Valkyrie

The poetry anthology will be going live next week, so today I wanted to remind everyone of another upcoming writing event - Comicality's tribute. May 2nd would have been Comicality's 50th birthday, so we are honoring him by featuring a tribute to his memory - Coming of Age. The deadline for submissions is April 25th. Check out the guidelines here: Also coming up this year is the Secret Author contest this summer, the Creature Feature anthology this fall, followed by another Prompt Team event. Stay tuned for more information!

When I first read it, Dr. Alka had me rolling

I have soooo many questions after reading that update I suppose that explains the dynamic between you and @Krista a bit more I don't have spring cleaning planned, but more of a whole-house purge, detoxify, deep cleaning. It's desperately needed as I can't keep up with it myself anymore, so my mom is going to help me. It will be a slow go, but we'll git 'er done eventually. The trees here are budding and the maple sap is running, so yay for maple season! It's too cold for flowers yet, but the spring bulbs are at least sprouting. Like Steve mentioned, only about a week to get in the links for the Poetry Anthology! Let's see what everyone came up with for Diversity 😁

We are aware that some people found the instructions confusing. We will be clearer in future blogs. You understood the how the exercise was supposed to work just fine. The thing with these types of things, is that they don't always go how you might think they will. The important thing is that the prompt inspires people to write and participate. Navigating the twists and turns is where @Aditus and I come in. Next week, Aditus will be posting the story in it's entirety, with a beginning added by him. So what currently appears in the comments is not the entire story.

As a verb, it also means to move quickly, with small, short steps, usually to escape. When I hear that word, I always picture a crab scuttling away.

Yesterday was the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, even though it feels more like winter here. I'm looking forward to spring flowers and seeing the forsythia bloom, along with some warmer temps. Let's celebrate waking from winter's slumber with some prompts! PT Prompt #279 Describe your favorite spring flower in detail. or Write a haiku about your favorite spring flower. PT Prompt #280 Write from the POV of an animal waking up from hibernating all winter. Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. If you check the subgenre 'prompt' in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here: https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/

We're getting down to the wire for submissions to the annual Poetry Anthology. Submissions are due March 30th, so there is about a week and a half to get your links posted to the thread in the Anthology forum of the Writer's Circle. I'm really looking forward to reading the different interpretations of "Diversity". I thought it would be fun to do another exercise using the Diversity theme. This would be a great jumping off point for poems for the anthology *hint hint* We can create a poem together, and then I'd love to see some unique creations as part of the antho. Let's explore the words behind DEI by creating an acrostic poem together. An acrostic poem spells out a word vertically from the first letters of the sentences it contains. I'll get us started with "Diversity". If there's enough participation, we can then explore "Equity" and "Inclusion". Choose a letter in "diversity" and then post one sentence starting with that letter in the comments. Differences to be celebrated. I V E R S I T Y

I couldn't have said it better! This is one of the anthology stories that have stuck with me.

This is a fantastic story! Very well-written and a glimpse into a part of history I knew nothing about. I can't recommend this highly enough!

I haven't heard that unicorn song in ages! 🦄 We were going to celebrate today, but everyone is sick so corned beef and cabbage have to wait till next week

You are correct, Tim. That is how it's supposed to work, so your snippet makes perfect sense. A couple of people did their own thing, which is fine, but now we need someone to tell the next part of the main story.

C'mon, authors/readers/whoeverwantstoparticipate! Why does Zelt need to get on this train so badly? Why is he running late? We need answers, people! 😁

Zelt looked at his watch - 6:45 pm. The train was supposed to leave at 7:00, and they were only five minutes from the station. That is, if the taxi he sat in wasn't stuck in the traffic jam to end all traffic jams. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and removed some cash, thrusting it at the cab driver. "Here, I gotta make a run for it, or I'll never catch this train!" He couldn't miss his departure. He just couldn't.

Thank you! This story was very complicated to write, and I know there are some things that may not have been thought through fully, such as the name thing you mentioned. I wrote this a while ago, so I'm going by memory, but I believe the Markwarden are a sect of the Puritanical settlers, so the German comes from that.

