Trebs

Your post reminded me of a story that happened not too long ago here in Northern California, but here the teenage couple jointly killed the girl's mother.

This is one VERY key item I've found. It helps to remember "What was so-and-so's mother name again" as well as helps you get the "voice" of each character right, both major and minor.

Ya, trust me - I tried image searching. I'm just hoping that someone has seen one of the... um, performers, before and can give me a name. And as an Admin, I'll all about helping people, ya know...

From past stories, Graeme has a tendency to set up a conflict up early in his stories, and then once that conflict is remedied, stop the story, allowing the reader to decide on their own what happens next. For example, Heart of the Tree or New Brother So... um, just fair warning from someone used to Graeme's stories (and love every one of them) :-)

Hey - a friend of mine is driving me crazy trying to figure out the name of a movie and the ... "actors" in it. Here is a screen capture that shows three of the actors - does anyone recognize the actors or the name of the "film"? If so, send me a PM. Thanks! Since this involves potential graphics content, please do not post replies, especially ones that would include website/pages with graphic content present. If I get a positive match in a PM, I'll let everyone here know that the it's been solved.

One easy and confidential way to buy premium here in the US is to buy a prepaid Visa or American Express card - most grocery and department stores carry them. When GA asks for payment, it gives options of "Stripe payment" or "Paypal" - stripe payment is for using a Visa/Mastercard/AmEx/Discovery/JBC or DinersClub card.

Which book was it?

Super powers engaged... ;-)

I keep in touch with David - he's doing well, just really busy with work and boyfriend. I'll send him a message though, see if the writing bug may be hitting him :-)

They can't bypass the FDA regulations which I gather from the article currently do not allow doctors to use the specific drug for his specific diagnosis. It's not a money thing, it's a regulation thing

I think you'll get some replies here, but you may also want to look back through some of the author interviews we've done on our GA News Blog - I've seen quite a few authors talk about how they get inspired and plan out their stories. I know from working with one author, he never would let ANYONE see anything until he finished chapter 3. At that point, he felt good about going forward or trashing it - and while he wrote a lot of stories that never saw the light of day but DID get past chapter 3, as well as a smaller set that were actually posted and completed, it is no great failure to keep writing and trashing your writing, just don't be your own worst critic and trash things too soon. Maybe you go another 2 chapters and realize how to re-work the chapter you hated. I would also highly recommend that when you are ready to post - even if you don't want to wait until the story is complete, probably have about 5-6 fully edited chapters ready before you start posting. It is better for the reader that they know you have a bit more of the story ready, but also, it avoids the peril of "Oh - why didn't I mention his brother in chapter 2 now that I'm about to have a major subplot involving his brother".

Couldn't get the to posted link, but looked around (to make sure it was legit). Here is a news article that ran locally where he lives: DENVER - Ryan Dunne is a 9-year-old boy who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a terminal disease that affect one in 3,500 boys born in the U.S. Over the years, Ryan's muscles have become weaker. He used to love taking taekwando classes with his father. Now, his father Chris has to pick up Ryan when it is too hard for him to move. Ryan will eventually need a wheelchair. As the DMD progresses, Ryan is expected to face lung and heart troubles which could end his life. His parents are doing everything they can to make Ryan feel comfortable. They have flown him back and forth to California to take part in a clinical trial. The treatments helped for a while. Now, Jennifer and Chris Dunne are hoping the Food and Drug Administration will approve another drug to help their son and other boys with DMD. "For the first time, there is a medicine that can stop the progression of DMD," Chris Dunne said. "We know this because off of the boys who were treated with this medicine showed improvement without any harmful side effects." The Dunnes set up a petition on the White House website. It needs 100,000 signatures by Saturday, March 29. The petition states: "It's time for the FDA to 'say yes' and make this the first generation of Duchenne survivors." Ryan is receiving so much support from his friends at Cherry Hills Village Elementary School. On Tuesday, there was a rally for him. The Mayor of Cherry Hills Village proclaimed it "Ryan Dunne Day." "That day alone, we saw a huge bump in the number of people supporting our petition on the White House website," Chris Dunne said. Even if their goal is met, there is no assurance President Barack Obama will side with them and request the FDA to provide more effective therapies for those with DMD. The Dunnes are hoping for the best. Ryan realizes he could be in store for more shots, but he says he's ok with that. He doesn't fully realize the challenges in his future. He is a 9-year-old-boy trying to keep up with his friends at school and his two brothers. To see the "Help Ryan Dunne" petition: http://1.usa.gov/1kyzQAE. To learn more about Duchenne muscular dystrophy: http://bit.ly/1qVCul5.

