Renee Stevens

Thank you to everyone who participated!

Ready for some new reading? I'm happy to announce the release of the 2014 Gay Authors Poetry Anthology: A Storm Is Coming. Thirteen authors took up the challenge and entered a submission into this year's poetry anthology. There were many different takes on the theme, and don't forget to leave the authors a review to let them know what you thought of their hard work. I hope you enjoy!!! A Storm is Brewing Bill W A Storm of Problems comicfan going to a party Cole Matthews I Am Fire Krista Indigo Clouds Above JoejoeGreene Mark aditus Shadows on the Ocean layla Temptestuous carringtonrj The Bloody Fetter Celethiel The Killing nostalgiclikeyou The Rage of the Storm Dolores Esteban Weathered Foster Yet For You dariyo

I had so hoped that 2014 would prove to be better than 2013.... So far, it's not looking promising. First my Mother-In-Law was hospitalized. She was in the hospital for 5 days (I think) before she was finally released. They essentially determined that she had diverticulitis. It was quite the scare because at first they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. She's doing much better now, so that's a definitely plus. Less than a week later my sister-in-law was hospitalized. Since that hospitalization was because of a very personal nature, I won't expand on that, but it was a tough situation that while my sister-in-law is okay, my brother and sister-in-law got some bad news. After that, hubby and left for vacation. Shortly after leaving for vacation, we got a phone call. My hubby's grandmother had fallen and broken her hip. She's 85 years old. Three days later and while we were still gone she had surgery. Sunday she was doing pretty good and was removed from the Intensive Care Unit. We got home Sunday night from vacation, but got a call Monday morning. Grandma was moved back into the Intensive Care Unit during the middle of the night. At the time they were unsure if was a blood clot or a small heart attack. They did lots of tests and after a lot of blood work and a CT Scan, they did determine that it was due to a massive blood clot. We were told at that time that had she not already been in the hospital, we'd have lost her. Here's where it gets worse. The blood clot is lodged in her heart and did massive damage to the right side of her heart. Essentially, half of her heart is no longer working so the other side is having to work harder and apparently there is also a leaky valve. Also, they have her on 2 different blood thinners, but not the stronger meds that would actually dissolve the clot. The doctors have told us that giving her the stronger med would kill her and basically the only thing they can do at this point is the blood thinners and hope for the best. We were also told Monday afternoon that they really don't expect her to make it out of the hospital and to the rehab center. There is a very slim chance, but it is slim to the point of non-existent. At this point we're expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Grandma hasn't been told the direness of what is going on, they don't want to stress her out more than she already is. She's alert and as stubborn as ever and wanting to know when she's going to get out of there. Despite all the issues, they plan to start getting her up and starting to walk. The biggest fear is that once they do that, the blood clot will break free. It's a scary situation, but we're muddling through as best as we can. I'm still writing and will be updating Thwarted soon, though I don't have a chapter written yet. Plus this coming Saturday there will be a new chapter of No More Hiding posting in the Premium section. I'm still doing the blog, though Trebs and Cia have graciously offered to spell me when needed while I handle things on the homefront, so you may see more posts than usual from Cia and the occasional post from Trebs. I can't say how much I appreciate their help! I so hope 2014 starts getting better REALLY soon!!!!

Figured it's a good way to help people decide if they want to purchase a premium subscription... As for the self-promotion... Well, it just worked out that way. Guess I could have had Cia do the post, though then it would have just been the editor for the story doing the promotion, lol. Hope you like the rest of the story as it posts! Thanks Jo Ann, glad you like my work. I do my best to keep things interesting and enjoyable. Yeah, good thing!! I hope you enjoy it. It's one I've had written for a while, just revised it for Premium. Well, like I told Mann, I could have had Cia do the post, she did offer, but then I thought, oh well. I've been planning on the Premium Tuesday posts for a month and a half or so and timing it's release with the release of a new premium story seemed like a good time. It just happened to be that it was MY story that was the new Premium story.... hehe

