Graeme

To analyse what has gone wrong, we need a lot more information than this. Can you please give us explicit details as to what you should've received a notification for, but didn't? A screen shot of your notification settings, the details of exactly what you're following, and then a comment as to which notification you didn't get is what we're looking. That should allow us to track down what is going on.
For the notification settings, go to your name in the top right hand corner and open up the drop down list. Select Notification Settings and review what is configured. If you can't post a screen shot, just let us know what you have set.
For example, I don't follow anything automatically, and I have my setting to send me a notification when new content is posted. Most of the options are set to send me a notification, though there are some that are set to send an email instead, and others have both notification and email switched off (such as the "Someone I'm following makes a post") and hence I don't receive a notification for that option.
I hope this helps, and if you can provide the relevant details, we can try to work out what happened in your situation.
 

You won't be billed as author membership is free, but we're using the "store" feature of the forum software to "sell" author membership, and that's why it asks for information that in this context is unnecessary. 

You need to have author status to do so.
 
You can find the above and more from the FAQ help page, in the Author section.
https://www.gayauthors.org/help/
 
 

If you join the Writer's Circle club, you'll find both writers and editors. That club is also where writers can make requests when looking for an editor for their story or stories.
 
Best of luck! I, and I think most authors, have a great deal of respect for editors. 

I believe the change to the story text/background is the intent. Some people find white on black easier to read.

Welcome!
 
You know not what you're asking when you request great stories...
 
A lot will depend on the type of stories you like, but you can't go wrong if you start with Dom Luka's stories (especially Desert Dropping). Indeed, just browse through the Classic Author, Signature Author, and Promising Author lists -- that will keep you busy for days, if not weeks. And that only touches the surface, as there are many great stories outside those lists, too.
 
If you'd like to keep yourself busy with short stories, try the various anthologies as there are many, many great stories there that won't take long to read.
 
Just...enjoy! Browse through the story collection, using the story tags to find things you're interested in, or maybe the advanced search feature. And, there's also the advanced options to allow you to find stories by other means, too.
 
Have fun!