyone has had a great week! If you ever miss what's happened in the news blog, you can always tune into the Weekly Wrap Up to find out what you missed. Don't forget, if you've read a story that you'd like to see featured in the blog, send me a PM. I use one or two reviews a month, so it might take a bit for your review to show up, but it's great to have reviews waiting in the wing, and at least eventually your favorite stories will get their day in the blog. C S R Discussion Day: Dean Warner Intrigues By Daddydavek - To help wrap up the end of the month, we held the discussion day for Dean Warner Intrigues by DaddyDaveK. Hopefully you were able to join and ask DaddyDaveK your questions. Gay Authors Software Update - We're planning to do some software upgrades later on this year. To let members know what they can expect when the time comes, Myr joined us in the GA News Blog. It was a very informative blog entry and I strongly encourage everyone to check it out if you haven't already done so. Prompt Me! #496 & # 497 - We wrapped up the week with a couple of new prompts and a couple of prompt features. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team** 2016 Summer Anthology: Wicked Games - Due May 26th, 2016 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided - Due August 26th, 2016 2016 Winter Anthology: The Forgotten - Due November 26th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Signature Updates: Black Widow by Mark Arbour; Book 16 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) From the Cup of the Worthless by Cynus Innocence & Carnality by Mann Ramblings No Flash by Cia Quick As A Mongoose by Cynus The G. M. Os. by CarlHoliday; Book 2 of Hercules III My Only Escape by Comicality Promising Updates: Falling Apart by craftingmom Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall The Hollow Hills by Valkyrie The Lonely Heart Club – a prompt story by aditus Headstall's Reflections by Headstall April Musings by Valkyrie Never Cry Wolf by aditus My Twentieth Year by AC Benus Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Happy Friday, Y'all! Who's ready for a couple of new prompts? Can't believe it's already the last Prompt Me for April. This year just seems to be flying by. Remember, if your prompt response is less than 1,000 words, it can be posted in GA Stories as long as it's part of a collection. Now, let's see what comicfan has for you this week. Prompt 496 – Creative Tag – First Line “Why are you looking at me that way?” Prompt 497 – Creative Tag – The Star You were the best of friends growing up. While you were the shy quiet one, he was the athletic outgoing one. In the middle of your junior year of high school his family moved away, but you stayed in touch. Now as you finish college, you turn on the TV to find your old friend has been signed to star in a multi-film deal based off the hottest book series. He has announced he is also going back to his old hometown to surprise his best friend with some important news. What is it? Our featured prompt responses this week are from Prompt #494:

Hope everyone has had a good weekend. It's time to look over the last week and see what happened in the news blog, as well as the updated stories from our promoted authors. Just a reminder, don't forget to join us tomorrow for the CSR Discussion Day for Dean Warner Intrigues by Daddydavek. If you haven't finished it yet, there's still time. Featured Story: MetaBattles - We started out the week with a review for MetaBattles by JohnAR. If you haven't started reading the Meta series yet, check in and see what other readers had to say. Author Scramble - It had been a while since we'd done a game in the GA news blog, so this week I put together an author scramble. The answers to the scramble were: craftingmom, Robert Rex, QuinnDK, WolfM, Nick Brady, Timothy M, Refugium, Ronyx, skinnydragon, FlyOnTheWall, Dayne Mora, jamessavik, Uplifted Spirit, JohnAR, kuragari129 Prompt Me! #494 & #495 - To finish off the week, we had a couple of new prompts and featured the prompt responses for Prompt #492. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team** 2016 Summer Anthology: Wicked Games - Due May 26th, 2016 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided - Due August 26th, 2016 2016 Winter Anthology: The Forgotten - Due November 26th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Signature Updates: Leopards Leap by Graeme; Book 3 of The Lilydale Leopards The G. M. Os. by CarlHoliday A Class By HImself by Comicality The Best Year by Krista Black Widow by Mark Arbour; Book 16 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) From the Cup of the Worthless by Cynus Innocence & Carnality by Mann Ramblings No Flash by Cia Promising Updates: Falling Apart by craftingmom Morningstar: The Malaise by Headstall April Musings by Valkyrie Never Cry Wolf by aditus My Twentieth Year by AC Benus Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Happy Friday! A little birdie told me that people were wanting their prompt fix. The prompts are a great way to jumpstart writing, whether you're stuck on your current project or you're looking to write for the first time. Don't forget that prompt responses that are under 1K can be posted in GA Stories, but they must be posted as part of a collection. So without further delay, here's your weekly prompts. Prompt 494 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following words in a story : army uniform, a dog, a tent, a hamburger, and a toy. Prompt 495 – Creative Tag – The Vacation Mostly you wanted to stay home, but you won a vacation. Where was the trip to and how was it? This week, let's look at the responses for Prompt #492:

Welcome to a new week and a new featured story. Today we're looking at the 4th book in JohnAR's MetaWolf series, MetaBattles. MetaBattles by JohnAR Reviewer: Defiance19 Status: Complete Word Count: 102,788 MetaBattles, the fourth book in the MetaWolf series by JohnAR, picks up right where Book three, MetaShadowlands left off. If you are unfamiliar with the series, Books 1-3 will catch you up with an insecure Meta, Colt, who is bossy, nerdy, quick-witted, and brilliant. He counsels (and more) his pack of eight gay, very sexy, very hunky Inner Circle wolves led by a seemingly submissive Alpha. The Inner Circle wolves each have a scent that is recognizable to Colt, (their scents play a vital part to the storyline). They live with the constant threat of devious vampires who want their Meta dead or captured. There is a bounty on Colt, so for good measure throw in Fate, who is a person or persons manipulating events and people so that a prophecy could be fulfilled or fail to come to pass. Can you already tell this is not your normal wolf/vampire story? I was more than anxious to begin MetaBattles which as the name suggests, meant there was a war coming. Book 4 opens with our Meta in handcuffs, and not in a good way because someone has yet again betrayed the pack. The tension builds immediately, but it is not so easy to keep a Meta down and in the process of his liberation we meet Warren, the 8th Inner Circle wolf. I have a particular fondness for Warren but not to worry, you will discover your favorite too. The burning question at the end of Book 3, ‘what happened to the Alpha?’ is finally answered. JAR came close to being tarred and feathered, but I will say it was worth the wait when it all came to light. You will find that there are answers to some open ended questions, but these only lead to more questions. I caution you here, that in the Metaverse, nothing is as it seems. Those never ending questions drove the plot to some of the most twisty, mind numbing scenarios and cliffhangers, always leaving me wanting more, but having to wait impatiently for the next posting. Let's not forget, there is a battle brewing. The Inner Circle wolves were growing, getting bigger, faster and stronger with the very unique help of their Meta.(The realisation of what it could be is very intriguing) The wolves are planning strategically, arming themselves with knowledge of their enemies, seeking out alliances in other packs. The Meta is cunningly amassing finances, and fight training with military precision is in full force Colt included. The politics and brokerage between the packs’ Alphas added to the realism and showcased the play for allegiance and power. No one could really be trusted. Not wolves or humans, who managed somehow to be on the take for vampires. They proved to be relentless in the pursuit of the pack and Colt. Some of those scenes were written particularly well, evoking images and emotions as if I were actually there. The vampires weren't sitting idly by either. They assembled from across the globe; nine Vampire Queens for their own decisive planning. There was also the matter of Colt. Some of the Queens had an agenda in that regard and there is some manipulation within the group. It promised to be a bloody, ruthless battle. The closer we got to the battle, the more alarming the vampire agenda became. Would the wolves be ready? Did they have enough fighters? Who would win in a war between Wolves and Vampires? What would happen to the Meta? Would the vampires succeed in their plans for him? Who would survive? Would I? Because surely at this point losing wolves I had come to care for, was a startling fact. In the midst of this turmoil, JAR skillfully transitions and brings us back from the edge and we see the very human side to the wolves and the effect the looming war is having on them. A conflicted Colt continues to struggle with the love vs. scent attraction which has plagued him. He questions his worth and usefulness to the pack, even as he worried about the real possibility of losing any of his wolves to war. It leads to very introspective discussions with the wolves, and even more passionate debates on the Meta forum. As I learnt more about the origin of Colt’s insecurities, I found myself sympathizing more which was a departure from wanting to strangle him in previous books. There was also a deeper connection to the characters. They could almost be people we know, which made them relatable and I believed the characters as people. This is another reason I couldn't turn away from MetaBattles. Instances like this made me forget that this was actually fiction. Tender is not a word I would use to describe wolves. Yet, there are times when JAR gives us just that. I dare you not to cry when the wolves celebrate Christmas or when they gather the night before battle, or when they bring Colt back from near death after another attempt on his life. That scene provided a fascinating visual of a werewolf shift in midair that is forever imprinted in my memory. Other scenes, like the wolves and Colt walking into a barn to mingle with the rest of the outer circle pack, and the speeches to the battle ready wolves, were also very impactful. Honestly, there's more but I can't give it all away! There are so many reasons why MetaBattles is a must read. JAR challenges the reader. You will laugh, you will cry, you will rage, you might want to hunt down the author, but you will want to keep going. There is the supernatural, what with the shamans, owl tokens and wolf shifters, and the vampires. There are kernels of mythology, undercurrents of psychological tenets and maybe, no, definitely romance. There is sex, and the sex is explosive and primal. The story encompasses all of this, and makes no excuses for politically incorrect stances, all of which makes it a very engrossing read. Each chapter is structured to build upon the next moving forward measuredly, and tie into the MetaPrompts, which gives us even more obscure hints and clues into the past and future of Colt, the wolves and the vampires. MetaBattles and the MetaWolf series are not for the faint of heart. Thrilling, as it is complex it defies the norm, it will provoke you. There is inevitable tragedy in MetaBattles and it is a maddening hunt for clues, none of which seem to point you in the right direction. But, it consistently leaves you thinking and feeling long after the chapter is done. If you want a satisfying and engaging story look no further, go on and give it a try. Continue the journey with MetaBattles or start from the beginning with Meta. Then join us in the forum to rant and speculate. You won't regret it. Category: Fiction Genres: Mystery Tags: vampire, were-creatures, adult, gay, menage, fetish Rating: Mature

