Quote by verbal
Sorry about your disappointment, Ape. I’ve tried to be good about commenting on stories here but have probably been lax. I will strive to do better.

It's not the lack of comments on my story, though, it's how it reflects the general lack of life on this site. I mean, on the forums right now, there's me, you, Cora, and the odd visit from Da Bear and Gil (who has good reasons for being scarce but still pops up from time to time). Even Anna seems to be scarce anymore and she was a staple on here for the past few years. Red is MIA, too, but given his age and health that surprises me less. Maybe one or two who only post in one or two threads from time to time. There's some people posting stories who aren't active on the forums, but that still does not add too many more active bodies.

Oo, Cinnamon Cupcakes sounds delish. takes a cupcake and an Organic Chai

I made Top Authors again but I can't say I am overly happy. Top author had 2 likes (it appears). I had one in second. Third was for an author who last posted a story back in January. Short version: activity here is low, perhaps the lowest I have seen. In terms of comments, I got probably 6-8 in threads on my other sites (and no, not that one) where I posted links to the story, even had some discussion about it. Here, I have one. I could have posted it on a blog site and got the same result, maybe better.

Sorry for the downer but I am a bit bummed about this place and not sure what more I can do to help. I have links all over the place, I promote the comps on other sites where I know there are writers, I have been poking a couple poets I know on one of my social sites to consider posting here (the forum where they are posting it on that site isn't publicly accessible without joining). One of them put out a couple fantastic pieces in October and she's just a teen.

Anyhow, I have a new story on the go. I would need to tone it down for here (it's a clear X right now but could be toned down to an R without breaking the story) so I am not yet sure where it will go if I finish it. It is also going to be long, coming up on 8K words and still in the early phase of the story. I plan to just keep going until it is done, then look at breaking it down into chapters. When I tried writing in chapters from the start, it tended to lose momentum. Genre-wise, it is basically a romance but I am wrestling with whether it is a straightforward romance or whether there will be a fantasy element, pushing into the paranormal romance or even romantasy world. Mysterious woman with mysterious background and how I fill in that mystery kind of decides where this lands in terms of genre.

Something for Halloween. "The Ghost in Me" is by Dutch symphonic metal Epica based on Camile Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre, an 1874 orchestral work.

Wow, what a heap of Halloween goodies. I shall get a pot of dark roast coffee going to go with those. Some Orange Pekoe and English Breakfast tea as well. If you need something cold, sodas are stocked. And there's hot water ready if you prefer other teas or hot chocolate.

My Halloween mood is not happening this year. Not sure why. I could probably let the day just slip by were it not for work having a Halloween luncheon.

Cupcakes, cookies, the yummies just keep coming. 😊

Yay, cupcakes!!! scarfs one

To go with those, I will put on some Coffee Shop of Horrors Black Dog (Costa Rican). For teas, there's a Pumpkin Spice Chai and Organic Darjeeling. Hot water is boiled for other teas or hot chocolate.

Quote by JaxRhapsody

I've got a sci-fi romance, that's rather soft on the sci-fi, and based in my city, so world building is rather simple and it takes place about thirty to forty years in the future, and not too far off from what it's like today, with things they're trying to do today, like androids and electric cars.

Yeah, my default city for contemporary stories is basically an amalgam of two of the three cities I have lived in, heavy on the current one.

There is a near future s-f version of the city in a story on another site but it's dystopic and the story ends with the characters fleeing as a revolution sets the city ablaze.

Good morning, folks! Sunny, cool fall weather continues in my world.

Putting on some Deathwish Dark Roast coffee. Teas are Yorkshire Gold and Earl Grey. Washed up the pitchers and put them away. No one seems to be drinking iced tea and lemonade anymore. There's our usual selection of sodas if you need something cold. Fall shipment of hot chocolate mix and mini marshmallows is in so I've got got hot water if you want that or other teas.

How goes it?

My new metal obsession is Nordic supergroup Cemetary Skyline. Their title of their debut album, Nordic Gothic, pretty much says it all. The band all come from Nordic death and black metal but here they deliver a dark but beautiful collection of gothic metal. Lead singer is Swede Mikael Stanne, whose regular gig is in melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. Here, he puts his powerful growls aside and focuses instead on his remarkably smooth baritone clean voice. The results are magnificent and this is challenging a lot of bigger name albums for my "album of the year".

Sunny but a bit chilly in my world. How's things out in the rest of the world?

I'll put on some La Chicas Dark Roast Nicaraguan coffee. For teas, I'll put on some Buddha's Blend and Sencha.

Working on a new story. It will be a long one but I'm going to do it in one big file and then break up into chapters later. I found trying to work in chapters was a distraction and might be part of why my other chapter pieces are flailing.

Basic plot is that a mystery woman is shipwrecked (well, boatwrecked) on the private island of a playboy tech billionaire. She's a biologist doing research in the area and convinces him to let her do research on the island. That opens the door to a relationship but her mysterious past eventually intrudes...😨 Right now, there's a scene early on that is too explicit for SS but I'll see if I want to stay on that track or tone it down to something R-rated so I can use this site. The scene just establishes the billionaire's cred as a "playboy" so could work without the sexy details. Genrewise I am thinking romance with a bit of a thriller element or maybe, depending on where I go with the mystery past, paranormal romance.

Now that's something I can handle pumpkin spice in. Desserts not tea. That's my motto for the stuff.

So now Molly is the cookie lady? We probably need a sign-up sheet or something to keep it all organized. 😀

Quote by verbal
Dodgers-Yankees tonight (sorry Red). A classic American matchup! Who are you rooting for?

