C James

Hrmmm... Well, I'd say that the answer to that is: if it occurs in one of my stories. What did y'all thing of the General's combat tactics? This is a serious question, as this was my first try at writing ground combat. Was it clear what was going on? Did it come across okay? Just a question for everyone to consider... Just how can the General hope, given the meager resources mentioned (50 men, a propellor-driven transport plan or three, and a few other odds and ends) Possibly hope to get to the very secure facility, deep in Iran, considering air defense radars and fighter aircraft, and then get his son out, and then facilitate their escape? He's facing a near-impossible tactical problem, worse in many ways than the US faced when trying to get the hostages out in 1979, and that poorly thought-out plan ended in the debacle at Desert One. They also had vastly more resources to work with. But.. he clearly has a plan. The question is, what is it. I'll give one hint... The clues to it lie within the General's tactical style, and the lessons he's trying to teach Felecia. Speaking of Felecia, she let a huge clue drop in this chapter. And BTW, before anyone asks, yes, this storyline meets Eric's in a few chapters.

LoL... No links were broken due to the site overhaul; I was careful to use meta redirects in place of any moved files.

Now, Now, Your Cliffhangeryness, might I remind the readers of a certain chapter in Dreams and Cliffed Wings called "Eating Crow"? Where we learn that a certain sunglasses-wearing goat is shot in Arizona and becomes a stuffed and mounted wall ornament in a baglery? Besides, I had to send you something for Christmas, right? Merry Christmas!! :nuke:

All we know about the volcano, per the chapter, is that there was a news item about it re-awakening. It might, for all we know, be just a prediction. Hurricanes? Not me! (Ummm, Don't look at my short story, Category 5, same with the tsunami) But, Tornadoes? I can honestly say, I haven't done one of those yet. A few minor perhaps-ever-so-slightly-tense situations? ACK! Benji!!! Now, now, no goat roasting!! Good call on the brothers issue. Though, I can't actually say if it's correct or not... all we know is that Eric said it. He could, after all, be wrong. Thank you Conner!!!! All I can say is, we'll learn a great deal more starting in 20. Jansen mentioned that the poster was in Keith's room. But, but, I had to send you something for Christmas....

ROFL!! Well, yes, Eric has revealed to Jansen (after making him squirm a little) that he thinks that they are brothers. But that's not a cliffhanger. We don't know that Cumbre Vieja is doing more than a little rumbling. The General and his son... Well, there are a few risks there, I admit, but what is life without a few little risks? So, no cliffhanger there. The "Big One" in LA... That's not a cliffhanger, because we don't know for sure when or if it will occur. As for the area east of Riverside along the San Jacinto fault; no problem, it's over. They've already had their night of hell incarnate, it's over, so no cliffhanger. Well, now we know that The Scar is up to something, and after something. The question is, what? Well, I'll admit to an ending that could be described as perhaps ever-so-slightly... tense. I found the graphic (along with the reindeer) online, and just liked it. I wanted to make the chapter announcement (in the announcements forum) very christmassy. I always stay away from cliffs. Don't worry so much about the volcano. Just think of it as an extra secondary character, one with a slightly hot temper. I am, however, shocked.. shocked I say, that you won't amphibiously certify the chapter as cliffhanger-free.

That was what caught my eye, too. I think the "being one's own worst enemy" theme was very well done too, and oh, how true that can be. Thanks Comsie!

Just a quick note here (Sorry, I've got to run) The introduction of Jansen and Keith was as a couple, but it was entirely in the dialog and in George Tankardsly's impression. Sorry for the confusion, but it's a literary trick that I use: The narrator can't lie, but he can omit, which can be quite misleading when combined with dialog (and characters, unlike the narrator, can indeed lie. ) (this is similar to how I masked The Scar's identity for over 20 chapters in LTMP.) Chapter 20 is called "explanations", and we learn a great deal more about them... and much else.

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas Eve I hope the chapter isn't too nicey-nicey, but it's Christmas and I'm soft-hearted, what can I say.

OOps, I forgot to thank Uenigma for mentioning that the RSS feed was broken. Thanks, Eric!

Thanks! Thanks, and LoL! Except for the RSS feed (the list of recent forum topics on the main page, which Joe created for me, and fixed when I broke it; thanks Joe!) It's all my own work, including the graphics (most of which are based on my own photography). I have to admit, I'm very pleased with the way it came out, especially due to the fact that I am sorely lacking in tech skills. Originally I was just going to ad the menus, but I decided to bite the bullet and overhaul the whole site. There were quite a few structural goofs that I made when I first created it that needed fixing, coding glitches in the chapter pages, etc, so it needed doing. I've been neglecting my writing while working on this, so now it's done, no excuses, back to my keyboard. I did have plenty of advice during the layout process though, so I owe a big "thank you" to Myr, Steph, Shadowgod and Wildone for that.

