Hi,
First off, let me apologize in advance because I know there is no way I'll be able to reply to all the emails I've received in the past week.
It's a three-day weekend in the U.S. so that means I won't even get the hour per day I set aside for replies. I'll do my best but I can already see it's a losing battle. I no more than get a reply finished and two more emails have popped into the box.
Now, about the little end notes on "A Flawed Diamond." They were meant entirely as an inside joke to a few long-time readers who chide me (constantly) about the way I tend to end chapters with things up in the air.
No one called me a bastard (except my ex-wife, and that is a relatively mild term from her). No one was upset and no one threatened to find out where I live and torch my house. I appreciate all the readers who have taken time out of them day to assure me that it's entirely OK if my parents weren't married.
I don't plan to change the way I end chapters (and since all the chapters for this story are already complete, it wouldn't matter if I did). I post regularly enough that it isn't six weeks or six months or six years of waiting and wondering.
So, thanks for all the kind words (and even the few unkind words I've received). I do appreciate them and I appreciate the readers who make SOL the best site of its kind that I've found.
If I don't get the chance to reply to your messages, please accept my apologies in advance.
Regards,
Jay C.
Yep, I've been called a bastard more times today than in all the years I was married (and that's saying something)!
I've already notched 49 e-mails in the six hours since the chapters went up (and the biggest group usually comes overnight) so please bear with me. It will take me a day or two to get back to everyone.
I'm pleased that so many people have enjoyed the story thus far -- and have put up with my penchant for leaving the reader hanging for the next chapter.
I'll do hope the resolution to this situation is satisfactory (if a little off-putting) for everyone.
Regards,
Jay C.
Hey All,
According to the stats page, I've just hit my one millionth download on SOL. Of course, 700,000 of those have come in the past three years and the three long serials I've posted.
I'm taking it with a grain of salt but I still thought it was pretty cool.
A few readers have asked if there is a chapter missing between 14 and 15.
Nope.
I segued away from his friends and back into baseball -- and apparently I was too abrupt. For those of you who were a little put off by the switch, don't worry. We haven't seen the last of Jen, Melanie, Susan and Tara -- or Chastity, Randi, Merie and Emmy.
I'm also glad I could give a nice cliffhanger to bring everyone back for Friday's chapters. I promise I won't switch completely away from Zoe and Brock.
The readers -- and Brock -- will finally find out about his father.
Thanks to all who've written and those who've just read the story without comment. It makes me very happy to know that one million times someone has opened something I've written to spend a few minutes with the characters I've created and away from reality.
Best wishes,
Jay C.
The first three chapters of my latest work, A Flawed Diamond, are in the queue. This is the sequel to The Outsider.
If some of it looks familiar, it's because I posted the first two chapters several years ago and then abandoned the story when Daze In The Valley and Always on Guard consumed my time. My trusted editor, BlackIrish, is the main reason this story got past Chapter Seven.
I sent the few chapters I'd finished off to him about 18 months ago and he came back with a dozen suggestions about where the story could go. A simple "Thank You" doesn't seem enough but that's all I have to offer him.
The finished story clocks in at more than 90 chapters and I will post it in serial format. I will keep to Fridays for now until I have more in hand from my excellent proofreading crew.
Please read the Author's Note that appears before Chapter 1. It will explain some things about the story and perhaps keep some readers from growing disenchanted as it progresses.
This was a fun story to write and, as always, I hope the readers will enjoy the ride.
Regards,
Jay C.
Hey folks,
I know this is the area where writers are supposed to keep the readers up to date on current and comings events but I've got nothing to contribute except random rumbles.
My most recent stories marked my movement from someone who writes stories to someone who writes novels. I don't want to be gauche and claim I'm a novelist -- or even an author.
Just as I don't consider college professors "doctors" but rather overly educated teachers, I don't consider everyone who strings together 12 sentences to be an "author."
"Teacher" is not a pejorative and neither is "writer." At least I don't consider them to be offensive. There are a couple of contributors to SOL who can claim the title of "author" and I am not one of them.
Still, it's fun for me so I'll continue so long as that's the case -- and I don't have a dozen other draws on my increasingly limited time.
For now, I have three stories that are complete or nearly so.
The next is the sequel to "The Outsider" that I've mentioned previously in this blog. "A Flawed Diamond" will start either March 29 or April 1. The story is more than 90 chapters and my posting schedule will be determined by how quickly I can get the chapters together.
As of now, I have up to Chapter 10 ready to post (edited, proofread and formatted for SOL). If I have at least 20 in hand by mid-March, I'll post more frequently but since I will continue to use the serial format that has served me so well, I don't want to run out of chapters and force the reader to wait months for it to resume.
Too many writers on SOL do that and it pisses me off. I will not begin to post a story that is not complete. There are too many "incomplete and inactive" stories on the site for me to contribute more than the one I already have under my name.
The next story that is 90 percent complete is about a police detective in a South Carolina resort town. It's probably going to clock in at about 60 chapters or so. The gist of it is finished but I have some filler to write. It's called, tentatively, "Life and a Death in Emerald Cove."
No, I'm not planning a jewel heist (unless one of the kids needs braces in the next few months), it's just a coincidence. I've moved away from it for the past few months while I let my trusted editor, BlackIrish, take a run through it.
For the past few weeks I've been working on a story about a kid who was popular in high school finding tougher sledding when he hits college. It's going pretty well. I was amazed today to learn I'd already written 61 chapters.
Not all of them will survive. I'm my own harshest critic (except for a couple SOL readers who shall remain nameless -- because they send their shit anonymously). There are some repetitive parts and some parts that just aren't very good. The thing is ... I'm only about halfway through it (maybe less).
It's taken me 61 chapters to get through to the summer after his freshman year. This story has far more sex in it than my usual work (except for "Daze In The Valley, of course) but I like the relationships between the main characters. I'm not sure this story will ever see the outside of my computer. I'll have to make sure it's not a rewrite of "Daze" without the porn industry. That thought just occurred to me as I was typing this.
On a completely different subject, "A Flawed Diamond" should mark the 1 millionth download of my works from SOL (unless everyone hates it). The vast majority, 700,000, have come from "Daze" and "Guard" and both rank in the Top 30 of most downloaded stories on the site but my earlier stories all performed more to my expectations than the later ones.
It is truly humbling (and my ex-wife will confirm that humility is not one of my stronger suits).
The sequels to "Unending Night" are coming along but slowly. I'll find the flow for a day or two and then lose it again. "Unforgettable Week," which documents the week after Andy and Regan talk on the phone is about 30 percent done and "Unimaginable Life" which will follow that one is outlined. ETA on "Week" is probably 2015-16 and "Life" is more likely 2017.
Who says I don't plan ahead. Of course, that could change completely if another story like "Daze" hits my brain and takes five years to complete.
I hope this finds everyone well,
Jay C.