Just finished uploading revised versions of all my stories. I doubt I'll being doing this exercise again, as it was a lot of hard work.
EMAILS: I've been out of action for several weeks with a severe back issue, sorry about the delays with replies. I reply to all emails from valid reply to addresses. However, comcast.net, sbcglobal.net, and excite.com block emails from my ISP, so clients of those ISPs who don't get a reply, talk to your ISP about that.
SHILOH: With The Scot's permission I've rewritten the story in present tense and added to it to make it 42 chapters of almost 266,000 words. The Scot is editing my work and posting will start once that's completed. The whole story will be made available at Lulu at that time too.
Thank you for reading my stories. I do many things to put food on the table and deal with life, this interferes with my writing, so please bear with me when there are delays in stories appearing. I do NOT post a story until it is complete. Once posting has started I will only make changes to deal with typographical, spelling, continuity, or other important errors like copyright infringement when someone points one out to me. If you see an error, and not just a UK / USA spelling difference error, please let me know.
Writing: I write as if I'm telling the story while sitting around a fire. I find the use of present tense adds to the feeling of being involved, but don't do this with all my stories. Most authors write in the past tense, as it's easier that way; you use only one tense throughout. In the present tense you sometimes have to refer to prior events in the past tense, and use both tenses as is appropriate for the situation. I often write in the first person, as this adds to the sense of being involved too. These are both valid, if not common, ways to write. Please, Anonymous, no more emails about it being the wrong way to write.
Headings: I use colour codes to indicate headings for Chapters (red), Sub-chapters (blue), and Sections (bold black). They're centred, look more colourful, and are easier to locate.
Sequels: I do plan to do a sequel to Rough Diamond, Star Performance, the Al Adams stories (on Earth and Chaos), and others. I also have many works in progress to finish, so don't hold your breath. Just watch out for the new stories and enjoy them as they appear. They are planned out, but I need to do some research before writing them, watch here for the announcement of when they go up.
Thanks to the anonymous feedback email senders who send a smiley or a thanks for each chapter. You more than make up for the anonymous abusive ones. I usually respond to emails I receive. I've been surprised by the number of people who send me an email of a basic thanks for each chapter. Thank you all. However, responding to all emails is now eating into a lot of my free time, please don't get offended if I don't respond to a basic 'thanks' email. When I know the email to be a first for that story from you, or it's been a while since I replied to you, or it has something that needs a response, I'll reply. But, sad to say, I'm not replying to a basic thanks email for every chapter when I recognise the address or name as one I've replied to. I just wish I had the time to continue to thank you all for each email.
I'm an Aussie and have never been to the USA in real life, all the knowledge comes from Internet research. So anyone who wishes to give me advice on such things is welcome to send me some information and ideas so I can incorporate them into stories. Please note that in doing so you give me the legal right to use that idea free of charge.
I write as both Ernest Bywater and Ernest Edwards (the Clan Amir series, only part is at SOL and FS) and have stories at Stories On Line, Fine Stories, Lulu, dpdotcom, ASSTR, and my own web site (page links below) - not all are at all places as each site has it's own clients and special rules. I also help my cousin Cazna with the action sequences of his stories and he helps me with most of the sex scenes in my stories. Caz is no longer well enough to write and I've been told to revise his stories and to do sequels where I wish to, they will come - in time.
All my stories are available, or soon will be, as PDF downloads via Lulu and / or dpdotcom, and most are also available as printed stories via Lulu as well. All my stories are written in a 6 x 9 inch paperback format page using Libre Office and saved as .odt files then converted to pdf and tagged text files for SOL and FS. I do not make stories available except as html, PDF, or as a print copy.
http://storiesonline.net/auth/Ernest_Bywater
http://storiesonline.net/auth/Ernest_Edwards
http://finestories.com/auth/Ernest_Bywater
http://finestories.com/auth/Ernest_Edwards
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/ernestbywater
http://www.dpdotcom.com/ebooks.htm
Please keep an eye on this blog as I only say things here about the stories, and all the important info goes here.
If you think a story at SOL is worth publishing in your local newspaper, talk to them and have them email me. I'll gladly give them approval to reprint it free, especially for Always a Marine and Coming Home.
STORY COMMENTS
Star Performance: I wrote this as my entry in the NaNoWriMo November 2010. Six Parts.
