C James

Ahh, true, I agree that much depends on the definition of villain. In many cases, there are multiple aspects, and the "villain" has redeeming characteristics. (OK, being serious here). There's a big difference, say, between a misguided action and a malicious one, even given the same results. On the other hand, I guess it depends on the author. I think I mis-spoke, instead of "identify with" I should have said "able to think like, and see the world from their perspective". I've heard that one problem some crime investigators have is that the need to think like their adversaries (such as serial killers) gets to them. In my case, I only try and do this for major characters, but I've found it helps give them more depth, as well as consistent behavior. I guess I just assumed all writers do this? Aww, well, Steve, I'd love to reply to your comments regarding me defending characters, but as this is Shadowgod's forum I really can't discuss my stories here. Now, as for posting your whole post, I'm sorry, but I have no idea where to find it.. Now, Steve, are you seriously saying that Shadowgod is not evil?

Ahh, but Steve, "nastiest" would imply a negative. I've oft said that this is the reason you didn't end up with more votes in that catagory. What you did wasn't bad, it was skillful (huge difference). And that's why you are the King of evil cliffhangers: You show such great skill at it. Now, as for your implication that I'm crazy.. I can only say, HAS THERE EVER BEEN ANY DOUBT? I've never, ever claimed to be sane. Personally, I feel that sanity is highly over-rated. so it's one of those things I've studiously avoided. :wacko: And yes, I shall say again, LiS 26 was indeed, well and truly, the Mother of all cliffhangers! It's slipped to #3? Drat.... I want people who search google for the mother of all cliffhangers to be able to find this forum easily. Just like they do when the google the king of evil cliffhangers. And I don't see how you can possibly doubt LiS 26 as the Mother of all cliffhangers. It was a doozy, as we would expect from the king of evil cliffhangers, shadowgod.

I very much like the way you've made the Firm. the Cosa Nostra, or the Business (Whatever the term is these days, for MAfia") very evident, without directly saying so. I like the "things are not always what they seem" approach, too. Cray is very worried about Spike... The question is, does he have reason to be?

Well, yes, LiS 26... Which is known far and wide as the Mother of All Cliffhangers.

Well, yes, I do admit that characters (yours especially) are indeed captivating, but I feel that's more in the metaphorical rather than the literary sense. And also, it is not quite normal for people (other than you) to be so captivated by, and identify so strongly with, Villains. Of course, one must look at this from an authorship angle; an author must, in some ways, identify with all their characters, who are, in turn, a piece of them. This, of course, makes me wonder about you due to your penchant for having such nasty villains. And me? Gloss over? I'd never do such a thing! As for Wildone's comment, all I'm doing is quoting him. He did say that, as well he should, becuase it's true. Agreed, Richard did face some adverse consequences, but what of Catherine? True, the protagonists did not even know of them, but, does that means they should be let off the hook? You simply can't have an antagonist doing all manner of nasty, evil things to the protagonists and then let them ride off into the metaphorical sunset! Shame on you! Tsk, Tsk, you just don't see your eeevilness, do you? Denial is more than just a river in Egypt, ya know.

ACK, yes, I did promise, and my apologies. I've edited my post above. Okay, just so everyone knows, Shadowgod wants to name, and announce, Ch 18. See, he gets very upset if he can't add what he wants (Now you know where any cliffhangers come from). No, no no! It's the leader of The Shadows who is saying "feel closer to god". A Shadow's God. Shadowgod! See? It's an original Shadowgod Cliffhanger!! And what is the leader of the shadows named? Steve! And he loves cliffs!! Yuppers, that's a shadowgod cliffhanger! I can't say anything about what is coming, but we don't know if anyone besides Eric knew of the Tequila.

Ahhh, but having more than one or two posts a month makes you a poster, not a lurker.

Benji... Are you trying to get Shadowgod arrested!!?!?!??! Run, Shadowgod, Run! Lol. I love it!!! Me?!?!?! But Ieshwar, I'm safe; I never use cliffhangers! Now, Shadowgod, on the other hand, is surely the focus of their attention...

:king: :king: :king: :king: Happy Birthday Benji! :king: :king: :king: :king: HAve a wonderful day, with many happy returns!!! Best wishes! CJ

Maybe I really should write a book, on how to lurk...

What cliffhanger? Has Shadowgod been adding them again?? ? Eric does love his Tequila, doesn't he? I don't know why everyone is so suspicious of Dimitri and The Scar. Has there ever been anything to say they're bad guys? Sure, they can be a little rough around the edges, but nobody's perfect. Thanks Steve!! I can't say anything about what will happen, but great observations! Thanks!! ... I think we'll have to call Ch 17 the one with Shadowgod's cliffhanger. I like the sound of that! I do agree, it's great to see Shadowgod embracing his title, especially when planting cliffhangers. For what it's worth, there are clues in the chapter regarding what is going on, but they aren't easy to find. (I always tent to place clues to upcoming things in prior chapters, though sometimes several chapters in advance.). Okay, chapter posting schedule. This is tentative as I don't have them back yet, but I think we can do it. Ch 18, **Shadowgod gets to name this chapter**, will be posted a week from today. Then, a week and a day later, we can get back to Tuesdays with Ch 19, "Then there were Two" posting on Christmas day (a Tuesday this year). and on New year's day, Ch 20, "The Show Must Go On". Thanks Susan!! I'm having a blast with this, and thank you all for your comments. As dkstories says, Feedback is an author's life blood, and I really appreciate it! CJ

Huh???!?! How does it say that??? I suspect a conspiracy here!!

