ReaderPaul

Well! Great chapter. It is good to see Quinn and Tanner standing up to protect Jules and Ryan from Orion when necessary. I predict there will be a lot of consideration and discussion before Orion makes final decisions on all the details. While he will make many of the final decisions, especially on large parts of the entire business and personal life being juggled, it is good to see Tanner taking a more active role as well as Quinn. If the girls interact with the guys more, that brings fascinating possibilities as well.

When I saw the word obedible, my mind broke it down into "ob" and "edible" -- which in my mind went to "obstinately edible," meaning "edible but obstinate or resistant to being eaten." The real meanings make more sense than that first guess, however.

I think Marc will also keep an eye on the Witherbees and make SURE they stay away.

What Mark said about the California Bar Exam reminds me of a lawyer not far from me who is licensed to practice law in -- Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Hawaii, Washington State, and Washington D.C., and licensed to practice as a medical doctor in Missouri and Hawaii. Another lawyer in the same town is licensed in Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. Yet another is licensed in Michigan, Missouri, and Illinois. Yet another --Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. An architect I know is licensed in Arkansas, Missouri, and Alabama. What? No mention of "The Luckiest Man in the World" movie?

When you have authors in this listing such as @Geron Kees, @Mark Arbour, @Myr, @Headstall, @P. E. Knapp, @quokka, @drsawzall, and @astone2292, it is a wonderful list!

@drpaladin, @Geron Kees definitely fits fantabulous, I would even say fantabulous plus!

Would you please give us a hint of what is next? Perhaps Kontus becomes the first Trichani power user? A Keerby adventure? Another Door story? A sequel to "The Case of the Short, Short Prince," with a partial subplot of Geert and Seeri's younger sister? A short sequel to "Journey Beyond the Sea?" A third Thrift Shop story? An Eighth "Charm" story?

Gruesome? Grew some? Grew sum? One meaning of the word "grue" is "to shudder." This seems shudder worthy.

Fascinating. I like the plan Orion has and hope Ryan's grandmother is willing to negotiate on the property. It sounds like it has a lot of potential.

Interesting chapter. Ten children are not too many if one has the resources and space -- which Marc and Adam certainly do. This is space -- not crowded Earth. Thanks to the current level of technology in the Westward Confederation, there is plenty of food, plenty of room, and plenty of various types of assistance for child raising. This newest find -- It will be interesting to learn what it is. I hope in a future chapter we get another glimpse of Janek, Rory, and Hugo. The wormhole tech: are these stable wormholes, or transient? Or some of both? How distant can these wormholes reach? Has Westward Confederation tech reached the point where wormholes may be created with desired characteristics? Is there an Eastward Confederation, a Southern Confed, Northern Confed, Up Confed, Down Confed? A Milky Way Confed, an Andromeda Confed, Lesser Magellanic Confed, a Greater Magellanic Confed? A Confed of chlorine breathers, a Confed of hot Sulphur breathers, etc.? Has contact been established with alternate or side universe civilizations? @P. E. Knapp, you have potential for another ten or twenty books in addition to what you have already planned.

Wow -- I sense both Orion and Quinn going very protective toward Ryan. I hope they and Tanner can help him, even if through listening.

Yes, @drsawzall, I remember. But what I am not currently remembering is whether the explanation of the birthing process is in he first book or the second book.. @P. E. Knapp -- you have not mentioned the discussion pages for the Westward Confederation series for some time. Could you remind us of the link? Many of the answers to some of the questions are also in there. Evelyn, at least, has been through so much stuff earlier she has had to become more flexible than some persons. Her reactions to "Marc" and "Adam" prove that. Well done! At least Marc has not added Senator to his titles. That could get unwieldy and funny if he were "Captain Monster Commodore Admiral Governor Senator Alexander!" Reminds me of another book I read where, at one point the lead character's title was "Captain Lieutenant Pilot Vance!" (Humor intentional.) Edit: Thanks, @pickuptoy, for finding that.

When you say The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I am guessing you mean Peter Jackson's theatrical version. I enjoyed them hugely, though sections were cut out to save time. I liked the Extended Editions better, and so did my brother, who went with his wife, (a true SF and fantasy fan, she is), myself, and my spouse. And we saw the theatrical versions on an IMAX screen. Tolkien and Jordan both had great visions of their created worlds. I have also heard that some think that Jordan's widow hiring Sanderson to complete Wheel of Time revitalized the book series. Jordan was seeming to be a bit repetitive at times in later books. Still, it is a challenging task to adapt large writing to a different medium.

