C James

It's true that LiS 26 won't count for 2008 (darn it! ) but the Shady One is known for outdoing himself. It's still early in Dreams & Cliffed Wings, but I have no doubt that once we are further in, there will be a cliffhanger of shadowgodesqe proportions!! Well, will y'all at least join me is wishing the Shady One a happy anniversary of LiS 26? Though, of course for some of you, it's time to jump in and help in the restoration. :2hands:

Guys, how could you do this to poor Shadowgod, and on the anniversary of LiS 26!!!

Ack, now, now, no goat roasting! I can't control what Jerry does. Yes, this is true, even cliffhangers, which of course I almost never use. ACK! WILDONE!! Those aren't cliffhangers! Ok, I answered some (edited in in Red, above) , but left others unanswered as they are in the remaining chapter and epilogue, or in the case of the Tequila, in "Changing Lanes".

War criminals don't always go to the Hauge. For one thing, not all nations recognize it (the US included, in some cases) and they don't have the death penalty. For example, if the US captures Bin Laden, he isn't going to the Hauge, but more likly getting a federal death penalty. Or, like Saddam, getting his neck stretched. Jerry is a tricky case. Australia has the biggest beef with him, and should IMHO get first whack. The US has the legal situation of him planting, and trying to use, weapons of mass destruction on US soil. There's also the matter of his involvement (as a con-conspirator) in the murder of Gunter, the pilot, and the Sheriff's Deputies. Under the law in most states, that makes him guilty of capital murder. However, Paraguay, should it survive, certainly has their own score to settle with Jerry. Jerry does seem to have a knack for making people upset with him? Poor Jerry! BTW, at least the first four of your loose ends will be dealt with in the next chapter and the epilogue. The Carlisle's parents are the one thing we won't see more of in LTMP. However, the same is not true for the sequel, "Changing Lanes", which will start posting within ten days of the end of LTMP. However, I think they are about the only "loose end" that will be left for the sequel. I'm not personally fond of leaving a lot of things unresolved in a story, so I wanted to use the final chapter and the epilogue to do quite a bit. And hrmmm, No one had any objections to my mention that "Changing Lanes" might be all about Jerry, once he finished off Instinct? Well, Okay, just so long as you're all okay with it.

July 5th, 2007. A day that shall live forever in the annals of literary history... For on that day, the Shadowy One labored and brought forth to these forums a new chapter, a new concept, dedicated to the proposition that all cliffhangers are not created equal. Now we are engaged in a great war of restoration, testing whether rightness and farness, and yes Justice, shall prevail against the usurper. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. The chase is on, and we

I'm very opinionated on this issue, so I'm going to open my big mouth and say that in such a case, there is no question what he should do; he should follow his Muse. This isn't just about following through, this is about writing itself; inspiration is a fickle thing, and if you try and focus on one thing when another is nagging at you, you'll end up making a mess of both. Therefor, for purely practical reasons, I feel very strongly that what the author feels like working on is what he should be working on. You have a good point, it's hard because you feel ab obligation to your readers, but the downside of forcing oneself is that you can de-rail your writing. But you're certainly right that it's tough at times. Just my opinion. CJ

Psssst, Steph, have you read Prelude to Destiny? If yo, you might be, shall we say, slightly numerically challenged?

Yes, agreed! MikeL, Graeme, and I are the some of the very few GA members who use their personal pics as avatars.

Well, um, yes.. But he certainly adds to the high body count in your stories.

Harassed? My little old me? It's been a great year. Congratulations Steve!! Oh, BTW, another anniversary looms, on July 5th, and I'll be posting a commemorative post (it's a long one) in this forum in honor of the occasion. The anniversary itself is July 5th, but I'll post July 4th to get things rolling. And of course, it is entirely related to the Shady One.. CJ

Thanks Tim!!! I originally tried the opening parts in 1st, then 3rd, but then 2nd just seemed like a better fit. It was a tricky one to write; I was trying for a sort of formal style, and some eloquence, and I'm not skilled at either. It was fun to try it though. I've now written in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I've yet to try 4th.

Jerry did indeed start loosing his grip, starting with the shipping container incident where he killed the road boss. The stress got to him, and in spite of his high opinions of himself he doesn't handle stress well. He also tried to get too fancy on some of the details, and had some bad luck. I had no idea!! I don't watch much TV, so I didn't know that. As for going crazy... How does one go where one already is? ROFL! I have never claimed to be sane!

One of the reasons for the technical detail about the nuke in chapter 36 was to try and make the disarming procedure understandable; if someone doesn't know how a nuke works, the idea of preventing it from detonating by blowing it up or shooting it might seem a little odd. However, those are the real procedures. The "happy Landings" just happened while I was writing, it wasn't planned, it just came out and I thought it fit. Of course, the sequel could be all about Jerry. His coup might still work, and then he's got a war on his hands. Thank you Conner!! About the fear of heights... I didn't emhasize Brandon's well enough; it's mentioned in a couple of places early on and in chapter 19, but not clearly enough. However, yep, that's why they both have a fear of heights; for the final showdown way up high.

Hrmm, I think he already did that? I remember him reworking and reposting the Bourb chapters a while back. The ways of the Shady One are indeed mysterious...

