Renee Stevens

Thanks for the review Suvitar! Glad you enjoyed the chapter. It was a bit shorter than I usually do, even for this story. I could have tried to struggle to add a couple more hundred words, but it would have delayed the posting a bit more and I figured the readers of this story had waited long enough to hear from the guys again.

Thanks impunity and you are most welcome. I was missing the guys as well!

Thanks for the review Lisa! I'd debated on waiting for Trey to leave for Mark to get the news about his Mom, but this way Trey can at least be there for him at first. Yes, it is going to delay plans a bit, but it just kind of makes it hit home a bit exactly why this story is called "Thwarted". Thanks for reading!

Yes it does. Thanks for the review DDK! I don't plan on having any more major delays and am already working on the next chapter, so hopefully next week!

Who's ready for the weekend to get here? To help you start it out on the right foot, we're bringing you two new prompts from the prompt guru, Comicfan. If you're interested in checking out some of the older prompts that Comicfan has supplied, you can check them out and share your responses in the Prompt Forum! Hopefully one of this weeks prompts will inspire you! Prompt 346 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in story – the beach, a blanket, a deer, a torn pair of shorts, and an ice cream cone. Prompt 347 – Creative Tag – Silver Shoes You are shopping with friends when you come to this old junk store. As you wander around you find a pair of silver shoes and your friend jokes “Hey, just like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.” You just shake your head remembering the film and know they are wrong cause Dorothy’s slippers are ruby. However something possesses you to put them on and the next thing you know you are facing a tall man made out of straw. What just happened? This week I decided to share Cole Matthews response to Prompt #344, enjoy: To read the rest, click here.

“It’s good to be home.” Mark dropped his bag just inside the door and stepped aside so Trey could follow him in. “I love my parents, but a week of them is more than enough.” Trey flopped down on the couch. He leaned his head back and looked at Mark. “You gonna join me?” “Of course.” Mark grinned and walked over. Rather than sit next to Trey, he straddled the other man’s lap and tossed his phone and keys on the coffee table. “Not exactly what I had in mind.” “You complaining?” Mark roc

In Memory Last week, on August 7, we were all stunned and devastated at the news that Robert (aka Trebs) had lost his battle with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Anyone who knew Robert knew what a truly genuine and caring person he was. He was always willing to help, always willing to lend an ear, and just always willing to be there if someone needed him. We were all certainly better off for having known him. Earlier this week, we were approached by a GA Member who wanted to ask if it would be possible to publicly share something they had planned, in memory of Robert. After hearing the details, we asked SonoLuminus to write up a blog entry as well as post in The Lounge. Here is what SonoLuminus had to say: As you know, we all suffered a great loss last week with the passing of Robert, aka Trebs after a long battle with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. As a longtime friend of his, I wanted to do something in memory of him, so my husband and I have decided to participate in Light The Night, which is a walk to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We will be walking in Greensboro, North Carolina on Sept. 27th. If anyone would like to contribute, either by donating or by joining the team and walking with us, it would be greatly appreciated. Robert was a caring person who was always helping others, and I feel this would be an appropriate way to honor him. Here is a link to the Triad (Greensboro) chapter: http://pages.lightth....org/nc/Triad14 Here is a direct link to our team page, Team Purple, named for Robert's favorite color: http://pages.lightth...ad14/TeamPurple This link goes directly to my personal page: http://pages.lightth...ad14/MGianzanti Donations made through the links go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There is also a link at the bottom of the team page for anyone interested in joining the team as a walker. As of now, it is only the two of us, but I'm planning on trying to recruit a few more. If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me.

