Renee Stevens

Time to look at another Signature author! This month we're taking a look at @Comicality (or Comsie as he is also known). Comsie has been with the site from the start. I'll be sharing a few of Comsie's stories here, but would love to hear what your favorite story is from Comsie. Also, all stories listed are marked as complete, so if it's a story that you've already read, why not take a few minutes and go leave a review on the story main page! omicality's Shack Out Back The Shack Out Back tells stories of teen romance, angst, confusion, and the occasional heartbreak. Tales of love that you will hopefully enjoy and take to heart. Over 50 different stories and series are waiting for you! Stop on in!

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote a blog that wasn't for the various GA staff blogs. Things are still super crazy here, some good and some bad. Unfortunately, I have become pretty lax in keeping up on GA, and I'm afraid that's meant the loss of some close friendships, hopefully they can rebuilt. It sucks, but real life has been about all I've been able to handle for the last year or so. Hopefully that will change and I'll be around more, but I can't promise anything at the moment. It's been a while since I've written, though I've been re-reading some of my favorite books and it's got my fingers itching to write. I've got so many ideas lately, and just need to actually sit down and try to write. We'll see how that goes. It's been so long since I was even able to get into reading, so I'm thinking that's probably a step in the right direction. Hopefully I'll have something to share soon. I'm crossing my fingers. Baby J is doing awesome. He's such a smart little boy and he is growing up soooo quickly. He's already 20 months old and is wearing 2T clothes! He's gonna be tall like his daddy. He's going to a daycare a couple times a week, for an hour or two each time to prepare him for starting preschool next year. He absolutely loves it. It's at the recreation center, so I have to stay on site, but it all works out. I work out for a bit, sometimes read for a bit after, and then pick him up. He has a couple little friends there (one is a girl that they chase each other around). He talks some, thought not as much as we thought he would be. He jabbers, but not many real words yet. I don't think it's so much a case of him not being able to, as much as it's a case of he really just doesn't want to. He seems to be able to match shapes and colors, even if he doesn't know what the shapes and colors are called yet. So yeah, he's growing up way too fast!!!! On another note, I'm back in school. Definitely never thought I would be back in school at 37, but it's going well. I've finished one class, almost finished with another, and then I have my final class for the semester. It's going well, and when I'm all done (should be next spring) I'll have two separate certificates. One will be in Digital Design and the other will be Web Development, which are two areas where I could probably work from home. I've debated whether or not to go for an associates degree, but that still hasn't been decided. I'll already have the computer science elective credits, and would have all the general studies left if I decide to go that route, so we'll see what happens. It will be good to have some type of certification, especially since there's a pretty good possibility that my husband will get laid off from work in the very near future. Honestly, at this point it might be a blessing, but it's still a bit stressful not knowing what the future will bring. He works in the oil/natural gas field, and things have slowed down way more than they have in the past. He's always made it through previous lay offs, but things are a lot more dire this go around. We'll be okay for a while if it does happen, our biggest worry will be health/dental/prescription insurance. If he does get laid off, we'll still have two months of those, but will have to figure things out after that. For those who have been here a while, you may remember previous posts (years ago) about my brother being diagnosed with leukemia. He's been in remission for nearly 5 years, but his latest tests showed that may no longer be the case. That's another wait and see thing, as they are planning to do more tests in three months to see if it is the cancer. This isn't entirely unexpected as the medication he was on usually has to be changed after about 5 years (max) and he's nearing that benchmark now. It's still a bit of a shock though. Let's see. What else has been going on, lol. I left my publisher, Dreamspinner Press, last May after failure to pay royalties. I wasn't owed much, but considering they still haven't paid me three quarters worth of royalties, it seems like I made the right choice. It wasn't so much about the royalties, as they weren't much, but if they declare bankruptcy, I really didn't want my story contracts to be tied up in court for who knows how long. I've got one of the stories republished, it's on Kindle Unlimited for the first time ever, but the other one needs some work before I put it back up on Amazon. Last, but not least, I'm seeing a new doctor. I'm still hurting pretty much all the time, and have some other issues. My new doctor suspects that part of the problem is that my Vitamin D is still too low. Basically it's about half where he would like to see it. He had me get all the lab results for the last year so that he can see how deep they tested for various things. I see him again on the 17th and will hopefully find out more. He does think that some of my aches and pains are from adhesions, which would be a result of the three surgeries within a one year period (c-section, gallbladder, and appendix). Not much to do about that, except for surgery, which would cause more adhesions. Overall, I'm doing good, just busy. Hope y'all are doing well!!! Cheers Renee

Well, it's time to see who our mystery author was for this month. Do you think you got it right? Well, let's take a look shall we? This month's mystery author was..... Brayon Did you get it right? Check out these stories from Brayon!

