rlfj: Blog

Chapter 2 is a shorter chapter, but that’s the way things work out sometime.

My wife worked at a grocery store for about twelve years but retired during the Covid pandemic. She retired because so many of the customers coming in refused to get the vaccine or wear masks. It was a political thing for them, and they knew it was all a hoax because they read about it on Facebook. The line about Great Aunt Margie dying of Covid? Real life. She was told by the woman’s daughter that it didn’t mean anything because she was old anyway. Other people told her they were taking their children out of school and were homeschooling them because they didn’t want any vaccines, not even measles or polio. I can’t wait to hear what they say when little Billy or Suzy end up dead. I can’t make this shit up.

Enjoy!

This story is a new version of one of the stories in my Naughty Stories collection. The Bridge Club is the story of a young man, Cullum Doyle, whose mother is a member of a bridge club. One of the members has had a few drinks too many and Cullie is asked to help get her home. Things get complicated. With this version, I’ve added new chapters and over 80 illustrations. The new version is a standalone story on ZBookStore.

Many thanks to svtln for the assistance with the illustrations. For those curious, the drawing program used was grok, and for the first time, I was able to assist. He’s still way better than me at this! Anyway, I think it works. Enjoy!

The updated version of The War Of The Crystals - Illustrated has been uploaded to ZBookStore. If you've bought a copy, you can go there and download an updated copy.

I am beginning a new story on Tuesday, 8/25. This is an updated and expanded version of The Bridge Club, with over 80 illustrations and two new chapters. It is also available on ZBookStore.

And so we come to the end!

For those curious about spelling, capitol and capital are often used interchangeably. Not sure what to use, I googled it. The answer I found was interesting. Capital with an A refers to a city that is the seat of government for its region. Capitol with an O is only for buildings; that’s its only use. So, Washington DC is the capital and is the location of the Capitol.

Many readers enjoyed the premise of the final chapter, where Construct explained how Jack could fix much of what is happening in Washington. I heard from readers on both ends of the spectrum and most everybody agreed Congress and the Presidency are massively screwed up currently. Many wanted the story to continue, to show how Jack and Construct fixed things. Unfortunately, once you get past the ‘Washington needs fixing’ stage, nobody can agree on what the fix should be! As a result, I took to sending out the following reply - “Thanks but continuing the story would get into too much politics, and I don't need the hate mail.” I got enough of that with both Carl Buckman and the Grim Reaper.

The real reason I didn’t continue was, as I stated earlier, the original story was written over the 2018-2019 winter and published in the spring of 2019. It has been over seven years since then. Too much has changed.

For those who complain about politics intruding into the story, Construct said it best. “What do you think I have been training you for?” If Jack is going to become a leader, he will have to deal with politics. As to why the villain is a right-wing kook, it was just easier that way. As Construct also said, “The other side has their kooks as well.” I could have had an ultra-liberal East Coast femi-nazi or Democratic Socialist spout about the need to kill all the billionaires, shut down all the prisons and police, and nationalize every company in the Fortune 500 but that just didn’t have the same visceral gut punch of reinstituting slavery. Get over it!

I will be updating the book on ZBookStore next week. If you’ve found a typo, let me know and I’ll fix it. Then the purchasers will be able to download the fixed version for free. Thanks.

Justice is served on Kirsten’s rapists, and Jack purchases a larger home.