How did you end up here?

[wildone]

Hmmm, this made me look. It looks like in January I started my 8th year That means I've been here 1/4 of my life (what, I'm really 32 )

 

I remember getting my first own PC and then moving away from the big city I was in 2000. I think I found some bulletin board story sites and then joined up at Gay.com (is that still around ) . While there someone had a message about Nifty, so off I went looking. After finding Nifty and finding what I would call good stories opposed to porn stories, I found Desert Droppings by Dom Luka. Curious, I did a search and found Gay Authors. I immediately was hooked. I read for several years as a lurker and then I finally decided I wanted to interact with some of these brilliant authors here.

 

I remember my first post as a member, I was so nervous. Would this expose me, would I screw this up and have a moderator tell me I did something wrong. Would it be full of spelling mistakes (back before I realized you could have auto dictionary work in your posts). But I hit the post button anyways.

 

Now being part of the community and not just lurking, I found that this was a new home for me.

 

Even though I was gay through this entire time, I think I was very reserved where I announced that I was gay. After reading and relating to everyone (mostly) I felt that signing up I could use the word gay to describe myself and be proud of it. The feeling the site gave me made me feel comfortable.

 

I have met some great people too in real life. Some of the brilliant authors that I have met have been Viv, Shadowgod (Steve1), Andrew Q. Gordon (Andy), Myk (Greg) and others as well (Benji ). It is funny, over my life I have met some huge stars...Bill Cosby, Hockey Players, Rock Stars, etc. I've never been nervous or star struck by these people, but when I meet an author I'm in awe of what they have done in the past and their potential for the future, I'm definitely star struck. I'm truly lucky to meet some people here and interacted with more online.

[Sasha Distan]

I got referred here by a lovely lady called Cannd, and then i decided that i couldn't leave.

 

Pansexual, but married to a man. it's the person, not the parts.

[Andy78]

Well, looking back over my . . . erm . . . 2.5 years, I only joined to be able to leave reviews on Bill W's Castaway Hotel.

 

Now look at the mess I've gotten my self in

Edited February 22, 2014 by Andy78

[Lisa]

I blame it all on Luke and Noah.

 

Way back when, I was into the Luke and Noah (Nuke), storyline on "As the WorldTurns" before the soap was cancelled. While I was reading an article about Nuke in one of the soap opera magazines, the author mentioned fan fiction that was written about the characters. The site was fanfiction.net, so I checked it out immediately. I found pretty good stories there about the two characters, some even pretty mature. One reviewer mentioned more 'adult' stories over on adult-fanfiction.org and from there someone mentioned Nifty (and where Cia was scared of all those half-naked boys on the side of the screen, I was mortified that I clicked on this while MY KIDS WERE WALKING AROUND! lol). From then on I knew I could only check out that site when the kids were in school.

 

I was still reading Nuke stories on fanfiction.net and I came across Sid, (SidLove), who was also a big Nuke fan. He wrote quite a few good stories about them. I reviewed many of his stories and he asked if I could edit them. He told me about GA and said I should join but I needed to list myself as an editor otherwise I wouldn't be able to edit his stories, or he wouldn't be able to acknowledge me. Coincidentally, around the same time I found this other site (I can't remember which one now), that recommended Dom Luka's "Desert Droppings" and the link brought me right to GA. "Desert Droppings" was the very first story I ever read on here and I became a big Dom Luka fan. I find it so interesting that so many members have come here because they were reading Dom Luka's stories.

 

As for why I read gay romance stories...I find them way more interesting than m/f stories. Male/female - been there, done that, you know? I find the dynamics between two boys different than with a boy and a girl.

 

I've met so many awesome people on this site and the community is so friendly and welcoming. I have also found that the stories here are of a higher caliber than on other sites. Joining this site was one of the best things I've ever done. =)

 

Jeez, I think I wrote a novel. I gotta stop doing that.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Lisa

[Slytherin]

 

 . I find it so interesting that so many members have come here because they were reading Dom Luka's stories.