It's time to take a look at another Signature author! This month, we're taking a look at @Parker Owens. I'll share a few of their stories, but would love to hear what your favorite story is from Parker! I'll only be sharing complete stories, so if it's a story that you've read, why not go and leave a review on the stories main page! Parker Owens writes poetry about the natural world mathematics, and heartache. His stories speak of loneliness, longing and love. Follow him on the back roads to places you've never stopped to visit.

Sorry all, I'm running a little behind today, so let's just get right to the review! Josh.mp4 Albert Nothlit Reviewer: Puppilull Status: Complete Word Count: 34,936 I’m sure many of you know and love Albert Nothlit for his science fiction adventure stories, that bring strange worlds and even stranger creatures alive. I’ve read them and have been on the edge of my seat to find out what will happen to the main characters. You see with Albert, you never really know. Stories can take unexpected turns and go down paths you didn’t see coming. A big plus in my book, but if you’re looking for something more predictable and generally all feelgood, perhaps you should wait with Albert’s work to another day. This is most certainly the case with the rather dark story behind this review. It concerns the deeply saddening issue of teen suicide. And why should anyone read a tale of such tragedy? Just because all too many of us come face to face with this issue. If not in our immediate circle of friends, I’m pretty sure you all have someone you know or at least know of who have suffered in this way. The first step to prevent suicide is to be aware of the issue. Not hide from it, but face it head on. Difficult and upsetting, but it can save lives if we dare to get involved, dare to ask the question “Are you really OK?” Josh.mp4 lets us get to know Josh, who is the narrator of the story. As a new arrival in town, he strikes up a sort of friendship with Nathan, who turns out to be the odd one out at school. We get to follow their friendship, which is at times rather reluctant from Josh’s side. It is hard to fully grasp Nathan, maybe because we see him through the eyes of Josh. To me, Albert captures the mind of teen Josh so well. In his mind, there is not even a possibility of someone taking their own life. But as teen go, he is also preoccupied mainly with himself with the usual obsessions of fitting in, finding friends, getting the attention of various love interests and worrying about his performance in sports. Not uncommon as it is a time in life when you try to find yourself. I commented on getting chills reading the parts describing Josh’s interaction with his high school friends and they weren’t good chills. I would never want to go back to being a high schooler again. To fully take in another person’s issues, especially ones as severe as Nathan’s, at that stage in life is asking a lot of a young person. I read this a few years ago and kept thinking of my own daughters and their friends. How can I help them deal with issues of this gravity? Maybe if we can make them aware of the risks and maybe signs, perhaps some can be saved. It’s a story that hits you in the heart. So have tissues and some time to reflect afterwards, when reading. Category: Fiction Genres: Drama Tags: teen, young adult, gay, under 18, north america, friendship Rating: Everyone

Another month and it's time for another Author Guess Who! We're always open to more participants, so if you're interested in answering the guess who questions, you can either PM me, or copy them from here, change the answers, and PM it to @Renee Stevens. The reveal will happen on February 18th! Now, who thinks they can figure out this month's author??? What is one thing that most GA members might not know about you? My first car was a stick-shift, and I had issues with it dying on inclines. What prompted you to write your first story? Lack of reading an excellent gay fiction that was character driven that didn't turn into an all-out orgy, or full of Shifters. Mainly in the genres, I like. What genre of books do you enjoy reading and have you written for that genre? Fantasy, Drama, Romance, SciFi. Is there a genre that you haven’t written for that you would consider trying later on? No. I've written in all the genres that I am comfortable with. The others I feel are outside of what I can currently do. What do like most about publishing on GA? Reader interaction. Do you have any unique writing habits or rituals to help you get into a writing mood? I've started to utilize the snowflake method of writing for my larger projects. How has your writing style evolved over time? I'm starting to get a lot more descriptive in my writing. Do you have a significant other? No Do you have any pets? No. Used to have a cat before she passed away. She loved it when I shared my taco salad with her. Do you post multi-chapter stories as you write? Do you wait until you’ve finished writing the entire story? Or is it something in between? I've done both ways, though I've been leaning towards posting once it's all done. What is your favorite television show? Ask me tomorrow, and you'll get a different answer. But currently, it's Doctor Who. Love the new lady doctor. What is your favorite movie? Same as above, it changes all the time. One that I watch to make me feel good is The Princess Bride. Also, Legend with Tom Cruise. Do you write poetry? Prose? Or both? I suck at poetry, so I stick to what I do well. If you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be? President George Washington. I want to ask him, how to abolish political parties. What would you say is your greatest accomplishment? Nothing, yet. I still have time to do stuff. Happy Guessing!!!!

