A.J.

I know many of you are confused by your reputation counts dropping. I'm going to give a short explanation and then a longer one for those that like to watch me prattle on about technical things. Short answer: An author left our site yesterday. They wanted to leave for personal reasons not related to this site. Multiple admins made an attempt to convince this author to stay and/or leave the account as-is. We tried to reason with them that they could simply stop logging into the site, which would give them the option of coming back, but in the end they decided to leave the site and reduce their internet usage to a bare minimum. When they left we were forced to delete content which triggered automatic reputation rebuilds on all the members they interacted with. Long answer: In the past, when content was deleted there were no cascading effects to reputation levels. Let me explain why. The old Invision forum software would simply orphan the reputation gained from deleted items in the reputation database. Therefore, you still had reputation from any post, blog entry, story or comment on the site even if it was deleted. The new software is different in so many ways. Invision's new forum software is really smart about cleaning up after itself. So, over the years we've removed forum posts, blogs, and stories for a bunch of different reasons. This creates an issue as the system has removed the orphaned reputation data from the database. Now, with the newest 4.2.x forum software, when content is deleted it adjusts the reputation of those connected with it. So, deleting a forum post will remove the reputation you gained in that forum post. Deleting a story where the author liked one of your comments will remove that reputation from your account as well. Except how the system does it isn't by simply removing one point for each reputation instance, but by rebuilding the totals for affected members from scratch. This is why many of you saw such huge drops in reputation. We didn't intend for anyone to lose reputation they had gained, but the system now has built-in control over that unless we find a way around it. We are considering rebuilding all member reputation from scratch so that all members are on an even playing field, but we've not done so yet.

Happy Birthday, MrM!

Welcome back!

Happy Birthday, Steve

I was talking to someone about life lessons we pickup as children through the books, music, TV and music we are exposed to and it made me wonder what lessons others think they've learned from the same. Eric (book by Doris Lund) - Eric is about a teen boy that gets diagnosed with leukemia and refuses to give up living. It was written by his mother after his death. We read this book in 9th grade. I cried a lot. Years later I read it again after the death of two dear friends that passed within a year of each other from different cancers. I think it taught me numerous lessons about not giving up, grief, and accepting the hand you're dealt but not being limited by it. Nobody's Hero (music by the band Rush) - The first stanza deals with the death of a gay man known to the song's writer. For the time it was released (1994) it was a statement by a rock band denouncing homophobia. The song came out about the time I realized I was gay. I was young and still struggling with it. The song's lyrics and overall message really resonated with me. It reinforced what I already knew to be true that we must accept others and their differences are not a threat to us. This song also inspired me to learn bass guitar. The Lion King (movie) - In the end, you can't run away from your past forever. You have to go back and face it. ST:TNG (TV) - A lot of lessons in this one, but one that immediately comes to mind is from the episode The Defector where Picard says ""If the cause is just and honorable, they are prepared to give their lives." I remember it resonating with me as a child and the memory of it stuck with me as I saw movies like Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, or thought about the passengers on Flight 93. I've only listed one of mine in each category because I really want to hear what others have to say.

Happy Birthday, Graeme!

@William King Can you tell me if it is fixed now?

I always love this feature. Thanks Dark for keeping this feature going all this time!

I found this site initially back in 2004. I'd read a story on Nifty and an author said new chapters would first be posted here. I didn't join until 8 years later in 2012. Must have had other things on my mind like college and guys. I was only a member about 4 months before I joined the staff. I've really enjoyed being a staff member and serving in a number of roles the last 4 years. I've met some amazing people, built lifelong friendships, shed many tears at the loss of beloved members, and hopefully helped countless members and authors enjoy their experience here. Lately I've had a lot less time to spend on the site. I've been trying to get my life back together for years now. As many of you know I struggle with anxiety and depression, which has only gotten worse the last several years. It's far easier for me to sit at home and interact with a website, than to force myself to go out and enjoy life. I decided in November that it was time to step down as an administrator and time to get serious about my future. I gave myself almost two months to make sure that this was the right decision for me, so today I'm announcing publicly that I'm resigning as an administrator. The other site administrators have been amazingly supportive of my decision. They've seen first hand my struggles over the years and have shown me nothing but love and support. I'm honored to call them friends. I'm not vanishing entirely from the site, but I'll no longer be involved in administration or moderation functions after today. In closing, I'd like to quote JSmith's resignation letter from a few years ago. I read it again today and one line really stuck out to me: "It's been a great journey, but it's time for me to move on with my life and see what else awaits." All the best to each of you. It's time for me to see what else is out there. A.J.