Gay Authors has always managed to remain free to it's members, one of the ways that it has managed to do so is through it's 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, one of which is "Chosen of Honorus" by Andrew Q Gordon. Chosen of Honorus by Andrew_Q_Gordon The Dark God Neldin has renewed his war with his siblings. The Six have chosen Farrell, last grand master wizard in the Seven Kingdoms to lead the fight against Neldin and his black wizard, Meglar. Joined by others who oppose Neldin, Farrell must still over come his self doubt if he wants to survive. Series: Champions Of The Gods Words: 115,356 Chapters: 29 Category Fiction Genres Fantasy, Adventure Tags Adult, Wizards, Magic, Mature Adult Rating Mature Want to read "Chosen of Honorus"? Or maybe you want to check out more of what's in the Premium Section? It's easy, just purchase a Premium Subscription! Premium Content $8.10 $8.10 Monthly Premium Content - 3 Months $24.00 $24.00 Every 3 months Premium Content - 6 Months $47.00 $47.00 Every 6 months Premium Content - 1 Year $93.00 $93.00 Annually

Robert was truly one of a kind and will be missed by so many.

I was lucky enough to get to meet Robert when my husband and I went on Vacation in April. He was like a kid in a candy store, texting wondering where we were, how close, how much longer. It was great. We finally got there and he was so friendly, so welcoming. I'd expected to be nervous, but it was nearly impossible to be nervous around Robert. We'd planned on just going for a quick lunch and then hitting the road again, but we spent a few hours and had a great time. We weren't sure we were going to be able to stop, but I'm so glad that we did. It was so great to be able to put a face to the friend who I had spent so much time talking to, both online and on the phone. Robert was always there when I needed to talk and when I didn't understand things. Rest In Peace Robert, you will be sorely missed.

Rest In Peace We must share the sad news that Trebs, or Robert, as he was known to many long-time friends on GA, has passed away, far too soon, from his battles with lymphoma. As a board member and administrator, he has been involved with GA for a long time. He was a big presence in the site blog in recent years, but he was so much more than that and often active in quiet ways. He was always willing to help others whenever, and however, he could. So many of us here were lucky enough to count him as a friend. He will be deeply missed. ***UPDATE*** Many people have asked where they can send flowers. We have noticed this message from Robert's family: "If you would like to make a donation in lieu of flowers, Robert's Charity of choice is The Trevor Project. ( www.trevorproject.org ) or you can help in the fight against the cancer that took Robert by donating to The Lymphoma Research Foundation (www.lymphoma.org). Thank you."

