C James

Happy Birthday Anna!

Happy Birthday Tony!

I'll be leaving two chapters (all that I currently have ready) to post while I'm away. Ch 14 should be posted around Nov 6th, and Ch 15 around Nov 18th. Sorry for the delay! I hope to resume weekly posts once I return (I'll be back Nov 24th) Ch 16 is in beta now, and if all goes well I'll have enough internet access to deal with it while I'm away, for posting upon my return. I'll likely (I hope) have some time to write at least one new chapter towards the end of my trip, so hopefully weekly posting can resume. I'll try and pop into the forum from time to time, but it will be very sporadic, and there will be a definite gap for about two weeks in the middle of my trip when I'll have no internet at all. Thanks!! CJ

Before I started writing, I'd see writers say things like this and think they were crazy... You did indeed! She's one of my favorite characters. Okay, the good news is that thanks to special efforts by all our team, including a last-miniute job by Bondwriter today (Thank you Bondwriter!), there will be two chapters posted while I'm gone. The title of Chapter 14 is "Shop 'till you Drop" And been as I might not be around, I'll release the Ch 15 title too; "Changing of the Guard."

Thank you Susan! Well, it won't be one chapter, it will be two (I just found out today)! Thanks to the work of our team, there are two chapters ready, and one in Beta intended for posting the day I get back (assuming I get some internet access to work on it while away). But, the two chapters will be sent in for delayed posting before I go. And what? Me, write a crooked chapter? Thanks!! CJ

You're right... I can't answer, otherwise the Echidna will turn me into a pincushion! Good points all! Brandon mentions that he's only met Zeke a couple of times, and Brandon thinks Zeke will recognize him. Beyond that, we don't know, yet. A hole in one again Graeme! I was wondering if anyone would notice that... Helen is very much the mother figure, and its a two-way street. I'm not saying that any of them realize that yet, but it's very much something I've been trying to show. They've been parent-less for over a year, so Helen, who was already thier manager and also sympathetic on the gay issue, ended up becoming more than a manager. This is exacerbated by the immaturity and environment you mention; they're pretty isolated; this is why so many teen celebs fall apart in short order. I have to admit, Jon surprised me a little, as I'd always envisioned him as the level-headed one. And I know that sounds strange to the non-writers here, but it's true; characters often take turns that the writer never expects. One thing about the "mother relationship" we are seeing here... It's new, so like all new relationships, it will exeriance some growing pains. Hi Benji! The theft was mainly by Gabe, who is now charged with it, and with some involvment by Lump, who hasn't been charged. This will play a role later, and hasn't been forgotten. Thanks!!! CJ

Lol! I meant November. OOps. Lol, well, for some of the time I'll be away, I know I won't be near any internet connections. I will try and drop in when i can though. And yep, I'll definitly be using some of the places I visit for future scenes in LTMP and future books. ACK, But I don't wanna be BBQ'd! :nuke: Thanks Mike! LoL! The big question remains.. Will there be an Echidna in the story?

Thanks Conner! Thanks Carl! Yep, he finally paid attention; his conscience was finally given voice. Thanks Bob!! I keep trying to improve, and I know I've got quite a ways to go, but I'm very happy to see progress. Or he chase a different Legacy to the one he'd intended. I left a lot of it open to interpretation. Thanks Benji!! Thanks Camy! 2nd is very subjective; some people just hate it and thats totally understandable. Its like me and poetry; I just don't like poetry. The wording was often archaic, but that is often how senators speak when they're on the floor, especially old ones. (in other words, windbags. )

Thanks! I'll try and pop in to the forum as well, it just won't be often, and I'll only be able to answer a few posts. The member of the warmup band knowing Brandon (A brother of a former friend of Brandon's) was actually something I was nervous about; it's a bit of a stretch on the believability side that Brandon would just happen to have met someone who is in their opening act band. I finally decided to go with it becuase Brandon was into the music scene in Phoenix, so I thought it might be plausable that one of Brandon's friends could have a brother who made it into a fairly new band that's starting out. Yes, a band called "the Shadows," who are described as weird... and mostly from Los Angeles. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. And who says Jon and Eric are entirely off the hook? Brandon said...

Thank you Susan!!! And Thanks!! What I was trying to show was Brandon instinctively turning to Chase... He didn't hesitate. And Chase noticed that. Hi Steve!! The Goat-who-must-not-be-named? ROFL! I guess if you don';t name me, I don't have an excuse to mention that I never throw in troublesome twists.. Very good point on Jon and Eric being the older brothers; I was hoping that would be noticed. part of what's happening here is everyone in the story is growing and learning. They may be older, but they're still old enough to make some major blunders. They were desperate becuase they'd fouled up in a massive way, and grasped at straws when they thought there was a way out. But inter-personal relationships, such as that between Brandon and Eric and Jon, often have bumps, and sometimes those can make the relationship stronger in the end. Hi Woody!! Chase wanted to do the same thing. LoL. One thing to keep in mind; Jon and Eric sure screwed up, but it wasn't malicious. Of course, had Brandon taken their "advice", things would not have gone well for anyone. LoL Thanks Kevin!!

