Dear Readers,

I have been trying very hard the last couple of months not to read or watch the news. My reasons are simple the news absoluetly pisses me off and makes me ashamed to be citizen of the US. However, I do read the news occasionally so that I don't become an Ostrich sticking my head in the sand.

Today's News caused my already pissed off and overly worked up brain to nearly explode. In order to fend off the impending explosion I wrote a Political Rant title The New Colossus. It is a different take on the poem by Ema Lasarus. Emma's Poem is on thee base of The Statue of Liberty, espicially the following quote: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

As Statue of Liberty and Emma's poem stands against every our current government stands against, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Island and Statue closed to the public for the foreseeable future!

How soon we forget that we are a nation of Immigrants and the vast majority of us our foreigners living on the land of the rightful inhabitants.  The lands that we call the United States of America, belong to the Earth, and its keepers and protectors, the Great Spirit and the First Natins People, and the Indigenous People that were already here when the first Vikings and European Settlers/Invaders landed! Were are literally strangers on this continent.

Have a Great Day,

TSL

Dear Readers,

I have done some layout pruning to alleviate excess scrolling as well as make the site load faster.

To access your favourite Authors, just click on Authors in the Menu Bar. From there you can either on the letter of the first name of your author or use the search feature.

Happy Reading,

TSL

Dear Readers,

In my ongoing battle with Depression I am constantly searching for articles on how others deal with theirs. I came accros a series of cooments from people that have used some ideas to help deal with it. I added this info and a personal commenary to my Societal Commentaries -  I Let the Light In, and I Am Glad!.

If you or someone you know is dealing with depression please read my article it may just help. In my case even a tiny bit of help is amazing!

Take care,

TSL

Hey all!

Yes, I'm still around, and am making changes to real life to get more time!

Today, you're getting a double-header - a two-chapter story arc which goes places that nobody ever expected .... while not leaving the room! All I will say is that a few people are finally getting what they deserve, in a very good way.  No Mikyvis were hurt in the production of this chapter, but there's one who has been sentenced to cuddles for an unknown timeframe to prove to him that he's really wanted.

Let the fun begin! "CSV-DSM Part 2, Chapters 17a and 17b - Blood Ties" is now posted for your enjoyment!

Hugzzz!

AC 

Dear Authors,

Your accounts are permanent they do not renew and they don't get cancelled! They can be made Inactive, however, only at your request and notification from me.

If you get any suspicious emails, do not reply to them or click on any of the links contained in the email.

Either forward the email to me or send me a separated email letting me know of the problem.

Take care,

TSL

Offline life decided to kick me while I was already down last month, but I'm a stubborn middle-aged coot, and I managed to get out another chapter of Living In a Small Town. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. It is dedicated to the memory of she who inspired the kitten in the story, Stella, my feline emotional support animal who now waits for me on that fabled Rainbow Bridge.

Dear Readers,

Snowblind has brought us a New story titled Life isn’t always what you plan.

I am working through my huge backlog of chapters to be posted. Because of that I will be spamming the New Chapters section. I am sorry about that, however, because of that you will have a lot more chapter to read.

I am also attempting to get back to my own writing, hopefully, my muse will let me do that.

Happy Reading,

TSL

I want to take a quick minute to thank each and every one of the people who take the time to reach out to help us in providing hosting for online authors. It all started with a little 'ad laced' free forum and in 2004 became a service and community. I started doing what I'm doing simply because I appreciated the work being put in by so many people that I worked really hard to find, mainly because they made my life better. I wanted to share my appreciation to the people who put so much of themselves out into the public for no gain outside of the knowledge that 'the work you put in has the potential to enrich the life of another'. To me, that was so selfless and worth celebrating and supporting. So with the help of a friend who didn't survive long enough to see what his gentle shove ultimately accomplished in the long haul (Thank you August, you are still missed every day!), we actively sought out authors posting mainly on free services whose work clearly deserved a forever home. Along the way, I've gotten to work with some amazing talents, amazing souls each, and once in a while, someone we reach out to reaches back. That's what Ted Louis did for us.

As stated previously in our community, Fort Family Hosting had been made an incredible offer to attempt to boost the financial support at a time when it was most needed. One of the most influential authors of our time IMHO with one of the longest running single story lines ever posted. I have been a fan of his https://tedlouis.com and the community he built there for a VERY long time so when he announced his retirement, stating the service would remain up until his hosting expired, we held our breath and asked him if he would consider allowing us to give it the ability to continue on, hosting until we can no longer provide it. Not only did he floor us by agreeing, but he made an incredible offer to reward those who also helped to support this work. A free autographed copy of one of the books from the 'Joel' series for as long as there were some left in the box he had found in his home to anyone donating $10 or more. Well, because of the outpouring of support, that supply got exhausted, clearing a corner in his home and putting an amazing keepsake on many shelves of the people who helped make it all possible.

So, the free book offer is officially over and I want to say to each and every person that plays a part in helping make it possible to find some of the best amateur literature out there by ensuring it always has a home online. From the people who write the stories, to the people who read them, and every effort in between to make that possible, thank you for your continued support. Ted's work here is thankfully not going anywhere, along with the other thousands of stories hosted throughout the many sites in our community, and that is thanks largely to you because of your support.

To Ted Louis, my friend thank you for many years of memories, for your willingness to share it all with the world, and for your recent choice to pay it forward even more. May your retirement be all that you hoped it would be, and if it isn't, you point at the guy preventing it from happening and we'll go beat him up for you! LOL!

That said, please keep an eye out at https://fortfamilyforums.com for news and updates from the entire network of sites that Ted's site is now a part of. If you enjoy reading, please consider helping us keep the service online with a donation to go toward the hosting costs. That can be done by using the form on the right side of the page at https://dsshosting.net (which is also us) and if you are interested in helping to carry this service further into the future, please reach out to us through that same site.

Our story is way more amazing when you consider what stories are behind it being a reality ;)

After another long wait, it’s time for updates once again. To start things off, we have an updated version of Christmas on the Mountain as well as Volume two of the Dear Manufacturers series as well as a Societal Commentary titled Backpacks For Orphans by The Story Lover. Next, we have Ch 36-38 of Emerald City Boys and Ch 47 of Mayfield Magic by DouglasDD. Finishing things off, we have a short story titled The Intern from Zarek A Dragon as well as Ch 19-20 of Voyagers: SS Robert Heinlein by The Voyagers Authors. Check back soon for more updates.