Ron

What a superb report and I can agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment, JoAnn

I'm sorry, Dave. Change can come though and when, or if it does, there is an enormous sense of relief that comes with it. Surprisingly, it is felt more for the person lost than for yourself. You're so happy for them. I can speak of this, not for a son but for my only brother. He managed to recover from many of the things you mention and more, in his late thirties. If nothing else, there is always hope even if you need to be pragmatic about it.

The one that needs the Gun oil.

Apparently last July London sewer officials reported removing a 15 ton, bus sized blob of grease and wet wipes. Baby wipes aren't truly flushable even when they say they are and even Charming and Cottonelle butt wipes don't break down but the do shred. I did some web research and yes, like many others, I find it hard to believe that I'm writing on this topic. But, as a side note, I have been a great fan of the Cottonelle wipes since they came out.

Ha ha, great ending! Very nice.

Very nice, Aaron. The interposing of the description of the black diamond as metaphor was well done. Wonderful use of words!

Done. Has to be approved by Amazon but it was an honest review. It is live now.

I had no idea you were on here either. And, I haven't read the latest chapter yet - Thanks, Lisa! I'm probably not the only person to nominate you for the story, I'm sure, but you were on my nomination list.

There's no way in heck I would make them but I would eat one for sure. I hope to hear of your success and see the results.

You seem to have had a great trip, Trebs. Glad to hear you had fun despite the inadvertent fall. I enjoyed viewing the links you provided, especially the Musee Mecanique - I watched the video.

Love the set up for it, and la finition. It was smartly done.

Welcome TLM! Read to your hearts content, then drop a comment or a review. It's the writer's reward.

Geese, baking never worked like that for me. But, then again, my only strapping roommate was a straight guy. Nice take on the prompt. I enjoyed it, Mann. Good use of conflict resolution creating sudden confusion. My imagination is rolling over the possibilities supplied by the open ending.

There was a time when flattery would get you...well, I finally caught on to that ruse. Now, you have to whisper something really naughty in my ear. I liked it, Wayne. Easy and un-explosive is exactly what life is like the majority of the time. Who needs all that drama, anyway?

I'm glad Mann mentioned 'Save Tonight' and reminded me of the story, thanks for that by the way. I remember reading the story shortly after signing up for GA. I hadn't found my voice here yet and I was still stumbling around, afraid to write a review. It seems a long time ago and now I can say to you that I think it ranks with some of the best short stories I've had the pleasure of reading. It was awfully sad, awfully heartbreaking and awfully wonderful! It may be too many adverbs in a row for editors but I mean every one.

Scott’s grand gesture took balls if nothing else. Much as you singing, by the way, that took *ahem* as well. While I am on the subject of music and YouTube, your writing is appreciated, Fitz, as was your heartfelt video message. Although the video was not as polished as your writing - Good job with that. Wow, Scott, he’s a character. He is able to make smart decisions - Zak and the car episode - but give him something deeply emotional, that affects him personally, and he becomes a wreck and his life falls apart on him. Having been through the aftermath, along with your readers, of Steve’s murder, gives an understanding of his behavior after the baby died. Noah has the knowledge of it but not the true experience, it is easy to know a thing and not to know the thing, and Noah…well, the poor man is getting to live the reaction as Scott’s family did once before. The only good thing, is that Scott’s recovery, as thin as it is (he can't be well, what was he thinking), has come around in a relatively short time. If I were to attach a single emotion to the circumstances so far, it would be sorrow and for all of them. No one has been untouched.

If you're going to bring someone new into a story, bring them in noticeably. That was accomplished well and dramatically.

Winter and the cold come with it seems to have worked a charm on both the titled and untitled authors. We have received a bountiful feast for the eyes and mind as good as any of the varied comfort foods we rely on in this most bitter of seasons. And, for those folks in the perpetual hot spots of the world and those who are experiencing summer now, there is a place for a good read in the shade and the authors are providing a wealth of material for enjoyment. Send a little heat our way while your at it.

