C James

Yep, I'm late again, sorry. Chapter 9 is in editing, and will be posted within hours of it's arrival here. I do not know when this will be. In the meantime, I thoguht I'd give those of you who are unfamiliar with it a peek inside the writing process; There is far more involved here than just me pounding away on a keyboard. It is basically a chain of events, each dependant upon the other. First, I write a draft of a chapter. Sometimes this is easy, and sometimes it is not, it depends on the chapter. Once I've finished typing, I go back and tweak lines here and there, and correct my more glaring typos (basically, anything that I can see. I then read through it a third time, again making little changes. Then, I run the chapter through Word's spelling and grammar checker. Never rely on Word, but it is helpful, and cleans things up a bit more. Then, I send the chapter to my anonymous Beta Reader, Shdowgod. He reads it, and makes comments and suggestions using Word's edit mode. Then, he sends it back to me and I review it. I usually incorporate his suggestions, and more often than not his suggestions trigger other ideas, and I re-work the chapter. Then, I run through it with Word's grammar and spelling checker again, then give it a final visual read searching for errors, and send it to Emoe for editing. Emoe not only seeks out typos, grammar errors, etc, but he also makes suggestions on the wording, plot, and presentation, also in Word's edit mode. Emoe then sends it back to me, and I go through each and ever suggestion and edit (just like I do after getting it back from my beta reader) and sometimes expand a bit on what they have done. Then, if I haven't already, I add the disclaimer, and credits, and I'm ready to put it online. That's an interesting process in itself. The method I use for GA's eFiction is to copy and paste from Word. There is a "paste from word" button there, and it usually works fine, with just one error: it doubles my paragraph spacing. So, after pasting, I manually remove a space from between each paragraph, and add the chapter. The chapter is now online. However, I'm not done yet. I still need to copy the URL of the chapter so I can create the announcement, plus alter my .sig, and probably list it here in this thread, too. OK, so that's how the process works, for me anyway. Other writers may do it differently. However, now I think you can see why I say this is a team effort. CJ

Generally happy for me. I don't like long stories with tragic endings. I basically read for enjoyment. When I say generally happy, I don't mean everything needs to be great. However, I won't knowingly read a story and root for a character for dozens of chapters only to see them die. But that's just me. However, I'm different with short stories. In a short story, there isn't so much time and empathy tied up with the character, so with a short story I enjoy all kinds of endings.

If the Author, for some reason, did not want to disclose his other posting locactions, I feel that is his or her perogative. BUT, the response should have been a polite reply, not what they sent! There was nothing wrong in your request that I can see. That Author was WAY out of line.

ACK! When i said "I feel like lunch", becoming lunch isn't what I had in mind!

Happy 21st, Krista!!!!

Those are mountain goats! But, umm, what ever-present dark glasses? Surely you can't mean mine? As a lurker, I'm hardly ever seen..

Thank you Jack! I've been having a blast with this story. I'm hooked on writing! What a strange thing to have happen to a lurker like me.. I'd like to remind everyone, though, that what you see posted in the story is the result of a team effort. EMoe, my Editor, and Shdowgod, my beta reader, both contribute greatly (thanks Guys!!!). Awww, E Tu, EMoe? Why won't anyone believe me. You just Edited my Editor! Let the Editor-teasing commence!

Totally agreed! I should have made clear: My "Grrrrr" Was directed only at the LA Times. I was thrilled by the rest of the article, and admire what the Prince has done. That does take guts!

Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved the fact that the Prince is coming out, I think he's doing something great. I Liked the article, too, right up until that bit. The LA times should be bought to task for this. It's a minor remark, but to put it in context, think what the reaction would be if they had implied a racial stereotype instead?

I don't know what the rules are for the next quarterly anthology, but for the Fairy Tales Special anthology you CAN

:king: :king: :king: :king: HAPPY 17TH Birthday!!! :king: :king: :king: :king: Best wishes for a great day, to both you and your new family!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone had a happy and safe one.

EMOE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shame on you for saying that we are cloned! We are lurker Goats, I tell ya! I'm just a quiet and shy forum lurker. It even says so in my profile. Hmmm, as for my blog, perhaps I should blog about lurking?

That's only because you are on the strange side of the dateline, Graeme. Nah, surely it is obvious by now, viven the hard data (my posting rate of 0.00) that I am a lurker? This is proof, I tell ya!

Kitty, you have done it again! Thank you so much for all that you did on this, it's yet another great anthology!

Yes indeed! See? I';ve been saying all along that I'm a lurker, and here we have proof! I will also proudly point out that the list of top ten posters by posts per day lists me as having a posting rate of 0.00 posts per day!! Yep!! Proof positive that I'm a lurker!! Thank you Bardeara!!!! Sorry Rick, but you can't be a lurker like me, you post too much! I haven't posted since last year! Happy New Year Everyone!!

Congratulations, everyone!!! Wow, Nick, Thank you!