Everyone put them as in progress last time, and that's fine, the author just needs to let me know.

Okay, so it's almost bedtime for me, but I wanted to get this out so that everyone knew some of the stuff going on before the upcoming anthology deadline. Author Incentives Participation was down for the last anthology. After some discussion, it has been decided to offer some author incentives. Incentives seemed a good way to possibly encourage authors to participate. After the final set of anthologies has been posted for the spring anthology, I will be doing a drawing. Authors get a single entry for each story that appears in the anthology. We will then draw three names (most likely using the site random.org), and the winners of the drawing will receive the following: 1st name drawn: 6 Month Premium Membership 2nd name drawn: 3 Month Premium Membership 3rd name drawn: 1 Month Premium membership If you are already a subscriber, the membership can extend your current membership or you can donate it to a member of your choice. 10,000 Word + Stories We tried this for the last anthology and it seemed to go over well. It makes a little more work on my part, but I'm willing to do it again if authors are interested. However, I am going to post a few guidelines here to hopefully curb some of the questions that I got the last anthology. First we'll look at word counts. 10,000 - 14,999 Words: Up to 2 chapters and a 2 week release schedule 15,000 - 19,999 Words: Up to 3 chapters and a 3 week release schedule 20,000 - 25,000 Words: Up to 4 chapters and a 4 week release schedule Now, lets look at posting guidelines if you choose this option. Everything for regular anthologies also apply to the delayed posting option, but the following also applies: The entire story has to be proof read at the same time. You cannot send each chapter separately to the proof team. The entire story must be posted in GA Stories at one time. Once I move the story to the anthology category, you are unable to edit it to add chapters. No extensions can be offered if you use the delayed posting option. The story, in it's entirety, must be ready to start posting when the first set of stories are set to release. Stories using the delayed posting option can be set to in progress, but you must let Renee know When you post your link, you MUST include that you wish it to be posted with a delayed posting schedule, the word count, and the number of chapters. This ensures that I know how many weeks it will need to post and that the number of chapters correlate to the word counts set for each option. Supplying Links In the past, I have created two threads. One for discussion and one for links. I have changed that up this time around. The main thread can be used for discussions and questions relating to the anthology. This go around, I have created two other threads, one for each anthology theme. This was done to ensure that I know which theme your story is meant for. Please post your story link in the appropriate thread. Your story WILL appear in whichever theme you posted your link. I've provided the links below. If you have any other questions regarding the anthology or these new guidelines, please don't hesitate to ask below or send me a PM. Happy Writing!!!!!

Well, it's that time again. There were a lot of great guesses as to who was the featured author this month. Curious if you were one of them? Well, let's see... This month's author was: Myr Did you get it right? Check out these stories from Myr!

So, with the new year, I like to see what features I can add. This year, I decided it would be great to try and feature our Signature authors once a month (when possible). So, to get this feature started, let's take a look at some stories by @Cole Matthews! I'll be picking three stories to share from each of our signature authors, and it would be great if the members would weigh in with what their favorite story is from that month's author! I'll only be sharing complete stories, so if it's a story that you've read, why not go and leave a review on the stories main page! A former bartender and restaurant cook, Cole is now a paralegal for a nationwide law firm. He loves writing mysteries, love stories, and tales about gay men and their view of the world. Currently, he's working on a novel/mystery which is called So Weeps the Willow, a story in three parts. He's also going to Florida to do research for his next novel, set in the Sunshine State. He collects antique cookbooks, gardens and loves travel and biking.