Really, neither. Baseball isn't my thing. But with a series like that, might be best to just flip a coin and then enjoy the fun unless you're a hardcore fan of one of them.

Goooooooooooooooooooooooood Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooorning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another week is winding to a close. Fallish weather is back in my world with some frost risk looming on the weekend. And things get spooky in the coming week. Very scary, kids!

For some seasonal caffeine, we've got Dragon's Lair Dark Roast from Bones Coffee. Ooooooo.

Tea wise, we've got some Pumpkin Spice Chai (not my groove but it's seasonal) and Raspberry Royale.

Pitchers are washed up and refilled with iced tea and lemonade. Soda stock looks good.

How's things? Plans for the weekend?

Ankor are based in Spain but have a (fantastic) English lead singer and (absolutely amazing) Greek drummer. It's a great band that I came across maybe a year or two ago. Metalcore base with other musical influences layered around it. New album is out today. This is the title track.

Quote by verbal
The sure outcome is it is gonna take at least a week to figure out who won, maybe longer.

I'll be shocked if there's a clear winner by Inauguration Day at the rate things are going. Sad to see an election in the "world's greatest democracy" probably settled by judges rather than votes. Vibes, Americans. You'll need them.

Quote by JamesPBear
I also recommended StoriesSpace as a place where they could work on writing their own stories.

I do this from time to time but, yeah, it doesn't seem to get much action out. Oh well, at least you tried. Need to get a copy of the book downloaded. Just be warned that my patience for actually reading fiction is a bit low right now. At least I have some motivation for reading this one.

Good morning! Take warning! The coffee is hot and in the pot! So's the tea for me and thee!

How's things, everyone. Back to more seasonal weather after a nice warm spell. Overall, it has been a fairly nice October. Trees around my yard haven't even dropped much save a couple that always come down early.

Quote by JaxRhapsody
The whole family is like that, Skunks are like the only one that uses it as a weapon.

Yeah, weasels and related are an interesting bunch of animals, really.

Good afternoon! Long meeting this morning and I now feel like crap. Son and d-i-l are in town for a few days, so at least I get to see them this week.

Quote by verbal
11 days until the election.

Vibes for you and the other Americans. I hope this turns out better than it appears it will and you end up with a proper, peaceful transition of power.

Ferrets are kind of cool. I've never known one, but heard of people who had them. When I was in kindergarten (yes, that long ago) the school librarian had a de-scented skunk. Brought the skunk in to show us, too. They are rather lovely animals if you leave aside the whole naturally evolved chemical weapons thing.

With two weeks to go until Halloween, it is fitting that Author's Publish for this week is a list of markets for your spookiest, creepiest, and scariest stories. Some are specific to horror, some are more general speculative fiction and take sf and fantasy, too. Of course, dark fantasy and horror overlap heavily so some of the horror markets tread that line. Here you go. Have a look ... IF YOU DARE!!!! Mwahahahahaha!!!!

» 35 Horror Fiction Magazines and Anthologies that Pay

There's an interesting discussion about time travel happening on another site I am on and that's a genre of SFF that could be fun to play with in a comp and isn't confined to SF, even if that's usually the genre for it. Fantasy time travel is an option (magical time travel), even horror (a gateway to the past where some horrible thing or event awaits). Could even be a dream in a non-fantastical setting. One could even put the actual methodology as background and focus on the drama or romance or whatever that happens when people from different time periods meet up (think Outlander). So time travel in a broad sense of what happens when someone from one era visits or meets someone from another. Just a thought.

Throwing on some dark roast coffee from some bag. It's a bit of a "try your luck" day.

Teas? Hmm. Maybe this one and that one. One is definitely black, the other definitely green. Beyond that, let's see.

And for munching, here's some healthy stuff.

Way ahead must be found.

Have never had Galas and wasn't aware of Golden Gala but might give them a look. My apples of choice tend to be McIntosh and Empire (hybrid of Macs and Red Delicious). Thanks for the tip, Bear. And for getting things spun up for the weekend.

Quote by JamesPBear
I'd like to see more humour stories. They're not easy to write, especially for someone like me who has no sense of humour.

Funnily enough, I have a sense of humour, albeit one that leans to the goofy, weird, and absurd at times, and find humour very hard to write. I think the only really funny stories I have written have been micros just because 100 words is basically enough for a long joke or short sketch.

Almost 3 years ago, Floor Jansen launched "Fire", her first original solo single after a 20+ career spent in bands. The song ended up being one of my favourite tracks on the eventual solo album.

And now she has a very nice new version, the "Stripped" version which cuts back on the instrumentation in favour of the one instrument that matters: her magnificent voice. It dropped on the streamers today and she will also be debuting it on Dutch television (given the time difference between here and Europe, probably already has).

Best to move things forward.

Quote by Cora
Ideally, a short story between 1,000 to 5,000+ words I would prefer.

Flash is actually 100-1000. I kind of like that length for some themes and ideas. Forces me to rein things in and focus more tightly, but can still tell a full story, vs. a micro where you're really just giving the bare bones.

Genre-wise, I am generally open to anything. Some of the best comps I have been in are ones where there is a broad theme that can cut across genres rather than a specific genre. So there was a "punk" comp I was in one time that was basically open to anything themed around "punk" genres like cyberpunk, steampunk, dieselpunk, and so on. And, of course, just punk culture and music. I think for a comp that works better as a focus than genre. Even a "space" themed comp could work that way. Even if it leaned heavily to SF, you could also have stories about modern space exploration (e.g. something involving astronauts on the ISS or its Chinese counterpart), astronomy, and such.

Way back, I was young.