The first Wednesday of the month, you know what that means! It's time for a visit from Dark with the ever popular, Ask an Author! If you like this monthly feature, don't forget to send your questions to Dark so that we can keep this feature going. Enjoy! Ask an Author #19 Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors! In AtA #18, we had questions for authors AQG, Ashi, and Sasha Distan. In AtA #19, we hear from authors Layla, lilansui, and Thorn Wilde. For their protection, the members who asked these questions shall remain nameless (unless they choose to reveal themselves). Please note that all author replies are copied as is, spelling errors and grammar eccentricities original to the individual. Midwesterner Layla starts us off today. Since the last time she was featured in this series, Layla has taken her place as a Promising Author and I know I’m not the only one waiting for the day she joins the ranks of our Signature Authors. An exciting thing to happen in 2014 is the beginning of Guitars2, the second half of the very popular Guitars and Crossdressers. That particular story has helped Layla amass over 2000 likes! But you should definitely check out some of her others, like her poem “Until the End” and short story Cold Confusion. To Layla: What is your favourite work you've written, the one you are most proud about and why do you think it's your best writing? That's really a hard question, actually, because i feel like with every story my writing gets stronger, my characters become more evolved and I feel more comfortable delving into areas and topics that I maybe shied away from or skimmed over previously. I think my best writing, to date has been in Broken Prince and Mismatched eyes, despite the fact that it is the most difficult of my stories for me to write. Where some of my other pieces are more straight forward, in that one there are multi-layers and plot twists and characters who are never really as they seem and to me that's kept things exciting. I'm proud of the fact that in continuing to work on that story I took myself out of my comfort zone of gritty urban or supernatural drama and went into something that's somewhere between fantasy and history. I'm also very proud of the way the main characters have grown and the depth of the relationship that is developing between them. Today’s next author is Author lilansui, author of Electric Blue and Catnip, nominated in the 2013 Reader’s Choice Awards Best of GA Stories category. The newest story in her arsenal is A Rescued Life, which has attracted 33 followers in the first week since its posting. Anyone who has read the first chapters will see why! lilansui is one of our international members, living and working in Diani Beach, East Africa, where she’s had LOTS of fun and interesting adventures, like the wedding fiasco in March. Closer to home, lilansui’s blog has been nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. Who knew 2014 was going to be such a momentous year? Here’s to you, lilansui! To lilansui: What does your family think of you writing m/m stories? Had you asked me this question in 2012, I'd have said no way would they be okay with it. But things have changed lately. I'm happy to say my closest family is supportive, my mother especially since she always knows what each of us is doing with ourselves. She's like a ninja when she wants to find out what we're hiding from her, lol. She found a notebook of mine filled with my first m/m story a couple months ago. She was visiting my house and as always checking out my bedroom. My mother is insane that way. She asked, "Sui, what's this?" I'm like in shock going like, "Uhmm...Mum!" Lol. We had a long talk after that and in the end she was okay with it especially because of my youngest brother. I have four brothers: three older and one younger than me. A few years back, my younger brother had a really hard time coming out to the family. I can't describe just how hard this was for him. It's always tough especially in a family like ours where my mother pushes us a lot to conform with so many customary rules. Marriage at a certain age, live a certain way...that kind of thing. For a moment, I thought the family might fall apart, but we didn't, we stood strong, which I'm happy for now. In a way, my stories are my own way of supporting him. My older brothers don't read the stories, but they don't mind. Although I do get teased a lot for writing them, which makes me think that they read them anyway...lol. And my younger brother thinks I write them for fun and because an m/m perspective fascinates me. I'm just glad they know now and are okay with it. Brand-new Promising Author (as of April 2014) Thorn Wilde is our last author today. A Whedonopolite like myself, Thorn is a fan of fantasy and sci-fi and admits to an addiction with Tumblr. You can also find quite a few delicious recipes posted in his blog. I’ve made his garlic butter and it’s definitely easy and delicious – come on, if I can make it here in the nowheres of Alaska, so can you! I haven’t made it yet, but I’ve saved the recipe for salmon soup … While making your next meal, why don’t you snack on some of Thorn’s posted work? His series Nemesis is currently on book 2, though you can read more of the characters in the collection Hubris. My personal favorite so far is Half Jack, Thorn’s take on 2013’s Recipe for Disaster Anthology, but there’s plenty more, including a Buffy/Angel fan-fic, to suit many different kinds of readers. To Thorn Wilde: Do you find that when writing characters with interesting or extreme vocal habits (such as Marcus), that you start to reflect those habits in your own daily speech? I think it's rather the opposite... That is to say that Marcus reflects me on a really bad day, if somewhat amplified. And there's generally less aggression behind it when I use colourful language. Though I won't deny that I've sometimes written a particularly good insult and then filed it away in the back of my mind for an appropriate occasion. 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! Coming next time: Aditus, Celethiel, and TetRefine. Want to ask your favorite author a question? Simply PM me (Dark). Until next time! Dark

For those who are new to the GA News Blog, Tuesday's are the day when I share a little information about one of our Premium Stories. While Gay Authors is free to it's members, it's not free to run. One of the ways GA keeps the site running is by the help from members who purchase a Premium Subscription. What do you get when you purchase a Premium Subscription? You get access to the select few stories that are not available to the regular membership. One such story is "Challenging Fate". Challenging Fate by Renee Stevens Maki waited years to learn what dragon spirit the fates had gifted him with. Unfortunately for him, things didn't go exactly as he'd always planned. Words: 24,946 Chapters: 7 Category Fiction Genres Fantasy Tags Gay, Magic, Young Adult Rating Mature Want to read "Challenging Fate"? Or maybe you want to check out more of what's in the Premium Section? It's easy, just purchase a Premium Subscription! Premium Content $8.10 $8.10 Monthly Premium Content - 3 Months $24.00 $24.00 Every 3 months Premium Content - 6 Months $47.00 $47.00 Every 6 months Premium Content - 1 Year $93.00 $93.00 Annually

