A shout out to your Lit influences and mentors.

[MillieDynamite]

Glad to be of any modicum of service. Wow, this is going to be quite the thread. For the moment, I'll just say, for various reasons, TxRad, Ogg, Lovecraft68, StillStunned, NoTalentHack, joy_of_cooking, ShelbyDawn57, Lifestyle66, ElectricBlue, AlexBailey, MediocreAuthor, EmilyMiller, Duleigh, MrPixel, and the irrepressible, opinionated, bullhead, thorn in my side and wonderfully inspiring (at least to me) KeithD! I'm posting more when the mood arises.

KeithD's constant disagreeing, nitpicking, and often bullying of me made me a better writer... I cannot explain why, so please don't ask me to elaborate on this.

EDIT: I left out lovecraft68; how did I do that?

These people have helped me understand my own erotic self. If I ever write another story (seems unlikely at this point), it will be with more clarity about what I'm doing.

@ElectricBlue - A flawless understanding of my writing, even though it's not his thing.

@MillieDynamite - Gave me a clue to what might be going on with my restrained writing style. It may have something to do with my sense for the depths of sex. "I believe there is something deeper in this story than just the shock factor"

@AwkwardlySet - On why my stories don't involve relationships: "I am a straight guy, but more often than not, I don't need a man in a sex scene to be able to enjoy it. Women are all that interests me sexually and I don't even need the fantasy of me joining them in some way - I can simply enjoy their beauty and sexual appeal." Just reverse the sexes for me.

@HordHolm - the advice "Help the reader to understand what the characters are sensing" in the "How to write a good stroker" thread.

These people haven't exactly moved me forward, but they exhibit qualities that I value a lot and I feel their presence helps me keep chugging along in the AH world.

@madelinemasoch - Takes sex seriously.

@StillStunned - Is enthusiastic about sex and the craft of writing. Is also now and again pretty funny.

@AlexBailey - Appreciates my more unique qualities.*
I know "more unique" is an oxymoron, but what is a better word or phrase? Plain old "unique" is obviously inaccurate, in a world of billions of people. "Special," sounds to loaded with value judgement (especially after the Church Lady took it over). "Unusual," doesn't do it for some reason.

I'm sure there are others that I've overlooked. My apologies.

 

[RejectReality]

There are many, but the one that stands out above all others is DanielleKitten. I was a hack smut slinger with only a couple of stories to my name, and she all but took me under her wing. Always there with an encouraging word, advice on how the site worked, first reads, and to share her considerable star-power in the form of comments, recommendations, reviews, and participating in chain stories that lifted everyone in them by exposing them to her massive following.

RedHairedandFriendly, FallingtoFly, and SelenaKitt were absolutely there at the beginning too, making massive contributions, but Danielle was something special, and I miss seeing her around here more than words can say.

 

[nice90sguy]

No influences (I don't think any of the many great writers here affected my writing), but mentors in my early days are legion: In particular dr_mabeuse, tx rad, ronde, killermuffin - only ronde is still around. More recently, AwkwardMD's constructive criticisms of some of my stories were really helpful; she showed me the sometimes big gap between what I intended my story to be, and the story I ended up writing.

 

[redgarters]

There are a few people here who made me believe in myself as a writer of lesbian romance/erotica.

First I want to emphasize how even a single positive comment from a writer you admire can make a difference and bring confidence. @onehitwanda left one on my first lesbian story, and more than all the others it made me believe in myself. It was the first time I really tried writing something emotionally complicated, and that simple but beautiful encouragement made a difference. She has given me more feedback since then and the effect is always the same.

Similarly, having @BrokenSpokes reach out and talk writing was a big thing for me, giving me a chance to learn something new and see some of her stories and characters in a new light, thus making me reevaluate some of mine.

When it comes to inspiration, those two sit at the top of my list. I write what I do here directly because of their beautiful writing.

When I was starting out posting lesbian stories I was lucky enough to have @THBGato welcome me with open arms, beta reading, commenting, giving advice and just being an all round lovely and helpful person. If there's one person here that's made me a better writer more than others, it's T.

Once when T was offline for a while I pestered @SugarStorm for a beta read, read some for her in turn, and following that a lesbian romance writers coven of sorts was born, with an accidentally shared universe of stories (well, maybe not that accidental, but fun anyway - group hug again guys) I absolutely love having found people who I connect with through writing like that.

@DawnDuckie has helped me sooo much and truly, some of my stories would not be the same without her insights and attention to detail. @Nynah has been amazing as well, reading and discussing points in my stories and wip's and giving me detailed feedback.

Thank you all so much for all your help and support!