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It's actually a combination of little reasons that follow in no particular order: I find werewolf mythology much more potent than that of vampirism; due to that reason I didn't really read GFD when it was first getting posted so when I read the rave reviews I sat down to read it all in one sitting - so I feel a bit distanced from the entire thing, like a latecomer to a party; I identify with the characters in a stronger way; I find the nuances of stylistic writing much more appealing than that of GFD; I have a strong Catholic background so those figures speak to me; and I've always had a fantasy about twins Its shallow and purely a sexual thrill thing to read but, boy, does it make it engaging to read. It's a lot of little things that just make me less enthralled to GFD than other people. I didn't mean to ruin the party or anything - I certainly didn't mean to offend people who love it. It's just my personal taste people! I still love Com's stories and I do actually like GFD! *gulps in fear at the mob*

Hmmm ... It was good I'm a little reticient about forming a definite opinion about it. May read it again to savour it, see how I feel about it on a second reading. But first impression was not great but still a good read That said I'm not GFD obsessed - I'm a Savage Moon guy myself.

What ruins a story? Love. Out. Of. Nowhere. It drives me crazy. I realise that young men and women fall in love easily but it's hardly a one conversation deal. "Hi. I'm Brad." "I'm Stevie." "I love you Brad." *makes an angry face* When I had my first boyfriend around fifteen not only did it take me a while to understand what I was feeling was really love (and puppy love at that), I was also terrified to say it. It was huge. That really ruins a story for me.

I'm quietly anticipating ....

I think I already covered this point. I wasn't claiming that Justin's extra did develop offensively. I'm well aware that it is a defensive/passive ability to 'understand' others as well as to protect himself. My point was that the Reading ability in general will not be purely defensive. As GFD has pointed out many times - it is the differences and nuances of each individual that create a unique extra. There could be individuals who develop into Readers in an offensive desire. My point concerning Justin on this topic was that - although his abilites developed defensively - he himself has shown this offensive potential of the Reading ability. This defensive-Reader has used his extra offensively. It has the potential to be an offensive extra and therefore a offensive-Reader has the potential to exist. My guess was that Rage is a flipside Justin - an aggressive and offensive-Reader where Justin is (in general) a passive and defensive-Reader. I think you have taken the meaning of the words "defensive" and "offensive" more literally than meant. My point had subtles that perhaps I should have outlined. I wasn't claiming that the offensive-Reader would physically harm the person being read. The offensive potential of the Reading ability lies in the fact that you can take the thoughts of others. Is the fear the kids at the lot have of Readers "stealing their minds" not a fear of an offensive use of the Reading ability? Although the actual process of Reading is passive/receptive this is not necessarily the same as defensive. A satellite that recieves information has the potential to be used defensively (to predict your opponents next move in a battle) or offensively (to spy on others or to steal bank codes, etc). Although Justin's extra developed defensively (out of a need to understand others as well as to be able to predict danger) he can use his extra offensively (to take the thoughts of others - to rip out their deepest secrets). This was the difference I was trying to outline. Just as a defensive-Reader developed (Justin) so I think that a second is out there, one whose extra developed in an offensive need to invade the minds of others ... Rage. The problem is that this offensive-Reader will also have some defensive aspect to his Reading ability just as the defensive Justin has offensive qualities. So they'll be evenly matched in a fight Dramatic tension!

I'd never considered your point about Dennis's "age" as it were. I actually think I agree with you - personally I believe Com is gonna pull out something great for Rage, shocking us all - but I'm just thinking my way through the theory that I proposed. Dennis's 'newblood' status could depend on the point of view of those who do the looking. Dennis could still be considered newblood by the older vampires. Stretching it I know ... I understand your interpretation of the 'extra' developement but the idea of Reading as purely defensive doesn't sit comfortably with me. I would agree that it is a passive ability (one recieves thoughts as it were) but it is still one hell of a tool (Zero's almost "future predicting", Justin's attack on Trevor) and it can be concievably offensive. A possessive, jealous or malicous personality could develop into a Reader in a desire to 'own' another's mind, much as Trevor or Micheal's abilities but to much more of an extreme. And lets not forget that Justin is both a Mimic and a Reader. His abilities are not purely 'defensive'. Just because he's our hero does not negate the fact that he has been offensive, agressive and impulsive Although Justin has been provoked in many of the circumstances he has still shown the capability - and is the typical surly teenager I get the feeling people are going to jump on me on this one - but trust me! I love Justin! I do! I'm just not blind to the faults that Com has obviously taken careful time and effort to put in (why else would Justin need Com's help?)

