Bill W

Carl another very imaginative sci-fi story, and I love the idea that the B'na cannot only repair the body, but they can make you younger over and over again. I know not many people on GA enjoy reading sci-fi stories, but I do and I found this one very interesting and beautiful. Great job!

Me too!

Apenglow serves as a powerful visual metaphor in storytelling, representing transition, fleeting hope, and the boundary between reality and the subconscious. This natural phenomenon—where mountains glow in vibrant pink, red, or gold just before sunrise or after sunset—acts as a sensory anchor that heightens emotional stakes and transforms settings into active narrative characters. Symbolic Meaning: The Illusion of Warmth: It mimics heat on frozen peaks. Writers use this to mirror a character’s false hope or a deceptive comfort before a conflict. Liminal Spaces: It exists only during twilight. This represents a threshold where characters transition from youth to adulthood, sanity to madness, or life to death. Fleeting Beauty: It vanishes in minutes. This underscores themes of impermanence, urging characters to act before their time runs out. Narrative Functions: Atmospheric Foreshadowing: A sudden crimson glow can signal impending bloodshed or a dramatic shift in a journey. Emotional Pacing: The softening light provides a quiet, reflective pause for characters between intense action sequences. Setting as a Character: It makes nature feel alive, reactive, and indifferent to human struggles. Visual Impact in Media: Cinema and Photography: It offers a natural "magic hour" effect. Directors use it to frame epic quests or to isolate a character against a vast, indifferent world. Graphic Novels and Video Games: It establishes tone. The contrast of harsh mountain peaks soaked in soft, ethereal pastel hues creates an immediate sense of wonder and high fantasy.

The word alpenglow is a partial translation, or calque, from the German word Alpenglühen, which combines Alpen (Alps) and Glühen ("glow"). English speakers kept the first part and replaced the second part with the English word "glow". According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the earliest known use of the noun alpenglow in English is from 1862, found in a written letter by W. H. Brewer.

Drake lives in the Hawaiian Island, on Kauai specifically, and he loves to surf. Lately, he's run into another surfer who not only proves to be a good companion while he's surfing, but Drake also Harbor's an interest in the young man, who he learns is named Cody. They enjoy surfing together in the big waves produced when a category 4 hurricane approaches the islands, but when Drake sees Cody out trying to surf the waves the next day, now that the huricane has been upgraded to a category five, he feels he has to save him. What will he do? Will he be successful, or will one or both of them die. Read this action-packed short story filled with plenty of tension to find out.

What a wonderful story filled with a lot of tension I also learned more about surfing than I've ever known, and more about the Hawaiian Island, especially Kauai, and Hawaiian culture than I knew as well. It was a great read with plenty of excitement, so I hope Drake and Cody have a long and happy life together.

Lucien and Andre live in France in 1936 around Bastille Day, and they're fighting against Hitler's rise in Germany and his expansionist ideology. If they are caught, they will surely be put to death, so what will happen? If you want to learn about their fate, you'll have to read this compelling short story to find out.

Since I don't speak French, some of the story was difficult to follow. There was also at least one spot where I think you used the wrong name. I'd also like to know what happened to Charles and Victor. Had both of their fathers been killed so they can now be together?

Felix and Randy have been best friends for a number of years and seem to spend a lot of time together. But then something happens that seems to upset their friendship. What is it and will they ever be able to get past it?

It was an interesting story and I hope Felix and Randy get things worked out.

This is a very verse poem about the colors of a rainbow, but more specifically what each of those colors means when used in the LGBTQ flag.

This is an intriguing look at the colors of the rainbow, and how it's used in the LGBTQ flag. Very nicely done.

Jeremy spots David as he comes out of an ice cream shop and calls to him. It seems that Jeremy recognizes David from middle school, but David is having trouble placing him. As they're talking about different things, like starting high school in the fall, a storm whips up. Since David wouldn't be able to make it home in time, Jeremy invites him to come to his house, which is closer. What happens when they get there, if anything? You'll have to read this charming short story to find out.

I thought this was a fun story and well presented. I quickly liked both boys and were glad they got together, even if they needed a push from the storm. I'm also glad that their parents seem to be accepting the fact that they're boyfriends.

Alex had been in an abusive relationship for quite awhile, but finally that relationship ended. Since then, Alex's best friend, John, has been trying to get him to date again and has even set him up on a blind date. Prior to the date. Alex has a horrible nightmare and wants to call the date off, but John talks him into going. How will this date work out? You'll have to read this short story to discover the answer to that question.

Grounding in storytelling is the vital process of anchoring your audience in the who, where, when, and what of a scene. Without it, readers feel lost and disconnected. Good grounding uses concrete sensory details and clear context to make imaginary worlds feel real and safe to explore. Why Grounding Matters: Stops confusion: Tells the audience who is speaking, where they stand, and what is happening right now. Builds trust: Makes strange or fantasy worlds believable through ordinary, realistic touchstones. Deepens emotion: Connects big action beats to real human feelings so readers care about the stakes. Prevents drift: Keeps scenes focused so the plot moves forward without wasting time on empty tangents. Core Elements to Ground: Setting: Clear physical cues about the immediate surroundings. Characters: Names, roles, and physical presence on the page. Reality: Simple, true facts that anchor characters during high stress or chaos.

