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My day job has been a gong show of late, troubleshooting AFF's woes has remained on my mind. Hoping to start the first phase of unlocking the site this week. So don't be surprised if you get an email asking to re-verify your email and to change your password.

Caught the ass hat hacker in the act….. The ass is a member and targeting the story manager story info update. Restored the db from an earlier clone and have now laid a trap….

While it may seem quiet of the surface, it’s been quite busy behind the scenes for AFF. We’ve been busy doing a security sweep of user accounts. Accounts with invalid or disposable e-mails have been purged. Currently, we are merging the over 5 k users with duplicate (or more) accounts down to a single account per user.

It’s a good day when you get a first look at the cover art for your book, and it’s completely amazing!

Wear a mask. That is all...

A long, long time ago, in what feels like another lifetime, I wrote a tribute piece for a dear friend who passed away. The piece was for publication in the flyer for his memorial race. Yesterday, his son, now my neighbor, stood in my yard, with tears in his eyes, thanking me for writing the piece, capturing what that part of his dad’s life was all about. I didn’t sign the piece. He just knew it was me. He says he goes through his dad’s scrapbook every year, takes out that flyer, and smiles. So for those of us who write, alone in the dark, with no idea who is reading, keep writing. If your words only touch one person, you have succeeded! Keep writing!

The wee corgi is home! She’s a little bit stoned on meds, but she’s home, and I’m so glad to have her here!

I have cover art! NineStar Press is republishing my Witch’s Apprentice series, and Ghost’s Sight, the first book, has cover art. I’m really excited, and I can’t wait for the release date!

Verification & password reset e-mails are rolling out.

Just got up for work, cleared it out. this is driving batty….

Story Manager is now Live!!!!

Archive repairs & recode are sitting at around 50% done. Archives are next followed by the story manager. If you like what you see so far please donate to the site and if you feel generous say it’s a bribe for me to work faster .

Pen names restored, took a few hours since there are a ton of members. if they aren’t current feel free to edit them. The attack didn’t get far, only managing to change pen names, user sensitive data is all encrypted so don’t have to worry about it..

Last night, I was adding "heavy cream" to my grocery list, and the two words my phone suggested after "heavy" were "breasts" and "balls." Phone, you know me far too well.

I wanted to share a real zinger for anyone who needs a laugh today. For this to make sense, you need to know three things: 1, I'm bi with a very supportive straight husband; 2, I'm in the closet IRL because of homophobic loved ones, and 3, I'm "out" online under my pen name. Oh, and 4, my husband Cold is an adorable smartass. I spent some time today working in our big hall closet, up on a stepladder. When I heard Cold come through the front door, I warned him to be careful coming through the hallway because "I'm kinda in the closet." "Kinda?" he retorted. "You're entirely in the closet." I could hear the unspoken bi joke like a cat hearing a can opener. "I'm only in the closet IRL," I reminded him, "online, everyone and their gay stepdog knows I'm bi." Cold poked his head around the door. "Either you're in the closet or you're out of the closet," he teased me. "You can't be both. You're not Schrodinger's bi." And that's how I realized it is entirely possible to laugh yourself right off a ladder, and that, despite getting older, Cold IS still able to catch me before I can fall on my oversized rump. I'm still grinning about this, and it's been over an hour!

Ok, so last time the news was nerve-wracking, but I’m happy to report that things have improved substantially. My little brother is fine (his symptoms never got worse than the mild ones I described last time), and my middle brother’s wife has tested negative several times now, so it seems she was never infected. Still sort of nervous about my aunt, but that’s two out of three COVID-related things that have turned out well so far. With all that in mind, I have some reviews to catch up on. I know Invidia has started reading Mortuus Orbis, and of course JayDee has left reviews of every chapter, and @Sinfulwolf has left three wonderful reviews on the finale of WitS, so over the next few days I’ll endeavor to respond to all of those. As for what’s coming up next, I have at least two things to work on in the near future. Both of them are science fiction stories tied to another work, one that’s not on AFF and I don’t really want to describe here. Suffice it to say I make weird friends for who I am. Then again the first friend I made here was JayDee so maybe not that weird. In the case of the longer one, my co-writer has asked if she could just start writing, so I have to make an effort to keep pace lest I be left behind (as well as work out precisely which of us will be writing what scenes). I know Sparrow may be concerned at the moment, but I don’t quite know what the co-writing process with her will be like, so it may not eat up as much time as one might fear, and after the weekend, I will endeavor to be on Discord more often. I have another idea for a story called Below, but that doesn’t have anybody waiting for it, so it can be placed on hold until other things get done. Bringing it all back to the beginning of this post, thank you to everyone who wished my family well and offered prayers and support. You have no idea how much I appreciated all of that.

