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Well happy May to everyone! Is it moderate and beautiful where you are? The year is moving faster and faster, but and we're approaching Pride month next month. Did you catch the feature call for the Premium short stories themed with coming out stories? It's something many gay authors face, no matter what orientation we claim (and can't that be interesting to explain?!) and it's no surprise it's often the subject of teen fiction as well. Let's take a look at another long-time favorite GA author's take on the subject with this month's CSR feature! The Strange Life of Jonas Marks by @comicfan Length: 57,189 Description: Jonas Marks has just graduated high school when he tells his father he is gay. The end result is that Jonas is tossed out of his home. With no money, no job, and no place to call home he ends up on his friend Jenny's couch till he starts working at Kroger's. Then his life just gets strange. A/N: This story originally began as a short story in the Anthology Walk on the Wild Side. I had a number of people comment on how it really needed to be expanded. The end result is what you are now looking at. For those who read and comment, this is for you. Thank you for your vote of confidence and I hope this lives up to what you expect of me. A Reader Said: What a surprise to suddenly find an epilogue here! It suits your story quite well. The story arc developed nicely and I like the end. I'm glad it's not a major cliffhanger but interestingly a sequel might be possible, who knows Anyway, thank you for this great story, I enjoyed it a lot. ~ Zenobia So enjoy this month's CSR selection, but don't forget to be ready to come back and share your thoughts and comment on the Discussion day on Monday, May 27th!

Well, how has May treated you? Are you ready for Pride next month? This month we had a great double feature of @comicfan's story, The Strange Life of Jonas Marks, which included Coming Out, some fun fantasy, a romance, and so much more!! Did you read Puppilull's review or enjoy the story yourself? I hope you did! First, of course, is my interview with Comicfan, then you can share your thoughts on his story in the comments below! Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point? I usually like to make the bed. My mother was always one to say, “Wayne, god forbid you leave your bedroom door open, you don’t want people to think you’re a slob.” If people look into my room they’ll never think I’m a slob, just a book whore. If you were an animal, what would you be? I’d say a dog. Faithful to one family/person, loved, sleep a lot, belly rubs, taken for walks, and get to bark at those you don’t like … I’d say that works for me What’s something personal about you people might be surprised to know? I have a collection of Smurfs. What’s the best part of being an author? All those crazy ideas in my head, I get to put down on paper, then type up, and share with other people. The incredible part is some people actually like my crazy ideas. If you could give advice to yourself when you first started writing, what would it be? Write and be fearless. Never be afraid to make mistakes. Things can be edited later, but if you don’t write you can’t share. No idea should be abandoned until you attempt it. But the best thing I could tell myself is to remember not every story will be a hit with everyone, so keep your head up and keep trying. Is fantasy your preferred genre to read and write? Fantasy has always been a mainstay in my reading. Fantasy can take many forms and I’ve always been a voracious reader. The nickname name Comicfan isn’t because of anything other than I love comics as well. From newspaper comics like Peanuts, Cathy, and Garfield, or comic books like Superman and Wonder Woman I read and loved them all. My mother got me hooked on mysteries and I have all of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Horror author Stephen King is well represented as is Edgar Allen Poe. Then again you’ll find all of Kalayna Price’s Grave Witch series, Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and more, Rick Riordan, Patricia Briggs, and JK Rowling to name but a few. I admit to being a book whore. You posted a new chapter to The Strange Life of Jonas Marks after a long break. Did something reinspire you? Can you consider major surgery inspiration? I feared if something happened to me, Jonas and other stories that I’d had to put aside while dealing with life would never be completed. I focused on completing everything I had so readers would never have to wonder what happened. How did you decide what kind of fantasy characters to have come through the door in Jonas’s office? As I admit willingly to, I have always read a lot. I never go anywhere without a book. When the time came to choose characters I had to do little more than glance at my library. Hobbits? Check. Fairies? Check. Orcs, Dryads, and more? Check. If I felt there could be someone who wanted to date an angel, well then it was safe to bring one in, because the only who could see through the glamours was Jonas. Do you plan to write more in this setting, either for the other characters or Jonas? When I finish a story, for me that is usually goodbye to that world. However, some characters like to come back. I’ve learned to never say I won’t go back, but just don’t expect it to be any time soon. How about any other projects you would like to share with readers? Seeon has a new story. Couldn’t quite get it done for the spring anthology, but with just a few tweaks it will fit one of the fall topics. I am also trying to finish two short pieces for other projects on site as well as a longer one I’m calling Next Chapter. Hopefully, it all gets done.