Graeme

Thank you! I have to admit that I was inspired by numerous British comedies that do this sort of thing so well. Frank Spencer from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em being a classic example

Thank you

Ah...the young whippersnapper is having another birthday... Happy Birthday, Myr! :joe:

From memory (it's been quite a while since I read 'Jake'), the reference is to what the narrator thinks of when he can't afford to have his, er, amorous bodily reactions noticed. There are no squished baby kittens in the story to the best of my knowledge As for why it's Premium Content, unfortunately the Ad revenue from Google doesn't quite meet the bills. Offering selected stories in the Premium section for a price helps pay the bills. 'Jake' was C James's contribution to help keep the site operating.

My defence is that Mark Arbour is two days older than me, so it's all his fault...

Thank you, everyone! I've just gotten back from my birthday dinner -- the family took me out to one of the local restaurants. I've had a really nice day and now I need to sleep off the food and alcohol I've just consumed....

Thank you! I don't know what else to say....

:joe: Happy Birthday, Mark! :joe:

Thank you! The sequel is being worked on. That's all I'll say at this point in time

I understand what you're saying, but I think your last line expresses the best sentiment. It's a great first step, with the emphasis on first. The NFL clearly has a long way still to go, but if Michael Sam shows what he's capable of doing with the Rams, then that paves the way for others in the future and for Michael Sam to advance by possibly being traded to another higher-rated team. People are generally scared of change. Few people like being the first with something, and that's reflected in what's happened here. The good...no, great...news is that the next time will no longer be the first. Each time, each step, makes it easier for the next time. Good luck and best wishes for the Rams, and I hope the rest of the teams get to see what they missed because they were afraid....

Excellent news! I checked yesterday but saw that he still hadn't been picked. Tim's saved me the trouble today -- Go Michael Sam and St Louis Rams!

Thank you! However, there's still a lot of 2014 to go...

Thank you!

Thank you! I don't normally do mysteries very well, which is why I didn't put this into the Mystery genre -- the mystery part of the story was more a side line where it didn't matter (hopefully) if the reader didn't try to solve it.

Thank you! Yes, mixed-orientation relationships is a personal issue for me, since I'm in one myself. I know what pain I put my wife through when I came out and I hope that's come over in the story. I was aware that I was introducing a very large set of characters in the story, and at times I thought it might've been too many, but I felt that they were all needed. Many turned out to be minor characters, but even minor characters are important. Thanks again!

Thank you! As for what happens behind closed doors...

“G’day!” came the cheerful voice down the phone line. He sighed. “Morning, Tony. I’m sorry, I still haven’t told anyone. I got a chance...and I couldn’t take it.” “It’s okay. It took me a few goes before I could tell my family. I don’t see why it should be any easier for you. If anything, I expect it’s harder because you’re under more pressure to say something. We can still call the whole thing off if you want.” “No! I have to do this. I’ll do it today, I promise. Even if I don’t tell everyon

Damn! I haven't seen this one yet -- I'm going to find an excuse to go into the city to check if it's in the main science fiction/fantasy book store yet. I've got the rest of the Lost Fleet and Beyond the Frontier series. Congratulations, James! Very nice present

Josh's heart-to-heart with Jacob was touching. That valley/mountain metaphor really told Jacob, and the reader, how he was feeling. Nicely done! Is Ethan gay? The jury is still out on that one

Jake is an extended version of C James's 2007 anthology entry Three for Jake. CJ took that anthology entry and made it the first chapter in the novel. If you want to see how the story starts, have a look at the anthology entry

Interestingly, this was proposed more than 60 years ago by Robert A. Heinlein in his novel Methuselah's Children. A case of science fiction becoming science fact In that novel, a scientist pointed out that this could only be used to keep a small number of people young because of the amount of blood required, but the solution was, in fact, the invention of an artificial blood supply.

Leopard Skin Cover will be complete next week, so they'll be a break for me, too, while I work on the sequel. <<adds Born Wolf to the reading lists for when I don't want to do any writing>>

You may or may not be correct. You'll find out the answer in the next chapter, though I'll admit that I didn't think it would be as much of a mystery after this chapter.

The inaugural Pride Cup was played between Yarra Glen and Yarra Junction on Saturday 3rd May. I was there (after receiving an email from one of the players) and I took a few photos. As I don't want to overload the recent gallery list, I'm uploading them over the next few days. They'll all be in my Australian Rules Football gallery. The Pride Cup is an example of a grassroots movement against homophobia. One of the major driving forces behind its creation is Jason Ball -- an openly gay player for Yarra Glen. The official record for the competition from the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football and Netball League included a full page article under the heading of Country football takes on the homophobia challenge with pride. Before the game, both teams lined up and a few words were said regarding the occasion. The minister of the local Uniting Church then spoke for a couple of minutes before the national anthem was sung. The game then started. It turned out to be a largely one-sided affair. Yarra Glen dominated the game. I left at 3/4 time as I had to get home, but at that point in the game, Yarra Glen had kicked 14 goals to Yarra Junctions 1... The game also made the national newspapers even though it was only a local competition, not an national or even statewide one.

The missing sponsorship is $100,000 -- a bit much for a minor radio station to spend without some sizeable benefit for themselves. As for the confusion...I won't say that I'm upset