Lisa

Skinny!!!!! At first I was confused as to why David was referring to his mother as Tommy's mom. I know he gave her to Tommy a few days ago. lol I always think when people do that with a parent or another loved one (family member, etc), they are trying to disassociate themselves from that person. Or distance themselves. It must be all the meddling she's doing in his life. Poor David. He's so confused, and now his mom is getting in his face about girlfriends. I mean, he's only fifteen, for God's sake! What's his rush? lol I agree with Twoey that Gary should be very careful with this plan he has for he and Mel to throw David and Kathy together. I think David is going to get really angry with Gary and Mel, maybe more angry than he is with Tommy's mom. I'm curious now what's going on with Erik b/c he seemed pretty nice and sweet to me. You hinted in CG's review response that Erik isn't all he's cracked up to be. It would really be horrible if he hurts Twoey; Twoey's had enough hurt in his life to last a lifetime. Need I mention Mike? Although as you said, we shouldn't give up on him yet. We'll see. I'm not even sure if he's deserving of Twoey's forgiveness. Ok, on to chapter eight! Did I tell you how much I LOVE this story, Skinny?

"...Could he manage to lie to the police? You know some people can lie through their teeth." Wow, MD at her finest!! I bet she'd even pass a lie detector test, that bitch! That's what she is, the !!! Bryan was so damn close - shit, so close to the basement door. If only he could have heard Wyatt coughing or something. Hopefully, as Val stated, maybe the mac n cheese will click in Bryan's mind and he'll want to question Eddie further. Excellent chapter as always, Mom!

AHHHHH!!! 'Instead I...' WHAT??!! Instead he what??? I'm on pins and needles here. Shit! Did Toby set that whole thing up????? What a SHIT he turned out to be! Great prompt story, Skinny! Damn, now I see you posted another Twoey chapter. I really have to get my shit in gear...

This is such an interesting topic! I review every single chapter I read in a story. The only exception would be if I read a few chapters on my phone, I would just mention the past chapters in my current review of the latest posting. I do like reading the author's response to my reviews, but it doesn't bother me that much if an author doesn't respond. And, as dr said, that would never stop me from reviewing Comsie's stories!! I always read what the other reviewers before me wrote (which is everyone nowadays, because I am always so late in reading the updates!), and I always say, "I agree with so and so about...". Sometimes I like to be one step ahead and try to figure out what's going to happen next. There were actually a few authors on another site who took my guesses and wrote them into the story. If I find a chapter funny, I'll write down (or copy and paste) the funny parts and include them in my review. I used to do that for Chris when he was on here writing his Rossford series because I found parts of the story absolutely hilarious. I never hesitate to tell the author I needed to go out and buy more Kleenex, because it's nice for the author to know he or she moved the readers so much that they cried reading their chapter. Then, of course, there are other times when it's so late at night, and I'm so tired, but I just have to get the review done so I can shut down the computer. lol That's when my reviews are short and to the point. Back in the day, I used to write really long reviews and try to psychoanalyze the characters to figure out why they're doing what they're doing. But now I don't have time for that. To tell you the truth, a lot of my reviews just say, "I ditto Gary" or "I ditto CG" because we read a lot of the same stories, and they always read the latest chapters way before me (see Skinny, it's not just your story I'm way behind on!! ). I can never write anything different than what they had written because I always agree with everything they have to say! So I guess I'll be doing that with all the anthos too!

I was just reading your response to Val's review. Were these characters in your other stories? I really have some catching up to do, Cole! lol Excellent chapter though! Ben's looking at the situation through different eyes than Rush is. Rush is too involved in it to see things clearly. The ending had me thinking Clay set the whole thing up b/c Ben was right -- Clay was in love with with Rush. And what were they doing in bed together??????

It was very sad how all of Nick's "friends" took Josie's side, and no one kept in touch with him. It's understandable, but sad. How true Nick was when he told James if it weren't him, it would have been someone else. But of course James was the catalyst in his and Josie's break up. It's only natural to blame James, after all, it was Nick's feelings for him that caused them to split up. Now Nick realizes just how much he lost just by being true to himself. Thank God he and Josie didn't have any kids together; the break up would have been ten times worse. Great story, Val!

The beginning had me in tears all over again! Even though I knew it was a HEA (so to speak), for the family Frank left behind, it wasn't. It was beautiful how Frank was reunited with his two loves, and how Joey and Kevin fell for each other while waiting for Frank to join them. Great story, Val!

I could also feel how nervous Julian was when he was showing Romeo the slideshow. It's a good thing Romeo picked up on what Julian was trying to convey, otherwise Julian would have had to literally ask him! That would be way more nerve wracking! lol Great story, Addy! I love reading about R&J!

Not sure if this is going to come up because I totally forgot how to get the video up! lol This is another great song by Elle King. They play it on The Highway (country) a lot.

All these stories look so good! Need more time in the day... Thanks to all the wonderful authors who contributed to the antho and giving us more awesome stories to read, and thanks to all the people behind the scenes who make the anthos possible. Now, which of Bill's six stories should I start with...?