Had an unexpected question about poppers of fruit juice see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juicebox_%28container%29
Always a Marine and the Three Cartridges: It's short and the title says it all. Please read the third paragraph of the funeral carefully, the only uniform I mention the colour of is that of the Marine Corps League, which is a red coat, and they provide the Honour Guard, not the serving Marines. Thank you to those who found someone to ask about the three cartridges, and for passing the information on to me. Three sources checked with senior NCOs in their local military and they signify - Honour, Country, and Duty.
Naughty Jo: After being inspired by posts at SOL Google Groups and The Writer's Block forum, I wrote a story about a writer of lesbian stories who meets another member of a forum on lesbian stories - all the sex is, what little there is, MM - so it's NOT what some will think or expect. This is a short story, and I hope you enjoy it.
Rough Diamond: The bulk of the story is a diary style account in the first person. Like most first person accounts, the main character starts out by making a statement today, and then giving a bit of background on the situation. In doing this, once having moved you back to the start of where the background starts, it's told in the present first person. I'm sorry if you don't like the style or have problems with it, but this is how most people actually tell events in real life; and it's how I write.
I've had a some people question the Casinos and the IRS. Here's my explanation:
The IRS: is concerned about the taxes being paid. Once they find the money is going to the company, they concentrate efforts on the company, to ensure they're paying the right taxes. Once that's resolved, they walk away - their only concern is tax revenue. They're unlikely to be investigating Anian himself, or look at his actual age as he won't have a Social Security Number as he's a legal foreigner and it's not his taxes they're looking at until the end of the tax year and he lodges a return.
The Casinos: my research shows the Indian Casinos, which are what Anian deals with in New Mexico, do NOT operate the same way as the big commercial ones in Las Vegas etc., they're less likely to be quick in banning people and the like behaviour. I make a point of his mentioning being connected with The Spirits and how some of the Indian staff connect with this too. This is another reason why they won't be so quick to kick him out and be prepared to put up with him once he places limits on his activities, that and his big tips. OK, I may be a bit out in the reality of the situation as I didn't have an opportunity to talk to the actual casino staff about this, but it's a very reasonable premises to go with.
I hope you pay close attention to the very last sentence of the story as it applies to all politicians and government employees, domestic and otherwise.
AL ADAMS
Finding Home: Is in the first person diary style and covers over a year in the life of the main character. There are some heavy sex scenes in the early quarter or so of the story as they relate to certain plot aspects, but they taper off later - so, no complaints please. Codes are based on the main aspects of the WHOLE story, all 273,000 words - 37 parts. There are a few switches of point of view, shown with a ruled line on the page. Please advise me of any errors.
The story is told in the first person by an Aussie, so he's using terms he's more familiar with, even to the extent of putting them into the mouths of others - anyway, that's my excuse why swimmers will stay as swimmers and not become trunks, and similar minor points.
I often skip minor repetitive detail that does NOT have a direct involvement, I point out how frequent this is done at the start and then drop it as a routine matter; except where I wish to use it to show Al moving between scenes etc., so please assume he does routine matters a few times per day, even when I don't say so. The football team doesn't always practice every day at the start of the season - they's lazy, just like me.
Cast List: Be warned I do say a little about everyone listed, just enough to tag memories about them. I've been told it can also be seen as a spoiler as you can see a bit about people who haven't turned up yet. Sorry, but I can't please everyone. Try just looking up the name you want to learn about.
Responses to emails:
1. Al develops as a person as the story goes on, he doesn't really care about much at the start. Al's a teenage boy and I'm using the early sex scenes to display certain aspects of his character, AND HOW THEY CHANGE. I wish to point out he has little real interest in life then, as all he loved have died and he's left alone. He is existing and doing anything he can to get his mind off his loss - and that is the whole point of the start of the affairs with the wives. In the story he does point out they are casual affairs and solely to help keep his mind on the present and off the past. It's NOT spelled out in capitals, but read what he has to say about the events etc., and it shows. As time goes on you'll see his character change, and that's an important aspect of one of the sub-plots. So please stay with it and watch him change.
2. In part 6 the school football team has a pre-season warm up game at 4 pm on the Friday. The game does not run into overtime and Paul Williams the Fifth ends up at dinner with his family at 7 pm. I've been assured by some who follow US high school football that this timing is common for such games, which is why I did not have them having a later dinner.
