astone2292

I will say with the changes made, one particular shift of production has my seal of approval. For our backstock system, we had our backstock (product that won't fit on the shelf) categorized by normal backstock (to be run daily), fast-movers (to be run multiple times a day), and slow-movers (to be run once a week, think organic and dairy-free alfredo sauce that costs $8.99 a jar). We have gotten rid of the slow-mover category and expanded the criteria of what is to be determined a fast-mover. Instead of just declaring all mega-sale items a fast-mover, we now include items that sell rapidly, regardless of price (12-pack ramen noodles, bacon bit pouches, anything disinfectant). This has been a true breath of fresh air!

Believe me, Patch...I don't get mad often. Noah has only seen me PO'd on a couple of occasions. I'm often irritated, which to me, I'm still very manageable of my emotions, but I seem in a sour mood. Fewer times, I can be agitated. This is when I get real smart with my comments, letting my darker comedic side out. But this new process of stocking...nope. I went from zero to a hundred very fast! It was good to let a rant out, and I think I needed it. I ended up doing some homework before I went to bed and researched several retail-related blogs and articles on "case-spotting." It is an incredible waste of payroll and employee energy! It nearly increases the amount of steps walked in a shift by double, and it is just completely inefficient. For as large as my company is, they did not do their homework on this. I can only hope that this does not last long. Working with it, it feels more productive, but my body aches more. I'm 27 years old. I shouldn't be aching like this, let alone hearing my knees snap and pop on a repeated basis throughout my shift! But I agree...I think I need to let my "spunky" side out more often on DGS. I think it's hilarious in hindsight! I reread this post and I was definitely on something!

I should have went to bed an hour ago...but...your story is just that good! You've done a great job grasping the reader's attention and have generated a cliffhanger scenario chapter after chapter. The characters are so...so well developed, even at a high school/early college age! They have undergone such a dramatic transformation over a short period of written time, and you have seamlessly transitioned them perfectly from scene to scene. Now that I have gotten my words of wisdom out of the way. I...am literally screaming right now! I can hear the typical high school "Fight! Fight! Fight!" chants from here! Dylan is my spirit animal in the manner of wanting being the almighty self-judge of morality. He has ordered Liam to shame for the rest of his days with little opportunity for parole. Dark and terrible things have befallen our two main heroes, and I do not have high hopes that they will end things mutually. But the conspiracy theorist in me predicts that somehow...in some twisted way, Liam will be able to truly admit his mistakes, not only to himself but to Dylan as well. I'm not saying a relationship will blossom, because I don't believe Dylan is that gullible, but perhaps they can end on a positive note. Excellent work, @Avogadro1001! For this being your first posted story on GA...expertly done. I will suggest spending some time with editing, perhaps finding an editor once this story has ended, but you have painted a masterful story. I have a firm belief that it will go far as your first posted work! Now post the next chapter yesterday! I love a good fight scene! And I haven't forgotten your tidbit in the early chapters: Liam hasn't lost a fight.

I'm so glad you liked the book and I love the fact that my series might cause you to bend the rules on your 'complete stories only' policy! And I think it was Elaine that roped Caleb to the tree, but I can imagine Vincent taking a page from his teacher's playbook. Ya can't be mad at Caleb for being bested by this tiny human. Vincent is one of the world's rarest mages after all! Hope to see your reactions to Rising in the Shadows when it gets released in a few days! In the meantime, Cernunnos is available for some reading. They're shorter chapters, but the cliffhangers are just as grumble-worthy!

Thank ya! I'm counting the days until RitS is ready for posting!!! I'm loving these characters as well! Arric and Kara are so fun to write for!

Ha! I just pictured some employee yelling, "Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first time, Mom!"

Oh, no. Ours is a straight up cleaning machine with three cameras (front and sides). It will detect when something's in front of it (customer, cart, display) and it will move around it on its own. Roger's a big boy...like a really big boy. He has four car batteries in him to help his water jets, scrubbing pads, and squeegee move across our humongous store. And he does get stuck every now and again, but he sends a text to the on-duty cleaning person working on the smaller details (checklanes, bathrooms, office).

