Valkyrie

Probably

I'm honestly terrified of what you may write for this...

You're next on my list

There are just two weeks left to get stories sent to me for the Proof Team to review. From the selection I've read so far, this is going to be a great anthology! The Proof Team has been hard at work, but we're always eager for more, so keep sending me your creatures to feature! Hmmm... maybe something a bit scarier? Nah... scarier. That'll do

I seriously want to interview a ghost, but it will have to be after the anthology.

It's starting to feel like Fall here, with a few hot days thrown in. It's mainly been cool, and the trees have even started to turn. I love it. Fall is my favorite time of year, with the beautiful Northeast foliage and cool temps. It's time to pumpkin spice all the things! It's also back to school season, which means more traffic and lots of cranky people. Let's write about the beginning of Fall. PT Prompt #303: You've decided to go back to college at age 40. What prompted this decision, and what are you studying? How do you relate to classmates half your age? PT Prompt #304: Take us on a walk through the woods. Be as descriptive as possible. Maybe there are creatures to encounter and feature in the anthology. @Inkognito took on one of my sensory prompts last week, and came up with a unique interpretation. Be sure to check it out! 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/

Thanks! I'll be making some assignments to the proof team either tomorrow or over the weekend. Today is my first day back to work after a week off, so it's a little rough.

What does the Anthology Proof Team do? Once your anthology story is finished and edited, then it's time to send it to me so I can assign a Proof Team member to give it a final once-over. Why do we do this? To ensure that stories meet site guidelines and basic editing standards. We look for anything the author and their team may have missed - misspelled words, misused words, unintentional grammar mistakes, punctuation. I have a great team of knowledgeable proofreaders ready to go with their red pens. There's one month to go before the deadline to send me stories, and I'm thrilled with the response to the anthology so far! I have to apologize for those of you waiting on proofreads. I don't really want to get into any personal issues, but I've been having a flare-up of a chronic health condition, so please bear with me, and thank you for your patience! Everything will get done and returned in time for the anthology release. And please continue sending me your featured creatures!

OMG Same Great take on the prompt! I loved it

Can you please post the link here?

Good writing engages the senses, so let's explore some ways to do that. PT Prompt #301: Choose a sense and then describe something related to that sense to someone lacking that sense. For example, describe colors to a blind person or music to a Deaf person. PT Prompt #302: Write from the POV of an individual experiencing sensory overload. It could be too much noise, light, touch, etc. Be sure to check out @BendtedWreath and @chris191070's collaboration in response to @Aditus's prompts. 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/

Classic Author Libby Drew wrote a great guest article a couple of years ago about her take on writing short stories. Since this year's anthology is fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to re-feature it.

Thanks, @ReaderPaul I hadn't seen this yet. Now that Ben and Chris have revealed the truth, don't be surprised if they disappear Although Steve prefers beer to blood

A frozen Pina colada sounds divine, but leave the Pepsi out

Uh... we don't drink Pepsi. That's strictly for zombie fighting.

I would love to have you participate in the anthology; however, it states the following in the submission guidelines:

It's been a busy year with writing events here at GA so far. We started with our second tribute to Carlos Hazday - Auld Lang Syne, and continued with our annual Poetry Anthology - Diversity, followed by a tribute to a GA icon, Comicality - Coming of Age. A favorite of both authors and reader is the annual Secret Author contest, which just concluded. Now it's time to focus on the annual Anthology - Creature Feature, which is due on October 1st. Guidelines can be found here: I've already had 8 stories submitted for the anthology, which is a record for early submissions! If you are waiting for a proof, thank you for your patience. I will be working on them this weekend. Keep 'em coming! After the anthology, @Aditus and I will be running another Prompt Team Event, so stay tuned for more details! What are you waiting for? Get working on those creatures!

You can find the stories for it here

@Cia stated that people may also vote in the comments on that thread or send her a PM if someone's votes did not encompass both sections of the voting poll. One member did that and voted for What it Takes and Thetis, which brings the number of votes to 8 and 7 respectively. The number of votes for the winners in the blog is correct.

This is great news to wake up to! This was the first story I've written in over a year, and I was super proud of it. It's also a highly personal piece. Thank you to @Cia for all her hard work running this contest. And thank you to all who read, reviewed, commented, and voted for my story. This was a highly competitive contest with many amazing stories. Congratulations to the top three! Well done to everyone!

@Cia already posted the list of authors. She runs this contest, not me. I have nothing to do with it so I can participate as well.

When will we get the list of winners?

Some definite surprises here!

I know a couple people who trained their cats to go in the toilet. I don't think they knew how to flush, though.

Once you get over 100, it doesn't really matter, but I'll take dry heat over heat and humidity any day.