3. Al is very fit, raised in the traditions of martial arts, and used to having money due to his mother's background. The result is he's very self confident and adult in all but law. So please accept he does NOT behave like an ordinary high school teenager as he is not one.
4. Some people are submissive, they like to be controlled and not have to make major decisions; and some people are dominant and like to be in charge of others. Al is a dominant personality, and he attracts submissive people who wish to be controlled by him. He also uses his dominating ability to control some much weaker willed others who would cause him trouble. Some people would call him an Alpha male, even if that is not a recognised type of person.
5. Some characters pop in and out without prior mention, most will be security guards hired by Rob that I haven't talked you through the full hire of. Please accept they've been fully processed, but I didn't see the need to list the dozens of people Rob is hiring. The context should make it clear they're guards.
6. The fancy mobile phones bought in Japan. The rate of exchange at the time of writing and mentioned in the story is 100 yen = $1.00, so the phones are bought outright for $1,000 each. New ultra small wrist watch size with a lot of extra features and mega prepaid hours. This is NOT a plan purchase over time, but an outright purchase and the price of $1,000 is in line with what a top of the range is bought for in Australia. Some range as high as $1,500 down here, and some of the Internet research shows similar prices elsewhere too.
Future stories won't have so much sex in them as the sex was part of the demonstration of Al's character and how it changed. Al is feeling very invincible right now, but that'll change. In Finding Home he was forced to recognise and accept some personal problems then deal with them, in future stories he'll be forced to recognise and accept he's not superman, and I have other similar character development life events on his horizon.
The SOL system allows me to link a story with one series, I've chosen to link the Damsels in Distress stories with that universe and not the Al Adams / Lord Torao universe, sorry, but I think this is better overall. There will be a little crossover between the two series as there are things Al will do on Earth that are required for Chaos. I don't intend to mention his Chaos activities in the Earth stream, but some activities will be covered - for example, a trip to New Mexico to buy dogs, the aim is to get some for both Chaos and Earth, so this visit will be in both stories just in case someone is NOT following both lines. This will give some of you a case of deja vu.
Damsels in Distress has a universe rules wiki by Lazlo at:
http://wiki.zalezac.com/wiki/DiD_Universe
Chaos Calls: Learning Visit - The opening does give away a bit of what's to happen in Finding Home as it's the end of Finding Home. That's there to set Al's character up in Chaos without having to make a new one.
Release of Prisoners: In the section where the main camp is attacked, after the attack Al and Joe are speaking to Colonel Bond, the next paragraph mentions the teens get down from their positions and release the prisoners. They help clean up the site.
Return Home: I mention the travel home is faster than the travel through the forest. I say that as when they bypassed Bridgetown and worked their slow way to the enemy camp they travelled in the forest amongst the scrub and trees, making their way with great care and working hard not to leave a trail while scouting ahead before moving. On the return trip they travel on the road that goes through the forest, that's open and no scrub in the way, making for a faster trip. The return trip has a lot less in the way of natural obstructions and makes for easier movement.
Chaos Calls: First Rescue - Up North, I've had a few people say that US citizens would use the term Back East when talking about going from New Mexico to Frederick. One editor raised this, so I do have the US CITIZENS use that term; but Al is an Aussie and would never say it that way, to him it would be 'up north' as a purely descriptive term, and the same for Eduardo as he's a Mexican. So, please, no more emails about Al saying up north.
Chaos Calls: Dragon Dilemma - Bearings, the bearings I use are steel roller or needle bearings in a steel race - not ball bearings. These can be cast metal. Bearings will never be common on Chaos, it's metal poor, as the metal bearings of the wagons are worth a lot. A rich person like Al can afford them for a special project.
A troop is a basic military unit and has varied a lot between countries, forces, and time periods. The earliest use of the term was for an organised group of warriors on foot. Today, more people are used to a cavalry troop. In more modern usage it varies between being the equivalent of a platoon or a company and has varied in size from around 30 to 70 members. On Chaos Al is setting up a troop to be the equal of a platoon, but with 65 members as that's what he sees as a reasonable sized force to safely act on its own. In older times military units had larger numbers than they do today - think pre gunpowder period, please.
The carts I mention are something like a dog cart modified for use by a horse, they are only as wide as an average horse. Here's an image of roughly what they look like in real life:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dogcart3.jpg
Ernest