Perhaps I was just mistaken with the Mimic/Zero scenario. I can't find the section that describes Zero's knowledge on the subject. I'm not that great with words I think. You didn't really catch the point I was trying to make so I'll try and clarify myself. My point wasn't about distance or anything. It was that Zero was a strong enough reader that he could absorb the mind of another individual totally - he could take them into himself and contain them. Perhaps even their extras, though that's never been made clear. In this respect he was the closest living creature to a Mimic - his Reader ability made almost Mimic like in some respects - as Com himself makes explicit: "I was the closest thing to a Mimic that existed in our world...until you came along. Mine is merely a mind reading capability, taken to a higher level." I was theorising that one of the ex-members of the lot mentioned as absorbing extras at an alarming rate and then leaving could possibly be a Reader in a similiar position and perhaps may be Rage. This Reader could even be convincing himself that he is a Mimic and usher of the Dawn. That's just a random theory that popped into my head so I'm not entirely sure how much validatey (spelling?) there is behind it. I'm not entirely sure that Zero has lost control of his extra in a sense. True, he can no longer switch it 'on' or 'off' but I think this is more to do with 'over-exercise' if the term can be used. He's honed his abilites to such a degree over his considerable lifetime that they have outstripped him. He pushed the boundaries and outskirts of his mind to such a degree that they have collapsed. He has become the purest Reader. To use a bad similie, a Reader is a sponge and the best sponges don't chose when they do or do not absorb water. Obviously, this is just opinon on the subject

That's how I read it. The 'mind' of the mimic contained so much information - and so many extras and thoughts I'm assuming - that he/she dispersed into several readers, each of whom spread their minds out over several other readers. I think that Zero is the last of the readers with the remnants of the mimic's mind. And I'm assuming that Bryson hates readers because his girlfriend (whose name I can't remember - and who I'm assuming is dead) was somehow affected and taken from him by a reader, perhaps the other member of the lot who 'learned too many extras, too quickly'. My guess for Rage is the member of the lot who left after learning all of the extras that he could there. That hints at another reader - one like Zero who is a strong enough reader to be close to a mimic. Well, those are my thoughts anyway.

Well, I find true to life stories are always tainted by perspective. People always seem to either a] try and 'big themselves up' or b] put themselves down. I'm aware that creative writers pour a lot of themselves into their characters (generally) but when you're writing about yourself it's hard to get a perspective on whatever situation you are writing about. You're not writing with a plot or a character's growth or something in mind. You're writing in a way that makes you look best or like the victim or whatever. Then there are the inevitable moments that will make you look bad that the writers invariably leave out, creating an incomplete story. I think if you're writing about yourself and what actually happened to you then you need to - in a sense - treat it like a creative writing exercise, otherwise the world you're creating is incomplete. But then you're not really writing a memoir as such. I don't know. Is this all seeming like incorehent babble?

Hmmm, I can't even remember what prompted me to write my first story. I've always been writing in one form or another - I have a few dozen notebooks filled with scribbled poetry that I can barely read - but I do remember my first story was a 'flip-side POV' for one of Com's stories. I didn't post it anywhere and I don't think anyone actually ever read it. I wrote it for myself because I loved the story so much (it was 'Sibling Rivalry' in case you're wondering:P). I don't even remember the first story that I posted for others to read but I do remember getting a few criticisms. That - coupled with the fact I genuinely do not remember a single thing about it - leads me to believe it wasn't very good. The stories that I'm writing at the moment seem to be getting a better reaction. I sort of count 'Jesse's Story' as my first proper story and I know that it must be semi-decent at least because people complained when I decided to leave it open-ended. Lol. I don't know what an audience outside of Com's Library would think of them though. Haven't got round to posting them on Nifty or anything. I think a lot of people do attempt to write. I think it's the posting that most people don't do. I know that I used to read over what I had written and then read, for example, Com's stuff and it just didn't compare for me. I would just delete entire stories from my hard drive because they didn't seem too good. It took me a while to realise that, hey!, Com's been at this a lot longer than me and also gets more feedback and has an editor - I'd presume anyway - so ofcourse his stuff is going to be more professional than mine. Anyway, that's my two thrupenny bits on the subject ----- "Pack up / I'm straight / I'm not / Oh say say say / Wait / They don't love you like I love you / Maps / Made off / Don't stray / Well my kinds your kind / I'll stay the same / Pack up / Don't stray / Oh say say say / Wait / They don't love you like I love you / Maps / Wait / They don't love you like I love you" Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 'Maps' -----

