C James

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments! Y'all have made my day!!! LB, Krista, Kurt, Conner, and Dezlboi, THANK YOU!!! I do intend writing more, and in fact have a multi-chapter story well underway. I'll begin posting chapters in eFiction fairly soon. I like critiques! I'm always looking to improve. I do see your point about the over-use of commas. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Thanks!! ROFL! You are kidding, I hope? Or should I have included a description of the sport? Good point on the phrasing.. I'll keep that in mind, too. As for the sex scene, it's ironic that it's there at all! I'm the guy who often says "I usually just skip over that part"! I had no intention whatsoever of writing a sex scene when I started this story. In fact, I was afraid to, as I've never tried before. (In one of the stories I'm working on, the draft version has a sex scene denoted as <sex scene> because I had no clue how to write one.) But, the original ending had Trevor and Jason discussing things and making the "discovery" of going to the same college during their initial making-out, but that didn't seem to work. Two teens making out with each other for the first time probably wouldn't be chatting in that much detail! So, I decided that this way might work, and as I'd never written a sex scene before, I decided to give it a try. My sincere thanks to everyone!!! CJ

Congratulations on your first post!!! Welcome!!!! I certainly like the sequel idea! I wonder how things will work out with Joey (the best friend he has the hots for) with Austin's new-found confidence? Or will Austin decide to go to college at the Sonborne? But, as for KLM... Ummm, that's odd, because I've flown on KLM into Brussels. I recall having to change planes at Schiphol in Amsterdam, but it was definitely a KLM flight that got me to Brussels.

Buddha, it was excellent!!! I loved the "breaking away" aspect, of just saying "what the heck" and doing what you felt like. THAT'S a VACATION!!! I was also astounded by the amount of detail you were able to add. That worked VERY well, and gave a feel of reality to the story. I've spent a fair amount of time in Paris, and it rang true for me. Actually, one reason I love this story so much is that when I was 17, I spent a week in Paris. I was visiting family in the UK, and decided to head for Paris on the spur of the moment. Yep, my folks were pissed, but I had a blast, just like your protagonist (but, without a guy, in my case... ). Thanks for bringing back some darn good memories, and for one heck of a good story!!!

This is the first thing I've ever written in the gay fiction genre to go online, so I've got a full-blown case of the newbie jitters right now. I was awestruck by the background and formatting that Luigi added. It GREAT, THANK YOU Luigi!! So, anyone have any comments? Good, bad, or otherwise? WARNING: Spoilers below!!!!

Hi, Chay! That's a cool name (I like unusual names). Thanks for joining us in the forums... It's a lot of fun once you get started. Hi, Brent! Glad you decided to join us! I think you will love the forums here, once you get used to them (and also once you know a few people).

I think this shows that everyone has different preferences (which is a good thing). Personally, I loved the descriptions. I love tech, so in any sci-fi story it's a big draw for me. Actually, I'd have loved it if DK had given us an entire chapter on the FTL drive theory and engineering details... IMHO, this illustrates one of the biggest advantages of written fiction over a movie in a theater: With written fiction, a reader can skip over a part that they don't like, and also re-read parts that they do. (I read the ship descriptions three times).

It's OK, Kevin... we all know that what you were really trying to do is build up your post total so that you could read in the "sneak peeks" forum... If so, that IMHO makes them a rather typical family... Perhaps one of the themes here is that no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, bad choices, etc, on occasion? Or, that it's wrong to judge someone on the whole based on just the apparent aspects of their personality?

Just an FYI for those trying to reach 5 posts: Posts on GA blogs don't count. Only forum posts do. Thanks for joining us mericat92! The forums can be a heck of a lot of fun once you get involved.

For some reason, many of the posts in this thread make me.... Nervous.

Hi, Mizuki!! Glad you decided to join us!!! The forums can be downright addictive once you get into them. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, or need any help! Thanks again for joining us!

That's definitly me!!!! I can't wait to see it!!! The person below me can't wait for the official announcement of when the anthology goes online! (I know I can't!)

Thank you for joining us! It's a lot of fun. The forums are my favorite part of GA. I'd give up the stories before I gave up the forums. Xander posted some instructions(thanks!!), so all you have to do is choose a suitable image. It needs to be no larger than 90x90 pixels, and no larger then 50k. Any image-editing software should handle the size change. Or, try a google search on "avatars". Thanks for starting to post! It's always great to "meet" new people, especially ones with shared interests such as the stories here. Vic, someone with nearly a thousand posts has taken the plunge more than a few times! ROFL!! Donluca!?!?!?? Poor Dom... Even a moderator of his forum can't spell his name right... BTW, newbies, beware... Vic is the author of many notorious skits, often starring GA members. Be very, very careful, or you might end up in one! (they are actually a great read, and can be found in Dom's forum, under member stories and poetry).

