C James

Hrmmm, The Herd... I like it! My blog is already names "the Goatpen."

That was hilarious Bob! Of course, as to whether it's true or not... All i can say is,

I'll post an announcment in this thread, just for old time's sake, but we'll go chapter-by chapter, now that we've got a forum to play with. (and I know, it's strange for a lurker like me to love a forum so much, but I love this place!) Egads, a POSTAHOLIC! Well, I've said that about you all along, Emoe.

Hi Rad! Thank you! Brandon has had it rough, and that makes him feel inferior to the three brothers, something his pride is having great trouble with. What? Me? Tease? Would I ever do such a thing as that? Hmmm?? Sorry, I must have typo'd... Seriously, the title of Ch 6 is "The Kiss" no question marks. I do need to say one thing that's slightly spoilerish; there will be no cameos by real celebs in the story, nor even mention or real bands. I do use a real magazine name in passing at one point, and the city locations are real to an extent; The scenes in Rome for example. Even the restaurant with the wonderful Calzones near the Trevi fountain is real, or at least was a few years ago. But, no cameos and references to real celebs, so nope, it can't be a member of the band "Kiss" or any reference thereof. ROFL! Well, we shall see. ROFL! Emoe... Must I remind you that the GA faq clearly forbids displaying personal information about other members? Thanks Jan! I hope your trip is going well! Hi Susan!!! But really, I'm sweet and nice and never write eeevil things.. Any such that you see appearing in my stories are, by proclamation, Shadowgod's fault. As for the eeevil one himself, He's just completed his current serial, "Living in Surreality" We are currently harrasing him for a new chapter of "Shot of Bourbon". Gruff? From me?

I have a few suggestions for your murder list... There's always the good old-fashioned stake-out-in-the-sun routine. And let's not forget flaying, feeding the victim into a tree shredder or car crusher, breaking on the wheel, drawing-and-quartering, locked up and starved to death (or thirst) and for that true old-western sense of nostalgia, there's the anthill. Or murder by vehicular sabotage, sabotage of medical equipment, attack dogs, remote-controlled vehicle, a car bomb, letter bomb, and murder by electrocution, drowning, or cooking. Don't blame me for these evil thoughts.. I've been sneaking peeks at Shadowgod's notes.

Get well soon Kevin! Thanks for the heads-up Viv!

Yes indeed; I do blame the government.. they are, after all, the first thing I think of when I think of rats. They're only four to five inches long... I take it they might not be well received as a Christmas gift? And, um, Conner, what might you live in?

I think the Antichrist did very well. Good point about geographic misconceptions; The Central Valley of Cali is indeed big and flat. But, people thing Arizona is a desert, when in fact more than half the state is at high altitude, and not desert at all. And, ummm, how old are the members of Korn? Kinda old to be called "Boys", I think. Unless, of course, you happen to be a fossil.

You have a most odd way of lurking, my postaholic friend. Ack!! Oh no, not you too? What am I doing wrong? Thanks! I can't comment on what will happen or not happen (the Echidna doesn't like spoilers, and will make a pincushion of of me if I do) but I might mention that I'm known for somewhat unexpected plot shifts. But you too with a tar-and-feathering? Oh my... But I'd look awful in feathers... Oh no, not MORE tar-and-feathering! I might need to do some serious placating here... Just an innocent, rhetorical question: Would the tar-and-feather plans be scrapped if, perchance, the title of Chapter 6 happened to be "A kiss"? Because, ummm, it is... (Note to the Echidna: This is not a spoiler,exactly, as it is the chapter title, so no spines, please!)

Awww, But Graeme, we all know that a postaholic such as yourself would find lurking quite unnatural!

Awwwww... and you singled out Bondwriter to misconstrue the T'd and f'd reference Only problem I see with it is, Think of the chickens? what are you going to give them to be warm and comfy at night?? I'll get the chickens... Steve ACK... Now, now, nice anonymous beta-reader... You wouldn't want to tar-and-feather me, now would ya?

