Ivy

Oh the games people play...This is so juicy and delicious on so many levels....

I just love this story! The wedding was great, just the right mix of serious and fun. I mean really, " I touch myself"!!! Only Brad would have the cajones to have that song at his wedding! And his panic at saying his vows and the way he rose above it, is so true to form for him. He is such a multi-level, multi-dimensional character, that you have created Mark. I think that is why he is the favorite of so many readers. He has is flaws, but he is so much fun to read because he keeps suprising us with his responses and reactions.. Just the right thing for reading when I am snowed in at home today.

my redneck roots are showing, because I thought that song was funny! I love Ray Stevens And I loved Ch 60. Brad and Robbie are showing off their newfound maturity by stopping to think for half a second before reacting and flying off the handle! It was good to see Matt and Wade again. I miss them when they are not aound. as for the thing between Alex and Wade's mother....not a clue...so here's my wild guess.....Wad'e mother had an affair with Brad's dad , got pregnant, but she was too young to keep the child, and gave it up for adoption, which means Brad has another half brother or sister out there somewhwere.

Ch 60 Awesome! I loved the interaction between Brad and Isadore.I also really like how you show that Brad and Robbie are learning to interact on a different level. They've learned to reign in the first response and look at the situation before reacting. It's like they are learning how deal with each other's "adult" self.Great job Mark!

Thank you for the update Mark! I'm at work and had to wait till lunch break to read it. I agree that Georgie is maturing emotionally and may realize at some point that his first true love (Travers) relationship had a lot of hero worship mixed in- which looks like it is fading as his own self confidence emerges. Not that he wasn't always confident, but he is young and now he is truly beginning to realize his place in the grand scheme of things. I see him now as a man, whereas before it was like he was a "kid" playing at being a grown up in grown up situations.

Ella will be naturally willowy, no need for any self destruction. We'll leave that to JJ as he tries to maintain his weight for skating. Ch 59 I'm a sap, 'cause I thought it was cute and sweet. I mean taking Brad back to where they first met to propose, that's the definition of romantic! I for one did not see this coming. I thought we might see it later as the laws filp flop back and forth in California, but this was a total suprise. Love it! And Ella's going to get a makeover so she'll look great at the wedding! The only question is if Steph and Claire come to blows over who gets to take charge.

I had an Irish Catholic college roomate who's last name was Flahive (Flay-hive) who was really cool, but if that was my last name I would give my kid Matt or Wade's last name too. I think Tiffany McMillan has a nice ring to it.

I read just about everything, but love historical military stuff. I was in a chat room on a mainstream authors site and someone rec'd a story by Marquesatte called Special Forces, which is a really long, but extremely good (great) story. It's a free read and took me about 6 months to finish. It's really about 4 books in length. http://www.marquesate.org/special-forces.html Its really more recent history than historical as it ends up in modern times as Great Britain passes the right for gay/lesbian couples to marry in civil ceremonies. It was the first gay male story I ever read, and it's worth it for anyone who wants to make a committment. It's rough, brutal, tender, and heartbreaking at times. I laughed and cried. The author rec'd your Bridgemont series to me in her chat room, but I didn't find my way here till I finished Special Forces. Her site is really well done, and honestly I didn't figure out the author was a woman till I started reading her blog. Other than the sites you mentioned above, I really only go to specific author sites that are rec'd by friends. Some publish free stories on line as well as their print stories. I prefer GA to the other main ones, ironically enough, because of the organization here. (Current chaos notwithstanding, LOL) I also guiltily admit to cruising LiveJournal from time to time for fanfiction. There are some really good and some really badly written stories there.

If Wade is the father, I can't see how Grandma Danfield would be happy with a Danfield baby born without the Danfield name.

I could see Wade attending law school after Stanford, whereas Matt seems more like the type to jump straight into the workforce. I'm not sure if Wade has any intentions of entering politics at some point, but a law degree wouldn't hurt if that was the case as its a route many politicians take. As long as neither of them goes to work for Enron whatever they do is fine with me.

Ok did anyone else get a weird feeling about the conversation between Brad and Steph, just before Darius came in? Steph is what? Bored, unhappy? He's only about 55 at this point. Is he having a mid-life crisis too? He's always been a life-of-the-party kind of guy. With just mostly JP, Isadore, and Frank in that big ole house, I could see boredom setting in, especially since JP is not big on the love den idea. Joking aside, I'm thinking this might be more important than it seems at first glance. But then again, that's why Mark is a genius. It might be important, might not, he just likes to keep us guessing.

Mark you evil author you!! What a tease! But speculation is so much fun!! At least we know Ella will be around in some form or other which means the other Claremont kids will be as well, which means Mark you have a lot of new material to work with.

I think scientists should study the musical portion of your brain! How do you come up with all of these? I don't comment much on your music recs, but I do appreciate them a bunch. I especially like the mid 80's flashbacks. Takes me right back to highschool as I graduated in 87. "Our House" was one of those that you just couldn't help but sing along with in the car, and was usually playing at whatever party or dance we went to.

