Renee Stevens

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far, but now it's almost over and that means that it's once more time to bring you a couple of new prompts courtesy of the prompt guru, Comicfan. Hopefully one of these two prompts spark something for you, if it does, make sure to share it in the Writing Prompts Forum and maybe we'll feature it next week in the Friday Prompt Me! Prompt 342 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – a flag, flowers, a letter, a broken cell phone, and a cd. Prompt 343 – Creative Tag – Favorite Memory We all have them. Something that we remember fondly, whether it is a special event, moment in school, time with a close friend, or something that surprised us totally. Take that event and fictionalize it for us to read. Everyone made it easy on me this week as we only had one prompt response from last week. I hope you enjoy Valkyrie71's response to Prompt 340: Want to read more? Click here!

Every once in a while I like to take a look through the blog to see what has been used before that could be useful to some of the newer authors here on Gay Authors. Back in October 2012, Sara Alva (known then as KingdombytheSea) shared her experience with using song lyrics in her story Social Skills. Many authors use song lyrics in their stories without ever thinking of the repercussions that they may be facing if/when they decide to publish. I hope that Sara's experience helps some authors here at Gay Authors, and if you want to hear some input from other members, you can check out the forum thread or past blog post as well. ***Note: Please keep in mind that this was written back in 2012, so some things mentioned are relevant to situations going on at the time.*** Keeping it Legal by Sara Alva a.k.a. KingdombytheSea The Copyright Police do exist, and if you’re an author planning on publishing, it’s a good idea to keep that in mind. When I wrote Social Skills and posted it on GA, I was blissfully unaware of having infringed on anyone’s copyrights. Because Connor is a violinist, music factors heavily into the story. In the second half of the book he joins a pit orchestra, and within those scenes I quoted a few lines of lyrics from a Kiss Me Kate song. As I prepared Social Skills for publication this summer, I handed it off to a beta/author friend, who immediately questioned my use of the lyrics. A little Googling revealed that all lyrics from any Cole Porter musical are copyrighted, despite the fact that they can be found scattered across the internet (Here’s a page with copyright terms in the United States as of January 1, 2012). But could quoting just a few lines really get me in trouble? Yes, it could. Even those lyrics sites can get in trouble, and though they may be too numerous to completely eradicate, some have already been sued. One just got hit with a $6.6 million default judgement a few days ago. Bottom line: When you publish/post something that contains copyrighted material, there’s a chance that someone might see, object, and sue. I didn’t want to risk it, so I took a second look at my work and decided to edit out the lyrics. Unfortunately, I’d really entangled them with the emotions of the scene, and cutting them out proved difficult. Meanwhile, my friend found a link to a site with information on Cole Porter’s Trust and encouraged me to poke around a bit and see what the legal process for obtaining permission entailed. The Trust put me in contact with the publishing company that now owns the rights to the lyrics, and that led me to their Permissions department. I had to email a copy of the book as well as separate PDFs of the pages containing the quoted lyrics. The initial price I was given was $255, which was too steep for me. I did some more digging (or pestering of the Permissions department) and eventually found out the price was calculated based on an estimated 10,000 print run. Many businesses have not caught up with the ebook trend—I won’t have a ‘print run’, and while I’d love to sell 10,000 copies, I wouldn’t mind starting off with a more obtainable goal. I emailed back and requested a 2,000 copy print run, and voila! the price dropped to an affordable $55. I mailed my check and received a ‘lyrics used by permission’ copyright blurb to stick in the front of my novel. Different publishers/companies will obviously have their own pricing structure in place—my friend recommended this article about author Blake Morrison, who wound up paying around $7,000 for his song lyrics usage. And I’ve already been warned off quoting Dr. Seuss, whose estate evidently does go after people for copyright infringement. From my experience, I’d give the following advice to authors: * Think carefully about any lyrics/books/short stories/plays/movies you quote from in your story. You never know when you might get the urge to publish or even make an ebook to release for free on Smashwords. Better to be safe than sorry, and it’s usually easier to reimagine a scene before writing than it is to change one that’s already comfortably sitting in your story. * If you are planning on self-publishing, you should be extra vigilant about copyrighted material, as you won’t have a publishing company to take any of the blame should you be sued. Also, some newer epublishing companies might not do thorough checks for copyrighted material, so as an author, it’s always best to be aware. * If you decide to quote copyrighted material or already have it in your story, do your research. It doesn’t hurt to question the companies that hold the rights or to try to negotiate with them. Perhaps they will one day catch up with the times and start taking a percentage of ebook sales instead of asking for a lump fee up front, but for now you can always ask for their pricing structure and do what you can to get to a mutually agreeable fee. This might involve lowering your estimated print run and then reapplying for permission should you exceed that number of sales, or quoting fewer lines. Though it may not make a whole lot of sense—especially in the case of song lyrics, where quoting almost seems like free advertising—this is the way the world currently works. Even when you attribute quotes to their rightful owners, you might have to pay for the right to use them in your story. So don’t forget to keep it legal, and happy writing everyone!

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 "Picked at the Peak" by Cia. Picked at the Peak by Cia Aislin doesn't let his disability get in his way. He's a successful business owner and has a great family. Could it stretch to include a new person, or maybe even two? Words: 42,826 Chapters: 8 Category Fiction Genres Romance, Drama Tags Modern, Anal, Gay, Adult, Parents Rating Mature Want to read "Picked At The Peak"? 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

