As a voracious reader of all kinds of genres, I love the authors mentioned here, especially the great DottiD and her Peggy stories, which for me marked a turning point on this site. Those long stories, told in chapters that are seamlessly woven together, with characters so charismatic they stick in your memory, and a narrative structure that draws you into the story so deeply it feels like you’re living it, eagerly waiting for the next chapter to appear. As I always like to say, great novels with catfights (what more could you ask for?)
However, it’s tremendously unfair to praise those authors only to criticize the current ones, who publish their stories for free, and several of whom are, in my opinion, extraordinarily talented. CoffeeMug and bcw8 immediately come to mind. “Swampland” and especially “Mad Women” by CoffeeMug are incredible experiences to read and reread, and is currently writing “LA Women”, which is on its way to being another masterpiece. Bcw8 is so talented that everything he does is pure gold. Janine_G writes many high-quality short stories, and recently Kerfuffling blew me away with his last two stories, especially “Evil Stepmom Fights Heroic Babysitter.” These are just a few examples of the enormous talent on this site.
Practicing gratitude is a great habit for a better life, and I agree that on this site I get the feeling we’re not very grateful.