Graeme

I'll admit up front that I have a headache and so I'm probably not in the best frame of mind. I have to say I was disappointed with the chapter. Everything in it was as I expected -- there were no real surprises. Even the parents' reactions had been well and truly foreshadowed in the previous chapters. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed what the guys did to Eric, and how it's all working out, but it almost fell TOO perfectly into place. I don't believe you could've done much differently because everything fitted with what the previous chapters had reported -- Eric still having most of the money, how the parents first asked what Eric had done now, and then how well they handled the news about Chris. All of it had been indicated strongly in the previous chapters. So, purely from a plot point of view, the chapter didn't move things along. Even from a character development point of view we only got to see a little more of Steve's Dad, and Steve had reported most of it in his chat with Chris earlier. It was a fun read (damn headache for spoiling that to a degree), but that's all. I'm hoping the later chapters have some new things in it. From what has been said previously, I expect they will (since Steve's friends that were mention at the start of the story haven't made an appearance yet). I'm not asking for diabolical plot twists, but simply something that wasn't strongly predicated by what's been read so far. Sorry, CJ. This is more a bridging chapter between one strong climax (Eric's blackmail and then table-turning in chapter 3) and whatever you have coming up next. That's fine -- bridging chapters are often needed -- but it could've done with less foreshadowing in the previous chapters, that's all.

I think you're evil! I've just seen this as I'm about to walk out the door to go to work. Now I have to wait an entire day before I get to read it and find out what's happening! I presume this is your revenge... though for what, I don't know. I've never done anything bad... One unhappy echidna.

I would like to think that what C James and I get up to in the privacy of our own homes is our business and everyone else should keep their noses, and other appendages, out of it....

Contrary to expectations, C James will write some words, most of which will appear in a web page. How am I doing so far? I'll even go as far as saying that there will be appearances by characters with the names Chris, Steve and Eric. Other than that, I won't attempt to match the mental processes of a goat to try to work out what's likely to happen.

Happy Birthday, Undecided!

I've thought of this a few times because of people disappearing from the internet and no one appearing to know what has happened to them. There is one person who has my address, and a handful who have a way to contact my wife and for my wife to contact them. That's the best I can do while preserving my anonymity, which I have to for the sake of my two young sons.

When this news first came out a week or so ago (though the legislation hadn't been passed at that stage -- there were still a few steps to go through, though they were considered formalities), a friend made a comment: It's a sad state of events when the nation well-known for having had the Apartheid policy is more advanced in equal rights than our own nations (USA in his case, Australia in mine).

As one of the members who lives in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, I'd like to say thanks I'd love it for Australia to celebrate this day, because my impression is that it is a real family-oriented time, but unfortunately we don't. But that doesn't stop us from thinking about things that we're thankful for.

LOL -- Sorry. It's not my job to make your life easier.... Anyway, as I was saying, your posts on Tuesdays don't make it to Australia until Wednesday, so I've got nothing to copy on the Tuesday to send you. Overall, I'm enjoying the story, so I'm happy to wait until Wednesday for the next chapter

One of the signs of a postaholic... I think CJ is finally beginning to face up to reality. I expect him to reply to this post, denying it, but the true sign of a lurker would be to ignore it and not reply. Let's see what happens.... You have been told my opinion on spoilers. I've sharpened my spines.... just in case As a minor point, you posted the new chapter on Wednesday (Australian time). However, I won't complain. I'll just accept that you're always behind and that you'll never catch up....

There's one more piece of advice that should be offered. It's true at all times of the year, but the one winter I spent driving in the UK reinforced it: Drive with the assumption that all other drivers on the road don't know how to drive. It was actually some locals in the UK who gave me that advice. They were complaining that, even though it snowed every year, as soon as there was snow on the roads, the country stopped....

