Percy

I enjoyed this a lot. I don't read a lot of fantasy but this had great flow, strong characterization in a very sweet story.

I am sorry about your cat, Dark. It's a sad story. Cats each have such unique personalities and yours seemed very bonded to you.

I like reading the prompts, Wayne, even when I don't respond. Keep them coming. I've been struggling to focus on my writing too, but it always comes back around. Glad the back is heading in the right direction, even if it's slow going. At least it's recovery. I keep telling myself the same thing. I dislocated my shoulder last fall and feel like I'm still trying to regain full strength and range of motion. The progress is not always linear. -Percy

As an introvert myself, I found this clip pretty much sums up the way I engage with others. GA is a good place for introverts. You can kinda come and go at will and someone's always around if you want to talk. Or not talk.

Very shocking and sad. He was always dependably friendly and a supportive presence. I'm sure he'll be missed by many here at GA and in other realms of his life.

Love reading your blog posts, Yettie, which are always a combination of wisdom and humor.

You're an excellent diarist, Yettie. You take on life with a pragmatism and compassion that is very appealing. Thanks for sharing how things are developing with your mother.

I feel like I should post something since I nominated “Josh’s Blog” for discussion. I wanted to check out a story by a Hosted Author and unlike Cia, I’m a huge fan of epistolary writing. Blogs, I suppose, fall into that category. Reading someone’s letters (or blogs), fictional or not, invites me to identify with a character in a way that feels intimate and immediate. Out of everything that happens in their lives, what we’re being given in the letter or blog is what matters to them, what’s important to them to share and, usually, what they think about what they are sharing. The premise of “Josh’s Blog” is promising. Josh is plunked down in a small town to finish out his last year of high school. Soon Josh learns that he not only has to deal with coming into adulthood in the real world, he must also learn to function in an alternate fantasy world filled with mystical creatures who are part human, part beast and who are teaching him to manage his magical powers. Carl Holiday does a good job at building a fantasy world and weaving that in with the everyday world which we all recognize. Now, however, I’m in a conundrum of what to say. The spirit of GA, and one that I respect, is to leave complimentary public reviews. Criticism is withheld or addressed privately for the most part. That said, the purpose of the CSR group is to discuss a story and discussions of this sort are bound to contain both the positive and the negative. When it comes down to it, we’re not all going to like or dislike the same thing for the same reasons. I read a number of chapters into Josh’s Blog, but the character never resonated with me. I didn’t feel a connection with his life or his trials. If I hadn’t been told Josh was 17, I would have guessed the blog posts were being written by someone no older than 14. The immaturity of the narrative voice threw me off and was, I think, part of the disconnect for me. I couldn’t follow Josh’s reasoning, even allowing for his youth, and that was a source of frustration. For example, Josh’s father is gay and dating a man. Josh is also gay and there’s no sense in the blog that he’s bothered by his sexuality. He is, however, bothered by the fact that his father might be a bottom. Fair enough. No one likes to imagine their parents as sexual creatures. If Josh had a pervasive sort of disdain for a submissive (in his view) sexual role, this discomfort might make more sense but that never comes through elsewhere in his blog. He’s also angry with his father when the man tells his boyfriend that Josh, too, is gay. Huh? That’s what he views as a violation? Yet, Josh shrugs off the mystical, dreamlike nocturnal visits of some half human creature that sodomizes Josh while telling him it’s necessary for Josh to receive his “essence”. Were these encounters real or dreams? Was the sex consensual or not? Why isn’t Josh more concerned about how sore he is after these weird, half remembered nights? I couldn’t follow why he was so nonchalant about his other worldly experiences. After a half dozen chapters, I realized this simply wasn’t a story I was interested in finishing. I dare say that if you like the fantasy genre and are comfortable with the fits and starts of a teen-age brain, then “Josh’s Blog” would be a fun read. Carl Holiday has a strong following and a number of stories offered on GA, but this particular one wasn’t a good match for me.

