Trebs

Didya miss me? Well - I missed all of you, so I begged Renee to let me do the Wrap Up for this week and she said yes And it was a great week here at the GA News Blog. For Wacky Wednesday, we had an Interview with Stellar, done by Myiege. This is especially timely as Stellar was recently promoted to Promising Author here at GA. As a bonus, Stellar did an author chat this week that was announced in this interview article. If you missed the chat, you can see a lot of questions and answers from Stellar in the comments to the Wednesday blog article. I love that he cites Tolkien as one of his favorite authors (being a fellow Tolkien geek myself). With these articles as a start, what better way to end the week than with two new Writing Prompts from comicfan! And in keeping with the season, both prompts are holiday related. Try your hand at one (or both) and be sure to share with the community by posting them in the Writing Prompts forum! So - how was YOUR week? Anthology Announcements: 2014 Spring Anthology: Nature's Wrath - Due Mar 8th *Note: Deadline is for submission into GA Stories. Deadline for Submission to the Anthology Editing Team is March 5th* 2014 Summer Anthology: The Backup Plan - Due June 8th *Note: Deadline is for submission into GA Stories. Deadline for Submission to the Anthology Editing Team is June 5th* NEW READING In Premium this week: Boy Called Slave by Nephylim Do Over by dkstories, Book 1 of Do Over Series (reposting) By our Hosted Authors this week: Belovéd by Don H Prometheus Wakens by David McLeod Geeks by CassieQ The Secret Life Of Billy Chase 8 by Comicality Book 8 of The Secret Life Of Billy Chase GFD Bloodbank: Nightfall by Comicality Book 3 of Gone From Daylight Spin-offs 9.11 by Mark Arbour Book 13 of Chronicles Of An Academic Predator (CAP) Dribbles by Cia Odyssey by Mark Arbour Book 6 of Bridgemont By our Sponsored Authors this week: Noah's New Plan by Rob Colton By our Promising Authors this week: Direct Confusion by Sasha Distan The Shunning by JMH So Little Magic Left by Mann Ramblings Veil of Shadow by Stellar, Book 2 of unnamed And on a final note, a reminder from Renee: I'm starting to run low on reviews. If you are interested in reviewing, please send me a PM! As always... Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

So - had a 30% off coupon for Barnes and Nobel and got the books today... the trailer looks great and have heard from my niece that the books are good so going to give them a try

Great job! In the US, the term "Illegal immigrant" is thrown around a lot. I grew up knowing my father, though born in New York City, had parents that immigrated from Ireland (grandfather from Sligo and Grandmother from Dundalk - opposite sides of Ireland and met and married in NYC). My mom is Japanese - my dad met her when he was in the military working on reparations. My mom's dad was an architect and worked with the military in rebuilding bridges and the like and introduced my parents. Though my mom wasn't in the US when we had internment camps, that history was something that was very powerful to me as were the asian exclusion acts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The chinese and japanese were here - and just like so many other immigrants in California, drawn with a hope for a better life. "Illegal" just means that those who have power created laws that discriminated to keep their own kind in power. The laws usually were not in place to deport the chinese or japanese - why bother when they provided tons of needed and cheap labor. But if any asian thought to protest their lot - then the laws were there to say "Hey - you don't belong". The same laws are still used to deport latino's who step out of line. it is easy to say immigrants are ruining the country, or don't belong or some other claptrap. It is ironic that in come cases, the families of those minorities may have been here before the families of those complaining.... Sorry for soapboxing in your blog - but I am so proud of you and ... well - I just started typing and this all flowed out.

Well - since the play is going to focus on Harry's life pre-Hogwarts, not sure Radcliff would be the right actor to play a 10 year old anymore :-) I am looking forward to this, although who knows how long it will be before I'd be able to see it. Figure starts in West End, year later maybe on Broadway and then another two before any type of tour. Unlike musicals, tours of plays don't tend to lend themselves to touring companies, but this may be the exception. Of course, could finally be the push I need to get off my duff and travel to London.

Only if they all jump at the same time ;-)

If nothing else, the use of a defense that the parents treatment of the son contributed to his actions (or lack of culpability) may help the victims in a civil suit against the parents...

I picked up a Wii U a couple of weeks back, due to Nintendo's Zelda and Pokemon lines. I also have a PS3 - but mainly use it as a Blu-Ray player (only games I have for it are Disney Infinity and Civilization Revolution). No interest in getting a PS4 or XBox One

Hmm - maybe C James is just waiting for Circumnavigation to get to the top before coming back and teasing us with what he's looking to do next?

