astone2292

I apologize. In a rush to get the article posted, I pasted in the previous article's Q&A. This article is now accurate, and has new questions and responses.

Taking a quick poll here. Who here almost forgot Author Guess Who existed? I didn't, and I've been busy collecting interviews over the past few weeks. For those that forgot what this is or are new to the GA community, this is a little interview game. I have a little list of questions for a mystery author/community member, and using their responses, your job is to figure out who it is! You're given two weeks to put your guesses in before the reveal is posted. Don't be afraid to point fingers or do a deep-dive research expedition. This game isn't just for fun. It's also a spotlight for authors who want a wee bit of publicity. During the reveal, they get to choose three of their posted stories to be featured on the site! Let's see what our mystery author of the month has to say... *** What is one thing that most GA members might not know about you? I finished my education without any qualifications or exam passes, or as some would say I never graduated. The few qualifications I hold were gained through work. You just walked into a state-of-the-art kitchen with a magical pantry, filled to the brim with every known ingredient. What are you cooking for yourself? Bread, what can I say? I'm a person with simple tastes and the smell of freshly baked bread brings back good memories and helps me to relax. What prompted you to write your first story? I don't really know. I woke up one morning and felt like I had to write, so I did. It felt like someone else was writing, not me. Do you have a significant other? Not at this moment in time. I've been in a couple of relationships that have ended badly and left me feeling wary of others. I've recently started to get to know someone, so who knows? Maybe that could change. You're stuck on an island. You're allowed one book, one food item, and one beverage. What are they? That depends on how long I'd be there. If it's for a long time I would want a good survival book, corn because I can eat it and/or grow more and coffee. Of course, the last two would need me to find a water source. If you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be? Nobody famous. I'd like to meet my uncle, he died before I was born and my Dad often spoke about him. I'd love to hear his version of the high-jinx they used to get up to. Are you a dog or cat person? Due to circumstances I don't have any pets, but out of the two I'm definitely a dog person. What's something on your bucket list? I've never really thought about it. It would be nice to travel more than I'm currently able to so a round the world trip could appeal. But more realistic for me would be to move out of the city allowing me to have horses, but as I haven't ridden since childhood I'd need riding lessons first. Hey, how about that? Teleportation was just invented. Where's the first place you're going? Don't worry, the purple portal pad is totally safe. Vancouver, that's where my godmother lives. I've been there once and would love to go back there, it felt like a welcoming place to be. Is there a fictional character you look up to? Who is it? I admire the character Jethro Gibbs from NCIS. The flawed character has faced many personal setbacks, yet still manages to carry on with life and lend support to others. If admiration is looking up to someone then it is Jethro. What is your favorite movie/television show? That's easy, my favourite TV show is NCIS and similar programs. Favourite movie is anything in the Marvel Avengers franchise. What is your spirit animal? Maybe an eagle, I think I'd enjoy the freedom that comes with being able to fly high and swoop down fast. Which actor/actress would you like to see portray you in this year's newest documentary blockbuster? Taron Egerton, just because I think he's a good-looking hunk. When you go on vacation/holiday, when do you pack your suitcase? The night before, a few hours before the plane takes off? I don't travel much, I'm more of a homebody. When I do travel I'm always packed way ahead of time, I like to be organised. What would you say is your greatest accomplishment? That's not really easy to answer so I'll say writing anything that receives a good review. I don't consider myself to be a writer so the reviews mean a lot to me. *** And there we go! Y'all have two weeks to figure out who this mystery author could possibly be! In the meantime, did you know any author can participate in this game? Holy smokes, you didn't? Well, now you do! Shoot me a PM if you're interested in answering some silly questions. I'll be the only person that will know you are the mystery author [unless pesky admins take a sneak peak]. As a reward for participating, you'll be featured on the site during the reveal! Good luck, folks!

