TimGRmich

First, i enjoyed the story. when i was away from the characters for a while (waited a few days to continue reading), i felt like i was missing out on times with my friends -- i guess that's a sign of a good read, eh? i don't, and i'm guessing a lot of people on this site don't, read the reviews and updates -- we just read the story from beginning to end. when the epilogue (and that's a misnomer, in your case) ended the way it did, i literally thot my downloading of the story to my kindle had been cut off ... i mean that couldn't be the end, could it? then i read a few of the last reviews and saw, unfortunately, yes it was. i noticed in one you commented, "I have said a couple of times what i was going to do ..." but it might be helpful to keep in mind, many / most readers don't check out the reviews or the chapter intros -- we just read the story, so most of us would have had no idea of the abrupt ending that was approaching, no matter how many times you might have said forewarned others elsewhere. as i mentioned in another story, i'm not going to let the disappointing ending keep me from having appreciated the journey. would i have done it differently? absolutely. do i think you should have done it differently, especially after such a long read? of course. am i looking forward to more about jason / peter / darryl / dean? well, duh !! ;-) thanks for the good read ... up to the non-epilogue, that is. ;-) best wishes for continued success in your writing -- and especially to not taking too long to complete the trial scene. when the "epilogue" started with the trial, i thot, "oh, good. i wondered how that would turn out, and i'm glad he's including it. i sure my hope comes true: that the perps have to pay all the damages (lost wages, attorney fees, medical costs, etc., etc.) -- then peter would have some money & that allow the main characters to stop talking so very often about, "i'm uncomfortable with ..." i always wanted to step in the pages and say, "yeah, i got that, pete -- we all get it. w've all gotten it several times over -- MOVE THE FRICK ON, WOULD YA? !!" ;-)

well, thanks. i am a fan of those who: 1.) have a sense of humor, and even more so if they 2.) appreciate my sense of humor if we weren't already friends on the site, i'd friend you just for your comment. ;-)

yeah, it's been a running joke between sara & me ... she knows i'm not serious -- sorry maybe you took it that way. she's awesome & definitely worth waiting for ...even tho i pretend to be perturbed. ;-) but, tho unnecessary, i do appreciate your sticking up for her. ;-) best wishes on the house, sara.

as you know, SS was my first read on the site. as you may recall, because i had to wait on chapters ... HELLO! still waiting !! ;-) ... i vowed to wait until a work was done before i started reading, so ... i'm glad you learned something in the process. ;-p (ok, that was uncalled for, right? ;-) no, SERIOUSLY, i think i'll wait (and it'll be hard, cuz i like your writing) for the status on your new offerings to move from in process to complete, THEN start reading. best regards as you prepare to say "Cheers!", "All the best ..." and "have a long, happy, prosperous & very fulfilling life together" to C & J.

nah, if u didn't foresee it as being more, then trying to force it is too much like a publisher saying, "it's good, but we need 5 more chapters to meet our length criteria." since you've done so well up to this point, it seems best to have you finish strong and move on to the next. SS and Dare have been so good, you gotta have more stuff in ya that we're being kept from ... CUZ UR DRAGGING OUT THE FRICKIN' EPILOGUE !!! {oh, gee, did i say that out loud? and in my outdoor voice?}

i know what you mean about not meeting expectations. i had the chance to read all the books in the narnian chronicles to my 4 kids at bedtime -- i was glad i could do it before the movies started coming out. seeing them lying on their beds, staring at the ceiling and imagining everything in those stories is one of my (and their) favorite parts of their childhood years. as for you, thanks for writing descriptively enough that imaginations come into play. ;-) you write so well, i don't just imagine what they must be doing, but i often feel i'm in the setting with them. i hope by now your muse has thoroughly chastised you & you've decided to add many, MANY more chapters to SS instead of just an epilogue. [ you have, right? ]

that is fantastic! i had wondered what you envisioned connor & jared to look like -- but then i know how you often let the reader decide in their mind how this or that would be, so you might say, "whatever you imagine them to look like", even if you found images on the web that pictured them as closely as possible in your mind. but this is a subtle way (just like you write) of showing them hand in hand without giving too much away. and yes, this is a way-cool pic, capturing just the right amount, IMHO.

if you need a beta / editor, i would enjoy playing that role for you. i used to do some proofreading / editing for a publisher here in michigan, and since coming to this site, i've been looking for an opportunity to help. i can give you a fairly quick turnaround time, i think, cuz i'm only working part-time and all my children have grown & don't live locally, so ... i have lots of time on my hands (well, less now, cuz i got a kindle and have downloaded so many stories from this site !!). i have a master's degree, used to teach, and still help some college students with their papers (they write, send to me for a "look-see" & the opinion of a 2nd pair of eyes, i suggest & email back to them). also, after reading social skills before it was done, decided i'm gonna wait for the status of stories to move from WIP to complete before i start -- i'm impatient like that and like the flow of "start-to-finish" reading. Social Skills was my first read on the site & loved it (well, duh!!) Tim