Great idea to feature the stories that have flowed from prompts - i LOVE Layla's Broken Prince and Mismatched Eyes as well as Renee's Line of Sight. Looks like I have three more for my reading list tho :-)

So your interesting day will be next month, on December 11, at slightly after 10 in the morning: 13 12 11 10:09:08 am

I agree with Dark on the 405 but thankfully I live in NorCal. Up here are two of note for me: Highway 17 between San Jose and Santa Cruz (which in the mid-80's was renamed to be an extension of the 880). So windy and turning through those mountains - you see tons of skid marks going UP the middle embankment. A local ice cream shop in Santa Cruz used to sell a chocolate, marshmellow and almond ice cream named Highway 17 (ie, Rocky Road for those that don't like ice cream). The other road - um, I only have a problem with it in one direction. I-50 between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe, especially the Placerville to Stateline section. But going there, it's great, beautiful and though a little stressful, not too bad. But then take that same road on the way back, the stress is still there BUT you are also LEAVING one of the most beautiful places and (for me) likely sleep deprived due to too many hours of losing at gambling. PS Ashi - thanks for your entry. I grew up in Fairfield and hit the Maze often, but for some reason, always just thought of the tollbridge to the bridge part as the "Maze" - with 30 lanes dropping quickly to 5. Didn't realize the whole area had the name...

We sent out a call for reviews and you responded! Thank you. Louis (LJH) gave us this wonderful review of Author stephanie l danielson's For the Heart of Phillip - enjoy! And if you want to write a review for the blog, just let Renee Stevens or myself know. For The Heart of Phillip by stephanie l danielson Reviewer: LJH Status: Completed Free PDF Ebook Size: 1.34 MB “Deepening”. Some stories have it, many don’t. It’s not easy to define. It’s certainly easy to identify a story that doesn’t have it. For the Heart of Phillip has it, in buckets. (The following is taken from Stephanie Danielson's blurb describing her novel. I have made some changes to the blurb) Phillip Marnier is a shy, loving boy and he meets Andrew, a similarly shy boy at school. The two regard themselves as best friends. As they grow older, the feelings deepen and surface. Andrew has fallen for Phillip, but keeps it a secret. However, all is not well. Phillip has found another friend, Robert. Devastated by this turn of events, Andrew dismisses the friendship and stays away. Phillip and Robert remain together until college, even talk about marriage! Then Andrew shows up. He has forgiven Phillip and wants him back in his life. Of course Phillip wants Andrew. It's been Andrew all the time. But fate intervenes one stormy night and shakes up everything. Suddenly Robert is out of Phillip's life, and Andrew is in! But infidelity, once personified, is an ignominious leveller. Andrew is a top photographic model. His job takes him away from Phillip more often than not and one night he meets someone else. Phillip is mortified and they decide to break their commitment to each other. He makes one last attempt for Robert, but cannot get Andrew out of his mind. Is it too late? Can the love between Phillip and Andrew be resurrected? The story engaged me on a level that is more than surface experience. Look at novels like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, thrillers like Lost Light by Michael Connelly and The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler, The Hunger Games and yes, even the Harry Potter series, there is much more going on in these books than their counterparts. In deep storytelling, as in For the Heart of Phillip, there is a resonance. The pleasing last note that lingers. Keeps readers coming back for more. None of it is easy, if it were, first drafts would be all we needed to write and typing would be the most important aspect of the craft. The story digs far deeper. Flourishes below the surface. Questions. I imagined the author asking the plot questions. She has made a complicated situation virtually free of complication. I imagined she hounded the characters and forced them to give answers. Hundreds of them, and allowed her imagination provide the answers. I imagined her looking for the next answer. So many times writers settle for the first thing that comes to mind, or the familiar. It’s the unfamiliar we are looking for. The deepening. Two people tied up in each other’s lives looking for one thing only. The LOVE and affection of one man, Phillip Marnier. The emotional rollercoaster in this story is overwhelming. I was gripped by what was going on inside the heads of Andy and Rob and Phillip. The insecurities within each of them. Ms Danielson's ability to transfer emotional intensity to almost every scene in the story, is perfect. The action from scene to scene, chapter to chapter, is not the same, but the feeling is replicated with justifications in each character. Three people who love and then LOSE love. LOSS. The intensity of each of them losing the person they love, moved me beyond words. Stephanie Danielson writes about FEAR. In all the characters there is this deepening: “THAT”S NOT JUST WHO I AM…THAT”S WHO THE HELL I AM” This is a line from the Broadway musical, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, maybe you remember it. Phillip knows who he is and what he’s about. Same with Andy. Same with Rob. They know what they want and have a hard time getting it, but in the end they get it. Maybe with the exception of Rob and David. The author writes about the consequences of one’s actions. Like a death in the family; it affects the whole family. Sometimes the effects are short lived, other times the effects are permanent. Another deepening that flustered me (a good fluster) is the conflict. Conflict fear. Conflict love. Conflict joy. Conflict sadness. Conflict passion. Three people who love and lose love, and all FEAR becoming a GHOST to each other. Neither Phillip nor Andy will allow this haunting. They simply need each other. Nothing will kill that. They are unable to live without each other. They have become one unit. Like Siamese twins, an attempt to separate them might end in tragedy. Although we are all products of an infinitely complex web of experiences, in fiction one can simplify for a purpose. And the purpose is a deeper connection to the main characters. I identified and was moved to tears of joy when Phillip and Andy came together for the first time, tears of sadness when they broke up, and in the end,tears of joy when they came together once again. I was paralysed by the fear of these two characters not getting it together. This story would be complete without sex thrown in. However, I did enjoy the eroticism that both Phillip and Andy resurrected in their lovemaking. I was filled with joy when they laughed together. I was filled with angst whenever Rob was in a scene. In fact, I hated Rob for his “better than thou attitude” which the author did not overdo. Andy’s attitude is in retaliation of Rob’s attitude. The conflict screamed. This is a story that I will celebrate by reading repeatedly in the years to come. The reason is simple. It is passionately, and compassionately written. And there is deepening.

