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Did you have a chance to read this month's CSR selection, The Transporters, by Israfil? This short story was a quick and easy read, so I hope we had a lot of takers trying something new this month! Share your thoughts about the story below, but first enjoy this interview where Israfil asks all my probing questions! Have you ever gone out in public, realized your shirt is on backwards, and just don’t care? Nope. I've definitely put my shirt on the wrong way but I don't think I could ever make it out the door without noticing. It just feels weird, you know? If you had 30 minutes of free time, what would you do? Nothing productive, that's for sure (as much as I'd like to say otherwise). Probably play a computer game, watch some YouTube videos (just discovered a bunch of awesome sketch artists so I'm binge watching those) or read a book. Thrilling, to be sure. What brought you to the Gay Authors? A friend referral. I initially started posting The Transporters on another site and a fellow writer suggested Gay Authors might be a good platform. I'd heard about the site before and realized it was solid advice now that I was actually writing online. I'm happy I did - not just to post my writing but all the great authors and stories I've discovered here. It's a really fun community. When you get a story idea, do you use any particular method, app, program, etc… to expand it before you begin writing? Or do you just open up a document and start typing? Sometimes. I tend to get stuck on details so for a while I used Microsoft OneNote to organize my ideas by making a flow chart of sorts - mapping out what would happen from A to B to C. Other times I just start writing and seeing what happens but it's not long before I get stuck on a point and can't go on until I resolve it. Maybe I should go back to flow charts, now that I think on it... If you could give advice to yourself when you first started writing, what would it be? Keep writing! Don't sweat the details and try to make every bit perfect on the first draft. You can always edit it later. Otherwise, you'll just exhaust yourself and end up not writing at all. That I took such a long break from serious writing because of this is a pretty big regret of mine. Do you have a favorite mythological creature? I think it's safe to say dragons will always have a special place in my heart. I've loved them since I was a kid. The creature itself, and how the idea can manifest in so many different ways - dragons show up in some form or the other in cultures the world over but they're always unmistakable. My personal favorite is the idea of wisdom and age combined with the raw power - something about that is very compelling. I'd always be rooting for the dragon in any medieval fantasy and I was very disappointed when Smaug died at the end of The Hobbit. Even more so in the movie - Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Smaug is what inspired me to start on the Deadwood series in fact. What kind of magic would you like to have out of the types that Parker, Jenson, and Evan have? Probably Evan's. I like nature and wish I was more outdoorsy than I am, so controlling plants and the earth would certainly help with that. Of the three, his magic seems to have the least drawbacks. Jenson's traps and intricate spells are appealing in their subtly but the lack of control would be a problem. As for Parker, I can't deny that throwing lightning bolts and stealing magic would fun, but being a warlock comes with certain baggage as I'm sure he would attest. Is this going to be a high fantasy/magic story or do you plan to toss some romance into the future plot? Relationships of any kind are a key part of what makes us human - they governs our feelings, interactions and...yeah, it's important. If you want your characters (even if they aren't all exactly human) to be compelling then you have to explore how they relate to each other, be it platonic or romantic. Depending on how you look at it, there actually has been a little already. Anshar and Mithras have a history - I've always been interested in writing about the aftermath or results of a relationship as opposed to the beginning of one. In this case, that includes a assassination, coup and civil war. Talk about your bad break-ups. Parker will also have to deal with his romantic past a little too - suffice to say it will be awkward for all involved. Dragons can do spells and they’re elemental… do they have any other cool hidden powers you haven’t shared with readers yet? There are more than a few types of dragons and many have their own unique abilities, and that's not even including an individual dragon's own personal talents. So yes, they do. Oh, you wanted an example? Well, they wouldn't exactly be hidden if I did that but I can give you one, though it may not come as a surprise: dragons possess a degree of mind control over lesser creatures. Which includes humans. What’s next? When can we expect part two of The Deadwood Chronicles? Working on it! I'm doing a slightly different set up for part two, Magefall. The goal is to make each chapter something of a short story in itself so readers are left a little more satisfied between updates - which of course means longer chapters. Now that I've started writing again, the first chapter of part two should be ready soon. I'm pretty excited about it. Ah, so many things are going to go boom...

August is upon us, and this month is the end of a season--most of us are looking forward to a reversal of our local weather (I know I'm desperate for some cooling!) but, meanwhile, we can all enjoy a good story for the featured CSR blog! This month I've chosen Israfil's short story, The Transporters. At just 16.5k, everyone should be able to finish it. The Transporters by Israfil Length: 16,565 Description: When two dragons transporting a war criminal drop in for dinner, three wizard college drop-outs find themselves caught in the crossfire of a supernatural power struggle. A reader said: I do enjoy this story as well, keep it up. ~ Anubis Lichlore This month's discussion day will take place on Monday, August 28th. Be ready with your comments and questions for Israfil!