I'm back! A big thank you to everyone who helped cover me while I was on vacation and now it's time to introduce a new blog feature! So, this has been planned for a while, but I thought it would be great to start the new blog feature with the posting of a *NEW* story in the GA Premium Section. Each week I will be showcasing one of the premium stories that are available for those who purchase a premium subscription. Whenever a new story starts posting, that story will be the showcased story, but other than that, each story will be *COMPLETED*. When I have a review for the premium story, I'll be including that as well. Enjoy! No More Hiding by Renee Stevens Phillip tried to live the straight life; it didn't work, but he wouldn't trade his two kids for anything. Now he just has to find them — something he hasn't managed in the six years since his ex-wife kidnapped them. His twin brother has been encouraging him to start living his life again, but how's he going to find someone with all his baggage? He never expected to meet Vance. But... can he handle it? In Progress Chapters: 2 Category Fiction Genres Romance, Drama Tags Gay, Mature Adult, Love, Anal, North America Rating Mature Want to read this as it's posted? 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

Phillip tried to live the straight life; it didn't work, but he wouldn't trade his two kids for anything. Now he just has to find them — something he hasn't managed in the six years since his ex-wife kidnapped them. His twin brother has been encouraging him to start living his life again, but how's he going to find someone with all his baggage? He never expected to meet Vance. But... can he handle it?

It's with great sadness that we report one of our Classic Authors, GhostRyder15, passed away in October 2013. Ghost Ryder was one of Gay Authors' original Hosted Authors, joining the site back in 2005. A military veteran of the United States Navy during the Vietnam War, it is no surprise that his stories are military themed. Today we honor Ghost Ryder's contributions to both this site and gay fiction. May he rest in peace knowing his stories will continue to live on here at Gay Authors, allowing new readers to experience them. In honor of his passing, we feature a review by Andy78 of his completed story, Kombat Kids. Kombat Kids by Ghost Ryder Reviewer: Andy78 Status: Complete Length: 283,898 When I was first thinking of reading Kombat Kids, I was initially apprehensive as I am not a fan of the military genre in any format; I never even got into TV series such as JAG, NCIS, North and South, and SeaQuest. However, I was pleasantly surprised not only by the story, but even found myself being drawn into the genre. Also, when a new military term is introduced in the story it is explained, which makes it easy to follow the use of these terms and they eventually become familiar. Kombat Kids is set in Washington State near the Columbia River, and focuses on Unit One. The local area has a number of church-run groups and of course there is Boy Scouts; however gay children have been made to feel extremely unwelcome and have been left feeling ostracised. The story starts with Phillip Martin (the son of the town’s sheriff) telling his father that he is gay. Sheriff Martin has no idea how to help his son through this time, and feels unable to answer his questions. So he turns to Matt and James Bateman for help. Both brothers are openly gay and are ex-military; Matt having been a SEAL, and James having served in army airborne. After uncovering the rampant homophobia in the community’s children’s groups, James and Matt decide to form Unit One, which the Bateman Brothers decide they will run like a military training camp; complete with weapons training, fitness training, and even its own Judge Advocate General group. Phillip becomes the poster child for, and a very prominent member of, Unit One. Although initially the Bateman brothers keep Unit One independent without any external support, they soon attract the attention of Sheriff Martin’s brother-in-law, a US marine general. Once he gets involved, the story goes from strength to strength, and in my opinion is the source of some of the best overall plotlines in the story. Not everyone in the community is happy however with the formation of Unit One, and they go to extreme lengths in order to try to close down the unit; lengths which have dire consequences for several of the kids. There is a lot of sex in the story, probably the most I’ve seen in a story here on GA given its length. Though, as with other authors here, GhostRyder15 has managed to avoid it reading too much like smut. However, the way some of the couples first come together, and some of the sex scenes do have a very Nifty-esque feel to them. There are a few negatives with the story; however they are all technical issues. The speech tags are poorly punctuated, and there are minor issues with spelling, continuity errors and general formatting. Whilst these issues are numerous enough to be obvious and are a frequent stumbling block, and numerous enough for me to usually move on to a different story, the story itself is of more than sufficient quality that any reader should try to, if not forgive these errors, at least overlook them. Forgoing these technical errors, I’d give the story itself an 8 out of 10.

