C James

Conner!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!! You go, Goat!!!!!

No mischief too large or too small for you, now is there? Yes, I have to agree... I assume you are referring to the eeevil cliffie in LiS 26? That was a doozie, enough to turn souls to the darkside... Shadowgod isn't known as the King of the EEEvil Cliffhanger for nothing... Hrmmmm... Sorry, but it was a delayed shock from that wicked, wicked cliffie in LiS 26... You are just so evil that you are having this effect. Of course, if you have your hand shoved up you-know-where, there would explain why I, who never use clifhangers, might have them popping up on rare occasion in FTL.

Ekkk! This is true... He's awfully cruel to his characters... He's evil, you know... ACK! Firefighter?!?! Uhoh... I am not liking this combination... You, the King of Evil Cliffhangers, with a character who rushed into burning buildings..

You're just lucky I'm a lurker who never posts, otherwise I'd be posting right no and saying 28... 28... 28... Looking forward to LiS 38!

Glad you're ok, Dom, and I hope all goes well!

For me, very much a YES. That was my big objection; I take a very cold view of cheaters.

But I'm just a shy, quiet, innocent goat.... But I never use cliffhangers... Therefor, the answer is clear: This is Shadowgod's fault!

Thanks!! Beelzebub isn't the nicest of cats. Betty is indeed a self-declared Lesbian. But, sometimes people aren't all one way or the other; it's quite possible for love to occur outside one's usual range of attraction. I'm not saying anything is going on, but I will say that this will be explained fully buy the end of the story. ROFL!! What? Poor, sweet, innocent me?

Well, I, umm, I can't rule it out, or the Echidna will get me for giving spoilers... Maybe the Piedmont Sheriff is just setting them up for a surprise b-day party, as a friendly peace offering?

Heya Steve!!! Here's a wikipedia article that answers your question. In my usage, though, in the US southwest at least, it really means "Get ready to fight" Or "Ready for action" and saying it would be the equivalent of "Let's blow those $#%%%% to hell". I may or may not mean that in the title. My titles are always related to the chapter, but in sometimes odd ways.

I should have been clearer on that... Oops. Basically, my angle (as explained in passing by Rick) was that in a dodge to generate some tax-free income, Thaddeus had left his church unprotected. Stupid, yes, but I've seen this in RL. It was also, I guess we could say, the throne of his ego. Plus as you say, he was badly rattled and not thinking clearly. And BTW, you were right, the Piedmont Sheriff did make a move. Can I give a minor spoiler here? They will probably not proceed as planned with their birthday party. ROFL!!!! Emoe, Im sorry you are still in denial about being a postaholic. Hang in there buddy, the first step: admitting it, is the hardest. BTW, The next chapter of FTL is entitled "Lock and Load."

I was doing just fine until the bit about "Do not put "The End" at the end of your story." OOps. However, i will take issue with one of his rules; Names-we-wish-we-had. Sure, i agree it's bad to have a lot of 'em, but I for one really like an unusual name or two. In fact, one of my favorite characters has an extremely unique and original name, "Rhys", which I find fits perfectly and helps the caracther. And no, he's not one of my characters; I only wish I had that kind of a flair for naming; he's one of Graeme's in the story "Heart of the Tree". Thanks very much, Jack! This is a great list! CJ

Welcome Krista!!!! Congratulations!!!

It's excellent! I won't give away any spoilers this early in the thread , but it's a heart string puller! Well done, Duncan!

I'm afraid I'll have to go with those who find the lightning suspicious. I find it highly so, and think that just might be a key to the plot. So too with the aunt's comment on abilities.

Hi Emoe!!! I'd have thought that you would be a supporter of Rev. Thaddeus J. Emoe... Totally agree with you about Phelps and his ilk...

Thaddeus had a non-profit corporation for the church, and he was using the premiums scam to boost his personal rake-off; a tax-dodge to generate tax-free personal income (and also hide said pay from his congregation). This is, due to the risk involved, dumb, but I've seen it happen a lot. He was also "living out of the corporation", using corporate assets as his own, which is probably the most common mistakes small corporate owners make. He was very, very dumb to assume he could get away with that booby-trap, and that it wouldn't destroy his church. But he was desperate, and desperate people do weird things. It is fair to say that his congregation will be less than pleased.

BTW, Now we know why Thaddeus was so upset about his Church; not only was it his showpiece for his ego, but it was self-insured via an illegal scheme. Did this fit ok?

You're right!!!! OK, I'll avoid editing that into the chapter. Maybe I'll allude to his age in some way. ROFL!!! That's a good point! I think I'll need a character named Jerry, too. Hmmmmmm....