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend so far and that you are well rested for the upcoming week. As always, lots of things going on the GA News Blog this past week and now it's time to take a look back to see what you might have missed. Fans of Cole Matthews got a treat for the CSR Discussion on Monday when Cia interviewed Cole. Not only did readers get to read Cole's answers, they got to ask their own questions. Want to know what Cole is working on next? He answers that and more, so check it out. For Premium Tuesday we took a look at Ice Fairy by Stephanie L Danielson. It's just one of the many stories available to those who purchase a Premium Subscription. Myr took over the blog for his monthly Tech Blog. This month he gave us a look at what they new member profiles will look like, complete with screenshots. If you're curious what's coming, Myr's Tech Blog's are a great way to get a peek into what the upcoming updates will entail. Friday once again brought us two new prompts. This week there is a "first line" prompt and one with the tag of "Kingdom". I hope one of them sparks an idea. One of last weeks prompts called to a new member. If you haven't already done so, check out ColumbusGuy's response to Prompt #343. Anthology Announcements: 2014 Fall Anthology: Scars - Due Sept 3rd *Note: Deadline is for submission to the Anthology Proof Team* 2014 Winter Anthology: Chain Reaction - Due December 3rd *Note: Deadline is for submission to the Anthology Proof Team* NEW READING In Premium this week: No More Hiding by Renee Stevens By our Signature Authors this week: The Crown Affair by Andy78 Space Pioneer by Dolores Esteban Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont Lost Inside by Cia, Book 2 of Carthera Tales Standing In Shadows by Krista By our Promising Authors this week: Dinner is Prompt-ly at Eight by Cole Matthews A Wolf And His Man by Sasha Distan Vintage by carringtonrj Direct Confusion by Sasha Distan Redemption's A Bitch by Sasha Distan Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

Not only is it the start of a new month, it's Friday, and for many, the end of the work week. For all of us here at Gay Authors, that means something else though, it means it's time for two new prompts from GA's Prompt Guru, Comicfan. Hope you enjoy these prompts and that they inspire you to write a little something, and if you do, don't forget to share your responses in the prompt forum!! Prompt 344 – Creative Tag – First Line “Why didn’t you just tell me that?” Prompt 345 – Creative Tag – Kingdom You always joked that you would love a place far from the hustle and bustle where everything could be done just as you want it. Little did you realize how that wish would come true? You came home from work to find six armed guards and a bunch of men in black suits waiting. It seems you are the lost heir to a small European country the size of a postage stamp. They have checked your dna and found It to be a match. The country you have thought of as home has revoked your citizenship and now you either take your place on the throne or you are someone without a country. What other problems await you? This week we actually had a brand new member post their first story, which just happened to be a prompt response! I hope you enjoy ColumbusGuy's response to Prompt #343: To read more, click here. Don't forget... Read, Write, and REVIEW!

It's time for another look into the Premium Section of Gay Authors. As most people know, the Premium Section is our way of saying Thank You to those who help support Gay Authors by purchasing a Premium Subscription. There are quite a few stories that have either only posted in Premium or have been moved to Premium for one reason or another. This week, we are showcasing "Ice Fairy" by Stephanie L Danielson. Ice Fairy by Stephanie L Danielson Sam is an up-and-coming figure skater, while Brett is a brazen hockey player. They get along about as well as fire and ice; but will there be sparks between them? Series: Ice Fairy Words: 57,393 Chapters: 25 Category Fiction Genres Romance, Drama Tags Friendship, Sports, Parents, Young Adult, Teen, Mature Adult Rating Teen Want to read "Ice Fairy"? Or maybe you want to check out more of what's in the Premium Section? It's easy, just purchase a Premium Subscription! Premium Content $8.10 $8.10 Monthly Premium Content - 3 Months $24.00 $24.00 Every 3 months Premium Content - 6 Months $47.00 $47.00 Every 6 months Premium Content - 1 Year $93.00 $93.00 Annually

