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craftingmom

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Blog Entries posted by craftingmom

  1. craftingmom
    It seems like I'm saying it a lot lately, but I'm sorry for no new updates.  I had hoped to get back into a groove, but so far... nothing.  Sadly, it's not like I don't know what I want to happen, but every time I sit down in front of the computer to put anything down... I'm struggling to find the right words.  Bailey and Declan haunt me nightly to finish their story.  I'm constantly falling asleep to their story (and sometimes Kayden's next one  ).  I even thought trying out a story for the halloween thing would help, but while I managed a short one for that.  Bailey and Declan still seem to evade being put into writing.  
     
    I do so appreciate all the wonderful comments and encouragement.  And, as I said before, I will finish--I just don't know when.  I'm so sorry.  I just thought everyone should know that I haven't forgotten it.  I'm just... stuck.
  2. craftingmom
    I just wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful notes and prayers for my mom. November was really hard as my mom first found the lump in her hip and we waiting for her to go have it biopsied, then of course another wait for the results... B-cell lymphoma... the dreaded "C" word. And just before thanksgiving, so more waiting and stressing about just how bad it was and what would happen. Fortunately, last week after her PET scan, we were given the good news that it is in Stage 1 and has NOT spread past the original sight. So the doctors are extremely optimistic that she may be cancer free after three rounds of chemo instead of going through six.
     
    I know I'm very lucky to receive such good news. As much as I hated hearing my mom has cancer, this is probably the best possible outcome I could hope for. So after stressing and getting myself sick at the end of Thanksgiving break, we are finally feeling more secure that things will be okay. She did have her first chemo treatments this week, and they went well. She didn't get sick--yet anyway--but she's been tired of course.
     
    So anyway, that's my update on why I haven't been very active. I still have all the Fall Anthologies to read too!!! I had even tried to do the National Novel Writing Month--the 50k+ words in 30 days. Yeah, it didn't happen; I fizzled out right before Thanksgiving when we got her diagnosis and I got sick. So only 42K got done--12 chapters of the next story. Now I just need to get back into it after so long a break... And see if my betas/editors will be up to reading it Well, Parker's already taken a look at the first chapter(s) and had me rewriting stuff!
     
    So thank you all again. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful people here at GA for support!
  3. craftingmom
    Well, after ten long months, Falling Apart is coming to its conclusion. Sorry it has taken so long, but it is also my longest story to date. I hope it was worth waiting for. So now that FA is done, I'm asking myself, what next?
     
    I did write an anthology story for the Fall Blindsided theme. I am still trying to think of a follow up for Santa's little Helper, hopefully even in time for this Christmas. And I'd really like to maybe use a few prompts again. Maybe even do the Special Anthology...
     
    As for the next long story, I'm considering two at the moment. I already have a small start on a gymnastics/boys prep school story, but I've finally come up with an idea for the third Neko story as well. I'm torn between which one I want to do. I'm thinking the gymnastics one--1) because I think it will be somewhat short, and 2) I need to work on re-reading Tears and Blood of the Neko to get back into my characters heads before writing a sequel. Maybe I'll end up working on both at the same time—that's never happened for me, but you never know.
     
    Anyway, I guess we'll see. If you have any suggestions or would like to stake a claim on what you'd like to see coming, please feel free to let me know.
     
    Cheers!
  4. craftingmom
    Okay, so yesterday I woke up to check my emails, and I get a daily 'news' email from our local news feed. And the headline hit me: Loudoun Teen Overcomes Heartbreaking Obstacles in Life..." A teen here in my county (I'm sure there are so many others that we never hear about, sadly) who has been struggling with his sexuality for years was outed by his parents when they found "incriminating" messages on his computer. And they threw him out in his senior year of HS. It was so sad to read it happening here, so close to home. Our schools have been very supportive of LGBTQ teens, my daughter in fact personally knows two--a young man and a young woman who are both out at school. It was sooo nice to read in the article that the COMMUNITY, neighbors, friends, teachers, the school, etc, have been helping and supporting this teen, even as his family rejected him.
     
