C James

ACK Now, now, if you go read that post, and the one of yours above it, you'll see what happened; I was quoting you BUT that line of text ended up outside the quote tags somehow. Go look; it's a perfect match; those are YOUR words! And you know it too! Harumph, trying to frame me for saying I use cliffhangers? Surely y'all know me well enough by now that you know I'd never say I use cliffhangers!!! Besides, Cliffhangers are Shadowgod's domain, and I dare not trespass.

Killing a protagonist? Hrmm, well, I hope short stories don't count?

Yep! Only Myk and the voter will know how the voter voted! And the deadline in Midnight, EST, on Saturday the 16th! Only a few hours left! And, umm, how the heck did the voting in this poll end up at 40 to 4?!?!?! EEEK!

Didn't I come across as enraged when i screamed CLIFFHANGER??? So there.

I'll challenge you for the title of "most scattered". I think writing chapters in reverse order might have earned me the title of "scatterbrain of the year." I can't guarantee no waiting. I'm currently writing Ch 31, just at the halfway point. However, the back-and forth between me and out team takes time, and often one or more are busy, so chapters can still get hung up in process. However, I hope I can avoid any significant delays, and it would just be for a day or two. And as for Dimitri and the Russian plutonium sellers on an airliner, I'll quote the whole thing from chapter 7;

Well, of course. That was a CLIFFHANGER! I don't use 'em, but I know 'em when I see 'em! Hrmmm, should ShadowGOD be promoted, from the King of Eeevil Cliffhangers to the God of all Eeevil Cliffhangers? His screen-name sure fits...

EEEK! I dodged a bullet (or a set of spines) on that one!! BTW, speaking of plane crashes, and apropos of nothing, remember how Dimitri got rid of the Russians who sold the plutonium? LoL! Don't worry, I will finish it. I haven't finished it yet. However, I am a few chapters ahead. I have to be; it takes time for the team to work on it, one after another. However, I sometimes write non-sequentially, such as jumping ahead a few chapters, writing a scene or an entire chapter, and then returning, or in one case writing a couple of chapters in revers order. :wacko: This can cause delays, becuase I certainly can't send, say, Ch 30 in for beta and editing before I send 28. Please don't ask how many chapters LTMP will have. I'd happily give you a guess, but it would be wrong. I stink at predicting how it will fill out regarding chapters. To give you an idea, my original prediction was 15, which I think might be a bit off.

Ahhhem! Check back a couple of posts up the thread; it was Benji who made the cliff observation. BTW, did anyone notice the Har-Megiddo reference? Did anyone beside me get what it means? (and yes, Shadowgod was being evil, AGAIN!)

Hi Bluesox! I do put a lot of forshadowing in my stories, but I dare not say what, or the Echidna will get me for giving spoilers! We cross-posted, and you said almost exactly what I did about the GPS, only you said it better. I'll give one small spoiler; either the GPS will be found, or it won't.

Sorry for over-doing the scene changes in this chapter. I tend to use them for time-shifts, and got a little too heavy-handed. I can't comment on much of anything, except to mention how GPS works; a GPS receiver does not transmit to the satellites, it only receives. However, many models DO have transmitters; for example, bluetooth to allow them to communicate with, and use, bluetooth enabled cell-phones. That is definitly a radio-frequency transmitter. The question is, is it enabled and transmitting, or off and silent? Some of the most brilliant people in history have been decidedly odd and childlike in some ways. Einstein is perhaps the best known example. I wonder how the Scar would have reacted if Vladimer had talked Dimitri into bringing back a live Kangaroo? Though, Dimitri might have learned the hard way that Kangaroos can be dangerous. The bit about an untrained person being unable to land a jet is true; landing is the most difficult part of flying. On my recent trip I had a chance to talk with a British Airways pilot, who confirmed this. (I'm a small-plane pilot myself, so I was already pretty sure). We'll find out what is going on with Lump, and the reason for the silence about him, in the next chapter.