Loved this chapter (55). I now see why I thought Gathan might be older. It seems he had to do a lot of maturing through hard times. I knew that the return to Claremont would be interesting and result in numerous renewed connections, good and bad, but now I am facinated to see how this new generation's stories are told. Will Gathan be one of the first to go off to college then return to Claremont? Maybe with an engineering degree from Stanford to work in the new Triton plant? I can't wait for the California trip so that Clair can give Ella a makeover! It's been a while since we've seen one of those, and if anyone needs one, it sounds like she is a worthwhile candidate. From the way Brad decribed her maybe a model or model/actress in the making? She would certainly have the right connections and people to watch out for her in the business. Seems like this is about the time when all the Disney and Nickelodean teen shows started blowing up all over the place. It will be intriguing to see how the Claremont kids and the California kids interact. Can't wait for that. Brad and Robbies interactions were really good as well. It's nice to see Brad thinking through things before flying off the handle.

Seems to me like Gathan is probably already out of high school. I don't remember where Robbie fell in the age order of his family, but didn't this guy say cousin not uncle? So maybe he's out of school and has realized the job prospects are slim to none and that's what he was saying about just needing a chance. I see him as early 20's, eager to escape the cycle, but not seeing much opportunity to do so.

Hmmm, since Brad's bio-dad was kind of a hound dog, I wonder if there are any other half-brothers or sisters out there. If they were told their bio-dad was dead, they would have had no reason to seek out his family really. But if all this drama between Auntie Alex and Brad comes out in the gossip columns, they might possibly seek Brad out. It's a long shot, but it could happen. Sorry I'm really bored right now, and this is where my mind wandered.

Kevin is a Carmichael isn't he? Would he ever be a candidate for storyteller? I don't see him as one at this point, but he is attending Stanford and who knows what Mark has planned for him. I doubt that he was brought in just to be Cody's perfect partner, and then just hang out in the background. What was his major? Is he going to work in one of the family businesses? He is kind of one dimensional right now but he has a lot of potential as a character that I can see. And Steph, Brad and Robbie all like him so I could see him becoming a new protege for any of them He has a legitimate beef with his family from the religious aspect which hasn't been addressed, and Auntie Alex doesn't really know he is in Brad's camp yet which could have a lot of potential family drama as well. I just don't know what direction Mark is going to go with him. I'm always excited to see who the next protagonist will be.

that was just hiliarious! and actually a pretty good make-up job on the fake muscles. I guess after you've won enough championships and medals, you can pretty much get away with anything.

ch 49: Great! you certainly know how to keep us coming back for more.... and yay, Lark's not dead, although Mark Clark may be undergoing a name change soon, so he might as well be dead. I'm sure someone in this extended family knows how to create a false identity. After all identity theft would have been a lot easier then than it is now, even though now it still seems to be relatively easy.

yeah, what he said... not sure if I can hang by my fingernails til the next chapter

personally I think Lark's info is legit, at least this time. He's only worried about himself in the long run. He realizes the gig with Dan is up. He also realizes that Brad's always pretty much comes out on top in any situation. So he knows that if he double crosses Brad in this situation, he's pretty much done for. Plus he just agreed to live in Brad's villa in Hawaii. If he's not on the level and tries to disappear with the money, Brad knows instantly it was a bum deal. Also Brad, Steph and the crew are about to research every single number, contract and person in all that paperwork. I give them enough credit to do their due diligence before they act on anything that came from nefarious sources. I just wonder if Hawaii is far enough away if the Amphion/Omega people find out about Lark's betrayal. He might need to invest in some plastic surgery and a name change, lol.

You guys crack me up with all the 'baby daddy' talk!! We won't know who's pregnant one way or another for a couple of weeks in the Millineum-verse, and we won't know who the daddy is for at least nine months unless they do an amnio DNA test which I seriously doubt will happen. I'm kinda with Matt on this one, whatever happens they will work it out. At least one baby is planned, and if there are two or more, well this family has a history of the more the merrier. I don't think anything more than a minor freak-out will happen, whoever is pregnant. It's just one of those hurry up and wait situations. Now for me, I got to the end of the chapter, and thought 'Weeeee!! Party Drama!!" It's finally Brad's chance to go on the offensive. That's what has me on pins and needles waiting for the next ch.

I never realized how addicted I've become to Mark's writing till I found myself checking in various ways about 3 times a day to see if either Millennium or Belvidera is updated, and when it is, I get this warm fuzzy feeling........... is it time for the warm fuzzy feeling yet?? soon?? really, I promise I can quit anytime....I can live without a dose of Brad or JP or Steph. or Granger.....sure I can....I can do this...Oh who am I kidding...no I can't.....you've got me hooked Mark! Hello my name is Ivy and I'm a Mark-A-Holic...LOL

Baby speculation is so much fun!! I think it would be fun for Jeanine to get pregnant and have a little girl! After raising three boys and living in such a male dominated household it might be a nice change. And can you imagine how Brad and Robbie would dote on a baby girl. It would be cute to watch.

Christimas time is time for families to "come" together, so to speak. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I think it would be really funny if Tiffany didn't get pregnant but Jeanine did..... I also really would have liked to have heard the apology from JP to Steph, maybe we'll hear more about how that went in the next chapter.