I'm happy to say that my story Fox News is being featured on the Bad Dog Book Club. You can check it out here - http://baddogbookclub.com/reading-2.....llon-as-read-b - being narrated by  toonces, who also joined me and  osfer for a collaborative reading of my earlier story Carnal Shock.

And with that, today is also the last day to nominate stories for the Ursa Major Awards. I've made two journals about that already, so hopefully you guys already know what I'm talking about, but if you don't, take a look here - https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3197845/

I'd also like to take a moment to talk about Fox News as a story. It's unlike any of my other stories that I've written, it's kind of a weird one, it's not really about romance or relationships (like most of my stories), and despite the obvious pun, it's not trying to be very political or make a real political statement. Fox News is about one getting the chance to do things he never thought he'd do, things he only dreamed of. Simply put, it's about one guy trying to prove he's capable of running his own segment. It's a serious story played with a very light-hearted and humourous tone. It's not supposed to be incredibly realistic either, because it's pretty outrageous, but that's the whole point; it's supposed to be wild, crazy and fun.

I thought it'd be clever to really put the "Fox News" pun to some effective, good use. Like go for something no one would think of. At the same time, I've always wanted to write a story that I could use as something of a forum to talk about writing gay erotica. a story that talks about writers, a story that talks about being a writer. So when I came up with idea of the main character interviewing a well-known author of gay erotica, I thought it was perfect. On that note, this is not the first time I've written about Alley Robin; the first story he was featured in was called Hope in Earnest, which hasn't been posted, but it was essentially a sequel to an early story of mine called The Heart's Content, which was written for ROAR, and their theme that year was 'celebrity'. My characters Kees and Silren were already celebrities, but due to the context of the story, I had to come up with some more, and that's pretty much how I came up with Alley Robin, Nathan Taylor and Kory Wimmer (names that you'll constantly hear in Ian and Jamie's stories).

I love Alley as a character, because he's just all over the place. He does a lot of things that aren't very realistic, he's outrageous, he's wild, he's very extroverted, he's outgoing, he could do anything and everything he wants, and he won't apologize for it. He's almost the kind of guy I wish I could be ("I wish I was that fox"). Just like the actual story said, he really is a 'firecracker'. Plus, I LOVE silver foxes! By the way, for all of you who follow my stories with Ian and Jamie, Alley Robin is one of Jamie's favourite writers. However, Ian doesn't care that much for him, and before Dance of Pride, Ian probably wouldn't have liked Alley as a person very much. Alley's personal success as a writer in the context of my Lakeshore Universe is partially inspired by  kyell, but personality and attitude-wise, Alley is really in a league of his own that transcends most of the characters I've written about. For example, whereas Kyell Gold is very modest and humble about his success as an author, Alley isn't and doesn't try to be. While Kyell might have inspired Alley's success, Alley isn't like Kyell, and I don't want him to be, because I enjoy creating and writing about new and interesting characters, but I don't enjoy writing about people, because I feel that's a lazy shortcut out of actually creating new characters and giving them personalities of their own (this is also why I write very little fanfiction).

When it comes right down to it, Alley Robin is an uapologetic faggot and writer, who's gonna do and say exactly what he wants. And he's a silver fox, because silver foxes are goddamn sexy. But he is not perfect; he'll say a lot of things about writing that even I don't necessarily agree with, but that's just how he is and how he thinks. But, he's wild, crazy and fun. He doesn't hold anything back, and he doesn't let anything stop him, and that's what I love about him.

Now Aiden Kitley is the 'everyman', trying to overcome his obstacles and trying to prove he's good enough to get what he wants. Because, in the beginning of the story, it's clear what he wants, and it's established early on what he has to do to get it. Fairly simple. And even though he's got this huge admiration (and attraction) to Alley Robin, Alley's wild, unpredictable nature and personality proves more of an obstacle for him, but also encouragement. Alley keeps flirting with Aiden and hitting on him, encouraging him to be honest about his attraction. That's why the whole "What am I supposed to do?" feeling looms over the middle of the story, and I like that, because you have to wonder if Aiden's going to compromise himself, and if so, how much, and that adds tension. At the same time, you get to hear Alley talking about why he writes gay erotica and a bit about what it means to him as an author (as well as being a gay fox), and that's fun, because it allows me as the writer to get my own thoughts out through my character. And all the talk about gay sex between two gay foxes keeps the anticipation up for the inevitable, upcoming sex scene, where they both just let it all out. And through it all, Alley helps Aiden loosen up. Literally and figuratively.

It's at this point where people should understand that this story is not about relationships, and that it's not like my other stories, partially for this reason. A friend of mine (who is familiar with my work) initially complained about that, because he really wanted to see a solid relationship develop between Aiden and Alley (that's usually what happens in my stories), and I had to tell him that that wasn't the point of the story, because that's just not what this story's about. Alley and Aiden aren't supposed to be boyfriends or anything, and the story is really meant to be about Aiden doing what he needs to do. The outcome of the story is silly, fun, and all over the place but it's supposed to be. When you have a title called "Fox News," you should immediately expect to have realism thrown out the window, because the point is that it's supposed to be silly and fun, and that's what I wanted to do with this story.

And I'd say that's about it! I never thought the story would get as big as it has, but I had a ton of fun writing it, I'm glad it got published, I'm extremely happy for that sexy illustration by  keovi and I'm glad so many people have read it and enjoyed it. I appreciate that a great deal. And once again, I hope you guys nominate the story in the Ursa Majors, along with any of my other stories you may like. :)

And as always, you can read the actual story here - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/6867750/