I wonder why it didn't show up... I even double checked to make sure I had everything... Herm... Anyways, it's fixed now.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!! I can't believe it's already sunday again and time for the weekly wrap-up. I hope that everyone had a great weekend and if you missed any of the blogs this past week, it's a great time to play catch up. Let's see what happened in the GA News Blog this week! This week was our Signature Author week and we started it out with a review of Dragon's Treasure by David McLeod. Aditus seemed to really enjoy the story and hopefully after checking out the review, you'll go see what you think of the story! Wednesday we continued Signature Week when Cia interviewed David about Dragon's Treasure. She had some great questions for David and he was kind enough to give the readers some insight into the story. If you've already read the story and had some questions, go see if David already answered it! Our Prompt Me Friday brought two new prompts to help spark some ideas. For the featured prompt response I featured Mann Ramblings response to Prompt #316. If you do decide to take on one of the prompts, don't forget to share it in the forum and maybe yours will be featured in a future Friday blog! Anthology Announcements: 2014 Summer Anthology: The Backup Plan - Due June 8th *Note: Deadline is for submission into GA Stories. Deadline for Submission to the Anthology Proof Team is June 5th* 2014 Fall Anthology: Scars - Due Sept 3rd *Note: Deadline is for submission to the Anthology Proof Team* NEW READING In Premium this week: Boy Called Slave by Nephylim *Complete* By our Signature Authors this week: Leopard Skin Cover by Graeme Enforcer by Rob Colton; Book 2 of Timber Pack Chronicles HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont Scars - The things we bare by comicfan The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 8 by Comicality; Book 8 of Billy Chase Chronicles Thwarted by Renee Stevens Lost Inside by Cia; Book 2 of Carthera Tales Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Purpose - A New Beginning by Andrew_Q_Gordon Pilots II by David McLeod Finding Alex by Nephylim By our Promising Authors this week: Runner-Up by FrenchCanadian Drawing a New Life by layla The Crown Affair by Andy78 Guitars 2 by layla The Gay Man of Her Dreams by carringtonrj Born Wolf by Sasha Distan What Mountains Breed by layla Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week and is looking forward to the weekend!! It's that time again, time for two new prompts to help get the wheels turning. Enjoy! Prompt 318 – Creative Tag – First Line “I’ve wanted to do that since … forever.” Prompt 319 - Creative Tag – The Bet Your friend has always had a big mouth, but last week he just went to far. He said he could out do you, in one of the things you are best known for in front of everyone you both know. To shut him up, you accepted the bet. What did you two bet on, who won, and what was the bet? This week I decided to feature Mann Rambling's response to Prompt #316: Read the rest here. Don't forget... Read, Write, and Review.

“I wish you boys didn’t have to leave tomorrow.” Diane slid the plate of roast on the table before slipping into her seat. “What time did you say you had to go?” Mark kept quiet. He knew Trey had already told them they’d be leaving after breakfast. He’d actually been surprised himself at the timetable, but Trey had been adamant when they’d talked about it. He’d told him point blank that he wanted them to have some one-on-one time before he had to report back to base. “We’ll head out after