Our featured story this month for the July Signature Background is "The Luxorian Fugitive" by Mann Ramblings. If you haven't already downloaded your background, the month is only half over and you still have plenty of time! We started out Signature Week with a great review that Jo Ann did, and now it's time to hear from the author himself. Hopefully you enjoy this interview that Cia did with Mann. Interview: Mann Ramblings on " The Luxorian Fugitive" Interviewer: Cia Let’s start this off with the fun question. What are you wearing (and no fibbing!)? Well, it's almost midnight writing this and I'm relaxing with a glass of wine before heading to bed. Without being deliberately titillating, I'll just say I'm in Liam Jacks's favorite lounge wear... Chocolate, Vanilla, or…? Let's swirl those babies together! What brought you to GA? Like a lot of others I was reading naughty stories on Nifty and came across a few that were actually good stories! OMG! I found Rob Colton's Timber Pack Chronicles and followed links that took me to Literotica. I found a number of authors, and followed Cia's postings of Hypnotic to fresh chapters on GA. I read for a long while until I finally got the urge to write Little Man, my first M/M story. Afterwards, Night Tempest, an author I found from Lit that I followed through her blog, directed me to post on GA as a better place for a fledgling author. I loved the community and the support and decided to stay. Your writing is all over the place: contemporary, sci-fi, drama and action to comedy. Do you have a favorite genre? I like to say my favorite genre is M/M. I like being able to write about whatever grabs my attention. I don't believe it limiting myself if I can avoid it. However, I admit Sci-fi holds a special place in my heart. A self proclaimed comic nerd, the ability to world build and manipulate the environment within natural laws allows for a board canvas to paint on. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Getting started! The first words are always the worst to get typed out, so I write out plot lines in a notebook or random scraps of paper to keep me moving forward. Did the characters or the plot for The Luxorian Fugitive come to you first? The idea of Hadrian Jamison came first. He was originally inspired to be a male geisha, but I wanted to avoid feminizing him so he morphed into the current version. The plot formed around him. Why name the ship “The Santa Claus”? Capt. Danverse was always designed with having a penchant for antique Earth history, so I wanted the ship to be named after something the reader would recognize. Since the story was placed so far in the future, the icon would have to be something that could stand the test of time. Add in the idea of a cargo freighter, and Santa Claus just fit the bill. Then it became automatic that Mrs. Claus would be the ship's A.I. If your story were made into a movie, who do you picture playing each characters part? The closest actor I can picture for Hadrian is Jason Momoa from Game of Thrones Season 1 and Chris Hemsworth with a tight auburn haircut for Liam. This is actually difficult, but Hollywood has very few actors that fit my preferences. I think I find more adult film stars that fit the physical profile, but we won't go into that here. LOL What was your favorite part of the story? The rescue. Since the action was so intense and fast paced, I spent a lot of time acting out the scene to make sure it could actually happen the way I planned it. I wanted a very visual feel to the chapter. I knew I hit it right when MJ (my editor/beta) gave me the most enthusiastic series of thumbs up smilies in his return PM after reading it. (And he didn't make me change anything significant in the chapter!) Will there be more on the crew of the Santa Claus in the future? Oh yes! The format of thirty plus men on board, many of which have yet to be identified leaves me with a fertile universe to play with. The setting was too good to leave as a one-off. I love being able to have character cameos and little snippets as a nod to people who have read the previous stories. The second story in the series, A Cook's Tale, was completed a while ago and I'm in a slow progress on the third, titled Priest and Pariahs. I'm hoping to have something to work with by the end of summer. Wish me luck! Okay, final question… what’s one thing no one really knows about you? Before Little Man, I had NEVER completely a single story I'd ever tried to write. The support and feedback I've received on GA has been invaluable and without it, I would never have managed so much work that I'm honestly very proud of.

Hmmm, Tuesday again, if only I had a regular Tuesday post scheduled... Oh wait, I do! 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, and the latest that has finished posting, is "Boy Called Slave" by Nephylim. Boy Called Slave by Nephylim He could have been a bright boy, doing well at school with friends and family and a future. Five minutes inattention had stolen it all and left behind…something. Can anyone bring the light back to Shade? Words: 58,920 Chapters: 16 Category Fiction Genres Drama, Romance Tags Teen, Abuse, Coming of Age, Modern, Serious Rating Mature Want to read "Boy Called Slave"? 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

It's once again time for "Signature Week" in the Gay Authors News Blog. If you missed the July Signature Background, there's still plenty of time to download it. Going with a "Christmas In July" theme, this month's featured story is "The Luxorian Fugitive" by Mann Ramblings. If you haven't already read it, check out this review provided to us by Joann414 and perhaps it just might inspire you to go check the story out for yourself! The Luxorian Fugitive by Mann Ramblings Signature Author Reviewer: Joann414 Status: Complete Word Count: 95,676 A spaceship named The Santa Claus, the messaging and security system voiced by a non-human voice called Mrs. Claus, and a crew that is anything but the things children dream of at Christmas time. lol. Marc Danverse is the Captain of the Santa Claus and takes a more than professional interest in some of his crew members. His interest is one that is not for the weak minded and gentle souls to partake in unless they're prepared. Sergeant Liam Jacks is haunted by nightmares that can only be forgotten when he seeks Captain Daverse's sexual remedies. Being submissive to Danverse's dark sexual preferences helps him to rid his mind of his bad dreams and past. It seems to be the only remedy until Hadrian Jamison boards The Santa Claus. Every good story has the tall, dark, and handsome stranger that has a mysterious past and present it seems in the case of Hadrian Jamison. Appearing in a long hooded robe to board The Santa Claus at the Spaceport Alpha, he immediately draws the attention of Captain Danverse and Sergeant Jacks. The two officers of The Santa Claus are curious about the stranger, but have no idea what is in store because of the other man's presence on their ship. Last but not least, we have the young mechanic, Mac. The jovial, muscular, young, handsome grease monkey that feels unwanted by any of the other men on the ship. Mac harbors feeling for Captain Danverse, who returns his feelings, but doesn't think the young man needs to be subjected to his darker side in the bedroom. Mac interacts with the other crew members, eventually finding out why they aren't attracted to him and is furious with the reason. So, what do you have with this group of men when you throw in angst, anger, jealousy, and feelings of love and protectiveness? One hot mess! Mann Ramblings never loses momentum in this story of space raiders, political interference, and men laying claim to who or what they believe is theirs. It's a story not to be missed, even if you think you're not into stories in space. I loved it, and it certainly didn't fall under genres that I normally read. One word of warning. Bdsm. It's in the story, but wasn't in bad taste, in my opinion. It's not gruesome and down grading like you find in a lot of stories. I found the bdsm used in the story fitting for the character that Mr. Ramblings created to portray this type of sexual individual. He's strong, a leader, and takes care of his own, keeping his bedroom activities where they belong. There's no force used. Each character has their personal flaws and strong points, the most prominent being, protecting those they love. I enjoyed this story as I have all of Mann's stories. If you haven't read it and want an exciting, sexual, sultry story to wile away a few hours, this is the perfect plot and characters for you. Go read and find out for yourself. Category: Fiction Genres: Sci-Fi, Drama, Adventure Tags: Bdsm, Anal, Gay, Psionics, Military, Mature Adult Rating: Mature

We're at the end of another week and I hope that everyone had a great week so far. To help you start your weekend off on a good note, Comicfan has provided two new prompts to hopefully inspire you! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for this week's prompts, so don't forget to share them in either the Prompt Forum or GA Stories. Just remember, if you post them in GA Stories, flash fiction under 1,000 words need to be part of a collection. Prompt 338 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – pregnant woman, hammer, blue jock strap, yellow flowers, and an apple. Prompt 339 – Creative Tag – A World of Change No one ever suspected the changes that would come to the world after such an epidemic. The original outbreaks occurred along the warmer waters. The whole thing spread from Georgia in the United States to Uruguay in South America, from Portugal in Europe to South Africa in Africa, and Southern China in Asia to the North parts of Australia, as quickly as it appeared there soon were deaths on grand scales. It took almost a third of the world’s total population in less than three months. It soon became like the history books about the black plague and people were bringing out their dead for massive cremations. It was only with the few scientists from all over the world sharing information that humanity survived and found a cure. In this new world borders aren’t what they once were. Life is looked at much differently now. What is the world like? It's always hard to choose which prompt to feature from the week before. This week I decided to feature Cole Matthews prompt response to Prompt #336, enjoy: To read the rest, click here.

