|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
I'm very glad to see the third of "The Odd, Onward Door" tales start. I always enjoy anything from Geron Kees, I think he could write a tale about discovering a new mineral and make it fascinating!
It's good to see Derry, Cally, and Mike back in action again. Thanks, Geron!
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
Thanks (as always) for the kind words. Always nice to hear from you again.
This tale is as long as the first two combined, so I hope your seat is a comfortable one.
I have yet to write about minerals. But there's still time! ![Very Happy](images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif)
--G.
|
|
|
|
|
luvtwinks
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Registered: August 2018
Messages: 175
|
|
|
I hope there's still time to write about Charlie Boone and the gang for July 4th! 😀
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
I plan to begin the July 4th Charlie Boone tale on May first. That will give me plenty of time...I hope!
I'm currently writing chapter 24 of a long fantasy I've been working on, on and off, for a few years. The holiday schedule of the CB tales, the challenges here, and everything I wanted to write in between (oh, and life in general!) have sort of kept me from finishing this one. But it's slowly getting there, and looks to me like it will be born this year, finally! Hope you guys like magic!
It's nice to know there is still interest in these stories. They're fun for me to write, but they are more fun when they are fun for others to read, too. ![Smile](images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif)
Thanks!
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Well, Geron, now that you are using the same terminology of "time franes" in the Door series as in the Charlie Boone series, it's the first step to Ronja losing concentration slightly while using an elf door, and coming through a door on the moon transfer station, causing Max and Nicholaas to call Charlie and Ricky to use "split presence" to find her. She would be nervous at meeting Difris, of course, and surprised that he speaks English.
This would allow Auggie, Keerby, and Pip (while Frit is stuck at school) to mount a rescue. (Big hint, big hint.) If there is an elf who also can do split presence, that one and Charlie could establish a location guide entry for the moon base of door transfer, allowing some interaction between the series. Pacha and Kontus could be very useful in some of the situations Derry, Cally, and Mike see with the doors --
Just trying to suggest a few dozen plot possibilities for you and your reader fans to pursue.
|
|
|
|
|
luvtwinks
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Registered: August 2018
Messages: 175
|
|
|
OMG, yes! Bisexual Guy is on to something here. A crossover story with Charlie Boone and the Odd Onward Door series. A perfect fit! 😀
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
You guys are trying to complicate my life, right! ![Smile](images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif)
I have received a couple of suggestions on mixing the series. It's not an impossible task, but it does kind of cross the barriers of the rule sets by which the two universes operate. As a story where two alternate universes briefly intersect, it might be fun, though that's about the only way I could see to do it. The empire of the Armenti simply doesn't exist in the Charlie Boone universe, which is a pretty glaring inconsistency, and the many races that popupate the local galaxy in Charlie's universe are nowhere to be seen in Derry's. So it would need to have something unusual happen to link them.
I'm going to try to finish the several projects I have in motion now, first. But I have to admit that I haven't tried mixing any of my story elements yet. It might be fun!
Have a couple of more standard 'guy' stories that need finishing, too. What we need is a 48-hour day.
Thanks for the input. Food for thought!
|
|
|
|
|
ds
|
![](images/rank-icons/1-star.png) |
Getting started |
Registered: February 2004
Messages: 16
|
|
|
I don't often comment, but I feel I need to here. I have seen lots of 'crossover' demands and attempts on other sites, and feel that the result is not always the sum of the components.
I believe that Geron is right on his comments. The whole interstellar 'feel' is very different between the two series and it seems to me that trying to force them to agree would damage both.
I have enjoyed both of the series, and indeed many of the other stories that Geron has posted, and would like to present the view that they shouldn't be linked.
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
I have seen crossovers done well, done poorly, and done just so-so.
The worst crossovers I have seen are when different authors are involved. An author on another site crossed over with characters from two other authors (not at the same time) and the result was fair with one author, and poor with the second author. When I have seen the best crossovers -- they were done by one author crossing two of HIS OR HER own universes. That way characters are kept consistent with the way they have been previously portrayed.
Sure, it is challenging. Should Geron choose not to crossover the Doors and Charlie Boone universes, I won't sit up and worry about it. Should he choose to cross over with them into each other, I shall mentally stand up and cheer. (And also, I will thank Geron on boards such as these.)
He is one of my top five author favorites -- probably tied for first.
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
I agree that crossovers can be done well, as I've seen a few myself. On the Charlie Boone and Doors series, I do have to admit that I'm in the camp that does not favor mixing the two series. But I also won't say no to the idea now simply because I haven't considered all the options. The fun for me would be in figuring out a way to make it work plausibly, without messing up either of the two story lines. Right now, I don't have any ideas. Well...no GOOD ones, anyway! ![Smile](images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif)
But the beauty of science fiction and fantasy is that nearly anything can be made to happen. I'm fairly firm on not stretching the science thing too badly out of shape (but do understand that science fiction often does exactly that); yet modern physics is also showing us hints of things to come that may be even farther 'out there' than any fiction could manage to be today. So almost anything reasonable goes at this point.