It's time to continue with our Signature Week. This month's Signature Author Background features Dragon's Treasure by Signature Author David McLeod. Cia was kind enough to do an interview with David to help us get to know a bit more about both the author and the story. If you haven't already read, Dragon's Treasure, it's there, just waiting for you to take a gander at it! Now, let's see what David had to say!!! Interview: David McLeod on Dragon's Treasure Interviewer: Cia When did you first start writing? That would have been a very juvenile science fiction story written when I was in the fifth grade. My mother (naturally) saved it. I pull it out, occasionally, and just shake my head. Most of the writing I did through graduate school was only that which was required—themes, essays, book reports. It wasn’t until about ten years ago I started writing things I didn’t have to write. Who has been the most supportive of your writing over the years? Friends I’ve met through writers workshops and writers circles, and on-line. There are several folks, authors and readers on the GA site, who have provided excellent feedback, critical direction, and superb ideas. I can't list them all, here, but I have acknowledged and thanked them along the way. You write a lot of fantasy stories; do you have a favorite fantasy story or book to read? Anne McCaffery is nonpareil. And dragons rule! When you began writing Dragon's Treasure, did you know where the story was going all along? Or did your characters and story take on a life of their own? My goal was a “grail cycle,” a form of literature that I think one of my early English teachers invented, as I can find no reference to it, today, outside of Camelot and Lancelot. (If anyone knows a better name, I’d sure like to hear it.) The notion is that a hero, perhaps not knowing that he is—or is to become—a hero, undertakes a mission, perhaps not knowing immediately that he is on a mission. Along the journey, he gathers companions. Each of the companions brings a critical skill. It’s formulaic, and therefore fairly easy to write. Once started, however, the characters in “Dragon’s Treasure” (like most others) took on lives of their own, and I was hard pressed to keep up with them. If your story was made into a movie, who do you picture playing each of the four boys' part? Unfortunately, the ages of my preferred characters are much too far apart, today, and one is dead. I’d like to have seen Ulee played by Asa Butterfield at the age he was in “The Boy in Striped Pajamas.” River Phoenix at his age in “Little Nikita” would have made a wonderful Ian. Will Wheaton of “Stand by Me” age might have been a good Druid; and a younger Corey Feldman (“The Lost Boys”) would have made an excellent Thief. (Thorby, by the way, was inspired by Robert Heinlein’s “Citizen of the Galaxy,” Thorby Baslim, later Thorby Rudbeck.) What is your favorite part of the Dragon's Treasure? When after repeatedly being beaten down by evil or desperate people, Ulee and Ian find refuge and a mentor. That was influenced by Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” model, another but more difficult (IMHO) formula for storytelling and one I've never been able successfully to follow. Is there anything you'd do different, if you were to write the story over? I would make the last scene in the mountain meadow less abrupt, and lay the groundwork for it more carefully. Don’t want to give that away, so I’ll not say more. Dragon's Treasure is an older story, but do you think you'll revisit it again in the future? I am grateful to the staff and readers of the GA web site for the opportunity to post stories, to receive feedback, and to “experiment” with technique, characters, plots, and other elements of writing. Although the flaws in "Pilots II" and "Translator III" were too obvious to ignore and I plan to rewrite/repost those stories, I would rather create new than revisit old. I doubt that I’ll get back to “Dragon’s Treasure,” however, the treasure, itself, is featured in other stories. There are in development several stories that take place on World, including “Prince Errant,” “Smith’s Son,” and a Part II of “The Squire and the Acolyte.”

