Lisa

Seems like I missed your 2014 antho with these guys. I better catch up on that one! I really enjoyed this one, despite not reading the last one. I agree with everyone else about how well you incorporated the theme to the weather storming around them. Great story, Carlos!

Being a football nerd and a high school party nerd, I had no clue what either of them were talking about!! Luckily Trent explained 'his' blackout, and Colt explained 'his' blackout. lol Yes, eavesdropping is never a good idea, especially since things tend to be taken way out of context. Loved Ryan defending Colt though. I really like how you incorporated the theme in this story, Mom, and it was great seeing these guys again!

I love how friends and neighbors all come together to support Sam and his dad. I can't believe Chris' father killed Sam's grandfather. See, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree; Chris learned his hatred of black people through his father. He's old enough now though to realize how wrong his father is with his racist opinions. I hope they throw the book at his father and he sees that what his father's been teaching him is wrong. Now that Casey has been double-dumped (thanks, Parker! ), maybe he can be true to his feelings about James. Now that there aren't any stinking girls in his way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!!!!! I hope you're having a great b-day!

Oh man, Drew! I do need to get a life, don't I? '...all the stories you read...' lol Thank you though! I do try to write good, thought out reviews, but sometimes it's just so damn late I can't think of anything but 'Ditto what he said.' I'm always the last of the readers to review, and usually Gary or CG or Tim or Parker or Defiance come up with these awesome reviews I could never match. So I just say 'Ditto what Gary said.' (or whomever said it). But thank you, Drew! You put a smile on my face.

Mark's probably thinking how could Jackie and their father even be related to he and his mother? She's just crazy. Marrying someone only for the alimony, just to divorce him, spying on your brother...but the very worst was wanting to have an abortion. She's is the worst type of "human being". Not very human in my book.

Cia, I'm not a fan of sci-fi, but if anyone can change me, you can! That was one exciting story!! I was sitting at the edge of my seat from the first sentence. Your knowledge of future (?) or present technology is so impressive. I felt myself wanting to look up all those terms I didn't know (which were a lot! ). I sort of felt like Tim did when his review said the narrator died. I assumed the same thing when he pointed the resonator on himself. But then again, what is a resonator exactly? Maybe it's not something that kills. Maybe it will just knock him out for a while...but then why would he want that if he doesn't know what beast or being is out there? Great story, Cia! I would actually love to read more.

This was just as creepy reading it a second time! Eric and his friends are doomed now! Why people would pay money to go through something like that is beyond me, but they realized too late that it was no game. Excellent nail-biting, heart pounding writing, Val!

Terrific story, Drew! I got to the end and I'm like, Wait, what did the text say??????? In my love of all things HEA, I imagine Adam texted back profusely apologizing for being a such a turd, and of COURSE they are still friends; he would NEVER throw away such an important friendship as theirs, and to hell what his parents will say! Or something similar. When Luke was brave enough to tell Adam and Adam turned his back on him, I could imagine Adam thinking of everything his pastor father drummed into him about homo-sexuals (trying for a Southern drawl here ), and how they're all going to burn in hell, yada, yada, yada, and all that other bullshit those ignorant Bible thumpers spew. I think that's why Adam's first reaction was to yell, "No!", because he didn't want to believe it, he didn't want Luke to be what his parents despise because then he knew he'd have to end the friendship. How could his parents possibly let him be friends with Luke? I'm hoping Adam will grow a backbone and some balls and defend his friendship to his parents if need be. I really loved this story, Drew! (Can you tell? ) I loved the way you incorporated the theme into the story. A sequel would be most ideal...hint, hint!!!!

Nice poem, Drew! I don't know much about poetry, and I don't really know the differences in AC's themes, Tanka, etc., but I really enjoyed this one. I pictured the leaves that used to be on the trees, now on the ground underneath a blanket of snow. And I'm with Clochette -- I can't believe you have snow in Texas! lol Didn't even know Texas GETS snow! We don't even have snow yet (shhh, I'm superstitious!). It's been in the low 60s for the past week or so here in CT. Watch, now tomorrow we'll have a nor'easter! Oh, btw, stop writing!!! I still need to read you antho!!! lol

Oh, Gary. I'm sitting here with tears running down my face. No child should EVER have to go through what you did, and no mother should ever have to cower in fear of her husband. A child should be loved unconditionally, otherwise, don't have children. Your children are blessed they never knew this person. I don't consider him your "father"; I consider him a sperm donor and nothing more. I don't know how your brothers are, hopefully they are not like your biological sperm donor, but you, Gary, you broke the cycle of abuse, hatred, and control. You say your stepfather was not perfect but at least you knew he loved you. I'm glad your mom married a better man than your sperm donor. They say women marry men like their fathers, and I'm glad your stepfather was better to you than your biological sperm donor, but maybe your mom subconsciously still wanted that little bit of familiarity. Do you know what I mean? Gary, you should be proud of yourself for rising above his abuse and control, and following in your own footsteps and not his. Your children are blessed that they have you as a dad. =)

I really liked this one, Doc. It was very powerful.

What a great story, C! I don't really like sci-fi stories at all, and I must admit, I only read it because you wrote it, and I wanted to read something else from you besides your C. Shorts story. (Boy was THAT a long sentence! ) I really enjoyed reading about the marketplace and especially about the books Neil bought. I love books also. You incorporated the blackout theme really well with the story blackouts and the explanation behind them. And of course, blackouts can be romantic if you're with the one you love. You're a terrific writer, C, and I look forward to reading more of your shorts.