Thanks for the review Aaron! I'm so glad that you enjoy my work. You are correct that there is another story, for some reason or another I had it unpublished, but it has been fixed and it is now available. It is actually a semi-short story, I think it was unpublished so that I could decide if I wanted to expand it more.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend! Before I forget, I want to let everyone know that Cole Matthews will be doing a live Q & A via the blog tomorrow (Monday) from 7pm-9pm Central time. If you won't be able to make it, feel free to leave your question as a comment on the blog for him to answer, but we hope to see lots of people there. Now, lets see what happened this past week in the blog! On Monday we did something a little bit different. We still featured a review, but instead of it being on a single story, the review was on The Rossford Triptych by Chris Lewis Gibson. If you haven't already read the story, check out the review and see if this trilogy is something you might be interested in. This week's Premium Feature was Picked At The Peak by Cia. If you're not already a Premium Subscriber, check out the blog entry and see what you're missing! For Wednesday we did a bit of a Blast From The Past and refeatured a writing tip from Sara Alva on Keeping It Legal when using lyrics and other copyrighted material in your stories. A lot of great info and some great comments, I'd strong suggest all authors check it out. Friday we had two new prompts. One gave us a list of words and the other used the tag of "Favorite Memory". I look forward to seeing what our authors come up with! For this week we featured Valkyrie71's response to Prompt 340. Finally, and to finish off the week, Saturday brought August's Signature Author Background. For the month of August we'll be featuring "The Game" by Nephylim. If you haven't already done so, don't forget to go and download your background. Anthology Announcements: 2014 Fall Anthology: Scars - Due Sept 3rd *Note: Deadline is for submission to the Anthology Proof Team* 2014 Winter Anthology: Chain Reaction - Due December 3rd *Note: Deadline is for submission to the Anthology Proof Team* NEW READING In Premium this week: No More Hiding by Renee Stevens By our Signature Authors this week: A Prompt a Week by comicfan Leopard Spots by Graeme; Book 2 of The Lilydale Leopards Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Space Pioneer by Dolores Esteban HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont Translator III: Dragon Warrior by David McLeod Lost Inside by Cia, Book 2 of Carthera Tales Dream Lover - Extended by Comicality By our Promising Authors this week: Vintage by carringtonrj A Wolf And His Man by Sasha Distan Direct Confusion by Sasha Distan Curse of the Fallen by JMH, Book 2 of Fallen Redemption's A Bitch by Sasha Distan Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

Thanks for the review Gary and I'm happy to count you as a fan. I didn't want to move the story too quickly, though at times there were other things I'd like to have included. I have debated on doing an extended version of this story from Jackson's point of view, but haven't made any definite decisions. I'm also glad to hear that you enjoyed my story Puppy Love. That was only the second story that I wrote and posted online and it is a bit rougher than some of my more recent works. Thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you on other stories.

Thank you Suvitar! I'm glad that you enjoyed the story and characters. Hercules was probably my favorite character in this story.

Thank you Jo Ann! I'm glad that you enjoyed this story. I really enjoyed writing this one.

Thank you Stephen, glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for the review blankpage! I still plan to finish the third installment, I just ran into some issues on it, but it will be uploaded as soon as it's finished!

Thanks Gary! I couldn't say which installment I enjoyed writing the most. Writing about the change to a were/vamp was an interesting experience and I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Regarding "Everlasting Encounters", I am still planning to write it, I just ran in to a few issues with it and so it's not finished as of yet. I do still plan to finish the third installment and once it's done, it will be uploaded as well!

Thank you for the review Gary. I'm glad that you enjoyed the story and the characters. This was an interesting story to write, and I hope that you enjoy the next one as well.