Mark Arbour

JJ is such a bitchy little thing, it's sometimes difficult to write his character. I have to get myself in the mood, usually by causing some unsuspecting mortal untold pain. ;-)

Thanks Maarten! I'm not sure what you were referring to with the Dukes of Suffolk and Hamilton...I don't recall us ever running into the Duke of Hamilton in the Bridgemont Series.

Mac, I'm worried that I missed something in this chapter, but regardless, your dates are off. They're planning a January wedding, something quick but chic, so the concerns you quite rightly addressed were handled.

I'm so glad you thought so!

You are very welcome welcome welcome. :-)

You make a very good point, which means that Wade must be either pretty flummoxed by this whole thing, and he's being rude unintentionally, or he's not reading JJ's moods. Either way, this probably means that Wade isn't handling this as well as he seems to be externally.

Thanks! It was my version of a big, chocolate Easter egg. Alex really does well at intuitively understanding JJ.

Thank you so much. Glad I could be your oasis. Interesting comparison: Matt to Zach. I think Zach is a lot more ruthless, and a lot less caring than Matt. But he's devoted to Will, so we don't really see those rough edges too much.

THANK YOU!

Thank you very much! My muse is slowly recovering, but at least I've gotten some writing done.

Thanks! I think that with the size of the wedding, it requires a larger venue. Bridgemont may have worked, but London is more convenient, especially for a wedding on a January weekend.

Thanks for the review, and the sentiments. I'd be surprised if Alex asked JJ without talking to Mary Ellen first.

Rachel, Thanks for the welcome back! You really raise an interesting point about Wade, and how much he's probably subconsciously conflicted about this. He probably likes Alex much better, and has a natural affinity for him, but duty to family puts him in Mary Ellen's camp. He has to be there for obligation only, so if I were Mary Ellen, I'd see him as a rather lukewarm ally.

Jason, Thanks for the welcome. I love Irish guys, but you have to keep them in line. Too many perks, and they become Scottish. :-) As for the strategic reserve, if I would have done that, there would still be no chapter posted. So what would you choose?

Thanks!

Or Mary Ellen planned it that way. Never know with her.

Thanks!

Thanks!

December 12, 2002 Boston, MA JJ “It’s nice that you are here for dinner tonight,” Alex said to Matt and Wade. Tiffany was upstairs, feeling like shit because she was pregnant. Why she put herself and her body through that was beyond me. “It is,” I lied, to be polite. I’d been hoping to have a nice, intimate dinner with just Alex, but evidently that was not to be. “We don’t have hockey on Thursdays now that the games are over,” Ma

Some thoughts: 1. I've been doing a little writing. Expect a new chapter within the week. 2. The forums and boards encourage me, they don't deflate me. 3. I've missed you guys.

Posted a blog entry on this...sorry for being a 'no show'

Thanks to those of you who have sent me e-mails, pms, or otherwise showed concern as to where the fuck I’ve been. To answer the first, most obvious question: I’m fine. Life has its challenges, and I have mine, but there’s nothing there that’s debilitating. There are three major areas of my life that can impact my writing. My health/wellbeing is obviously one of those, but as I’ve said, that’s pretty good. The next one is the relative level of activity in my life, and I’ve had an awful lot to do. This looks to be a pretty active year for me. To do what Will does to JP, that means I’m busy. J The combined forces of work, home stuff, research, etc. are a bit crushing right now. The third factor is my muse, or ability/desire to write. For some reason, that has temporarily left me. When I’m busy, but still want to write, I usually find time to do it, but my production fades. In this case, I really haven’t wanted to do much writing, so with the added pressures of real life, I’ve let my online life sort of drift unattended. And I’m finding that there’s really no fighting the relative apathy that envelopes me when I’m in this mode. In the past, this has happened when I’m in a conundrum about a story, but I have a very clear idea of how I want to proceed with both of my series. With CAP, I have an idea of how I plan to end “Streak” and the initial parts and premise of the next story is already forming in my mind. With Bridgemont, it’s a bit more open-ended, but I have some pivotal events in store. I’ve been feeling a bit more motivated lately, and I’ve actually done a little writing, but I’ve spent more time reading than anything, and that includes going back over my recent stories for reference. Spring Break approaches, so I hope that in the next month or so I’ll be productive again. I really do appreciate all of you who read my stories and give me feedback, and I feel bad for leaving you in a lurch. At the same time, I know that you’ll understand life’s pressures, and how a perfect storm like this can really impact my writing.

Hey everyone...I've been slammed in my real life, and I haven't had a chance to do any writing lately. I'm sorry to leave you all hanging, but I'll do my best to get productive again.

December 7, 2002 Goodwell, VA JJ I looked at the digital clock, the glowing numbers telling me that it was 12:01am. We were officially a minute into my seventeenth birthday, and Alex wasn’t here. He’d vanished to go fuck Mary Ellen four hours ago, and he still wasn’t back. I lay there in bed, fuming. I was pissed at Alex for blowing me off to be with Mary Ellen, and I had hyper-charged that by having a pity party for myself since it was my birthday. That let me conju

I think JJ would find it amusing that you all think he needs a job.