Mikiesboy

In After The Past, i knew one of the two principal characters would die. I remember talking to my editor about that. He said, you need to be prepared to write the fallout that death will cause. He was right, you do. Death changes the narrative. @Mancunian it's your story. If there is a reason to include a shocking or surprising event in your story, you should do it. I guess the answer is the same as above, be prepared to write the fallout that event causes. Those types of things can affect people for a long time and in many ways. Did you watch The Sixth Commandment? That was masterful writing about a true monster. Not much on television moves me like that did. It was so well done. It didn't glorify in any way the man who plotted and carried out these crimes, it did however tell us the story of the victims and their families. And that's why it worked so well. That's enough from me, thanks Comicality for another interesting topic.

Not sure what i think about this story. It's dark and violent, and i understand why. While the idea is good and worthy, I think it felt rushed. This deserved more time to develop the characters and the world they live in properly.

I've thought for some time about this story. It left me open-mouthed as i tried to figure out what the lengthy and overly graphic beginning was there for. For me personally, it was overlong and served no real purpose. Once you get through that, if you do, and I didn't the first time, the story is interesting.

A worthy mystery. Well written and compelling. It's great on its own, but it's certainly moreish. Another reviewer said we should pester the author for more. So, here i am, pestering!

Mysteries are not easy to write. The premise is a great one and the end is a surprise. Certainly, worth reading and a solid entry to the Secret Author contest!

Not sure i'd like to be an Orc's pet, but never say never! Are they like Tolkien's Orcs? Or more like Klingons from Star Trek? Both are kinda scary. No matter this tale is unique and a good read! Enjoy!

This is a triumph, frankly. It grabbed me at the first sentence .. 'I've got a secret' that's due to my own mental health issues, suicidal ideation and the secrets i've kept. But i digress, i knew from the start this would be a rollercoaster of emotional pain and upheaval. I was right. You handled this so well, it was beautifully written. A triumph. You mention in one review that there was no choice but to write it. i hope doing so brought you some relief and perhaps some perspective. xo

Nothing to fear from this wonderful ghostly tale. A well-woven tale of love. You will not be disappointed.

Firstly, congratulations to the author for writing the winning story. There's no doubt it deserves first place. It's a beautiful tale of love and devotion over a lifetime. You cannot fail to be moved by this well-written piece.

Thanks for your message to Steven. Maybe his therapist did speak to him about the issues. I don't think Steven believes he's asexual. I think he needs a connection and then sex will happen when it's right. It will most definitely be with Giorgio however. I've been mulling over writing more about these two. Time will tell. Thanks, LemonSoda. I appreciate your reading this little story and your comments.

Thank you. I left the Church or it left me, not sure which. But I've written a couple of things about Jesus and Angels. So I don't think I've completely left God if that makes sense. i don't feel the need to go to church because i feel God lives within us. But I'll never say you shouldn't go. If it makes you happy, you enjoy the community and singing.. well, that's wonderful as far as i'm concerned. And i used to visit Churches sometimes, rather like Steven does. i liked the silence and the peace. i'm happy that you found a Church where you are happy and accepted, as i think God meant us to be. If we are created in God's image, all of us are. Thank you, Tris for reading this story and for your comments. I'm glad you've found your way.

This is always good to know....

Thank you Alexmugs. I agree with your thoughts on individual beliefs. People who are different, like Steven, deserve a good life and someone who sees them. Thank you for your views and for your very kind and insightful comments.

no need to leave. i personally like long-winded comments! i am tim, that's right. You are also right about the Secret Author contest being a great experience. i enjoyed it and reading all the contributions and the comments from readers.

Beautiful and sad. Thanks for posting it, Wayne

If you get the chance to watch The Sixth Commandment, don't miss it. Rachel Cooke from The Guardian said this about it: It’s hard to imagine better television – more dignified, more noticing – than The Sixth Commandment, which began last week on BBC1. Mostly, I loathe true crime. To make entertainment of the horrifying acts of a Dennis Nilsen or a Jeffrey Dahmer isn’t just gratuitously exploitative; it can only bring more pain to those who loved the men they killed. But this drama about Peter Farquhar, a retired schoolteacher who was murdered in 2015 by Benjamin Field, a man about 40 years his junior, is of a different order altogether. More interested in Field’s victims than in his crimes – he also preyed on Farquhar’s elderly neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin – its screenwriter, Sarah Phelps, attends fully to the loneliness of old age, and by doing so, asks difficult questions of us all. But there’s something else. In a series replete with brilliant actors – Anne Reid and Éanna Hardwicke are astonishing as Moore-Martin and Field – Timothy Spall’s turn as Farquhar, a closeted gay man, stands out, not so much a performance as an inhabitation. It is extraordinary: beautiful, and moving. Here, you think, is an actor who can do just about anything, his empathy a kind of skeleton key, there to unlock even the most complicated human being. Will this role, for which he’s surely destined to win awards, drive a decisive nail into the coffin of the fashionable conviction that actors should only be cast as characters whose sexuality matches their own? I hope fervently that it will. Every line Spall speaks stands as a reminder that finding an affinity with another person, however different they may be from yourself, is what both acting, and leading a decent life, are all about. ************** It took me awhile to get over this one.. it was incredibly well done and acted. i don't know how you cannot be moved by it.

It was brilliant, wasn't it.. i had hoped it would win. Lots of great stories and ideas came out of this. i'm glad for everyone.

Thanks for reading it and your wonderful comments. You know you're a treasure around here, i hope. xoxo

A trick to remember in the future!

He's a cool guy. He'll help anyone who needs it if He knows. Thank you. i'm a terrible guesser too. i only knew yours because of things that have been said in the DiC. It really is a wonderfully written piece. i enjoy these little writing things; they are fun and bring out the good in people, i think.

First, thanks for guessing this was me. oh, i am sooooo pleased the end made you laugh! it did me and i hoped others would see the same. Thanks again for your wonderful comments. You made my day.

Thanks for your comments. As a non-believer, ex-Catholic, to me, God can be female, male or just God, a fluid being. However, this story wasn’t about me; it was about Steven. Throughout the story, we are told by Steven and his mother they are not religious and don’t know about religion particularly. So, to answer your question about why Steven would think God is a man or why God is referred to as male in this story, the idea comes from things he likely knew or had heard. Such as, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name … In the Lord’s Pray, God is referred to as our Father, a male figure usually. Also, many people know or have heard that in the Bible, Genesis 1:27 says: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Steven would not be aware that the Bible is written from oral stories/history and early writings, nor that it was often changed to meet certain people’s agendas. He would not know about the Jewish texts or the fact that information about what women did/do and who they are in our world was removed along the way during the rewritings of that Book. Hope this answers your concerns.

i don't think God speaks to Steven truly...i think Steven's inner self, his unconscious mind is speaking to him. Is that what God is? Maybe. Thank you for your comments and sharing your thoughts.

Thank you very much for your wonderful comments. You 'see' Steven perfectly. i appreciate your insight and for sharing your journey here. Thank you again for your thoughts and feelings.

Thank you very much, Parker. Thank you very much for your comments and for reading. xo