I don't think there's really too much that I can say to introduce the topic for today. There's obstacles everywhere we look and today Cia has written up an article that takes a look at some of the most common ones that plague authors. Not only does she name them, but she gives some great tips on how to overcome them. We'd also like to hear some of the obstacles you're faced with when writing and how you overcome them! Overcoming the Obstacles By Cia Any good writer knows it doesn’t come easy. From conception to publication—however far along that route you go—writing is definitely a labor. For many, it’s a labor of love, but it is still an endeavor that takes a lot of time and effort. We try to share a lot of information about writing and editing, to help authors on the site, but this week we’re looking at the act of writing instead of the result, as well as a few things that might trip an author up and how to get past them. Tick, Tock… Beating That Clock! Finding the time to write can be hard. Life doesn’t stop just because we get an idea, feel like writing, or face a looming deadline. Something has to give… be it the dishes, your lunch break, or sleep. For some, using voice recording software increases the time to write their rough drafts—getting it all out for editing when time isn’t at such a premium. ~Log your time expenses. Okay, yeah, it’s a bit of work and won’t get you writing immediately. But keep track of what you do each day and when. A lot of what we do is routine-based. Then eliminate. Do you have to vacuum every day? Who says you need to open all the junk mail? Do you have to watch the news in the morning or evening? Why not set your phone or computer to get breaking news from a local station and get a weather app? ~Set a scheduled writing time. Hold that time sacred. Habits, once formed, are hard to break. Respect the time you set, and ask others to respect that time too. Beat distractions off with a spare keyboard, if necessary. ~Get up two hours earlier. You can sleep when you meet your deadline. Just remember to set that coffee pot! My Space—No, Not the Pre-Facebook Website. Growing up, did you do your homework in front of the TV? Does your boss let you read gay romance while you work? I bet not. Where you work is just as important as when you work. But not everyone is lucky enough to have an office for writing. So what can you do? ~Remove distractions. If you get up early to work while everyone is sleeping, make sure you leave the TV off. Don’t check your email; don’t read the news. Open your writing program/app only. ~Reduce distractions if you can’t eliminate them. Create a visual barrier—a sheet or a cardboard divider set up on the table. Wear earplugs or headphones. ~Find an alternate location. Maybe you work best in a café or library. Beating Your Block We’ve all been there—that moment when inspiration dries up and writing becomes akin to beating our heads against a brick wall. It can be overcome. But first you have to figure out why you’re blocked. Is it a time or location issue disrupting the flow of writing? Did you write yourself into a corner? Do you just not feel the story anymore? ~Don’t re-read your work. There’s a time and a place for criticism for your chapter or story. That’s called the editing phase. Just write! Worry about creating a polished piece once you get it down. ~Set deadlines—and keep them. A lot of people work better when motivated by a goal. A chapter a week, 5,000 words every five days, a novel in three months… whatever works for you. Then take a break! When you meet your goals, give yourself time off. You’ve earned it. ~Beat the creative block by sharing your stumbles. Talk to a friend, a fellow author, a dedicated reader… and be honest. Sometimes getting it out can reduce the stress enough to let you take a step back. ~Work on more than one project. Sometimes changing gears can get you back in motion. Try some flash pieces or prompts if you’re in the midst of a novel. Switch up genres and styles. Stretch and expand beyond whatever has halted you in your tracks. We all face obstacles. The only way past them is to just keep trying. Have you faced writer’s block before? What happened, and how did you beat it?

Well, I'm running a bit late today. As always, Tuesday is a great day to look over what is available in our Premium Section as a thank you to those who help support the site and keep it running. One of the stories available to subscribers is "Waiting For The Sign" by Dkstories. Waiting for the Sign by Dkstories Twenty-eight year old baseball star Cal Grainger was living the good life until his girlfriend uttered three fateful words. Now his life has been turned upside down and he’s looking for a sign to show him what to do. Is it the sign he’s waiting for, or the guy holding it? Series: Waiting for the Sign Words: 104,615 Chapters: 21 Category Fiction Genres Thriller/Suspense, Drama Tags Young Adult, Sports, Adult, Anal, Oral Rating Teen Want to read "Waiting For The Sign"? 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

Hope everyone who was celebrating had a safe and happy holiday weekend! It's Sunday again, so if you missed anything this week in the GA News Blog, now is the time to get a glimpse of what you missed. If anything jumps out at you, you can go back and check out the post that interests you! We finished out the month with the June CSR Discussion Day on Monday. Last month the CSR choice was CJames' collection of anthology stories. It's not too late to chime in with your thoughts if you've read one of these great stories. In fact, I've actually read one or two of them, maybe I need to go and put in my two cents. Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see what July's choice is going to be! If you're trying to decide whether or not to purchase a Premium Subscription, our Premium Tuesday may help you decide. This week we featured "Catara", a story by Lugh. It garnered quite a few comments from people who enjoyed the story, so if you're still wondering if a Premium membership is for you, check it out and see if it helps! We rang in July with our monthly Ask An Author feature on Wednesday. Dark is great about bringing us the great feature every month. This month featured questions to authors Andrew Q Gordon, Ashi, and Sasha Distan. If your curious as to what they were asked and what their answers were, go and see for yourself. Don't forget, if you have a question for your favorite author and would like to see it featured, contact Dark! We ended the week with our ever popular weekly prompts. Comicfan provided us with two knew prompts to get your imagination going. You have the choice between a first line prompt or one with the tag of "the fair". Hey, if you're feeling really creative and energetic, you could always do one for both of them! I also chose to feature Valkyrie71's response to Prompt #334. Anthology Announcements: 2015 Theme Suggestions - Visit the thread to offer your suggestions for the 2015 Anthology Themes! Thread will close at 11:59 PM (US Mountain Time) on July 20th 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: Space Pioneer by Dolores Esteban Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Finding Alex by Nephylim HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont Global Explorer by David McLeod A prompt a week by comicfan Translator III: Dragon Warrior by David McLeod Lost Inside by Cia; Book 2 of Carthera Tales Dream Lover - Extended by Comicality A Surprise Inside by Cia By our Promising Authors this week: Dinner is Prompt-ly at Eight by Cole Matthews Vintage by carringtonrj A Wolf And His Man by Sasha Distan Direct Confusion by Sasha Distan Redemption's A Bitch by Sasha Distan Sole Scion by JMH; Book 2 of The Sole Scion Cycle: Second Cycle of the Centurion Chronicales Button by Cole Matthews Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

For those in the US who are celebrating the holiday, I hope you all have a very safe and happy 4th of July! Being as it's Friday again, it's time for two new prompts from the Prompt Guru. Hopefully one of these two prompts will spark and idea. Remember, if you decide to post your prompt in GA Stories, stories that are under 1,000 words need to be placed in collections. Enjoy this week's prompt offerings! Prompt 336 – Creative Tag – First Line “Oh God. This isn’t what it looks like!” Prompt 337 – Creative Tag – The Fair Every year you see on television the announcement of the local fair. You say you are going to go every year, but something always comes up. This year you manage to make it and find out just what makes this fair so memorable. Tell us about it. This week I chose to feature Valkyrie71's response to Prompt #334. It's a bit of a sad one, but very well written. To read the rest of Valkyrie's prompt, click here. Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW.

