Andy78

Hi Seb, welcome. I enjoy a lot of Comsie's stories as well, but there are other really talented authors here as well. I'm sure you'll never run out of stuff to read.

Happy birthday Curti, hope it was good one.

I agree it's a shame that as soon as many sportsmen and women come out the immediately retire, as though being gay suddenly stops them playing sports. So is Lori Lindsey (who now plays for Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League and played for USA in the Women's World Cup) not a big enough name in the States to be classed as a trailblazer? Or is women's football/soccer not very big in the US?

Thanks Dark for this new feature. Looks like it will be a great new addition to the blog. These were some very personal questions and I'd like to thank you all for being so open with your answers.

Not my country, but I remember the news reports back in February about Bosnia getting nearly 7 feet of snow in a weekend, and temperatures in Eastern Europe plummeting as low as minus 30C and hundreds of people froze to death.

Thanks guys. This story does push the envelope when it comes to content and I know will not appeal to all members, hence my reason for including the warning at the end. Some of it even shocked me, and that takes some doing these days

I know how you feel Renee Been there, done that, drunk the litre bottle of scotch (definitely would not recommend the bottle of the scotch) I've got more stories half-written than I know what to do with (one I haven't written anything for in over a year but just can't face chucking out), but at least I've been able to write something for one of them. Hope you get out of this funk soon.

Brett and I don't do the Feb 14th thing. We celebrate on January 25th, St Dwynwen's Day; she's the Welsh patron saint of lovers. It's not as big as St V's Day (and probably not really celebrated outside of Wales), which means we get the reservations, the cards, and the sexy undies,erm I mean the choccies, without the extra 25% bumped on top. But to all those who are celebrating St V's Day, I hope you and yours have a great day.

Wonderful news Wayne, about time you had some good news Please could you send some of the snow my way

Really good news, hope all goes well with the SCT. Keep fighting the good fight.

I've always been adventurous when cooking - I've even been brave enough to use sea urchin on a couple of occasions. The microwave is the Devil's invention and does not belong in kitchen; my aunt makes risotto in it and it is not the same as making it properly on the hob. One thing I do make a lot of is lemon curd, which is really versatile. I bake a lot of lemon meringue pies, lemon curd soufflés and lemon sponges. I also love having this to dip slices of apple in, or to spread on toast for breakfast. I usually make enough lemon curd for my immediate use since it is very easy to make; though you can make large batches of it in one go (it will keep for about two weeks). This is the recipe I use. Be warned it makes a very sour lemon curd, but contrasts perfectly with very sweet meringue. There are recipes out there that make a less sour curd, but I find they tend to be very fattening and far too sweet for my liking with meringue. Lemon curd recipe (should be enough for one large lemon meringue pie, or four individual pies): Juice of 2 lemons Grated rind of 1 lemon 1 large egg 2 oz (50g) butter, cubed [you should always use butter, never margarine] 1 teaspoon cornflour [i think is the same as cornstarch in the US] 1oz (25g) caster sugar (I only use half that amount) [i think this is what is called superfine sugar in the US, it is definitely not confectioners sugar] Method Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan, and place over a medium heat. Whisk until the butter has melted, and then lower the heat and simmer, whisking continually. The curd will take about four minutes to thicken and for the egg and cornflour to cook out properly. Be careful: Do not to have the heat up too high or it will curdle and you will end up with lemon flavoured scrambled egg - not as yummy as it sounds.

I've been slack checking this thread lately. Welcome to everyone since my last message. Hope you're all enjoying the site.

Thanks for reading Michael.

You are well deserved nominee Wayne. Good luck, but not too much since we are both nominated in the anthology category It really sucks what work did you to you, that was just so wrong.

I never really had an issue. My coming out to my parents was practically a non-event (considering it was around the time that the AIDS stories first made major media attention). Actually I think my Mum liked first my boyfriend more than she like me Though I've always accepted that here in the UK the GLBT community have things easier than in many other countries. Having said that, you need to keep in mind, that even here in the UK homosexuality was essentially illegal until the 1960s, with the age of consent for gay sex being 21 (it was only 16 for straight couples). Although the both of us were out at school, we were low-key and didn't hold hands or kiss or anything; but we weren't shy in our homes with family. We used to sleep over at each other's, and it wasn't unheard for our parents to comment the next morning on certain noises they had heard coming from the bedroom. I work in a hospital and I know of at least a dozen openly gay staff (a mix of doctors, nurses and admin staff), and I've never heard one negative comment directed to any of us. When you look at gay teens in literature you need to keep in mind the age and background of the author; some of it is a product of author bias, combined with the traditional axiom "write what you know". An author who is in their teens and grew up in practically anywhere in Western or Central Europe will have their gay teen character not worrying about their orientation, whereas an author who is my age (or older) and grew up in say, Scotland or the former Soviet Union, will have their gay teen being very fearful of having their sexuality discovered. Given my many years of positive experiences I'd find it nearly impossible to write a gay teen who hated himself because of his sexuality. I do still enjoy reading the angsty side of gay literature though.

Watching all these clips from the 90s, makes me sooooo glad I was an 80s child About the only 90s series I got into was Saved By The Bell.

My only awful experience was on a propeller plane flight many years ago. I was ten or eleven and a very experienced flyer, and as a family we'd gone to Denmark for a couple of weeks. We were on an internal flight from Copenhagen to Billund (for Legoland), and I was used to nice graceful descents as the plane lands. Well, this plane decided it was more fun to just simply plummet a few hundred feet at a time. Needless to say I redecorated my cousin

I love the prompts and it's great to see another new author tackle one.

I'll send him one. Impossible for me to forget the date as he shares it with my late grandmother who I was very close to.

A great interview Rob, and thanks to Sara for giving up her time to take part. Best of luck with the writing Sara.

Happy belated birthday

I've seen King's College Choir at Cambridge University a number of times over the years, and their Easter and Christmas performances are truly amazing. Their ticket prices are also very reasonable. I usually only pay about £12 a ticket.

Strip Monopoly Though I do play a lot of chess and Trivial Pursuit.

Happy birthday

This is really good advice Cia. I've done something similar over the years. The level of personal detail you end up with are really useful to know about your characters, even if you never get to write them into the story.