Geron Kees

Thank you for saying so. I read The Hardy Boys stuff when I was nine and ten, I think. Always found them fun. Kind of regretted later that the guys didn't play, though. Nothing adds spice to a mystery like...spice!

"What are you boys doing this weekend?" Ben Dane asked, coming to sit at the breakfast table with his sons. Frank Dane, seventeen, dark-haired and blue-eyed, rubbed his forehead and gazed sleepily at his father. "We haven't decided, dad. Why...do you have something in mind?" Joe Dane, sixteen, blonde and green-eyed, stopped eating his cereal and paused, the spoon hanging above the bowl, dripping milk. An excited look came into his eyes, and he let them slide briefly to meet those of his br

It's 1948. Teens Frank and Joe Dane, sons of nationally famous private detective Ben Dane, are enjoying their summer vacation. But then their dad asks them to come along on a little trip up the coast, to a tourist town where strange things have been happening...and the boys are off on a mysterious case with two friends in tow. Events take an immediate turn for the worse as it soon becomes obvious that someone is out to stop the investigation...someone willing to use any means at his disposal to win! An homage to the Hardy Boys adventures that some of us read as kids, except that in this one, the boys are...um, well...you'll see.

Kudos to Gary, then, who we already know loves most people's worlds!

If you read further, in the series, you will discover the fate of the fort. It is one of those places that is special to young people, where the rules are more theirs than their parents. Most kids find a place of some sort that they can call their own, or make one. Club houses, forts, barns, basements or cellars...all the same thing. The entire concept is just as good today as when I was young, and will likely hold forever, just as long as there are kids. Thanks for commenting!

Kind of surprised me...again. I'm used to that by now, though. Kevin...wow. He certainly seems to have managed well despite his parents being a pair of cold fish. I am always disturbed when I hear of kids being raised in this isolated way...isolated from love, and acceptance, and understanding...even tolerance, and by his own parents! Some people just should not be allowed to have children; and when two of the same type somehow manage to get together...it's scary! It was really sad to read where Kevin visited a friend and then made the mistake of comparing that household with his own to his parents. Realizing that the world in which you live is not the same as other people's , especially when you see that your world is the one lacking in good things...can hurt. Many kids blame themselves for an unhappy home life, when it has nothing to do with them at all. There is the potential for some very deep scarring here. Parents that isolate their kids from love create adults that are isolated from the world. Still, a story like this one, with these guys finding each other, must be going someplace special. Waiting now to see what happens next. Pizza , chips, and Moon pies certainly aren't hurting the mood here, either.

When I was a kid, fantasy and science fiction were distinct from each other. Nowadays, not so much. Elements of both genres mix very well, actually. Thanks for commenting. I hope to be able to give you something to follow.

Hey, you just named four of my favorite authors. Maybe a little James H. Schmitz, too? I plan to continue with this story idea, definitely. All I can promise is that you'll see it when it gets here. Thank you for the encouragement.

You pegged it, definitely. It was a retro trip for me. There isn't anything else in the world quite like that sense of wonder we have when we're young. It never really goes away - not really. Sometimes the oddest things stoke the fires, and then, there it is again. I've scarcely had time to write lately. I would like to continue with this tale, but have no idea when it will happen. Thanks for the push, anyway!

Well, writing is something that sometimes goes off in new directions. I've been a science fiction reader my whole life, and so it's not that unusual that I decided to try a story in that vein myself. I've been on a kind of weird nostalgia kick lately, and was reading some of the old SF stuff I read when I was a kid and teen. Certainly, it inspired this story. I knew when I wrote it that there could be literally a thousand sequels, as there could be a story for each door. I don't think I am up to that, but I'll certainly be interested in coming back for a sequel or two...or three...or...

Thanks. Obviously, you cannot be as old as you seem to think! I'll go back again. There are a lot of doors there, right? You will be more than welcome to come along for the trip!

Thank you. I've been really short on free time lately, and writing is about all I can mange just now. So I do try for something that is fun. The writer-reader connection fascinates me. What tiny, esoteric connections within our brains causes people to see something, and feel the very same thing? Imagination truly is a wonderful ability, and doubly so when it can be shared. Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks for taking the time to say so! When I wrote The Odd, Onward Door, I did envision more than one story, so I'll say yes, there will be more. That said, I have a few other things that run in serial fashion, and I write on them, too. So I don't know when I'll get to the next one of these. It will appear here, too. I'm getting ready to be 50 in a few months, and maybe that has made me nostalgic. I have a big book collection going back to when I was a kid, and I have been rereading some of that old stuff for grins, as we once said in my teen years. The old science fiction I liked back then was what inspired this story. I also chanced across an old Hardy Boys novel - one of the originals from the thirties, and reread it, too. It wasn't great, but it was fun, still. It inspired me to write my own version of the teen detective story, except my guys are slightly, um...gay. Maybe just mildly. So that story will be along shortly. Thanks for the interest!

