Bill W

Thank you for the feedback, Lt. Mac, and for correcting me. I've made the adjustment. I actually knew better, and I don't know how I made that slip or missed it when I reread it. It must be that I could hear Robert Preston singing the original version in my mind as I was adjusting the lyrics. By the way, I also enjoyed the trivia lesson as well. Thank you.

Thank you for the feedback, Dan, and I'm glad you enjoyed my little mystery story. As I mentioned to someone else. the choice of that surname was intentional and I could even imagine the guy as one on her relatives.

Thank you for the feedback, Mrsgnomie, and I agree that Simon does deserve sympathy. It was the abuse from his childhood that cause him to unknowingly create Max as a protector and to help him survive. It is often said that those who are abused have a greater chance of also becoming an abuser. Yes, I used a very clinal writing style, because I put myself in the detective's role and wrote the story as I thought he would have explained the situation. It was a choice, and I'm sorry that you didn't agree and couldn't totally invest yourself in the story.

I'm not generally a mystery writer, but I do enjoy a good mystery and I'm glad you enjoyed this. I will only make one correction to your comment, and that's the last sentence. "This fits the bill, Bill." 😉

Thank you for the feedback, and I agree with both you and Chris that Simon deserves sympathy as well, because he was also a victim. As for the hunting scenario with his grandfather, I'm fairly certain that was Max. Seeing that the grandfather had a weapon, Max might have been leery of his motives and took control of the situation so he'd be able to protect Simon if the need arose. In the end, however, he seemed to enjoy the hunting and it became an element for his later crimes. I'm glad you found humor in this story as well, because it was intended, starting with the name of the location. River City was also the locale for The Music Man musical, and that's why I altered the lyrics of a song from that musical. They were stories that showed a completely different side of the same place. The choice of a surname for the first suspect was also intentional. He could have even been a relative of the person I named him after, but that's all I'm going to say on the matter. Thanks again for your comment.

Thank you for your feedback to my story. It's always difficult for me to decide what a story will be about, but I like to try different things or do different takes on a topic. I chose the murder mystery format for the Secret Author Anthology due to all of the crimes we hear about or that are reported on a daily basis. I'm glad this mystery was right up your alley. Of course it could have been a much longer story with more detail, but at some point you have to decide how much detail is necessary to tell the story. Too much detail can bog the story down and turn readers off, so its a fine balancing act, and I thought I provided sufficient details to tell this tale. Yes, if you look back at many crimes you will find they were a product of childhood trauma, either at home, at school, or now online. It's a shame we can eliminate abuse, including physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, because then the world would be a much better place. By the way, I was honored that someone thought you had written this story.

Thank you for the wonderful comment, Terry. To respond to your comment, I do not have any experience in law enforcement, but as I do with my other stories, I complete a great amount of research so the story will sound somewhat realistic. It is due to all of this research that it takes me so long to complete a story, but telling from the responses I receive, the time spent was well worth it. The victims of Simon/Max's crimes should receive our utmost sympathy, and that extends to their families and friends as well. I wish I could say that crimes like this against gays are only in stories, but we know that is not the case. Maybe some day everyone will learn to live in harmony with everyone else. Yes, Simon was a victim as well, first a victim of his father's abuse which caused him to create another personality to help him cope and deal with the situation. Unfortunately, there's probably no way to go back and punish the real perpetrator of these crimes, his father, and that is either due to statutory limits on the original crime or because of his father has died. Maybe he'll be dealt with in the afterlife.

Thank you for the feedback and I'll try to answer your questions. First of all, since one of Simon's personalities committed murder, even though Simon has a psychiatric diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder, he was committed to secure psychiatric facility. That means he'll never be released, so the most we can hope for in his recovery is that he'll learn to control Max and be able to interact with the other patients and staff. As for an in depth look at his diagnosis, that would take another story that is much longer than this one. In fact, I believe there are books dedicated to the topic.

Thanks for the fantastic review, and we should all feel sympathy for the victims and for Simon. He's dealing with mental illness and may not even know what one of his alternate personalities was guilty of doing, other than being told about it later. Chris, you surprised me. With all of my stories that you've read and commented on, I suspected you might recognize my style and figure out that I wrote this story.

This story deals with the all to familiar and frequent topic of domestic abuse, but it did it in a caring and positive manner. It comes to an unusual, loving, and happy ending, which I know will appeal to those that read this touching tale.

An intriguing and interesting tale about a human that is captured by another race of beings. It discusses the revulsion, contempt, and distrust his captors display toward him as he tries to assimilate into their society. I, for one, am left to wonder what it might be like if I found myself in a similar situation.

This is a sad, but gripping, tale about a teen that is outed and how he and his family deal with the situation. Although this is well worth reading, I feel it requires another chapter to let us know how the situation is resolved.

Btw, I'll probably write more reviews, but I was afraid that if I wrote a review for every story except my own that would be a very glaring giveaway. For an observant reader it would be like erecting a flashing neon sign that said, 'I wrote this one!'

I'm flattered that the readers thought my story was written by two very accomplished authors: @Mancunian and @Cole Matthews.

And I was expecting you to talk about Dan Marino. I guess I should have checked the spelling.

Actually Steve, I didn't misspell bear, but bares was referring to people that were bare. I'm happy that the bear didn't create any problems for you, though.

You'll discover that Josh is noted for his campfire ghost stories, so I'm glad you enjoy it. The meeting with the older siblings will happen and we'll all see how it turns out.

Yes, you are correct, because Ricky doesn't seem to have the same hang-ups as many others. He's more open and up front when talking to others, and he even does that with Josh, so I'm sure he'll do it with Danny as well.

Thank you for the compliment, and I'm glad you approve.

Hmmm, I thought this term was referring to an in-law, but I guess that would be knowswheel.

Times have changed and boys are growing up faster these days.

At the present, Josh is concentrating on the boys and making sure they have the love and attention they need. He is also putting his needs in the background, but once he feels the boys are able to deal with things without him, then he will look for someone he can love and will also fit in with this crazy accumulation of boys.

I'm glad you agree. It should prove to be interesting.

Josh will tell his family when he feels the time is right, but he's worried about their reactions to what he's doing. I'm sure he feels they'll question him taking on the challenges of dealing with younger children again, and doing it all alone, especially at his age.

Thank you, Doha, and Ricky does tend to be nearly everyone's favorite character. They also appreciate what Josh is trying to do, so happy reading.