    It just reminded me of Brady's struggle (Guarding the Line). I know Rami was probably guarding his line fiercely, knowing his parents opinions (they'd told him in his Freshman year they'd disown him if he was gay), but maybe even if he was shoved over it prematurely, it will work out for him.
    Here's a link to the article if you're interested in reading it:
     
    http://www.loudountimes.com/news/article/loudoun_teen_overcomes_obstacles_to_find_a_life_in_acting898
  5. craftingmom
    Sorry about missing a posting last week for Falling Apart. I hope you will understand that it was a very trying week last week as my brother-in-law (my husband's younger brother) died of a heartattack. It was sudden and very unexpected and left us all reeling. I was in GA (as some of you might already know from my status update) for most of last week for the funeral. Then I was sick when we got back and slept most of the weekend (except for another trip up to PA for a gymnastics meet on Valentines Day). So, it was rather busy and I hope to get back to posting at least once a week. And hopefully writing as well...otherwise my posting will catch up to where I'm stuck!
  6. craftingmom

    New Story Is Up

    By craftingmom,

    Hey All,
     
    I decided to start posting my newest story. Parker and Caz have been helping me with it for a month or more now, and I so greatly appreciate their help and input.
     
    I'm actually a bit stuck on this story--at ch. 14--so I thought posting might get me motivated to write instead of reading all the time. I really feel I need to get it out of my head, but I just keep putting it off. I'm hoping it was maybe just the busy-ness of the holidays and now that they are over I can get back into a routine again.
    Last time I got stuck, it helped to post and see what everyone thought of it, so if you read it, let me know what you think. Every little bit of input helps!
     
    Anyway, thank you all for your support over the last year. While GA wasn't the only site I used to post to, it is now. Because of the friendship and wonderful support this site offers, I stopped posting on AFF and Fiction Press a long while ago. This is the only place I want to be.
  7. craftingmom

    What's Up Next...

    By craftingmom,

    Just thought I'd drop a note now that Lie of the Serpent is done to let anyone who was curious know what I have going on in my head now.
     
    Well, apparently, I've deviated from my original plan. I have a couple ideas floating in my head, one of which was the gymnast one I mentioned in one of my poems and in a previous blog. And I actually started it--one chapter, sort of.
     
    But then another idea hit me--okay, pounded me over the head--because I started it as well. I think I'm more invested in this one right now, and I have five chapters done so far. It's a bit more challenging for me because this one is in first person, and I'm debating on sticking with just the one first person, or alternating between the two MCs. Not seeing the second MC's POV is making it tougher, but might make the story more interesting too. So we'll see. Plus, I thought if it was long enough, maybe I'd hand it over to Cia for the premium thing.
     
    In the meantime, I'd like to try to do at least one prompt each week. I wouldn't want you all to forget me or anything.
     
    Of course, the outside world might intrude on that plan, but I'm hoping to stick with it as best as I can.
  8. craftingmom

    What's Next

    By craftingmom,

    So with Beneath the Current now complete, I have three stories now rattling around in my brain. So you might see a new story coming soon. It's a bit different than my usual, since the MCs are already in love when the story starts. I'm thinking of posting this one as I write it, probably a chapter a week, unless I get really going on it. The first chapter is written and I'm halfway through the second. Unfortunately, it is not a sequel to any of the story I've previously written. As much as I know some are hoping for a third installment to The Tears of the Neko, it's not happening for a while longer, sorry.
     
    I suspect there will be shorts for Kayden, Avery and even Casey though, as prompts come along that inspire me.
     
    But I also hope to get going on the other two stories as well. One I think I might use for the upcoming Anthology, if I get it written in time.
     
    Just letting you know that there is more in the works, even if I'm quiet for a while!
  9. craftingmom
    The last few weeks I've been working on really cleaning out the house. It started with the girls' rooms and has slowly progressed one area at a time. As a former teacher, I tended to keep everything, sure I could use it for something--some craft, some project, etc--plus, I have a husband who has to keep every computer, monitor, old laptop, keyboard, etc that has ever come into the house. I finally decided that it's time to purge the house of extraneous items. I don't plan to go back to teaching 6th grade science or afterschool craft classes. I might go back to teaching preschool, but why keep ten egg cartons in case I might be making 'caterpillars' with 2 years sometime in the future?
     
    So as I am finally nearing the end and the final closet, this is what came into my head as I stared it down.
     