The deadline for the annual poetry anthology - Diversity - is fast approaching! I'm really looking forward to reading what everyone comes up with on this important topic. Since I've had some questions come up about the posting procedure for the anthologies, I'm going to break them down and hope this helps when it comes time to upload your poems. Cia has created a step-by-step tutorial with screenshots, which I will link to below. Myr recently updated it to ensure it is as up to date as possible. If you have any problems or questions when uploading your submission, please let me know. Submission Procedure *Please read carefully* Once your poetry collection is complete and has gone through your beta and editing team, please complete the following steps: Submit your poems into the GA Stories Archive. For help, please read How do I upload my anthology entry into GA Stories? The link is provided below. Make sure the story is unpublished. Select “Fiction” as the category. It will be moved later by staff. If you select 'poetry' or a different category by mistake, it's fine. I will move it to the correct category once the anthology is ready to go live. Mark your story status as COMPLETE. Only completed works are allowed in the anthologies. Please note that once you submit an unpublished story for the anthology, it will NOT show up in your list of stories for readers until the anthology has gone live. Copy the URL for your story (not any chapter page) and paste it in the links topic so your submission may be checked to ensure it meets submission guidelines and can be moved to the anthology category. The links topic can be found in the anthology section of the Writer's Circle. [*]Please do a visual check of your story once it has been uploaded to ensure that it posted correctly. If it did not, contact @Cia or Valkyrie. IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT do ANYTHING with your story once it has been submitted to the anthology. We lock edits to anthologies, but we can only lock so much and making ANY changes can cause issues with the system. If there is something with your story that absolutely needs fixed, added, etc, PLEASE contact @Cia or Valkyrie. Thank you!

I love creamscicles, even if I can't spell it.

For me, it was Perkins. Their food is far superior to Denny's. I could eat breakfast food for all three meals 🤤

I actually prefer overcast days myself. I love a nice, gloomy day, especially if there are dark clouds and a breeze. Perfect time to go for a walk with all that energy in the air! The sun does nasty things to my Anglo-Saxon skin and hurts my eyes. So maybe I'm a vampire too 🧛‍♀️ I also like it cold, which is why I live in WNY.

Yes, they were making fun of George. And yup, Schmetterling is German for butterfly.

The first story is @Valkyrie @Aditus @Thirdly @lilansui @Bill W @Paladin @chris191070 and @ReaderPaul. The second story is @Valkyrie and @Bryson

We'll be doing something similar on the second Friday of each month, and then the responses will be featured on the fourth Friday of the month.

