Parker

And then I never modified the rules to say that! Gads... Someone shoot me. Please?
Just modified the rules. Anyone can read the stories AND vote on them.

I'm in, too. I love LOTR, so I have been kicking around a few ideas. My only concern with these competitions is that so few people vote on them. I hate to put so much effort into a story, only to see it, and the other entries, get merely 5 voters. It hardly makes it worth the effort. I just want to urge readers to take a few seconds after reading to answer the questions.
It's fun and a good mental exercise to think up stories to fit these varied themes, such as Star Wars or comic book heroes, so keep them coming.

"There are many magic rings in this world, Bilbo Baggins, and none of them should be used lightly!"
"Three rings were given to elven-kind"
"Some things that should not have been forgotten, passed into memory, and were lost."
"Time passed."
And somewhere in a distant land, a lone young elf has found his way to the abandoned elvish city or Rivendell, drawn by something he cannot define, but that clearly has a grip on his soul.
or something like that

Thank you for the kind words Jay. Happy new year to you.
Parker

I would like to point out one other thing that perhaps has been ignored.  Life happens.  Authors have responsibilities and bills to pay, family obligations, laundry, dishes, dinners to make, employment to maintain, vehicles that need repairs, and relationships that require quality time.  Not every waking second is spent wondering if a particular reader hundreds of miles away is actually pining for a chapter or getting frustrated that there hasn't been a posting in a while.  It is a gift from the author that any story happens at all.  Like rain, you can't just demand it of the sky.  It has to happen.  Patience seems to be a forgotten virtue.  If you want quality writing, it can't be forced.
I'm not ranting to throw fire back at the subject, folks.  This is just the way that life works.  I write, but I have many things that require my attention as well.  Things that affect my ability to just sit and write, but also things that color my experiences and help plant ideas for my writing.  So yeah, I get that people expect things to be instantly there in this modern age.  But if we all got things they way they were supposed to be by popular vote, we would not have Trump in the White House.  Yet we have to deal with that train wreck too.
Robert Heinlein said "Natural laws have no pity," which is a way of saying "life is unfair."  I think we all know this.  Have patience.  Those still writing will write, and chapters will happen.  Those who are no longer writing... can't speak for those that don't speak for themselves, but what can you do?  If you complain to an author who has passed from this world, I wouldn't expect much of a reply.  If you complain to one that doesn't care about the story anymore, you might not get a response you like.  If you complain to an author who is doing the best he or she can, you're just getting in the way of progress for the story you want.
Patience.  Understanding.  Besides, the anticipation is half the excitement about getting that next chapter.
Conversely, if you don't like the waiting for chapters, maybe you should put your hand to pen and paper and see what flows?  See what the other side is like.
Just saying.

Thank you for the kind words Jay. Happy new year to you.
Parker

Go on...

Wow, 25,000 to 50,000 words. Does that still fall within the purview of "short story"? That's "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" put together, with change left over

You can read the full review in the forum on here at: http://castleroland.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/1582-book-reviews/#comment-17227
It's got the link at the end.
@Parker   This story has no sex, just a kiss. I bet you would like it.

I like coming of age stories but I prefer them to not have too much sex in them. I skim through those parts. It's better for me to have some humor and a happy ending, no matter the genre.
I have a confession to make. Sometimes I watch movies on the Hallmark channel. Not often, but sometimes.

I like coming of age stories but I prefer them to not have too much sex in them. I skim through those parts. It's better for me to have some humor and a happy ending, no matter the genre.
I have a confession to make. Sometimes I watch movies on the Hallmark channel. Not often, but sometimes.

i have a problem with this poll.  the only one of those i don't like is fan fic.  I find that writers of "fan fic" stories tend to take the characters into place the original authors didn't intend.  IF it is done with different characters, say in the setting of the story they emulate, that's fine.  But I would feel upset if someone hijacked my characters, even in sincerest appreciation, and just did with them as they pleased.  A lot of my chars have deep reasons why they do and act as they do.  Not all of those reasons are completely known in the stories yet (got to have something to reveal later *wink*).

I chose Fantasy because it is my very favorite but I also like Urban Fantasy as a close second (I see them as slightly related). Then comes action/ adventure and science fiction. But I have also found Romance and Coming of Age stories I like. Then last but not necessarily least is Arthur's Drummer Boy which is Historical Fiction that I wouldn't usually read.
So my genre that I would chose if it was available is a well-written story; the genre doesn't matter.

So who is thinking they are going to jump on this challenge.
I can see some super exciting adventures coming our way.
Don't forget only forum members will be able to read all the stories and vote so sign up if you haven't already.
I know of a couple authors that are blowing the cobwebs out from between their ears and sharpening their Pencils. (does anyone even use pencils anymore)

Driver's story "Quarry" and Condor's story "My Home Town" are fun reads. They don't follow the usual type of plot, and I like that originality. I've learned some things I didn't know about Australia from Condor's story and he paints a vivid picture of life in that town. Driver has great insights into human emotions and motivations. His final chapter describes a good way for us to live.
I'm still wading my way through many of the other stories.