'...picture stories on your skin' - tattoos? That's the first thing that came to mind. Your dragon must be so happy. I might love this more than the last...not sure. I think it's a tie. You make your poems read so effortlessly, and I think that's a real talent. =)

'Your dragon's raven wing' - beautiful, Addy! Your dragon should be honored! I loved this poem. Blue sparks, red flames, his midnight - like black as midnight...I loved the imagery. The description of your dragon's inky tendrils and velvet scales made me feel like I could actually feel these on my skin. You have become quite the poet, Addy!

I loved all of these, Addy, but I'm with Lit -- I loved nineteen! I loved the part where the narrator didn't want to be his partner; he wanted to see himself the way his partner does. That was beautiful.

I agree that Erik and Twoey are moving too fast. I'm glad Sam told David about some of Twoey's past, and David owned up to the fact he was being a shit to Twoey. Twoey is going to be shocked when David actually TALKS to him now! lol Sam's a great friend.

A book for dummies on how to be gay -- that was hysterical, Skinny! Poor Twoey. He can't get David out of his mind (of course it doesn't help that David is half-naked in gym class right next to him!), and now Derrich (is that pronounced Derek? Derrick?), is hitting on him. Maybe this is the way to make David jealous. David though, is so confused by his feelings. It'll be interesting to see how the Kathy and Lanni thing play out. Hopefully the girls won't be heartbroken.

Jeezus, Jason's parents are pieces of work, aren't they? I couldn't keep up with their trying to manipulate Jason by ratting each other out. They threaten him, they betray him...they're both trying to one-up each other. lol Glad he and Adam straightened their feelings out though! Finally! lol

I read this story two years ago, and I thought it was just terrific. Graeme is such a gifted author, and he had me hanging on every word. In fact, I think I may reread the story. Congratulations, Graeme for being featured!

Incredible video! That cat was amazing, and he certainly was a hero. The guard dog who attacked the little boy looked like a pit bull, but I wasn't positive. Funnily enough, after I saw that video, I had to watch a few others, and they all had to do with pit bulls rescuing people! It's all how they're raised.

Ahhh, the start of young love. lol Great chapter, Renee! I was laughing about the spider b/c my seventeen-year-old (boy, no less), always makes me kill any spider he sees in his room. I always kill it and then start to shove the tissue in Matthew's face, asking him if he wants to see it. lol Cruel mom, huh? Looking forward to their date later that night. Oh, in the beginning of the chapter you spelled Reece, Reese. It was when his co-worker called. =)

I got all choked up when Amelia went over and hugged Jason and they both started to cry. The injustice of it all is just crazy. To be robbed of having a sibling, a TWIN, to grow up with and share things with, is just horrible. How these 'parents' can look themselves in the eye and sleep at night is beyond me. They should be drawn and quartered, or tarred and feathered. lol I think I may have said that in an earlier review. I think it will take Amelia and Jason quite some time to feel like family to each other. I'm really impressed that Amelia can hear so well (thank God for the hearing aids), and speak so well. And it's wonderful that she's a teacher for deaf kids - that's wonderful. I can't wait to find out what Jason's going to do to his ruthless parents!

Ah, so close and yet so far! Oh man, if only Eddie told Bryan the mac and cheese box fell out at home, then Bryan would have questioned him why he was at home... As your readers already said, hopefully Bryan will tell Sarah about the odd things Eddie said to him. Maybe they can start putting the pieces of the puzzle together before it's too late. Oohh, maybe Bryan will stop by his mother's place and see her and Eddie taking a body out! lol Just wishful thinking! Another great chapter, Mom! I'm in such suspense now!!

My mom took me to Broadway in NYC to see Richard Gere in Bent. Of course in the first scene when he walks across the stage naked we were gasping with the rest of the audience. It was such a fascinating movie. Having relatives who were in the concentration camps made the play all the more real for me. I loved your poem, Addy, it gave me chills.

Reading the end of dr's review has me wondering if Papa did find out what his batshit crazy MD (WD - Wife Dearest) has been doing to Eddie, and he threatened to call child services or the cops or whatever, and she just went more looney and killed him. I wouldn't put it past her. Crazy bitch. It was heartbreaking reading from Eddie's pov; he is such a sweet teddy bear, and he only wants to make his mama happy. I hope Wyatt's last words to him register and he actually tells Bryan. Ok, now that I'm all caught up - you need to keep on posting, Mom!

As Mike said, MD is batshit crazy!! What a looney! Poor Wyatt, listening to how she's planning on letting him die there in her cold, moldy basement. And she's using poor, innocent Eddie. I agree with all your readers who said he's the weak link in all of this. If Bryan visits him, Eddie will probably be proud of himself for helping their crazy mother kidnap Wyatt b/c he thinks he's protecting his brother. I just hope Bryan visits Eddie. Unless the cops are suspicious of MD - but still, they'd need a search warrant to search the house, right? Maybe the package will give them probable cause... Ok, on to chapter twelve; I've finally caught up!

MD deserves an Academy Award!!! That was certainly an Oscar-worthy performance! Not that I read the book or saw the movie, but I think this MD is worse than Joan Crawford. I'm sure MD wasn't stupid enough to have her prints all over the package/leather bracelet/letter, which is too bad, but then the story would be over. lol Maybe the cops will find something, however minuscule it may be, to tie MD to the kidnapping. One could only hope! lol