If it was edited, it was not edited well. There were spelling, punctuation, and grammar error abounding, as well as nun-on paragraphs. The last figures I heard on self-publication indicated that an "inexpensive" self-publication runs at least $1,500 US dollars. I have heard of more polished self-publication costing over $4,000 per book. Also, one needs to research the publisher carefully. Some self-publication companies do not promote nearly as well as they say -- if at all. Amazon is one of the better companies as far as letting persons know about your book, because they suggest similar book subjects to one's self-published book. Costs also vary depending on whether the book is available on Kindle only, or Kindle and hardcover, or Kindle and softcover, etc. Some companies do not do POD (Print On Demand) but make you take so many hundred or thousand printed copies. (Less common now, thanks to competition from Kindle and Nook, but one acquaintance ended up with a garage full of his first self-published book.) Eventually, these Westward Confederation tales would make good books, though some might say the marked is limited. They might be limited in selling availability, however, from the hypocritical prudery about having sexual scenes in the stories for persons under 18. And that hypocrisy seems to be growing in recent times again.

What is wrong with a 60 or 70 chapter book? Just don't make the chapters as long as one story I read on Nifty. The shortest chapter was about 28,000 words. The longest chapter was about 93,000 words.

Some interesting suggestions here. But if I remember the passage of time correctly, @P. E. Knapp and @wenmale64 -- Marc is only about 18 at this point. Instincts and training both play a huge part in readiness for responsibility. I read a three-part book series some time back where a boy, fifteen, discovered his heritage was from Atlantis after being homeless for two years. He also found out he was adopted -- and that his real parents had been 4th level Adepts in using mental powers sometimes called magic However, he also had excellent piloting skills -- and his video game skills gave him a considerable edge in piloting over some highly-trained enemy pilots two weeks after he discovered his Atlantean heritage. (Magic skills are ranked Apprentice level one, two, three, four; then Master level one, two, three, four; then Adept levels one, two, three, four. In the last book, two Adept Level Fives appear -- the first ever.) In the second book he is promoted, at age 18, temporarily to the second-highest Admiral position on Atlantis. So Marc has the knowledge and technical skills to be a Commodore or Admiral -- though his people skills need just a bit more polish. I feel he also thinks people understand him more than they really do. Mysteries to still be solved. A-- What about the traitor at Evelyn's rock? What was her company working on which caused a traitor to infiltrate? B-- What about the ship discovered early in this story? C-- What about what was under construction at the pirate base in recent chapters? Who are managing the pirates; what is their purpose, and how many layers of pirates are there? D-- When will Amelia get with the program and stop trying to micromanage Adam, and by extension, Marc? @wenmale64 -- After the maneuvers Marc pulled rescuing Janek in a previous story, he would adapt to any earthly roller-coaster very quickly.

I have sometimes watched some hockey. It normally has more action than golf.

Great chapter! Most things are coming together.

It sounds like more fecal matter is hitting the rapidly rotating air-moving device.

It is possible that Amelia did not let Adam and Brendon know directly that she changed things again. Adam will know (or should know) that any time that Amelia comes up with a schedule or tells of a change, to check with Marc First -- and if Marc is not the one behind that, Adam should tell Amelia to mind her own business.

For once, Barbara Alexander Armstrong is behind Adam in catching on to what Marc is doing. Adam evidently absorbed more of Marc's plan than Barbara realized. It will be interesting to see how more of this turns out.

Since I am allergic to bananas, I cannot do that, but the rest sounds good. On or in my chili, I like mild cheddar cheese, or mild Velveeta cheese, or American cheese. Sometimes I will add some Louisiana-style Hot Sauce, hot or extra hot salsa, and onions. I inherited my father's love of somewhat spicy foods (but I avoid the super-hot peppers). Cornbread of good quality is also good in or with chili. I wonder if there are any stories here on GA where food or foods form a very important part of the plot?

Although not a GA author yet, I like reading these. The one about the peanut butter and jelly sandwich struck a chord with me. My spouse introduced me to peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. I preferred PB and sweet pickle; spouse liked PB and dill pickle. Since then I have heard of PB an banana, PB and crackers, and peanut butter and chili.

Marc needs taken down a peg or two, and I think it will be up to Grandma Armstrong, Adam, and possibly Brendon and Hugo to do it. Most of his ideas are quite good, but his vision for the universe is not the only one out there. Uncle Fran and Uncle Andrew can help with that as well. Amelia still needs to be taken down several pegs. Brenden and Adam will probably have to be Marc's allies in that, possibly Andrew and Fran as well. Also, there is still the traitor or traitors in Evelyn's organization to be dealt with. How many moles are there in the other assimilated companies are there?

I wonder how many remember from the first Ark II story that Joel had designated Hank as Second-in-Command? I remembered that. I think Joel feels the need for validation of his leadership. He does not want to become leader-for-life or give in to temptation to push for even more power and control. The colony is developing well. @R. Eric -- is the atmosphere over all of Gaia easily breathable now, or are there pockets of atmosphere on parts of the planet where a breathing mask would still be advisable? It would, of course, be most breathable nearest the atmosphere makers.