C James

Ahh, but there is a goats-only forum! You just aren't allowed in there. You lack the prerequisite number of feet. There is an old saying: Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it. The prologue for "Let the Music Play" is up in the sneak-peeks forum. The genre, BTW, is action/adventure though it is quite different from FTL. :nuke: WARNING: :nuke: This is unedited, un-betad, un-proofread, un-anythingd. Criticisms are very welcome.

Below is the draft Prologue (It became chapter one, and the story is now online here) to my next serial, "Let the Music Play". I must warn everyone; this is unedited, un-betad, un-proofread, so it is very much a draft. The Genre is primarily "adventure". I plan on posting the early chapters of "Let the Music Play" beginning in a few weeks, alongside the final chapters of my current serial "For the Love". Criticism is VERY welcome. CJ Let the music play Prologue The first sign of trouble came in the form of a muffled snap as the speaker, accompanied by its mounting bracket, came crashing down from the scaffolding. Brandon felt more than heard the sharp thud as it smashed onto the stage less than a dozen feet from where he stood. He turned in time to see the last skittering components of what, moments before, had been an expensive speaker come to a standstill. Sudden, overwhelming silence, the calm before the inevitable storm, was soon shattered by Gabe

Banned or prohibited, yet? Awww, what discrimination I face! It's not easy being a goatwriter... Condors are, fortunately for me, mainly scavengers of carion. In other words, very big vultures. I've only seen a Condor in this area once, though it was easy to distinguish; the biggest birds we normally have around here are Eagles, which only have a wingspan of about 6 or 7 feet (2 meters for our foreign contingent. ) The Condor has about a 10-ft wingspan, (over 3 meters) so nothing else is quite that big. Condors are very odd birds... But, they are called the California Condor, so some weirdness is to be expected. Now, now, goat-hunting is beneath a great raptor such as yourself! Surely you would prefer more challenging prey, a 747 perhaps? BTW, Due to my looming vacation in next week, Chapter 28 won't be posted at midnight tonight (monday, Arizona time) becuase it will be posted on Tuesday afternoon (the exact time depends on work, which I cannot predict, sorry). The double-length chapter, #29, will be posted Wednesday, June 6th. (Emoe and Bondwriter willing, that is, as I don't have it back yet) In further story news, I'll resume posting on a regular schedule when I return (so the hiatus should be under two weeks) and shortly thereafter I'll start posting, alongside the final 5 chapters of FTL, the first chapters of my next serial, "Let the Music Play". LTMP is very different in many ways to FTL, though it is still an action/adventure.

I'm very relieved! Thank you, Ieshwar! Yes, there is a reason I wear sunglasses.

Just tell them that if they are so opinionated on what the subject should be, they should either write what they want themselves, or shut up.

But I almost never post anyway... Thanks Graeme! Have a safe and happy trip yourself! Hi Ieshwar, welcome back! I think Echidnas eat spiders... uhoh! I can't answer about Eric, except to ponder one possibility; what if the contents of the data stick are the details of a cloning experiment gone amiss, and Eric was the one cloned, there now being thousands of him?

ROFL!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could see it, but you need Flash on your system to play it, and I ripped out flash and disabled its install route a long time ago. However, I'll keep my eyes out and see if I can spot it on TV. Thanks!!!!!!!! A goat wearing a duck's face? That would just look strange, not normal, like, say, a goat wearing sunglasses. ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That would be a bit of an image change, for sure! OK, I do have some news; I'm leaving for up to two weeks. I'll be leaving the evening of June 6th, heading for Wyoming to do some camping and hiking, deep in the wilderness. I'll have little if any chance to log onto the 'net. Therefor, the best thing I can think of it to adjust the posting schedule slightly; Ch 28 will be posted this Tuesday evening, and Ch 29 will be posted the day I leave (Wednesday of the following week). Due to it having to last y'all two weeks, it's a big one in a lot of ways; it contains a lot of info, and it's also more than twice the normal chapter size (it's over 11,000 words). All being well I'll be back in under two weeks, but this is the best I could think of doing. CJ

