centexhairysub

Terry and Dan waking up like that, except for the bloody alarm, was just too cute. Loved their interaction there and later in the day. I still go back to the dream where the Trevor and Jenny talked about getting rid of this one like the other one; then the person was chased and fell down the well. I think that means more than we know yet... Do just love this story; keeps getting better and better.

A chapter with so many emotions just bubbling under the surface. Vincent meets another goddess, Aliz. She warns him not to wait too long; but what is too long? Dirk loses contact with his spirit; but it has to still be there. What will he have to do to bring himself back in harmony with it, and can he do it? Mason is trying too hard perhaps to hold onto Vincent. He knows that the outcome of the fight is not set; but protecting Vincent too much will not prepare him for what is to come. Great read, can't wait for the next update.

OMG, so excited to see a new chapter and what a true delight it was. Will is such an amalgamation of those men and women that have had a hand in his upbringing. He has so much confidence; but it isn't showy or off-putting. He has a real sense of what is right and wrong; but is neither smug about it nor preachy. He realizes that he has anger issues but works to make sure that they never hurt anyone; but when they might, he works to make sure that the person gets an apology or understands why he acted the way he did. I swear he is as complete of a person as you can be at his age; and that is just oh so rare... Love how he was able to get Dustin; but do worry about it being in such a public arena, and really like how he dug till he found out what the deal was about Chris. Loved how he called Dustin on it; in public and in his face... What an ass. Chris and Will just are not a good match; even if the sex is good physically, Will needs more; while obviously Brad doesn't... LOL Great morning after breakfast; but of course, does not compare to a dinner at Escorial. Will handled himself so well there; as did Chris in a totally different way. Hope the apology to K Kris is as interesting as their first meeting. Love how Will and Stef so understand each other; and how JP just sits back enjoying the show. What a true delight this was, Mr. Arbour. You are simply the best...

So happy that Ronnie's dad handled it that well; and ain't nothing wrong with his mind either, he knows what is going on. I fully understand why you would not want the parents knowing if they could not protect themselves if something came up about it. Great that Taran is getting a glimpse of Ronnie's past as well; it gives him an idea of who Ronnie really is. Yikes, talk about ominous; but who will be the one to go missing? Don't think that Ronnie would handle it well if it was Taran, and Taran would not handle it well if it was his father... Great chapter, can't wait to see what happens next.

The thread is freezing up in the sky and that is why they are getting the black dust. I can see that Jevikel at least senses that this is all wrong. I hope he gets back from market soon; no one will be safe soon. Really well done.

“If you break his heart, I will literally throw you into the sun.” I don't know why; but I laughed so hard; that I damn near peed myself.... Really liked how Taran is stepping up; but then so is Ronnie, just trying to help and support him. Maya and the rest of their team are all doing what they need to do and can do; just hope they can be more prepared for whatever the shadowghast is up to...

Oh, Hell to the NO... If things could not get any worse; but then yes; they can... Can't wait for the next update...

A truly delicious chapter; full of little tidbits here and there throughout. I do really like Cynthia; she has such a delightful attitude. So happy that the date with Dan is going well; and desert was certainly a delight; have to wonder how the midnight snack will go. I, of course, do think there is a body there. Have not been able to figure out who; is it one of the cinema people or someone else? So many little hints but nothing solid yet. Love that Dan, if not truly a believer, is at least open to the idea of something out there, so to speak. In our materialistic world, when we run into someone not completely wired in; it is always a little bit of a shock. But we forget that there are alternative means of communication and finding out things. I do think Cynthia is right, a conversation with Maurice's wife might prove beneficial. What a delight, keep up the great work.

OMG, have to wonder if Dirk will ever fully recover from this. Ingle will be okay, but no one will hunt longer or harder for details about how this hunter slipped into their lives. We need some of her backstory. Is her father really dead; or is he a hunter and this was just a backstory, if so he could come looking for revenge. I could see how Vincent's ability would give him a leg up working for the EC; but he needs to be training, would this actually help that? Great chapter, can't wait to see what happens next.

Wonderful chapter; but have to hope that the the boys sense of duty doesn't get them hurt before they are able to get away. Not thread, it isn't here yet; but if they get caught, it will be bad for both of them... As my granny always said, you can't fix stupid. And some people will just never believe until it is too late...

Truly adorable chapter; glad that Dan finally made the move and was open to both the card reading and the idea of spirits/ghost. I do feel that Maurice is an important key to finding out what happened in the past. Don't know if his wife knows what his secret is; but he needs to talk to her and see what she does know, or what she might remember. Glad that he is working on getting everything in shape, you never know when he will need to be able to slack a little to get another issue resolved, and easier to do if everything is ship shape to start with, doubt Colin has done anything in forever.

