Wayne Gray

Ohhhh ... yeah. Ash and Ember is one of my better ones, I think. Though Camp Refuge has its moments as well. If you wanna cry, read Fleeting Eternity. It's really emotional, but I like to think it's a good story. It may be my favorite thing I've written to date.

Hi there. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment on the story. This one was a little rough (mechanically), but I get better with that as I go - thanks to practice and a good editor @Thorn Wilde. I hope you enjoy my other work as well. Have a great rest of your day.

Thank you for your work.

100%. Yes. All is right in the world now.

Okay ... I'm about to blow some minds here. https://soupaddict.com/pumpkin-gorgonzola-flans/ This is actually very good. The sharp counterpoint of the Gorgonzola makes the dish. There's neither anything sweet about the dish, nor is there any of the aforementioned dreaded "pumpkin" spice (which isn't pumpkin at all). Be brave. Try it.

I'm a bit disappointed a certain cooking implement wasn't mentioned in your food update.

It's just so well done. Foster always crafts a great read, but Into the Out Of is something else. I hope you find and enjoy it!

Recently I recommended to a friend a book by Alan Dean Foster. It's called Into the Out Of. It starts off creepy. It ends fantastically. If you like horror done in a way where the monsters are examples of true, unrepentant evil, then this is your book. I've read it three times over the years, and each time, it makes me take second glances a those small, dark places lurking about the yard and house.

I wanna be the uncle that tells super scary stories to all his nephews and nieces, then sends them home. If I've not earned a hard, disapproving glare the next time we meet ... well, I'm not doing it right. 😛

Thanks for your work, from Northern California. Stay safe.

Likely the best option, considering. I do think it wen't pretty well. Simple can be sweet. 🙂

I gotta admit to being proud of that particular line. A few other readers commented on it too. 🙂 Thanks for the comment, Quixo! You've got a bit more to go.

Never mess with a country woman. Just ... don't. lol 😄

Mmm. Yes. There's a lot of emotion, not the least of which is desire, in those first few experiences. Caleb is dealing with desire, same as Wren, but add in the novelty of sex, and the idea that he's gay ... well, you end up with a soup of things he has to work to process. You'll have to see what the morning brings in the next chapter. Which is handily enough, only a click away. 🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting!

I'm glad you're giving this one a spin, Quixo. I do like how it turned out. 🙂

Thanks for the great comment. I think that's the goal for most authors. We want the reader to step into the shoes of our characters, feel what they do, and build emotional investment in them. Wondering what is next, and hoping for their futures, that really should follow along if we've done a good job designing believable and empathetic characters. I'm glad you liked "The Answer" too! That one ... it is unique to me - my only short story. It's great you gave it a spin and ended up here. If you like romances, you'll probably enjoy "Bluegrass Symphony." "Guarded" and the rest of the "Camp Refuge" series take a bit of a time investment, as there are many chapters before you finish what is essentially a loose trilogy ("Guarded is loosely related to "Camp Refuge"). Now ... if you're in the mood for something really emotional, you could give "Fleeting Eternity" a try. I love that story and how it turned out, but it won't be everybody's thing. Thank you, again.

It's a "cling to the coffee cup as if it were a life preserver on a stormy sea" kind of morning. Good morning, folks. I hope you're all as well as you can be.

Thank you so much for reading! I’m happy you enjoyed the story. It is one of my favorite works, so I’m thrilled it resonated with you. I’ll see you next time around. 🙂

Work has been challenging as hell this week. Finally done with it for a couple of days, and now sipping on a glass of wine. I hope you're all as well as you can be.

Sorry to hear about your mom, @Fae Briona. Losing someone is never easy. Take care of yourself. When offered, let others take care of you too. I'm glad you've got SP.

Good morning, all. I hope as many of you here are as well as you can be. Take care.

Amazing to hear, molly! It's always great to hear our work is appreciated, and much more so in a public venue. Wonderfully done. Good job.

Part of that is me. My work has ramped up a lot lately, so writing is hard. It's hard, even during my down time, because writing is thoughtful. Good writing is, at least. That takes effort. I'm not saying that for tim's benefit, because he knows. But I'm going to attempt to make time this weekend. I want us to share these people we've created with others, and I need to step up my writing game.

Thanks for taking a read here. This story is a pretty good one, I think. 🙂 You're right. John's influence on Troy can't really be discounted either. I also think you're right that Troy was just about at his breaking point. You can only heap so much on a man until he decides to just lay down and give up completely.

This is a great piece, tim. It paints a picture of longing - not for something external, but rather for the peace born from confidence. Warning: Incoming philosophy and maybe psychology from a guy who's an expert in neither. Maybe you're dreaming of what could be. It may feel cruel, to see this version of you that you "can't have," but ... you seem closer now than you've ever been. To me that doesn't mean you're tortured by apparitions of what will never be, but rather you're glimpsing what is possible now where before it wasn't.