Valkyrie

What better way to celebrate Halloween than by checking out the twelve great stories submitted for the anthology this year? Please be sure to leave the authors a review, comment, and/or reaction. Thank you to all who participated by writing a story or poetry and also to all the readers for showing your support. The annual anthology is a huge part of GA, and it's exciting to see how differently the same theme is interpreted. Putting together the GA anthology is very much a team effort. A huge thank you to the team who made this year's anthology possible! 2024 Anthology Support Team Anthology Coordinator Valkyrie Tech Support Myr Proof Team Lee Wilson Gary L Valkyrie Parker Owens Anthology Banner Creation Cia Thank you to Cia, Myr, and Wildone for their behind-the-scenes help and moral support with the technical aspects I sometimes struggle with.

I could try and write like you, but I don't think I can kill off another beloved childhood holiday figure

Thank you for the kind words! I'm so glad you liked THH. Like I said above, it's truly a special story for me.

I'm the one who runs the contests and anthologies (with the exception of the Secret Author Contest) with input and help from the rest of the Team. Thank you for the idea. I already have a list of contests/events for next year. Writing in someone else's style is quite difficult to do well and can cause hurt feelings if done poorly. We already have something similar (although not writing in a specific author's style) with the Secret Author guessing contest. Over the next few weeks, I will be revealing more about upcoming events, so stay tuned!

Looks like a glitch. @Myr will have to fix it when he's able to.

Our month-long anthology adventure continues! We have four more stories for your enjoyment, including one from the Grand Poobah himself! Thank you to all who have supported our anthology authors with comments, reactions, and reviews. Keep 'em coming! Also be sure to check out the past two weeks worth of stories if you haven't already.

They are two different events, so would be considered like two different anthologies/tributes. The first one was named Long May You Run and the second one is named Auld Lang Syne. It will be featured in one blog, like last year's.

Yes, we did. This is a second event being held in Carlos' memory.

The anthology is in full swing with four more great stories! If you haven't already, be sure to check out last week's anthology stories as well. Keep the reviews, comments, and reactions coming to show our authors how much we appreciate their hard work and participation! Now on with the show....

No worries! There's always next time

It's time to release the first batch of stories for this year's anthology! I will feature more stories over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for more amazing anthology stories! Please support our authors by reading their stories, leaving a reaction, comment, and/or review to let them know how you liked their stories. Now start reading!

Thank you! You never know

Snow in October isn't unheard of here. In 2006 we had an early October lake effect storm that decimated the trees in my area and left us without power for about ten days. I remember sitting in my apartment and listening to the all tree branches and trees snapping and falling. My poor little hawthorn folded like an umbrella My car would have been smooshed by a giant branch, but it landed on some power lines instead, which saved it. This year we haven't really had much of a fall. Temps have been more summer-like than fall-like. The trees aren't showing nearly as much color as they should be. I spent the weekend away and wore shorts and a t-shirt. October is looking to be pretty mild so far, although you never know. When I was a kid, I would be so happy when I didn't have to wear a winter jacket over my Halloween costume when I went trick-or-treating.

I know I promised the details of the Prompt Team event tomorrow, but I'm not feeling well and it will have to wait. There will be plenty of lead time for those who wish to participate.

Stay tuned for this year's anthology - In too Deep! While the team works behind the scenes to get everything ready for posting, I thought it would be a good idea to reveal what's next on the agenda. The Prompt Team is excited to announce our first prompt team event, which will take place in November. Be sure to check out Friday's blog for more information. We will be honoring our beloved late friend Carlos Hazday by again featuring stories/poems/memories in his honor on January 1, 2025. The deadline to post links will be December 27th. Further details will be coming soon. We are also honoring another beloved GA staple who is gone too soon on what would would have been Comicality's fiftieth birthday. Preliminary details can be found below. Returning in 2025 will be the poetry anthology, secret author contest, and the annual anthology. Keep an eye on the featured blogs for further information.