    The closet... the final frontier
    this is the continuing endeavor of the Hunter Clan
    it's five week mission
    to clear out old clutter,
    to seek out lost items and new organization
    to boldly go where no one has gone in months...
     
    Yes, I am a sci fi fan....
  10. craftingmom
    Okay, so here's my funny for today....
     
    The safety release cable that connects from the engine to the handle on our lawnmower broke at the end of last season. We thought we'd have to buy a new mower but we managed to fix it and get it running again.
     
    So I come home after dropping my daughter at her golf lesson, and there is one strip of lawn cut. My husband said that's all he could do before it just quit.
     
    When I asked if he knew what was wrong, he said, "I'm just a computer guy. I don't know about things like that."
     
    He figured it was the high grass, and it might turn back on but he didn't know.
     
    So I go out to see if I can get it started. Of course, the first thing I did was check the gas---empty.
     
    I called back in--"I know you're just a computer guy, but even you should be able to check for gas."
  11. craftingmom

    Ingress Anyone?

    By craftingmom,

    So about a month ago, my husband started playing this google maps game called Ingress. If you don't know what it is, it is basically an overlay of google maps with things called Portals. There are two teams--the Green Enlightened group and the Blue Resistance group, of which you pick your side when you join. Then you 'hack' the portals and attack the portals from the other team to gain points (AP). The part I like about the game is that it gets me out walking to new and interesting places.
     
    So anyway, shortly after he started, he got the rest of the family joined in. And I've enjoyed exploring areas that I've never been to before. I've discovered trails and parks that I otherwise wouldn't have known as I've gone out during the day while he's at work. So he, of course, was the first to level each time and is currently a level 7; I leveled to 7 a few days after he did. However, now he's irritated because I'm over 100,000 points ahead of him (and will probably level before him). I tried not to show him, but he clicked on my profile. And someone on his Ingress Hangout group asked if anyone knew who gymmom was because they'd seen that I'd done a lot of taking over of portals in their area--so he asked what I'd been doing that day...hacking portals, creating fields, completing missions, of course.
     
    I guess I just find it funny how competitive he is about it. I just enjoy getting out, walking the parks and exploring, and my nephew is enjoying going out with me to all these new parks and playgrounds.
     
    Now my kids joke that I'm the Ingress Alpha... and he gets pouty.
  12. craftingmom

    Neko is on Amazon

    By craftingmom,

    Hey everyone!
     
    Tears of the Neko is now available on Amazon if you feel you must have a copy for your kindle so you can read it whenever you want! Or want to leave a review over there too ...
     
    No, really, just wanted to let you all know that it is published there under the pen name Taylor Ryan, in case anyone sees it there and wonders if it's me or someone trying to steal it (which I know has happened to people unfortunately). So it is me, just under a pen name, since my young adult works are already listed under my real name, and I wanted to keep them separate. (Thanks, Cia, for telling me how to add the Amazon link--cool that your example was one of your books that I had actually bought!)
     
    Edit/Update: Because Tears of the Neko is published, I am unpublishing part of the story here for a few months (since most of you have already read it--thank you!)
     
    Also I went to add it to goodreads and found that some one had already done so! I assume someone from here, so thank you very much! I'm working on getting them to associate it to my own profile. Feel free to add a review there or vote for it on one of the lists!
     

  13. craftingmom

    So... What's next?

    By craftingmom,

    Okay, so Blood of the Neko is completely posted now, and I'm so glad that so many readers enjoyed it. It has made me think about writing a third story--as well as more Neko shorts, of course. I really appreciate all of the reviews asking for more neko, as well as the abundance of ideas. So I'd say one will be coming, I just don't know when, maybe by the summer.
     
    Currently, I'm working on another fantasy/romance (think shifter, but not wolf). I haven't been able to get very far yet (three chapters) because I've been doing a lot of editing for several people as well as that pesky thing known as real life--taking kids to gymnastics meets, golf, etc-- but I keep thinking about it, so maybe once I get going it will flow into place.
     
    I do have other ideas jumping around in my brain, one has to do with high school gymnastics. So while there may be a gap of time before I post another story, I hope to sneak in a few prompt responses. I do keep thinking about the anthologies as well, but for some reason I can't get a story in my head right now for them.
     
