Tim Hobson

Great story. Loren is really at a tipping point, and Jay has finally made him man up and face the need to make a commitment. I'm sure Jay doesn't want to break up, but he has reached the end of his rope when it comes to coddling Loe. I hope it works out - to paraphrase "I really fucking hope [he gets] things right this time."

So true. I die for a beta reader, but I'm over-sensitive on GA, since - as soon as my first prologue came out - a long-experienced member of GA DMed unfairly and with profanity accused me of not doing proper research. I wrote back, proving that the sentence in question was correct and that I HAD researched the item in question. His response (in a forum, not a DM) was snooty, so - once burned, twice shy, as they say. I like Grammarly, but I find it isn't as stringent as I would prefer, and I often write in non-American Standard English or even dialect. It also flags sentences in Spanish. I use AutoCrit as my beta reader and editor, and it helps a great deal, but I often ignore its suggestions. Ah, the vicissitudes of being a writer! I'm also late to the series and looking forward to reading what kbois writes.

Delightful take on the family rivalry and ribbing. I guess Loe came out the winner. All the rest took serious hits but seem to be used to that. Jay may be left wondering what just happened, but I'm sure he'll figure it out. I wonder if he's thought much about what lies after retirement. Anyway, quite a page-turner and plenty of hot scenes. Thank you!

You made me go to Mapquest. I was pretty sure "east of Milwaukee" was Lake Michigan! 😁 Thanks for the correction.

I would have liked being that limo driver! 😮

Eight days is nothing, considering the months they were apart at the beginning of the relationship.

Sorry to hear how your intellectual property has been misused and abused. I have not found that happen to me yet because I'm new to this genre. In my career as a technical writer, things that I wrote or edited or contributed to have often been quoted, sometimes without attribution, but that almost always gets caught, and the disdain of the academic and scientific community is punishment enough for plagiarism. But let's keep in mind how the trademarking process actually works. You don't just lay a claim and you own the trademark. The US Patent and Trademark Office (who are evaluating Duchess Meghan's request) are very thorough and highly regulated. They deny a large number of requests, and they follow up if a trademark is challenged. Of course, you need the services of a large law firm that specializes in patent law if you're in a battle over a trademark. This might be a good point to mention copyright. You don't need to file anything to assert a copyright. You just need to keep documentation that proves the date and situation in which the material was first publicly available. The © symbol is all you need to stake your ownership of created intellectual property. Registering a copyright might be important for JK Rowling, but small fry like us don't need to do that. The date of publication is for us irrefutable proof of ownership. I remember reading a more detailed explanation on Amazon's Author Pages somewhere.

Excellent statement of the issue!

I have started two businesses in my life. Anyone thinking of branding a new business will (1) check to see if the brand name is already trademarked, and (2) apply for the trademark before anything else (or making a public announcement of the new name). Failing to secure the trademark early on often results in it being taken "hostage" by some crook who has no intention of operating the business but just wants you to pay them to sell you the trademark. Or you have to sue them about it. Any company that waits until is "established through effort and over time" before securing their trademark is risking an unpleasant and expensive surprise.

There's a good article about trademarking here: https://www.newsweek.com/meghan-markle-archetypes-trademark-podcast-1695615 A lot of "common" words are trademarked as the names of products, programs, podcasts, etc. But this has no effect on their use in every other possible way, especially writing - unless the writer is actually referring to the brand, and even then it's only limited by libel laws.

I've always been a "pantser" not a plotter, but I learned a great deal from the book The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. I let my stories tell themselves (i.e., take me on a journey with them), but I have always found it helpful to create a timeline of events, places, etc. so that I don't start making obvious mistakes that my readers will delight in pointing out. I also make a 100-word autobiography of each major character and let them speak to me about themselves (which I often update as the character reveals more to me). When I was a member of Romance Writers of America 😪, I participated in a lot of seminars about tropes, plot twists, cliffhangers, and the like. I suppose that, even though I don't consciously think of such things when I'm writing, they're fairly ingrained in my methodology and tend to emerge on their own. Thanks for writing this. I look forward to your articles.

Interesting ideas. BTW, it's spelled plagiarism - from the Latin for kidnapper, seducer, plunderer. I, for one, would be horrified to learn that someone had stolen my idea, theme, words, or picture without my express permission. It worries me a little when I publish here, because how would I know if someone took my story and tried to sell it as their own? (The only thing that comforts me is that I had a miserable experience trying to sell it myself!)

I have been catching up on this story and haven't commented before this chapter, but I am impressed by the direction the story is taking. Thank you for leading us on this journey of self-discovery on the part of both men. I believe they'll work it out, but I'm anxious to see how.

I couldn't agree more. I have found that, on Nifty, as well as on Awesome Dude and similar sites, the writing is mostly about telling a story, and all the conventions of grammar, punctuation, and POV have been either ignored or never even considered. I realize that their audience is not as concerned with the skills of the writer, as much as with the eroticism of the narrative, but I am happy to see that, on this site, proper writing is respected and rewarded. I am still new to this medium, but I am relieved to see how dedicated everyone is to the craft of writing.

You have hit the nail on the head with your descriptions of both men. If opposites really do attract, then there will be more; if not, then this is still a delightful dos-y-dos.

A recent novice to QA, I love catching up on other authors and their stories. Looking forward to Beyond Frontier, since I'll be able to read it in real time.

How any times has "it's what he didn't say" made all the difference! One of the hardest lessons to learn is that we need to say what's on our mind - not in a hurtful or disparaging way, but just to keep it bottled up does a lot of interior damage.

Just joined GA, and this is definitely my first shifter story ever. At first, I thought it was werewolves, so now I'm ready to read on and learn. Thanks for writing this!

Quite a perspective. I'll look for a future revision, if you are still working on the story. I'm working on a novella with a slightly similar theme, a coming-of-age for two young men who find hope and comfort in each other. I hope you'll read it, if ever I am satisfied that it's finished.

A very enjoyable tale, except probably for the poor sod bent over receiving the leprechaun's massive member. Puts me in mind of a similar situation that I experienced once in Canberra. Out drinking with pals from work, I found myself in the men's room, where instead of urinals, there was just a long metal trough. A guy came in and stood a couple of feet away. I tried to ignore him, but I realized he was looking openly at me. I took a quick look and was floored by the size of his shlong. Our eyes met, and I mumbled an apology. He laughed and said, "It's OK. There's many that's seen it." I answered, "Well, I hope they all enjoyed looking as much as I am." We both laughed and zipped up. Later that night, one of my pals introduced me to his brother... and you can guess the rest!

Hello, all. I write as Tim Hobson, and I've just joined GA and also started posting a story - the first in a trilogy. I'm new to everything here, and I'm afraid I ask too many questions of the support staff, probably because I'm a visual learner and find it hard to read all the FAQs (which I am forcing myself to do now). The trilogy is called Tales Along the Way. It's a tip of the hat to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in that three travelers on a long flight from Melbourne to New York share bawdy tales to while away the time. The first story is The Knight's Tale, about the son of an Earl who is also secretly working for MI6. It's received some encouraging comments, but no reviews yet. It will be followed by The Priest's Tale and The Squire's Tale. Full disclosure: I tried posting these stories on Smashwords and Amazon Vella, but got absolutely nowhere with it. I'm not interested in the money; I just hope people will read my stories and enjoy them, so I think GA is the perfect place to share them with as wide an audience as possible. Well, that's me. Hope to hear back from some of you. All the best, Tim