The Sports Illustrated article is very well written. Not sure how much was Collins and how much was Lidz but it makes for good reading. There's a link to it in the article Tetrefine posted.

You're off to a good start here. The writing shows a lot of confidence. Great job introducing the characters and filling the reader in on their backgrounds. Hope to see you posting future chapters regularly!

Congratulations on your elevation to Promising Author! Your Mr. Anonymous story was one of the first I read on GA - a thoroughly enjoyable read. You're one of the reasons I stuck around the site in the beginning, and you've kept the good writing coming. Glad to see you being recognized!

Congratulations KC and Michael! I thought you were already in the Promising Author category - you're both such great writers. I need to pay more attention around here.

The 3am one always gets me.

sounds like you landed with the right doctor renee. that's great and great to know you've been doing well.

Great start Renee! I'm interested in the main character already and look forward to seeing what the future holds for him and his son...and the puppy.

Good start KC. Great to see another story underway from you. Asher is already a better man than me. I would have kept walking. I'll wait until it's complete to read the rest...something to look forward to!

Good for you!

Great review Fishwings! I first read this book a couple years ago and skimmed back through it to review here. It was the first book of Libby Drew’s that I read, and I was immediately hooked as a fan. State of Mind falls solidly in the paranormal action/adventure genre with a nice side of m/m romance. As FW indicated in his review, the primary characters of the book are well rounded and the supporting characters are well-treated too. Drew has a real gift for writing dialogue. What’s more, she writes it convincingly for a variety of characters. It’s crisp, witty and doesn’t slow you down when the action is really moving along and you just want to keep turning the pages. I would classify this as a good summer read (but don't wait until summer). It’s the type of book you want to pick up if you’re sitting on the beach, if you’ve just completed a draining project at work and want to be carried away, or to cap off a demanding semester of study. Great escapist reading. I did have a couple quibbles with the plot as I never fully grasped what the Organization did or how they did it. Who hired them? Or did they arbitrarily decide what the world needed in terms of mission? If that’s the case, how was the organization funded? How did they come to exist? And why the lie about the effect of disassociating the monitors from the gifted? How did they manage to keep that lie from being revealed if all of the monitors knew the truth? I kept reading and thinking that all these things would be answered at the end of the book. Either they weren’t or I missed the explanation (and someone here can clear the questions up for me). Either way, Drew created an interesting alternate world and it would be great to see her come out with a prequel or sequel to State of Mind. Next Month Suggestions: Carl Holiday’s Josh’s Blog Carringtonrj’s Paradise

Geez, sorry Wayne. Mobility issues are frustrating. Be patient with yourself on recovery and persistent with the doctors for diagnosis and treatment. You'll be your own best medical advocate and I encourage you to keep at it until you're satisfied with the answers you're getting.

Good to get the update and hear that everything's in order. Keep taking care of yourself!

I enjoyed this longer piece. Really good writing. I think the pacing of the story was about perfect with good transitions between dialogue and description. The character dialogue was one of the strongest aspects of the story-sounded completely natural, just how you'd expect the characters to talk. The story itself is almost a nod to Schrödinger's cat paradox, isn't it? Callen is both alive and dead, and I liked the way you brought the paradox literally into the story in one of the conversations with Sage. Clever. It made for a great story, Fishwings.

Very sweet! Loved the dramatic responses of the girls to what they both thought would be unrequited love. You really captured that over the top, reactionary intensity of youth. Perfect fit for the anthology theme.

Humph. For some reason my review last night didn't post. Anyway, I'm glad you posted this. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed reading up on flarf poetry which I was unfamiliar with until I saw this. Clever and fun!

What can I say other than I wish I could find a pot of gold buried Civil War era treasures at the end of my rainbow! Glad you made the dreams for your characters come true - you painted them as two decent, hardworking guys who deserved a lucky break.

Good treatment of difficult subject matter and a reminder that we never know what we're capable of facing and overcoming until we're put in the position of having to do so. Thanks for sharing this.