 

 

I haven't read Dom Luka's stories yet, but a lot of people talk about them

[Lisa]

I haven't read Dom Luka's stories yet, but a lot of people talk about them

You should - he's a fantastic writer who will hook you in with the first word. I just wish number one, that he would come back, and number two, that more of his stories were completed.

 

But definitely read his work. You won't regret it. =)

[joann414]

Just looking for stories that I wanted to read and felt at home with.  Googled, gay stories, and landed here.  Love it.  Great authors, great people and wonderful atmosphere.

[Graeme]

How did I end up here? I honestly don't remember....

 

Now for the saga as to why I'm gay but married with kids.

 

I've known I've been attracted to guys since a very young age, but as I wasn't a confident youngster, I stayed firmly in the closet for a long time.... until I was forty, to be precise. I'd had a handful of anonymous sexual encounters in that time, but I've never had a boyfriend. After I graduated from university and started a job, I met someone who tried her best to become my friend. She succeeded.... To be honest, as I was emotionally starved because I kept to myself so much, that I was vulnerable to someone who appeared to like me.

 

Eventually, I proposed and she accepted. We've now been married for twenty-three years. Ten years ago, I started reading stories online, and found quality sites such as Deweywriter and CRVBoy. That's when I started to accept my sexuality. Before that, I had known it, but suppressed it. I was inspired to start writing, and posted my first fiction at Deweywriter in the forum there. It got a sufficiently good response that I kept writing Somewhere along the line, I joined up at GA and started participating here, but that happened later.

 

Knowing that my wife would eventually find my stories, I told her one night, shortly before my forty-first birthday, that I'm gay. That started six months of hell -- mainly for her. She told me afterwards that she contemplated suicide. If we didn't have two young boys, she might've gone through with it.

 

Cutting a long story short, we reconciled and agreed on limits. I will stay true to my marriage vows and she accepts that I'm gay and need some release. The release we've agreed on is my online presence. She's not tolerating me -- she accepts me as I am. She reads everything I write and offers constructive comments from time to time. We discuss things happening here at GA and at the other sites I'm involved with. I still love her, even if that love doesn't have the strong sexual nature that most people associate with a marriage.

 

I've always been willing to share my story. The only thing I hold back is enough information to identify me, and that's predominantly to protect my family. I don't care if people know I'm gay, but my sons are not ready to deal with any negative responses that may occur, so I'm staying in the closet for now to let them grow up as safely as possible. Before anyone says anything, I have one son who's been bullied several times already through his school life, and he doesn't need any additional stress. My other son has developmental issues and also doesn't need additional complications in his life. If my sons were different, I'd come out, but my view is that they need me to stay in the closet. I may be erring on the side of caution, but since it's their lives at stake, not mine, I'll continue to err on that side.

 

I'm very much aware that I'm in a fairly unusual situation. When I came out to my wife, I had the support of two other married gay men. Sadly, their marriages didn't survive. Most don't -- something I didn't know when I told my wife I'm gay I'm lucky to have such a wonderful person as my wife, one who is able to accept that her husband is gay.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Graeme

[joann414]

How did I end up here? I honestly don't remember....

 

Now for the saga as to why I'm gay but married with kids.

 

I've known I've been attracted to guys since a very young age, but as I wasn't a confident youngster, I stayed firmly in the closet for a long time.... until I was forty, to be precise. I'd had a handful of anonymous sexual encounters in that time, but I've never had a boyfriend. After I graduated from university and started a job, I met someone who tried her best to become my friend. She succeeded.... To be honest, as I was emotionally starved because I kept to myself so much, that I was vulnerable to someone who appeared to like me.

 

Eventually, I proposed and she accepted. We've now been married for twenty-three years. Ten years ago, I started reading stories online, and found quality sites such as Deweywriter and CRVBoy. That's when I started to accept my sexuality. Before that, I had known it, but suppressed it. I was inspired to start writing, and posted my first fiction at Deweywriter in the forum there. It got a sufficiently good response that I kept writing Somewhere along the line, I joined up at GA and started participating here, but that happened later.

 

Knowing that my wife would eventually find my stories, I told her one night, shortly before my forty-first birthday, that I'm gay. That started six months of hell -- mainly for her. She told me afterwards that she contemplated suicide. If we didn't have two young boys, she might've gone through with it.