Only the 2nd day of the month and it's already time for our monthly treat from Dark! I always look forward to seeing what Dark has asked some of the authors here at Gay Authors, and I hope that other members feel the same. Ask An Author is by far one of my favorite features of the news blog and one that I am happy to see continue month after month. So, let's see what Dark has for us this month! Ask an Author #18 Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors! In AtA #17, we had questions for authors AnytaSunday, Billy Martin, and Kyle Aarons. In AtA #18, we hear from authors Andrew Q Gordon, Ashi, and Sasha Distan. 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. Our first author today is Author AQG, otherwise known as Andrew Q. Gordon, or just plain “Q.” Sadly (for us), this very popular author has taken the epublishing route over the last couple years, which has led to less time spent on GA, but I think his fans will agree that it’s been well worth it. Check out his Dreamspinner profile or his goodreads page to see what books are currently on offer and what readers are saying. One of the things that I’ve found fascinating through this transition is how transparent Andy tries to keep his efforts. In his blogs, he’s detailed the steps he’s had to go through to grow followers as a published author and in early 2014, he wrote about his desire to create an easy ‘brand name’ for himself. I must say that the icon he chose is pretty cool. To AQG: Whose opinion about your writing and stories means the most to you? If we're talking about the who in general, it would be the readers. If they like the book/story, then I feel it is a success. Of course no one can write a book that everyone likes. Go look at your favorite book and you'll find everyone of them has any number of 1 star reviews. If we're talking about one person in specific whose opinion I value, it would be Anyta Sunday. I think she is so incredibly talented that if I get a thumbs up from her, I feel like I did a good job. Today’s next author is Author Ashi. This California resident first came to my attention when I saw the beginning of a blog post about the freeways in L.A., where I was living at the time. For those of you not in the know, L.A. freeways showcase some of the most bizarre driving habits I’ve ever been exposed to, and that includes New Yorks ultra-short on-ramps and D.C.’s ridiculous 10-lane roads (one-way). Anyway, Ashi’s thought-provoking writing carries on from his blogs to his stories and even the self-proclaimed smutty poem, Winter Barren, which I happen to love. Ashi starts 2014 with another short story called Museum Goers about a man and a museum and some terrific people-watching. With luck, we’ll have a new one soon! To Ashi: Which of your stories you like best and why? Well, to be honest, the story I like the best is the one that is still in planning stage, but don't have time to start writing.... Some ideas are done but it is still very preliminary. That said, I am content with the two published stories here on GA. The Photographer's Dream is interesting because the main character's gender is intentionally obscured, which hits the reader at the end with the final revelation. The internal growth of Clency (the main character) in the Museum Goers, at least for me, makes me happy that he could reconcile with himself. I believe we all have come through (or still going through) a stage where we aren't exactly happy about the way we are. I do hope that story is meaningful to some people. Our last author today is self-proclaimed red-neck Sasha Distan who is self-published through Lulu where you can find the finished version of Born Wolf, one of Sasha's more popular stories on GA. This British wolf (technically I am part wolf and part African Hunting Dog) is as of November 2013 one of GA’s Promising Authors, with their own forum and everything! The forum for Born Wolf stays busy, which has kept fans very happy learning about and questioning one of Sasha’s werewolf story universes. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll find lots to love in this author’s story listing. To Sasha Distan: Do you use music to help you to write? Always. For a person with no musical talent whatsoever (I take after my father and he failed the triangle*), I use a huge amount of music when i write. All the stories of the American Songbook series come entirely from induvidual country songs. Much of Don't Shout had a very particular Taylor Swift song as inspiration, and The Wall and Goat contains most of everything ever produced by Keane. Not to mention all the things that Meatloaf makes me do. Without music, and lots of it, there wouldn't be a heck of a lot for you guys to read. *Sometimes I have to clarify questions and responses, as seen in the following tidbit: Dark: What do you mean by 'failed the triangle'? Sasha: you know the percussion instrument, the triangle? you hit it with a stick and it's given to the least proficient member of a primary school class? Yeah, he failed that. 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: Layla, Lilansui, and Thorn Wilde. Want to ask your favorite author a question? Simply PM me (Dark). Until next time!

Wow, I can't believe it's already July and the year is half over, it seems like it just barely got started. What better way to start out a new month than by taking a look at a Premium Story. As many know, I recently began a new feature where each week I showcase one of our Premium Stories, which are available in our Premium Subscription area. Purchasing a Premium Subscription is a way for members to help support the site and keep it going, not only that but you get access to stories that are not available to the general membership. One such story is "Catara", a Sci-Fi story written by Lugh. Catara by Lugh In the time of troubles the GefahRadan sang Achoron into being and rewarded the faithful by allowing them live in peace under the watchful care of the Radan. Generations are born and die and eventually, the Radan seeks it’s past to provide for its future. Thus the fates of a few are twisted so that two worlds hang in the balance. Thus the saga begins... Words: 24,325 Chapters: 9 Category Fiction Genres Sci-Fi, Romance, Adventure Tags Space, With Wings, Psionics, Aliens, Parents, Teen Rating Mature Want to read "Catara"? 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

Now that the Summer Anthology: The Backup Plan has gone live, it’s time to look towards the upcoming 2014 Fall Anthology: Scars. I thought it might be a good idea to share some thoughts on getting started with your next anthology story, if you haven’t already done so. Have you thought about the plot for your story? The topic “Scars” can lead in so many different directions. It could be physical, it could be mental, and it could only be a tangential link to the theme. Your entire story doesn’t have to focus on the “scars”, if you are inspired to write something, then get writing! Sometimes, even with having the idea, getting started is hard to do. Some people like to take a notebook (or word processing program) and jot down the various points that they want to include in their story. Some people use outlines, some people just keep it in their head and go for it, use whatever works best for you. I think the biggest thing at this point is to just start writing. There will be time to polish it later before sending it to Anthology Proof Team. I hope to see many entries in the 2014 Fall Anthology!!! If you want to discuss the anthology with other GA Members, you can do so via the 2014 Fall Anthology: Scars - Discussion thread.