Every member of Congress who has been humoring Trump about his election loss for the past 2 months had a hand in what happened today. I have spoken.

Because I think we need wondrous things in our lives, I decided to donate to help purchase JRR Tolkien’s home to help create a Tolkien Centre: https://www.projectnorthmoor.org/ I don’t know if anything will come of it, but I feel like I should do some little thing for all the joy he’s given me for all these years.

Can I just say it's really nice to have a forum and a writing forum especially where the atmosphere is generally pretty comfortable as well as actually helpful? Like I feel perfectly fine asking staff or other posters a question or for advice, because I’d actually get legit answers with no drama attached. I've been on plenty of forums before, and this is one of the very few that I feel like I'm going to be sticking with. For some reason I've noticed that people who are open about writing adult material come off as much less high-strung then people who don't (or who loudly proclaim to be against it). TL;DR: Just wanted to show my appreciation to AFF’s forums for being a non-toxic place (if it is, then it’s very well-hidden, lol). I don’t see that very often.

Keep yer fingers crossed that we get staffing issues finally settled for where I work. It has been BRUTAL. Sixty hours worked since Saturday. And I’m not done.

I am away for a week and will be without internet… wish me luck! Hopefully, I will get some writing done. I plan to extend and write more of an original story that @CloverReef has helped me with – thank you so much! If all goes well, I may start posting that upon my return. Later!

I am very, very excited about the upcoming republication of Ghost’s Sight, the first book in the Witch’s Apprentice series. NineStar Press has been good enough to give me a new home, and I couldn’t be happier. The book is now available for pre-order at the NineStar website, and I’ll add links for third party sites as soon as the book is released. There’s some new material, and a fabulous new cover, so take a peek!

Keep your fingers crossed for me, looks like I actually get a day off Thursday!

I actually changed a story I was publishing because my editor thought it needed some things to make it more, I don’t know, appealing, or relevant, or engaging. I forget the word exactly. But the changes never felt right to me, and now that the book’s been accepted for republication, I went back and deleted all the stuff I added at that editor’s urging. The thing is, I never really got feedback from readers non this book, so I have no real idea if they liked those bits or hated them, but I’m much happier with the manuscript without them, so… I’m taking a deep breath and going with my gut.

Yes and no. Pictures can only be uploaded to the Art Room forum – which is member’s only access – and then only of the drawn or digital variety; i.e., no photographs of real people. And no photo manipulations of any kind. Any pictures uploaded to any other forums will be deleted. Also, no pornographic pictures beyond mild nudity will be allowed to be used in your Signature, Cover Photo or Profile Picture. So, why have we decided to do this? Well, firstly, this site always has been and always will be primarily about written smut, not smutty pictures. But perhaps the main reason is that different countries have different laws about what’s illegal visually and what isn’t, and we want to make it as difficult as possible for people to accidentally stumble on pictures that would be considered illegal in their country. Outside of the Art Room forum, you can provide a link to a picture hosted elsewhere, as long as there’s a clear description of what the picture is of, and do not use any link that means the picture is downloaded to their computer as soon as someone clicks on the link; it has to be a picture that is viewable without needing to be downloaded first. This is to ensure no one tries to force a virus or anything else unsavoury onto an unsuspecting person. Any link not meeting these requirements will be removed and the member warned. If you’re unsure whether or not a picture you have uploaded to your profile or signature is acceptable then please don’t hesitate to ask a moderator.

You all redecorated… Hope everyone is doing okay. x

Profiles unlocked (Adding, editing, and recommendation / reading lists.) Reviewing for logged in members should also be unlocked now.