Sorry to those of you who have been inconvenienced by the problems on my site; I was doing a total site overhaul. I'm now pleased to report that it's done! (Took me a month, ugh!) The layout for every page has changed. All pages, except the short stories, now have a sidebar nav menu. I also made a lot of behind-the-scenes changes. The "for the Love" chapter filenames changed to .php (so i had to use meta-redirects to keep old external links to them working) I also changed the layouts, graphics, etc. I also made some changes so that the pages load faster, and display correctly during as well as after the load. Another change was the nav buttons on each chapter; the next or previous chapter buttons, formerly on the bottom of each page, now appear on the top as well. My website has hundreds of pages, and I've ended up making changes to ever single one, lol. Anyway, it's done at last! If anyone notices any errors or problems, PLEASE let me know. CJ

Not true!! I said, later in that very post, that I never use cliffhangers!

Sorry to dissapoint, but there won't be a cliffhanger in chapter 19. Not even a perhaps-ever-so-slightly-tense chapter ending. The plot just isn't in the right spot for one. I do hope that the Echidna doesn't see this, as it could be construed as a minor spoiler, but here's a quote from Bondwriter, when he zeta-read the chapter... So, sorry, no cliffie (I never use 'em anyway). However, if anyone is craving a cliffhanger, I can suggest re-reading Shadowgod's "Living in Surreality" or Graeme's "Heart of the Tree". (both of which have some truly diabolical cliffhangers!)

But, you know that a goat would never have anything to do with a cliff!!

As always! After all, a goat would never have anything to do with a cliff! Hrmm, I wrote a little story about that a year or so ago. I'll see if I can find it... Ah, here we go..... Shadowyness!! It figures that Shadowgod would know about Torey Pines golf course!! It's a golf course near San Diego built on top of a massive sandstone CLIFF! (I've been there a few times; that cliff edge is unstable, very dangerous!) Of course, Shadowgod is familier with all things cliff-related, so of course he knows the place...

I just wanted to wish everyone a GREAT holiday season.

But Bondwriter, I can't actually state my opinion on future events, or the Echidna will get me for giving spoilers! Hrmmm... methinks that thee protesteth too much. Chapter 19, Revelations will be posted on Chrismass Eve, Dec 24th, around noon. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!

What? Me, misdirect? His Shadowyness could make it possible; all he needs to do is advance the Dreams and Cliffed Wings timeline by a bit.

Yep, the General's son is named Brian. It was also mentioned in LTMP (and I think in Changing Lanes) that he's gay. Sorry, but a re-convergance of this universe with Dreams and Cliffed Wings isn't possible. The sticking point is the timeline; in Changing Lanes, most of a year has passed since Cody met Eric. In Dreams and Cliffed Wings, only a week or so has passed. However, Shadowgod could make this possible. All he has to do is give us about 50 more DnCW chapters before I finish Changing Lanes, and we're there.

Yep, a great many omissions in this chapter. A great many. As for The Scar, perhaps his motives are altruistic? I've never actually said that he's the antagonist. And thank you for the cliffhanger-free certification!!

My appologies to those who I'm not replying to: There are a lot of things I can't respond to without giving spoilers at the moment, due to the current nature of the plot, but I love seeing all the speculation about Keith and Jansen. Thanks!! Hey, he had a party to plan, he was bout to forget a few little details. BTW, the clue to the fact that there's no beach at the resort was in the chapter where we first see the party venue (ch 13): That didn't preclude a beach, exactly, but it did indicate some very steep terrain between the resort and the water. Volcano? But, the volcano wasn't even in this chapter! Why do you worry so about a slightly uneasy pile of hot rocks? And yep, I typo'd the announcement. Hrmmm, I've often wondered what kind of a frog Mike is, and now, I think we know... He's a Cliff Chirping Frog! Here's what it says... So, I think that when he says "cliff", it's more like a regular from saying "ribbit". Kind of a frog thing. Cliffhangers? But Jon, I never use cliffhangers. It is often said that a Goat would never have anything to do with a cliff. :pickaxe: BTW, we learn a lot in chapter 19, and chapter 20 is entitled "explanations", so there won't be long to wait (20 will be the last chapter posted this year).

OOPS!!! Sorry about that: I'm doing some major site redesign and goofed up the coding on the nav table. Fixed now, and THANK YOU for letting me know! (If no one tells me, I don't know it's broken. ) CJ

OOPS! My bad! I'm VERY much one for decrying the fact that editors and betas are often unsung, and here I did the same thing! It's fixed!

I'll reply to the other posts later (I'm busy with a blizzard at the moment) but just wanted to add to the above post: the clues aren't just in 7. There are also quite a few in Eric's first meeting with the strippers, and a few other places, including their two-night opening of the Oak Leaf.

Happy Birthday, Jan!!!!! Have a great day and a wonderful year!