We have a cleaning robot too!!! His name is Roger and he's the love child of a tractor-style lawnmower and a Zamboni! He beeps every time he makes a turn, has a flashing yellow caution light, and we hate him! We hate him so much! I've made threats of tearing him apart and hiding the parts in the rafters. Most customers don't see him at our store since he gets his routines started at either 9pm or 2am, depending on which cleaner we have scheduled for the day. We're stuck with him, unfortunately. Our company has a contract with the company who, literally, gave him to our store. He'll be with us for two more years!

This is an outrage! Pure devastation to production! Pure poppycock! I thought the way of stocking groceries was simple enough. But now, it is complete hogwash! Horse hockey! I’m so mad, I could spit! As a former Hoosier, I need to let y’all know that I haven’t done that in many years. C’mon...who spits anymore? My job. The way I do my job. Has. Been. Micromanaged! Down to the footstep. Down to the singular boxcutter slice. Stocking groceries has been micromanaged to death. I feel as if I h

I close my GA tab for half an hour to do some major typing...and I'm treated with Essell being attacked by an insect!? I'm hoping for a speedy recovery! HA! I can only hope!

I really need to quit posting chapters before I go to bed... Thanks! I cackled myself before I posted it! I'll keep it going, Patch! I wanted the feelings to be more vibrant in this book than LitS. Heck, I might even have another posted in the morning... I think I need to look into explaining this pack's hierarchy and organization soon. Well, thank you kindly! Thanks Jeffrey! I named the race after the Gaelic God of Beasts and Wild Animals, Cernunnos. He's often depicted as a human wearing deerskin and antlers, and has been rumored to take the form of a buck when traveling the Earth.

You were ready for this blog post @Story Reader! I literally just closed my laptop and opened up my mobile browser!

Well. Yep. Things are certainly happening! A lot has happened in a week. I started a new story, and it's been going well. I now have an awesome editor. And Noah's been busy with his own work, both on Gay Authors, and with his little podcast project he's been wanting to start. For some reason, after having a weekend off, working a singular shift, and now having another evening off tonight, I'm pooped! Bushwacked. Exhausted! I should be going to bed, but my fingers are dancing and I can't make them stop! Cernunnos has been a success! A week in and it now has five chapters and over two thousand views. I'm calling it a win...at least until Rising of the Shadows gets posted. Cyn will get left in Vincent's dust, I'm sure of it! I'm almost addicted to writing this new story. The chapters are shorter, and I'm finding it easier to write. Not saying LitS and RitS aren't fun to write, but a chapter can take me several days to finish. A chapter in Cernunnos can take me...a couple hours? I'm almost regretting the chapter sizes of my prized book and its sequel. If you're reading this and have no idea what I'm talking about, what are ya waiting for? If you like were-creatures, anything fantasy, or just a good lovey-dovey romance, get reading! Noah's been a busy little bee. Well, I say little. He's half a foot taller than me, but that's beside the point. He's picking up on his poetry, but still needs his hand held when it comes to posting. And now we finally have the equipment and software running for his dream hobby: a podcast. Dear Lord, have mercy on me. He wanted a podcast to make his millions of dollars, and I popped that bubble with world's largest thumb-tack. POP! "Honey...you ain't going to make money on a podcast." But he is going to try nevertheless. Being his husband, I have been roped into this adventure, which is fine. I want to be a comedian some day, and what better way to get started than by burying your husband in his own podcast? It's gonna be a great time. He was clueless on what to do in regards to segments, so I suggested random Top Five lists. Noah, the ever so innocent angel, was confused by my logic, so I gave an example. "Top Five Worst Vacation Destinations!" Sadly...I only came up with two before he had to go to work. Utah. Nothing against the residents of Utah, but y'all got nothing to do. Your state's tourism website had two tabs that made me giggle: Places to Go, and Things to Do. Being a curious little snot, I hovered over Things to Do, and my inner Boy Scout mentality cackled at the sight of 'Backpacking.' Noah...poor Noah, he's just a little city boy. He had no idea what backpacking was, and I nearly fell off the couch. If this is a primary highlight of what a state has to offer for tourism...in the wise words of Nicole Byer, "Ya done!" A Motel 6. Any of them, regardless of city. Oh, and did I mention that I now have an editor! He's awesome! I feel like such an adult having him! He makes me want to, I don't know, send him a fruit basket, or some other adult-like gift of generosity. I'll let the main page of Rising in the Shadows reveal who he is, and y'all can thank him then. He has put in the work! Maybe in the future, after the In The Shadows series comes to a close in a year or two, I can have him tackle Love in the Shadows and let him make a complete fool of my mad typin' skillz. Well, I'm tired! I'm going to bed! Sound off your Top Five Worst Vacation Destinations in the comments, and we'll steal them for our podcast! Toodles!

