C James

Yes indeed. Yes. The title is as yet undecided, so I can't say what it will be called, but it will be a sequel to FTL. It's a few months away, though.

But surely LiS 26, all on its own, qualified Shadowgod for the title, even without all his other cliffies? Totally agreed! I'm really looking forward to seeing what he has planned in LiS 28, 29, etc.

Goat's milk I'm fine with; I just try and avoid becoming the main dish. BTW, Jan, good predictions! He's eeevil like that.... Why, next thing you know, he'll be making me put links to his stories in this post. Thanks Ieshwar, and thanks for reading! Drugs can enhance the bad side of one's personality, which is what may have happened to Eric; he did seem to show genuine emotion for Steve at the end, and regret that he'd lost his family through his own actions. He also stopped to say goodbye to Steve once he already had the $$$. Even Eric says he's no saint; he has his bad points (like a penchant for stake-outs). I think he's changed a little now that he's off drugs, but the question is, how much? Steve questioned Eric's change in the Epilogue, and we really don't know for sure, yet. This story was in 1st person, so all we have to go by is the words and deeds of the characters. Eric, well, we'll be seeing him again (and no, he definitely isn't the same Eric as the one in LTMP ) You could very well be right; he HAD to get the money, and the sheriff had double-crossed him. And good catch; he didn't flinch when killing. However, neither did Veronica, though she sure had good reason. And why did Eric try and save Veronica? He could have been doing the right thing, or, he could have been wanting a diversion so he had a chance to swipe the money. We just don't know. That's one of the problems with 1st person narrations; you can't definitively state any character (other than the protagonists' ) motives. And yes, Eric does have his bad sides; annoying kid bothers are a fixture of gay fiction, after all. Who? Me?

Just read Ch 1; Very intriguing! How did they manage to defeat the Romans.. I'll bet we hear more of that. Bran read him like a book. Cool!

I lived there for around 10 years, probably around the same timeframe you did, and I do agree: someone coming in like Worthington might see it differently. I just couldn't pass up commenting on those observations he made. The Pima, Freeway, the Red Mountain, and the Squaw Peak all have the decorations. I can't remember whenther the Santan and Agua Fria do (which is embarrassing considering I drive on 'em several times a year ). The poolside scenery you portrayed was certainly very fine indeed. Time for me to go catch up on Ch 3&4.

Totally agreed there! My own are the same, though I also add others who also risk their lives in the course of their duties; Police, Firefighters, etc.

Just catching up so I'm late to the party. Dan was rather unkind to Phoenix, not nice DK Seriously, it's different, but there is a great deal of green for a desert city, and along the east and south sides it's bordered by some spectacular desert mountain ranges. Though some freeways are decorated in a sort of American-Indian style, it's far better than the undecorated type you find in most places... Say, oh, like Sacramento. Hrmmm... I'd say something is going on in this chapter.. Way too much insight by Jamie, for one. There is some form of non-verbal information flow, at least that's my guess. I'll be honest, I didn't like Worthington that much in Ch 1, but now I've changed my opinion; he's very much a product of his past environment, and much more of a sympathetic character in this chapter.

A belated Happy Birthday, Carl! I'm glad you had a great day!

My comment would be that Blackheart's brain injury may have left him unable to count. As for me, the two unfinished novels are: "Let the Music Play", which I'm currently posting, and "Skyfire", which will begin before the fall. "Skyfire" is sci-fi, but what's called "hard" sci fi (a very misleading descriptor in a gay context) in that it uses extrapolations of current physics theories and technology. I plan on running "Skyfire" and "Let the Music Play" side-by-side.

I always knew he'd grow up to be a Televangelist. All jokes aside, the epilogue was the first thing I wrote for FTL, several years ago. In it, Eric was a televangelist, and those parts of the epilogue survived basically intact, along with Chris and Steve seeing him on TV in their place, Steve in the shower, etc, etc. As I've so often said, poor, misunderstood Eric. You are quite right, Betty is portrayed as in her 30's, Dex is (although not specified) in his early 20's. Glad you liked it Conner; it was a happier ending than it looked to be at the end of 37, with Steve's execution and Chris' about to follow. (I blame Shadowgod for that, ya know ). Eric did save them all, though in the Epilogue Steve expresses uncertainly regarding Eric. As for Eric, and whether he really has changed or not, we'll just have to wait and find out. I'm not entirely sure myself, to be honest. FTL was really about the confrontation with the ring led by Thadeus and the Sheriff, which is now quite over. Awww, Graeme, Eric killed his uncle to save his brother. And Eric has long admitted to a love of money, and indeed, in this case he needed it. Eric also put his life on the line to gun down those last two goons (though, quite coincidentally, that was where the money was kept, and he needed the sheriff's keys to unlock it). However, once he had the money, he did stop to see Veronica released, and Veronica said he'd tried to free her. You were right in your comment about picking locks; he tried, but apparently he's not good at it. Heck, I can pick a lock, given some improvised tools and lot of time; it's not hard. But it takes time. Eric even stopped by to see Steve again, before leaving. He didn't have to. I think he had some real regrets, even if, as he himself says, he's not a saint. Poor, misunderstood Eric. Ah yes, He found "In God, We Trust". I think he also found Benjamin Franklin. (note to the non-US readers: "In God, We Trust" appears on US currency, and Benjamin fRanklin is on the $100 bill, the largest US banknote in circulation.) Thanks Jack! OK, Bondwriter, you asked about more FTL: There isn't any. The Epilogue is the end of the story entitled "For The Love". However, there's a question mark after "The End". There probably shouldn't be, becuase it is the end of this story. However, the epilogue sets up a few things for the future of these characters. Yep, I'm planning a sequel. It won't be soon, but it will likely begin this year. I have two other novels I need to finish first.