The word grounding comes from the late 4th-century verbal noun of ground (verb), rooted in Old English grund (the bottom foundation, or earth). Its meaning evolved from a physical base to abstract concepts like foundational instruction, electricity, and emotional stability. Comes from Proto-Germanic *grunduz (perhaps meaning a depressed or low place). According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the noun form of "grounding" first appeared in the Middle English period around 1380 in Middle English texts. The adjective form appeared much later, in the mid-1600s (before 1641), found in mid-17th-century writings. In the late-14th century it was used literally for laying a foundation or causing a ship to run aground (action of establishing). In the 1640s it shifted metaphorically to mean giving someone a firm base or education in the basics of a subject (building a "foundation" of knowledge) (instruction in fundamentals. In the 19th century it applied to the background of a design or pattern (1882), and later adopted in electrical engineering for connecting a circuit to the physical earth for safety (Design and Tech). The modern phycological and disciplinary uses are in the sense of emotional balance or behavioral restriction ("house arrest") developed as extensions of being "fixed to the ground" or stable.

This is the third part of the series of Underneath the Big Ol' Sky, with the first part being Endings and Beginnings in the summer anthology, the second part being Deluge on Kingsman Bluff in the fall anthology, followed by this story. I find this series to be riveting and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read any of it yet. I have a feeling there may be even more to come.

This story is a continuation of Endings and Beginnings in the Summer Anthology, but you can read this without reading the other one first, although I don't know why you'd want to do that. In this short story, Tracey is slowly getting adjusted to life on the ranch, along with a few unexpected surprises along the way. Read this enchanting and action packed tale to find out what those surprises were.

I'm glad to see that Tracey and Casey have made up, hopefully more. I'm also kind of surprised that Tracey's dad let him take anything from the house, including his clothes. Can't wait to see what comes next.

This story starts in a courtroom where Tracey learns his sentence for carelessly wrecking a fence and the barn at a ranch after a night of heavy drinking. That all started because he still hadn't been able to cope with his mother's death. Unfortunately, he learns his sentence is to work on the ranch until he repairs all the damage he'd done, as well as to pay for his keep while he's there. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, and the owner of the ranch, Paulette, wasn't exactly eager to take this on, however, she reluctantly relents. However, when they get to the ranch not everyone agrees. Do yourself a favor and read this compelling and intriguing short story and see how it plays out. This tale is filled with a lot of drama and tension.

Great start to this story. I like how you took Tracey's anger and the damage he'd done on the ranch and turned it into shame about how he had acted. I also like how you changed Paulette's reluctance at accepting the sentence into making her the 'peacemaker' among her family. Will seems like a nice guy, but I hope Casey learns to control his anger, or he'll be no better than Tracey was when he did all of the damage to the ranch. Catherine seems more realistic and forgiving than her brother, and I hope this all works out. I can't wait to get to the next episode.

Serenity in storytelling provides a vital anchor, offering quiet moments of calm and emotional clarity that balance high-stakes conflict. Without moments of peace, constant chaos exhausts the audience and dulls the impact of major plot events. Why Serenity Matters: Pacing control: Slows down the narrative so readers can breathe and process heavy events. Character depth: Reveals a character's inner truth, core values, and hidden vulnerabilities. Contrast amplifier: Makes high-intensity action and emotional conflict feel much sharper and more real. Reader connection: Offers an emotional escape, building a soothing, meditative space within the framework of the plot. How Writers Use Quiet Moments: Sensory relief: Focuses on soft sounds, natural landscapes, or stillness to reset the mood. Post-climax reflection: Lets characters heal or accept what they cannot change before the next challenge begins. Internal mindfulness: Shifts from external plot noise to quiet interior thoughts and emotional balance.

The word serenity comes from the Latin word serenitas, meaning "clearness" or "calmness", which derives from serenus, meaning "clear, fair, or calm". In ancient Latin, it also carried a figurative meaning of cheerful, glad, or tranquil. The term passed into Old French as sérénité before entering Middle English in the 15th century as serenite or serenyte. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the noun serenity was first used in English in the early 1500s. The earliest recorded evidence of the word dates from before 1525, found in the writings of the Scottish ecclesiastic and poet Richard Holland. In the mid-1400 to early-1500s it was used primarily to mean bright, clear weather or skies, and early royal titles of honor (like "His Serenity"), mirroring how Roman emperors and high dignitaries were addressed. By the 1590s its meaning had shifted into figurative use meaning mental calmness, quiet temper, and freedom from disturbance.

You mean you didn't break the streak. Soooo sad. 😞 The Secret Author contest and all the related games were fun. I'm looking forward to the upcoming anthology. I think I have a story for each theme. Yay!