There are many reasons that people might look forward to Friday, but here at the GA News Blog, we look forward to Friday because it means one thing.... New Prompts!!! Sometimes we get stuck and need a little push to help us get writing again, that's what the prompts are all about, to help get the juices flowing. As always, Comicfan has provided two new prompts for you to take a stab at. Hopefully one of these will inspire you to write a little something! Prompt 334 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – horrible smell, broken door, honey comb, thunder, and a key. Prompt 335 – Creative Tag – The Memory Box With the upcoming wedding in your family you have been so busy. Then last night you while you were cleaning through the attic at your parent’s house you come across a memory box that was put together by your grandparents for your mother. What was in this box and what do you do with it? This week I decided to feature Cole Matthews response to Prompt #332 Want to read more? Click here. As always... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

The last two weeks I've been featuring stories from the 2013 Summer Premium Anthology. This week I am featuring the final story from that anthology, Coin in the Fountain, by Comicfan. As with all Premium stories, in order to read Coin in the Fountain, members need to purchase a Premium Subscription. For more information on how to purchase a Premium Subscription, check out the links at the end of this blog post! Coin in the Fountain by Comicfan Dan finds out that there is more to some things in this world than meets the eye. Sometimes magic lays just below the surface and all it takes is a moment of incaution to turn his entire life upside down. Disney got it so wrong! Series: Summer Premium Anthology Words: 6,854 Chapters: 1 Category Fiction Genres Romance, Fantasy, Drama Tags Modern, North America, Gay, Magic, Teen Rating Everyone Want to read "Coin in the Fountain"? 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

It's the start of another week and that means it's time to look at a new story. I'm always asking for reviews for the blog (by the way, if you want to do a review, PM me) so this week I decided it was past time that I did another review for the blog. With so many talented authors on site, it was hard to choose a story to review. In the end, I decided to review "The Matchmaker is Grounded" by Dark. I hope you enjoy the review and that it inspires you to check out Dark's story. The Matchmaker is Grounded By Dark Promising Author Reviewer: Renee Stevens Status: Complete Word Count: 5,450 In thinking over some of the authors I enjoyed reading when I was able to spend more time reading, I remembered reading this story by Dark. I just had to go back to re-read it and I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the first. “The Matchmaker is Grounded” was the first story that Dark posted on Gay Authors and is just a glimpse at the talent of this wonderful author. This short story really centers around Eli, a wheelchair bound man, who seems bound and determined to remain alone due to his disability. Unfortunately for Eli, his sixteen year old son Matt is tired of seeing his dad alone and is determined to do something about him. Enter Michael, a twenty-one year old lifeguard at the pool that Eli frequents. Michael has made his interest in Eli known, but Eli is having none of it and has continually brushed off Michael’s advances. Matt takes matters into his own hands and starts to invite Michael around, despite his dad’s protests. Michael is all for it and suddenly he’s everywhere, but he’s very clear about it. He’s not stalking Eli, he’s just running into him in a premeditated manner. While reading this story, I couldn’t help but feel for Eli. He had so many obstacles to overcome, not just physical, but emotional as well. I think my favorite part about this entire story was the relationship between Matt and Eli. It was obvious how much the two cared about each other. Dark did a wonderful job in pulling me into the story and making me care about the characters. While there was a lot of emotional aspects of this story, there was actually quite a few light-hearted moments as well. This is one of those stories that a balance needs to be reached to keep the reader engaged and Dark managed it quite well. I can definitely see myself coming back and re-reading it again and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Category: Fiction Genres: Romance, Comedy Tags: Gay, Adult, Parents, Disability, Teen, Mature Adult Rating: Mature

Hope everyone is having a great summer so far! Before I get into the Weekly Wrap Up, I'd like to announce that I have opened up Theme Suggestions for the 2015 Anthologies. Members will be able to make their suggestions in the thread through July 20th, so get your thinking caps on and share your lists! Now, lets see what happened this past week in the news blog. On Monday, Percy supplied us with a review of "Memoirs of a Child of the Past Century" by Old Bob. He did a little bit different of a review, choosing some snippets from without this autobiographical story. Tuesday we took a look at another premium story. "Save Tonight" by CassieQ was one of the 2014 Summer Premium Anthology stories. There were a lot of comments regarding the story, if you've read it, feel free to drop in and share your comments as well. If you haven't read it and have considered purchasing Premium, there's some information there that will help you. Cia joined us on Wednesday to share some editing tips that she uses while crafting a story. Not only did she share her thoughts, but she asked members to share what they do. Many people took up the challenge and there was a lot of great information given to help both new and seasoned authors. Trebs visited the blog on Thursday to announce GA's newest Signature Author, Andy78. If you haven't already done so, visit the blog entry and leave him a message! The prompts returneds on Friday. Comicfan provided us with a photo prompt as well as a first line prompt. It's always hard to choose who to feature, but this way I chose to feature a rather imaginative prompt response that DynoReads crafted in response to Prompt #330. Anthology Announcements: 2015 Theme Suggestions *NOW OPEN* - Visit the thread to offer your suggestions for the 2015 Anthology Themes! Thread will close at 11:59 PM (US Mountain Time) on July 20th) 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: Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Standing In Shadows by Krista "Waiting Outside The Lines" by Comicality The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 8 by Comicality; Book 8 of Billy Chase Chronicles The Crown Affair by Andy78 Pilots II by David McLeod HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont Pour Me Another by K.C. Lost Inside by Cia; Book 2 of Carthera Tales Finding Alex by Nephylim Dream Lover - Extended by Comicality Space Pioneer by Dolores Esteban By our Promising Authors this week: 1550 Loring Lane by Cole Matthews Direct Confusion by Sasha Distan Sole Scion by JMH, Book 2 of The Sole Scion Cycle: Second Cycle of the Centurion Chronicals Button by Cole Matthews Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

I almost can't believe it's already Friday again, this week just seems to have gone by so quickly. Thanks to Comicfan, we have two new prompts for you today. As a reminder, you are more than welcome to upload your prompt responses into GA stories (we even have a genre for them), but if you do so, please remember that all stories under 1,000 words must be posted in collections. Now, lets see what Comicfan has for us this week. Prompt 332 – Creative Tag – First Line “Try it again, and I will kill you!” Prompt 333 – Creative Tag – Photo The hardest part of the Prompt Me blogs is deciding which prompt response to feature. This week I chose DynoReads take on Prompt 330. Enjoy! To read more of this interesting tale, click here.