A couple of weeks ago, Aditus and I decided to try something different with the Friday prompt blog, and asked you to finish a story we started. We ended up with a sweet story for Valentine's Day, actually two stories, which I will copy/paste below. I really enjoyed reading what everyone came up with! Let us know in the comments how you liked this new feature. Thank you to all who participated! Even if you already read the comments in the Valentine's Day blog, be sure to check out the entire story for a surprise at the end. Story One Jason leaned against the stone wall and set his backpack down at his feet. He smoothed out the crumpled map of the zoo and traced his finger across the labeled exhibits. "Lions and tigers and bears... oh my, where are the freaking capybaras? I swore they were just past the elephants," he muttered. He'd been looking forward to seeing the renovated capybara exhibit for months. "I think I took a wrong turn at the otter exhibit." He yelped as another zoogoer suddenly slammed into him, tearing his map. "What the hell?" In front of Jason stood someone in a gigantic plush penguin costume, holding a heart-shaped balloon. "Is that a map? I need to find the penguin exhibit." Jason let his gaze wander up and down the guy. "Obviously." Then he looked at the pink balloon. "Hot Valentine date?" The penguin shook his head. "I'm on a treasure hunt, so if you see people running around in animal costumes, that's us." He passed Jason the pink ribbon with the bobbing balloon. "Happy Valentine's Day." “You mean to tell me that a person holding a torn map was part of your treasure hunt?" Jason questioned as he took the balloon without thinking. "No, just a person holding a map," the penguin guy responded. His free hand gripped a clipboard, which he handed over for Jason to see. Jason immediately looked at the checklist. A child with a painted butterfly on their cheek, a mother with more than one child, a person holding a map... "Oh, I guess I am part of the treasure hunt," he mused aloud. Jason's eyes widened, however, when he saw the next line of the treasure hunt. A person perusing the renovated capybara exhibit. "Wait, if you help me get to the capybara exhibit, I'll help you hunt someone down for the next checkbox!" The penguin man held out his hand in agreement, and said, "Deal." Jason took the offered hand with a pleased grin. "I'm Jason." "Adam," the penguin man said. "So, what are capybaras and why do you wanna find them?" "Capybaras are the largest living rodent in South America and I haven't seen one since I was a foreign exchange student in Brazil," Jason replied. "It was the family pet and was the size of a St. Bernard dog, but it was a really friendly and loving pet, and I was just thinking about it, since it's Valentine's Day! Some of the other kids were cruel and called it a 'rat-pig', but I loved Adriano. That was the capybaras name." Jason scanned the Penguin suit for what it might reveal. "Are you a King Penguin," he asked "or maybe a little bit Queenie?" "You'll have to come with me to the Capybaras enclosure to find out. And remember it's Valentine's Day." "But what about your treasure hunt?" “Oh, I think that will end when you see the hidden treasure that I have in the Capybaras enclosure. I'm quite sure of that. You will enjoy It on Valentines Day, tomorrow and till the end of time.” "Where did you get the list for the treasure hunt?" Jason asked Adam, examining the penguin costume. "Our group has a small subcommittee which makes up the list," Adam replied. "Ervin and Christopher have expansive imaginations. Preston adds unusual touches to the lists, and Vicky helps keep things reasonable -- or as reasonable as possible, considering the lists which are made." "So you have both males and females in your group." "Not at present," Adam replied. "Vicky -- V I C K Y -- is the nickname of Victor." "I'm not into dressing up like some animal and I'm not into that whole furry thing," Jason said, "but putting that aside, your group sounds quite interesting." "It is," Adam replied, "and we do a whole bunch of different things. We also have a great time together." "Then how does someone join this group?" "Well, you have to be invited by a member, but if you're interested, I can take care of that." "Yeah, sure. I'd like that a lot.” "Great! The capybaras are this way." Adam pointed a flipper to his left. They walked a short distance, past the mountain goats, and then stood in front of the capybara enclosure. Two of the giant rodents basked in a pond, while others stood nearby, munching on grass. Adam smiled, touched by the look of pure joy on Jason's face as he watched the creatures float and eat. "So, what's this hidden treasure you mentioned? Nothing jumps out at me," Jason stated, as he looked around the exhibit. "Uh... I kind of... lied about that. Sorry." Adam bowed his penguin head. "Oh." "OK, I had this dumb thought that I would ask you to dinner and that would be the hidden treasure, but then it sounded stupid so I decided not to. It's not like we won't see each other again because you want to join the group. Right?" Adam spoke rapidly, a glimmer of hope in his voice at the end. "If that's your attempt to ask me out, then the answer is yes. As long as you don't wear the penguin outfit. I like penguins, but not that much." Adam laughed. "It's a date. And I promise not to wear the penguin costume." "Or any other animal costumes?