auguy86: Blog

Glad to know there's so much interest in this story type. Per the responses, I'll clarify a few things.

First, this would be a do-over based on my senior year of high school onward, not a history do-over. Sorry I was unclear on that. Lots of band and music experiences to write about. Second, historical accuracy seems to be a sticking point with most of y'all. Thankfully, my hero won't be out to change the world or anything grand like that. I plan for the story to be very personal, probably a bit darker than some of my others. It'll still have my traditional happy ending, but the road to get there will be rough.

One thing I plan to include is knowledge of sports to make it big and fund the career in music our hero always wanted. Several of you made a great point that remembering numerous horse races without Biff Tannens sports almanac is unrealistic, and I agree. My thought is to have him win big on a few football games with massive upsets from the 2007 season, like App St over Michigan and Stanford over USC. Feel free to weigh in on the plausibility of that plan.

Finally, a few of you mentioned the means of the time jump. My plan is an alternate reality to start where I had married one of my previous girlfriends that in hindsight would've crushed me. His life falls apart and just as he starts considering suicide, he falls asleep and wakes up before senior year. However, I don't plan to explain further than that. Is it God? Aliens? The Matrix? Not the point of the story. Again, I'd love your thoughts on this concept. Thanks!

M. H. Barton (auguy86)

I've made my *award winning* story from last year's Halloween contest publicly available for all readers as of today. Thanks again to Lazeez for putting the contests together! I hope all y'all that missed it the last time give it a read; I honestly think it's one of my best works overall.

Work on "Gray Jedi" has resumed. I plan to bring this story to a close before moving on to other works. Based on fan interest, I'll likely write my do-over story idea after that, followed by the third and final installment of Dave and Maddie Brighton's adventures. Thanks to everyone for reading!

M. H. Barton (auguy86)

Thanks to all the premier members who voted "Halloween Hacker" so highly! I worked very hard on it, did a lot of historical and mythological research in the process, and I think it turned out very well. A special shout out to lichtyd and Former Reader, my beta readers, and of course, my awesome editor, Pixel the Cat. And congrats as well to Jack Spratt and Colin the Dogg, and all others who worked up entries for the contest!

I will be contacting Amazon regarding my stolen book as soon as I get home from work today. Authors, be vigilant! The thieves are getting smarter and sneakier! The only way I would have found this one on my own was to search for specific text from the book that did not include character names. Be wary!

M. H. Barton (auguy86)

It seems I jinxed myself when I said my next blog would be happier. "An Unforgettable Melody" has been stolen again! (Must be good or something?) This time, he was clever. Someone named William Cavill has published a book entitled "The Genie and her Master" on Amazon. All the characters have different names, but the rest of the story is an exact copy. Please spread the word not to buy from him! He doesn't have my permission! Thanks to all!

M. H. Barton (auguy86)