C James

ACK! 90%!?!?!!??! How did that happen? :wacko: Is this a good time for me to remind everyone that the voting is now open too? Should I urge everyone to vote for Shadowgod as King of Cliffhangers?

ROFL!!! Where did you find that? And how? But, ummm, goats go boom? And the Goat is re-creating the scene from Dr. Stranglove, where Slim Pickens rides a nuke down... Uhoh.... Edit to add; I thought a link to the founding post for SPiCE would be good.

I will comment that, apropos of nothing, that Blackheart in FTL was in some ways a hit man. And as for Shadowgod, hrmmm, I think I see a connection here. In addition to being the King of EEEvil cliffhangers, he;s also the King of Eeevil Contract-killers! Oh my.... BTW, I will point out, before anyone else does, that even if you are correct in your interpretation of the quoted text, it isn't a cliffhanger. See? He IS the King of Evil Contract-killers!!! Hrmmm, maybe he's just the king of EVERYTHING evil? And, ummm, how may you be placated?

It is great to have you here, Ty!!! And thank you so much for your other post as well, that really made my day! Welcome!! But Conner 365, I never use cliffhangers. 0:) I can't comment on specifics of upcoming things, so I'm afraid I cant answer any of your question, only to say that they won't be left unanswered for too long. ROFL!!! I admit it, I like hot guys in speedos. But in this case, they were forced to were speedos by Helen, becase she has a reason. Ummm, doesn't it worry anyone how easily Shadowgod can put himself into the mindset of a hitman?!?!!? ROFL!!! TANSTAAFL! Are you by chance a Hienelin fan? (It stands for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch") ROFL!!! Well, ok, I'll give it a shot... Here's a quote from Ch 23, which bears on The Scar's plans, including some of the issues asked above. Shaking his head, The Scar replied,

I noticed that I made a few formatting errors in Ch 24: Scene breaks where they don't belong. I'll upload a fixed chapter with the new one on Tuesday. BTW, I don't know why y'all are so suspicious of The Scar. He's even planning to buy Eric a few drinks.

Very true! (on the all in good fun part anyway). At least Blackheart survived his plunge off the cliff. But I think you are being very mean to a poor, innocent, quiet and shy goat. Stuffed and mounted indeed!

Now, now, Fossil... That goes both ways you know. When have I ever done anything to you?

The Lord of Darkness is, by definition Evil, and Shadowgod is, of course, the Lord of Darkness. (the names mean the same). And it's not my fault that Shadowgod is brain-damaged and writing stories on the internet. I will support you in one respect: Shadowgod is the King of Evocotive Descriptions! Of course, he's the King of Eeevil Cliffhangers, too, but one does not preclude the other. In fact, the compliment one another. Humph! I';ll have you know I almost never post. And AHHEM, *I* never said a word about the magazine reference. YOU DID! :P:p

Yes, I am. Shadowgod, EEEvil Lord of Darkness (And King of Eeevil Cliffhangers!) that he is, has posted Ch 2 of his new story Dreams and Clipped Wings. And He , he, he, ARGH! How could he? He's evil, I tell you, Evil! He put my is his story and he, ARGH!!! The chapter is named "Eating Crow" and boy, am i ever!!!! Go have a look. If you like teasing me, you'll just love this. It's also shaping up to be a great story!!!

Isn't there any sympathy for J/S's frustration? The poor guy must be really stressed out. Yep! I got that from the classic surfing film "Endless Summer" and I've also seen it mentioned elsewhere over the years. Thanks Woody!! I've encountered sharks a few times while surfing, and I don't mind admitting that I became very afraid when I saw a big finn cruising along, between me and the beach. Me too! I haven't been there in close to 25 years, and I loved it. I was pretty young, but I remember some parts of it very well indeed. I've never been north of Brisbane there, so Graeme and Woody have been helping me with local facts. The scene in Rome was far easier; I was there a few years before I wrote the early one and a few weeks before I wrote the chapter that takes place in Rome. See? Only the best... And y'all thought The Scar was lacking in family values. What? Would I do such a thing as that? Thank you everyone for all the comments and speculation. I'm loving it. This is my main reward for writing, and I can't express how much I appreciate it. There was some great speculation here, and some of it spot-on (and before the Echidna makes me into a pincushion for giving spoilers, I'll point out that I didn't say which ones!) in some respects. Not only do i love seeing that, but it helps me; it lets me know that I have left enough clues. Thanks VERY much everyone!! CJ

Ooops! I posted the first post in this thread at 2am, and accidently gave it last week's chapter name. I've fixed it.