Lol... Who, me? Hi Benji!!! Yep, I'd have trouble without my horns... They are so handly when I lose my can opener. Hi Jack!!! It's all Shadowgod's fault. I'm not quite sure how, yet, but it must be. The ending was, I agree, a little tense. However, I had to do it that way, to lead into the next chapter. I was also part of this chapter, in that the sheriff's call took place as they were arriving for their birthday party. CJ

It will be along soon, but it's not back from my editor yet so I can't post. BTW, thanks!!! Hi Benji! That was a prologue, and the "A few months hence" meant it's a few months into the story timeline. It's not Brandon who is wiring the bombs; but that's a good on my part; I should have described the man in the lab gear a little better. I wanted to leave it vague, but not have Brandon as a possibility. I should have said "rubbed his hand across his balding head" or something, to make it clearer. The tech is one of the bad guys, but only a minor player. It's a common technique in mainstream books to have the prologue be different, timewise, than the main story. Either some hisotry, or in some cases (like mine) a peek forward. The reason I did the prologue is that, due to the way the story is written, we don't even get a peek at the bad guys until Chapter 3, and even then it's just a peek. So, I wanted to try and show that, while this is somethign of a band story, there is a lot more going on. As for the geiger counter, he'd need one. I strive for technical accuracy in the derails of my stories, so that bomb assembly is technically accurate, for that type of bomb. Kryton switches, for example, are very real. There is no online definition of these switches, but just doing a google search on the name (click here for search results) give you a good idea of exactly what kind of bombs these are. The sphere of high-explosive shaped-charges is another clue. It's a little vauge, as all i really wanted to convey was that the bad guys are building bombs. :nuke: CJ

Hi Conner! The Piedmont sheriff is indeed desperate. And a cliffie? Me? But I don't use cliffies... Somehow, it must be shadowgod's fault. Hi Steve!!! Thanks!! (and I mean that!) I do indeed like critical feedback. It's how I learn. This is my first serial, so I know I've made loads of errors. Also, what you say ties into a few things I've been thinking. You are right, I did want to tie up the Thaddeus line. The Beelzebub scene at the beginning was just for fun. There are a few things in this chapter that are there for a reason, all of which should be apparent in 37 (and I can't discuss) , but I agree with you in the main; I haven't been happy with quite a few of my chapters since the trip to Hawaii began. The general feel of this chapter was supposed to be "things working out well, it's almost over" while I laid some groundwork for the finale, and then a surprise twist at the end as a lead-in to what happens next. Chris' closing remarks in the last chapter, "We'd won!" were also part of the setup; they went into this chapter thinking it was over. They were, perhaps, mistaken. But back to the chapter problems; too many times since they left for Hawaii, I've felt "that chapter was lacking". I haven't been able to put my finger on why, but my leading guess is too much extranious info; for example, their sojourn in the FBI's safehouse. That could have been condensed, a lot. So could their days on Maui. I guess I got too much into the travellogue mode. The awkward reality is FBI stay wasn't central to the plot. As for this last chapter, my hope is that it makes sense when taken with the next two. There are, however, surely ways I could have made it better, and that's what I need to figure out. Once y'all have seen the two remaining chapters, I'd love any and all advice. You were right; it took a long time to write the chapter; I was never fully happy with it. Perhaps it would have been better trimmed down and added to the end of Ch 35? It will all be tied up in two chapters, plus a small epilogue that will be posted alongside the final. BTW, I think I can make one promise, and hope it's not a spoiler; the remaining chapters won't be dull. Thanks!! CJ

Thanks LC! I'm fine thinks, and I've been working in the mud today to clear my road. Work an hour or two, then take a break at the computer is more like it, but it's getting done. And us goats, well, if we take off our shirts, it's too eat them for lunch. Actually, you're darn right I'm looking forward to blasting that dang rock. It won't be that big a bang, though. Ever used explosives before? The way this will be done is I'll use a pnumatic drill to bore a couple of holes, in with tiny amounts of HE will be placed. The miner has the tools, including the HE, but I'll be doing the work. We'll probably mix less than an ounce of HE (High Explosive) Like most small mining operations, he orders it by mail, as a binary; you have to mix the liquids for it to become HE. (that way it's shipable by mail, seperatly of course). So it won't be a big bang (I've used this method when putting in a foundation) but it will break up the rock, into peices small enough for me to winch out of the way. I should be able to get out of here by Thursday; I have no way of driving off my property at the moment. LoL. What I'm worried about is the roof; right now, plastic is keeping the rain out (had more rain today) but if I get high winds with rain, I'll be in trouble. I've got to find a roofing contractor with 4x4's (without 4-wheel drive, they won't make it up here, even in good weather) or, I have to do it myself and that's a big job, plus I HATE heights. But getting the roof back on is my #1 priority, after getting my road fixed and that dang rock out of the way. Ahh, the joys of rural life. CJ

Yep, no way that I know of to get fresh milk here, though maybe a health store would carry it. I'd like to thank everyone who has participated in this thread; I've had a lot of fun, and I'm glad you liked Category 5. Thanks!!!! CJ

Would *I* misdirect? Thanks Conner! Brandon's definitely living on the very edge, barely able to exist. The reasons for that will be told soon.