NO NO NO NO NO NO... WTF... I leave town for one day and the whole world falls apart... I for one did not see that coming at all with Sarah, knew something was off, but not this. Wagner is a better person that I ever gave him credit for... Loved Cyrus and Kaplan. Have to wonder if Stefano approached Sarah or the other way around. Can't see Stefano risking himself to safe anyone.

I know her mother and others are probably truly grieving; but Kemi got such a lucky break with this, no one would have started looking for her because of this. I truly do hope that she makes it to the weyr safe and sound. This will be hard on Jevikel, although he has to hide who he truly is from everyone; he is basically a good and honest soul, I think it truly hurts him on some level to lie and deceive. They will stay and help to rebuild, and Jevikel can use his "grief" over Kemi to avoid any of the other girls; but he and Kadin will have to careful. So well written, can't wait for next week.

Thrilled to have two chapters so close together.... There were so many happy or at least sweet things in this chapter; however, I felt rather melancholy after reading it. Perhaps, I will wait a day and read it again. Deniz is a true joy, the happiness within just shines out and touches all those around her. It is obvious how much Tani and the rest; but especially her mother love her and want to make sure she is happy. Truly hate that Tani is so removed from his heritage on both sides. Did not realize that he also did not have contact with his mother. Love that her presence has created a ghost story... A visit from two of the Septum in one day, Tani is the focus of something strange, unknown yet how dangerous but you have to know it is not benign. They are so many things pulling the different realms together all of the sudden? What is afoot? Just way to good, we need yet another chapter soon.

Loved this chapter; we got glimpses of what is going on but so much remains hidden. Dante and Tani are doing this delicate little dance; the movements are so precise, but even those meanings are obscured. Interesting that Kinon was able to enter the grounds the way he did; was he the visitor spoken of at the end or is he just powerful enough to override the wards? He truly feels pity for Tani and what was done; but still supports the reason it was done, so interesting... Nora under a compulsion to keep secrets hidden; I already don't like the Grandmaster and Dante's father either one...

Was it just me or was Mr. Bob Luard a little more abrupt that he should have been? Hmmmm... Harold Briggs was a fount of information; not all of it relevant, but much of it was. I have to wonder if talking to Maurice's wife might uncover a new line of inquiry? There has to be a reason that Maurice never wanted them to get back into the well... Colin is continuing to be an issue; and sounds like he may become even more of one in the future. I really do love Cynthia; anyone that can quote Shelly has to be a truly superior person... Just so well written and flows so well; each chapter leading perfectly into the next...

Ah, so it is a hunter, buy why work with someone like Stefano, wouldn't the hunters be against a shadow mage as well? The idea for the wedding is wonderful, can't wait for it. Love how easily Dirk is slipping into the job and community. Do hope that Fenn is able to set up the territory the way he wants it to work; and hope that he doesn't drive Tierney nuts trying to do so. Tierney back to his ferocious lady love, so nice... Great job, keep them coming...

I have to agree with @drsawzall, I would think that after the initial issue with the hold, Vikkel will want to send someone out to make sure that the goats and kids are okay; doubt he is as worried about Jevikel and Kadin as the livestock but... Kemi snuck up on them without even really trying, think it would be easy for someone else to as well. Thread is getting closer, and things will get more dangerous for everyone...

I want to thank everyone for their comments on this thread. After reading them all; I realize that part of the issue with my reviews is that I tend not to leave criticism in the actual review. Unless something is just truly egregious, I tend to only write what I like in the actual review and then give it a star rating based on how much I liked the story. I do use the recommend buttons as well, sometimes too liberally. Those authors that regularly have me read their works know that I tend to comment on each and every chapter of a story. Some of those comments are often more critical than anything in my reviews. I even had an author that I followed for a long time, pause a story over a very critical story comment; he sent me a pm for additional feedback because I made him question the whole direction of where he was going with the storyline. I honestly, never want to do that... I appreciate the time, energy, and giving of yourself that each author demonstrates when he/she post a story on here. The stories are their creations and good or bad; they should be appreciated for what they are, something the author is choosing to share with the rest of us. Thanks for all the feedback.