Evil? From sweet, innocent, quiet me? I mean, what could possibly go wrong? It's not like we had anyone assembling nuclear warheads in the prologue, or anything. Remember, in the story timeline, Chase and Brandon have only known each other a few days. Don't worry, rest assured, you have my solemn promise that if something happens between them, it will do so, sooner or later. Heh, I loved that "I'll teach you how to handle a stick" line too. But, Chase is a drummer, maybe he ment a drum stick? Brandon missed a few openings there... Chase also made that comment of "They were probably looking at you" as they entered the hotel, and then Chase slipped up and called him "Sexy". And of course, Chase missed the ever-so-subtle clue of seeing his own poster on Brandon's wall, and it's the ONLY poster or decoration. They are both a little naive and uncertain, just in different ways. And what? A Kiss? So early in the story? But... but... but... maybe there's too much sex if LTMP already? Ack!! But... but... Goats don't look good in feathers! Ack!! It's not easy being a goat who writes... Sheared, tarred, and feathered! Ack!!! HAve you all forgotten our higher calling here: Blaming Shadowgod! Instead, it's sweet, quiet, innocent me that gets picked on...

Thanks Susan! Sick and twisted mind? Moi? Susan, I'll let you in on a secret... We have an anonymous beta reader by the name of Shadowgod, (also, in the past, known as Blackheart). He's the one we blame for all the twisted stuff, like cliffhangers and such. Hi Ieshwar! Yes indeed, the scar knows his coffee. I'm not sure about the Czechs though... Unless he uses the explosives there, he's just buying them there. So far, all he;s done is insult their taste in coffee, though admittedly, that wasn't very nice of him. :-) Hi Bob! But you only ,issed it by a couple of hours. Well, there is a solution! Just go to the main page of this forum, and click on "forum options", and you can subscribe to the whole forum. Of couese, the downside to that is it would alert you any time I blathered about anything, but with me being such a lurker, it shouldn't bother you much... Hi Camy! Yes indeed, that's a reference to "Shot of Bourbon" by the SOB writer himself, Shadowgod. Of course, this means that Shadowgod is to blame for Brandon being outed... And what? You don't like Tarantulas? Dang... Well, there goes that xmass gift idea... Hi Benji! Well, without revealing too much, I think I can say that Brandon and Chase will encounter the occasional bump in the road. I also think you have Helen pegged.

:king: Congratulations Altimexis! :king: Congrats on becoming our newest Promising Author!

Chapter 5, "Moving Day", Is up. Thanks Joe! Some of the predictions for this chapter were spot-on! Others, well, not quite. Thanks everyone!!!

Wildone, that was great! I will, however, refrain from commenting on its authenticity. And Bondwriter, are you implying that I stink? Awww, you are so mean to this poor, unassuming goat.. Though, the question regarding where you plan on acquiring a goat skin makes me decidedly nervous. To add to the collection here of names for fans of the stories, we have Sharon's suggestion of "Goatwhisperers" and an anonymous e-mail (no kidding!) suggesting "The Heard" (I think they might have meant "The Herd"). Well, there's one OTHER suggestion... Also via anon e-mail (and if I find out who sent it, be forewarned, I shall tease you unmercifully! ) that, well, claims to play on what seems to be a recurring circumstance in my stories... (Though, in my defense, I'll point out that there is none in "The Muse".). The name suggested is "the unshirted."

Hi Sungod! Thanks! Brandon is indeed the "fish out of water", but this is all new to him; the story timeline has only been a few days so far. Ch 5 should be along shortly, BTW. I just have to get it formatted into HTML, and then I can send it off to Joe for posting. Awww, but what's this? No sunglasses? What? Evil characters in my stories?? I have no idea what you could possibly mean... I always try and write sweet, lovable characters who may, of course, have a few minor personality flaws. Brandon has an excuse... he's blond. I'm assuming you're referring to him being oblivious regarding Chase? Chase seems equally oblivious, but then again, he's blond too.

I'm afraid it's a manifest failure, Graeme... Tarantula spiders are native to Arizona, but all the book say that they live at altitudes under 6000 feet. However, I live at 7000 feet, and during may, when they are on the move, I often get several on my front porch; sometimes big ones, about 5 inches. I've tried explaining to them that they don't live at such high altitudes, by they just don't listen... Another failure of the education system, i suspect.