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. It's time to take a look back over the week to see what you might have missed in the GA blogs this week. Also, make sure you're keeping an eye on Anthology deadlines, and if you've missed a chapter update from one of the site's promoted authors, you'll see what they posted as well. Have a great rest of your weekend! April Signature Feature: Pour Me Another By K.c. - K.C. is this months featured Signature Author. For our Monday post, we shared some of the reviews written for his story Pour Me Another. There is also a Signature Banner that you can download if you'd like. April Signature Excerpt: Pour Me Another By K.c. - If you haven't already read K.C.'s story Pour Me Another then here's your chance to take a look at the story. To help you get a feel for the story, Wednesday we shared a bit of an excerpt. Hopefully it entices you to take a look! Prompt Me! #492, #493, & O. Henry - It was time for a couple of new prompts, and this week not only did we have our regular prompts from comicfan, but there was also an O. Henry Short Story Prompt from AC Benus. For our featured prompt responses, we took a look at the responses from Prompt #490. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team** 2016 Summer Anthology: Wicked Games - Due May 26th, 2016 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided - Due August 26th, 2016 2016 Winter Anthology: The Forgotten - Due November 26th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Signature Updates: The G. M. Os. by CarlHoliday Black Widow by Mark Arbour; Book 16 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) From the Cup of the Worthless by Cynus Innocence & Carnality by Mann Ramblings No Flash by Cia Promising Updates: ...And All Shall Fade To Black by layla Cards on the Table by Headstall April Musings by Valkyrie Never Cry Wolf by aditus One Hundred and Fifty-Five Sonnets by AC Benus Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Sorry Caz, they've been posted now

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 492 – Creative Tag – First Line “Now what do we do?” Prompt 493 – Creative Tag – The Body You had gone out jogging, trying to clear your mind and get in shape. Listening to your ipod and ignoring your surroundings, you step onto a branch, slip, and fall down a slight incline on the side of the road. When you finally sit up, you find yourself staring at a dead body. What happened next? O. Henry Short Story Prompt #2 Write your own version of The Last Leaf and provide a twist that explains how the Last Leaf was able to save Johnsy's life. To find out more, visit the thread. This week, we're going to take a look at the responses to Prompt #490:

I hope everyone has had a great week! If you ever miss what's happened in the news blog, you can always tune into the Weekly Wrap Up to find out what you missed. Thank you to everyone who responded to my plea for reviews. Don't forget, if you've read a story that you'd like to see featured in the blog, send me a PM. I use one or two reviews a month, so it might take a bit for your review to show up, but it's great to have reviews waiting in the wing, and at least eventually your favorite stories will get their day in the blog. April C S R Feature: Dean Warner Intrigues By Daddydavek - Daddydavek is well known around the site. While he is great about reviewing, he's also a site author, and this month we're taking a look at one of his stories for the CSR. The discussion day is set for April 25th, so make sure to read Dean Warner Intrigues before that day so that you can participate. And don't forget to leave reviews when reading! Ask An Author #38 - Ask An Author has become one of the members favorite blog series. Dark asks authors the questions so that you don't have to. This month's Ask An Author featured questions to Andrew_Q_Gordon, Sammy Blue, and Valkyrie. There was also an added bonus of some insight into Dark. Check it out and let us know what you think! Prompt Me! #490 & #491 - Prompt me is a great blog feature. Whether an author needs a break from one of their current works or needs some inspiration, the prompts are here to help! This week featured some great new prompts as well as the newest poetry prompt. For our featured responses, we took a look at all the responses to Poetry Prompt #18. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team** 2016 Summer Anthology: Wicked Games - Due May 26th, 2016 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided - Due August 26th, 2016 2016 Winter Anthology: The Forgotten - Due November 26th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Signature Updates: Leopards Leap by Graeme; Book 3 of The Lilydale Leopards Waiting Outside The Lines by Comicality Black Widow by Mark Arbour; Book 16 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) The G. M. Os. by CarlHoliday Shelter by Comicality From the Cup of the Worthless by Cynus Innocence & Carnality by Mann Ramblings No Flash by Cia The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 9 by Comicality; Book 9 of The Secret Life Of Billy Chase My Brother Daniel by Nephylim Promising Updates: Falling Apart by craftingmom ...And All Shall Fade To Black by layla Headstall's Reflections by Headstall Treading Water by Headstall Holding Back by Thorn Wilde My Twentieth Year by AC Benus April Musings by Valkyrie Never Cry Wolf by aditus One Hundred and Fifty-Five Sonnets by AC Benus Thorny Poetry by Thorn Wilde Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Thank you, Tim! There were some great responses and glad I was able to feature them.

It's time for new prompts! You were probably beginning to think they were never going to go up, but here they are! And guess what! We also have a new poetry prompt in the forums. Have you checked it out? If not, don't worry, we've included it to make things easier for you. Don't forget, prompt responses under 1,000 words must be posted as part of a collection. Prompt 490 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following words in a story : A man’s ring, a dish rag, a pillow, a snake, and a ticket. Prompt 491 – Creative Tag – The Find You and your best friend have gone out shopping for a surprise gift. You wander into this cute boutique and discover what you feel is the perfect gift. What was the find? Poetry Prompt #19 - Lullaby The prompt: Write lyrics to accompany George Gershwin's piano version of his composition, Lullaby. On the video, the place to begin setting the words occurs at minute 0:27. Choose any metre and rhyme scheme you think appropriate. You also decide if you want to write a song about sleep, or a song to put someone to sleep. You can read more about it, here. Now, I decided for this weeks prompt responses, we're going to look at the Poetry Prompt #18:

Congrats to all the authors for being in the Ask An Author feature!