    Here's a sample of the current story's prologue (I don't have a title yet, either)
    I don't have a beta lined up yet so if anyone is interested, let me know:
     
    "Casey, you have to calm down," the man above him intoned, placing a strong hand on his chest to hold him in place. As if the straps weren't already doing that.
     
    The five year old's breathing was escalating as he tried to understand why they were doing this. His tiny heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest, and tears leaked down his temples into his sandy brown hair.
     
    "W-wh-what... w-what are you d-doing?" he finally managed to gasp out. He'd been on this table so many times in his young life that he hadn't thought much about it when they asked him to climb up on it tonight. He'd thought they would take his blood again and then let him go play in the pool, like always.
     
    But they hadn't. They had banded his wrists and ankles to the table.
     
    He yanked his legs again, feeling them firmly strapped down at the ankles. No, they couldn't be doing this. He strained to draw his legs together, he needed to get his legs together.
     
    He'd lived with these men and women all his life, at least as far as he knew. Some of them he called Dr. So-and-so, some just told him to call them uncle--he liked them the best, they were usually nicer and talked to him in a softer manner. Uncle Thomas and Uncle Martin had talked about even taking him outside one day, but that was a secret. These stark white walls and the ever-present machines and monitors that they often hooked him up to had never seemed menacing before. But they'd never tried to strap him down like this. On a full moon--knowing what was going to happen to him.
     
    They'd always let him swim in the pool whenever he wanted to. He loved the glass pool--the corals, and anemone, and the waving strands of kelp were so inviting. Chasing Bart, the clown fish, and Angel, the angel fish (duh), was more exciting and fun than most of the toys in his room--except the ipad. He really liked playing games on that.
     
    But they knew, they knew, he needed to be in the pool on the full moon. The pull of the moon was overwhelming, and he needed to change. They knew that. Why were they doing this? He tried to think if he'd done something wrong. After talking back one time a long time ago and Dr. Broden had smacked him, he hadn't done it again. He tried very hard to be good, to do everything they told him to do. So, why...?
    "S-stop, p-please," his small voice begged. "I n-need--"
     
    "Harris, we need to stop this," one of the men he called uncle--Thomas, he thought, by the sound of his voice-- grabbed the arm of Dr. Harris who was leaning over him.
     
    "No, we need to see what happens when he can't," Dr. Harris insisted, his eyes shooting over the monitors that several others were scanning. He snapped his fingers at another man. "Get another blood sample. I want to know what's happening with his hormones and his myoglobin count. It usually spikes when he changes. I want to know what happens with those levels when he doesn't."
     
    Casey's gray eyes darted around the room, blurred by his tears as he looked for any of his family of doctors and uncles to help him--where was Uncle Martin or Dr. Litner, or-- ?
     
    Dr. Thomas--Uncle Thomas--was hovering over his head. The man's eyes darted to Casey's racing heart monitor before he looked back down. Casey tried to hold his gaze, but pain snaked down his spine through his hips, and he let out a blood-curling cry.
     
    "Harris, come on," Casey vaguely heard Thomas plead, but he knew Dr. Harris wouldn't listen. Dr. Harris was the one who seemed to order the others around. He was the head of his family, and everyone listened to him.
     
    "Thomas, shut up," the older man growled, his eyes intently staring at Casey's shaking body.
     
    But Casey didn't care anymore, he couldn't focus. Pain was ripping down his groin into legs as his body continued to try to force his change. But without his tiny legs being able to pull together, his body quivered with the pain of trying.
     
    Casey didn't even feel the prick of the needle drawing blood. Hell, they drew blood from him all the time, needles were the least of his worries. He could feel his body tensing with the need, sweat pooling under him.
     
    "He's too young for this yet," Thomas insisted. "His body can't take it."
     
    Another voice echoed from the monitors. "Dr. Thomas might be right. The spikes in his system could cause him to go into cardiac arrest."
     
    "He'll be fine." Casey felt a hot hand on his bare, sweaty chest, practically covering his whole torso. "Just breathe through it, boy," Dr. Harris ordered.
     
    Casey was sure that he heard Uncle Thomas storm away, and he wanted to call to him to come back, to please help him. Thomas would have listened. If he had just stayed.
     
    "Heart rate is spiking, sir!" a voice shouted.
     
    "... breathing is shallow... O2 levels dropping..."
     