Thank you for your responses to this thread. I had one author from GayAuthors and one from another site that uses a similar review system. Neither seemed concerned with what I wrote in the review but only that I did not give it five stars. My reading of their messages was that they were not concerned with my actual review but of the star ratings. Maybe I did not communicate that well enough in my original post; if so I apologize. I am unsure how to ask what your responses triggered in me, but here goes. Do you feel that every story deserves a five star rating and anything less has to have a delineation as to why it lost a star or two? Even if I enjoyed everything about a story, the plot, the writing, the characters, etc...; can it not still be only a four star just because that is what I felt after reading it? Do I have to explain why I felt that way? I am going to give an example, not sure it will help. I had an author on another site that wrote a story that I loved.... The character development, characters, and writing were first rate; there were a few issues with grammar and the author did meander a bit in a few chapters but I rated it five stars because I just loved the story. The author then got the book published and sold on Amazon, not sure of all the ends and out of that, but an editor was listed so I know he had gotten some professional help. The grammatical errors had been corrected and the meandering parts sharpened; but while the overall storyline was not changed when I bought the book on Amazon, I simply did not enjoy it as much. I have a four star review there. Because of the editor, the book was technically better than before; but I just did not get as much enjoyment from it, don't even know if I can explain why. When I left the four star review on Amazon, I talked about what I enjoyed in the book, I did nothing to indicate why I did not rate it five stars because I wanted to praise the author as this was his first published professional work. Should I have tried to explain why I give him only four stars and put something negative in what I wrote? I am not trying to be difficult, I guess I am just being dense about this; because I don't understand why I need to justify the star rating... @James K, please help me understand your point of view on this...

Loved this chapter; so much goin on. I do feel for Maurice and his wife both; that is so hard to deal with and while some are well meaning, many are just dismissive. I think the dream means a whole lot; a look at the past. Now if he can only figure out who he was representing in the dream...

You have to rate using the star system to leave a review. I try and write and thoughtful opinion on the story that I have read. I can usually always find a few good things to mention and try and explain why I enjoyed the story or what I had an issue with in it. That said, I do understand that many that write on here do so because they enjoy; they are not professional writers and have no plans to become one. For me to rate something five stars means it is basically so good that it really cannot be improved on; or this is at least how I see it. Not just on this site but others as well; probably 85% of my reviews as far as the stars go are either three star or four star. It is rare for me to give anything five stars but it is also rare for me to give a one star or even a two star review but they do happen; and I always try to explain why I am giving that one or two star review. I think I have only ever given a one star review once on GayAuthors; and I explained that the subject matter was just so distasteful to me and the way the author glorified it was just not something I understood. My written reviews don't always wax poetically but I do try to point out what I liked or what I had issues with be it writing style, character development, plotting, or the flow to the story. Also, never understand how anyone can leave a review for a story before it is finished. How do you know you are going to like or dislike the whole thing. To get to the point you are making and that I agree with; neither author was upset by what I wrote, they both actually had no issues as my written words were vey complimentary. The issue they both had was I rated each of their stories four star versus five stars. I enjoyed both stories; one was one of the best I have read so far this year and the other was truly well done; but each had aspects that I though could have been improved on, hence my four star rating. I just feel the written part of the review should be more important than what star rating it is given. If other readers are to lazy to actually read the review; I see this as their issue not mine. Frankly, I agree with @Krista, I wish you could leave the review without using the the star rating at the top.

Good character development and the plotting and writing flowed nicely as well. Nice take on the vampire genre, a few new twist. Enjoyable afternoon reading.

Well written story, full of truly interesting and really well developed characters. Helps if you have read of some of Sojourn previously stories as a few of the characters are from earlier stories. This is a story about love and how we find it. The way we hunt for it; and how sometimes we refuse to recognize what is right in front of us or in unexpected places. Take a chance and sit a spell and enjoy this story...

Hello, Just trying to get some feedback about this issue; I had an author write to me basically asking me not to review his stories if I was not giving them a five star review. He/She basically said that the readership of GayAuthors simply was unable or unwilling to read stories that did not have five star reviews. Do others believe this to be true? I personally rarely give a five star review. They are reserved for stories that I believe that their is basically nothing about the story that can be improved on to enhance the readers enjoyment of the story. I just find very few stories on either this site or authors that meet that criteria. By the same token, I give very few one or two star reviews. I can usually find enough about almost any story to justify at least a three star review. I have actually written very glowing reviews on a story but only given it three stars because while I have loved the story; either pacing or character development, or plotting, or something was off putting enough that I felt that while I truly enjoyed the story; it was either harder to read or stay with because of whatever the issue was. That doesn't mean others should not read it; and I encourage them to do so; but it means that it simply did not rate higher for me than three stars, even though I really enjoyed the story. Do others agree with this author? Should I not leave reviews unless I am willing to give five stars no matter what I think? I thought the reviews were about giving your honest opinion of the story; is that not why we leave them or read them? Should I stop leaving reviews unless the review is worthy of a five star rating?