For now, I don't even have the spare time to try a crossover tale. But like with any science fiction universe, the future can change, and often does!
|
|
|
|
|
timmy
|
![](http://forum.iomfats.org/images/custom_avatars/timmy.gif)
![](images/rank-icons/7-star.png) |
Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
|
|
|
As a kid I wondered why TVsoaps on the same channel had no crossover. Coronation Street characters never seemed to stay in the Crossroads Motel. That was odd, since I was meant to believe in each universe.
Generally, I find crossovers to lack the things that make the tales crossng over both unique and readable
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crossovers have generally been a disappointment to me because they always seem to me to be contrived. Not saying it can't be done well, but most i've encountered have tended to lower my enjoyment of the tales in question. It's kind of like encountering graphic sex scenes at the close of every chapter in that regard. It's too much and takes away rather than adds. A crossover done well would not be objectional to me, and our friend Geron is probs capbale of doing that, I'd say.
“There's no grays, only white that's got grubby. I'm surprised you don't know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That's what sin is.” - Terry Pratchett
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
The biggest problem with crossovers is that neither original story idea was designed to work with the other. Crossovers appeal to a desire to see characters from one story meet characters from another. It does seem like it would be fun!
But I've been thinking about it lately, and I actually don't see the need for a crossover between Derry's universe and Charlie's. It would be just writing a story to address that single issue. How could it not be contrived?
I am more likely to fall over an idea that allows for such such a meeting to happen rather than to create one just for the purpose, and if that should happen, I'll just write the thing and post it and let readers find out on their own!
THAT will be the fun part! ![Smile](images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif)
|
|
|
|
|
Mark
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: Earth
Registered: April 2013
Messages: 276
|
|
|
Yeah, I kind of have to go with Geron on this one - sometimes it can be fun to wonder what would happen if the characters from one story got to meet (and interact with) the characters from another story. But unless those separate stories were pretty much deliberately created right from the very beginning to all exist in a single "shared" universe, the logistics alone of trying to combine them later on could cause more problems than it's worth.
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't ever consider crossovers between our different stories, if our particular personal muse is able to figure out how to successfully pull it off, but combining them just for the sake of combining them? Sometimes, it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
While I still think a crossover would be fun, right now the real fun is in this story. Each chapter is building the story details, in what I term a "progressive growth" of the story. Many authors use this technique, but Geron is a master of it. Having completed chapter 4 just a few minutes after it became available on this site, I'm pleased in the way ths story has developed.
I'm wondering what other aliens they will meet on this world in adition to the ones already listed. Will they perhaps meet more Kabrini (from the second "Door" story)? Will they discover why their hackles were raised at the sight of the third listed alien? Will Cally be the most adventurous with the flying capability of their suits? I could ask question after question, but Geron, I predict you will reveal those things somewhat in a "need-to-know" fashion.
Thanks for the great writing, Geron. Timmy, thanks for the hosting of great stories.
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
I agree with both your points of view, which is part of the problem. It would be fun to do a crossover, but the method in which it would be done has to be just right or it will look like the patchwork it is. Right now I don't really see a way to do it convincingly. So I won't, unless something wakes me up in the night that looks like it would work.
Creating characters you like and having them go on adventures...how can that NOT be fun? You can go as far as you can imagine, pretty much, and it's always fun to have enjoyable company when you go.
Thanks to all of you!
|
|
|
|
|
timmy
|
![](http://forum.iomfats.org/images/custom_avatars/timmy.gif)
![](images/rank-icons/7-star.png) |
Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
|
|
|
"Bisexual_Guy wrote on Thu, 25 March 2021 07:33"I'm very glad to see the third of "The Odd, Onward Door" tales start. I always enjoy anything from Geron Kees, I think he could write a tale about discovering a new mineral and make it fascinating!
It's good to see Derry, Cally, and Mike back in action again. Thanks, Geron!
--
I think the thing I like best is that the entire cast is real.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
|
|
|
|
|
ivor slipper
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Registered: September 2013
Messages: 128
|
|
|
Personally, I think it wouldn't be a good idea to try and merge the two series.
There is the obvious difficulty of merging an already large cast from the Charlie Boone series with the additional ones from Doors. As it is, some of those in CB are reduced to almost 'walk on' parts. If they were merged, how would Ricky & Adrian fare? They would surey start to slip from view.
The other problem for me is that I see the CB stories as more fantasy based around Elves & Niklaas with scope for their adventures on planet Earth. Doors though is much more pure sci-fi with Earth as just a starting point.