Happy 21st Birthday Matt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :king: :king: :king: :king: :king:

It is? Cool! (I didn't know, I almost never watch TV.) Does the goat by any chance wear sunglasses? BTW, The title of Ch 28 is "Data Stick Shuffle." Anyone care to guess what this one means? :-)

ROFL! Indeed that's true. I seriously think I need to go back through the older posts and bring up predictions that have come true. I know a certain Echindna has pegged it numerous times. Hrmmm, I'm wondering. Does a four-footed reader have an advantage when it comes to reading the mind of a four-footed author? Hi Conner! Fear not, for birthdays approach. ROFL! The ones with the Duck? They really ought to use a goat... CJ

Chris should have run for it. Thanks Conner! I tried to make it look like he was safe at the end of the last one. LoL. ROFL! That was indeed it, their plans unraveling as the phone rang. Plus, the mysteries themselves are unraveling; a lot of things come together in this chapter, more than is obvious. Poor Chris, he should really have run for it... But it was too late once she could recognize him I'm quoting this post of Ethan's for the last chapter; he pegged it with the running out of gas!

Awww, but that is what is on the data stick, really! Hi Jack! OK, In Ch 25, the Sheriff was heard to use the phrase "If blood wasn't thicker than water, I'd kill you myself." to Eric. In Ch 27, Betty makes note of it, and what it means (It is a claim that they are related.). Steve, however, has no knowledge of this. In Ch 28, we will find out why, and a whole lot more. I can't reply to Graeme's post, though, for fear of his anti-spoiler spines.

I don't know about that the "being fed lead" part; we don't know what Veronica and Betty are going to do yet. What State has a half-hour time change? Arizona has none at all. Yep, but the listing in the forum counts replies, so it read 1000 when Emoe made post #1001. Thanks Graeme! What? Me? Would I do something as sneaky as that? Okay, Okay, I'll spill the beans if you'll spare me your anti-spoiler spines... Here's whats on the Data Stick. Cliffhanger? But this was good news? Your questions are all good ones, and are answered soon. Hey, that's a good idea! It would lay the blame on California!! I like it!!!

I won't be posting the announcement until tomorrow but ... Chapter 27, Unraveling, is now up! :nuke:

Hi Emoe!! You made the 1000th reply! And I think the post counter on my account must be broken. Indisputable? But... But... But... I dispute that! As for any bombs, there either are, or aren't, and barring computer errors or internet outages, Ch 27, "Unraveling", will be posted in a few hours.

This is true; flashes are, by definition, brilliant. Good point though, had he not done that, Steve's Charger wold have been chopped up. A very fortuitous flash, that. But if we reduce the first percentage, that means some of my defense-of-Eric posts would have to go? ROFL! Well, I should hope you were kidding, as it was actually on topic until you posted! I feel I must remind you that I am the official forum lurker and resident hypocrite, so you can't be! Not at all! I'm merely trying to convince you that you don't actually exist. :ranger: BTW, This is the 1000th post in this thread. Thank you so much, everyone!!!!!!!!!