How many days is your trip going to be? I love DC and you can take Amtrak (train) down there - the Smithsonians, especially the National Archives, are fantastic BUT if you only have a few days (say, a week or less), you may just want to concentrate on NYC itself. There is SO much to do there, between the usual tourist stops like the Statue of Liberty, UN Building complex, TImes Square, Broadway plays, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center - but also major gay spots like the site of the Stonewall Inn and Greenwich Village.

First off - cold's suck! Thanks to those who asked how I'm doing - much better now, just a slight cough lingering. And BIG thanks to Renee Stevens for covering this week in her usual fantastic way. Renee started this week off with a review on Reviewing, as we need YOUR help for continue great content on this blog, both in terms of wonderful articles but also in the reviews that are submitted. Think you're interested in writing a review but not sure how - check out Monday's blog article for all the tips on reviewing for the blog. Since we missed out on a Monday Featured Story - we flipped the week around and brought you a Featured Story review of Porcupines by Author Cole Matthews. Joann414 reviewed Cole's story and now it is on many of our to-read lists! Check it out. We ended the week in glorious fashion with two more of comicfan's Writing Prompts and oh my, these are so intriguing this week. I can't wait to read some of the responses to Prompt 270 - using a first line of "Because, I'm leaving you" but Prompt 271 with the scenario of a mystery murder sounds like a ton of fun as well. What? You think you can write something? Well - GO for it! Just be sure to share it with the community in the Writing Prompts forum. So - how was your week? Anthology Announcements: Winter Anthology: Recipe for Disaster - Due Dec 8th 2014 Spring Anthology: Nature's Wrath - Due Mar 8th NEW READING In Premium this week: The Cassini Mission by Rob Colton, Book 2 of Galactic Conspiracies Do Over by dkstories, Book 1 of Do Over Series (reposting) By our Hosted Authors this week: Durch Ferne Welten und Zeiten by David McLeod Odyssey by Mark Arbour, Book 6 of Bridgemont The Secret Live of Billy Chase 8 by Comicality, Book 8 of The Secret Life of Billy Chase Take Flight by Cia 9.11 by Mark Arbour, Book 13 of Chronicles of An Academic Predator (CAP) Arthur in Eblis by David McLeod Thwarted by Renee Stevens In The Arms of an Angel by Nephylim, Book 1 of Wednesday Briefs Life Changes by comicfan By our Promising Authors this week: The Shunning by JMH Broken Prince and Mismatched Eyes by layla So Little Magic Left by Mann Ramblings Pour Me Another by K.C. PS - looks like Mann's challenge last week worked! :-) Have a great week everyone! Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

