Mark Arbour Posted October 23, 2008 Posted October 23, 2008 For those of you who read my two other stories, the sequel, the Land Whore, is now posted to e-fiction. This is different than CAP or 1968 in a couple of ways. The first is that the narrative character has changed. In prior stories, it was JP, but now it is Stefan. It bears remembering that Stefan has a rabid libido, so there will be a lot more sex in this one. For him, sex and love are synonymous. It might be more accurate still to say sex and "like" are synonymous. I'm trying hard to make sure it's not gratuitous, so you should let me know how you think I'm doing with that. The other obvious difference is the time frame: 1973. We leave the horrible Vietnam War behind and enter a different type of conflict and crises. Watergate and the beginning of the downfall of Richard Nixon, followed by the Yom Kippur War where Israel fought successfully to survive, to the subsequent oil embargo that brought gas lines and high gas prices into the psyche of Americans for the very first time. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, post a review. I still haven't gotten one of those! If you don't, pretend you never read it and go away.
Mark Arbour Posted August 3, 2009 Author Posted August 3, 2009 I posted this on my group so I thought I'd toss it out here too. The DeFranco Family in 1973: Lead singer Tony DeFranco now: Tony DeFranco
zland666 Posted February 24, 2010 Posted February 24, 2010 I loved it loved it loved it! that's all I can say! I'm reading the rest of them when I get the chance stefan may be a whore but a cute one;]
Mark Arbour Posted February 24, 2010 Author Posted February 24, 2010 I loved it loved it loved it! that's all I can say! I'm reading the rest of them when I get the chance stefan may be a whore but a cute one;] Wow! Talk about resurrecting a thread. I like this story. It was one of my favorites to write.
Tiger Posted February 24, 2010 Posted February 24, 2010 Wow! Talk about resurrecting a thread. I like this story. It was one of my favorites to write. It showed too. It seems that you brought Stefan to life better than any other character, except maybe for Brad. He has to be one of your favorites.
methodwriter85 Posted February 24, 2010 Posted February 24, 2010 I did music for the Land Whore a while back. Here's a song that I think does a great job of summing up that early/mid-70's era: This was written with 1970's Britain in mind, but it could easily apply to what happened to America in the 1970's.
nightsky Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 Second resurrection... I'm about halfway through. I feel sorry for Stefan for being torn about his love life, for feeling guilty about his inability to be monogomous, and jealous of all the action he gets. To be honest, I do miss hearing JP's POV, but it's nice to get to know Stefan's inner thoughts. Can't wait to find out what happens with Roger, Peter, and Armand.
Tiger Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) Second resurrection... I'm about halfway through. I feel sorry for Stefan for being torn about his love life, for feeling guilty about his inability to be monogomous, and jealous of all the action he gets. To be honest, I do miss hearing JP's POV, but it's nice to get to know Stefan's inner thoughts. Can't wait to find out what happens with Roger, Peter, and Armand. Well, I happened to like it better from Stefan's perspective. He's an amazing character, and I have to admit that he's my favorite in the CAP series overall. Roger? Oh yes, I remember him. He's a difficult character to understand. Armand is such a slut but a cute one! Edited April 21, 2010 by Tiger 2
Mark M Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 Well, I happened to like it better from Armand's perspective. He's an amazing character, and I have to admit that he's my favorite in the CAP series overall. Roger? Oh yes, I remember him. He's a difficult character to understand. Armand is such a slut but a cute one! Armand is not the best CAP Character!!! He's Hot as hell yes....but the best is obviously still is and always will be Brad.....come to think of it i feel like re-reading Be-rad and Mim
Tiger Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 Armand is not the best CAP Character!!! He's Hot as hell yes....but the best is obviously still is and always will be Brad.....come to think of it i feel like re-reading Be-rad and Mim I actually meant to say Stefan. I must have been tired when I made that last comment. 1
methodwriter85 Posted April 22, 2010 Posted April 22, 2010 Armand was hot, but he didn't have a whole lot of depth to him. That's what I love about Stefan- on the surface he's shallow slut into fashion and sex, but in reality he's anything but.
nightsky Posted April 22, 2010 Posted April 22, 2010 Armand was hot, but he didn't have a whole lot of depth to him. That's what I love about Stefan- on the surface he's shallow slut into fashion and sex, but in reality he's anything but. Do we get to learn more about him (Armand?) I'm on Chapter 20. S just found out about Brad and Josh.
Tiger Posted April 22, 2010 Posted April 22, 2010 Do we get to learn more about him (Armand?) I'm on Chapter 20. S just found out about Brad and Josh. There will be more of Armand. I'm not going to spoil it for you. You'll have to find out for yourself.
nightsky Posted April 22, 2010 Posted April 22, 2010 There will be more of Armand. I'm not going to spoil it for you. You'll have to find out for yourself. Grr. ppl been spoiling left and right (unintentionally, of course) but that's ok. I can't wait to see who Stefan ends up with... although all signs point to JP.
Adam Phillips Posted April 22, 2010 Posted April 22, 2010 Well, I happened to like it better from Stefan's perspective. He's an amazing character, and I have to admit that he's my favorite in the CAP series overall. Roger? Oh yes, I remember him. He's a difficult character to understand. Armand is such a slut but a cute one! Uhh...it's utterly beyond me why someone would give your above-quoted post a "negative." People astound me sometimes.