    Another pain spiked down his body and he arched off the table as much as the straps would allow, his fists yanking so hard he almost broke the bones in his tiny wrists. "Noooo..." he wailed, but no one seemed to want to let him free.
     
    "Another blood sample!" Harris ordered, and Casey vaguely wondered about the odd glitter in the man's eyes when he managed to open his own.
     
    "I got it, you son-of-a-bitch," another voice mumbled, and Casey thought vaguely that it was Uncle Martin.
    "Harris!" Thomas shouted, distracting the older man from staring down at him, and Casey was briefly relieved the man wasn't looking at him, but then he felt the pinch in his arm again. More blood. "You're going to kill him."
     
    "Back off, Dr. Thomas," Harris growled, turning back to the flurry of monitors.
     
    Casey managed to open his eyes, catching sight of Dr. Thomas again. Casey's eyes leaked a river of tears, soaking his already damp hair as he tried to focus on something, someone who might comfort him.
    The moon had always been that soothing comfort before, urging his body to make the change that it craved. He'd always been allowed to float in his pool, staring up through the glass ceiling at the bright white orb, basking in its lunar enchantment.
     
    And they'd taken that from him tonight.
  14. craftingmom

    Another Neko Update

    By craftingmom,

    So, I just want to first thank everyone who read, liked, rated, and/or reviewed What No One Sees. I hope you enjoyed the story, and I greatly appreciate all the comments. Thank you so very much. I am considering possibly using Avery and Matt for some short stories/prompts like I did for the Neko. I dunno, we'll see.
     
    Anyway, to the reason you probably clicked on this link--I have actually completed the sequel to Tears of the Neko. It will be called Blood of the Neko. It's about 60k+ words and the last of the chapters are off to my betas--thank you Faxity, Cazpedroso, and Cannd!
     
    I, therefore, will probably start posting it next week (maybe this weekend). I did promise it to you for January; it's just a little later than I had thought (but hopefully you enjoyed What No One Sees or other wonderful GA stories in the interim!).
     
    If you have any questions, just let me know! Thanks for being patient with me.
  15. craftingmom
    After having to live without my tablet for a week, I'm realizing just how much I really, really love it. My old tablet had been slowly dying--constantly rebooting randomly, freezing, etc. So my husband bought me a new Galaxy tab 4 for Christmas, and I had it all set up with my Kindle, Moon pro, Handwrite apps, etc. until I tripped over my daughter's shoes in the foyer on new year's eve and the tablet went flying down the stairs, cracking open. *sigh*
     
    It still worked but fortunately my husband had bought the 2 year warranty so we returned it to the store and they gave us a refund in a gift card form to then go back to the electronics counter to just purchase a new one. Of course, they didn't have any in stock. It had to be ordered. Seven days without my tablet and I'm realizing just how much I really relied on it.
     
    Reading books on my phone is just a pain in the butt. Plus, I realized just how much I relied on the Handwrite App. At night, as I'm falling asleep, ideas for stories (current or future) often hit me as I'm drifting off. I've been using the handwrite app to quickly open and jot down the idea. It's nice because I don't have to try to type anything, just scribble it with my finger. I can do it quickly and easily, and then I can actually fall asleep without worrying whether I'll forget the idea. Not having that for a week was painful--trying to write on a notebook in the dark is not easy (it's the way I used to do it before I had a tablet, but it's not easy).
     
    Then of course I got to thinking about how much things have changed since I was a kid. I was the first one in my house to even get a computer --a Commodore 128, woohoo! --because I wanted to be able to save the stories I typed. Before that I was typing on an electric typewriter. My kids look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them that. Oh, yeah, and portable phones? Huge clunky things that plugged into your car. And guess what? They only made phone calls!
     
    I do have to say that of my whole family growing up (mom, dad, and sister), I'm the only one who embraced technology wholeheartedly. Oh, I remember getting our first microwave and, hell, cable TV--more than 5 channels--yay! But my parents and even my sister (who is two years younger), even now still seem to rebel against new technology. They do know computer basics of course. They do have cell phones, albeit, the basic ones with a slide keyboard for texting, but not the touchscreens, internet, apps, etc. (Oh, heck, when my mom started texting it was like woohoo, she's entered the 21st century. I still get middle of the night phone calls for tech support from her because something didn't work right on her laptop (which she uses only for storing pictures and emails).
     