Well, OK, let's do multiple choice instead: #1 We can speculate on whether Shadowgod, the undisputed :king: King of Eeeevil Cliffhangers:king: will end LiS with a cliffhanger. #2 We can tease Shadowgod for the eeevil cliffhangers at the end of LiS 26 & 27. #3 Reader's choice.

Interesting... What they seem to be saying is that, once created, the machine would allow people from the future to travel back in time, up to the point where the machine was created, but no further, as there would in effect need to be a machine at both ends of the temporal track. The interesting implication here is that if such a device could work, it would mean that time travel to any time period was theoretically possible, though by other means. This also touches on a fascinating point: What is the nature of time? What, exactly, is it? It's not such a simple question if you think about it. Timeflow is indeed malleable; Even at comparatively slow speeds, such as orbital flight, an atomic clock can detect the time dilation effect resulting from relative velocity. The closer you get to the speed of light, the greater the effect becomes. At lightspeed, the timeflow is zero (which is one of the reasons it is, under current theory, impossible for an object to accelerate to lightspeed).

The prologue was superb; you have a very advanced writing style, and it shines through. I love the air of mystery. Off to read Ch 1!

Beautiful chapter. Very sad, very poignant, and Aunt Cynthia, what a lady. The one thing that really threw me for a loop; The final scene, with Rhys worrying that the councilmen and his father were bing told who the new heart was, while looking at him. I have a hunch that we might have a new plot twist in the works. And yes, that was surely a cliffhanger.

Awww... But Aillie, somebody had to ride off into the sunset, didn't they? ROFL! Well, technically it was: Eric still carries the Williams last name, so he could be addressed as "Mr. Williams". No candlestick though. Thanks Steve! I'm going to miss that story.... It was a fun one to write. And I'm glad that you liked the ending... My favorite part was writing a literal "riding off into the sunset" scene. Yep, good predictions Jan! I guess the sheriff's head did swell, before it exploded. LoL It was a bit of a bloody scene at the mine; The Sheriff and three of his four henchmen dead. One killed by Chris, one killed by Veronica, and two killed by Eric. I think my favorite line was "Smiling, I nodded, as Steve took one more look at Eric before asking,

Mea culpa! Yep, as I said earlier in the thread, that was indeed the result of my fiddling. But, but, but.. I can't be the same entity as shadowgod! He's eeevil, and I'm not! Why, he even admits it! He even uses cliffhangers, which I, of course, would never do...

Hope you didn't get a hangover! It sounds like you have some wonderful friends there. Thanks for sharing this, it started my day off with a smile.

Congrats on the 100th post! Being in the 3-digit range makes you an official postaholic! Thanks very much, I'm going to keep writing, and I'll keep trying to improve. And it's not 4200, it's only 4196!

Thanks everyone!! I'm really thrilled!!! I don't know what to say (a first for me!) LOl

Thank you all so much! I'm on cloud nine here; I've wanted this for a very long time, and especially a forum! I'll let y'all in on a secret; I love forums!

ROFL! Seducing Bondwriter's nefarious agent, eh? Ahhh, he's admitting his true nature! The enormity has spoken! See? I told you it was all shadowgod's fault... Hrmmm, well, I can't match you in eeevilness, that's for sure! BTW, my new website is up, and FTL 38 and the epilogue are on it: http://cjames.gayauthors.org/index.htm

I'm a goat that lives in the mountains, but not a mountain goat: I'm scared of heights... And Cliffhangers! ROFL!! Well, this thread is now in a different forum.

I predict that there will be a flying saucer in it, because this, if indeed the last chapter, would be Shadowgod's last chance to allude to the extra-terrestrial aspects of the story that have so long been alluded to.

Hrmmm, Let's see; 8 hours by car, or an hour and a half getting to LA airport, finding parking, getting to the terminal, 2+ hours waiting for the flight, an hour in the air, and an hour and a half in SF getting your luggage, picking up a rental car, etc. Add an hour in for padding against running late, and you save about an hour by flying. LoL Thats why I won't even consider flying if it's less than a thousand miles. However, in my case it takes hours to get to the airport, so that's a big part of it. I'm thinking about it, but probably can't make it.

Bondwriter! Shame on you... I'm the one who's supposed to be unable to count!