While my degree is in Computer Science, I don't use much of it. Senior year I realized that I loved working in politics and got a dream job as computer support in a political organization. As that wasn't a full-time need in 93, I learned a lot of other skills, primarily meeting planning. I do want to go back to school (or use online learning) but not for another degree - the main thing I keep telling myself I want to do is learn Spanish. Have bought a number of learning CD/DVD's over the years, just not been focused enough to actually do it. Being in a classroom is what I think I need, just a matter of doing it. It's easy enough around here to take a class at the local community college, but it's all a matter of time. Right now, I have the time but with chemo treatments, I don't have the concentration on an ongoing basis to do it. But soon :-)

LOVE this!!! I've read all of Graeme multi-chapter stories, as well as most of his short stories. I've always loved how he writes from just a bit off a the path view, whether is it a brother trying to hide being gay from his sister and her friends, to the boy who pretends to be gay so his boyfriend stays friends with him. He also has some of the best coming-out lines I've read in gay stories, but I won't spoil any of them - well maybe one: So CONGRATULATIONS Graeme!

Stole this from the interwebs, but meh - if it had been critical enough, someone would have watermarked it

Great chapter! I love the developments of the characters, how Jarrod went from nervous to wanting to include Tony in a night of playing pool, and how Ty wants to treat him as a member of the Leopards' team.

Dog person... Had to have been to have written Valentines Day Goes to the Dogs ;-)

I love this story! Especially when Rick gets cornered by Sue ;-)

With the players, I've found it easier to think about the 11 main players in the groupings of the three houses that they live in. Yes, there is quite a bit of inter-house interaction, especially between the younger players or during practices but so far that seems to be minor compared to what happens in each of the three houses, so when I run across a name I haven't seen in a bit, it's like "Oh ya, he lives with X, Y and Z".

One of the prime distinctions, and it is both a positive and a negative, is that the authors on GA are usually people who will read the reviews. When you get blase about a book you've only read one chapter and then donate to the library, it is highly unlikely that the author of that book knows this occurred. Now they may see a drop in sales of any sequels, but the interaction isn't there. That interaction that can occur on GA can also lend to better appreciation of what the author intended when they were writing, or it can lead to a new author feeling attacked or ambushed. If the author is going to put something out there, it is fair game for praise or criticism (or both). But as the interaction is so much more tangible, the connections that can be created more real - it's usually best to think about what you write and what venue you use. Is it important to let everyone know (by posting a public review) that the author goofed up on a name in the fourth paragraph (lol - a common mistake). Or could this instead be handled by sending a private message so that the author can correct the mistake. Is it important to let everyone know that you're stopping your reading of an author's story and will never read anything from that person again? You can always post something like that as a forum post, but are you doing it to help future readers know what they're getting into or are you doing it as an ego boost to yourself. Is it a matter that the quality is so poor, or could it be that you just don't like the themes or subject matter and someone else may? GA is a special place in that it is NOT just a place to read stories/poems/etc. It is also a community of real people. While the hope is that all stories posted on GA show a minimal level of quality and interest to the community, the ones that don't - helpfully telling the author why that quality is lacking, in a private conversation, may be a gift anyone can help bring to the author and this site.

Graeme beat me to it, but I agree, a lot of it is just laziness on the part of the author. Now, not every character in a story can be fully fleshed out - we're looking for stories, not encyclopedias. But to relegate a major character (regardless of gender) to a stereotype speaks to ... well - lol, laziness.

Love this story, and although I've long heard about Aussie Rules Football, I didn't really pay it a lot of attention. So, in reading and seeing terms that I'd not really seen before, like "ruck", I did a little google/wikipedia searching. OMG!!! Why the heck didn't you people TELL us about this sport earlier?!? I mean, players that are built a bit like US Football, but wearing soccer like uniforms. Here is what I mean: Yum - I mean... um, how professional looking Regardless, as a fan of Graeme's other works, including Heart of the Tree and Price of Friendship, I would have read this even if the subject matter weren't so dreamy.

My Guardian Angel is a Cockblocker?!? I **GOTTA** read this one :-) As to presence, we all go through it, dropping off at times just due to one thing or the other. But you've always kept the connection to GA and we love seeing you here. The one thing that has to be majorly corrected though, that you are formally guilty of... More pics of Lil Q pls :-)

I love the forum cleanup and the look of the main page - how I can now see at a glance, which subforums have content :-)