Seems like I'm constantly behind lately, but never fear, I didn't forget! For those who have been waiting, here's this months' Ask An Author feature that has been provided to us by Dark! Thank you, Dark, and all the authors who participated and the readers who asked the questions in the first place. Hopefully you enjoy this month's contribution! Ask an Author #38 Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors! In AtA #37, we had questions for authors Bill W, Robert Rex, and Sasha Distan. In AtA #3, we hear from authors Andrew Q Gordon, Sammy Blue, and Valkyrie. First up today is the amazing Classic Author Andrew Q Gordon, a good friend known to many of us simply as “Q.” He, Mr. Q., and Little Q have had a tumultuous few years and though Q doesn’t spend as much time on GA as he used to, it’s fun to watch his published career blossom. He’s a good person to be envious of, no doubts there. Do you remember Second Shot? It’s the story that really started it all, filled with some of Q’s favorite things. It’s funny how when one thing changes suddenly everything else seems to happen all at once. For example, Lil’ Q, being published, and getting married – a real whirl-wind! It may seem like a fairy tale, but it’s a lot of work. Just reading about it makes me tired. Take a look at Q’s website these days to keep track of what he’s writing next. And don’t forget to ask about the online publisher he helped get started. To Andrew Q. Gordon: What was it like collaborating with another author to write a novel such as you did in (Un)Masked? Working with another author is hit or miss to be honest. It depends on the other person. Anyta and I worked very well together - at least I thought we did. (And I suspect she thought so too.) Working with someone else requires that both parties can accept the other person not liking what they did enough to put their name on it and being open to change. We went through about 6 or 7 versions of each chapter. We'd write it, send it to the other, make changes, send back until both were satisfied. It's harder than doing it yourself, but I think the end result can be much better because you each bring strengths to the work. The difficulty is finding works you want or are willing to share. That's the hardest part. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. I think it was the most fun I had writing. This is the first time showcasing Author Sammy Blue in the blog. A member since 2013, he was gone awhile, life being what it is, and at 25, he’s still a youngster to many of us, though we still remember those days! Hailing from far away (from me) in Germany, Sammy has posted one complete story with a holiday theme, and one story still in progress, Gemini. This is a story about teenage Josh and his crazy public school life. With as down as the beginning is, you know it can only go up, and we know that Sammy is himself a sucker for happy endings. Of course, a number of memorable characters pepper the way and I know I’m not the only one glad that Sammy didn’t leave us hanging at chapter 23! Welcome back, Sammy, and write more! To Sammy Blue: How do you get your American settings so realistic when you're not an American yourself? Research, and lots of it. Actually, some things I just 'know'. That happens when you reads millions of words here on GA. If you've read more than a hundred high-school stories, at some point you have a general idea of what to expect. I also tend to ask people if I'm unsure about details. Often I visit the GA chat or ask one of my American friends on Skype. For example the chapter I'm currently working on is set in Washington D.C. - Rigel (Editor here on GA) has been so kind to help me out by giving me general information about what areas he thinks my character's grandparents could live in and what locations they would visit with him during the weekend. From there I worked with Google (search, maps, images), and you can find out pretty much anything with Google, and Wikipedia, if you just spend some time with it. . Last but not least is Promising Author Valkyrie who is also being featured for the first time. Valkyrie is also enjoying her third year on GA and has graced us with many short stories. She’s also a regular on the Friday Prompts. The myriad experiences she’s had over her lifetime so far make for fascinating reading. I think my favorite so far is the one written for the 2015 Secret Santa: The Old Ways. Valkyrie skillfully mixes historical with spiritual and since it’s a love story, you also get the romance. It’s a touching tale of acceptance, all the more poignant in our troubled world that’s more concerned with finding boxes to shove people into or labels that supposedly “define” us. This is one of those stories that sticks with you long after reading. I have to say I hadn’t read this author before this anthology, but it certainly made me come back for more! Looking forward to seeing what more the author has in store for us. To Valkyrie: What inspired the creation of Alex from Alex's Legacy? Was there something that prompted his story? Sam and Alex appear in the story that I am currently writing, The Hollow Hills, very briefly. This story has been in my head for many years, predating Alex’s Legacy. They made such an impression on me that I felt like I had to know more about them. They were the inspiration for my response to Prompt 305, but after writing the prompt I knew I couldn’t just stop there. The ending of the prompt came as a big surprise to me when I wrote it and I felt compelled to tell Alex’s story. Now, as a little bonus, how about a bit from yours