It's Signature Week! This month's Signature Author Background features Dragon's Treasure by Signature Author David McLeod. I always start Signature Week with a review of the story being featured. Lucky for me, Aditus stepped up to do the review for Dragon's Treasure. Take a look and hopefully you'll like the review enough that you go check out the story as well, and perhaps enjoy it as much as Aditus seemed to! Dragon's Treasure By David McLeod Reviewer: Aditus Status: Complete Word Count: 28,591 Four boys—an Empath, an Illusionist, a Druid, and a Thief—encounter a dragon and find much more than treasure. That's how David summarized his story. Ever since I watched the movie 'Dragon Heart' I've been hooked on fantasy stories featuring dragons, which of course meant I had to read a story called 'Dragon's Treasure'. In the style of a classic tale of an epic journey, Ulee, Ian, Jeremy and Thorby leave their home to travel through Eblis. All four boys are magic users, which isn't unusual in this world. … any person working a trade or craft—whether he be a Currier or a Smith, whether she be a Weaver, or a Seamstress, or a Midwife—everyone uses a little magic to do their tasks. (Quote) Only they aren't simple craft magic users, they can do great magic, to call storms, to bring down mountains, to kill. (Quote) and this is why the boys are hunted by the Red-Robes, who take children away from their homes on behalf of the Prince of Eblis to bring them to his city, where they are forced to serve him. The story starts with Ulee and Ian. They encounter greedy boatmen, exploitive farmers, and the Red Robes, but also a wise mentor and eventually Jeremy and Thorby. It is as Ian's Nana has told them. You will find friends. Not many, but they will be there if you look for them. Do not trust too easily, but do not fear so much that you trust no one. (Quote) And of course they meet the dragon. This is a story of change, of growth, of learning to trust each other, of working together and of making sacrifices to reach the common goal. With his descriptive writing David made me crouch with Ulee in the muddy ditch and hold my breath until the soldiers had passed, he made me cringe when the boy told about his apprenticeship, he made me love and admire Josephus and yes, he made me sad, several times actually. Dragon's Treasure opened the door to an interesting and exciting world for me and I plan to read all the other stories which take place there and tell of other places like Arcadia and Elvenhold. I have one complaint, though: The story ended far too soon. I would love to read a sequel.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I have extended the submission deadline for the 2014 Poetry Anthology: A Storm Is Coming. The new deadline is April 18th. Please have all submissions in no later than 11:59 P.M. EST on April 18th. I'm leaving the following week for vacation and will need to put together the Double Check list before I leave. Now, let's see what happened this week in the Gay Author's News Blog!!! On Monday, we learned that this month's CSR Book Club selection is going to be "Your Alpha, My Mate" by Wolfwriter. At just over 81,000 words it's a bit of a long read, so if you haven't started yet and are hoping to take part in the discussion at the end of the month, you'd better get reading!!! Wednesday we took a look at how to review for the blog. I also announced that I would like to put together a "Blog Review Team" as well as what I'm looking for. If you'd like more information, or think you might be interested, then please send me a PM. Thursday we announced an addition to the ranks of Promising Author. Thorn Wilde has been promoted and is now our newest Promising Author. If you haven't already done so, drop on by the blog entry and offer your congratulations! Friday, we finished off the week with two new prompts. This week consisted of a picture prompt and one with the tag of "the bunny". We also featured a response to prompt #315 written by Cazpedroso. From the sounds of it, it's going to be just the start of a longer story. Also on Friday, Myr stopped by the GA News Blog with a bit of a special blog entry. He took the opportunity to share the reasons behind some of the rules that help to make Gay Authors the site that it is. Hopefully it helps everyone understand why the Administration and Moderation teams do some of the things they do. I'd strongly suggest everyone check out the blog entry as it is quite informative, and I'm thankful that Myr took the time to explain the things that he did. Anthology Announcements: 2014 Poetry Anthology: A Storm is Coming - Due April 18th *DEADLINE EXTENDED - Please have all submissions in no later than 11:59 P.M. EST on April 18th so I can put the Double Check list together* 2014 Summer Anthology: The Backup Plan - Due June 8th *Note: Deadline is for submission into GA Stories. Deadline for Submission to the Anthology Editing Team is June 5th* NEW READING In Premium this week: Boy Called Slave by Nephylim By our Signature Authors this week: Leopard Skin Cover by Graeme Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Geeks by CassieQ Standing In Shadows by Krista Enforcer by Rob Colton; Book 2 of Timber Pack Chronicles Prompt Ramblings by Mann Ramblings Pilots II by David McLeod 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 Noah's New Plan by Rob Colton Mrs. Benson by comicfan Purpose - A New Beginning by Andrew_Q_Gordon Heart's Desire by comicfan By our Promising Authors this week: The Gay Man of Her Dreams by carringtonrj Lay Your Prompts On Me by Sasha Distan; Book 2 of GA Prompts Wicked Boy by Sasha Distan; Book 6 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories Guitars 2 by layla Nothin' Town by Sasha Distan; Book 7 of American Songbook Born Wolf by Sasha Distan What Mountains Breed by layla Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

You are most welcome

FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY!!! *Dances* Oh, oops. Forgot what I was doing there for a moment. Hope everyone has had a great week and I bet everyone is looking forward to the weekend. Before the weekend can get here though, we have to do the weekly prompts from the Prompt Guru. Hopefully one of these will spark an idea!!! Prompt 316 – Creative Tag – Picture Create a story using the following image as an inspiration. Prompt 317 – Creative Tag – The Bunny Holidays have never interested you and most of the time you forget when they are. This morning you had to be up before dawn for a marathon you were running. As you got outside you spotted a pure white bunny in a vest with a huge basket over one of his paws. What do you do? This week, I decided to feature a response to prompt #315 by Cazpedroso To read the rest, click here! Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