Got back last night - very tired but also with a ton of great memories. I didn't bring my nice camera on this trip and looking back, I'm glad. A lot of things were first time experiences, and I was able to use my iPhone to capture a few, without feeling obligated to lug the bigger camera around and seeing too much through the camera lens rather than in person. We made a late start of Friday but it helped avoid traffic so - meh. We ate in Sacramento before heading down and got into San Francisco about 9:30, going over the new Bay Bridge. The east span is a beautiful piece of architecture, but the best part of the bridge was actually when we got to our hotel. We stayed in the Harbor Court Hotel, and I didn't know that Jack spent extra to get a bridge view room. If you don't know, last year (in honor of the 75th anniversary), an artist installed what's called the Bay Lights. It's a light show on the bridge and we just stood in our window and watched for about 10 minutes when we first got in. There were geometric patterns as well as it looking at one point like clouds were traveling across the lights. Our hotel was right on the Embarcadero, with nothing between us and the bay (nor between us and the bridge). After unpacking a little, we headed out to walk along the Embarcadero. It was a little chilly but still a great walk, looking at the Ferry building, reading various historical plaques and just people watching. There were a couple of piers open to the public, and we walked all the way to the end, just looking into the bay and seeing all of the various lights from Berkeley, Treasure Island and the like. Headed back to the hotel and zonked out fast. We were only staying the one night there so packed up and got checked out. I grabbed a cup of coffee while Jack checked out, and saw that in addition, the hotel had a wonderful hot chocolate setup - a big pump carafe of cocoa, but also a lot of things to add like chili powder, marshmellows, chocolate and caramel syrup, and cinnamon sticks. I ended up making my coffee a mocha :-) We had planned on doing a Red and White fleet cruise under the Golden Gate then come back and do the Exploratorium - I had won two tickets to each at a fundraiser at the kids' school. We moved the truck to be near the Exploratorium and used the historic F line street car to get to Pier 43 for the cruise. After we moved the truck, we saw a diner, the Pier 23 cafe, so we stopped for food before heading to the cruise. OMG - the food was great and the view of the bay, with all of the various traffic, was just such a pleasant way to start the day. There were huge cargo ships heading to and from the Port of Oakland, various size sailing ships and even a windsurfer or two. So after getting a late start and lingering over breakfast, by the time we got to the cruise area we had just missed the 11:45 ship and had to wait for the 1:10. Not too bad - we exchanged the fundraiser voucher for two tickets and explored while we waited. Next to the Red and White office is Pier 45, home to the Musee Mecanique, a submarine and the SS Jeremiah O'Brien. The Musee has a ton of old mechanical dioramas and other machines - usually takes a quarter (though the bigger ones require $1 to run) and admission to the place is free. I love going and showing it to people - I remember when it all used to be housed at the Cliff House. Jack loved seeing all of the old machines. He also wanted to go out and explore the ships. Each cost $12 admission and I was feeling a little tired and said for him to go on without me. But then I started thinking about the Jeremiah O'Brien and asked him to get me a few souvenirs. Since I had no idea what their on-ship store would have, the more I thought about it, I just gave in, paid the admission and went up on the ship with him. The ship is one of the Liberty ships - merchant ships made quickly in World War 2 for supply and other shipping needs. When the US fully geared up, the shipyards took just 60 days to produce a Liberty ship and we ended up producing over 2,700 of them. One thing I didn't know, was that the Jeremiah O'Brien was one of only two still fully functioning Liberty ships. It even went back for the 50th anniversary of D-Day, since it was also one of the ships that was originally AT D-Day. I had a personal connection to the ship though (which is why I wanted some souvenir), and that is that my dad was the Administrative Officer at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. This was a civilian position (after he retired from the military in 1967). Growing up, I went on the liberty ships and others in the reserve fleet - which is where they keep some ships and constantly maintain them, so if they are needed in an emergency, they are ready to go. I remember him constantly talking about the O'Brien as they got the ship ready to go to an overhaul place, prior to becoming a museum ship at Pier 45. The ship stays functioning, and goes for cruises of the bay as well. I got a few things such as a nice white hoody but more importantly, I learned so much just wandering around the ship and looking at the plaques and other information. It was about time for the bay cruise, so we headed to the gate and boarded. SUCH a great experience. I've been on the bay before, but I didn't realize that the cruise would have a running commentary. When you've boarded, you're given a small audio device with headset and can turn it to your language of choice. As we went out to the Golden Gate bridge, the commentary let us know about tons of things that we were passing, their history, things to look out for - I loved this. After passing out and then back under the bridge, we passed by the north side of Alcatraz island then back to the pier. We had gotten the short one-hour cruise and I look forward to trying one of their longer cruises next time. I figured by the time got to the Exploratorium it would be about 3pm and we would have only two hours, so instead we headed into the Castro to look around and have a late