I was reading the thread about the Ashes of Fate series of books, where the question was posed as to whether or not anyone was reading it, after three books and no comments.

It prompted me to read chapter one of book one, no offence to the author, because it was well written, but I stopped halfway through when it started talking about werewolves and other creatures. It’s a whole universe, you’re either into it or not.

This got me thinking about a reader poll on preferred story genres. I don’t know if that’s possible, but it could be really interesting. It would need to allow readers to vote an order of preference, because people will like more than one story type. There is no need to get too sophisticated,  although you could include sub-genres like in fantasy, where you might have, vampires, werewolves, altered reality etc. I mention that possibility only because that is where I started - how many readers like werewolf stories? 

 

Hello Gary,
.     A fitting ending indeed !
Thank you again for sharing this fine story with us , Keep up the great work,
.           Cheers,
.                 Johnny C 

Driver's story "Quarry" and Condor's story "My Home Town" are fun reads. They don't follow the usual type of plot, and I like that originality. I've learned some things I didn't know about Australia from Condor's story and he paints a vivid picture of life in that town. Driver has great insights into human emotions and motivations. His final chapter describes a good way for us to live.
I'm still wading my way through many of the other stories.

Driver's story "Quarry" and Condor's story "My Home Town" are fun reads. They don't follow the usual type of plot, and I like that originality. I've learned some things I didn't know about Australia from Condor's story and he paints a vivid picture of life in that town. Driver has great insights into human emotions and motivations. His final chapter describes a good way for us to live.
I'm still wading my way through many of the other stories.

As it often happens, Real Life® has reared it's ugly head. One thing or another has conspired to take up Arthur's time, to the point that chapter 15 is not yet done.
As soon as he completes the chapter and sends it to me, we will be posting it.

Here are a few more things that I find funny:
---------------------------------------------
So the judge said, "Let me get this straight, Mickey. You're divorcing Minnie on grounds of insanity?"
Mickey replied, "Not exactly, Your Honor. I didn't say she was crazy, I said she was fucking Goofy."
----------------------------------------------
Why do the men in Scotland wear kilts?
Because sheep can hear a zipper from a mile away.
------------------------------------------------
A writer was having trouble with his new novel so he rented a cabin in a remote part of the mountains. Things went well at first but after a month he began to get lonely, so he was happy when he got a visit from his neighbor, Bob, a burly mountain man from over the ridge.
Bob said, "I come to invite you to a party at my place."
The writer said, "A party? I could use a party about now. What kind of party is it?"
"Oh, it'll be a wild party with lots of food and liquor, lots of dancin', and lots of sex. Wild crazy sex!"
The writer was surprised and said, "Wow, that sounds amazing. What should I wear?"
Bob grinned and said, "Oh, don't matter none, just be the two of us."

Here are a few more things that I find funny:
---------------------------------------------
So the judge said, "Let me get this straight, Mickey. You're divorcing Minnie on grounds of insanity?"
Mickey replied, "Not exactly, Your Honor. I didn't say she was crazy, I said she was fucking Goofy."
----------------------------------------------
Why do the men in Scotland wear kilts?
Because sheep can hear a zipper from a mile away.
------------------------------------------------
A writer was having trouble with his new novel so he rented a cabin in a remote part of the mountains. Things went well at first but after a month he began to get lonely, so he was happy when he got a visit from his neighbor, Bob, a burly mountain man from over the ridge.
Bob said, "I come to invite you to a party at my place."
The writer said, "A party? I could use a party about now. What kind of party is it?"
"Oh, it'll be a wild party with lots of food and liquor, lots of dancin', and lots of sex. Wild crazy sex!"
The writer was surprised and said, "Wow, that sounds amazing. What should I wear?"
Bob grinned and said, "Oh, don't matter none, just be the two of us."

I live in Japan how you think i feel i have to wait until Friday at 9 am to read it every week lol Honestly it one of the things that get me threw the week and what i look forward to all week.  Another great chapter as always I think it would be interesting if Thomas ran into his first commander again and show him how far he came maybe even run into Carmelo step father would be interesting haven't heard from him in along while mostly after he taught Thomas so much.

I think In owe you all an apology. All the talk about Kandric and Drummer boy had me thinking my stories were completely going unnoticed. I don't get mail on them or anything so it was getting me really depressed and a little jealous of Kyle and Arthur.. But last night I saw my numbers and realized with those numbers, I have to have a pretty good fan base. So no more sad guy, I'm just going to write my little ass off and hope you are all enjoying the stories. So again, I apologize for my jealousy and thank you all for reading. So on with the show. Let the Dragons ROAR!!!!!
P.S. Anyone with ideas are welcome to write, skype, or message me.