    I think my four year old nephew knows more about tablets than my sister, since he stays at my house Wed thru Sat while I babysit him. ( He gets higher scores on Doodle Jump than I do!) I struggle because my sister is so against him playing on a phone/tablet or watching any TV. And I certainly understand too much of anything is bad, of course, but to avoid it all together? He's growing up in a rapidly changing, technology based world. In this day and age, it's almost imperative to give him the opportunity to explore and learn through tablets, phones, computers, etc, as much as it is to run and play at the play grounds and playing with cars, puzzles, etc.
     
    Sorry, that's my little ramble today, as I finally had my tablet back last night (and had to jot down two ideas on the handwrite app while drifting to sleep!), that I thought about how much things have changed since I was a kid. Probably why I find that song 19 Something by Mark Wills so dang funny.
  16. craftingmom
    Okay, so here's my 'here's your sign' moment.
     
    About six months ago our ice maker just seemed to stop working. We knew it would cost probably about $900 to fix (because it stopped working when we first got it, and the repair guy told us we were lucky it was still under warranty or it would have cost about $900). So that's what we figured had happened now.
     
    Well, since I don't really use ice, my husband had taken to buying bags of ice as he needed them. He's been doing it for six months now.
     
    So apparently, yesterday at work, he noticed an on/off switch on the ice maker there. Hmm, I wonder if ours has one? Maybe if we flip the switch a few times, it will cycle it or something. So he comes home to test his theory... only to find that it was already in the off position.
     
    So, wow, he turned it to 'on' and wala we have ice again. So glad I never called the repair man he told me too. That would have been an embarrassing visit--being charged $50 for him to come flip a damn switch.
     
     
     
    Oh, on another note... my daughter asked if we had a CD player when she wanted to get a CD at the store. I said of course we did. Of course, she's never really listened to music from a CD player--we pretty much use our phones or their ipods. So, I pull out the CD player I have buried in a closet. It's a combination CD/radio/cassette player. She looks at it, flips up the antenna and asked what that was for. Then I told her which buttons worked the CD player and that the other buttons were for tapes. Her response: what's a tape?
    When I showed her what one was, of course, she quirked her brow and looked at it askance and said, "that looks so old."
  17. craftingmom
    Okay, so last night, I discovered that my daughter (13yrs, 8th grade) was supposed to have written the rough draft of a story about a painting. And it was due three days ago. Apparently, it had to be between 1500-4000 words, and my daughter was avoiding the assignment because she didn't want to write. Obviously, she doesn't take after me in that respect... (Ask her to read a 300 page book in one night, no problem, but write more than 50 words--like pulling teeth)
     
    So after discovering on the online grading system that she had received a 0 for it, which caused her grade to drop, of course, I sat her down to get to it.
     
    After an hour, she had 288 words. And it was in one huge paragraph. Again, not my child...
     
    It was going to be a long night at this rate.
     
    So, I started offering suggestions, like write out the dialog, describing the setting, or hey, write a flashback there. Of course, being a thirteen year old (teen being the operative word) she didn't want to listen to anything mom might suggest....until a half hour later and she was still at only 327 words.
     
    I ended up sitting with her, talking through how to write dialogue and how she could use the flashback to the relationship she had implied to add so many more words. Thankfully, about 2 hours later, we had reached just over 1500 words, and I told her to get it emailed off to her teacher.
     
    For as much as she reads (and as much opinions as she has to offer her silly parents), you'd think she'd be able to be a little wordy...
  18. craftingmom

    Avery's Story

    By craftingmom,

    For those who have read my CSR November author interview, you may be aware that I have a third m/m story hiding in the background--Avery's Story which is called What No One Sees. I had not posted it here as it is even darker, more intense, than All In, steeped in abuse (mental, physical and sexual) by a boy's father. However, I did offer to send it to anyone who asked me for it.
     
    I had several requests, and after reading it, I had many say that I should post it for all to read. Therefore, I have talked to Cia about it (who had already read it a few months ago), and whether she felt it was okay to post here. She agreed it was dark, but didn't violate any posting rules (as long as I give appropriate warnings and tags, of course), and that there have been other stories that have broached the same line here.
     