i am writing to complain about dan's stories. i just started the "Do Over" saga / series, and am only 1/3 of the way into the first ... PLUS ... i just got my first Kindle & have loaded many of DK's stories onto it ... so ... now i find myself staying up longer than i should reading -- i don't look at the clock, i go by how tired / bored i am, and reading the first of the do overs, i sometimes find my first look at the clock after starting some evening reading often shows it's like 1:20 a.m. ... and sometimes those are weekdays, not just weekends ... SO ... i'm writing to complain, cuz while the stories are enjoyable & cause me to lose track of time, the last 'converstions' ii'm involved in many days are with dan's characters, which means i often continue the dialogue (fantasize about a new story with them?) during my sleep hours, which are fewer than i need, thanks to dan, so ... Kindly provide me with dan's contact information so my lawyer may get in touch with him. that way, when i lose my job due to lack of performance (due to lack of sleep/reading too long), i will already have the information my solicitor will require in order to bring suit -- it'll obviously be dan's fault, so the cost (lost wages, mental trauma, yadda-yadda-yadda) should be his burden, not mine. [:-p (love the style, and especially (1.) that the first i'm reading is long, and (2.) there are a good deal more of them to jump into after finishing this first one. thanks for sharing your talents: much appreciated!!)

just to clarify, while i thot they'd be getting together sometime during the story (sean & mark, that is), i assumed it would be at the end, but ... i never saw the "you wanna?" and "dare me?" thing coming. that was a great, no ... fantastic, no ... wait for it ... (ok, i just remembered i'm gay) ... "fabulous" way to end the story. as someone suggested, i don't know if you had that line in mind while writing the story, and i hope you didn't ... better to be surprised by your own capabilities as the story unfolds, i think ... just like the readers are. bravo!

Someone suggested i check out the anthologies to get a feel for which writers i'd like to pursue -- i mean, there are so many good ones on the site, it's hard to know where to begin. i guess, if you are assured the journey will be an enjoyable and worthwhile one, maybe it doesn't make so much difference which way you go? ;-) this anthology contribution of yours was the first i've read of your works -- i'll definitely be reading more from you hand & thanks for sharing your gifts with us here at GA. before reading this one, i had followed the suggestions of some other authors on here & downloaded to my kindle some of your already posted stories. thanks to all for their suggestions: i see my having followed them was a good move on my part. all the best for your continued writing, both in the "personal enjoyment" and "success" categories.

thought something like that would happen in the end, and it was nice that you left the specifics up to the reader's imagination instead of feeling the need to be descriptive. the way you brought about the getting together of the two, tho -- now that was cute and so relevant to the story. very cool, warm and a natural outgrowth of their over-the-years closeness. oh, and i'm with quonus: love the way mark didn't have to think much about it when sean asked the "are we still friends?" type question.

thanks, jay, for taking the time to reply. i've run into a bunch of nice & helpful people on this site already, and it's nice to "kinda" meet another. i have found a number of DK's free stories, have downloaded them to kindle, and look forward to reading them. the only problem is, now that i've jumped into the site & decided to read more, well ... so many stories, so little time. ;-) and then the summer anthology just came out ... and then i found a bunch of freebies on the amazon kindle site, and ... well, you get the picture. i hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend, and thanks again for your suggestions.

I just started diving into the GA site & met some very friendly & helpful people. they recommended i give "Vampire Jared" a try. it's premium & i'm on a paycheck-to-paycheck type budget, so figured i would definitely get it soon, and in the mean time, would read an available one of your stories. i read DOT & just finished (my new Kindle makes me want to read more & i'm happy not to resist the temptation). i can't believe after all that reading how pitiful the ending was. ;-) but then what came to mind was my love of watching west wing for the seasons it was on. even tho i did enjoy the ending on that one, i realized, what really made it for me was all the intricacies of each episode, what with character development, a myriad of plots running around and into each other in each 60 minute treat, etc. so even if the ending had NOT been good, i would still have enjoyed the show thoroughly because of the entire journey, and i won't let a less-than-satisfying destination keep me from recalling just how enjoyable each leg of the journey was. so thanks (i guess) for DOT, and if you really did end that abruptly because of the insistence of the readers that you end it, you should have taken a more deified approach -- given them what they needed instead of what they wanted, what you knew was best for them instead of what they demanded. ;-p i hope this finds you doing well, and i look forward to the soon beginning of Vampire Jared. i just jumped on the GA site, talked with a few, and "kindled" a whole bunch of stories about 10 days ago and have been staying away from the site since: so much to read, so few hours to do so. but, it's all good. all the best. Tim

This was the first of your works i've read - thanks for suggesting it. i'm glad i put the plastic protective sheet on my kindle before reading -- keeps the tears out. ;-) And you've done me another favor ... convinced me that short stories are worth reading. i look forward to reading a bunch more & like your style a lot. having been a music major, i liked someone's description of quality: a whole bunch of people can play the note ... it's how you get from one to the next that is the difference (streisand comes to mind as a favorite in that area). in short, you got skills ... ;-) and i plan to avail myself of them frequently. thanks again.

Thanks for your efforts in posting chapter 24 -- appreciated. i'm new to GA. read the first 23 chaps in 2 sittings, and didn't know how long i'd have to wait for the next -- gladly, not too long. and i officially "liked" the story, so i can be notified when the next comes along. also, a big thanks for introducing me to Grooveshark - i was unfamiliar with it . it's a pain to only get to hear 30 seconds of tracks on other sites & it's great to be able to hear the whole piece / the whole album by going to Grooveshark. Have a great rest of the holiday weekend ... but if you do want to do some writing on chap 25, none of us would complain. ;-) no ... SERIOUSLY ... relax and enjoy. and, of course ... thanks for sharing.