Now, now, I don't really tease Shadowgod much...

The Scar does refer to Lump as "My worthless son" so i think you are right. Hey now! He defends me and I'm sweet and nice! Maybe you just aren't nice enough?

Things seem to be simmering down on the "war" front, and I loved the car scene... I especially liked the concluding Dickens paraphrase, but I have to wonder... Are things going too good? In other words, is another shoe about to drop? (What can I say; I'm paranoid... ) Great chapter, Jack!

Well, I'm a day late anyway. Interesting chapter, and things seem to be going well between Jamie and Andrew again, right up until the end. It all hinges on the answer, i think! Well, I promised I wouldn't declare cliffhangers... But... I must say, that was one very tense and apprehensive ending! <says CJ, as he eyes the precipice...) I love the sub-plots too.

That is GREAT news!

There is indeed a Carlisle Island in the Whitsundays. And Jon, Eric, and Chase have the last name of Carlisle. I didn't know about the Aleutian one, thanks! The next chapter may be up soon. It's been sent it, but it's 2am! Lol. I don't see why y'all are assuming that The Scar is evil... Maybe he's just.. Misunderstood?

So maybe The Scar's big problem is that he's just a little unfashionconcious? Or maybe he is a self-reliant sort, who just likes to be left to his own devices, in this case nuclear devices??

Ahha! I think you have it... He was clearly depressed, and ok, the apartment was occupied, but he went to the ROOF!?!? That's definitly ominous, and definite forshadowing of something dark and evil. And I think you have it; the roof was the closest thing to a cliff, and we know Shadowgod loves those. I thought the thoughts of being able to fly were decidedly ominous...

Now, now, Wildone, how soon you forget... We had an election, right here in this very forum, where the very first question was "Is Shadowgod the king of evil cliffhangers?" Yep, it's here. And of yourse, the answer to that question was an acclamation of Shadowgod's title. So, therefor, Shadowgod does have a title to defend (one also affirmed by a select GA committee). And of course, we, his loyal readers, must rally to his side and help him defend his title! :2hands: Tug of war? Or would that be push of war?

Ok, one thing is puzzling me; why exactly is Cody up on a roof at the end of a chapter? That's really odd... He must have a reason? Is that a normal thing for a city dweller to do? Or is this just an odd quirk? (If the latter, that's great, makes the character real). Who is that lilac-scented envelope FROM??? I also note that Shadowgod ended the chapter with the character up on the ROOF. And he's received a letter, a very ominous sounding one. We don't even know if he took the long or the short way down! I think the final scene can indeed be read that way; Look at the final sentence; It says HIS darkness, you we know from earlier in the scene that its not nighttime, therefor, darkness means depression. And he's on a ROOF, depressed, fantasizing that he can FLY?!?!!? Came on, surely I'm not the only one to see how ominous that is?

Nooo! Shadowgod is the unrivaled master of the cliffhanger. I happen to know that he planned LiS 26 for months; building up to it, setting the stage, that ominous motorcycle appearing time and again... Yes, that was consummate skill at the cliffhanger! (Even though I don't use 'em myself, I'm a pretty good judge of 'em) Besides, we now have an election underway... Now is the time to put aside our minor differences, and rally behind Shadowgod as he defends his title! :2hands:

Yep, there will be a special anthology this summer to celebrate GA's 5th anniversary. We're still thrashing out the details in the anthology forum, but it will be themed "anniversaries" and any kind would fit. And yep, we are getting close to 5k!

Well, "mew" could have made it about kittens. ROFL!! I'll stoke the fires a little here... The chapter after is is named "Carlisle Island."

It might be just simple stress; maybe he had a bad day at the office? Bondwriter wrote; ROFL! I love it!!!

And he did, too!!! Go read Dreams & Clipped wings, Ch 2. ! He called it "eating Crow!" BTW, a bit of story news; I've done some work on Ch 1 of the sequel, and I feel it is going ok, so ya'll should see it when LTMP wraps.