I just read the first five chapters of "Are you Christian". GREAT story Krista!! I really like your style, and the characters. I do hope you will be posting more of it at some point?

Congratulations on your first post, hillj69! Thanks for joining us! I've been reminded of Heinlein by DoH, too. BTW, in case you don't know, DK has several completed stories on his story page that you might love, including a trilogy (The Do Over series). Ahhh! That makes sense! I did see a few new terms in there, including "'fresher".

If you want worse-than-useless advice, I'm the guy to ask on that subject! That's a very good point, Xandra! Thank you for joining us! It's a fun and friendly place... Thanks! Even me? Why, thanks! As for your question, a serious answer: I'm online a lot because I like to log in while I'm working. I work odd hours so that means I'm often working at the computer at, say, 2am, and if I feel like a change of pace I log in here. Or, for example, it's now 5pm, I've got a full night of work ahead of me (On a Friday night.. sigh) and I decided to take a break, so here I am.

To any lurkers reading this, I'd like to extend an invitation to come join in the fun and start posting! I lurked here for quite a while before starting to post, never realizing how much fun I was missing. So, to help get the new people started, I'd like to offer to give any advice that I can regarding posting at GA. Want to have an avatar but don't know how? It's easy! Just ask and I'll post instructions. Got any other questions? Fire away, and I'll do my best to answer...

Philistine, you amaze me: AGAIN you got here first! I too am perplexed about the "lists", though? What lists? This was a great chapter, and IMHO the story is really starting to move. I especially loved loved the imagery of the things Garret saw. I'm being vague here as the chapter is so new, but I'll definitely be back in the thread later, as there is a lot to discuss, including a cliffhanger! Many thanks to DK and Emoe for a fantastic chapter!

No matter what happens in it, I think it will be great! BTW, speaking of Connor's faults, I can only think of one big one, but it's truly unforgivable! It's so horrendous that I am loathe to even mention it... It's a clear and unmitigated sign of a character flaw of such magnitude that he can never be redeemed! It's utterly unconscionable: He has a name that begins with a "C"!!! Regards, CJ

I do tend to agree with your point regarding the desensitization of society, but I can't agree with much of the rest of your premise. As I see it, it doesn't matter what anyone else happens to believe, but what the person speaking (Connor in this case) believes regarding the impact and meaning of his words. Also, Connor was not exactly in a calm state of mind and choosing his words with great care. He was outraged and furious and thus cannot possibly be expected to choose his words with care. LB, think about it: when a group of people start talking about someone who isn't in the room, what is the most likely topic of conversation: their good points, or their bad points? I'm not going to use anyone else's issues here, so I'll use my own as an example. Yes, I've criticized Connor for being ungrateful towards Maggie. I've also said I think it's understandable. BUT, understandable DOES NOT equal right! But, does this minor character flaw make Connor any less human? Of course not. EVERYONE has them. And my point is this: You have created characters that readers are regarding as REAL PEOPLE! Therefor, of course you will get many people who dislike some small aspect of the character! Simply put, it's a sign that you have succeeded! You said yourself that you were trying to push the readers emotional buttons, and take them on a roller coaster ride. Well, guess what? On any good rollier coaster ride, you get some yelling and screaming! Does that mean that people are hating the ride? of course not! It means that you are succeeding! When I read your above comment, especially after the one where you said you were not a good writer (HOGWASH!) I couldn't help but think of the following words that *SOMEONE* recently posted here on GA. "if you need to have a cast iron Buddha statue thrown at your head to get you to wake up, just drop me a line, and I'd be happy to oblige!" "And Joey ... if you don't stop beating yourself up and get some self-esteem through that thick skull of yours ... well, I have an extra special bronze Buddha statue that I'm sure I could manage to chuck in the general vicinity of your head (being extra careful not to hit the nose, of course! )."

Hmmmm!!! I thought of that, and looked for an EJ song by that name a few days ago but came up blank. However, a quick check of google after seeing your post does mention a Niel Diamond song by that name! Now that's attention to detail!!! I think it's going to be great!

ROFL!!!!!!! BTW, I'm very intrigued by the title of LB's short story (for the anthology): A free man in Paris. The "Free man" part has me perplexed.. Can't wait to read it!

Hi, Krista, and welcome to GA!! :king: BTW, Krista has posted stories to eFiction. I haven't had a chance to read them yet, but I plan on it.

Good point.. That might also be why there haven't been as many discussions: the story is so new. Unlike most fictional stories, sci-fi also requires you to create an entire universe, so that's one heck of a lot of background! I love the way you are presenting the background here. By focusing, at first, on the pleasure house, you were able to mix in the protagonist's character development without swamping the reader with, basically, describing the entire universe as well at the same time. Very cleverly done!!

Sorry you got the ticket, but thanks for sharing that hilarious story about your husband!