I hope you get to do everything you want to do during your trip. Sounds exciting. I loved my one and only trip to the aquarium in Monterey many years ago. It has been the best aquarium that I have experienced to date. I'm with DDK in cautioning, don't over do it. But that is probably the hidden mommy in me coming out I'll knock on wood, cross my fingers, ask Sasha for a rabbits foot and watch the sidewalks for a heads up penny for you. Good fortune to you on the scans.

Gasp! I can't stand it if the internet goes out for an hour or so. It would work, I think, but would require 'Troll Police'. I wonder what the uniforms would look like.

Welcome to GA Iairy. I have an answer for you and it can be found in the Gay Authors News at the top of the forums page. If you hit the link it will take you to the correct one. My comments to the Tech Blog are there along with many others. Short answer is, it is in the works but as indicated by Myr, the feature you are looking for will only last 30 days as planned. Hopefully the community can be convincing in making that a feature without an end date. Feel free to leave your own comment on that page. You're part of the community now, you signed up so join in my friend. Otherwise, like me, you will needs be keeping your own list.

It is enjoyable and you are absolutely right, the community here is fantastic and supportive.

Thanks, Wayne. My partner says this as well. After reading my anthology piece, which came as a surprise to him since I didn't let on I was writing beforehand, one of the first things he wrote after the surprise wore off was - It isn't the same as what I do, writing fiction is hard. He told me he was proud of me.

A certain amount of emotional removal is essential of course. But you and me, we are cut from different cloth, I'm thinking. Experience, whether life's or time spent writing has a lot to do with that difference, I'm sure. You will find no disagreement from me that a well crafted tale is pulling. It is. I don't get bogged down by emotion and did not mean to imply it if that is what you or others took away from what I wrote. It is exciting and freeing, if visceral when I think I have achieved the right tone with a scene that is emotional and hopefully the words I choose are not merely words on the page. I too want my writing to come alive because the story is well crafted. I do expect that it will, or as you say - possible that it will, get easier and hearing that it does or can from experienced authors such as yourself, is affirming and offers something to look forward to with eagerness. A novel, I fear is a distant stretch of the imagination.

I am currently working on, and hope to finish in time, a long-form short story for entry in the GA Spring Anthology. It is incredibly difficult and time consuming to winnow the chaff from the best grain of words I lay down on screen. My appreciation for what my partner does as part of his career and to provide for us has grown with leaps and bounds the longer I attempt this amazing thing. He is an art historian and author, co-author, collaborator and contributor of books on art history. I am proud of him. The following is an excerpt from a recent email I sent to him. *** My deepest apologies for every time I got upset with you, whether you were aware or not, for spending so much time writing on your computer. I began writing a story after you left. So far I have written 6k+ words of it and spent hours beyond the writing (no small amount) to edit out the nonsensical, the repetitious, unnecessary articles, the redundant descriptions and on and on. Lunch is sometimes late - dinner is sometimes late - I look at the time only to discover it's ten at night and I haven't ate let alone cooked. It is halfway to completion if my ideas hold out and I thought it would be a good point to stop and polish the first portion. I swear to you, if I was to self-edit the whole thing at once, I think my head would explode. The best thing about examining it now is the hope I will leave most of the crap out of the rest of it as I write. You might be surprised to hear my dreams have been invaded by my writing. It's creepy! I have woken in the middle of the night and jotted things down. Ideas for new stories sneak in. Does this bring me closer to becoming a true short-story writer do you think? A novel is unfathomable in my mind, I have no idea how people do it. I hope that it gets easier. I do. *** As some are already aware, my first short story - What's Inside, can be found in the 2013 Fall Anthology. It has the honor of also being my first creative writing outside of a poem I wrote to an older lover. He was thirty-six years old to my then twenty-five and more than half a lifetime ago. He said he was never before a recipient of a poem. He said he liked it. Writing is a surprisingly difficult endeavor for me. I read slowly, every scene alive in my head and my writing has taken the same turn. An emotional scene can become difficult and I will need to walk away, every time I go over it. I keep tissue beside my computer, in case. I get angry when my characters do and sad or happy with them. No doubt this is not unique to me; my sympathy goes out to you. Quality gay fiction is the name of the game though and I will push on with gratitude for my partner's support, for those who are helpful and admiration for my fellow authors.