C James

That was great! And so true, too, from what I've heard from many people. I've been to a few clubs, but not recently, and come to think of it, the last time I was in a gay bar it was a Lesbian biker bar.. And I had a blast. Glad you had fun. I'll bet I know which one you'll be going back to.

Canonizing head wear, eh? That was brilliant, I loved it. However, you forgot one of the most important things for stylish baseball caps; advertising your favorite tractor brand! And you say you know fashion..

The creations mythos is basically spot-on... It really does read like that. I very much agree; it would indeed be good if all religious could accept orientation, but unfortunately ancient Egypt's was not one of them. I think that's what Shadowgod meant when he said "Your thoughts are forbidden". I think you may be right about the intended message; The Stranger (Amon Ra?) was, in his way, by showing rather than telling, delivering the message that the religion had it wrong. Shadowgod either did his homework, or, if my theory is correct, he has an excellent memory. The Stranger intrigued me; his is far from omnipotent; Bes lifted him off the ground. He must therefor have weaknesses, vulnerabilities. I still think the shadowy stranger is Amon Ra, which raises a host of questions. I also note the use of the word "Prelude" is the title. What is coming, and when? What will the ancient God bring forth? The ending is very well done, but also mysterious. The Stranger didn't take the throne himself, but instead commanded the Vizeer to find a new Pharaoh. Did he want more than to overthrow the religion of Aten? And what of the struggle with the darkness? An enigmatic story, shrowded in mysteries stemming from the depths of time, superbly done in shadowgod's trademark rich and vivid prose, I loved it!!!!

Thanks! I was sure delighted to see your story too; until yours came in mine was the only hurricane. Well, you might say that.. But it just fit... After all, we have, officially, decided that he's to blame for everything from global warming to the sinking of the Titanic. #3? We,, if this isn't proof of you evilness, what is.. I mean cloning yourself? Really... Tsk, tsk... I have a question I'd like to ask everyone... Somethign that's been bugging me for some time. A while back, Shadowgod used a few words of Spanish in a chapter of Living in Surreality that I betad. I was worried that no one would understand it unless they spoke Spanish, or at least knew what those words meant. In CAT5, I had a similar situation with the surfing lingo; sure, I know what it means, but unless the reader has some familiarity with surfing, they likely won't, and I didn't define all of it in the narration. (Thus contradicting my own advice to Shadowgod, amongst other things). I did try and tone it down; I ommitted leashes, sex wax, bullfrog, and a plethora of terms and context regarding the waves. I also "interpreted" rather than quoted the surf report; a real one would be a little harder to understand. The ones I heard in hawaii also included more local patois. Anyway, what I'm wondering is, should I have omitted any surfing terms that I didn't define in the narration? For example, "Green Room" was defined, but "bottom turn" wasn't. I could have said "turning left at the base of the wave once I'd picked up enough speed" or something similar instead. Also, should I have developed Drake's character a little more? Thanks! And all comments, including of course criticism, are very welcome!!!

Greame, thank you for the wonderful review. Thanks LC! I did base Apu-hau partly on Pele's mischievous nature. Good catch! The storm was based partially on Hurricane Iniki, though I meddled with the track a bit, plus made it present-day. Thanks Beastkid!! It was a fun one to write. Thanks Conner!! And they had to do something with that mattress, right? Thanks Bondwriter!! Yes indeed, I do seem to have quite a few hazardous activities in my stories. In my 2006 summer anthology entry, the protagonists met when one was showing off his rock-climbing skills, only to end up proving, via gravity, that he was lacking in said skills. Maybe I should compile all this into a list of "things to do to pick up guys" ? Thanks Viv, and you do raise several good points; Yes, I'm a surfer (well, former); stated in high school and kept at it until I moved to Arizona. I do tend to write about things I've done, and places I've been, at least in part. I've been to Kauai, but the bay in the story is an invention, I couldn't say whether one exists on that coast that fits the description. I've certainly never surfed in a hurricane, either, LoL. The closest I've come to that is some of the big winter storms in California when i lived there. I'll try and explore the thoughts and feelings of my characters a little more in future. With Cat5, I couldn't at first, especially with Cody, as that would have ruined the plot. But I could have during their sheltering from the storm. Drake I could have illustrated more at the beginning. Thanks!!! Thanks! I haven't ever tried surfing in a hurricane (I amy be crazy, but not that crazy) but I used to surf. I've also had a few encounters with the "green wall" you mention; I used to race sale boats, 14 footers, and got caught in the Anicappa channel during a race once, by a very sudden change in sea conditions. Not fun. Thanks Jan!!! Drake eneded up rescuing someone, but he rescued himself in the process; courtesy of a meddling deity. LoL. Thanks Steve! I did miss one thing in the draft until I did some fact-checking; Central Pacific originating storms have HAwaiin names. I took the name for this one off their official name list. However, while drafting this out, I'd overlooked that fact, and the original name for the storm in the story was.. Steve. Thanks James!! Katrina, yowza, I know quite a few people who were scarred by that one. I'd imagine that it would be very difficult indeed to write about. I hope those scars, both real and psychological, are healing.