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Fine. No other animals, either. Now, let's get a selfie together with the capybaras." Story Two Jason leaned against the stone wall and set his backpack down at his feet. He smoothed out the crumpled map of the zoo and traced his finger across the labeled exhibits. "Lions and tigers and bears... oh my, where are the freaking capybaras? I swore they were just past the elephants," he muttered. He'd been looking forward to seeing the renovated capybara exhibit for months. "I think I took a wrong turn at the otter exhibit." He yelped as another zoogoer suddenly slammed into him, tearing his map. "What the hell?" “Why weren’t you—” Jason started a good rant and stopped it abruptly. Jason knew he wasn’t short, standing just under 6 feet, but as he started to raise up from the half-crouch he had unintentionally gone into and started to look at the guy that ran into him, realizing he was staring at the middle of the guy’s chest. A very wide, very muscular chest. As he stood up to his full height he realized he still had to look up several inches to see the guy’s eyes. The most gorgeous green eyes he had ever seen… but set in a face that had the saddest, most lost, haunted expression he had ever seen on anyone’s face. The guy lowered his head and stared at the ground as he almost whispered, “I am so, so sorry I ran into you and tore your map. Please take mine, I’m gonna leave now anyway.” The guy handed Jason his map and turned to leave, head still bowed and staring at the ground. Jason took a few quick steps and put his hand on the guy’s bicep (fuck, they couldn’t be any bigger or more muscled if the guy lived at the gym, Jason thought). Jason gently put his index finger under the guy’s chin and brought his face up so he could look into his eyes again. “Why don’t we go to that bench over there and sit down for a minute and talk, ok?” “You don’t have to do that, it looked like you were heading somewhere else. You should just go on and enjoy your day while I leave to go back home,” the guy said. Jason shook his head slowly and said “No, we’re going over to that bench and chat a bit, ok?” Jason gently took the guy’s elbow and guided him over to the bench where they both sat down. “Now, the first thing you are going to do is tell me your name. Calling you ‘Hey, You’ or ‘Hey, Guy’ is not acceptable, but if you do refuse to tell me your name I’m not above doing it,” Jason said with a small grin. “Ok, ok, I’ll tell you… my name is Aiden,” the guy said. “Cool, Aiden, I’m Jason. Now that we are making headway, do you want to tell me why you tried to tackle me like you were going for a goal and I was in the way?” Jason asked with another grin. Aiden seemed to slump down and make himself as small as he could–almost as if he was afraid he was going to be hurt–but he did answer. “I was at the entrance to the capybara exhibit and I saw someone I used to know–I wasn’t ready to see them again and I ran.” Jason noticed the body posture changing and wondered what this big, muscled, six foot three or four hunk was afraid of at the zoo, but decided to try and take things slow. “Wow, Aiden, what a coincidence, that is where I was heading to.” “Ah… ok, I can give you directions to the exhibit from here and you can get going while I head home,” Aiden took his next stab at leaving. Jason looked at Aiden and realized that there was no way he was going to leave the guy alone, not after seeing the expressions on his face. He wasn’t sure just how, but he instinctively knew this guy needed someone to talk to. “Instead of you going home, why don’t you take me to your car and we can go to a little coffee and chocolate place I know and have something decadent to drink… and maybe talk about why you are so sad?” Jason asked hopefully, knowing it was going to be a hard sell. “But you’ll have to leave your car here and… and…” Aiden started. “Not to worry, I took the bus today, and the coffee shop is off one of the stops on my way home, so do you want to try your next excuse?” Jason asked with a grin. Aiden shook his head with a half-hearted grin. “Ok, we can go to my car and head to this chocolate and coffee shop of yours… but I’m not promising anything about talking. I do have to say, the way you’ve built it up I hope I’m not disappointed.” “Ok, let’s head out,” Jason said happily. “And you, Mr. Doubting Thomas, should know that this place sells the most amazing drinking chocolate laced with espresso beans that you will ever have. It is guarantee to do either one of two things–ease the saddest heart or keep you up for a couple of days… in fact, from personal experience, I know that if you indulge in several it can do both!” Jason said. He also whispered, “It can also loosen the most reluctant of tongues.” Aiden had to shake his head and laugh, “Ok, let’s get going.” “Sounds good. And maybe sometime we can come back together and visit the capybaras. I hear they may be lonely without more people coming to say hi.” Aiden looked over with his first real smile of the day and said, “Maybe…” Then he whispered, almost to himself, “I’m so glad I ran into you.”