Tiger Posted April 22, 2010 Posted April 22, 2010 Uhh...it's utterly beyond me why someone would give your above-quoted post a "negative." People astound me sometimes. Well, I did accidentally type Armand instead of Stefan. I even edited the post. That might have been why.
nightsky Posted April 22, 2010 Posted April 22, 2010 Well, I did accidentally type Armand instead of Stefan. I even edited the post. That might have been why. Ppl like to be mean when they don't have to be held accountable. I pos'ed it, so it's all balanced out. I'm going to bed kinda mad at Stefan and Roger and Peter. (I'm in the "everyone goes to LA and screws everyone else, but no one is really ok with it" chapter.) OTOH, I did just "meet" Greg... 3
Adam Phillips Posted April 24, 2010 Posted April 24, 2010 Ppl like to be mean when they don't have to be held accountable. I pos'ed it, so it's all balanced out. Yeah, I'm wondering if that whole ratings thing doesn't create more mischief than it's worth. For my part, I've decided I'm only rating a post when I want to give it a "positive." Part of my new resolution not to dwell on negativity. Wish me luck. It would maybe be a more useful feature if you had to put your screen name with your rating. 1
methodwriter85 Posted April 24, 2010 Posted April 24, 2010 You just want the names so you know who's on your hitlist, Adam.;-) Now, back to Land Whore- I really like how the suburbanization of central CA serves as a bit of a driver. I wonder if this means that Stefan will also be part of the soCal building boom of the 90's and first half of the '00's.
Adam Phillips Posted April 24, 2010 Posted April 24, 2010 You just want the names so you know who's on your hitlist, Adam.;-) Both my hitlist and my hit parade, Jeremy. But seriously, it's been my experience in life that when people can take shots at you without having to be identified, then all of a sudden they're "courageous" about it. Fire off and go hide in the bushes. But if they're out in the open, well, then, the shot ain't cheap, right? It comes at a price. Anyway, The Land Whore. I'm never crazy about it when Stefan narrates. I find myself liking The Box a great deal, even though he does, because the bulk of the narrative is the first-person account from the WW2 era. And I don't care what you say, J--I'm current now, and I effing love Aaron. Although...uhh...I guess that comment belongs in another thread. And by the way, don't sell A Summer Love short.
methodwriter85 Posted April 26, 2010 Posted April 26, 2010 (edited) What don't you like about Stefan as a narrator, Adam? He's a fun, charming guy with a zest for life, especially men and fashion. At the same time, he's got his business side and his tender, paternal-like love for Brad. As for Aaron in The Box...I just dont't think he's the one for Steven. He's nice, but his zealous desire to go fight turns me off. Finally- A Summer Love wasn't horrible...it's just that I feel like we didn't really get to know Marcel, and following an enigmatic protagonist isn't easy. Marcel is a nice person, but simply lacked the gravitas to carry his own story. Although I will take some blame for that- I suggested to Mark that if he were going to do a story about 1991 he should use Marcel because Marcel should be going through interesting issues as someone who was graduating college. I thought it would make Marcel compelling, and I was wrong. So in that case, as your muse I failed you, Mark. I like to think though that the good ideas I threw at you that you used for CAP outweigh that bad one, hopefully. Edited April 26, 2010 by methodwriter85
Tiger Posted April 26, 2010 Posted April 26, 2010 I happen to agree with Jeremy. What's not to love about Stefan? He's an awesome business man with a penchant for bagging hot straight guys. He also has a heart of gold for everyone he loves.
methodwriter85 Posted April 26, 2010 Posted April 26, 2010 Adam's gotta be the only person I know who doesn't like Stefan as narrator. But someone has to be the outlier, and I suppose it's Adam. Anyways, since Mark posted the Difranco family, I figured I had to post this...this one makes me think of Stefan and Roger's relationship in this one. I really, really did enjoy doing music for this story. Even the sappy pop music was really good in that era.
Adam Phillips Posted April 26, 2010 Posted April 26, 2010 Adam's gotta be the only person I know who doesn't like Stefan as narrator. But someone has to be the outlier, and I suppose it's Adam. I like Stefan just fine as a character. At the same time, he's not particularly interesting to me. Not compared to the head-case who is JP, or compared to some of the younger narrators. --Adam
nightsky Posted April 26, 2010 Posted April 26, 2010 I like Stefan just fine as a character. At the same time, he's not particularly interesting to me. Not compared to the head-case who is JP, or compared to some of the younger narrators. --Adam I would hazard to guess it is b/c he's not a very complex character. .. he's kind of... flat? he's got a loving relationship with Brad (I did really enjoy it when they deepened their relationship), and he's happy with Greg. Before that... he's just well, a whore? I might have to re-read parts of CAP... i think Mark set it up so that Stefan could be a complex character (with all that background stuff from before he became a Schluter), but it hasn't really manifested much (or, rather, I don't feel I got a ring side seat to Stefan's struggle with coming to terms with all that stuff) I'm on Man in Motion and enjoying Brad and Robbie. Sad though. Sad sad.
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