Okay, I have finished the story.
When Amber pulled him to safety but left Marilyn where she was, exposed to danger, I did wonder. Knowing the history made sense of it.
Rather than make comments about the story (after all, I read it all and you know I found it well written), I thought it is time I do something else.
John, thank you very much for sharing your stories for free (being a pensioner, I would not have been able to read them otherwise). I will continue to read from steemit and at your site and probably also continue to make some nice or interesting comments, plus a few that sound like I am trying to be a smartass (I usually think of them that way later on, when I am writing them I am being earnest).
I think of your writing as being you opening doors into your private world where I slowly come to get a feel for you as a person. I find from my own writing that I cannot avoid showing myself to those who are open enough and want to know, so I give the same meaning to your writing.
You are very much appreciated.
I'm glad I was able to get those last chapters up so you could finish the novel- so annoying when things like this happen - like getting to the end of a book and finding blank pages! It happens :)
I appreciate your feedback very much, Arthur. Yes, I post material for free because I care more about connecting with real human beings like you than making a few bucks. That's why I posted on this site to begin although that community aspect seems to have died on steemit with the exception of you - you are a delightful breath of fresh air.
As we get older we get honester - that's what Yevtushenko says in his poetry and I agree. I can be much more vulnerable on the page than in person. Recently, I had breakfast with some . staff members - old colleagues and friends I hadn't seen in some time - perhaps 6 or 7 yrs. I couldn't sleep that night - I was worried they might think I changed - got stupider or out of touch, or God-knows-what...I was wrong. The first thing they said was, you're still the same. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, but was still so shy.
But now I'm glad I went and risked being vulnerable - your reading Her Thirties prompted me to reread it again - yes, we revisit our work as readers too - it's one of the perks of writing. I'm reliving that same dream again and feeling nostalgic but happy. Thank you for that.
I'm toying with the idea of posting A Familiar Rain, my published novel, on steemit. Currently, it's being revised by me and I was considering publishing it on Amazon - I don't know. I really enjoyed serializing Her Thirties on the steemit site but that was when we could count on feedback and a reasonable reward for original work. I just couldn't bear to post a chapter for the sake of one or two comments and fifty cents. The book is available on line still but for over $100. - that's ridiculous, but so too is the opposite, lol.
If you are not in a hurry, perhaps we could cooperate on creating a new site for literature, under various categories?
I am trying (with my brother) to put a deal together and if it happens I will have enough to create a web site where people can download books, stories and so on for free or for pay. I was hoping I could have prices between $2 and $5 - I think the Amazon gimmick of putting all books at 99c as being a killer for fine lit.
Short stories and poems could either be anthologised so as to be for pay, or allow visitors to download them for free - somewhat similar to : https://www.baen.com/allbooks/category/index/id/2012
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Talking about steemit earnings, I had a nice surprise today. A poster put up an article about empathy and I made a comment. The next day she responded, asking for my book...to stop her from trying to read it, I posted a rather lengthy comment, explaining my beliefs and why I wrote the book and why it makes me happy when I see people stop reading.
Another person upvoted my comment - and it was a larger payout than I get for an entire posting. If I've understood how the money side works here, it looks like I am to receive about 2 STEEM.
It is not the amount that makes me happy, it was the pleasant surprise, as it showed he had understood my somewhat contrived way of thinking :))