It's a new year and will be another great year to take a look at some stories that you might have missed. But, before we start the new reviews, we wanted to take today to take a glance back at all the reviews that were done in 2019! Thank you to @Timothy M. for compiling the list! 2019 January 14th: 2014-2018 Reviews Revisited February 11th: Holding Back by Thorn Wilde - Puppilull Review comment: It was probably more fun to see the Deadpool movies after I read Holding Back. March 11th: Lighthouses by ValentineDavis21 - Cole Matthews Review comment: I need more hours in the day so I can read these awesome stories. April 8th: Finding Refuge by Headstall - Timothy M. Review comment: I wouldn't normally dream of reading a Western, but I took a chance on this one. April 22nd: A Bad Day to be WET by Myr - spikey582 Review comment: You are spot on that this story feels like an exciting episode of a sci-fi TV show. May 13th: The Strange Life of Jonas Marks by comicfan - Puppilull Review comment: I wouldn’t mind working in a bakery in this story. June 10th: Levko by mikiesboy - Cole Matthews Review comment: A great review of a gut-wrenching tale. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. July 8th: Between the Tension by Hudson Bartholomew - Timothy M. Review comment: The story is on my summer reading list now. July 22nd: Becoming Real by AC Benus - Parker Owens Review comment: I think i binged this. Such a wonderful story. Beautifully written. August 12th: Little Ms. Who by pmsingtiger - Puppilull Review comment: It's a very special story, even with all the heart-breaking parts. September 9th: Signature Author Special Review - The Review Team Review comment: This is an amazing and impressive list of reviews. September 23rd: Innocence and Carnality by Mann Ramblings - Puppilull Review comment: It's a story worth reading more than once... or twice. October 14th: Shade by Cole Matthews - spikey582 Review comment: Cole is great at spinning mysteries, and this is no exception. November 11th: A Vampire to the Rescue by Comicfan - Aditus Review comment: As Dodger and I found out: don't read this around lunch time or dinner time. December 9th: After The Past by Mikiesboy - mollyhousemouse Review comment: It's a story that will have have you hooked and drawn in. December 23rd: Peace and Quiet by FantasyBoy69 - Timothy M. Review comment: Thanks to your review this is something to add to my reading list.

*waves hand* I know, I know!

Well, it's that time again! Who's ready to see if they can guess this month's author? I love seeing all the guesses and can't wait to see if you can figure this one out!!! Happy Guessing! What is one thing that most GA members might not know about you? I have a growing interest in photography What prompted you to write your first story? I was inspired by something I read and I wanted to see if I could write something as well or better. What genre of books do you enjoy reading and have you written for that genre? I like political action thrillers, mysteries, sci-fi and fantasy. I've written for some of those genres. Is there a genre that you haven’t written for that you would consider trying later on? Yes. lol. What do like most about publishing on GA? The great family community that supports each other. Do you have any unique writing habits or rituals to help you get into a writing mood? I do a lot of scene visualization as I fall asleep at night. Most of what I'm writing is thought through before I put hands to keyboard. How has your writing style evolved over time? Yes, definitely. I cringe a lot at my early writing. I've learned so much since I started writing. Do you have a significant other? Nope. Do you have any pets? I have a great geriatric cat. (She's 14) Do you post multi-chapter stories as you write? Do you wait until you’ve finished writing the entire story? Or is it something in between? I have generally posted as I write, though I'm transitioning to writing the entire story before posting it. What is your favorite television show? I don't have any current favorite shows, as I've largely cut TV out of my life given how busy I usually am. What is your favorite movie? I don't really have a favorite movie either. I like far too many of them across all sorts of genres. My favorite comedy is Spaceballs though. Do you write poetry? Prose? Or both? No. But my grandmother was published in a few different books of poetry. If you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be? Abraham Lincoln What would you say is your greatest accomplishment? Recent promotion at work to a lead position. My team supports a few hundred million dollars a year in business.

It confused me the first time I got one too, lol. Just vote the answer up if you don't mind

Cia probably input a banner for the contest, and I put banners in for the author guess who. The notifications are nothing to worry about

It's nothing to worry about. We've been adding content specific banners and for some reason, when the banner gets added, that notification goes out. I added banners to all of the Guess the Author topics and that's why you're getting the notifications.