    This story has its inspiration from an unfinished story on AFF called Broken by guiltypleasure. I have been in contact with the other author on several occasions and have her permission and support to post What No One Sees.
     
    Therefore, I will probably start posting it soon, for those who are interested. This story is meant to bring about the awareness of abuse of our children and how horribly blind we can be, as a society, to what may be happening in our own neighborhoods--mostly because we just don't want to believe our neighbors could be guilty of such things. As a former teacher, as well as reading so many news stories about the abuses of children and wondering how such things get overlooked and missed by well-meaning adults, I suppose that is why these kinds of stories strike me hard and are in need of telling.
     
    Summary:
    Avery is a seventeen year old teen who has been abused by his father (physically, sexually, and mentally) since he was eleven, when his mom left them. Because his father is so well respected in the town (and because of Avery's own shame), no one has discovered the family's secret. When a college student comes to his HS for a teaching practicum, Avery doesn't want to admit he might like the new guy in town. This story chronicles Avery's torment and how one person finally sees him as worthy of notice.
     
    If All In was a tough read for you, then Avery's story may not be for you, especially as the abuser is more closely related to the abused than they were in All In. And I know it will not appeal to just anyone, just like All In did.
     
    Thanks to those of you who have already read the story and encouraged me to post it. The posted story may have some toning down of the more intense parts, but the feel will still be the same.
     
    Maybe this story will give some of you something to read (not as if there aren't plenty of other great stories out there to read, of course) while waiting for the neko sequel--Blood of the Neko.
     
    And of course, here's wishing everyone a wonderful and happy new year!
  19. craftingmom
    Okay, so just wanted to let those who want to see the sequel to the Tears of the Neko soon know that I have actually started writing it. I've written the first chapter and I'm in the middle of the second. I think the beginning of stories can be hard to write since you have to set things up. So it's a little slower going than others I've written.
     
    I also just wanted to let people know that the Neko Shorts are not keeping me from writing the sequel. I know it may seem like because I am posting a lot of little neko shorts that I am avoiding working on the sequel. I assure you, this is not the case. Most of the neko shorts have already been written. I have been using the wonderful writing prompts here as a jumping point to get me back into thinking about the Neko Universe (as Cia called it ). So I'm not writing the neko shorts instead of writing the sequel, I'm writing them in conjunction with it.
     
    So, depending on how much I can get written, I plan to send at least part of the sequel to my betas (Cannd and Faxity) probably after Christmas. It's a busy time for everyone, so I wouldn't expect to start posting the sequel until January. In the meantime, please continue to enjoy the neko shorts; there are probably only two or three more coming...
     
    Thank you to everyone who has reviewed All In, Tears of the Neko, and the Neko shorts. It is very inspiring to read them, and there would never be a sequel coming if it hadn't been for all the great reviews and inspiration from my readers.
  20. craftingmom

    Thank You

    By craftingmom,

    Yesterday, I went out to Goodreads figuring I would add Tears of the Neko their books list. I went through the whole process to find that some kind soul had already added it! I assume it was probably someone from here as this is where I'm most active, so thank you so very much.
     
    Right now I am working on getting it associated with my account as there are several other Taylor Ryan's out there. Hopefully they will get back to me soon.
     
    And thank you to anyone who has reviewed it there as well (there were only a couple, but it's a start so thanks so much!)
     
    And of course thank you to all of you who have read, liked, review, critiqued, etc my stories. I am so happy to share them with you and hear what you think. GA readers are the best! Hope to have something more for you soon!
  21. craftingmom

    Neko update

    By craftingmom,

    Just wanted to say that I'm nine chapters and 20k+ words into the Tears of the Neko sequel, so it is coming along. I expect it will be shorter than the original, but we'll see after my betas get back to me. I have sent the first six chapters to them today, but of course, being the holidays, I don't expect to hear from them soon.
     
    I have been sick the last two weeks, and that has slowed down my intended progress quite a bit. But I would still expect to have it out in January, just maybe not right at the beginning.
     
    Oh, and I think I've decided on a title for it: Blood of the Neko (in keeping with same format as Tears of the Neko). When I got bored and couldn't focus on writing, I played around with a cover. I'll have to see if I can get it added in here...
     
     
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