Huh?!? Wut? Wacky Wednesday AND Featured Story? YES! Because we used this Monday's blog for a review of reviews (um - ya, I think I said that right) - we didn't want to miss featuring a story this week. Joann414 was gracious enough to lend her reviewing talents to give us a look at Porcupines by Author Cole Matthews. As we mentioned Monday, we always need more reviews as well as good informative articles, such as writing tips or author interviews. If you have an idea you want to work on, contact Trebs or Renee Stevens - we always appreciate the help. And now - joann's fantastic review: Porcupines by Cole Matthews Reviewed by: joann414 Status: In Process Word Count: 78,351 The title alone caught my interest, and being the curious,reader that I am, I had to check it out, and see what in the world porcupines were doing in a story. lol Well, this authors two lead characters were indeed, skillfully portrayed as two very prickly porcupines at the beginning of a wonderfully entertaining tale!. Dylan, is a twenty-four year old, good looking waiter at a restaurant called Sweet Noras,in the town mall. It is owned by Lynora, who considers her young employees her children, more than just workers. She wants Dylan to find a sweet guy and settle down. After leaving the restaurant one night, Dylan is mugged on the way to his car. When he comes to his senses, he sees the mall cop leaning over him, to see if he is ok. Dylan rudely tells the guy he is fine, and to just leave him alone. Realizing that he can't stand alone, he lets the mall cop help him to his feet. Needless to say, after being mugged, Dylan has to rely on the mall cop to drive him home. (Did I tell you that Dylan had been rude to the mall cop, just being an ass on more than one occasion? Yeah, he had, and now, the cop is his rescuer.) Chuck,the mall cop, thinks Dylan is a beautiful man, but well out of his league. He takes the young man home, and stays the night with him, making sure he doesn't have a concussion. Chuck loses his job, because he doesn't go back to work for over three hours,because he doesn't want to leave Dylan. I'm not going to spoil things by telling what transpired that night and the next morning. It's a key part of the story. There's a lot going on with these two, Chuck is manic depressive at times, and Dylan is still dealing with the loss of a loved one. Mix all of that together, and you've got an odd, opposites attract couple. Chuck grew up in a trailer park, and Dylan comes from money. But, there's a definite attraction between the gorgeous Dylan, and the pale, sad eyed Chuck, and Cole Matthews turns it into a beautiful love story. One of the pleasant surprises in this story is Chuck's culinary expertise, and it's greatly appreciated by Dylan, who encourages the shy mall cop to utilize his cooking talent. The authors mixes in Chuck's sister Kellie and her son, that Chuck presently lives with, and also Dylan's brother Kelly, and his little girl Susie. Yeah, both of their names are Kelly(Kelli), and they both try to look after their siblings the best that they can. Oh, and did I mention the prissy little antagonist Isaac, who loves to needle Dylan every chance he gets. Isaac's aunt is Lynora, the owner of Sweet Noras, but Lynora pulls no punches when it comes to dealing with her mouthy young nephew. The authors throws in a couple of other characters, and gives each of them their own little part to play in this crazy tale of these two guys lives, and how they become woven together. As he introduces each character, the reader just as well add another dot to a piece of paper, because the author begins to connect the dots, as the story progresses in a surprising way. If you haven't read Dylan and Chuck's tale of finding real love, you're missing out on a "feel good" story. Go check it out, and let the author know you like it, and leave a review. I'm going to go a little ahead here, and give the author a plug on his upcoming story for the holidays, Advent. I've already given it a read for him, and it's not to be missed. I love it!