 

Cutting a long story short, we reconciled and agreed on limits. I will stay true to my marriage vows and she accepts that I'm gay and need some release. The release we've agreed on is my online presence. She's not tolerating me -- she accepts me as I am. She reads everything I write and offers constructive comments from time to time. We discuss things happening here at GA and at the other sites I'm involved with. I still love her, even if that love doesn't have the strong sexual nature that most people associate with a marriage.

 

I've always been willing to share my story. The only thing I hold back is enough information to identify me, and that's predominantly to protect my family. I don't care if people know I'm gay, but my sons are not ready to deal with any negative responses that may occur, so I'm staying in the closet for now to let them grow up as safely as possible. Before anyone says anything, I have one son who's been bullied several times already through his school life, and he doesn't need any additional stress. My other son has developmental issues and also doesn't need additional complications in his life. If my sons were different, I'd come out, but my view is that they need me to stay in the closet. I may be erring on the side of caution, but since it's their lives at stake, not mine, I'll continue to err on that side.

 

I'm very much aware that I'm in a fairly unusual situation. When I came out to my wife, I had the support of two other married gay men. Sadly, their marriages didn't survive. Most don't -- something I didn't know when I told my wife I'm gay I'm lucky to have such a wonderful person as my wife, one who is able to accept that her husband is gay.

Kudos to you and your wife.  Your story makes me feel more solid in my relationship.  thank you!

[Kitt]

 

 

I'm very much aware that I'm in a fairly unusual situation. When I came out to my wife, I had the support of two other married gay men. Sadly, their marriages didn't survive. Most don't -- something I didn't know when I told my wife I'm gay I'm lucky to have such a wonderful person as my wife, one who is able to accept that her husband is gay.

You now have the comfort of knowing your wife truly does love you - and for who you are, not who she wants you to be. That certainly is a wonderful place to be.

[Fishwings]

I was reading Domluka's Desert Dropping on Nifty but it wasn't complete there, so I ended up on here :3 Lurked for awhile then decided to join. Back then the site had a totally different interface without really much of a forum. It's amazing how much has changed on GA over the years.

[Krista]

I am here because my very best friend Derek came out - well he was outed by hormones and not knowing how to hide his internet history. He was actually my first boyfriend apart from, "If you let me borrow your pencil, I'll be your girlfriend," stage of life.  We had the space and sadly he didn't have any family apart from his stepfather still in the state. So I guess my Mom unofficially adopted him for six or so years. 

 

Being in such a small town there wasn't a whole lot of stuff for him to relate to. We both easily ran through all the gay movies and such that we could find here and what came on television. So I actually started writing and he started reading. Getting to know him through all of his depressions, anxieties, fears.. the years he became comfortable with himself and became a bit of a slut... don't worry he admits to it.  Then Jason who we both went to school with who was outed by his twin lived with us for two years, which actually caused my mother to have a few fits, but we got through it. So I started writing for him as well. 

 

Derek eventually found Greg about his Junior year in high school. Greg and Derek are still together, by the way - eleven years. I found Nifty around that time, either Sophomore/Junior year by, again, Derek not hiding his web searches. The layout scared me to death and a lot of the stories were wayyy too raunchy and the layout too porno. But I posted stories there and then formed my own Yahoo group after noticing a lot of the authors that I read had them too.

 

I later found GA through Dom and some other authors. I didn't join, the forum layout worried me and I wasn't used to communicating online with people. So I stayed with my Yahoo group and it expanded to close to 3,000 members. Not a lot of them stayed past signing up for it, but eh. Then a reader kept pushing GA on me and told me that it was fine. The little shithead wasn't a member himself, I miss him at times but we lost touch after he started college. But I finally did join and post my stories here. Starting out I was only brave enough to wish people happy birthdays. 

 

Anyway, I don't show Derek, Greg, or Jason my stories anymore. I don't think I've mentioned to them that I still write, they probably think I stopped a long time ago.

 

Long story short, I guess I can say that I was one of the people Dom brought here.  

[mickey1952]

Who said men over 50 can't still be hot?