It's been quite the week this week in the Gay Authors News Blog. Hope everyone had a great weekend and that the upcoming week treats everyone well. Now, lets look back at what happened in the blog over the last week! On Monday we had the CSR Discussion for this months book club choice, Shepherd's Crook by K.C. K.C. also visited the blog for a live Q & A and answered some questions about the story. If you've read his story, why don't you stop on by and share your thoughts with the other readers! For those of you who have been downloading the monthly Signature backgrounds, don't forget to check out Tuesday's blog. Cia posted this months background, featuring Dragon's Treasure by David McLeod. Wednesday featured this month's Ask An Author feature. This month featured questions asked to CassieQ, Jamessavik, and Libby Drew. Curious as to what they were asked and what their answers were? Check it out! Don't forget, if you have a question you'd like to ask an author, PM Dark and it might be featured in a future Ask An Author. Thursday, K.C. was featured in the blog again as he joined the ranks of Signature Author. If you haven't already, and wish to, drop on by the blog entry to offer your congrats for the well deserved promotion! Friday was once again prompt day. This weeks prompts had a tag of "Sleeping Beauty" as well as a list of words for you to use in your prompt story. Hopefully one or both of the prompts inspired you to write something. For the featured prompt response, I featured AJ's response to prompt #312. Anthology Announcements: 2014 Poetry Anthology: A Storm is Coming - Due April 15th 2014 Summer Anthology: The Backup Plan - Due June 8th *Note: Deadline is for submission into GA Stories. Deadline for Submission to the Anthology Editing Team is June 5th* NEW READING In Premium this week: Boy Called Slave by Nephylim Do Over by dkstories; Book 1 of Do Over Series *reposting* By our Signature Authors this week: A Day in The Life of a Seer by comicfan Leopard Skin Cover by Graeme Enforcer by Rob Colton; Book 2 of Timber Pack Chronicles A prompt a week by comicfan 0300 Book 3 by David McLeod Mrs. Benson by comicfan HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Pilots II by David McLeod Adverse Effects by Cia; Book 2 of Saving Caeorleia Lost Inside by Cia; Book 2 of Carthera Tales Purpose - A New Beginning by Andrew_Q_Gordon By our Promising Authors this week: Born Wolf by Sasha Distan Runner-Up by FrenchCanadian Wicked Boy by Sasha Distan; Book 6 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories Guitars 2 by layla Drawing a New Life by layla What Mountains Breed by layla Queer Shakespeare by carringtonrj Curse of the Fallen by JMH; Book 2 of Fallen Don't forget.... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!!

Ahh, it's Friday, and for many, that means it's 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 314 – Creative Tag – Sleeping Beauty Two months ago a rare find in Mexico happened. Inside an old pyramid, a perfectly preserved body was found. On closer inspection they found the body was actually still alive, but in some sort of suspended animation. The body has been on tour, nicknamed the Sleeping Beauty. You go to the exhibit and discover something truly unusual about the two hundred year old beauty. What is it? Prompt 315 – Creative Tag – List of Words Use the following in a story – storybook, old mansion, topaz ring, broken step, and a turkey sandwich. This week, I decided to feature AJ's response to Prompt #312. It seemed only fitting since that prompt was apparently created with AJ in mind, plus, there's actually three responses by AJ! Enjoy! To read AJ's other two prompt responses, click here. The rest of last weeks responses can be found here and here. Don't forget... Read, Write, and REVIEW!!!

