I guess, now that I'm publishing the sixth chapter of Aimless, I can start commenting on the story.
It's a futuristic story. I considered having it take place now, but the "collar" technology just isn't there yet. So I had to create my own fictional futuristic universe with holos (holographic entertainment), comms and portacomms (the successor to our current smart phones), and the insidious "collar" technology.
For me, it's one of the darker chapter stories I've ever published. After all, it is clear that Jess, our protagonist in this story, is not very happy with her situation. I've also written this with a female point of view, which is also a first for my chapter stories as well. This is how the original Tickets story was to have been written (from the point of view of Merry, of all characters!), and I didn't think I could pull it off at the time. Tickets did much better the way I wrote it. Now, a lot of years and stories have passed since then, and at no point during the writing of this story did I regret putting this into Jess' point of view. For me, it makes the entire story more believable.
For those of you that are thinking that the darkness and despair of this story is heralding some "new" JiMC type story, don't forget that I wrote the Don't Talk to Strangers series, which can be thought of as even darker than this story. Don't worry, though... the usual "JiMC schmaltz" will appear here and there even in Aimless.
If you're enjoying the story, please drop me a line. Even if you're not enjoying it, let me know and tell me what you think is disappointing. Ever since I wrote the final chapter of Dreamless, I found that I could handle disappointed readers. I just like to hear from my readers.
Anyway, there's quite a few chapters for this story to go, so there will be more to enjoy (or be disappointed in).
Peace!
JiMC