I haven't posted the announcement yet, but Ch 24 is up.

Nooo! I never said, specifically, who Blackheart was based upon. However, it may or may not be a coincidence that a certain writer used that handle on several other boards, including being hosted under that name. However, here, that writer is known as Shadowgod. The T-shirt Blackheart is wearing in the story (for the scene in Hawaii) is one Shadowgod owns (and there is a picture of him in it posted in the thread.) The motorcycle he rode over the cliff was the same make and model as the one Jacob in LiS was riding, and there are many, many other coincidences. One that comes to mind; Blackheart's shoe store was called the Shoe Whore Shoe Store. It is entirely coincidental that Shadowgod had a blog entry with the title "Shoe whore?" a few weeks prior. ROFL! Well, I've always assumed that SPiCE was for LTMP's Eric, not FTL's. LoL. I guess I could just say Eric Carlisle as opposed to Eric Williams (or should that be Eric Emoe, given who his real father is?) I don't want the sequel to be about Eric though, even though he's a major character in it. So, the title is still undecided. But, "misunderstood" fits the plot even without Eric, so....

Yes, poor misunderstood Eric will be back. So too will Blackheart (the evil hacker himself.;.. remember, riding off that cliff left him just brain-damaged, not dead) The Sheriff won't be back though... I felt his character would be a little stiff. Oh, I never said he was perfect. As for how much time he'd haver served if caught? Likly years. He's a minor but those kind of charges would have landed him in jail for over a decade at a minimum. That's why he had to leave. But, think back.. He stopped by to see Steve once he already had the $$$. Why? On the mitigating side, he was being egged on (in some ways) and also supplied drugs by the Sheriff and his father (Thaddeus J. Emoe). That would be a mitigating circumstance, in the eyes of some. So, did Eric really change? We just don't know. I couldn't show his thoughts in 1st person, so there was no way to be certain. But Eric, at the very least, was certainly... Misunderstood. Thanks!!! I've still got a long way to go in learning how to use third (or first or second, for that matter! LoL) but I'm more comfortable in third. I also need the power of it; 1st person is very limiting, especially for a complex plot; getting your protagonist into position to learn everything the reader needs to know can be difficult. Thank you!!! The tone will be quite similar. BTW, the Epilogue for FTL was written first; before even Ch 1 (YEs, a weird thing to do, but the epilogue for LTMP was sketched out years ago, too). I did of course re-write it in places, including the bits about Blackheart and Dex and Betty's wedding, and it originally took place in San Diego instead of Hawaii, and I brushed up the wording a great deal, but plotwise, that was basically the same epilogue I wrote at the start. However, there was one HUGE change. I originally had the epilogue set fifteen years in the future. I changed that, to leave the door open for a sequel.

This is wonderful! Thank you Emoe!!! And, um, TL, Tequila isn't evil. It happens to be my favorite drink. And you know I'd never do anything evil, right?

ROFL!!!!! Yeah, submitting a paper in a laungauge you don't speak is a subtle clue that you may not have written it. Congrats on the "Cool Member" Hey, I forgot to release the chapter title last time, so here it is for next week: "Checkout Time".

I asked Myr, and he doesn't think the linking is a problem. But, ummm, Bondwriter, it makes me nervous when anyone mentions a scapegoat.

A thought just occurred to me (rare event, i know..) What is google's policy on intentionally meddling with its ranking in this way? Here's my worry; what if they object, and penalize a site for doing so be blackballing ALL it's google search rankings? What we cant do here is anything that puts GA at risk, so does anyone know the answer here? And BlueSox, I looked at your link, and then imagined the teacher's face when a student submitted it. OMFG!!! Thanks Dude, that was hilarious! I'd have loved to have seen the student's face. Too bad the professor didn't make him explain the subject of his paper to the class.

Welcome Deshani! Glad to have you here!