Please do not under any circumstances delete my account. For all the people who wish to have their accounts deleted due to the “extended denial of service” attack the AFF Archives have suffered, “you do you.” I would encourage you to not have your accounts deleted just the same. Abandoning your accounts or having them deleted serves only to empower the spineless CARB sewage-quaffers who are attacking this site to continue doing so. There are damned few sites that allow erotic and semi/demi-erotic literature to be posted full-stop. Allowing one to fail due to a lack of authorship means that there is one fewer site, without anyone lining up to start another one. Good luck to all of you, whatever you decide.

Happy New Year to all my AFF friends and family!

Still hoping to get back and read! There’s a new Thundercloud chapter fer wossnames sakes! If I end up reading the christmas stories same time as halloween so be it, but I’ve either been busy, away walking, or had no internet. Bit of a shitter. Away again after today for a while.

You can’t buy the site. You have to be given the ceremonial dildo by the Lady of the Lake. It sounds bad, but it’s better than the old method of having to pull it from the stone. You ever hear stone moan? It’s horrific.

How y’all doing you lovely smutmuffins?

Next year, I really need to create a trick-or-treater bingo card. Items would include at least 3 girls dressed as Elsa at least 5 boys dressed as Batman a whole family in themed costumes a mom wearing a decidedly inappropriate costume while escorting her kids around (This year’s was a slutty cop.)

It was 27 years ago today that the daft bugger and I decided to do that marriage thing. I have a sneaky feeling it’s working out.

http://cherylzwrites.com/2019/08/13/learn-to-submit-the-wrong-way/ This made me laugh so thought I’d share it! Sample: I swear someone on AFF has already written that :p

How about things like struggles with addiction (Smoking, drugs, alcohol, gambling), is not good spouse but is a great friend and/or parent. Someone struggling to make ends meet yet is terrible with money that opens them up to exploitation. A crooked cop that believes the system is fucked anyway so they’re just going to look after themselves (or perhaps some loved ones). A soldier that enjoys killing a bit too much, but has learned to channel it to the battlefield.

My Scrabble app does not recognize “jahoobs” as a word. Those 88 points were rightfully mine.

My cat has been trying to convince my dog to cuddle him for a good two years now but the dog is too scared. So the cat just spent the last few hours using a big farty dog ass as a pillow. That, my friends, is dedication.

For everyone celebrating today, a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my family, both real life and my extended online family. I’m thankful for a warm home, and food on the table. I’m thankful for so many things today, and grateful, too.

Alright, so, as the title says, does a lack of feedback affect your stories? (Ie while you’re writing, does the lack of feedback make you change things, doubt things, et cetera, et cetera? And vice versa, does a lot of feedback affect you? Do you change things that you probably wouldn’t have based upon those words?) This is probably a question that’s been asked before, don’t throw the pineapples (they kind of hurt), but… As for me, so far I’d say not really (in terms of changing things that otherwise wouldn’t have been). The lack of feedback on a lot of mine does make me question certain decisions, as I’m sure everyone does when faced with that same thing… For example, I know people are reading them (...unless they’re accidentally clicking into it and getting out of there as fast as possible… I’m going with the former, though), but lately I’ve been debating the… slow burn of one of them… Introducing and trying to create likeable characters that everyone wants to see survive through with the interactions that ring true necessitated the long fuse to the dynamite, and it’s been making me question that length. I’m sure everyone has something like that.

woohoo! Two days off in a row! So far. Keep yer fingers crossed!

Have a great independence day, my unfortunate neighbours South of the border! just close your eyes and imagine you have Idris elba or bernie Sanders or whatever your particular flavor of politics is as president for the day.

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to my Neko-baby, Willow Darkling!

Wow! Going to the link to see the entire blurb written, I would have to agree that this ‘advice’ does not apply ‘across the board’ and I don’t say that because I’ve used the ‘slamming door’ action to emphasize something a character just said. I've also used it when that same character was alone but was so completely frustrated or angry there was a need to expend energy. I have hot-headed characters as well as those who hide that aspect of themselves from others. Therefore, in private they react in what would be viewed as a violent manner to release some of the anger or even rage they feel inside. For example, I have this one character who is viewed by most of the other characters as 'meek and mild' yet she threw a book across the room because she was pissed off. I feel old cliche's do have a place in writings as long as they fit within the characters established personality and the setting they are used. Using them does not reflect poor or substandard writing skills, in my opinion.

