Rigby Taylor

It does get better - I assure you. I'm just interested in people's reactions to horrifying situations - I mean my characters' reactions, not readers' reactions.

They drove north. Subdued. Trying not to be depressed. But every town they visited, large and small, was a reminder of the horror. Women trying to look their best in long flowing garments made of pleasantly designed and colourful materials, despite being shrouded from head to toe and followed by irritable husbands or brothers who would rather be somewhere else. When possible the five men struck up conversations with couples in parks and on the street, ostensibly asking for directions. Most w

It gets worse before it gets better - but it does get better, so if you want to skip the next few chapters, I'll understand.

Perhaps you are right. I certainly would not be able to do anything like that. I'd just hide away. Sad indeed.

Very, very good. So well written I'm unaware I'm reading. The background information on ecological damage, ticks, geography all most interesting. So - all this fuss because Russell's brother told his father he is gay? Mmmm... Thanks for such an intriguing tale.

The following morning they followed the creek towards the sea along a short gully and through a gap in the sandhills to where it flowed into a little bay enclosed to the north by steep sandstone cliffs and to the south by a line of rocks. The sun shone on sparkling water, the air was fresh and sweet, seagulls wheeled overhead. Pelicans dived for breakfast. They stripped and ran laughing into the water. The sand sloped steeply to a pool created by swirling tides, so it remained deep enough for sw

Trogs - you have an enviable vocabulary, Canuk. you are right, it looks to be an unenviable future

It's also the letter of the Law in many Christian African countries - they're no better than Muslims. Gays are executed bashed, murdered, beaten and imprisoned in more than half the world's countries some of which profess christianity. The future is already here for millions of people, or perhaps it is rather that the past has never become the present.

A very fine beginning of a potentially very interesting story. Frankie is delightful and the detective very empathetic. My pleasure in reading good stories derives from 'visiting' another person's mind - learning how they think, what they value, how they solve problems - what they consider to be problems in the first place - [this is perhaps the most interesting]. I have the imagination to finish this story, but that would not be interesting, I want to know how you would finish it - then I will understand more about you and enjoy a new and valuable experience. As a character study it is excellent and you have set the scene perfectly . I shall read more of your stories in the hope of finding one that has a conclusion - any conclusion, I don't mind. BTW we say 'there's someone at the door' not by the door [When Frankie wonders how he will know who is knocking.]

The conversion of the vehicles took two weeks during which friendship was cemented and changes were made to the physical appearance of the five wanted men. Jon, who had some experience of dissimulation, suggested subtle changes to the way they walked, stood and held their bodies when listening. ‘From what you’ve told us there are loads of people who know you, from the workmen and equipment providers of the gym, to clients, all of whom will recognise the way you move as easily as your face. Y

Thanks so much for reading it.

That light in your head proves you are incredibly intelligent and sensitive -

Nice idea, Gene, but that's the sort of thing that can only happen in fiction . In the real world, however.....

Like all sensible people who can do nothing about the circumstances in which they find themselves, they're quietly going about their business, deliberately attracting no attention - like gays used to - and still do in most places - in the interests of a pleasant, or at least safe life.

And an excellent dissertation it is indeed - Jean Shrimpton! Quelle blast from the past. Nice to know you have happily destructured your life [there's a pun there somewhere] And lived to tell the tale.

The following afternoon five nervous men followed Michael and John’s Volvo down the coast past holiday houses jammed cheek by jowl on what used to be ecologically important sand dune wilderness, through shopping centres lined with fast-food outlets, land agents and souvenir shops, beneath high rise apartment blocks staring blankly at the pacific ocean. As they rounded a headland, rocks replaced beaches and the road began to wind along the edge of a low cliff. Featureless holiday apartments lined

Thanks. Yes indeed... times they are a-changing. Unfortunately, the internet has ensured that all revolution is doomed. Surveillance is omnipresent - as one character observed, it has given would-be oppressors 'godlike' omniscience and omnipotence. Armies, like police, always follow the winner. So no help there. Yes, where the USA goes, Australia follows blindly - in fact if you want a definition of blind faith, look at successive Australian governments.

Thanks for understanding that this is not too far-fetched. Our brave band will no doubt have problems but I feel in my bones they will eventually be ok.

Yes, it is a nightmare - one in which many of the planet's populations live - constant fear of violent punishment for harmless transgressions . I'll stop here... except to point out that trust is rapidly evaporating and governmental repression is increasing everywhere.

Just after closing time on Monday of the third week, Fidel was checking the car park monitors to make sure Arnold’s car was still in the correct place and attracting no attention, when an indiscreetly large black Mercedes pulled in, followed by two armoured vehicles that parked on either side. ‘We’ve visitors,’ he called to the others, ‘come and look.’ The others gathered around the screens and watched as six armed security guards leaped out and checked the surroundings, then three of th

But can they last so long???

Lurking - I love that word. It gets a lot more twisted before it straightens out.

Thank you Terry. I don't want to alarm you - but it gets unusualler

‘Are you sure you’ve got nothing turned on they can use to spy on us?’ ‘Yep. TV’s off, phones are all off, computer’s off, Internet’s off, security’s off, curtains are pulled… Unless they’ve bugged the place we’re probably safe.’ The five men were seated on comfortable chairs in Arnold’s lounge, eating with their fingers from plates on their laps. ‘I still can’t believe we didn’t realise they’d hack into everything and know everything about us.’ ‘Well, they did, but we’re lucky t

Thanks, Timothy. Free thinkers always score better than average on such tests, because the 'rules' which guide decent behaviour towards others are the result of enlightened logic and reasoning, not a supernatural revelation, and are held in respect by all sane humans, regardless of race or belief.