lunch. Found a great Japanese restaurant (with a waiter with incredible blue eyes) and then wandered around, picking up a few items such as some cool coffee mugs and magnets (Jack collects fridge magnets). We didn't want to leave, but didn't want to get to our camping cabin too late so we headed out. The truck was still by Pier 23 so took the Muni train from the Castro back to the Embarcadero. We could have then gotten on the F line streetcar again (and for free as once you use your Clipper fare card, other transfers within 90 minutes are included). But it was a nice night, and there were some street vendors so we just walked back along the Embarcadero. Then - about 3 blocks before we got to the car... Well, to "set the scene" - I've had a lot of problems with my right leg. Some of it isn't new, but part of my back issues dating back to 1985 when I first ruptured a vertebrae. When I developed neuropathy for the first time last year due to Velcade, it was primarily in my right foot and leg. And with the new round of neuropathy and other issues, I've stumbled and shuffled a bit due to weakness in my right leg. So, we're walking down the Embarcadero and I have a bag in my left hand containing three new coffee mugs and some other things. Then out of the blue, my right leg gave way a bit but for the first time, rather than just stumbling and putting more weight on my left and staying standing, oh - I went down... Luckily the mugs just clinked on the sidewalk a little and there was no damage there. I ended up falling backwards (which was good as there was no scrape or other marks that could have happened. The major damage, apart from my ankle, was my ego as a few bystanders saw and came over to see if they could help. Jack grabbed the bag and let me just rest for a minute, then I slowly saw up, tightened the laces on my shoes to give more support and we slowly got back to the car. He checked out the ankle and it wasn't swollen or broken so we took off for Santa Cruz/Watsonville and our campground. We left San Francisco about 7:30 and got to the KOA campground about 9pm. The cabin was simple but just such a great choice. We didn't expect much, but there were not only two electrical outlets in the cabin, but there was also a small portable space heater so we walked into a nice WARM cabin! When I booked, I had thought we'd get just a campsite, but those were $40 and the small one room cabin was $55 so got the cabin for two nights instead. Inside is just a full bed (thick foam mattress but no linens) and a bunk bed with two twin mattresses (that we used to store our stuff). Spread the sleeping bags out and the bed was really comfortable. The bathroom was just three cabins away and we were set. Again, the plan was to use Sunday to check out Santa Cruz, hike around in the redwoods there as well as see the Pacific Garden Mall and then on Monday, check out Monterey, both the Aquarium, Cannery Row and the beaches nearby. And - ya, it didn't happen that way. Woke up Sunday morning to a VERY steady rain overhead. Jack is a heavy sleeper but I tend to wake up between 7 and 7:30, just because the dogs have trained me to do so (if Mila doesn't get fed by 8am, she'll waste away to nothing). So I woke up and just enjoyed the sound of the rain on the roof, while checking on email, Facebook and other news. I had looked at the weather in advance (on Tuesday) and Sunday/Monday were supposed to be clear, but I should have checked later in the week I guess. Jack finally woke up about 9am. It worked out in the end as we just flipped our days and did Monterey on Sunday. After checking my ankle again and wrapping it really well, we headed down and on the way found a great place to eat in Moss Landing, and then continued into Monterey. I'd been to the Aquarium once before but it had been a few years. We both had a great time, looking at all of the exhibits and talking to the various volunteers throughout who helped give additional information about the place. After the aquarium closed, we wandered the rest of Cannery Row before heading back. We were stuffed still from the brunch we had earlier so didn't end up getting hungry until about 8. The KOA brochure had a number of ads, so we ended up going to the local Straw Hat pizza in Watsonville. We cleaned up and checked out of the cabin Monday morning and then headed to Santa Cruz. Lunch this time was an italian deli on Pacific Garden Mall where we both got the soup and half sandwich combo. I went to UC Santa Cruz in 83'-85' but had only been back once since Loma Prieta and at that time, there was still some rebuilding going on. Now there is nary a sign of the earthquake damage although there seem to be a lot more "corporate" stores than when I went there. Still there are a ton of unique local-owned shops too. We wandered up and down the Mall, spending a lot of time in Logo's (a great bookstore with a huge used section) and just having a great time. We drove up to the UCSC campus at that point, and I showed him some of the places around campus but mainly just soaked in the atmosphere. If you ever have a chance, go visit the campus as it is only about 1/3 developed, and the various buildings are placed to coexist with the magnificent trees and wildlife. We came across two does eating grass at one point, just about 15 feet from the road. It was getting late, so we drove off for home, taking a scenic route through the Henry Cowell State Redwood park and passing through Felton before heading back over the hill. Once in Los Gatos, stopped for a quick bite and then on to Sacramento. Really fun trip - both of us SO needed to just get out of town for a bit. Now it's off to do laundry, figure out beginning of the month bills and spoil the dogs ;-) My ankle is doing pretty well - looks like I just bruised it a bit so it's a little tender, but overall I can walk and use it without problems. Now if this next round of Revlimid deals with the lymphoma while leaving me alone as far as side-effects, I will be very happy. We'll see :-)