ANNOUNCEMENT: DAH-DAH-DUMMMMM!!! The 2014 GA Quarterly Anthology themes have been set. Thank you to all of the members who helped participate in choosing next year's themes, through theme suggestions and voting. Special thanks to Renee Stevens and the rest of the Anthology team for working so diligently on compiling these suggestions and compiling them down to the final choices. Looking at the five final themes - next year's anthologies should be very interesting to read! October's Can't Stop Reading Book Club entry was announced this week - Wrangler Butts by reddirtwriter! I can't wait for the discussion day on Oct 28th as this is one story I've read and very much enjoyed - and based on the comments we've already received, I'm not the only one. If you haven't read this great story yet - jump in now and join us on Oct 28th to talk about it. Our Writers' Support Team is always busy, helping out authors, editors and beta readers on our site. As a new project, Louis (LJH) and Joann (Joann414) are kicking off a Special Project - creating the first GA Self-Editing Handbook. Check out this post as it lays out their concept for the handbook, and they've already gotten some fabulous input and offers of help. This will be a treasured resource once completed - join in and help them out! We get a lot of join in when comicfan unveils his weekly Writing Prompts, and this week is no exception. Do you want to write about "The Change", or perhaps try incorporating a list of words (including pumpkin and giraffe) in a prompt response? Well - this week is your chance. Head over and check out this week's prompts, and be sure to share your writing creations with the community! So - how was your week? Anthology Announcements: Winter Anthology: Recipe for Disaster - Due Dec 8th 2014 Spring Anthology: Nature's Wrath - Due Mar 8th NEW READING In Premium this week: The Cassini Mission by Rob Colton, Book 2 of Galactic Conspiracies Do Over by dkstories, Book 1 of Do Over Series (reposting) By our Hosted Authors this week: Arthur in Eblis by David McLeod Take Flight by Cia Revenge by Bill W 9.11 by Mark Arbour, Book 13 of Chronicles of An Academic Predator (CAP) Durch Ferne Welten und Zeiten by David McLeod Thwarted by Renee Stevens Odyssey by Mark Arbour, Book 6 of Bridgemont By our Promising Authors this week: So Little Magic Left by Mann Ramblings Have a great week everyone! Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

OCTOBER!!! Not only is it officially pumpkin-spice everything month, we also get the most recent edition of the GayAuthors.org feature Ask An Author. Thank you as always to creator and implementor, Dark, for his work on this feature - one of our most popular. Enjoy! Ask an Author #9 Welcome back to another quirky question and answer session with your favorite authors! In AtA #8, we had questions for authors JWolf, K.C., and Mann Ramblings. In AtA #9, we hear from authors dkstories, FleetingRainbows, and Layla. For their protection, the members who asked these questions shall remain nameless (unless they choose to reveal themselves). Please note that all author replies are copied as is, spelling errors and grammar eccentricities original to the individual. dkstories is the writing name for GA Hosted Author dkstories. A new generation of GA members have been able to discover the joys of a dkstories story this year as Dan returned to us after a lengthy absence. He admits that the homefront is a little easier now since his return, but that’s not to say his life has slowed down any! Dan likes politics and sci-fi, two things you find plenty of in his stories, but his realistic portrayal of his characters gets you hooked no matter what the genre. Which one is your favorite? To dkstories: Do you find yourself being influenced by readers' comments? If you are, are you willing to change important things like certain character features, the plot etc. or do you refuse to do this in principle? Reviews might have an impact on future stories, but not on the story being written. Most stories posted by me are fully written by the time the first chapter posts. When I see something reviewers like a lot, or things that a lot of people are critical about, I try to incorporate that feedback into future stories. I believe it makes those stories far better as a result. Seeing so many reviews on a story helps motivate me to spend more time on a new story. Today’s next author is FleetingRainbows. This lovely lady loves computers! But she also makes beautiful rugs. Check out her gallery to see for yourself. In January of this year, FleetingRainbow passed the two-year mark here on GA. In that time she’s posted 7 stories and one collection of poetry. The world would be a better place if we all had someone who thinks we’re special, just like the beautiful poem In his Eyes. To FleetingRainbows: How did you first start writing male/male stories? I started writing Male/Male romance more then ten years ago. It was 2001 as I recall, and my friends and I were roleplaying. I was a big fan of VC Andrews (everything up to Landry for those who know the author) and we hd a roleplaying group complete with characters and made up ones too. One day while on vacation I decided there needed to be a gay character. I was a part of my GSA at school and I thought there just needed to be more literature out there, so I created my first gay character, a closeted college graduate who was trying his hardest to make his father happy. I've been creating stories and characters ever since The last author today is newcomer Layla. She’s a Midwestern girl who you don’t want to mess with in a dark alley (she has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do!). Besides taking care of her family, writing, and winning acclaim for her photography and jelly, Layla is also going to school for animation. If you don’t think that’s quite enough yet, Layla made a list for her New Year’s Resolutions, like camping and hiking and hunting and gardening and music and …. And don’t forget to check out Guitars and Crossdressers, a story about figuring out what’s important in life -- and let’s not forget the endearingly flawed characters. To Layla: Which of your stories/books are you most proud of? The story I'm most proud of right now is Guitars and Crossdressers. At chapter 10 I'd put this story away, unsure if i would complete it. I second guessed myself so many times through the writing of it, afraid the direction might make readers quit reading, and yet, in the end, I guess i found a way to get over that fear. Where Desolation Angel had it's moments of drama, I didn't feel the emotional connection with it on the same level I've felt in Guitars and Crossdressers. The biggest thrill has been in reading the feedback from the readers and seeing that they've connected with it to. That’s it for now! For more info on these authors, go check out their stories, post in their forums, and/or catch them in chat! Coming next time: Mark92, James Savik, and Iarwain. Want to ask your favorite author a question? Simply PM me (Dark). Until next time! Dark