Once again, a new month is here. It's hard to believe that it's already April, but with the new month, comes a monthly feature that I think everyone looks forward to. A big thank you goes out to Dark for taking the time to put together our "Ask An Author" feature. I hope you enjoy! Ask an Author #15 Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors! In AtA #14, we had questions for authors Comicality, Stellar, and dkstories. In AtA #15, we hear from authors CassieQ, James Savik, and Libby Drew. 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, CassieQ, was one of the first authors interviewed for this blog series. That could be due to the popularity of Not the Sun. Since then, there’s been 2 more books and lots and lots of fans. In her spare time, Cassie enjoys her job as a “physical terrorist” (physical therapist) and somehow finds time to feed her NFL obsession. You can also find her in GA chat, where you can enjoy her lively humor and sunny disposition. Just don’t mention the Raiders. To CassieQ: What’s the most valuable piece of feedback or writing advice someone on GA has given you? This was a tough one. Any piece of feedback is valuable, but the best feedback I ever got on this site was from several authors who edited a piece of mine called Seasons of Love. What was so great about this feedback, was that they told me where I was weak with my writing, along with what they liked. It caused me to change a lot of things about how I wrote from that point forward and I think my writing now is stronger as a result of that. Today’s next author is James Savik. He’s a long-time member (been around since 2005!) and is frequently seen about the forums. He’s a bit of a science geek and, being from Mississippi, laughs at all the rest of us when we complain about the weather. Although a professed cynic, James often finds time to greet and encourage new GA members. One of his latest writing projects is Operation Hammerhead, a rich sci-fi tale about protecting civilization from an invader. To James Savik: Which story that you have written are you the most proud of? Why? Operation Hammerhead is my favorite novel and the Place in Between is my favorite short story. Operation Hammerhead is a bit of a misdirection. You think its about a war against a mysterious enemy out there but the really dangerous situation is going on at home. In the future genetic engineering technology has matured to the point to where it is possible to engineer human beings. While the goverenment tries to strictly regulate this technology to prevent abuses, there are people discovered to be the product of banned procedures. People are scared that they will be supermen and get bored with breeders (the naturally born). They are called illegals and they face quite a lot of discrimination. If I get any more allegorical, I think that I may be arrested. the Place in Between does something that I think is somewhat unique. It examines the cruising culture and, how many young people get caught up in it. Most of the time this sub-culture eats its own. It's terribly degrading and destructive for the people involved. This story examines the only way out of that culture that I know of. No one ever goes there intentionally. It's a side trip where people and souls get lost. Sometimes for just a while. Sometimes forever. Today’s final author is Hosted (and published) Author Libby Drew. She has been with GA since 2007 and has over the last 2 years started publishing her stories. One of her stories unique to GA is fan favorite The Art of Walking in Snow, a story about a man who falls in love due to a curious incident with a tree. Libby’s full and interesting life helps supply her with endless story ideas and I for one look forward to reading the next right here on GA before it gets snapped up by another publisher! To Libby Drew: When reading other fiction, what do you look for? What genres do you prefer to immerse yourself in? I love stories where characters are pushed outside their comfort zone. Not in a humiliating, embarrassing way. I like to see their moral beliefs tested. I like to see them blown out of the water, actually. Dangerous, risky situations attract me. I could read hurt/comfort stories all day long, especially when they are M/M. Certain paranormals grab me, those dealing with ghosts or other unexplained phenomena in particular. If there’s a story out there with all these elements, it’s a guaranteed read for me (sometimes despite poor editing), but I tend to find my favorite books fall within the mystery or adventure genres. 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: Menzoberranzen, Mark Arbour, and C James. Want to ask your favorite author a question? Simply PM me (Dark).

Sorry, typo, lol.... 2 days with only 6 hours sleep, lol... fixing now.... You should have seen me yesterday before I'd gotten any sleep. I was texting my hubby the lyrics to "You are my sunshine". He'd thought I lost it.

I'm running a bit behind with this weeks Weekly Wrap Up as I kind of fell asleep on the couch, but here it is none the less. I hope everyone had a great week and that you all are having a relaxing weekend to gear up for the coming week. Now, how about I get on with the wrap up! The review for this week's Featured Story was "The Lake" by Dolores Esteban. "The Lake" was one of the entries into the recent Spring Anthology and was enjoyed by not only our reviewer, Jo Ann, but based on the comments on the blog, many others thoroughly enjoyed the story as well. If you haven't already done so, go check it out and see for yourself what you think! Myr joined the blog on Wednesday with a new tech blog. This month he decided to talk about Responsive Design and how it relates to what is coming for Gay Authors. I have to say that I'm looking forward to it and I think it's going to be great for those who access GA on devices such as tablets and phones! We had two new prompts on Friday. One of which was simply about bacon and the other was a first line prompt. This week I decided to feature Aditus' response to Prompt #310. If you're in the mood to write, go check out the prompts and see if either of them get you writing. A couple people have already taken up the challenge Anthology Announcements: 2014 Poetry Anthology: A Storm is Coming - Due April 15th 2014 Summer Anthology: The Backup Plan - Due June 8th *Note: Deadline is for submission into GA Stories. Deadline for Submission to the Anthology Editing Team is June 5th* NEW READING In Premium this week: Boy Called Slave by Nephylim By our Signature Authors this week: Leopard Skin Cover by Graeme 0300 Book 3 by David McLeod Enforcer by Rob Colton; Book 2 of Timber Pack Chronicles Prompt Ramblings by Mann Ramblings HMS Valiant by Mark Arbour; Book 7 of Bridgemont Flux by Mark Arbour; Book 14 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Pilots II by David McLeod Lost Inside by Cia; Book 2 of Carthera Tales Thwarted by Renee Stevens Purpose - A New Beginning by Andrew_Q_Gordon So Little Magic Left by Mann Ramblings Prometheus Wakens by David McLeod Geeks by CassieQ By our Promising Authors this week: Lay Your Prompts On Me by Sasha Distan; Book 2 of GA Prompts Wicked Boy by Sasha Distan; Book 6 of The Best Circle of Hell Stories The Crown Affair by Andy78 Drawing a New Life by layla Born Wolf by Sasha Distan Haunting Memories by K.C. Remember.... Read, Write... and REVIEW!!!!! ANNOUNCEMENT: As part of this month's CSR Discussion, Promising Author K.C. has agreed to be present on the blog from 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. EST time on Monday, March 31, 2014 for a Live Q & A Session.