I don't know how you arranged for such a landslide. You're eeevil, that's all I can say.

ACK!! Hey now, can't a goat make a rule in his own forum? Aww, you're so mean to me. It was just one, simple rule, intended to make everything go so much easier. Cliffhanger? It's Shadowgod's fault! Bad weather? It's Shadowgod's fault! See, so much easier my way. Ieshwar!!! What is there in rule # one that makes you think you can't believe me? I'm just telling it like it is... I never lie or mislead, affter all.

But Graeme, we do have celebration threads in the lounge for those 1000+ clubs, millenium, bi-millenium, tri-millenium, etc. Doesn't that make them official?

It is Myr's responsibility. However, I can report the membership levels, can't I?

That was a cliffhanger!!! And if you go read the Bourb thread, you'll see I'm not the only one who thinks so! You left us HANGING as to what will happen to poor Rusty, and his and Bourb's relationship, etc. Yes indeed, you did... I can't imagine a stronger cliffhanger (Except, of course, LiS 26).

Ahhem: the Helsinki syndrome is starting to sympathize with your captors. I just think that it's very highly interesting that the master (and King) evil cliffhangers sympathizes with villains. And come to think of it, after all the nasty things Richard did in LiS, he pretty much got away with it. And Catherine too, (pretty much) and of course the detective. Hmmm, so, in your stories Villains get their way, do they? Tsk, tsk... And of course, you do enjoy leaving your readers hanging, more evil there... Hrmmm... Yeppers, he's eeevil...

See? That's not lurking, that's posting. ACK! Echidna!!!!!! I'll clear this up once and for all. The current Member rankings are: 0 posts: Validated Member/lurker 0-4 posts: Newbie. 5-25 posts: Member 25-50 posts: Active Member 50-100 Posts: Gold Member 100-250 Posts: Prolific Member 250-400 posts: Cool Member 400-999 posts: Manic Poster 1000-1999 posts: Millennium Club! 2000-2999 posts: Bi-Millennium Club! 3000-3999 posts: Tri-Millennium Club! 4000-4999 posts: Quatro-Millennium Club! 5000+ posts: lurker. See? I'm a lurker...

Ack!!! Now, now, people, in the interest of keeping the forum running smoothly, we do have to have some rules, so after much careful thoguht and impartial evaluation, we have our forum rules (th ones I originally posted, that is).

Hi Susan! We cross=posted so I'll repl;y here.. Thanks!! The Scar is, I will admit, up to something. I just can't say what. Thanks Susan!! CJ

Wow, you're fast, mike! Thanks!! I sent the files in to Joe late last night, and Joe posted them this morning, before I logged in. You saw them long before I did. Thanks Woody! The chapter was a bit shorter, by just a few hundred words. My chapters average about 6000, and this one ran in the mid 5000's. Part of that is that's just the way it turned out, but it could be (even I'm not sure) that I was in a hurry, trying to write it fast so I could get caught up again and back on schedule. Steve, fear not, I can assure you that no russian engineer by the name of Dimitri will be harmed in this story (Echidna, you can't make me into a pincushion for that, becuase there is no Russian engineer by the name of Dimitri, so that's no spoiler!) As for Vladimer, well, like some engineers I know, he's socially inept. Seriously, that's more common in engineers than you might think, especially when they're working on something and are distracted. And I must say, the ending of this chapter surely bears obvious fingerprints other than mine! Now, reverse the order of the key words (Which I just highlighted)... Yep, it's a Shadowgod Cliff hanger (being on a cliff means hanging off one, in this case) and he even signed it! (and the leader of the shadows is even named Steve!) Well, we all know that I never use cliffhangers, right? So it has to be Shadowgod, and in this case, he even signed it. Now, now, you did so do that! I recall several places where you've left us hanging for several chapters! Matt and those pills in LiS, for example, you left us hanging for several chapters as to whose they were, and what they were for. And, umm, please note here Shadowgod's use of "Even I", which in this context clearly means that he's at last embracing his role as King of Eeevil Cliffhangers! Hmmm?? Graeme, I don't know what you mean... Eric, plus Tequila, plus rock climbing.. What could possibly go wrong???? And as for ending a chapter with a paragraph containing the word "cliff", well, umm, I did that once before and that wasn't a cliffhanger... (In FTL, where the chapter ended with Steve's cries echoing off the cliffs, just after they'd been left to, um, work on their tans.)

Thank you Puppster!!! I always try and give a "real feel" to the environment in which I set a story, such as small-town Arizona in FTL, or the music biz in Let the Music play. For me as a writer, half the fun of writing is exploring different worlds from perspectives other than my own. Thanks very much Puppster, and welcome to the forum!! CJ

Mine is, first and foremost, that I'm a lurker and this almost never post anyway. The second is that I've been busy with both work and writing. Sleeping? But, Ieshwar, you're such a postaholic that I thought you posted even while sleeping? Lurking? Sorry BK, you can't be a lurker.. you post too much.

ACK!! Wildone!! I'm acknowledging nothing! never use cliffhangers! Everyone knows that... and if in doubt, please see rule #1 in the rules pinned at the top of the forum. And BTW, a while back the issue was rasied about Shadowgod sneaking cliffhangers into my stories, and that my "all errors are mine" statement in every chapter makes his cliffhangers my responsibility. Wrong! Only ERRORS are mine. I certainly wouldn't call Shadowgod's cliffhangers errors, so therefor, not my fault.