Did you miss any of the anthologies as they went live? If so, that's okay, this is your chance to get a complete listing of all the stories included in the two themes. Just a reminder that next week will be the return of the weekly prompts from @comicfan. Since this will be my last post of the year, I wanted to give him a huge thank you for providing the prompts every week! Aliso, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Proof team for all their hard work in helping to get the anthologies ready to go! @Valkyrie @rec @Parker Owens @Thorn Wilde thank you for taking the time and effort to give all the anthology stories a final polish. Also, last but not least, another huge thank you has to go to @Mann Ramblings for all the banners for this year's anthologies. I know sometimes I forget until last minute, but you never let me down. I look forward to working with all of you in 2020! Now, let's do that wrapup! Shaken Northie Semi Charmed Life CassieQ Before the Fall Thorn Wilde Judgement Day Headstall An Abomination's Love Comicfan He Kalliste Aditus Maybe Later Comicfan Beyond the Binary Valkyrie Squall Line CarlHoliday The Right Timing lilansui Chasing Toshiro CassieQ 2019 Fall Anthology Support Team Anthology Coordinator Renee Stevens Tech Support Myr Proof Team Rec Valkyrie Parker Owens Thorn Wilde Anthology Banner Creation Mann Ramblings

There are so many different holiday's, depending on what you are celebrating. For me, it's Christmas, so I want to wish all of you a very very Merry Christmas. Since I'm not completely versed in all the other holidays, I want to also wish everyone who celebrates a Happy Holiday! Well, it's that time again. There were a lot of great guesses as to who was the featured author this month. Curious if you were one of them? Well, let's see... This month's author was: CassieQ Did you get it right? Check out these stories from CassieQ!

Wow, it's hard to believe that this is the last review of the year. I want to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful review team for all the work you do in providing me with these reviews for the blog. The reviews this year came from @Timothy M. @Puppilull @Cole Matthews @spikey582 @Parker Owens @aditus and @mollyhousemouse. Thank you to each and every one of you, I appreciate what you've done more than I could ever say. I also want to take this moment to remind everyone that, while we have a review team, we welcome reviews from outside of the team as well. If you're interested in reviewing a story in 2020, please get in touch with either myself or @Timothy M.. Now, lets take a look at the last review of 2019! Peace and Quiet FantasyBoy69 Reviewer: Timothy M. Status: Complete Word Count: 43,198 When I started reading the Homestead Pride series, I hadn’t realized it was about a shifter universe. So I was just as surprised as the main characters in the first two stories, when they find out the hard way. Of the five books currently in the series, my favorite is number 2, Peace and Quiet. You can actually read it without knowing the first book, but there will be a couple of spoilers, so if you have time, why not treat yourself to reading the whole series during the holidays. Peace and Quiet is about a guy who takes matters in his own hands in order to get out of an abusive relationship. He doesn’t resort to violence, but simply leaves in order to find the solitude and calm he has been denied for too long. While on his way to his home town, he meets a few decent people who help him restore faith in other beings (human or not). Even more importantly, he finds out the things he has been told about shifters are mostly lies. But the best part of the book is about the friends he makes, and how important they become in his life. Loyal, trustworthy, caring and fun – don’t we all need friends like that ? Those relationships are a huge part of what brings me back to this series every so often. I hope you’ll agree. Happy Holidays (Glædelig Jul) from Denmark. Category: Fiction Genres: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance Tags: young adult, mature adult, were-creatures, adult, gay, north america Rating: Mature

I also wanted to add my thanks to @Cia @wildone @Carlos Hazday @Comicality and @comicfan for all the great content you all have provided for the blog and helping me out throughout the year. Couldn't do it without all of you!

I want to add a thank you to @Myr for all the work he puts in to keep GA going and adding all the new features. Whether its helping with the blogs, working with the programmer, or all the other numerous tasks, the site wouldnt be here without him!