Thanks Mike!!! There will be at least one and maybe two chapters posted while I'm gone. I also hope to be able to log in occasionally, but that will be infrequently at best. Hi Benji!! Agreed about Dimitri... They picked the location for other reasons, but the red dust is a major issue they didn't anticipate. I've seen layers of reddish-pink in the ice of New Zealand Glaciers, and that dust has blown all the way from Australia, so it is pervasive, and very fine. At least Brandon didn't go with Helen's tounge-in-cheek plan a: Jon and Eric's dead bodies splattered all over the hotel halway. Thanks Goat-buddy!! The iron-oxide will be a headache... it contains oxygen, which with Plutonium being a flammable metal is a very bad thing. LoL Dimitri does have a bit of a short fuse... But nobody's perfect. I've known plenty of lovable people with short fuses. The other two girls were Charity's friends, BTW, so there wouldn't be much to do to try and connect with them. At least Chase and Brandon are sleeping in the same bed now. Hrmmm, two hot and hormone-raging teens, with strong feelings for each other, sleeping in the same bed. What could possibly happen?

:king: :king: :king: Celebrating Ieshwar's 1000 wonderful posts!!!! :king: :king: :king: Ieshwar, thank you so much for all the wonderful, thoughtful, and insightful posts.

Have fun Myr!!!! If you find yourself looking for other things to see, Kennedy Space Center is fairly close, and a great place to visit. You'd see a shuttle on the pad, too, STS 120 is scheduled for launch Oct 23rd. HAve fun, and have a safe trip!

I don't feel that LiS ended in a cliffhanger (well, we were teasing about a couple of very smal points) but there were some major ones in the chapters, especially chapter 26. I certainly do agree with you 100% though: If Shadowgod ends SoB at Ch 5, he's ending the story with one lulu of a cliffhanger! And BTW, Welcome! Hrmmm, I'm thinking that we need to set up some kind of a FAQ for newbies... Something nice and informative, that explains things like this, and the infamous lemonaide cliffhanger, and how Shadowgod got his title, etc, etc. That would be so useful to have...

Hrmmm... That's very interesting! To me, that's a very unusual mindset; I'm pretty much a type-a personality, and I'll quiz people on the "why" at the drop of a hat, and on some things I have insatiable curiosity. I love finding out how things work. Thanks, that makes sense to me now. CJ

I'll second that.

Thanks! I should try and avoid it though... That's why, when coming up with a name for Zeke, even though he's a minor character in LTMP so far, I made sure to pick a name with a first letter I hadn't used yet. LoL. Heh, actually, in the original draft, Gunthar was named "Joe" which would give me TWO Joe's (Lump's real first name is Joe). Heh, and that would be me. I do have trouble keeping names straight. Actually, Graeme, I find your names to be very, very good almost always! In particular, my favorite character name ever is in HoTT: Rhys. However, Three Pauls might be just a little much.

I very much enjoyed learning the background. The intreguing question for me is; why didn't Gerrold ask questions, especially once he knew that he could? Thanks Carl, for a very well done and thought-provoking piece.

Very well done! The ending was very much a surprise, and I quite agree with Graeme; reading through it a second time, once you know, you see a great deal that was not apparent at first.

Whoa! Thanks Kevin, BUT, not true! I definitly didn't do the largest share of the work, Graeme did. He formatted most of the non-html submissions. I only formatted two, and I think we had only three submitted in HTML. I also only wrote two reviews, and the only other thing I did was coordinate with y'all and the authors. Joe, don't sell yourself short; You figured out what was wrong when the files went online, and fixed things on the spot. If I'd been doing the uploading, I'd likely not have figured it out. You also sent me the main anthology index file to edit; until you did, if you recall, I was planning on using code grabbed from my browser, and with that being a PHP file that would not have worked, but I didn't know it. We;d have had a right mess. LoL CJ

Thanks Emoe!!! I would like to ask how the second-person voice worked (or didn't) for those who read it? Please feel free to criticize...

Hey now! I never deny the things I do... Yep! I'll be able to check in one last time on Saturday the 21st... I'm going to miss y'all, seriously. I can guarantee I'll be offline for nearly two weeks in the middle of my trip, becuase I won't be anywhere near an internet connection. That will begin on Oct 28th. I might have occasional internet before then, and likely will again around Oct 10th through the 12th, but after that it's another 10 days internet-less, as I'll be staying with relatives who don't have the 'net. If I do get online, I'll temporarily eschew my lurkerish ways and actually post (!!!) and say "hi". On the other hand, if my laptop croaks, I really might be offline totally for the duration of my trip!

Lol, you noticed something I didn't! I have a problem when reading when people use similar-sounding names, so I try and avoid names that start with the same letter. I already broke that rule once with Jon and Jerry, and now Chase and Charity. Ooops! ROFL!!!

Around 9? Ahha! A POSTAHOLIC!

When I first read it, I was keeping an eye out for sexuality issues, wrongly assuming that it would have a gay component somewhere. I think the fact that it didn't added to this story for me, both from the surprise POV, and the fact that for this storyline it would, IMHO have detracted. Also, we don't know if Brat is GL or B... Errr, scratch that, I do think it's safe to assume he's not a lesbian, but he could well be straight, gay, or bi, or anything. It's not relevant to the storyline. Besides, the fact that it mentions that he goes shirtless in summer is a rather nice bit of "gay scenery" as far as I'm concerned, regardless of his sexuality. And you're right; many people do have far bigger issues to worry about than sexuality. That's a very, very good point. Great story, Graeme!!