I bet I had y'all fooled. "Oh, no! Where did Ask An Author go? Did it fall off a cliff, possibly dangling off a railroad track like a cheesy action flick?" Well, the answer is no. The explanation is incredibly simple. Blame the antholo— I MEAN I was asked so kindly and sincerely to push this back a week. By the way, did everyone enjoy this year's anthology? Personally, I had a blast. Such great submissions to check out, so if you haven't yet, get goin'! Anyway, y'all have waited long enough for this month's edition of AAA. Let me just check my list... Ugh. Not her again. How did @kbois get back in the queue? I'm just joshin' around. She's okay, I guess. A member of the purple Promising Authors group, she's become a staple for giggles, guffaws, and pesky cliffies around here. Let's get into the Q&A! • • • • • ⚠️ WARNING! ⚠️ The following interview contains massive spoilers pertaining to @kbois's "Shadow Effect." Please keep this in mind before continuing. • • • • • Shadow Effect kbois 40 Chapters, 185,695 Words, Mature You seem to joyfully embrace the idea that family can either be the one you are born into or the one you choose for yourself; and sometimes the two can mesh but they don't always have to. Do you find it easier to write about one style of family over the other? No. The story is what dictates how easy or difficult it is to write about family. In real life family dynamics are some of the most complicated issues you can come across. I come from a big family, married into a big family and yet am not close to any of them. My 'chosen' family is made up of a small group. My best friend is the sister my mom never gave birth to. We have each other's backs to the extent of dropping everything to help hide the body. Lol. My brothers wouldn't do that for me. Writing about family is easy, whether it's drawing on my own experiences or wishful thinking. Elijah is an only child who loses his parents. He has little choice but to create his own family. In this story like others; you seem to be very big on redemptive arcs. In this one, you seem to be heading Caleb Micco on one; is there something about these type of arcs that you find fulfilling to write about? Ahhh, Caleb! Even though he's not a big part of Shadow Effect, he seems to have made an impression. He started out as one of those secondary characters who wasn't supposed to go anywhere. Somewhere along the line, he gained a bigger purpose. He became a bad guy, albeit reluctantly. Hence, the redemptive arc. So now Caleb has his own story; The Light at the End of the Tunnel. It still remains to be seen how his redemption will pan out. I enjoy these types of storylines because they appeal to most readers on a base level. Who doesn't love it when a bad boy sees the light? 😆 What made you decide to keep Kage, despite his death, so present in this story? Elijah feeling his presence and using it to find his mate seemed different. What prompted you to choose this storyline development? Kage. Probably my biggest regret. I positively loathed killing him. It physically hurt writing that chapter. Kage was not supposed to be so... Kage. When I first started thinking about the storyline, the character was meant to be an ass. Then I started writing and Kage had other plans. I fell in love with him. He showed me a side of himself I never expected. That's the weird thing about writing-- characters will absolutely dictate what they want you to write, and sometimes it's vastly different from you envisioned. His death was planned from the very start. I couldn't change it. But neither could I completely write him out of the story. He was too important to Elijah (and to me), so that's why he played an important role later on. He still may show up in some way. Someday, I'd love to write something else with him in it. Maybe a short add-on to The Devil Is Gay world and he and Lucifer can see what kind of mischief they can get into. • • • • • Thanks for the interview, @kbois! Readers, don't forget to click the link in their name to check out their stories. Before I end this, I'm down to one more article in the piggy bank. If you would like to give one of your favorite authors a spotlight, send me three questions. They can be about a particular story or the author themselves. Check back the first Wednesday of December for the next edition of Ask An Author. See y'all later!

This almost was a Sticks and Stories entry, but I squeezed it out quick enough to add it to the anthology. That, and I needed it as a solo story for universe reasons. Got another short coming up that goes well with this...

I have too many concepts in my to-write pile. Besides, WolfM has them in his RWTP series. I'll stick my oddball moles, squirrels, and... IDK, goldfish?

What can I say? I'm a sucker for writing a sad-turned-happy tale.

OMG, are we starting our own pack?! I just added a hot tub to my Amazon wish list for my dog house. Y'all welcome over for a grill-out.

I was so excited to see Randy's story come to life! Okay, excited isn't the proper word. I squealed and ran around my little apartment. Thanks for letting me be a part of this adventure, Wolf!! It was an absolute blast editing with you.

Now that just sounds regoshdarneddiculous.

Now, now. Despite our reputations, Kbois and I aren't complete lushes.

Nope, I'm crashing the party. I'll be bringing a pitcher of mango jalapeño margaritas.

Always happy to blindside my readers, for better or worse.

Round three!!

Glad you enjoyed the story, Alex!! Always happy to send ya there, Patch. *gasp* That would imply I do drugs. I'm tickled at this. Now I'll need to sprinkle in new creatures of the night in my tales to keep you guessing. Fun fact, "Stone" come from one of my favorite superheroes. Not because of implied drug usage! 😂 Jeezums, you mention Viagra, and now I have a disturbing story idea in my head. Pardon me, I'm going off the deep end. I'm sure I can come up with more... Thanks for reading, Bill! And thanks for giving me a great concept for a short fic!!

What can I say? I love making people feel stuff. That, and spittakes will always be funny.

Me? That? More like...

This is a wonderful, must-read story that features a tragic loss and how a man overcomes it. A brilliant addition to this year's anthology!

Such a sweet piece. It was a pleasure editing it.

It's taking me all of my willpower not to laugh my ass off. This is my favorite comment from you, @kbois. Glad you liked it!

Closing the car door behind me, I slumped in the bucket seat of my rolling heap. “That fucking sucked!” The amount of ignorant people I dealt with today bothered me deeply, but what should I have expected? Fast food… Jesus Christ and the fuckin’ donkey! Was it always this difficult? Did I never pay attention to what these workers went through on a daily basis before this? The common misconception that fast food employees just flip burgers needs to be struck down and burned with kerosene.

I just got off work. My mind is numb. All I want is my couch, Xbox, and headphones to cancel out the world around me. You know what? Nah, I just want to chill out with my boyfriend.

Please, I ain't vicious. I'm too lazy to be.

This is fantastic advice. When I started my first story, "Love in the Shadows," I had no plan of writing a trilogy. I was practically writing with no itinerary, no goal. I just wrote with an end in sight with countless sidetracking. Sometimes jumping in with no expectations can be a great answer for writing longer pieces.

Prompts come in many shapes, sizes, formats, and how each person interprets them. Until the end of time, I'll credit @CincyKris for their comment about about deer shapeshifters in one of my other stories. That little sentence sparked a whole novel for me. I mean, I'm known for having an overactive imagination around here, so many things have sent me down a creative rabbit hole. If you're looking for a prompt/inspiration to create something longer than a short fiction, daydream a bit. Let the concept sit and stir for a while. That initial idea you had will grow and grow. Plot points will come at you, you'll discover how your main character will overcome them, and you'll be on an adventure. @Joie J. If you ever need assistance with plot development and story world building, shoot me a message! Always happy to help out.

Hey now. I recently posted a 600-word dad-joke, two anthology submissions, and a third's gonna post in a few days. But greatly appreciate the plug! Omg Gnobois!!! I'm dyin!