I'm afraid I have to disagree here; I don't recall anything at all that would indicate that Tracey or Casey are in the closet in any way, or acting. For all we know, they aren't (If I missed something, please correct me) and are fairly open with people they know. They wound up in the back of the pickup for practicality; so the closeness issue seems sort of a given to me. Winding up in Casey's arms might have been just moving around while asleep, or intentional on Casey's part. To me, the waking-up scene was the probing you mentioned; tentative questions driven by the situation, both discovering that the other didn't mind at all. Viv, I really loved this. I love the setting, which for me is an additional character. I do feel that there is a lot more to come, such as Tracey's temper issues. I would guess that the intertwining of hands speaks volumes of their orientations, as well as their likely futures.

I liked it a lot, but the cliffhanger ending is a doozy... I do hope that this means there will be more? Great job! CJ

What struck me the most was the juxtaposition between the short-term disaster, Hugo, and the long-term one, AIDS. Very moving, wonderfully done.

That was the theme I got from this story, and I thought it was excellently done. I felt a real dichotomy with Aaron: He treated Joey like dirt, for a long time. Turning away when he was beaten up, well, that clinched it for me. I wasn't sorry for him at the end. Thanks Razor!!!

This story packs one hell of an emotional punch, and I found the characters and their actions dead-on accurate. Nick, you took an a very, very difficult subject, and you did it superbly. Well done!!! CJ

I agree with Graeme, the scene with the kids logging into MSN before the twins even arrived home made me smile. The airport scene was interesting; all too often, I've seen utterly irrational and capricious behavior from airport security.

Definitely a thought provoking piece, and very well done. To answer your question, IMHO, yes, given Avery's actions and end, I think it might have helped, slightly, to understand him a little better. One thing to bear in mind; unlike you, who have the character in mind, your editor has only the words to go on, so often sees things that that writer can't. CJ

I very much liked the inside look into the joy of climbing, a hobby that is quite foreign to me. How sad that they drifted apart, and disappointing that attempted contact was ignored. All too realistic though. Thanks for a great story, Marty!

Very cleverly done, a story with rich imagery that explores the variations of psychology. Imaginitive, unique, and very clever, Maddy!

Fantasy stories are definitely not my thing, but I liked this one a very great deal, which says a lot. :-) Well done, Lugh!

The ending came as a surprise, a very pleasant one. Beautifully done, Luc! CJ

I thought it was Mich who was gay, up until the end... That came as quite a surprise to me, and I agree, the characters were very, very well developed. I loved the forest setting, too. Thanks Krista!

Starting out as a romantic trip with a detour into the supernatural, this story raises the tension level bit by bit. The discovery of the goat skull was downright chilling! The live goat near the end seemed to me to foreshadow the return to life. And I too loved the last line.

Ieshwar, this was great! I loved the lead in, the hesitancy, the growing openness. As for your deletion, I like it! Better to leave that up to the viewer's imagination in this case, as you did, IMHO.

ROFL!!!! Graeme, this made me laugh out loud, many times. At first, I wondered if I was the only one thinking that Katie was a terror; I'm very uncomfortable around small children. However, those poor guys! I can soo sympathize! And now the drawings, and even more babysitting. OMG... This is a classic, Graeme... A classic. CJ

This is very well done; a very different univers, well explained, is a rarity in a short story. I have my guess as to how the robots are; departed humans. I wonder what the watchers really are? I do hope the story continues. However,

Bondwriter took on what, to me, was a very difficult task; his protagonists were communist, yet he portrayed them in such a way that he had this reader cheering them on by the end. Superbly done, I loved it, every bit. The historical context was wonderful, not to mention accurate. All around, a superb and wonderful story.

A very interesting tale, due to it being about a very rare, yet real, situation. Two guys, straight by inclination, discover that their hearts belong to each other. The closeness was superbly done, and Randy's fear of storms was very believable. Loved it! Thanks Bard!

This is a very unique and creative take on the theme. I loved it!

I loved it! I loved the first meeting, the nervousness and tension. Riding in the storm was very well done, I kept wondering if they were going to make it. Thanks Altimexis!