Thanks, Matt, on behalf of all us who are still kickin' it!

[mickey1952]

It sure seems that Dom did his fair share to bring new folks into the GA fold. As a rabid Domaholic, that brings so much happiness to me! Desert Droppings was also my introduction to GA. The memories are a little cloudy, but I think I found it first on Nifty, then somehow navigated to over here. Don't remember the exact details, but then again, I sometimes can't remember what I had for breakfast. But I'm glad I found a home here.

[Cia]

 

. One reviewer mentioned more 'adult' stories over on adult-fanfiction.org and from there someone mentioned Nifty (and where Cia was scared of all those half-naked boys on the side of the screen, I was mortified that I clicked on this while MY KIDS WERE WALKING AROUND! lol).

 

Well the scrawny kid looking ones are like... ew to me, but yeah, kids are the main concern. I sit with my back to a corner on the laptop/tablet but they have NO concept of personal space. They'll walk right up, sit next to me or begin reading over my shoulder. So, I have to keep most things G rated. Try writing sex scenes like that!! lol

[Lisa]

Well the scrawny kid looking ones are like... ew to me, but yeah, kids are the main concern. I sit with my back to a corner on the laptop/tablet but they have NO concept of personal space. They'll walk right up, sit next to me or begin reading over my shoulder. So, I have to keep most things G rated. Try writing sex scenes like that!! lol

The very first time I clicked on Nifty I was overwhelmed by all the half-naked bodies in compromising positions that my hands started shaking and I couldn't get to the 'X' on the top of my screen quick enough! I think I just slammed my screen down. lol I was too mortified to turn around and make sure no one was behind me, as I sat at my kitchen table with my back, and the computer screen, to whoever happened to be walking by. My kids and their friends were ALWAYS walking around and since I was right by the kitchen, that was a prime spot for them to hang out.

 

It was bad enough trying to READ all this gay porn, I couldn't imagine trying to WRITE it also with the little buggers around!!!!

[AquariusGuy]

How did I end up here?

 

8 years ago this April I either linked from Comicality's page or from one of Vance's stories off Nifty. It was so long ago I don't remember which one brought me here.

 

Once I joined I discovered different author's with many great stories. While many I originally followed have gone dormant, I have found some really other great author's to provide me with some interesting reading.

 

I've kind of blended into the shadows commenting here and there. Still am that way..... sort of.

[Thorn Wilde]

I've been writing since I knew how to, but I got deeply into fanfic when I was about 13 or 14. I was reading on FanFiction.Net at the time, and was amusing myself with the character options and soon stumbled across Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy. I've always been one for the Romeo & Juliet type of stories, so I started reading lots of Harry/Draco and eventually tried my hand at writing some. From there it only took a couple of months before I realised that my imagination stretched too far beyond the frames of pre-established worlds and characters, and I started writing Nemesis. This was before I had any sort of proper understanding of my own sexuality or anything like that. I knew I liked girls and I knew I liked boys and I wasn't sure what that made me at all. I also knew that I didn't really feel comfortable with the gender role that society was trying to give me. I didn't know what that meant either. I guess I still don't, not really.

 

Anyway, in the years to come I continued writing M/M stories, I kept at the fanfic, and tried to finish Nemesis, but it never felt right. I think I rewrote it from the beginning at least twice. Then, almost a year ago now, I started seriously focusing on it again, and spent Camp NaNoWriMo doing the final rewrite. I started posting it to ArchiveOfOurOwn.Org, where one of my readers recommended a story on GA to me; I believe it was Circle's Dan's Conundrum. So I popped my head in here, read a bit, poked around the forums and thought, yes, I could live here. So I moved, and I am still happy about this decision.

[rustle]

I followed an author from Nifty. I can't remember which one. I'd gotten kinda burned out with gratuitous sex, and was looking for something else, something more.

 

To be honest, I finally joined so I could post in The Soapbox. I still miss it at times, but my blood pressure's back down.

 

I volunteered to do some editing, and Sharon introduced me to that damn muppet!   He even forced (forced, I tell you     ) me to write a couple of stories, including my first fiction.