ANNOUNCEMENT: Sorry for being late to the party, but want to make sure to recognize and congratulate GayAuthors.org's newest Promising Author - Stellar! REMINDER - This Monday, Sept 30th will be the discussion day for our Can't Stop Reading (CSR) Book Club and this month's book, Accident's Happen by Hosted Author comicfan! Finish reading and prepare your thoughts and join us Monday to give your thoughts... Our week started strong, K.C. not only reviewed Ice Fairy by Author stephanie l. danielson, he also interviewed the author and it's a fantastic read. For our midweek, Renee Stevens announce the opening of the voting for the 2014 Anthology Themes. The final twenty-five choices were culled from YOUR suggestions and now we're again looking to you to help us choose those final themes for next year - polls close October 9th. Renee also gives some additional details for our 2013 Winter Anthology - Recipe for Disaster. Remember, submission deadline for this anthology is December 8th. And what would our GayAuthors.org News Blog week be like if we didn't have our Writing Prompts? Comicfan tempts would-be writers with a prompt based on Fall, as well as the ever amusing list of words. Try them out and share with the community - let's see what you can do! So - how was your week? Anthology Announcements: 2014 Anthology Theme Voting - Polls close October 9th Winter Anthology: Recipe for Disaster - Due Dec 8th NEW READING In Premium this week: The Cassini Mission by Rob Colton, Book 2 of Galactic Conspiracies Do Over by dkstories, Book 1 of Do Over Series (reposting) By our Hosted Authors this week: Odyssey by Mark Arbour, Book 6 of Bridgemont 9.11 by Mark Arbour, Book 13 of Chronicles of An Academic Predator (CAP) The Secret Life of Billy Chase 7 by Comicality, Book 7 of The Secret Life of Billy Chase 0300 Book 1 by David McLeod 0300 Book 2 by David McLeod, Book 2 of 0300 (formerly published as Finding Danny - updated and revised) Take Flight by Cia Arthur in Eblis by David McLeod By our Promising Authors this week: Pour Me Another by K.C. Have a great week everyone! Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