It is fixed, replaced recaptcha with a different verification which is more people friendly but not bot friendly.

I have been stuck in writer’s block hell for so long I can’t even remember when it started. I know I bought a new laptop last year and never bothered to download any word processor to it. Why? I wasn’t going to use it. Then out of nowhere, at work, not a likely location, a rabid plot bunny attacked. It won’t let go. I’m so strangely excited. I thought that part of my brain had died. Cheers to the writers and their rabbits.

There’s a very strange correlation I’ve noticed over the years when it comes to reading on a free archive. Unless you make it almost stupidly easy and nearly unavoidable to leave feedback, readers won’t bother. I’m going to hazard a few guesses as to why. First, I think most readers don’t really know what sort of feedback to leave. They see writers grumbling about the “Loved it! Write more!” reviews which don’t offer the writer a clue as to what the reader loved about a story, or chapter, but at least affirm someone read it and liked it. Second, it could be where and/or when the reader is reading your work. On the way to work? Right before bed? Maybe it’s not a good time to leave a comment, and the reader plans to come back later and review, and… I am personally guilty of this one. Third, the Review [insert story name] link is at the bottom of each chapter, but it’s small, and easily missed. It’s also frequently confused with the Report Story link, as I can attest based on the number of reviews I get in the guise of abuse reports. And yes, I do ask the reporter to leave the comment as a review for the author, but I can’t do it myself, sadly. And finally, people like quick buttons. The “Like” buttons on FB and Twitter have conditioned people to want to be able to just leave that instant feedback. It’s fast and requires no thought. We had a ratings feature here, but because it was scaled, it was abused more often than it should have been by readers voting down a story because it wasn’t the One True Ship, or other nonsense. I personally would be fine with a button which only records a “like” or “recommend” on a story. If you don’t like it, there’s no option for abuse. You simply don’t click. One factor I don’t think really matters is the notion of allowing anonymous reviews. It’s an account-wide choice here, so you can’t cherry-pick which stories on which to allow anon reviews. Allowing them opens you to trolls and flamers, and disallowing them discourages readers who aren’t logged in, or who might not even have archive profiles. But I think it is probably the least relevant factor in getting feedback.

I’m going to be the fly in the ointment here, and comment on the notion of skipping an editor when self publishing. Unless you are supremely confident you can catch POV shifts, and have buttoned every thread up, unless you know you haven’t slipped in the chronology, and events take place in a reasonable/explainable span of time, unless you are self-aware enough to pick up on repetitive phrasing and overuse of certain words and phrases, you need an editor. (I tend to be vague about time lapses, and I’m insanely obstinate about abusing certain words myself. I try to make it up to my editor by being quick to turn around the comments, and not whine a lot about the work I need to do to fix my mess. ) I like to check out new authors, and I do a lot of poking about on blogs and review sites, where I can see a bit of an excerpt. I might be captured by a summary, but when I read the excerpt, if I hit that wall because even in those roughly 500 words I encounter sloppy editing, I don’t buy that book. Why? Because sometimes the poor editing is enough to take me out of the story, and I wind up wanting to leave the author a review begging them to pull the book, and have it edited as a mercy to readers. I’m far less forgiving when I’m asked to pay for work that hasn’t seen a beta reader, much less an editor and proofreader. It’s unprofessional, and it’s sloppy to put a book out there, ask for my money, and give me something that looks like a first draft of a manuscript. I can read better here for free, thank you. The preponderance of us in this thread write original work, which is why I’m sort of focusing on this. Self publishing is not a bad thing, but having a bad review or sharp concrit here is one thing. Having it happen on Amazon is crushing for authors who could be really good, with some editing and polishing.

Absolutely, lack of feedback makes me change stuff! Sometimes the change is as simple as pulling the story. Sometimes it gets more complicated as I attempt to read the minds of readers to figure out what the problem was. And seeing as how I’m a pretty shitty psychic, I end up changing a lot of things in a panic until the story is unrecognizable or just not what I wanted to begin with soooo either way it’s usually a terrible decision on my part lol. But doubt does that to me. Makes me make terrible decisions.

“Stop scrolling! Are you ready to read the best story you’ve ever read? Great! You can read this piece of shit until you find it. Rape, snuff, MAGA”.