Hear ye, hear ye! The anthology deadline is almost here! Arrrr.... I be wanting yer stories now, maties! Oh wait... national Talk like a Pirate Day was Saturday Don't mind me... lack of sleep and massive brain fog make for very strange blog posts Anyway... we've got a great selection of stories so far, with more on the way. I'm in the process of pairing proofreaders with authors for the submissions I've received so far. Authors should expect to hear from me within the next couple of days. Thank you all for your patience, and it won't be long now until everyone's hard work pays off, and we get to read all the anthology stories

Fall is my favorite time of year because the foliage in the northeast is just stunning. I also like the cooler temps, although this year we've remained in the mid-80s for most of September. Thankfully, it's supposed to be more seasonal starting on Monday. I don't do well in the heat, so summer is actually my least favorite season. I also love the flavors of fall - give me all the pumpkin spice things! Plus fall food like butternut squash and apples and cider. It's a cozy time of year. And I love Halloween. Lots of fun things happen in the fall too, like my brother and one of my nieces or my nephew come for their annual visit, and I usually take a trip to visit friends.

Certain otherwise-innocuous words can be a trigger for some people. Maybe it's a negative association with the word - a reminder of past trauma or a social faux pas. It could be a word that becomes an inside joke - an innocent word given a not-so-innocent meaning. These words make us cringe and avoid them and not really want to explain our reaction to other people. For me, a certain spring-blooming flower is a word trigger. I avoid saying the name of this flower because I have negative associations with it. A family member used to tell a quite inappropriate joke about it, so I cringe and get a little bit angry inside whenever I hear it. I snicker whenever I hear someone mention a Mars bar (candy bar in the US) because in high school, my BFF used to use it as a euphemism for uh... let's just say "is that a Mars bar in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" Let's write some prompts exploring some word triggers. PT Prompt #245: Your character freaks out over a trigger word at an inappropriate time. What is the word? What is the trigger associated with the word? What are the circumstances that lead to the meltdown? PT Prompt #246: Write a paragraph/short story/vignette telling the creation of a word trigger - positive or negative. 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/

The deadline for the 2024 anthology is just about two weeks away, which is not too late to submit a story to the proof team! Here are a few tips about participating in the anthology: Stories can be as short as 1,000 words The link to the theme can be tangential - it doesn't have to hit us over the head. So, keep that in mind if the theme isn't speaking to you. Participating in the anthology is a great way to get new readers. A lot of people read all the anthology stories, so it gives authors exposure to a new audience. Anthology stories are a fun way to experiment. Try a genre you don't usually write in or a different POV. Post your own suggestions/tips below and then get writing!

I love food challenge shows too, and really enjoyed this piece by Aditus. It's written in a unique format with Addy's knack for bringing characters to life. You won't regret reading it!

Larger than a zombie brain

I've always been an avid reader. I was always super excited to get the Scholastic flier and circle all the books I wanted to order. Of course, they were always the horse-related books. I loved reading Hardy Boys mysteries, The Black Stallion series, Marguerite Henry's stories, the Little House on the Prairie books, and of course, LOTR and the Hobbit. For ages, I would read the Little House books, then when I was finished with the last one, go right back to the first one and start over again. I have an uncle who also loves to read and he let me borrow a lot of his books, including his third edition LOTR set with a really cool map of Middle Earth.

The deadline for the 2024 Anthology - In too Deep - is fast approaching! I'm about halfway done with my own story. It's based on some experiences I had while visiting England earlier this year. Comment below if you're planning on participating in this year's anthology, and feel free to post a short teaser! There's still time to get a story written and submitted, even if you haven't started yet. Don't like the theme? Remember that the theme doesn't have to knock us over the head, as long as it's there in some form. Here is the link to Anthology 101, which should answer any anthology-related questions. Now stop reading and get writing!

I think you need to work on your dance moves, Steve