Definitely a story that kept me wondering what was going to happen! The moment Jeff was allowed to watch the approach I wondered what the price was going to be for that privilege, lol. Nice job!! I also really enjoyed the twist with the name

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far! What better way to end the week than with two new prompts from our prompt guru, Comicfan. Don't forget to share your responses in the prompt forum! Enjoy! Prompt 312 – Creative Tag – Bacon That is right ladies and gentlemen, the topic is bacon. You may use it in any form you like, a story, a poem, or whatever your little mind can create. Have fun. Prompt 313 – Creative Tag – First Line “Did you say the crocuses were blooming?” This week I decided to feature Aditus' response to Prompt #310, enjoy: To read the rest, click here.

“You’re sure you don’t mind going on the boat again tomorrow?” Mark turned his head to look at Trey where he rested on his shoulder. “I’m sure, why would I?” They only had one more day with Trey’s parents before they had to leave. Mark was willing to spend it however Trey wanted to. He’d actually enjoyed the last couple of days with Diane and Gary and was probably more comfortable with them than he was his own parents. “I don’t know.” Trey pulled away and sat up. He sat Indian style on the

The weekend always seems to go by so quickly and once again, it's the start of a new week. You know what that means. It's time to feature a new story! Jo Ann was kind enough to provide a review to one of the 2014 Spring Anthology that she really enjoyed, The Lake by Signature Author: Dolores Esteban! I hope you enjoy! The Lake by Dolores Esteban Reviewer: Joann414 Status: Complete Word Count: 941 This is the story the author wrote for the recent Anthology, Nature's Wrath. The reason I felt it deserved a review and a boost is because I found myself going back to read it again already. You think that's crazy? Wait'll you hear this. The story is only 941 words. Kinda sounds crazy to think there's even enough there to review. Well, let me tell you! It's there alright, and more. Rick has lost his job and is not in a good place. After seeing an ad in a magazine, he decides to take a trip. Like many people who hope to turn their luck around, he heads to Vegas. Rick not only wins a large amount of money, but meets a handsome man named Frank. Before Rick knows it, Frank has talked him into going back to his farm with him for a few days. Franks's dad lives there and he doesn't seem pleased when Frank comes home with Rick in tow, and Rick's not impressed with the old man either. Since Rick spends his time in Frank's company, it doesn't seem to be a problem Late in the evening the day after their return to the farm, Frank treats Rick to a barbecue by the lake. He sets the grill up there and everything. Rick enjoys the meal and of course afterwards, the peacefulness and enjoyment of Frank's company as they sit beside the lake. While the two men are enjoying the summer evening and the chirp of the crickets around the lake, a shout for help reaches Rick's ears. He asks Frank if he hears it and Frank doesn't seem to be aware of it. After hearing the plea for help again, Rick goes to the rescue. If I tell you more, I'd spoil the surprise elements of the story. You see a story with so few words and a cast of three, you wonder what could be so great. Can't tell you that either. I can tell you this though. When I finished this story the first time, my mouth was hanging open and I was like, "What the hell?" Short and sweet? Hell, no. Short, definitely. Go read and I'd love to see your reaction in the first sentence of your review. I can assure you, it's a tale you won't soon forget