Uhoh... Hrmmm. You have a good point, and you might be right, but on the other hand the flight was not from the US: it was from Rome to Australia. I did check Quantas' timetable to make sure I picked a plausible flight, and I think the aircraft was a 747, so it would have storage closets in the first-class section. I found reference to Qantas' policy here: Ms Grant said there was no issue with any wheelchair model being loaded onto Boeing 747s and 767s, Airbus A330s, Airbus A320s, or Bombardier Dash-8s. Small electric mobility scooters that can fold down are classed as wheelchairs. There is also the question of whether or not an airline might give preferential treatment to a VIP first-class passenger. Hrmm, more serching seems to have many mention of placing wheelchairs in the hold, but none on board. the article you linked to says (2) In an aircraft in which a closet or other approved stowage area is provided in the cabin for passengers' carry-on items, of a size that will accommodate a folding, collapsible, or break-down wheelchair, the carrier shall designate priority stowage space, as described below, for at least one folding, collapsible, or break-down wheelchair in that area. I do try and research details, but I admit, it's possible that I might have goofed on this one, but I still think it could have happened (though i might well be wrong). Interesting point! Thanks Colin!

Thank you Bondwriter!! Yes, this story, like many of my others, is action/adventure in some regards. I will even admit, under duress, that this can often make things seem perhaps a little tense upon rare occasion. Graeme!! Now what makes you think I planned all this? I'm just trying to pay rightfull homage to Shadowgod, the King of Eeevil cliffhangers, and all the other cliffhanger users out there. (yourself very much included) Hi Colin!! I had to go check to be sure, but here is what it said in Ch 22:

Eric (in FTL) was on drugs, methamphetamines mainly but others as well. He was supplied them by his uncle, the Sheriff. Some people become very, very different from "normal" on methamphetamines. I planted little clues, such as his shaking ands and exagerated eye movements (eyes always darting around) but, being limited by being in 1st person, I could only do that and then show it with his own words at the end. FTL's Eric was not (when not on drugs) the sociopath we saw, but as we saw from the "televangelist fleecing the flock" he's no goody two-shoes, either. But he paid a heavy price; he lost his home, what was left of his childhood, and his family. Remember his stopping to see Steve one last time, once he already had the money? He did that, when he could have just left with the $$$. He also saved Steve's life, and for that matter, everyone's life. But he wasn't how he appeared at first. That was due to the drugs, and the sheriff. I kept saying all along; poor, misunderstood Eric. But nobody believed me. So what was Eric, really? The way I saw him was mixed. But what is he really like? Well, there is a sequel underway where we find out. I'd long planned one, but reading this thread and the posts above made me realize how much * missed the world of FTL, so, around 1am last night, I started. Don't count on it soon; I need to get several chapters written first, and "Jake" will still be following LTMP so this won't have the posting rate of LTMP, but the gang from FTL will be back. (well, umm, not the Sheriff and his henchmen from the mine... ). Okay, one big difference... And I need to bounce this off y'all. FTL was written in 1st person. That caused me all kinds of headaches. The opening scene just came out as third person last night, and I think it works better that way. Would it seem strange to switch from 1st person in FTL to 3rd for a sequel?

OOps, did I add a typo? I'll go fix that and UL it with the next chapter. Thanks! (that was added post-edit and post-zeta, BTW) I've got to be very carefull what I say here, but referring only to what is posted, yes, The Scar makes mistakes sometimes. He's human, and has shortcomings. Some of which he is aware of, and others which he isnt (such as not being as good an actior as he thinks he is). Colin... But you know I never use cliffhangers! And also, things in my stories aren't always what they seem. And, umm, "cleaver"? Yipes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jerry lent Eric the scooter, but regreted it. Lol. He had shipped the first set of Krytons in one, but this time, perhaps spooked by having the scooter x-rayed before (I never actually said in the text, and probably should have) he loaned Eric the scooter in order to have a little VIP help in getting the scooter into the country. He was being just a little too clever, and soon regretted it. Helen's destination change took him by surprise. Had that not occured, his plan would have worked perfectloy; he could have releived Eric of the scooter in Brisbane right after arriving at their hotel with an excuse abotu the "sick kid", but by going up north with them he was stuck overnight. The best laid plans of mice and men. LoL. The Scooter was never out of The Scar's sight during their encounter with customs. However, we have no idea who, if anyone, The Scar will think tampered with it. All he said is that it wasn't him. and then he observed that it must have been someone else. Thanks everyone! CJ