Much depends on where at the Canyon you want to go to. The main visitor sites are at the North and South rims, about 15 miles apart as the crow flies. However, there is no way to drive directly between them (it's about a 200 mile drive). To get to the North rim, you have to go through Utah. North Rim is less "touristy" and the weather is cooler (the altitude is about 9000 ft.). Make reservations well in advance, as the lodge is about the only place within a hundred miles to stay (or eat). South Rim is where most people think of when they say "Grand Canyon". It's easily accessible (only an hour north of Flagstaff and Interstate 40). It's only at about 8000ft, so is slightly warmer. I'd suggest may or june for both north and south rims. You can hike to the bottom of the canyon from either rim. I've made it to the bottom (Phantom Ranch at the River) and back in one day (it was dark by the time I got back to the rim) but it was one hell of a hike/run. Do not attempt it unless you are in great shape and used to mountain hiking. The climb out is grueling once you are tired. Do you have a 4x4? If so, there are tons of scenic dirt roads and trails in the area. Sunset crater, north of Flagstaff, is well worth a visit. It has a volcanic cinder cone and lava flow (from 500 years ago) and also Indian ruins, plus a natural blowhole. (changes in barometric pressure cause strong air inflows or outrushes) Definitely see Meteor Crater, too. Further east on I40, don't miss the Petrified Forest. If you can, take a detour to Southern New Mexico to see Carlsbad Caverns. It is one of the most spectacular sights on the planet. The sheer size is incredible. If you go, stay near the park entrance, and go early on a weekday morning, right when they open. You can hike from the surface down to the main chamber. It's an easy hike, just 2 1/2 miles, though much of it steeply downhill. If you can go when there are no people around, the experience of being alone in those chambers is well worth it, and makes the hike an utterly unforgettable experience. Once you reach the bottom, another two-mile hike takes you around the perimeter of the main chambers (yep, it is that big). Once done, you can take the elevator (no kidding!) back to the surface. In fact, you have to, as the trail in is one-way. You can take the elevator both ways, but I recommend the hike. It is incredible.

What? For me, a dedicated lurker who almost never posts? But I almost never reply!! Really!! BTW, I'm astounded that you know of Fort Huachuca! It's not well known even here in Arizona. Thank you Jack!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoy the remainder. I'm also delighted to no longer have to dodge bullets from you!

Drat! I've been telling everyone that I'm a clone in order to keep off the dinner table.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Steve does have a little bit of an exhibitionist streak. All I'll say about the data on the drive is that it's... Data. I can't discuss much without giving spilers, but I can talk about Piedmont. I needed some fictional names. Both Lonesome Valley (where the William's house is) and Piedmont are based on small Arizona towns, but they are composites of several. For the names, I chose a former name of a real town that changed it's name back in the 70's (it's name before Lonesome Valley was Jackass flats. Serioulsy) and Piedmont, well, it reminded me of the Piedmont, Arizona in the movie "The Andromida Strain", so the name stuck. As for my picture without sunglasses, I wasn't clear there, sorry. What Dex spotted was data remaining in the unused clusters of the drive (clusters not occupied by the current data file). Much like deleting a file in windows; all windows does is blank out the first letter of the filename, thus rendering the clusters "available", but the data is still there, unless over-written. When faced with a mystery such as what is on a flash drive, it makes sense to look at every bit of data, including whatever can be recovered. Now, if the data that's important is encrypted, then the chances of decrypting it are pretty low without someone who understand cryptography. Public domain encryption algorithms are solid enough that you can't crack them. Since I've just had to learn a bit of cryptography for my job, I see the following options: Eric had Steve's PlayStation (video game console) and a lot of other things, but Eric has his own computer, as does Steve. I can't comment too much on the encryption stuff, for fear of spoilers (and thus, your spines). However, their are many methods other than password encryption, such as public and private keys, one-time-pads, logarithmic cyphers, stream cyphers, etc, etc, etc. Basically, you have two main types of encryption: symmetric and asymmetric. Symetric is using the same password, phrase, or key to both encrypt and decrypt. Asymmetric uses multiple cryptovariables, and the program PGP, with its public/private key system, is a good example (though there are many more). ROFL!! Thanks Jack!!!! That Mel Gibson line just cracked me up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awwww! Can't I comment, please? And since when do i ever respond to posts?

The legal drinking age in Arizona is 21. As for the homophobic cops, those are mainly the sherrifs department of the next town, Piedmont. I'd say it is quite possible that Chris and Steve have problems with that particular Sherif's department. ROFL! about the outfits! Thanks Bondwriter!!! ROFL! So, when the father stopped them on their way into the apartment with the line "boys, we have a problem" line, did anyone think he was interupting them again? LoL. My Beta reader, Shdowgod, was making comments as he read, and his comment after reading that line was "I HATE YOU!" We find out a lot more about that in Ch 9. I might be dodging spines from our spoiler-hating Echidna for this, but, I'll tell ya... The data consists of <OUCH!> Owww, that hurt! Well, Ok, I'll have to keep my mouth shut about it, sorry. Or Veronica's revenge, if Steve managed to kill her houseplant. Thanks Rick!!

Thanks Graeme! Well, now we know why Eric stopped on the mountain. A heck of a long gap, though, between that happening and this chapter. I think that might work better if being read all at once, but over the timeframe of a serial people tend to forget what happened that far back. BTW, I hope you won't mind, but I'm going to give out a spoiler: Dex was right about what is on that data stick (flash drive): It really is data.

Hi Michael! I'm afraid I can't say much without giving away spoilers, but thanks to Emoe, I am able to post the following; Chapter 8, "Pool Party", is up. :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork: :snork:

Delay!!! The posting of Chapter 8 will take a little while. I was late sending it to EMoe for editing. Sorry! The chapter does exist though, and the chapter title is "Pool Party" and I'll even give a spoiler; The chapter has words. Lots of 'em. Actually, this is all EMoe's fault. Emoe has this silly rule about editing: He just will not send me an edited chapter until I send him the unedited draft of that chapter. I've tried, repeatedly, to explain to him that this whole writing thing would be soooo much easier if he would just go ahead and send me the chapters instead of waiting for me to write them, but, he won't. (he's stubborn, ya know).