truly? Considering the dearth in my own writing, I’ve recently gone back to being a regular Author here on GA. There’s been a lot of changes in my life over the past few years: I got my teaching credential and moved to Alaska, my brother and his wife had their first kid (my parents’ first biological grandchild), my parents divorced after 30 years of marriage, and despite the fact I’ve developed some fairly serious arthritis in multiple joints, I recently came to the conclusion that I’m the happiest, most content I’ve been in a very long time. It’s weird talking about myself! But I’ve received a handful of questions directed at me for this blog feature, and I’ve finally gotten to a place where I’m comfortable answering them, so here goes! To Dark: How did you write Ben, from The One I Want, so well? Specifically, his anxiety and panic disorders? In short, I can connect to Ben so well because I was him. Inside I was lost and afraid, but I’d gotten so adept at portraying the “perfect life” that I even believed it myself. On Christmas this past year (in 2015), my brother decided to apply his fist to my sister’s face in front of our mother and my sister-in-law. He had to set the baby down to go after my sister, so draw your own conclusions there. After the cops left and the family sort of dispersed to lick their wounds, my sister turned to me and said something to the effect of, “Finally, they’re paying attention.” I gave her a questioning look and she said, “If it had been you, they’d have just shrugged it off again.” It gave me a start, because she’s right. Nobody batted an eye when he and I fought growing up and nobody gave a second thought to the fact that he and I have talked maybe once a year since I moved out. It was only about six years ago when through counseling I realized my underlying anger issues probably started from his harassment of me as children. I was always told that since I was older and “more mature” that it was my responsibility to get along with my brother and that I was the one who needed to stop “picking on” him. The double-standard and middle-child invisibility I felt turned inward because I didn’t feel I was allowed to act unhappy or hurt or scared. That’s not including all the confusion about gender and sexual identity or later the knots I twisted myself into when I got involved with a man who shared far too many characteristics with my brother. Though he never raised a hand to me, being with my ex was just as damaging. I remember one night sobbing into my phone, leaving a voicemail for my ex’s mother and feeling so alone I couldn’t catch my breath and my heart was racing so loud I couldn’t hear myself talk. My ex got pissed because I woke him and he couldn’t get back to sleep. He left the room and played on his computer until I had to leave for work. Later he yelled at me for not waking him first and why did I have to bring his mother into it? She is still a good friend and I knew better even then to wake him in the middle of the night, though he had yet to be diagnosed with sleep apnea or chronic depression. Looking back now, it’s easy for me to see that when it came to writing Ben, he became the receptacle for all that baggage. He became a mish-mash of myself and my ex, complete with our health issues. All the crap I considered “evil” then got lumped onto Will. Rick was that desire for someone to rescue me. I thought at the time that I had brought all this onto myself. Pretty textbook stuff, really. Knowing what I do now, it’s not surprising that the social anxiety I’d been fighting my whole life went bonkers and I tried to deal with it by trying to control everything. I went through a series of different medications and counselors until a combination of things seemed to snap me out of the bad spiral I was in. The worst part was getting better enough to see how bad it was but still not well enough to do anything about it. Just thinking about spending holidays with my family (and brother) gave me panic attacks and bursts of depression that could last weeks. This year, I looked at him in the middle of his domineering and felt nothing. When he couldn’t get a rise out of me or my youngest brother, he went after my older sister with whom he’d never shown this side of himself. Despite how awful the whole thing was, I realized that I had healed enough that he could no longer hurt me. It was liberating. Yes, I originally wrote “Dinner with Gran” for a friend of mine. I wrote the other short stories while in and out of my first counseling sessions. Pretty easy now to see those mood swings in the early drafts as we tried to figure out the correct balance of medications and behavior therapy. Tenormin was one of the first medications we tried, and I kept it for Ben because originally he was a recovering drug addict, that’s how he dealt with his issues. When I did the revisions that became the version now on GA, that tidbit was dropped, along with several other sections that I felt no longer made sense. My last counselor ended up in the story, though he was not a rugby player. My sister was Shelly and my best friend was Hunter. Parts of other people I knew made up the rest of the cast. I have toyed with re-writing “The One I Want” again, but there’s enough distance now from that “old me” that I’m afraid I would ruin it. I guess that’s life. Gotta keep moving forward. I apologize for that long ramble. You’ll be glad to read 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 Billy Martin, Dayne Mora, and Mark Arbour! I’m always in the market for new questions! Simply PM me (Dark). Until next time! Dark

