Ieshwar

My first antho was back in Winter 2006 anthology. That's like more than 6 years ago. Just realised that. :o

LOL. Yeah, we are old young ones.

Challenge accepted and done. Here: http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/blog/140/entry-13360-response-to-anthology-challenge/ Cheers Ieshwar

In his blog entry, FishWings has come up with the Anthology Challenge. Since he asked so sweetly, I couldn’t refuse. My Picks (in particular order): KC Grim SidLove W_L Comicfan FishWings 1. As The Music Plays by KC Grim "Jade lives and breathes music, it’s her entire universe. What will she do when she finds the girl of her dreams, but can’t share the most important thing in her life with one person she loves the most?" My Thoughts: 2. Holding on To Hope by SidLove "Brad finally meets the man of his dreams on the Valentine's Day. He even loses his virginity to him. But the problem occurs when he wakes up the next morning and realizes he can't remember anything about the guy - not even remembering what he looks like. His best friend, Leslie, thinks he has imagined it all. But was it a mere imagination? or was there something more dangerous to that story?" My Thoughts: 3. In The Cold by W_L "A Real-Life based tale of a cold New England night" My Thoughts: 4. Lost At Sea by Comicfan "Andy thought he had found the love of his life in Teddy, then Teddy walked out one day. Andy found himself lost at sea with a strange woman who reminds him vaguely of someone he knows. Will he ever find his back or will this be a night to remember." My Thoughts: 5. Six Seconds by FishWings "Pressed for time, Callen Worthwright drives down a treacherous route back from his snowboarding trip. The roads are icy; the snowstorm is a whiteout, and his car skids straight into the Pacific Ocean. Hanging desperately on to life, a supernatural presence grants him a second chance at redemption. Callen is propelled kilometres across the continent to visit a long-lost friend whom he never had the chance to admit his feelings to. The catch? He only has six hours to live." My Thoughts: Writing and reading for this anthology reminded me how addicting GA anthologies can be. No wonder 11 out of my stories are GA anthos. This was a great experience, especially discovering stories from authors whose works I have never read before. The theme was very well-chosen, giving the writers the freedom to express in their own way. Cheers Ieshwar

Thanks for featuring the review, Renee. This is a great story. I'm sure you guys won't be disappointed. While writing this review, I was on the story page and before I know it, I was reading it and laughing like some loon at 2 a.m again. LOL. Cheers Ieshwar

When you described Beverly during the start, I did think sex change but I immediately dismissed it. Andy would have known that. So I was guessing that she was the mother. And I was right! I don't know about others, but I was hanging on every word, especially during the fire. I was like . Very sweet story. Very well-written.

First of all, kudos for your bravery. I know I wouldn't have been able to react so well under those situations. The story was well done with vivid descriptions, especially the cold. You told everything the right way, with the reader hanging on every word, discovering that fateful encounter. Well done.

Thanks a lot for these amazing comments and thoughts. This seems to be a good idea. I'll do it after I have read a few more entries. I've read only 8 out of the 19 (20th being mine).

To be frank, when writing, I had thought leaving the characters vague could lead to some confusions. But now that I read the reviews, I realised that this story could be applied to many things, apart from the moth-flame which inspired me. Thanks for the comment, Wayne.

I guess it boils down to instinct. It's the same instinct which told him to stay away from the chain of Hunter-Prey (he was indeed the prey), to stay deep in the shadows. That's why he never deliberately went towards the flame/Light Creature. He was drawn to it, pulled by his heart, his emotions. Deep down, his survival instinct always tried to caution him (at one point, trying to "get control of his body" and knock some sense). Many times, we know that we are taking the wrong decisions but at that moment, it's the only right thing to do. Thanks for reading and the review. Glad that you loved it.

I like the way you write. You bring out the emotions exactly how and where they should, whether it's humour, love or even hatred. What I absolutely loved is that you provided a closure for each character- Artie got Luis, Luis managed to get with the guy he wanted, John got the life he always wanted and Tiffany got over her insecurities. It brings a nice soothing quality to the ending. Btw, kudos for the originality- for making John marry Tiffany. Well Done.

This is very beautiful. A very sweet love story. If your heart wills, you can overcome any barrier. I really like Jade. Very nice. Btw, I LOL's at the boobs comments. Haha. Well-done.

This is very awesome. Not only the idea is very original but he sings super well too. Cheers Ieshwar

This was really sweet. And very cute. Had a huge smile by the end.

I like how you took a different approach for the death and Angels of Death concept. Instead of making it dark and angsty, you kept it light and enjoyable, fitting the psyche of a carefree teen. Well done.

LOL. It happens. I've been there, lots of time. Glad that you liked the story.

Yeah, with the approach I have used, I know that the identity of the two creatures would be difficult to gauge. It was intentional, giving them an "unworldly" feel. I really debated about placing the spoiler line. In the end, I did it, just to make things more clear. Thanks for the review, FishWings.

That's the beauty of a poetic approach. It can be so subjective, depending on the reader. Looking back, the night-day does fit. Thanks for the review, Mann.

These were indeed the emotions I wanted to associate with this story. Thank you, Joann.

Thank you. Yes, I wanted to evoke an ethereal feel within this story. Glad that I managed to do it.

Thank you for always reading my stories and giving such nice comments. Glad that you liked this one too.

Thanks for the review, RJ. The delivery was rather challenging. Poetic prose can be really tricky for me. I'm glad that I've somewhat managed to do justice to the idea.

You're more than qualified. You're a Promising Author, dude! LOL. Thanks for this very beautiful review. Glad that I have managed to evoke the emotions I wanted. You're really sweet.

Holy Shit. You do drawings too. It's beautiful. Good job to everyone who contributed to this story. P.S Let me know when that blog is done. Will surely check it out.

I don't think there could have been a better ending for this story (given the start of the story). I liked the last paragraph of the author's note. Hope... Hope in this story, hope in their true love, hope in Callen and Sage that they do get together. Now that I have read the whole story, I must say it's a great story.You write amazingly well. You drew me completely in the story. You said exactly what you should where you should. The imagery were great too. I still remember the scene where Callen gets up to leave and Sage stops him. Small things that make this story beautiful. Your characters are so endearing. They are not perfect. But yes, they are both so noble. It feel a honor to read their tale. It has been a real emotional roller-coaster this last hour. You have well infused humour, romance, tragedy and a bit of mystery in this story. Great story. There's so much more that I want to say about this story. But I'll just say: Kudos to you, Fishie. It's... perfect! P.S The graphics, on the story page, was stunning too.