C James

Yep, that was the Shady One (shadowgod) himself. So, of course, it's his fault for being a bad influence on Eric. So, can't we roast his Shadowyness? BTW, those vacation pics might be joined by some more recent ones soon. LoL. One of the reasons I've been so busy (and absent) lately is getting ready for a trip. I'll be leaving at the end of this month and will be away for five weeks. I'll be leaving some chapters behind for posting, though, and I should be able to check in from time to time.

You're 100% right about the guys, and that's kind of what I was alluding to; Helen is needed for Changing Lanes. If I'd been ending it with LTMP, it might have been different, but due to the continuation of the story, I felt that they still need her. Jon will be seen as a little more complex in some soon-upcoming chapters. As for Eric... Well, he's definitly got his wild side. He's also prone to being rash and not thinking things though (which is why SPiCE should be so incensed that Shadowgod put him on a motorcycle!!). Ob, BTW, that means that any cliffhangers involving motorcycles are, by definition, shadowgod cliffhangers... But I digress... The guys do have some growing up yet to do, and that's part of what "changing Lanes" means.

Thanks Tim! And my belated thanks to both you and Kevin for pointing out last week's typos. I can't comment on who eric will or will not end up with (You're in no danger posting what you did above, but I surely would be, from the Echidna, if I blabbed! He'd make me into a pincushion! All those spines!! Yipes!!) As for what Eric is... He's Eric.

OOPS!!! Thanks Jan! I fixed it!! BTW, my sincere thanks to any and all who point out errors. I REALLY appreciate that, and be it public or private (your choice) it helps me greatly. Not only does it get rid of errors in the posted text, but it also points out to me things I need to look for. That was a typo, but I never caught it, due to "noting" being a word. CJ

ACK! It wasn't a spoiler! And Shhh, we don't want to get the Echidna involved! And, ummm, Bondwriter, that bit you quoted wasn't written by me! It's attributed to me in your post, but it wasn't mine. Eric may or may not drink tequila again, but there was this line in Ch 3...

Okay, truth time: I'm sure to get some hateful reactions for this one, but I'm going to suggest that it might've worked better in LTMP if Helen hadn't come through. I'm not usually one for killing off sympathetic characters, mind you, and I like Helen, but in this case, I can make two arguments for it: 1) It would fit with the character growth that all the main characters show. Symbolically, Helen as their mother figure needs to step aside (so to speak) in order to allow the boys to grow up. 2) I think it would've rung a little truer... you basically set it up so that everyone assumed Helen was dead, and when it turned out she was fine, it came across as a bit too happily-ever-after, not very realistic. Okay, I know you were going for the happy ending, but I just didn't buy it for whatever reason that she'd make it through almost perfectly unharmed. (Mind you, maybe I shouldn't talk about suspension of disbelief in a story about nuclear weapons being manufactured in Queensland...) Anyway, the point's moot, it's ancient history now, and I'm sure it will be useful having Helen as a character in Changing Lanes. Especially when she tries to de-tequila the Eric. You raise good points... I did consider those very issues. The "growth" issue was, indeed, the very reason she died in the original outline of LTMP. However... For there to be a Changing Lanes, she had to live. She's still recovering in Ch 1 of Changing lanes, months later. You're right though; I should have posted more medical detail, to show that that sort of a wound is indeed survivable. My only quibble is on the nukes in Queensland. Okay, the location was a bit unorthodox, but think about the issues The Scar faced. He needed a place where he could work undisturbed, and one had to be a in a very remote area. He needed easy access to shipping, and he also (most critically) needed to get his workforce (russian and middle eastern) to his worksites. Australia is a place where there are existing human smuggling operations, operating on large scale, from those regions. Australia just looked like the best "fit" for his needs, based on the opportunities the situation provided. South America was my second option, for similar reasons. As for the nuke fabrication itself, I challenge anyone to poke any holes in it. I researched it, very carefully, and I also went into this already having a detailed knowledge on the workings of nuclear weapons. CJ

ACK! Noo!! Don't say that, or our resident anti-spoiler Echidna will get me! (I live in fear of his very sharp spines!!) All I meant was that LTMP was more focused on Brandon. Changing Lanes is focused on Eric. I didn't mean to imply they were heading for the same ending. BTW, "Let The Music Play" turned out to be one of The Scar's lines, but Changing Lanes is more complex. We already know it's the title of Instinct's new album, but, it has other meanings too, and will be used several times, in different contexts, throughout the story. CJ

The evil culprit is, as always, Shadowgod!