I'll reply more in detail tomorrow (3am here!) but just a couple of points for now. First, THANK YOU ALL! BTW, the Offshore banking was added by Emoe... I originally had it as Offshore Baking, but Emoe didn't think that quite fit. LoL! I dunno why... a conspiracy involving offshore baking sounds.. delicious! Things are not going Jerry's way, but he's still got a good chance; the bribed officers have to back him even though the bribes are worthless; if their government remains in power, they bribed officers are in major hot water for being involved in Jerry's antics. There are a lot of loose ends at this point in the story, but the final chapter and the epilogue should work for tying them up. The final chapter is 47: Endgame and it should post on time. The epilogue will be posted a few days later. Okay, now, a question for everyone; what loose ends do you feel should be tied up?

Vote no, VOTE NO!!!!!

This was a great edition!! And Tim, Thank you.. I've done a few interviews myself, and having been here Tim was, i want to say, he did a GREAT job. It was fun for me, and having someone I consider a friend on the other end of the line made it even better. I guess I do like living on the edge a bit. I've certainly had people tell me I'm crazy for some of the things I do, such as getting lost while driving on a dirt road near the Bosnian-Croatian boarder late last year. I"m still not sure whether I ended up in Bosnia or not... (I'll drive most anywhere...) Bondwriter, that's a GREAT pic!! Lol!!! I love it!! I'll also say this; he did one of the hardest things in image rendering; he put an object behind glass. That's very hard to do. Great edition!!!

Happy Canada Day!!!

I'm afraid I know little about Fainting Goats... I've heard of 'em, and IMHO that isn't the best predator-avoidance strategy. And shame on ya'll; you know I never use cliffhangers!

Rakuten, beware! Saying those four words in any context is likely te get you teased unmercifully around these parts! I think I know what Shadowgod is referring to, and I think this is a case where we just have to trust the author. "Shot of Bourbon" was one of the very first peices of gay fiction I stumbled upon online, and it was the only short story (It was just chapter 1, posted as a short story at that point) I'd seen, up to that point, that I really liked. It was certainly the only one I liked enough to save to my hard drive. Unless the file creation date is messed up on my system, it was saved on Friday, April 18th, 2003, though as I recall I had it as just a bookmard for a long time before. CJ

Kit.. Wow, thank you!!! Indeed I did have problems with "too many words" in NSNP (and also in the early parts of my novel "For the Love". I had no idea how to advance time, so it ended up being linear, and way too wordy. I love using short stories as a means for trying new things. For example, "The Muse" was my first try at third person, and "Requiem" my first try at second. I originally envisioned and outlined Requiem in third person, then in first, but Second seemed a better fit. Graeme helped me on the tenses (and much else) with that; the tenses in second person are a little different, and tricky. Three for Jake was largely written while I was drunk. LoL. I'd been at a neighbor's party, doing tequila shooters. To be honest, the ending surprised me too; I had no idea where I was going with it when I started it, which is unusual for me; on novels, I tend to write at least a draft of the epilogue right around the time I'm writing chapter one. I'm still learning, and I've got a long ways to go, but I'm having loads of un along the way. BTW, speaking of "three for Jake", that short story is not a prologue for "Jake", a serial I'm working on and hope to begin posting soon. Thank you Graeme!! I've had a great deal of help along the way. I do try and write serials to be like a print novel rather than weekly serials, and I agree, I'd do better if I finished them completely prior to posting. But, for me, so much of my drive to write is the fun I have in this forum, so I know my pace would slow down. CJ

Mike, that was one great article!! Thank you!! There were indeed varius types of viking ships, and the ones used in Greenland were more like the warship briefly mentioned,not the coastal raider. The key ability of the coastal raiders was their shallow draft; they could navigate in a couple of feet of water, and beach easily. Their lack of a keel was another key aspect. The warships were more stoutly buillt and wider, and also had removable (often carried stowed) roofing, used as protection from arrows and other small projectiles. Even so, saling back then was risky. For example, of the 20 or so ships taking part in the initial colonization of Greenland, 13 survived the journey from iceland. . Thanks Sacha!! I love doing the research for stories, but in this case it was easy; I've long had an interest in the lost Viking colony. So, the entire non-fiction part was easy to write.

Thank you!!! See? I'm not the only one who thinks so! But, but, but, I almost never use cliffhangers!!! And mine aren't evil like Shadowgod's!

I can say conclusively that Brandon hasn't died in chapter 45; at the end of the chapter, he's physically fine, except for a few scratches and little gravitational issue. Steve!!! I'd never use blackmail!! And I'm not evil!! Have a wonderful holidays!! But I'm innocent!! Thanks!! I thought so, based on my tests, but I was unsure. BTW, Benji, I'm glad you raised this issue; while at the mineshaft I found my trailer-hitch cover, lost a year before! As for me going into the old mineshaft, I respectfully decline! You're right! However, a little tsk tsk of my own (I just can't resist!); the acceleration rate of gravity, if we're using metric, is 9.8 m s/s. It's 33 feet s/s, not meters.

Sorry I'm late. Kevin, this brightened my day. I loved the humor, and the squirming Arron was going! Bmad seems to have issues in some ways. My take on the resolution was; sitting where he did brought back memories and calmed him down. My favorite line has got to be the one about "waearing a different shirt". And of course, Mick being insufferable when right. Great job Kevin!!