Mark Arbour

Thanks! You know, Will didn't even realize how upset he would be at the time, so it's hard to see that Robbie would get that. And as I've mentioned, Jeanine and JJ have painted Will as the bad guy, so Robbie has had an easy time following that line of thought.

Well, just hang on to Sharon's comments about Chapter 91. :-) You know what they say: it's always darkest before dawn.

I'm glad you made the effort. Sometimes the endings, and the story, doesn't always turn out the way you think it will.

I thought that Westie did a good job of describing Robbie's basic vulnerabilities. I think he and Brad are such a good couple because of the power dynamic in their relationship: Brad needs to be in control, and Robbie needs someone else to fill that role. But Robbie probably doesn't really understand that, so as Westie noted, from time to time, he rebels against Brad's control. Right now, Robbie is probably looking at this situation as an "us vs. them" thing, where it's him, JJ, and Jeanine on one side of the fence, and everyone else on the other side. Their rant at him at dinner probably had very little impact, because he'd see it as the other side merely lobbing artillery shells at him. What's happened is that normally he links himself to Brad, but he's shifted his focus to JJ (and Jeanine). I would bet that he views himself as their big defender, and probably subconsciously he is channeling his nascent resentment of Brad into the equation as well. He also has a tendency to be very stubborn. So I think that if you put that cocktail together, you may see why he is rather unwilling to accept the verdict at dinner. Jeanine and JJ have cast Will as the primary villain in all of this, and Robbie has no doubt internalized that as well. In short, I think the guy is largely a follower (when it comes to his personal life), and he's hitched his wagon to two people who are pretty much batshit insane.

Putting your napkin on the table usually indicates you're done eating. That's why Robbie did that. Which is why I think Jack said he didn't want Robbie there, said he didn't have a right to be there, but never actually threw him out. That's JP's job (or maybe Stef). I LOVED THIS!

December 12, 2000 Escorial, CA Wade It had been a very long day, and I was pretty tired as I drove up the drive toward the garage. I’d had a paper due today, and I’d been up half the night finishing it up. It wasn’t my best work, and that had irritated me. Then I’d had to spend the rest of my night studying for my psych final. I felt pretty good about it, but it was easy to misjudge. I’d made it through the day, but I was just drained. I pulled my car up and one of the guys in th

You don't have Tony quite down yet, but you nailed Gabe. Good job!

I'm sorry. Chapter 82 won't cheer you up either.

Thanks for all your comments! I didn't find anyone pushy or annoying (especially not you, Jim), but I wanted to let you know what the status was.

You're not the only one. I agree with you too.

I'm not sure there's a one-size-fits-all effective parenting manual. I agree with you though; if there is, neither one of those guys bothered to read it.

Granger becomes a stable POV in a next story with Will (really don't want to lose Will's POV) Not sure how I can pull this one off. A ghost, perhaps? Will would still probably have sex with him. (That was a joke).

If you think about it, Will has always been anchored by those three men: Brad, Stef, and JP. Robbie is someone he cares deeply about, but I don't think he relies on Robbie like he does the other three. His most wrenching time, when he ran away, was when he didn't really have any one of them around.

Thanks. I hope you have a great (but safe) New Year's as well. Noah may be good for Will, but the problem is that none of us (me included) really know Noah well enough to decide if that's the case yet. Is he straight, gay, or bi? Is he romantic fodder for Will, or just a friend?

This mostly pertains to Odyssey, but you Paternity readers may find it interesting as well: My GA Blog

I tried to explain my dilemma with Odyssey by posting in my rarely-used blog.

I rarely use this blog, but I figured this may be a good opportunity to resurrect it, even though it's not Easter. Some of you have been asking me about my Bridgemont series, wondering why I haven't posted a new chapter of Odyssey. Wondering if I've given up on the story. I haven't given up on Odyssey, I just haven't felt like writing it. That probably sounds pretty strange. I mean, I created the story and the characters, so why wouldn't I want to write about it. What I'm finding is that my writing, along with my moods, can be pretty mercurial. Sometimes I'm in a place where I'm into both stories at the same time, and i can take turns alternating between them. Most of the times, though, it doesn't work that way. Most of the time, I get transfixed with one or the other (CAP or Bridgemont) and most of my creative thoughts and my energy flow into that story. It actually gets more complicated than that. For me to do my best, I have to absorb myself into the character. I have to get into that mindset, and sort of let the writing part of my brain become the person I'm writing. If my characters in the two series are starkly different, it's harder to switch stories. Lately I've been very productive with Paternity, churning out chapters at a rate that annoys Sharon. I've actually got ten more chapters (through 91) roughed out and in editing. I'm at a spot in that storyline where I just want to keep on going, and I'm near the end, so I kind of want to finish it out. I have one more quirky issue to deal with as far as Wade goes, but otherwise the action has more to do with Will (and Robbie, JJ, and Brad). When I've been productive with both stories, I've noticed that it's when I'm writing Wade in Paternity and George in Odyssey. That's not too hard to understand, since those two characters are very similar. When I throw Will into the mix (or someone like Matt or Brad), it gets tougher, because they're so different. One final, but critical, factor is that when I've been away from one story for awhile, I have to re-immerse myself. That means that before I dive back into Odyssey, I have to go back and re-read what I've already done (and probably go back to St. Vincent for a bit too). That takes some time, and some motivation. I'm working on that. I struggle with forcing myself away from one story and onto the other, just so I won't leave my readers high and dry. Well, high is OK. But in the end, I'm learning that if I force it, the story just isn't as good. In my brain, I feel the pendulum shifting, and I'm sure I'll be back to work on Odyssey soon, but I just can't force it. I'm sorry if I let you loyal and devoted Odyssey readers down by my erratic focus. I do mean that. But I really do need to follow the creative path my brain is demanding of me.

Thanks! Christmas was awesome! I think that Robbie is inclined to have knee-jerk reactions. I can see him telling Evelyn "Make sure he can't get in here to but me like that again!" without really thinking about the real implications of that action.

Robbie in NYC in September 2001? You can bet on it.

How much did Jeremy pay you for that request? LOL. Sorry. Not happening in this story. Then again, we're winding down.

You didn't gloat over being right about JP and the family not approving of Will being excluded from the parties? You're going soft. I don't disagree that there are guys who would turn Will down, some because of his age, some because he's not their type, but he hasn't really encountered them yet, probably because of the relatively sheltered world he's lived in. Then again, if I had him cruising gay clubs, and meeting guys there, you guys would probably really give me some shit. In any event, that's not really in the cards for this story. As I said before, I think that having him go to Menlo will possibly give him better opportunities to meet "age-appropriate" guys. I wonder how big of an issue that really is at Harvard-Westlake, having the high school freshmen stuck back with the younger kids? I can see how that would be really problematic for a guy like Will, who could otherwise have struck up a relationship with a sophomore or junior.

RIght now, to continue your analogy, JJ is a raving pyromaniac.

You know, I'll bet that in the end, Will would have assessed this as a pretty terrific weekend. He got a lot of love from his family, and from his Dad, and that's really the most important thing to him.

Wade returns in Chapter 82. Granger may take a little longer, but he's my New Year's Resolution.

You'll see with this latest chapter that you, Tim, and some others were thinking along the same lines as JP and Claire.