Sara Alva

You're so sweet Glad you enjoyed the story!

I wonder if Syfy will ever get ballsy enough to air the Dr. Who spinoff Torchwood. Now that has something for everyone. Or everything for someone who likes it all Oops. Off topic.

lol. Yeah, I mean, I know why . . . it's just . . . annoying

There are cheaper places to stay that are closer to Santa Monica... like in the LAX area. Although I too am biased b/c I live on the West side

There was a nice lovey scene b/t Bo and the Doc this week ...but it kinda made me wonder about why you see lesbian scenes way more often than you see any male/male stuff on cable TV . . . like lesbians are 'safer' somehow for show audiences.

I know people have mixed feelings about head-hopping, but I'll confess it is my biggest pet peeve. I pretty much won't continue reading a story if there is rampant head-hopping. I read an article once that blamed head-hopping on TV . . . in television, we can follow any character at any point in time and get insight into their 'behind closed doors' thoughts. Following only one MC at a time in fiction means there's more mystery surrounding the other characters' emotions/motivations/reactions. I like mystery.

I agree that strong words can make an impact, but if they're drowning in other flowery/ornate words, they stand out less. I think if 'dislocation' were to be the focus of the first sentence, that'd be fine, so long as some of the other words were a bit plainer.

So true. I see some beautifully written stories on the internet, but sometimes the beauty of the words distracts from the content of the story. This is especially true for the first person POV. I'm having an interesting time writing from an inner-city teenager's POV . . . it takes some work to weed out my adult vocabulary. I keep using the thesaurus to look for simpler synonyms

Gender is socially constructed. Sex is the biological distinction. I agree that dog stereotypes and gender stereotypes are not the same thing. Our ideas of genders are what we make of it in our particular culture, and not all cultures today have the same notions as Western culture. What I wonder is how this kid will cope with the discrimination he'll face in the outside world. His parents can be as gender neutral as they like, but he'll still be influenced by other students, teachers, even strangers. I agree w/ Intune... about letting him pick things that interest him on his own and reminding him he doesn't have to conform to societal norms if he doesn't want to . . . rather than forcing him to be some sort of 'non-gendered' or 'bi-gendered' person from birth.

Ditto, except for the AP exams

Too beautiful for what? For the role, maybe? Sometimes when I watch movies, I feel like certain actors are so perfect or plastic-looking that they don't look real . . . and that ends up detracting from the story (assuming the story is meant to be realistic). Of course, they probably weren't acting all that well in the first place if I was distracted enough to think about that.

Mind trip indeed Very interesting. I've never talked to a muse. Bits of stories pop into my head and seem to be written in stone, as if they were nonfiction. Then the hard part comes, where I have to string those bits together in a way that makes sense--but I'm mostly in an 'internal editor' mode for that.

I'm a fan of Dom too, and like many others, reading Dom is what led me to this site. I have to say though that this is my least favorite of his. It's just too soap-operaish for my tastes (although some people enjoy those, to be sure.) I really felt a lot more for the characters in his other stories.

I haven't seen the studies, but that seems like common sense. My husband and I always joke that parents should be licensed to have kids...Parents who choose to adopt or go through other processes obviously have to put a lot more thought into parenthood, and sometimes have to be scrutinized by others before they're even allowed to be parents. On the other hand, we know how many people 'accidentally' become parents when they might not be ready. I won't go into details, but the mom dynamic didn't work for me I think I'd have preferred 2 dads.

Thank you so much for the kind review. Sorry I didn't reply sooner--for some reason I wasn't getting updates. Glad you enjoyed the story!

The only thing I can think of is to start writing it . . . there's probably a decent chance you'd hit a wall in this problem-idea story which would then free up your mind for your current work. And if you don't hit a wall, then hey, you'll have completed a new story

I suppose it's a good thing when the readers tell you it was over too soon I really want to hear more from Linus (loved his character) . . . so I'll add my voice to the chorus of those requesting more

responding to your response on my review... I didn't proof so much as reassure you it was good Also, I love the little description you put...so true...and why I like to pretend I don't speak Spanish sometimes

Well, I already told you, but I really enjoyed this. Can't wait to see more from you

Very sweet and sentimental story. Will look for your future works.

I was always told that writing was a pipe-dream, and subsequently gave it up for many years. When I decided to give it another stab, I thought GA was just going to be "a place to post." Well, as others have said, it turned out to be a lot more. I met amazing people who were willing to donate their time to beta-reading, encouraging, and inspiring. I received feedback and actual thanks for writing my stories, fulfilling my childhood pipe-dream It hasn't even been a year yet, and I feel I've made lasting friendships that extend beyond the GA context into real life. Thanks to all those who keep the cogs turning

Happy B-day...sorry it's late...I miss that little thing down at the bottom that used to tell me all the recently added topics

I truly admire anyone who has the courage to share a piece of themselves through poetry.

Thanks for the read, and the review I had a lot of fun writing this piece, and as short as it was, I did get pretty attached to the characters. Brought back some memories of my own

For the life of me I can't remember what show it was now (I was like 7)... I feel like they used to slime on more than one show. Anyways, I was in the studio audience, and got called down for a sliming. And I was really expecting the slime to taste . . . like lime jello, maybe . . . but it smelled and tasted like oranges