Happy Birthday, Krista

Happy Birthday, Dayne!

Happy 25th Birthday, Mikie!

While a cover may draw my attention, it is what is on the inside that matters. Since I'm paying money I expect the story to be pretty much perfect. It is why I only buy books from the higher-end publishers and avoid self-published works. Bought too many shitty ebooks where the authors/editors did a half-ass job. So to me this is irrelevant.

I've had some weird obsession with Shawn Mendes songs recently. These two keep getting repeated on my morning runs.

Happy Birthday, Lacey!

https://youtu.be/0piofZfWo_I

GA is happy to announce our newest promotion to Promising Author, Carlos Hazday! Carlos has been a member of Gay Authors for a little over three years now including publishing 21 stories! He prides himself on tackling real issues in his work all while aiming to entertain. Never one to shy away from tackling a controversial topic, Carlos has written about homophobia, bullying, HIV, child pornography, gun control, the environment, and racism. In fact, one reader commented that Carlos practices socially engaged storytelling. If you haven't checked out his work before, let me suggest fan favorite Summer, which is the first book in his popular CJ series. We look forward to what new adventures Carlos has in store for us! Leave a note here to congratulate Carlos on his promotion, and then check out his stories here! I'd also like to thank each member of the Author Promotion Team (Graeme, Mann, Myr and Renee) for taking the time to read and review Carlos's work.

Happy Birthday, Cynus!

I'm curious about our members Halloween traditions, if any. For the adults, do you still celebrate, dress up, hand out candy, scare people, or tell stories?

I happen to like contemporary fiction best, so here are some choices that quickly popped into my head. Stories that are not complete, but are long enough to still be enjoyed as-is: Indiana Summer A Class By Himself Beloved An English Teen, Circumcised in the USA (this one is almost complete!) The English Year My Only Escape The Best Year Complete Stories: Desert Dropping Crosscurrents Charlie Pour Me Another Standing In Shadows The Ordinary Us Gemini Wolf Like Me Fearless

Please join us in congratulating Ronyx on becoming GA's newest Classic Author! Ronyx has been writing and posting stories for a decade, but it has just been in the last year that he started posting some of his amazing stories from his own website, The Mustard Jar, here at Gay Authors. I've had the privilege of speaking with Ronyx a few times about his writing. He told me his goal is to reach that one lonely gay teen needing to hear that it's okay to be gay. He has tried to create endearing characters that struggle with their situations, but still come out winners. Ronyx's main message through his writing is that no matter how dark the storm, a rainbow appears at the end. We are honored Ronyx is posting here, and judging by the number of people that have read his stories on our site he's clearly still reaching new readers unfamiliar with his work. Leave a note here to congratulate Ronyx on his promotion, and then check out his stories here!

Happy Birthday, M

Happy Birthday, Steve

Not sure if this song has been posted, but I really like it.

Please join the Author Promotion Team in congratulating Valkyrie on becoming GA's newest Signature Author! Valkyrie joined our site in August 2013 and was promoted to Promising Author in February 2015. Since joining, Valkyrie (or Penguin as she is known to some) has posted 23 stories including fan favorites The Hollow Hills, Penguin, and Alex's Legacy. Valkyrie's stories tend to feature flawed individuals who go through some pretty rough times before reaching their happily ever after – if they ever do. As she states in her author bio, she is a big fan of animals and several of her stories feature them. In addition to her writing, Valkyrie is also active on-site as both an editor and reviewer. We look forward to seeing what Valkyrie has in store for us in the future! Leave a note here to congratulate Valkyrie on her promotion, and then check out her stories here! I'd also like to thank each member of the Author Promotion Team (Cia, Graeme, Mann and Renee) for taking the time to read and review Valkyrie's work.