Oh, Rats!!! In my prior blog entry, I described some of the storm damage to my house. Well, the good news is that I found a roofing contractor willing and able (they have 4x4's) to drive out this far. The bad news is they have only one 4x4, a pickup, and so it's been one or two guys working on the roof. Sadly, none of them fit the stereotype of hot young shirtless roofers. Oh well. There has, however, been an unexpected fringe benefit; I have house guests! Yes indeed, unexpected visitors who have clearly overstayed their welcome (not that I was ever particularly welcoming). The roofers have had to removes some of the plywood underlayment on my roof. They've covered the holes with plastic. So far, so good. However, in my area we have a varmint called the Desert Pack Rat. According to the literature, these don't climb. I wish I could get the little suckers to read that, becuase they don't seem to be aware of their inability to climb. They've discovered that they can get in via the roof holes, and are doing so. Hence, I have unwelcome house guests. Oh, Rats!!!

Hi Flip! Welcome to the GA forums!!! If you need any help of advice, please don't hesitate to ask. Hrmmm, best be carful crediting Shadowgod with writing these stories; he might sue us all for libel! ROFL!! Well, 'tis true, goats do walk faster then humans. . Actually, Emoe, it's downhill both ways, so he's able to make good time. All jokes aside, I do tease a lot about errors, but there's one line in the credits that says it all: "All remaining errors are mine alone". If I didn't make 'em, the errors wouldn't be there, so no, I won't share credit for the goofs; they're mine, mine I tell ya!

Hi Benji! Well, hmmm... I 'spose you wouldn't like "For the Love of Eric" either? And yes, there ather goats around these parts... Conner, for one. Thank you Sungod! It was a fun story to write, but difficult too. I had to research everything from theology (for the sermon; to make sure the argument was theologically accurate and original) to drug effects (for the ketomine and the dart gun). The computer stuff was a little easier; I knew about the exploit the "Firehole keylogger" uses, so it's possible. The remote-control gear and the camera gear took some research too. However, I love gadgetry, so I actually enjoyed most of it. Now that FTL is over, this thread will likely fall into silence (though I'll always keep a copy). So, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been part of it. This has been more special to me that you can possibly know, and amongst other things this thread has been my motivation to defeat writer's block when it sets in. I've had more fun here than I ever thought possible. Thanks everyone! CJ

ROFL!! Awww, what a thing to imply about sweet, innocent, shy me.... Hi Lashrac! There is an ugly rumor going around that I post a lot... I have no idea where it could have started. I darkly suspect that someone, or someones, might be out to tarnish my precious reputation as a shy and quiet lurker. Well, I do have three short stories an the website in addition to the two serials. LoL BTW, I regret to announce that there was an error in LTMP Ch 4: A friend PM'd me to say that he can't walk that far that fast, it would take over an hour at a fast pace. He's right. I won't name him here becuase he didn't say it was ok to do so, but THANKS for pointing this out. I do try and keep my background info accurate, and this is a glaring goof. In the next paragraph I have Brandon taking an hour and a half to throw on clean clothes, wolf down some bread, and get back to the studio. That would be more likly. I'll fix this problem and send in the revised chapter the next time I upload a new chapter. Oops. BTW, I blame our anonymous beta reader Shadowgod for this. In fairness, i think I added that bit right before posting, after he'd seen the chapter, but i haven't blamed him for much in recent days, so I thought I should blame him for this.

Thank you!! I'm trying to keep to a chapter-a-week schedule, and I'll keep working at it (I'm a little behind in the writing at the moment). Thank you! What? Me, Evil? I'm not evil... I only write sweetness and light... Any eeevilness must be added by either You, Emoe, or Shadowgod. Hi Mizu! I can't comment on future happenings directly, but I do want to say that I'm trying for some semblance of realism, nothing too far-fetched. Thanks!!! CJ Thanks Ieshwar! Brandon definitely has some issues, and his own pride is amongst them, along with his conscience. He's truly a fish out of water now, and feeling inadequate while caught up in a whirlwind. The brothers are nice guys, but they live in a different world than where Brandon is from, so helping him adapt is a hit-and-miss process for them. Hi Conner!! Thanks!! I can

:king: :king: :king: :king: Happy Birthday! :king: :king: :king: :king: Have yourself a wonderful birthday, and an even better year. CJ