Crafting a Story... More Work than You Might Think! by Cia There's a lot that goes into writing a story, more than what the average reader would think. After thinking up the story, and writing then it, there comes the many rounds of editing. This is the nuts and bolts process, when you strip something down to its basic components and put it all back together--hopefully without any extra pieces! For me, that involves several reads of the story. Then I ask for help from my team members. Then I go over it again, lol. This is my usual process: 1. Spellcheck. 2. Read straight through for phrase changes and any mistakes that catch my eye. I often do this aloud as it is the best way to make sure the story has a good 'flow'. 3. Spellcheck. 4. Read backward one paragraph at a time from the end to look for errors. 5. Spellcheck. 6. Send on to betas/editors for beta/edit. 7. Make changes and run them by team if necessary. 8. Spellcheck! Now, this is just the process for a story I'm posting online for free. I've recently had a publisher accept a story for e-publishing and have been going through the editing process. First, the agent that accepted the story had suggestions for lengthening it and changing some scenes. I made those changes and sent it back. Then it went to an editor. We sent the story back and forth three times before it was to the point she approved it. Then ... it went to the editor-in-chief who suggested even further scene additions and changes. Then we moved back into pure line editing for typos and errors. That went through two rounds until the EiC approved all the changes and had no further spots for me to fix. At that point, the story went through about fifteen rounds of editing! I had no idea writing could be so involved when I first started. It is a great hobby, and a lot of fun, but if you want to do it right, there is also a lot of work involved. You have to really dig in and be prepared to put in the time and effort if you're going to be successful. What are your editing habits? Do you write and edit in different formats? Do you prefer to self-edit or work with a team? What type of team do you use: betas and editors or strictly one or the other? Do you have a favorite editing manual or book that helped you refine your work the most? Share your editing tips with the rest of the site here!

Last week for the Premium Tuesday post we took a look at one of the stories in the 2013 Summer Premium Anthology. There were three stories in total and this week we're taking a look at one of the other stories in that anthology, "Save Tonight" by CassieQ. After checking out "Save Tonight" you can find out more about how to purchase a premium subscription! Save Tonight by CassieQ What do you want?' A wish reluctantly made, urged on by his little girl, brings Gavin something unexpected. Series: Summer Premium Anthology Words: 5,910 Chapters: 1 Category Fiction Genres Drama, Romance Tags Fighting, Adult, North America, Depression, Love, Modern Rating Everyone Want to read "Save Tonight"? 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

Being the start of a new week, Monday's are also a good time to take a look at some of the different stories that can be found on Gay Authors. With so many great works, it can be easy to overlook one and Monday's provide an opportunity for us to help make one of them stand out and maybe catch your interest. Today, we're bringing you a review by Percy of Old Bob's story "Memoirs of a Child of the Past Century." Enjoy! Memoirs of a Child of the Past Century by Old Bob Reviewer: Percy Status: In Process Old Bob’s memoir, Memoirs of a Child of the Past Century, is one of the many treasures to be found on GA. Written with humor and grace, the memoir reveals the intersection of one man’s life with the changing political, economic and social landscape of the 20th century. In lieu of a review, I’ve chosen an excerpt from each decade in order to let Old Bob tell his story in his own words. I made selections I thought the audience here would find interesting and which are reflective of a major event or thought movement of that decade. By way of introducing Old Bob, let’s begin with some remarks from the author himself. “Concluding these reflections, when I said earlier that I accept myself as I am, I count also among it my sexual orientation. Having lived almost 60 years with a woman I still love and having been the father of four children is a fact. Having had alongside many homosexual experiences, both in ongoing relationships and in casual encounters with no future, is another fact.” Old Bob was born in Geneva in 1929. Switzerland becomes an island in the middle of a world war as Old Bob enters his teens. Though still a child, he has an active role aiding refugees from the war. “The trick was to make them to take the train with one or more children from Geneva, who could pass for their children and who were their insurance in case of police control. I was one of those children and I am very proud of it.” On living in a commune in the 1950s and on marriage between those of different religions: “It was the start time of the hippies (they were called then ‘existentialists’), and such communities were beginning to be fashionable. On our return from Paris in late 1951, we decided Yvette and me to join that community, but each with its own bedroom, at least to save appearances vis-à-vis our families. Marry someone of another religion than his family’s was a taboo at the time for both strict Catholics and for Jews after the Holocaust. In addition, Yvette’s great-uncle was Bishop, so we couldn’t imagine the approval of her family for such a marriage.” On childrearing in the 1960s: “Yvette and I were brought up strictly and we therefore resented the discipline of our parents. In response, we wanted to give our children the freedom that we missed. We have given guidelines and goals but we were very "broad" if they were not followed or met.” For the decade of the 1970s, he intersperses the descriptions of professional life (fascinating and too involved to include here) with references to his personal life. In talking about the traveling he did with his film distribution company in the ‘70s, he shares: “During the day my wife went to see movies in numerous cinemas reserved for professionals. For myself, I found two places where many gay men (as well as straights) could swim naked and enjoy good times with some new friends.” And in the next paragraph… “I later learned that my youngest son, who sometimes accompanied us for his vacation, had his first gay experiences in Locarno (he was 16), I don’t know with whom and where. I still wonder today what we would have said and done if we had been at the same place in the same outfit!” On the advent of office computers in the ‘80s: “I found in one of the offices a 5150 IBM PC, which nobody knew how to use and that George had just bought to show his clients that he was following the 'office fashion'. In fact, the offices were still working as in 1970, with ‘antediluvian’ typewriters and calculators. So I proposed to fully computerize its business. Very quickly, I set up an internal network with a PC at each workstation Secretaries abandoned their typewriter and worked directly on Word and Excel. Today, it seems obvious, but in 1985, it was a real innovation.” In 1990, his business operations took him to the USSR at what was the very beginning of perestroika, the opening of increased foreign commerce between the Soviet Union and other nations. He shares a highlight of the business trip. “About vodka, I have a special memory of the Russian breakfast . Start the day with a large glass of vodka and a plate of charcuterie with a mass of pickled cucumbers is an interesting experience!” It’s not just life that brushed the major events of the 20th century. Death touched him in the same way. Bob is the father of four children, two of whom are still living. He lost one son to a heart attack, partially attributed to the man having been a two-pack-a-day smoker. He lost his daughter to AIDS which she contracted during a blood transfusion in the early 1980s. The 1980s and 1990s are two decades well within my own memory and both were marked by public campaigns to raise awareness around AIDS, HIV and the effects of smoking. The memoir is not complete. The last installment ends in 1993. However, in an intervening chapter, Old Bob shares details of his current life. He remains married and devoted to Yvette. There are many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Of his two living children, one is gay and one is straight, and both have established lives with long term partners. Again, to quote Old Bob: “The last time we were seventeen at dinner. It was necessary to add two extensions to the table, gather all the chairs in the apartment and take three additional chairs from the terrace!” I encourage you to delve into the Memoirs of a Child of the Past Century. The chapters are supported by photos (check out the sweet ride he had in the 1970s!) This is one of the best reads on GA. And Old Bob, I encourage you to keep writing! Category: Fiction Genres: Creative Non-Fic Tags: Light-hearted, 20th Century, Autobiography Rating: Everyone