Well, this is a little bit delayed today, but it's time for the final stories in the 2019 Fall Anthology. I've gotta hurry as I have a little one that thinks he needs to help! So, here's the final stories! He Kalliste Aditus Semi Charmed Life CassieQ *Part 4 of 4* Chasing Toshiro CassieQ

Who's ready for some more stories? It's time for the next set of anthology stories to go live. I know there hasn't been a lot of stories each grouping, but we had a lower than expected number of stories, so only a couple new ones are added each week. We have two more stories to post next week. If you haven't seen your story yet, you can PM me to make sure it's one of the two. Happy reading!!! stories! An Abomination's Love Comicfan Semi Charmed Life CassieQ *Part 3 of 4* Before the Fall Thorn Wilde *Part 3 of 3* Squall Line CarlHoliday The Right Timing lilansui

Who's ready for another episode of Author Guess Who? The reveal will happen on Christmas Eve, so you have a couple of weeks to get your guesses in! Happy guessing! What is one thing that most GA members might not know about you? Hmm. Maybe that I used to study Japanese. I have forgotten all but a few words and phrases of it now, but I used to practice on a friend of mine who was from Japan. What prompted you to write your first story? Music. I was listening to a remix of the X-Files theme and it made me want to write something weird and spooky. I don’t think I ever grew out of that. What genre of books do you enjoy reading and have you written for that genre? I read a lot of fantasy and paranormal, and I’ve written for both. Neither one of them have been my primary genre, which is surprising to me. Is there a genre that you haven’t written for that you would consider trying later on? I think it would be really cool to write a mystery novel, but it’s a bit of an intimidating idea. I think it would require a lot of reverse engineering and deliberately misleading readers, and I don’t think I’m especially skilled at either of those. What do like most about publishing on GA? Definitely the feedback. I would gladly welcome more constructive criticism but reading comments like “This is awesome” is certainly fun too. Do you have any unique writing habits or rituals to help you get into a writing mood? No, usually all it takes is setting down and opening up a notebook. I do tend to write better with pen and paper, because computers usually come with this very distracting thing called the internet. I really like having a beverage and some nice background music, but I can do without it if I need to. How has your writing style evolved over time? It’s definitely gotten more character based, more descriptive (that is something I still get pinged on) and I think my writing has a bit more of a sense of humor (my stories used to be super serious bordering in angsty). Do you have a significant other? Not yet. Do you have any pets? I have two adorable cats. I mean, seriously. They’re cute. Do you post multi-chapter stories as you write? Do you wait until you’ve finished writing the entire story? Or is it something in between? This might be the answer that gives me away. I don’t post as I write. Never. I excel at procrastination, and as a reader myself, I know how frustrating it can be to wait weeks and weeks for a chapter of a great story to go up. The only way I can maintain a consistent posting schedule is to not start posting a story until it is like 99% complete. What is your favorite television show? I really love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I started watching it when it first aired and I was about the main characters age, so I followed her through high school and college. I loved seeing a kick-ass female protagonist and vampires that actually looked like monsters. What is your favorite movie? Star Wars, Independence Day, Volcano. It’s hard to pick one. Do you write poetry? Prose? Or both? I wrote some really awful poetry in college that I will never share If you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be? I noticed that you didn’t say fictional, so I guess my own characters are out. (Damn). Stephen King. I just find him so interesting, I love his writing and the way his mind works. What would you say is your greatest accomplishment? Honestly, each time I finish a project, polish it and post it, then get the response from readers, it’s the greatest feeling of accomplishment in the world, I haven’t felt anything yet that tops it.

Is it Monday? Yep, it is! That means it's time to take a look at another great review. Today's review comes from a long term site member, @mollyhousemouse and is a review of @Mikiesboy's story After the Past. Enjoy! After The Past Mikiesboy Reviewer: mollyhousemouse Status: Complete Word Count: 33,386 In the world tim has created, a virus no one remembers, decimated the population. Now, more men than women survive; farming, ranching, the rural lifestyle is the best chance to survive. David is one of those survivors. The story follows David as he does his best to not just survive, but thrive. He finds a community, and love. The community faces a threat to their way of life. This story has a bit of everything, tension, friendship, love and yes, death. tim always says "write bravely" and in this story he certainly does! Things happen in this story that a lot of readers took issue with, but it all worked out in the end! Category: Fiction Genres: Adventure, Drama Tags: mature adult, adult, gay, north america, anal, future, friendship Rating: Everyone