I feel that with 'quickies' there is a constant barrier between you and getting into the story. There's a lack of detail, a lack of character building and - usually - an overemphasis on the sex. I find it difficult to truly get involved with and enjoy a story that doesn't really have the content to sustain my interest. That said, if I'm looking for a a 'quickie' - for whatever reason *cough* - then the last thing you want to do is trawl through a huge amount of 'scene setting' text. So I guess it sorta works both ways. I agree with your comment Ender. I feel that if someone has taken a few hours - or more - of their time to write something of a larger volume then it shows a commitment to their characters that bodes well for what I'm about to read. There's also the sheer fact that the bigger the size of the story the greater the number of words and so the greater detail, the greater depth to lose yourself in. Personally I feel that there's a length on a single post that just goes too far. I prefer long stories to be broken down into chapters of around five to six thousand words. That gives me - as a reader - a natural break in the text to go get a drink or go to the bathoom without feeling like I'm leaving 'midway through' as it were. I also find it a lot easier to write in that structure. I write and just let it flow and if what's coming out is too long I impose breaks in order to break it down. The longest I would allow a stand alone story to get before turning into a two or three parter would be at the eight thousand word mark. Anymore than that and I would feel that it was too long and needed chapterising.

Well the original idea was just that I wanted to write an actual fairytale. I wanted to see if I could construct something with similiar iconic figures, repetitions and movements. It then moved onto a queer fairytale. Not particularily anything that taught any real lesson - 'cause fairytales rarily do - but just something that had a homosexual element. It spread from there. The only deference to modern literature that I made was the postmodern symbolism and language-image structures. I thought it would make the entire thing more engrossing if the imagery and word choice was unusally striking in an Eliotian kinda way. It's the tension between the fairytale format, the queer plot and the language that I don't think exactly works. I don't think I got the balance correct. I'm not entirely sure how I'd rearrange it so I don't want to start fiddling with it in case I ruin any of it's good qualities by overworking.

Well it seems to have got a decent reception - which is always nice - and on rereading it a few days later I didn't hate it (which is a big problem I have with most of the stuff that I write). I guess my problem with what I chose to write was that actual fairytales (non of that Disneyesque prescribed nonesense) are fairly complex pieces of literature and can be difficult to get involved with. You can find yourself alienated from them very easily. I wasn't sure if it was the kind of thing people would enjoy reading, especially when many of them are reading partially for the erotic elements of the text (I'm not even slightly suggesting this is a bad thing btw. Erotic stories are totally cool, especially since mind is the most erotic organ. Hehe.) I guess you never know till you try. I'm thinking about extending it extensively. Not really sure how that would work since it would take it from the realm of fairytale into fantasty adventure which is an entirely different kettle of fish. There does seem to be a 'market' for that genre though, as I'm sure Com can attest what with the popularity of GFD. P.S. hope everyone had a killer Easter break!

I've recently written a story in an (attempted) fairytale-esque style for adults. Although it was difficult to construct a language structure to bear the weight of the 'queer' end of the plot it was still an enjoyable intellectual task. I was just wondering what you guys thought about such experiments? Do they add anything to our communities or do people sort of 'gloss over' them? I mean, I'd count "The Secret Life of Billy Chase" as a prime example of it working really well while being a great read. It's in a stylistic format that is quite ungeneric of the stories we have all come to know. Yet I feel my own attempt to break the mould lacks something. Just a random thought train I wanted to share ... ... P.S. my 'fairytale' is at YSD's Story Page and is called 'A Sorta Fairytale' funnily enough. hope you stop by and have a read and, ofcourse, let me know what you think!

Com ... please don't take the Jimmy storyline to a sad place. you're stories always make me cry like a total girl when you get sad. loving the new chapters though. you've really captured that excitement of meeting someone you like and who likes you back. i giggled all the way through reading it.