Derry Hamlyn stood on tiptoe to see across the field of Indiangrass, looking for some telltale sign as to where his friend, Caleb Jameson, might be hiding. At fifteen, Derry was tall enough - taller than Caleb by an inch - to see across the waving grass; but only just, for the grass was tall, too, and wide and deep, spreading as far as the eye could see across the rolling New York countryside. It was the perfect place to hide. The gentle summer breezes moving eastward across the summer-blue, clo

Summer vacation had started out well for Derry and Caleb. There was much to occupy two adventurous boys in the rural landscape in which they lived. They had the woods, and the fields, and the waterways to occupy them. And they had each other. But then they made a discovery - a strange place hidden in the forest, a pathway to lands beyond description. And suddenly, the summer was not quite so simple any longer.

I know it's been a long time since you left this comment, and I'm sorry it took so long for me to see it. The upgrade of the site software here left a few familiar things suddenly unfamiliar. I have missed comments elsewhere, too, because my notifications simply said someone 'liked' a story, not that someone 'commented' on a story. there is a difference, as you can see. Thanks for the good word. a little late, but felt just as strongly.

That was worth the wait. Once again the Beckel family is proving themselves special. I love the way everyone thinks about what they're doing both before and as they are doing it. I am waiting to see where you go with Kevin, too. That was quite a space in time since the last entry. I know you get to them as you can, but let's see if we can accelerate the pace just a tad. Maybe you waste too much time talking to jokers like me when you should be writing!

I see absolutely nothing wrong with a fascination for buses. Nor most anything else, for that matter. What catches our eyes and our imaginations is built into us. You are simply following your code. I have driven my friend's Winnie, which is built on a bus frame and is quite a Goliath to manage on the road, especially in tight places. It's fun to drive, but you really do need to watch what you are doing. Being the big guy on a road full of smaller, faster, much more nimble cars can be pretty alarming at times, especially as car drivers feel they don't need to cut anyone else any slack. I doubt I'd care to drive such a large vehicle for a living, certainly. I would think with your skills with routing and managing bus travel, you would be valuable to some bus line. How is São Paulo fixed for bus travel? If you have such passion for buses, maybe you can put those talents to work. In any event, keep enjoying what you do. It's yours, and that's what matters. Best, Geron

Hi David, São Paulo? Man, you are a ways from home, huh? Nice to see you here. Buses are also cool. Back when i was a teen, they had these big GMC's roaming around, with the 6-71 blowers on them, that whined and howled, and you could hear them coming for a city block. I saw a demolition derby once with old city buses, and it was one of the most impressive (and destructive) things I have ever seen. They had bus races in these parts, too. A bus is quite an impressive machine, actually, and I have seen some very nice conversions to motor homes. What about them are you into? Glad you liked the story, and thanks for saying so! Best, Geron

Hi Dael, Nice to see you here. Come on in and get comfortable. Take that chair - it's the good one. No stuffing coming outta that one! I had to come and look to see that you'd actually commented. Darn site just said you'd 'liked' something. If I miss anything you say, that's why. You've been around a while. That's cool -I like your company. Don't be a stranger, ya hear? Best, Geron

A very nice time spent with a friend. That's the kind of memory we all have, that seems to just get better with time. I think you could add to this easily. You may even want to - or not. It stands well as it is, a snippet of a time now gone. Thanks for sharing, again!

Ooh, ooh...a new face! Good evening. I am your host, Geron Kees. I wish to welcome you, and hope that you will find our humble accomodations comfortable. We have taken great pains to furnish the place with reasonably cool second-hand items, and you will note that there is an abundance of stuff that is collectible - if you can just find the right buyer. Feel free to steal that towels from the bathroom - they're donated. Thanks for stoppin' by! Take care on your way out - the natives are restless.

Depends on where the comments go, I guess!

Young man...are you following me?

Aw...you been peekin' again! I really do need to hire you for my PR department. What kind of salary would you require?