stew

How have I missed this horrible news until now, to say I'm gutted he's gone is an understatement. I first read New Kid In School late 98/early 99 and I was immediately hooked on his writing, as soon as I saw there was something new I had to stop what I was doing and read it. When he opened the library on the old Shack forums I would read every submission and leave a comment, sometimes it was the only one until it grew in popularity and more people started getting involved. I remember when he was going to step away and 'retire' after the 7th anniversary of NKIS in 2005, don't think that lasted very long at all I used to joke that I was a permanent fixture at the old forums but I too faded away at some point, real life getting in the way I guess. I always regretted not keeping in touch with him, now even more so and I wish I'd kept our old email conversations because I would really like to read them right now. Thought I might get in touch for old times sake knowing his big birthday was coming up soon and I'm truly gutted to know I can't now. You were a beautiful person Comsie and I will genuinely miss you.

Just finished reading this final chapter, a fitting end to the trial and nice that it was done from Jason's perspective rather than the attorneys. I must say I'm glad this and Second Shot were complete when I started reading them, I don't think I could've handled the wait between chapters lol. Another job well done Andy, I shall have to check out your other stories next.

Just discovered this story recently on nifty, when I saw there was a website and the story was complete I couldn't help myself and I've read the whole lot over the last 4 days. Had to say well done on a fantastic story, I've had a few laughs and a few teary eyed moments but I've enjoyed reading every chapter. So glad Jason and Peter ended up back together, the old romantic lurking in me hasn't become completely jaded just yet. I'm off to read about Jordan's trial next, love L&O so I'm looking forward to the legal eagle stuff hehe.

A few years back when I used to use chat rooms regularly, whenever I chatted with an asian guy probably 9 times out of 10 one of the first things they'd say is "I'm asian do you mind?", like I might be offended by it or something. I've never understood why it is there is this 'weirdness' (for lack of a better word) that some guys have about asians, it would certainly make an interesting theme for a story.

I was thinking this morning it would be nice to see a story where the main character has a nice dad who is very understanding and they would be able to talk about pretty much anything. It would be really cool to read in a story about a teen who asks his dad about relationship and sex advice, how to find out if the cute boy in class likes him too, that sort of thing. Most fathers in stories are either abusive arseholes or absent in some fashion, this would make a really nice change.

Don't worry Strangers he isn't ignoring you, he's just a busy man with many demands on his time and it might take a while but he'll get there.

For me personally, characterisation and storyline is what separates the two kinds of stories. With 'porn' stories, there isn't usually much about the characters beyond a basic physical description, height, hair colour etc (and they're always hung too ) and the story such as it is, is merely a contrivance for the characters to get naked and do the wild thing. What sets 'romance' stories apart is that you get to know the characters a little, their thoughts and feelings, what motivates them to do the things they do, plus some story to bring them together beyond "hey I think you're hot, lets f**K". Even if they get to the sex straight away, going to the trouble of fleshing out the characters and giving them some background makes it more than just 'porn' to me.

I think all my favourite long term stories have one thing in common, they all deal with day to day stuff, such as school, work, hanging out with friends, sports, all those kinds of things we do every day of our lives. A story doesn't have to be full on drama all the time, it's actually nice to see the characters do the daily mundane stuff, I think there is a lot of mileage to be had with that. Relationships also develop over time, it's nice to see how the couples change over the course of a story. Obviously that can get boring over time, you need some drama now and then, but three that come to mind, New Kid In School, A New Life and Storm Front all seem to have that balance and that is why I think they have all continued as long as they have.

For me as a reader, I don't like things too detailed, nor do I like the event glossed over with a couple of lines, I like enough detail to know what's going on without it turning into a blow by blow running commentary. One story that's just popped into my head is Comsie's own My Only Escape, that to me has just the right balance, it's enough to know what Zack is going through without getting too much. I've always loved stories with an emotional impact, if I can feel what the characters are feeling, good or bad, then I think the writer has done his or her job. Obviously some storylines are going to be more emotionally depressing than others so you expect it to feature quite heavily, but as long as there are some lighter moments in there somewhere, it's all good to me.

I agree, she's nice and all but she doesn't crank my motor

Sorry if this is the wrong place to put this, but every time I go to the shack message board, I get redirected to the god hates fags website. I thought this should be brought to someone's attention, my apologies if those in charge already know about it and are fixing it.

Nice board you have here. Well I'm Stew, 31 years old, from Australia. Been an avid reader of stories for years and at one time wrote one of my own. Hopefully this place will inspire me to write again