Darn good call! Yes. You're in large part right about Eric's beginnings. He was supposed to be a secondary character, like Jon, just with a few... quirks. The first ten chapters of Changing Lanes were written years ago. That's why the character development is rather lacking in those chapters, plus they have some rough edges on the writing side. I did some reworking of it, but not enough. Eric... Yes indeed, you have him pegged, spot-on. He really came into his own at the party at Jerry's house, where we saw, for the first time, his love of Tequila. You're right, he grew, very much so and very quickly, and soon he was not only my favorite character, but also he was taking on a far larger role. As for Eric and Chase, the way I see it is that in SOME ways they are very much alike, but in other ways, they are opposite, or at least different. For example, Chase isn't into "playing the field" but Eric has shown that he is. They share a similar sense of humor, but Eric is the more extreem. Indeed, Eric does love life, and meets it head-on, full-force. He loves it, as well he should. I had no intentions of doing a sequel to LTMP until about halfway through LTMP, when I realized that the planned ending (Helen originally died, though the ending was similar) left Eric as a loose end (and there were others.). I considered some plot changes in LTMP, but nothing seemed to work, so Changing Lanes was born, with Eric as the central character. LTMP was about Brandon, mainly, and his road from joining the band as a deeply closeted roadie to walking out on stage, to an assembled press corps, hand in hand with his boyfriend, as one of the most famous people on the planet. That was Brandon's road. Changing Lanes is Eric's.

General Bradson is a man with a dilemma. He's trying to save his son's life. Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. As for Shadowgod, it really is all his fault!! If he hadn't gone racing through that scene on his motorcycle (complete with vanity plates! He's not only evil, but vain, too!) Eric wouldn't have gotten the idea... So, let us put6 the blame squarely where it belongs... on Shadowgod!! As for Tequila... Surely Eric has learned his lesson and will avoid that particular liquor?

Hrmmm... I've been thinking... I think there's something about that park... San Francisco

Yes... Shadowyness does have as his realm the firey pit, and that's the lowest of the low... But how can we protect Eric from this truly (and literally!) Satanic influence? Rally SPiCE!

Yep, The Frosty one is a POSTACHILIC! Congrats, Jack!

No Tequila involved... It's just the Shady One barging in and leading Eric into dire peril!!! So, rally SPICE! Save Eric (from the Shady One's eeevil influence!)

SPICE ALERT! SPICE ALERT!! Eric is in peril, and if you've read chapter 3 of Changing Lanes, you know that the culprit is Shadowgod!!! I am hereby rallying SPiCE to Eric's aid, and calling for a campaign against the Shady One!! He must stop leading Eric astray!! :sword: :fire: :axeman: :sword: :chris: :2hands:

The dark rider's identity is clearly stated by his liscence plate. See? It really is all the Shady One's (Shadowgod's) fault!!! This is it true now, and thus is it true for all that follows.

I would like to say, for the record, that it's all Shadowgod's fault, literally! :nuke:

Sorry I've been gone!! Wow, great points in this thread! Thanks!! Um,, I'm kind of late in releasing the next chapter title. It's... Errr, I can't remember, something about auditions, ahhh, Persuits and Auditions, that's it! So, please discuss and speculate on the title meaning, between now and when I post it, which will be in about twenty seconds...

This is great!!! I've got a side-ache!! Now, as for the Tequila rumor... True. The serial "Jake" will be coming out before the end of the month, and tequila is how I write that one.

Hi Charles!! Thank you! LTMP was my first try at anything close to a technothriller, and I had a blast. Good point on Helen; the type of wound was survivable, but, I didn't give enough detail to make it believable. On the Osprey, though, I'll argue. The payload capacity is 10,000 pounds on a single cargo hook, 15,000 if using both in tandem. The only other payload was two guys (General Bradson and one investigator). Cliffhangers? Me?? Wow... I'm still learning. All I can say is, never stop learning. And you have to admit; the Eric in LTMP and Changing Lanes is nicer then the one in FTL, who had a few... rough edges. Ahhh, Tequila!

Welcome, Reach!!!! Thank you very much!! The sequel is underway, it's called "Changing Lanes". I think his Shadowyness is replying upon his vast and varied dark powers for that. That "Lord of Darkness" gig he's got going pays very well, I hear, though I'm not sure what he's doing with all those souls he's getting.

Great chapter! But it does raise questions!!! Brandon and Damon... Brandon sure comes across as having feelings for Damon. Damon, however, seems oblivious. That wrestling.. I thought for sure something was going to happen. Great to see Joe coming to terms with things, working his way through. I like his uncle Greg a lot too. I also like the fact that Joe has a nice, safe vehicle, not a two-wheeled death machine like Jacob! I do hope Cody is allowed to be similarly sensible in vehicle choices! And, um, here we have ANOTHER chapter where Cody's money from Eric isn't mentioned... I can only conclude that Shadowgod stole it! Poor Cody!! Great to see Matt, Jacob, and Val together again! I particularly loved Jacob's thought on Julie, about liking her better when she doesn't speak. LOL! I'll have more thoughts later, including on the double-whammy cliffhangers (two, in one chapter!). Great chapter!

I hope both of you are doing better now!! I must say, I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw this... This has left me speechless. Thanks to you both, and also, I hope you are both recovering! CJ

The Carlisle guys did change their name; In LTMP 7 it's mentioned briefly by Helen:

Hi Steph!!! Tough question!! I'd suggest reading LTMP first, as some of the background there plays a role in Changing Lanes sooner or later. Theoretically, Changing Lanes works as a free-standing novel, and can be read that way, but LTMP sets the stage for it in some ways. If anyone who hasn't read LTMP has a look at Changing Lanes, I'd really appreciate it if they let me know their impressions on this. CJ