Happy Monday! Um - why do you have pitch and feathers out? Hmmm... Maybe if I told you that today we've got not only a great review, but an even better interview? K.C. has done of review of Author stephanie l. danielson's Ice Fairy AND interviewed her as well. I hope you enjoy this treat - I did! Ice Fairy by stephanie l. danielson Reviewed and Interviewed by K.C. Word Count: 57,393 Status: Completed Since I’ve been pressed for time, I’ve found myself waiting (impatiently at times) for stories that intrigue me to finish posting before starting them. I was immediately interested in Ice Fairy when Stephanie started posting and hearing the buzz around GA about this story. I couldn’t wait to start reading and when I did I was very impressed with Stephanie’s creation. Sam and Brett are from two different universes, the only thing they have in common is ICE. Sam is a champion ice skater and Bret is a fiercely competitive hockey player. The ice in this small town isn’t big enough for both. One afternoon a major collision on the ice, sends both of their worlds spiraling. Sam and Brett are the spotlight of this story but there’s a bigger issue at hand, bullying! I sat down and talked to Stephanie about her story and got to dig around in her brain to find out where the ideas for her story Ice Fairy came from and a little more about this amazing new Author on GA. Here is what she had to say: Stephanie, how long have you been writing and what brought you to GA? Hello, KC! Thank you for the interview! Let's get started. How long have I been writing? Since I could hold a pen, to be honest. It's been a lifelong love and hobby for me and I'm thrilled to finally be able to get somewhere with it and be able to bring my stories out for people's enjoyment. I started writing them to sell in 2006. What brought me to GA? Actually, it was a couple of people. Nephylim and Sid. I work closely with both of them and they talked about it so much I just had to see what all the fuss was about. I'm thrilled I joined! I've never gotten so much positive feedback and kind remarks on my stories in my life and absolutely love it here. Your story ‘Ice Fairy’ deals with a lot of bullying, have you ever been bullied in your life? I usually thought of bullying as being someone who beat you up or threatened you. In that sense; no, I'd not been bullied. But as the definition evolved into teasing, name calling, harassing; then yes, I'd definitely been heavily bullied most of my school years. It's what drove me to be a complete introvert and very anti-social for many years. To this day I am still shy at times; but have learned at least to express my opinions openly and not be afraid of being teased anymore for what I write or what I look like. Sam is a talented ice-skater, where did you come up with his character? I'd always wanted to do a story about a figure skater. I've watched the sport for years and can remember quite a few Asian skaters that caught my eye (as well as most of them have). I love the sport and to write about it and have a lovable character embody my passion for the sport is a dream come true. Do you ice-skate? Yes, and I'm finally getting back into it after a nasty fall 18 months ago nearly ended it completely. But I can't let it stop me. I'm not getting any younger and my goal overall is to reach level 5 so I can become a coach (like Sam wants to do) What would you tell a teen or young adult who finds themselves being bullied? I would say that the best defense is to be comfortable in your own skin. Love yourself first and no one can stop you or put you down. If you're having trouble, talk to your parents, siblings, friends, but only those that are supportive and understand you or help you to make things better. Don't be with those who are into activities you disagree with just because they see themselves as 'cool'. Trust me, they are dragging you down with them. Don't let it happen. Love yourself, respect yourself and stand up for it. I see that you have started posting part 2 to Ice Fairy, where do you see this story going? Is there a message you want readers to come away with? Yes! I had such an overwhelming response that I had to start book #2 right away. So far I'm not sure where it's going; Message to the readers? Stay tuned. I'm writing this without an outline and am using feedback to form the tale as I go. Can you give us any clues to Sam and Brett’s future? Right now everything's coming up roses; but there are thorns in the bush. I won't say that all will be smooth sailing; my tales never are happy all the time But I do see a happy ending and sharing an apartment for sure. Beyond that will be years away for them and 2-3 more books just to get there. Ideally it will end in the future with a wedding and HEA*. But you never know... Thanks Stephanie! It was great getting to know her and getting an inside view on this story. Ice Fairy 2 is in progress with 13 chapters already posted. Go read, review, and enjoy. Winter will soon be coming and this is a heartwarming tale to keep you warm on a chilly night. * Happily Ever After

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We had a pretty active week here at the GayAuthors.org News blog. The week started with a review by Lisa of JBlakeview1's story Boystown. Our Wacky Wednesday writing tip of "Flashbacks: Friend or Foe?" sparked quite a bit of great discussion. Finally, our great writing prompts were back (after a week absence due to the release of the fall anthology) - and once again, comicfan lives up to his reputation as the best prompt-guru around. Check out his two new creative prompts and have a go at one (or both)! So - how was your week? Anthology Announcements: Winter Anthology: Recipe for Disaster - Due Dec 8th NEW READING In Premium this week: Do Over by dkstories, Book 1 of Do Over Series (reposting) By our Hosted Authors this week: The Secret Life of Billy Chase 7 by Comicality, Book 7 of The Secret Life of Billy Chase Odyssey by Mark Arbour, Book 6 of Bridgemont Thwarted by Renee Stevens Arthur in Eblis by David McLeod 9.11 by Mark Arbour, Book 13 of Chronicles of An Academic Predator (CAP) Take Flight by Cia In The Arms of an Angel by Nephylim, Book 1 of Wednesday Briefs GFD 12: Blood Ties by Comicality, Book 12 of Gone From Daylight By our Promising Authors this week: GA Writing Prompts by Dolores Esteban Pour Me Another by K.C. Broken Prince and Mismatched Eyes by layla Have a great week everyone! Read, Write, REVIEW!!!

Personally, I think it varies. I've read stories where a flashback just totally disrupts the story and confuses me as the reader. On the other hand, one of the best movies I've seen is Sunset Blvd., which starts with a dead body in the pool and proceeds to tell the story of how it got to this point. When you get to the end of the movie - sometimes you forget how it started and are startled (I know I was the first time) - but it just makes you want to see it again and again. I don't view writing rules as hard, must be followed. But I do think they help explain the viewpoint of some writers and readers - and understanding your audience is always an important part of writing (IMHO).