I did see that Thorn, but that update won't show up until this weeks Wrap Up. The wrap up story updates go from the previous Sunday to Saturday.

I know, I'm running a little late getting this out today, but better late than never, right? So, without further delay, here's what happened this week in the GA News Blogs. March C S R Discussion Day: Short Stories By Renee Stevens - Monday was the discussion day for my three short stories: Friends First, Line of Sight, and More Than a Pact. Hope y'all enjoyed it! 2016 Summer Anthology - Wicked Games - Due June 26Th - For our Wednesday post, I used the blog for the Summer Anthology announcement. This post covers all the rules and guidelines, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Just as a reminder, make sure to read the guidelines thoroughly. As time goes on, we find things that need to be tweaked in the rules and guidelines, so they CAN and DO change from time to time. Prompt Me! #488 & #489 - A couple of new prompts to get you writing. For our featured response, I showcased all of the current responses to AC Benus' new prompt series, O. Henry Short Stories Prompts. Anthology Announcements: ***NOTE: All Deadlines are for submission to the Anthology Proof Team** 2016 Summer Anthology: Wicked Games - Due May 26th, 2016 2016 Fall Anthology: Blindsided - Due August 26th, 2016 2016 Winter Anthology: The Forgotten - Due November 26th, 2016 All Pre-2016 Anthology Themes - Due December 14, 2016 Premium Updates: Journey's End by M.A. Church; Book 2 of The Harvest *Premium* Signature Updates: The G. M. Os. by CarlHoliday Black Widow by Mark Arbour; Book 16 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) My Only Escape by Comicality From the Cup of the Worthless by Cynus Innocence & Carnality by Mann Ramblings No Flash by Cia Promising Updates: Aditus' prompts and circumstances by aditus Falling Apart by craftingmom Headstall's Reflections by Headstall Treading Water by Headstall My Twentieth Year by AC Benus Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

However, if authors want to add a synopsis in the comments, they can do that.

I can see the appeal, but to be honest, doing a short synopsis would be problematic. I think it would make the blog post a bit clunky, and I'd have to contact all the authors and wait, but then for those authors that didn't get back to me in time, they wouldn't be able to be a part of the blog post. Also, some authors don't post their prompt response until Wednesday or Thursday and there wouldn't be time to get a synopsis from those authors.

I have no issue with the commenting on top of the like! That was kind of my thought in sharing more than one. It brings readers attention to more than just one author and hopefully is helping to expand the different authors' readership. I hope to continue this way. I'm considering some other options as well, but some of them are a bit time consuming, so I need to consider carefully before I start, make sure that what I want to do is something I can do on a consistent basis.

I can't believe it's already April. And since it's the 1st of April, guess what that means? April Fools Day!!!! Anyone had any great pranks played on them so far today? Played any pranks on anyone else? What is the best prank that was ever played on you OR that you were a part of? Enquiring minds want to know!!!! While you think on that, I guess it's time to take a look at the prompts for this week! Prompt 488 – Creative Tag – First Line “Please come quickly. I’m afraid to be here alone!” Prompt 489 – Creative Tag – Meteorite It was a beautiful night, with a full moon shining bright. You lay on the blanket watching the meteor shower. Suddenly, you notice a red streak heading right for you. You stand up and begin to run, only to be knocked over by the blast from the meteorite crashing into the ground. You go back to look at the meteor only to be found by the police and many scientists will immediately quarantine you. What is up with the meteorite? Today I decided to showcase all the responses to AC Benus' newest prompt series, O. Henry Short Story Prompt #1: Continue>> Continue>> Continue>> Continue>> Now, time for a quick question... How are you liking the new format? Do you like the showcasing of all the responses to a single prompt? If you do, like the blog entry, if you don't, comment and tell me why!

Thank you Gary! I'm glad that you enjoyed the one you read. Thanks! This one has actually been in the works for a while, but finally making progress on it!