Canuk

I am sorry, I wasn't going to enter this debate but saying Dallas is plausible ..... it was the greatest load of hokum.... watchable, well-ish acted, a vague plot but plausible? no, no way and not at all. In fact it was about as plausible as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all other soaps/serials from I Love Lucy and Gilligan's Island to Lost. In fact I would go as far as to say that the implausability / improbability level has to be high to turn it from documentry to drama/soap. As no one has offered to film my life or any of the lives of anyone I know (perhaps my social circle over 40 years on two continents is just too small), I'd suggest that our all-too-plausible, day-to-day lives don't make good drama/soaps...... so far this morning the greatest drama has been I forgot to plug in the toaster after doing the ironing..... thrilling drama; no. Plausible; yep. boring; you tell me..... ultimately it's whatever makes your boat float and Mark , your writing floats mine very well!!

Mark , I am Shocked! yes Shocked! You are wasting VALUABLE time posting!! You could be writing: More CAP, More Bridgewater!! while it may be a big ask but perhaps you need to satisfy fewer people with your mouth and more with your pen...... (I suppose there is an alternative: you could satisfy all of us with your mouth...... ) either way - if you keep it up, so, I am sure, will we......

Ivy, I completely agree!! while really enjoy Mark's writing, i do accept it for what it is - a novel, an elegant fiction created by an extremely talented person. the proof: we are all taking time out from RL to discuss/debate/laugh about HIS characters! and if anyone is worried that said characters are "stranger than fiction", then, my boy, you have lead a way too sheltered life!

Mark , continuing with the age discussion, I think you have nailed it describing the changing nature of relationships as the partners age. a person I know classifies people into three groups: 1)wouldn't kick out of bed, 2) would invite into bed, 3) would spend my life with. in my five decades I have met many in cata 1, quite a few in cata 2, but only 1 in cata 3 and it took me 4 decades to find him. CAP covers all three types of characters and the fact that it took Steph and JP a while to make that connection speaks to the realism and truth of your writing. Now; the box - who is it going to crucify? I can't wait!!!

I must admit that as well as CAP is written, the Granger-related stories appeal to me so much more. I am not sure I am going to express this very clearly but I'll give it a go. While both story-lines have well developed characters, in the Granger series they feel they are there for other than their own purpose. The characters are all part of a bigger picture. In CAP its all about the family, the importance of the family, the security of the family and the head issues of the family. This produces a good story in a days-of-our-lives way, whereas Granger stories always feel like they are part of a greater picture. all this of course doesn't make one better than the other, just explains my preference. Mark , I look forward to whatever your amazing talent will produce next. If I had my d'ruthers I'd get you to chuck the day job and just bloody write - you have fans to satisfy, !!!

"More addicted to Cap than Bridgemont" - surely not!! I thought CAP were just the stories that people read while waiting for the next in the Bridgemont series!!!! i am so much a granger groupie that it scares me!

Mark for my first post I'll not go into the need for more/less of Lennox, Walker's sleeping arrangements or any of the other issues addressed above, I'd just like to congratulate you on a wonderful series (I have only read the stories featuring Granger). As far as I am concerned you seem to be able to write bloody well and i am prepared to enjoy it as it comes (so to speak). I look forward to the continuation of Granger's exploits. And just to contradict everything i said above - I prefer Travis' masculine maturity to Calvert's boyish ethusiasm! write on and bugger RL!! Regards C