All I can say is that the real Blackheart, once you get past his veil of anonymity, makes Eric look like a saint. Hrmmmm... I'm unsure about this. I subscribe to the theory that Canada does not actually exist and is a media fabrication. Therefor Canadians, like Unicorns, are fictional. No fair posting my picture! Dessert, eh? Well, if you insist, I suppose that can be arranged, Eric sat down at the table, meeting the glances of all those assembled for the occasion; Chris and Steve, officer Jacobs (his leg wound almost completely healed,) the two sheriffs, Betty making pleasant chit-chat with Reverend Thadious, as his brother unveiled the candle-bedecked double-chocolate fudge cake, the perfect dessert after a wonderful celebratory meal, as Chris lead them all in singing "Happy Birthday". Well, this might look bad for Eric, but there are a few other things so far, Blackmail, Kidnapping, Endangerment, Torture, Illegal flight to avoid prosecution, Assault with a deadly weapon (the dart gun and overdosed tranq) Plus a very long list of "Conspiracy to commits" FTL is currently planned for 40 chapters, so should wrap up in August sometime. I hope. :-) He did confirm it; During the stake-out he was griping about how much he would normally sell that much Ketomine for, so he's definitely running a sales buisness. (see? I told ya he was industrious) Don't forget, the eric/piedmont claim is that The guys staged the whole stake-out to frame Eric, becuase they were actually running the porn site themselves. And that incident occurred in Piedmont County, so we will just have to trust in the Piedmont legal system to see that justice is done. ROFL! Indeed! The round-robin was "Collision," and excellent read! Chris does indeed show promise, though perhaps he needs some improvement in the "covert" department, such as learning not to take flash photos when trying to be covert.

This is true; due to this being a first-person account, and Eric so often being on the run, he isn't actually present a huge amount of time. Good point. Hmmm, I think I see a new tagline for me... Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot weren't THAT bad, if you made a little effort getting to know them. ~ Bondwriter, 05-19-07 But, aren't little brothers often precocious, and often a little annoying too? BTW, The title of the next chapter is "Unraveling".

Eric has been in quite a few chapters, playing an extensive role. He was involved a lot when Chris and Steve got together in the first few chapters, the chapter "homecoming" was about his return home, and he was featured a lot in the camera scenario, plus the camping chapters. As for his good points, you just aren't looking hard enough; he's very creative! Not only did he conceive of the hidden cameras and put that into play, he also came up with the stake-out, which was, really, ideally suited to his needs. It would have been an effective information-gathering technique, and it had the advantage of leaving the guys alive in case further questioning was needed. Oh, and don't forget his good manners and happy demeanor; he left the campsite telling the guys "Have a nice day!". Wasn't that sweet?

What? Me? Use red herrings?!?!? Why, I'll have you know that I'd no more use those than I would cliffhangers! As for Blackheart, think about what he's done so far; he created a keylogger to tap into a police officer's computer, and he aided in setting up hidden cameras to take pictures of minors! I see no evidence whatsoever linking him to identity theft, but I certainly see plenty of motive for him to preserve his anonymity. Now, now, let's not go leaping to unwarranted conclusions regarding Eric. The poor guy has had a rough time of it; he's has his carefully crafted industrious business ventures disrupted, and now he has either a bloody, or perhaps even a broken nose. Surely he's suffered enough? I still say he's just misunderstood... Now Blackheart, on the other hand...

Happy Anniversary!!!! I hope you both had a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:2thumbs: :2thumbs: Yes indeed, Blackheart is evil to the core. He even has a bad habit for leaving people dangling over the edges of cliffs, plus a downright evil penchant for motorcycles. I think, though, that there is a veeery good chance that the various blackhearts are one and the same. BTW, there is another familiar name (purely coincidence, of course ) in FTL... Remember Reverend Thaddeus, the fire-and-brimstone fundie preacher? It's only mentioned once or twice in the text, but his full name is Thaddeus J. Emoe.

:king: Happy Birthday Myr!!!! :king: Best wishes to you on this very special day. Happy Birthday Myr!

150 Miles per hour would be about 240 KPH. The Wankel is a rotary engine (no pistons). I was going to type something up, but Wikipedia has a better than I could do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_rotary_engine I've driven a Mazda with a wankel engine before, I love them. Better power-to-weight ratio than a piston engine, and less vibrations. One thing about a Wankel; if Hydrogen ever becomes a major auto fuel, you will see lots of wankels; they, unlike piston engines, are ideal suited for it. I've heard of the NSU; wonderful car, and very, very light! Thanks Bob!

I'll paste in the license agreement below, with some bits highlighted.