Omachuck: Blog

Whenever I think the fourth story, We Gotta Get Outta This Place! is getting close to finished, Michael or one of the harem whispers in my ear, and we're off and running again. It also doesn't help my writing that the Swarm authors are working on some seriously good stories - distracting me - that I hope you'll see soon. Sooo - Gotta's coming - I promise.


My contest attempt for readers to identify the Heinlein references in my stories was a huge thud. No attempts to to play. One generous reader offered his own name for a villian - a very good name for a bad guy - but it didn't fit any of the bad guys in this story. Maybe another.


However, the toying with names leads me to another question. Several of you asked for, and I try to accommodate, a character list for each story. I'm concerned that too detailed a list within the story might be a spoiler, and at the end of the story it is too late. How would you folks feel about a separate posting of only a character list, organized by story? Any thoughts? Let me know.

Thanks for the kind words and warm reception for Katie (and the rest of my stories.)

Several of you have noted my tributes to Robert Anson Heinlein with the inclusion of some of his character names (some modified slightly) in my stories. This will continue in Harem 4, tentatively titled We Gotta Get Outta This Place.

There was enough interest in RAH's names, that I thought I'd offer a contest/challenge: Anyone listing all the RAH names that I've used in my five posted stories, along with the name of my story, can name a character in Harem 4. If no one finds them all, the first person submitting the most will win.

Name rules are: Can't be a living person (or someone that will get us sued) and must fit the story (I need a bad guy and a bad gal and others.) I'll be open minded, but let's not get too obvious - like 'Spock' or 'Buck Rogers.' Oh, and one hint - Michael is NOT Michael Valentine Smith.

I hope you think this is a fun idea.

The final two chapters of this short tale are scheduled to post tomorrow. Rachel and Cathleen want to marry Katie. How is that going to work with a concubine?

My thanks to you folks who asked questions and gave me detailed feedback and suggestions.

I think you know that I don't post until a story is finished, so any suggestions that I use will likely show up in the next story of the series. But, do keep them coming.

Friday evening -


In chapter 3 Scud makes his move - so does Katie. This ain't chess folks. When two locomotives collide, can anyone survive? What if one is a locomotive and the other is The Little Engine That Could?


And readers ask - "Where is the AI in all of this?"


Someone asked if the story title and plot is related to Maybe Katie by the Barenaked Ladies. Not much. I like the Ladies a lot, and I really like the song, and the line from the song sorta sparked the story. No plot resemblance though.

Katie came to realize she had made a very bad decision, and she was scared -- horrified and scared. Her new master was a predatory pedophile, and she felt powerless to protect her children from him. Then, she carefully thought through the problem, set her goals, and prioritized them.

First -- protect her children from immediate harm. Second -- ensure they were shielded on a long-term basis, especially from psychological spillover. Third -- her own personal survival. Fourth -- kill the deviant SOB.

That seemed to cover the problem adequately.

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Katie was going to be the opening vignette of a longer tale, but I thought she deserved her own space. Let me know if you agree or not.

The story will post in three installments. The first should arrive on Wednesday and the next two on Friday and Sunday.

I did not re-identify all the characters, so you might want to refresh your memory with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!