Ouch! My head's hurting now just reading about Bryce's migraine. Wow, that was so realistic, Renee. I love how you wrote about the antho theme; I think it's very creative. I agree with all your other reviewers; the love shown between Bryce and Kevin is beautiful. The best scene is the last one though, when Bryce gets down on one knee, ready to pop the question. We know Kevin's going to say yes! Terrific story, Renee!

'You fucker, I hate you! You made me cry!' -- Oh, Carlos, you crack me up. Literally, I was laughing out loud when I read this. You made me cry too, Addy. The first time I read it and now when I read it again. My heart froze with Julian's when he opened the door expecting to see Romeo, but all he saw was Ren. Then the rush to the hospital where Romeo was on his deathbed, to his recovery, to the realization he had no memory of Julian or their love. You definitely pulled at my heartstrings with this one, Addy. Excellent antho!

I'm with AC -- can't wait to dive in! I need some more hours in the day though. I'm excited to read some stories by the first-time antho writers, as well as the seasoned vets' stories, of course.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MATTIE!!!! I hope you had a great day!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY BENJI!!!!! Hope you had a great day!

Loved it, Addy! I read it a few times. Like Gary, I loved the reversal at the end with the light instead of the dark.

Hmmm, I thought it was 'Stefan'? Anyway...definitely the praise the manager gave him trumps the food! But thank God he got to eat! You know, he's very smart. He knew he would be the prime suspect if he told the detective that his father beats him within an inch of his life on most days. How on earth could he possibly overpower his big, burly sperm donor? There's no way. I'd be really curious to find out how he died. Who is out to get him? Certainly not Stefan's mother - I'm sure he killed her. She would not leave on her own without her child if she knew what kind of a monster she married. Nope, he killed her. It's too bad Stefan/Eric couldn't hang around to at least get paid! Oh, and why would the kitchen manager give him a form to fill in his time, but not to fill in his social security number for payroll purposes? Wonder what happened to the kid who was really supposed to be working. lol

David's perfectly controlled life is slowly unraveling. I'm so glad he has Ginny to turn to. It's good he feels so comfortable with her that he can tell her his true feelings for her son. It is unfortunate that his father apparently got castrated because his balls are nowhere to be found! Tommy's mother is just a nutcase, and she can't even see past her religious fanaticism to notice her son losing all his control. After all, THEY DON'T EVEN SPEAK TO EACH OTHER!!!! How she could go all this time without her son talking to her is beyond me. I was just thinking -- maybe David feels he has to have so much control over everything in his life because he has no control over what Tommy's mother will do or say. I don't know, I'm just thinking as I write this. I know a lot of kids cut because that's the ONLY thing they can control in their lives, and maybe it's something like that. Hopefully David will NEVER resort to cutting. I think his meditation is saving his sanity, IMO. I hope Twoey isn't in for a world of hurt because he's concentrating so much on David loving him and kissing him back, that he'll be totally devastated if David plays it cool now. Terrific chapter, as usual, Skinny!

Terrific post, Dark! I've read all of Mom's stories except the fantasy or sci-fi ones (Tears of the Neko...), and I've loved each one. Yes, reading about teenage abuse (or any abuse for that matter), is hard, but Mom writes with such realism, I always find myself feeling the hopelessness and loneliness of her main characters. I definitely go through a lot of Kleenex reading her stories! I haven't read CG's stories yet, but based on the thoughtfulness and eloquence of his story reviews, I'm sure they're great. I must comment though on CG's reasoning behind writing Jay and Miles: it really struck a chord reading that his inspiration to write this story was based on 'regrets for lost chances and a desire to go back and explore what might have been.' I think that's such a wonderful reason to write. If I were a writer I'd do the same thing and completely re-do high school knowing what I know now. Your turn, PM! Bet you thought you'd get away scot-free, huh? lol I'm with Val; I absolutely LOVE Things are Different (as I've told you in the past), and started reading it on the other site years ago. I was so excited when you started posting it here, thinking that you'd finally finish it. But alas, no. So here's hoping that in 2106 we can read about Jay and Scott's happy ending! Terrific interviews, Dark!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WAYNE!!!! I hope you're having a great day!

I'm not sure why I never read this story. On Val's recommendation, I clicked on it, and last night I couldn't stop reading. Good choice in getting craftingmom to edit. Although I haven't 'liked' the chapters yet, I guess I'll get to doing that. Honestly, I hate the chapters. Not your writing, Parker, just the subject matter. I find people who treat their own flesh and blood the way Stefan's sperm donor (sorry, he will NEVER be a 'father' in my eyes), treats him as despicable slime who never should have had a child. How a person could beat their own child within an inch of their life, is something I will never understand. Stefan has been incredibly strong and very resourceful when he was chained in the basement. Now when he found the key to the ankle cuff, he thought his sperm donor accidentally dropped it. I actually thought his sperm donor left it there on purpose, because really, how would Stefan be able to clean up his vomit, the sledgehammer, and his pee without getting up and physically walking over (or crawling) to look for cleaning supplies? Personally, I was cheering for him when he realized he could drink water from the washing machine. Not sure if I would ever think of that! Besides all the physical, sexual, and mental abuse he deals with on a daily basis, what also breaks my heart is that he truly believes he deserves all this shit. He really thinks his sperm donor is right, and he must be a horrible child to make that man beat him and talk to him the way he does. This poor boy is going to need many years of psychological help, many years of therapy for him to ever feel whole again. The story is very well written, Parker, and I'm just praying somewhere along the line, Stefan's sperm donor will just get hit by a Mack truck or something. Although, that's probably being too kind. :devil: He should be strung up and tortured, and have insults thrown at him in two-minute intervals.

Very good writing, Gary. I must admit, it did depress me thinking about Father Time (and who likes him, really? lol), and how another winter goes by and we're another year older...just depressing. But, on a happier note, your writing is superb, Gary!