Okay, since we're talking fine detail -- is there any way to yell other than furiously? Also, your editor would probably appreciate it if you spelt because correctly. but if you insist I'm sure he'll allow it. Seriously, though, I used to make heavy use of adverbs (the ...ly words) and I've working hard to try to eliminate as many as I could. They are needed whenever the words/actions don't match the intent ("Eric's a bastard," Steve said proudly), but otherwise I've been advised to use other ways to describe the scene: "Thanks to you," Steve stepped forward, his face going red with fury, "you blackmailing piece of s***...." One point I've been working on first is the elimination of the unnecessary adverbs, such as 'furiously' in the sentence above. Working to change the words so the adverb is unnecessary is the second thing, but that's a lot harder. If I can't think of a way quickly, I tend to put it in and move on -- I don't want to hold up a story because of one sentence. Edit: And yes, we've cross posted again. My understanding is that it takes two postaholics to cross post regularly, but I could be wrong.... The fact that my post above was 20 minutes before yours has nothing to do with it.

Hmmmm... Snakelike? That just doesn't describe what I was trying to convey. Is there a better way to describe someone slowly and casually standing up? Opinions anyone? Please?? Casually implies slowly, so, fixing tenses at the same time: Does that read better? Correct! However, the "rule" was introduced because people overdid it! When they get excited, they like to show it! It's just not necessary! Most of the time the words show the excitement/drama! The time to use exclamation points is when you want emphasis, or when the words may portray something different otherwise! It's only a guideline and one I ignore. What I try to do is to look at what is written and work out if an exclamation point adds anything to what's said. I try to avoid too many in a row because it looks odd and if it looks odd to me, the author, then it'll almost certainly look odd to a reader AND take them out of the mood of the story. If I'm doing my job properly, they shouldn't even notice they are there! Just my opinion, of course.

Because there are a number of Harry Potter fans here, as well as more general fantasy movie fans. The bad news for me is that it's unlikely to make it to Australia until closer to Christmas next year. We tend to get the movies well after they are released in the USA.

Gee, that was a fun read. So much different from the previous chapters. All very realistic and fun. I'm looking forward to what happens next -- more to see what twists you put in because the overall direction of the story is becoming clearer. My only disappointment is that my favourite character didn't make an appearance -- and that's two chapters in a row, now! I know we're not supposed to demand things of authors, but I think Steve's car needs a higher profile....

While I applaud what he's said, I couldn't help notice that he's about to publish a book. The cynic in me can't help wonder how much he's trying to controversial, just to raise publicity to increase sales. Overall, though, he's said nothing new. He's just presenting the liberal instead of conservative view on the bible. The Religious Tolerance website has a series of essays on the subject, contrasting the two points of view. I've found it a great site because it explains both sides and where they are coming from. I would like to think that as a minority, we would object to people stereotyping gays. We should always try to avoid stereotyping others as well -- not all Baptist ministers agree with the leadership position, even if very few are vocal in their opposition. I remember an interesting survey here in Australia that had only 30% of Catholics (not just the leadership) believing homosexuality was a sin (I think it was about 60% for Baptists -- still not an overwhelming majority).

I've been an ardent reader since I was very young. When the internet came along, I started reading the stories available and eventually I came across a handful that allowed me to finally accept that I'm gay. From that, I got hooked on some of the quality stories available and a comment by a character in one of them prompted a story idea. Nothing would've happened, if another member of the message board I went to (DeweyWriter) hadn't started posted a story he was writing. I thought about it, tried writing a scene from the story, decided I could get the picture in my mind onto paper, asked for some 'expert' advice from other members of that message board, and then I started posting as well.

Happy Birthday, Colin! Another year of teenager-hood down, with a few more to go I hope you have a great day, mate! :king: :king:

GA has just reached 3000 members! I'll leave it to someone with more graphic arts skills to do a suitable picture

23 isn't old And now that your son has started school, I can assure you that you'll feel a lot older in a couple of years time I hope he's enjoying it and it's all going smoothly for him. Happy birthday, again! Graeme

Happy Birthday! I hope you and your little boy celebrate it in style.

*mutters annoyingly to himself about living in the wrong part of the world to see this*

Happy Birthday, Emoe! In case you're wondering, you get to start your birthday early because it's already Saturday here in Australia.

Well, I know one person who wouldn't believe it... or should that be one goat? I haven't seen/read a good car romance since the Pixar animation Cars. I hope the car finds it's soulmate and they go cruising off into the sunset... Eric is a really nice character. He's the sort of person that makes Josef Stalin look like a saint.

I just tried to view the video (without registering) and it came up fine. I just need to wait until I've finished work to watch it properly. Graeme