Renovations by jfalkon

[Graeme]

Renovations by jfalkon

When Jim gets a nasty case of writer's block his boyfriend decides to cure him with an adventure. They sign up for a reality show, stay in a spooky house, and solve some strange mysteries.

 

 

:nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

Edited December 9, 2008 by Graeme

[Graeme]

This was a fun story. It reminded me a lot of one of the first renovation TV shows in Australia. That particular show also included a gay couple as one of the competitors. Unfortunately, because of that TV show, I kept expecting to read about Jim and Angel doing the painting dressed only in their underwear... The Australian gay couple explained that it meant that there clothes wouldn't get splashed with paint, but I think the TV station showed it because it rated

 

I will admit that I was slower than Jim and Angel to work out what was going on. I did, however, reinforce my opinion of reality TV shows. I absolutely loved their behaviour when they realised that they were being filmed in the night. The producer probably hated them, but they had fun and no one could say that they weren't playing the game. Dirty tricks go both ways....

 

Thanks, jfalkon -- I loved it!

[kitten]

I think Graeme found the perfect description for this story - fun!

 

Despite my aversion to reality TV shows, I enjoyed the story... Actually, maybe at least part of my enjoyment was because of the way the story makes a dig at such shows.

 

My suspicions about what was going on grew the same time that Jim & Angel did, so I guess that the plot was perfectly paced from my point of view.

 

As with jfalkon's story in the previous anthology, I thought the plot was very inventive and the writing was often very witty. Several bits made my lips curve into a smile. e.g.

 

The main course was shaped like a skyscraper... as if trying to see if his dinner would survive an earthquake.

and

trying to decide how much carrot cake he could eat without getting instant love handles

 

 

As with the previous story, though, the short, seemingly disconnected sentenced, were a bit jarring at times. I'll send a PM with examples and suggestions.

 

Anyway, thanks for a fun read!

 

Kit

[Dolores Esteban]

I enjoyed this story a lot. For a while I was waiting for some real ghosts showing up and surprising the TV team. But no ghosts showed up. It was just a game. I do not feel disappointed at all. A very original idea and story concept.

 

[Conner]

The great thing about ghost stories is that the anxiety created by the story e.g. bloodstains on the ceiling, often causes the reader to almost hallucinate. I kept thinking that real blood was going to start dripping from the ceiling any moment.

 

Very different and, yes, lots of fun.

 

Thanks, jfalkon.

 

Conner

[jfalkon]

Thanks everyone! I apreciate the comments and am glad you were entertained.

[C James]

I loved the use of the stain to add a layer of tension; I kept expecting all manner of evil happenings.

 

Loved the story! I also especially loved the characterization of writer's block: Intellectual impotence. Brilliant!

[Linxe Termoil]

good story, i liked this alot

 

Jon