Mancunian

You love it! Something I've heard before may apply here. He's on that famous river in Egypt, DENIAL

I could say something about farm animals and excrement, but I'm far too polite.

I never mentioned any names , but you know what they say, 'if the cap fits 🧢, wear it'

Who in their right mind would refuse kisses from Gary Think about who your comment is aimed at, he's definitely not in his right mind, I'm not sure he ever has been.

A great feel-good story with a sad start but a happy ending, it's the stuff that dreams are made of. To appreciate it you have to read it and accept that we are all individuals and have our differences and values. Steven is not the media portrayal of how they see the typical gay man, he is as ordinary as anyone and seeks what he values as being right. A pleasant and refreshing read to be recommended.

Steven comes across as someone who may be on the autism spectrum. He has a clear sense of what he believes is right and wrong. His enjoyment of the peace in the church probably helps him to process events in his life and what he wants, the little voice is probably his inner self coming through in a way that he can process. He appears to value many of the Christian values without being religious, many live good and fulfilled lives in this manner. His troubled past has no doubt shaped him and his beliefs, I'm happy that his mother eventually found the courage to stand up to a tyrannical father, it needed to be done for both of their sakes. I think that Georgio will be good for Steven, they appear to have very similar values and importantly, Georgio shows a good understanding of Steven and accepts him unconditionally. A great feel-good story with a sad start but a happy ending, how can anyone not like that? A nicely written welcome story. 😃

Aloha Albert, I hope you get your computer sorted soon

Good morning, afternoon, evening all, it's been a busy start to the day. Hopefully, now I can relax.

I'm using the iMac that my Dad bought four years before he passed away, which makes it more than eight years old now. I've never had a problem with it, it still works as well as the day it was new. I also have a Windows-based laptop that I use for work, I'd switch it for a MacBook but Mac iOS isn't compatible with my clients. I tend to find apple based is more reliable and secure on the internet. Go for am iMac, when you get used to it you will love it.

Hiya Spikey

Aloha Albert, everything is good here thanks. How's things with you?

A well-written and gripping short murder mystery. It packs a lot into 11.4k words, it really packs a punch. I'm not going to give too much away, but there are more victims in this story than those attacked and murdered. A great story that grips from the start. Very nicely done.

Murder mysteries always get my attention and this did exactly that. The fast-paced action and investigation are intense and revealed both good and bad leads, all of which were followed up and led to the perpetrator being identified. It's a shame that it rarely happens that way in real life. It is a story that could easily have been expanded into a much longer story allowing for more background detail. But in saying that this is still a good and full story of the events that gets the reader's attention and draws them in. One important aspect that it clearly shows, is that mistreatment in childhood can, and often does, have severe lasting effects on people. This can lead someone to behave in a way that could have possibly been prevented by better parenting and/or earlier intervention. Overall a great short story and a credit to the secret author.

I'm sorry to hear this news Tim, I'm sending my best wishes and good thoughts your way. Remember, you have friends here and we will be here if and when you need us.

If they are happy tears then they are good tears. And there is no need to thank me, I'm just doing what any good friend would do, so I hope you are smiling too.

You have a lot of good friends in GA who like, love and respect you. Some of us may not have spoken to you much, but we are not strangers, just friends you haven't met yet. So hold your head up and be the best you that you can be, you are wonderful. I'm just one of those friends in the shadows, we are all here for you.

We are all unique, this is just one aspect of you that makes you unique. You are still the same person that you were yesterday, it's just that now you know a little more about what makes you you. If anyone has a problem with it then it is their problem, not yours. The genuine people that know and love you will always be there and love you. You are still Cassie and that is all that matters.

Another case of the pot calling the kettle black

This is true, there was five minutes after birth before it set in

That could be arranged 🤔

This is very different to the stories I usually read and wasn't sure if I would like it. The more I read, the more I enjoyed it. A beautiful story of love, a love that is borne from mutual respect. It is a fantasy story that tells of love between different species but has its parallels in real life. A well-written and unexpected story that drew me in, kudos to the author, your skill and talent show through.

Thank you @Comicality for an interesting and important article. I think that the writing and inserting (readers get your mind out of the gutter) of sex scenes in a story is a personal choice for an author and should depend on its relevance to the story as a whole (I can hear the giggling in the back row) to the story. I feel that most of the stories that I have written would have been spoilt by including a sex scene as it isn't relevant to the story. In others, it has only been hinted at or at most suggested with a few appropriate comments from characters or in the narrative, in those cases I felt that less was more if that makes sense. Up to this point, none of my stories have included a full-blown (there's that giggling again) sex scene, that is not to say that none ever will, it will depend on the story. It is possible that including sex may have increased my readership, but then, it may not, none of my readers have commented or complained about the lack of sex in my stories. I agree that the wording choice for a sex scene is important, it should be different for a romantic encounter than it is for a frenzied sex scene that is hurried or purely for self-gratification, or even for forced sex. The wording should also be appropriate for the timeline in which it is set and the age of the characters that are taking part. These factors can be the making or breaking of the scene and possibly the story. I very often skip a sex scene where I feel it's not appropriate to the story, but I will read the scene if I feel it is relevant. I guess that what it comes down to is both the author's and the reader's preferences. As for my stories, I'll only include sex scenes if I feel it's relevant.

It's good that Diego sought out legal advice, but I wonder how good the advice is. Let's face it, the receptionist's attitude said a lot to me, they didn't really want to see him. The lawyer said that they give 30 minutes of free advice then charged him, it wasn't free was it? I like that he has spoken to Steve, it seems that Steve is the only one on Diego's side. But then Bryan still hasn't come clean over the messages between him and Calvin, I can see that causing some very difficult and awkward problems. I've got my fingers crossed for Diego, but he needs more than that.

I know what you mean, I've had a lot going on with work and other commitments which have been distracting me. Each time I've sat down to write I've only managed a paragraph or two, so I've ended up reading instead. Now things are looking up I intend to apply more of my time to my writing, I want to finish my current story and I've got other ideas floating about in my head too.

@James Carnarvon I too live in the UK, unfortunately even here it still happens, I've witnessed it. Luckily there are some very good charitable organisations that exist to help when this happens, but they can't help all of them. I hope that similar organisations exist elsewhere to give help when it is needed.