I hope that everyone has had a great week so far! There won't be any prompts this week as the 2014 Summer Anthology: The Backup Plan is now live! If you've been looking for some new stories to read, we have some great new reads for you to take a look at! Don't forget to leave the authors a review to let them know what you think of their hard work. Enjoy!!! Banner created by AJ!! Thank you AJ!! Anything For My Brother Comicfan Paul lay across the left side of the bed, his arms wrapped around his lover. He smiled as he looked out the window at the falling snow, the cat sitting near it, tapping as the large flakes fell just outside the double pane. Finally, life was going his way. He had a new job, his lover, and all was right with the world. He leaned over to nuzzle closer and … brrrrringg … brrrrringgg … brrrrringg! He opened one eye and stared at the bright red light of his alarm clock showing it was barely five minutes after midnight. He hated that he was dragged out of the best dream he had experienced in months. Brrrringg! He stretched and snagged his cell phone off the nightstand as he forced himself to sit up in bed. “What?” he snarled into the phone. Consolation Parents Bill W I was sound asleep when my cell phone began to ring. I always leave it on the nightstand where it will be easy to reach and the ringtone indicated the call was coming from my sister's house. Although I didn't have any idea what she might want, I figured it must be important for her to be calling at this hour. Fortunately, it hadn't awakened my boyfriend, Jeremy, but then again he can sleep through just about anything. I glanced over at his mop of dirty blond hair extending above the sheet, as I groggily reached over and answered the phone. "Hey, sis. What's up?" I offered in greeting, slightly perkier than I though I was capable of at that hour of the morning. "This is Officer Light from the Jefferson Police Department," the voice responded. "Are you Scott Fisher, the brother of Kelly Coleman?" I Wish I Could Back Up DynoReads Jean Claude "Savage" Saville sang along with Alan Jackson as the song played on the garbage truck radio. Halfway down the east side of Burled Oak Drive, a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye caught Savage's attention, and his foot slammed down on the brake pedal. Savage's fingers clenched the steering wheel as if he could stop the truck by sheer strength alone. A silent prayer on his lips, Savage helplessly watched a toddler, wearing only a diaper, running down the driveway in front of him. The garbage truck's brakes squealed as it finally stopped just short of the driveway. A pair of kangaroos fell from their perch on the dashboard, landing on the floor. The sound of the horn was like a siren in Savage's ears and his body shook at the sudden sound. It was only afterward that he realized it had been his horn. The toddler had also stopped running, startled by the loud horn. He stood safely in the driveway, a few feet back from the road. Savage, with his heart pounding and chest heaving from fright, watched the toddler's wide eyes fill with tears. Last Call K.C. Rachel woke with a jolt. It took a moment for her foggy mind to recognize the annoying buzzing sound. The screen of her cell phone lit up her tiny bedroom when it rang again on her nightstand. Fumbling with the phone, she blinked, trying to focus her sleepy eyes, but it was helpless. She was blind without her glasses. Clumsily grabbing her phone, she answered with an automatic swipe of her thumb. “Hello?” Rachel answered, still in a haze. “Rachel?” the caller asked, as the screen of her cell phone went black, plunging the room back into darkness. Magic in the Air Andy78 I’d asked Jason McCaig to the school formal about eight weeks ago and he turned me down. He turned me down so quickly that my head was still spinning. It seemed as though he was not quite yet ready to be out to the world. We’d been ‘together’ for nearly two years, since we turned fourteen. He had no problem with me sucking him off or bending me over and giving me a good seeing to, but God forbid just the thought of us slow dancing with each other in front of our friends really freaked him out. Since I couldn’t go with the person who was allegedly my boyfriend, I decided I’d have to find another boy to go with. Jason was the only gay kid I knew in my school, I had absolutely no intention of asking a girl, and since it was obvious that I couldn’t ask any of the other boys in my year, I decided to fall back on an old family trait: magic. My family had always been magical; it was just that we hadn’t used it in over a century. Max's Garage Valkyrie71 “I’m very disappointed in you, Conners.” Here we go again, thought Elliot. He put on his best poker face and braced himself for the upcoming verbal onslaught. His boss stopped pacing around the room and put both his hands on his desk, leaning toward Elliot. “You settled for half of what we could have been awarded in the Szmansky case. I demand an explanation.” He settled into his chair and steepled his fingers, looking at Elliot expectantly. Elliot took a deep breath. “Szmansky Brothers Hardware is a mom and pop operation. If they hadn’t settled they would have lost their business. They still might.” The Bachelor Farmer Cole Matthews Sven Tollefson stood by the rail fence looking at his dying corn. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a blue handkerchief and felt despair well up in him. All over Cottonwood County, thousands of farmers were seeing the same thing. Crops dying from a heat wave coupled with a severe drought. The corn leaves were still green but hanging wilted from stems that were almost gray. It wouldn’t take much longer before most of the field was dead. “Damn!” he exclaimed to no one since no one else was around. Sven took a hike over through his little grove of trees and looked at his clover field. There would be no second crop this year. The clover was yellow and stunted. In some patches, where the soil was quite sandy, the clover wasn’t even yellow. It was brown, dormant from the lack of moisture. He walked through the field and wondered, ‘What am I going to do?’ Weaving Their Way Cia “So where is home? And if you say that damn dome, I’m going to call Dr. Connor back,” I said. The shifters wanted to take care of me until I could take care of myself, however long that took. Until then, my plans to get out to my stake and start working on my future were on hold. “Oh, no. We have a nice apartment on the south edge of the city.” Moshe grinned. “Big enough for me, even.” I raised one eyebrow. “There are no nice apartments on the edge of the city. Now, apartments on the north side, by the coast… those are nice.” Trees and hills weren’t exactly considered prime view material, and it took hours to trek to the beach through the city, even using the transfer system. I’d gone to the south side, once, with my college roommate, Keon. I’d never gone back. Zugzwang aditus Paul sat in the back of the little café staring at a tiny crack in his coffee mug. A week ago, he'd had to watch Sam kissing Mark, and his plan to tell Sam what he felt for him had been overtaken by reality – a reality in which Sam still loved Mark, or so it had seemed at the time. Like the idiot he was, he'd run when he should have stayed, leaving behind a perfectly cooked three-course dinner for two. With candles. And wine. He had smashed his phone, ranted to his sister, cried in her arms and then had worked day and night because Maya had accepted so many orders. Orders for weddings, for office parties, dinner parties. He had no brain capacity left other than thinking supply orders, recipes, time schedules. But he wasn't ready to accept that Sam was lost to him. After all, he'd had a backup plan. 2014 Summer Anthology Proof Readers LJH joann414 rec Kitt Thorn Wilde CassieQ