He felt himself breathing. Grogginess bogged down his mind, making it feel like a swamp. Wha...what...happened? Cyn could barely open his eyes. I...I’m still...in the hosp...hospital. Deciding to conserve his energy, the deer kept his head and body where it lay, not that he could do anything. His body was numb. Even if he were fully awake, Cyn didn’t think he possessed the strength to lift a finger. Taking in a small breath through his nose, his heart began racing once more. There...there’

Ha! Two wolves, one deer. Guess you'll need to keep reading! I'm going to work on another chapter tonight when I wake up from my deep slumber.

Glad you liked it! It's still in progress, but go ahead and check out Cernunnos! It's another shifter story if that tickles your fancy. And make sure you check back on February 1st...

Nonsense! There was no bubble to burst or mistake to have been made. I was just so amused by the emoji with the monocle. I'll have to wait and see what the second book holds for the cover art to be imagined, and (most likely) the third book as well. I'm digging pre-dance Vincent on the cover, though!

@Sweetlion I cackled. Not ashamed to say that I almost fell out of my bed. The emoji was priceless. Oh, boy. Publishing. Jeez, that's a lot. I guess my first step is to find someone to make a cover for me. I already know I'm going through Amazon KDP, so that'll be easy on me. Between starting Cernunnos and Rising in the Shadows, it kinda skipped my mind. It'll happen at some point, though!

Ooooh! Lots of comments while I was sleeping! Arric has his hands full! An interesting problem the Alpha must face. I'm currently rereading LitS too, but I'm doing it in the form of editing. Up to chapter 18 now, but looking for errors takes a little more time that usual. As always, thanks for the compliments, Patch. I zoomed through your previous comments and landed here Love this! Cyn's fan base! I'm not sure if he'd be happy with it, or run away scared. Thanks for the compliments! I might post the next chapter Tuesday night/Wednesday morning (well, my timezone), as I have another night off. There you are! The reason Cyn exists! I made a biiiiiiig problem for the pack. I'm excited to see how Arric and the Tracking Trio will handle this. Thanks! And I love writing them! Hold on to the handlebars, 'cause I'm writing more in the mornin'!

I'm so happy you have a craving for these stories! I've been doing some final edits on LitS, and I've been able to crank out a Cernunnos chapter when I need a mental health minute. With this new story, I'm finding that new story high very addictive! I'm just really excited to see where this is going to go...

Arric’s mind has never been on a shorter fuse. I’m sorry...but did I just learn that the Tracking Commander was the one to bring the deer to the hospital? “You want to run that by me again, Shea?” With the anger flowing through his body, he was surprised that the phone hadn’t been crushed by now. “Yes, Alpha. I brought the cernunnos to the hospital, and I had Kara and Jaime by my side.” “You three. The hospital. Immediately. I’ll be in the surgery observation room.” Arric could almost

Ahhh. Another good....guess.

KMSF is the Kettle Morraine State Forest. Glad you're enjoying the story! I'm excited to post another chapter in a day or two.

You're making me want to write up the next chapter and ignore the 'eight hours between posting' rule...

Thanks, @JACC! I'm really falling in love with these short chapters. I can just pop one out all willy nilly!! I think I almost like writing for Arric almost as much as I do for Cyrus. Big bad wolfman isn't afraid to yell at a hospital staff, bossing them around.