As we've mentioned before, FictionStoriesOnline.com is a "sister" site of GayAuthors.org with some great writing advice and tips. With permission, here is one that ran last year, but the advice is great and we hope you enjoy it! Flashbacks: Friends or Foe? I had a discussion in a chat room recently over flashbacks. Specifically, how does an author relate history in a story of another character that isn't the main POV? This was especially important, as he wasn't known to the main character at the point where his actions impacted the plot, and the story was written in third person limited. So there wasn't a logical way to simply introduce him to the reader by showing a scene in the present timeline. One of the ways discussed to provide that information on the character's personality and his history with the main character was a flashback. While I don't prefer them myself, we all agreed there are a few simple guidelines that are vital to ensuring a flashback is used correctly to help the author tell their story. 1) The flashback needs to clearly relate to the specific point in the plot where it begins. If it is a memory triggered by a specific drink the character has, the memory should start with a situation where the drink was involved - such as a date in a coffee shop. It wouldn't, however, be clear to the reader if you had the flashback start while the character is making the date days before then. 2) The scene shared in the flashback must have a purpose. Why does the reader need this information? If it is just to share the history of the characters, and it doesn't move the story forward, then don't add it. 3) The most important rule we agreed on was very simple. The story must return to the exact point the flashback started. To do anything else removes the legitimacy of the 'flashback' and makes it become a scene out of timeline sequence instead. For example: A woman waiting for her husband picks up her cup of coffee and takes a sip, then she has the memory of their blind date in the same coffee shop. She puts down the cup, then her new husband walks in. She smiles at him when he sits down and repeats the corny line he used on her when he first sat down in the memory. They laugh. The coffee drink/shop in the present scene relates to the memory of the first date directly. The memory is vital to explaining the line, why she'd use it with her husband, and why it is funny. Without it, the reader wouldn't understand the scene that the author returns to as the woman puts the cup back down and her husband walks in. Using those simple guidelines, a flashback can enhance your story. Just remember not to overdo the flashbacks scenes or the timeline can become muddled. It can be a very useful tool, however, when used sparingly. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with these guidelines? Are there any other tips about using flashbacks that you've found in your writing or in stories that you've read? Let us know in the comments - Trebs

Got to see her last Saturday, and she talked about her friend a little as she intro'd the song. Was a fantastic feeling and really happy energy as she sang the song! She is a great artist to see live.

I want to thank Lisa for offering to do today's review - she had written us since she loved this story and wanted to bring it to more people's attention. I hope you enjoy it and check out JBlankeview1's story, Boystown! BOYSTOWN by JBlakeview1 Reviewed by Lisa Word Count: 30,904 Status: In Process Have you ever read an online story where every chapter ends with a cliffhanger and you just cannot wait until the next chapter comes out? Sort of a silly question since you’re reading this on GA. Now I know why a lot of readers like to wait until a story is completed before they begin reading it. But I’m already hooked on this story, so it’s too late for me. “BOYSTOWN”, by JBlakeview1 is a prime example of what I’m talking about. I was just perusing the “Latest Story Update” section when I came across a story that was just added. I don’t know about you, but I’m very impulsive when I see a new story has been added. No matter what I was doing previously, I stop it and click on the new story. This particular story I clicked on was entitled “BOYSTOWN”, by JBlakeview1. I clicked on the story and read the summary. It sounded good. I never heard of the author before and I was excited to read something new. Boy, was I glad I did. “BOYSTOWN” is a fast-paced story centering around a group of friends and relatives who live in the Chicago area. There are many plots going on simultaneously and it’s sort of like “Six Degrees of Separation” because the lives of each character are so interwoven with the other characters that when something happens to one character, other characters are affected. The reader will certainly feel anticipation (and anxiety!) as to what will happen next and who will be affected. It’s definitely not your typical boy-meets-boy, boy-loses-boy or boy-gains-boy story. Plus there is a male/female married couple in there also, just to add to the mix. Except the male in that relationship isn’t so into his male/female marriage, unbeknownst to his ‘female’. I have been reading the story since the first chapter was posted on June 24th. The chapter left me with some anxiety regarding one of the characters and this anxiety has carried me through all the chapters so far, with my trepidation focusing on a different character throughout each chapter. “BOYSTOWN” is a very detail-oriented story. While reading the various chapters, I feel like I’m the one in Chicago (and in the little bit of Notre Dame that we have seen in the story), seeing everything from the perspective of the character. The dialogue flows and it is very believable. I can also relate almost every single character in the story through some of my own personal experiences in life. The story will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will make you feel anger towards some characters. But that’s what’s best about the story: it will make you FEEL. There are a few chapters posted so far, but I am looking forward to devouring the remaining chapters of this wonderful, entertaining, and sometimes nail-biting story!