Guarded

[vwl]

I'm enjoying Guarded https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/beginnings/guarded/ a lot. What I like is that the gay relationship is only part of the story; there is another major meme at play.  

As is common with Nifty stories from apparently new authors is the need for some editing but not enough that  the story is difficult or unpleasant to follow.

Wayne G has made  a rapid transition from an enjoyable and completed but episodic story https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/beginnings/waynes-journal  to Guarded, with a more tightly constructed plot. Seeing rapid growth in an author is very welcome.  Apart from the episodic nature of the story, my major complaint is too much explicit sex, a common fault of Nifty writers, but those scenes can be scanned quickly to get back to the main story.

Let me know if you like Guarded.

[William King]

Chapter One is promising. I get the impression the author is youngish. He did a little research but not quite enough to be realistic regarding living off grid (an electric oven and frozen food with 1kw panels, he'd have to leave the food outside in the snow, lol). None of that really matters, because the essential is the building intrigue and cliffhanger chapter ending, keeps you wanting more. Only thing I don't find cool is his email address!

 I'll come back when I've finished it. Thanks for the recommendation.

[William King]

What you didn't mention was that this is a story in progress. Never mind, it's a competently written thriller and that is a nice change from the usual teen romance. I'm kind of intrigued by the author, is Wayne G a male or another female MM Romance novelist, not that it matters a great deal? And yes, I know, I said it's a thriller, but the protagonists are in a rapidly developing relationship, so both things are going on, hand in hand.

There's ample foreshadowing,  but not enough to give the plot away, so this story keeps you guessing. Like all really good thrillers, you can see how things are building, and you keep trying to imagine how it's going to turn out. It keeps you hooked, because, of course, you just have to know how it will end.

If you like mystery thrillers with romance thrown in, you should give this a read. It's in progress, being serialized I imagine, read it now or wait until it's complete, but read it, it's good!

 

[Merkin]

I'm enjoying it.  The characters have dimension, even the secondary characters.  The plot is full of peaks and cliffs and unexpected reveals.   

[vwl]

Guarded is about to be completed, so this will be my last recommendation here. I'll move the recommendation to another forum when completed.

The story continues to be engrossing, with interesting twists as it goes along. 

No change in my recommendation: a fine story.

[Nigel Gordon]

Well, Guarded is finished and it is a great story, well worth reading.

[William King]

I second that. Not great perhaps, but it is certainly a very good story, with a well thought out plot. Which is a really nice change from all those stories that simply let events unfold.  It's entertaining to read a thriller, with its twists and turns. I don't think it is an easy thing to achieve, so all praise to the author for pulling it off.

[dude]

I agree.  Guarded is a spellbinder.

With a busy story site to run, I seldom run off to other sites to read stories, but this one kept me checking daily for new chapters at Nifty.

I've written to Wayne inviting him to join the cadre of top authors here at AwesomeDude but am still awaiting a positive response.

If you think the story and other stories by this author belong at AD, I would'nt discourage your writing him and saying so.

Mike

[Nigel Gordon]

On 02/04/2018 at 3:46 PM, dude said:

I agree.  Guarded is a spellbinder.

With a busy story site to run, I seldom run off to other sites to read stories, but this one kept me checking daily for new chapters at Nifty.

I've written to Wayne inviting him to join the cadre of top authors here at AwesomeDude but am still awaiting a positive response.

If you think the story and other stories by this author belong at AD, I would'nt discourage your writing him and saying so.

Mike

Hi Mike, I had already emailed Wayne and suggested he submit it to AD. I had a reply that he was looking at self-publishing it.

[Merkin]

Wayne G. has started a new novel called "Camp-Refuge" in the camping section of Nifty.  You can find the first installment here:
https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/camping/camp-refuge

I heard from Wayne about it, and his plan for it is worth quoting:  'I've started a new series called Camp Refuge.  This one is very different from Guarded, and I want you to know that right away.  It's not a mystery/suspense.  Instead, it is almost entirely a character-driven story, which is a challenge for me as a writer in a totally new way.  And that's the idea. It'll be a challenge because I want to show a real progression in the characters themselves.  I want to show growth and change in them.  But I want it to be believable too.'

The quality of Wayne's work on "Guarded" ensures that I'll keep an eye on this new one, and I hope many of you will also.

James