Time to continue our Signature Week with an interview with Graeme about his story "Leopard Skin Cover." If you haven't already done so, you still have plenty of time to download your backgrounds, there's one both with and without a calendar, depending on what you're wanting! Now, enjoy the interview and maybe you'll find out something you didn't already know! Interview: Graeme on " Leopard Skin Cover" Interviewer: Cia Single people work more. Are you single? No. I’ve been married for just over twenty-one years and I’ve been out to my wife for ten. Who do you like best, Jerry or Tom? Tough one. I’d say Tom, but that’s certainly not been the case consistently. Do you eat your fruits and vegetables? Er...have you been talking to my wife? I need to eat more, but yes, I do. What are you wearing (and no fibbing!)? Jeans, T-shirt, Jacket. It’s 6:30am, and I’m working in my home office. The heating hasn’t kicked in yet, but hopefully soon I’ll be able to take off the jacket. Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point? ‛Make’ is a relative term. I draw the doona cover back over my side of the bed after I get up in the morning, but that’s the extent of making it. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla What brought you to the site? I originally learnt about GA when someone directed me to a discussion thread on one of my first short stories, Dear God. It was a couple more years before I joined, though I honestly can’t remember why. I think I was at a stage of my life when I was more actively involved in various gay story communities on the Internet, and GA was one of those that I joined at the time. It’s also one of the few where I stayed. Do your characters try to make like bunnies and create ever more convoluted plots for you? Or do you have to coax them out of your characters? About halfway in between. My characters certainly introduce plot elements for me from time to time, but they don’t overdo it. I’ll admit that there are times when I go back later and are amazed to find out they managed to get everything to fit together into a cohesive whole, but they don’t make life too difficult for me....most of the time. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? Tough decision. I’m not sure I could choose one. I’ve been influenced by a lot of people over the years, and trying to pick one wouldn’t really be fair. My first author friend was Dewey from Deweywriter.com, but we didn’t talk a lot about writing itself so I won’t say he was a mentor. Name one entity that you feel supported you in your writing endeavors outside of family members. When I started writing, it was at Deweywriter. I’ll admit that I was nervous when I started posting my first story, given that the story was written from the point of view of a straight, homophobic teenager. However, the support I got from that community (sadly it no longer exists), and later the communities at AwesomeDude and here are Gay Authors, was so strong that I kept writing. I’ve had a hiatus recently that lasted three years, but I’ve never lost the support of the online communities and that’s allowed me to start writing again. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? My biggest challenge is getting the time, motivation and inspiration needed to occur at the same time. Too often I have the motivation, but not the inspiration, or the inspiration but no time. The other challenge is that I don’t want to write stories that I’ve seen a million times. I want each story to have something unique about it – a unique point of view, a unique style – something that hopefully makes it stand out. I don’t always succeed, but I find I won’t have motivation to write unless I have an idea of something unusual to include. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment? The biggest compliment I’ve ever received was an email from a teacher in the USA, asking permission to use one of my short stories as a teaching tool in their class on sociology. I was so flattered I immediately said yes. The toughest criticism I’ve been given was by a beta-reader of one of my novels who, politely, told me the ending of the story was rubbish and I needed to go back and do it again. I had to do a complete re-write to address their very valid concerns. Are there any new authors who have grasped your interest? Recently, Sammy Blue’s Gemini has grabbed my attention. I like stories where not everyone is gay, and his story of identical twins, one gay, one straight, has been fascinating. Kevinchn’s 32 Faces is another extremely interesting story, especially in the way he uses an autistic narrator. When did you first consider yourself a writer? After I started posting my first novel, New Brother, and I received positive feedback. When I decided I’d like to try writing (I was forty at the time), I had the story idea, and one scene in particular in mind. What I did was to write that one scene and see if I was capable of putting the emotions I felt in my mind into the words on paper. I was happy enough with the result that I started the novel and I didn’t look back from there. In case you’re interested, that scene (though it’s been reworked a lot from the first draft) was the last scene in chapter 8 of New Brother. Do you have any writing rituals? No. Sorry, I’m a boring writer.... Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published? I’ve never tried to get a book published. I’ve thought about it a few times, but I’ve never done anything about it. How many books/stories have you written? Which is your favorite? I’ve got five completed novels, and I’m working on a sixth. I’ve got two novels that I’ve started by not finished. I may get back to them one day, but I decided a couple of stories ago that I won’t start posting a novel unless I’m confident I’ll complete it. I’m not even going to try to count my short stories.... How did you come up with the title for Leopard Skin Cover? It took me a little while, but I was looking for a title that would portray a character hiding in the closet, without being heavy handed. When I had the idea of using the football teams nickname as part of the title, it was then a case of putting it all together. That’s when I settled on the Leopards for the name of the team. At one point it was going to be Leopard Skin Coat, as coats are associated with closets, but I didn’t feel that that gave a strong enough feeling of hiding. Hence my eventual decision to go with Leopard Skin Cover – someone using the football team as a cover for being gay. Did the characters or the plot come to you first? The plot came first, but the plot needed certain types of characters. The characters evolved during the writing; some of them trying to push themselves forward as being the stars of the story. But then I think a lot of people who are the elite of their field of endeavour have a tendency to push themselves forward. If your story were made into a movie, who do you picture playing each characters part? Please, don’t ask me! I don’t know modern actors that well. All I’d say is that given it’s a story about elite sportsmen, they’ll all be buffed.... What sort of coffee would your characters order? Simple coffee, complicated soy-non-fat-extra-espresso-half-caff-nightmare? Most would order something simple, but there are enough characters in the story that I’m sure some of them would be fussy prima-donnas. Melbourne has a strong coffee culture, with a large number of small coffee shops scattered around the city. The large chains don’t do that well here – too much competition from the little guys. What was your favorite part of Leopard Skin Cover? The various romances. The hidden one and the public ones. I’ll admit that I’m a romantic at heart, though I try for a degree of realism whenever possible. Can you share a little of your current work with us? My current story is the sequel to Leopard Skin Cover. It’ll start posting in July (hopefully). Because it’s a sequel, it contains spoilers for the original story – in particular, which player is gay – so I’m going to have to decline about sharing anything at this point in time. As one of my good friends, C James, will attest, I hate spoilers – giving them and receiving them – and I don’t want to give a spoiler to Leopard Skin Cover by saying too much about the sequel. What are your future projects? I’ve got two novels that I started but haven’t completed. I’d like to get back to those at some stage. I’d also like to try to do a sequel to The Price of Friendship because I’m very much aware that there are way too many loose ends in that story. I’ve also had several requests from readers to expand some of my short stories into novels which I’m considering. The main problem is that I don’t like starting a novel unless I’ve got a good idea of how it’ll end. That gives me a target to write to and I’ve found that to be extremely useful. I don’t want to write a sequel or expand a short story just for the sake of continuing – the writing has to go somewhere interesting for the reader. That’s always been my biggest challenge.

Every Tuesday we showcase just one of GA's Premium Content stories. This week we're featuring "Incomplete Recollections" by Johnathan Colourfield. Last summer GA had a Summer Premium Anthology, but rather than post all the stories at once, they were posted one right after the other. Johnathan's story was just one of the three that were posted. Incomplete Recollections by Johnathan Colourfield A journey to the centre of the mind. By clearing the mind and reconfiguring partials you can see what is truly there. Two questions. Have you completed your task? Are you actively remembering? A piece of creative interactive storytelling. Series: Summer Premium Anthology Words: 5,122 Chapters: 2 Category Fiction Genres Drama, Thriller/Suspense Tags Abuse, Gay, Hate, Suspense, Dark Rating Teen Want to read "Incomplete Recollections"? 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