Just saying....
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
That's what I meant about the two story universes not being compatible. So for now I'll just say that no mixing of the two series is forthcoming.
It would be much easier to mix the guys from, say, the Thrift Shop stories with the guys from ROYGBV, or something like that. At least they all live on the same planet in the same universe!
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Okay, let's see you eventually write a story combining the guys from ROYGBV and the Thrift Shop Series! Or Jerry and Jack from "The Party of the Third Part" with either the ROYGBV or the Thrift Shop guys!
But back to the story at hand, "The Odd, Onward Doors: The Darkness Between Doors," after reading chapters 4 and 5, what else will be revealed to the guys about their exploration suits? And how do they use the bathroom without completely taking the suits off? I remember in "Never a Door Lost" that they were one piece -- see the following quote:[/font-family]
"Derry ran his hand over the silky material, feeling the cool resiliency of it beneath his fingertips. The one-piece suit was a deep red in color, almost maroon, and fit his body like a loose glove. The feet which were a part of the suit were soft and comfortable, with a firm sole beneath that added a refreshing spring to his walk. Hand coverings at the ends of the sleeves molded themselves to his fingers and provided an amazing tactile sense, almost as if he were touching things with his bare hands. A black belt with a series of small black boxes with rounded corners upon it circled his waist, and a holster attached to the belt on his right side carried a brand new zap pistol, fresh from the armaments locker of the moon station.
"The suit had a steel ring as a collar, which closed in a circle that remained two inches from his neck all the way around. Derry fingered it absently, shrugging his shoulders as the suit seemed to conform somehow to fit him even better, and looked over as Cally fastened his own collar and turned to Difris, who was watching the humans dress without comment. Derry ran his hand over the silky material, feeling the cool resiliency of it beneath his fingertips. The one-piece suit was a deep red in color, almost maroon, and fit his body like a loose glove. The feet which were a part of the suit were soft and comfortable, with a firm sole beneath that added a refreshing spring to his walk. Hand coverings at the ends of the sleeves molded themselves to his fingers and provided an amazing tactile sense, almost as if he were touching things with his bare hands. A black belt with a series of small black boxes with rounded corners upon it circled his waist, and a holster attached to the belt on his right side carried a brand new zap pistol, fresh from the armaments locker of the moon station."The suit had a steel ring as a collar, which closed in a circle that remained two inches from his neck all the way around.
Derry fingered it absently, shrugging his shoulders as the suit seemed to conform somehow to fit him even better, and looked over as Cally fastened his own collar and turned to Difris, who was watching the humans dress without comment."
Do they have to peel down below the waist to pee? When they think about it does an opening apper and reclose afterward? Does a condom with a drain work itself over their penis with they want to pee, like American male astronauts have attached all the time when they are in their spacesuits? Just curious.[/font-family]
The continued abilities being discovered about their exploration suits is very interesting, and who knows what is next? Fascinating that they can change color on their own when necessary.
As the story continues, what other non-human intelligent life will they discover on this world?
And why don't they just ASK Difris or Nyf which doors go directly to one or more of the worlds previously settled with majority Armenti population? .[/font-family]
[Updated on: Tue, 06 April 2021 17:15]
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
One story line at a time! ![Smile](images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif)
At some point I mentioned that the exploration suits had a fastener or a seal, that was closed and made the suit one piece. I envisioned it opening down the front to the crotch. Step in, pull it up, close up, and you're there! I guess they do have to drop the suit to use the toilet. I mean, stands to reason, doesn't it? 'One-piece' doesn't mean it can't be opened. Coveralls are one piece, right?
Now, as to your last question, BG, would you have enjoyed the story more if I had sent the guys directly to the homeworld of the Armenti and had everything be over in a few chapters? I mean, once the mystery is solved, the series is over. Besides, that was what the whole conversation was about with Derry and the guys not wanting to try a heavily populated planet at first. They didn't want to arrive in a big city and maybe get nabbed by ICE for illegal immigration, or something. But I guess I should have at least talked about that issue. I will, in the next story.
You do keep me jumping, I have to admit! ![Nod](images/smiley_icons/icon_nod.gif)
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Geron, I have to admit, in chapter 6 you are giving excellent hints of answering some of my questions.
As a result, some things are making sense and the hints drop into place. Did Difris not hear anything talked about when the Armenti were clearing the transfer station under the red sun, or did the Armenti -- or someone else -- erase or block selected memories? Will Brik -- the new mind of the moon station from the previous story -- have to eventually send a rescue mission to the guys and Nyf in a future story? Have the guys and Nyf checked on Brik at all since the end of the previous story? Did the meteor which hit the moon station have anything to do with the "Great Menace?"
An excellent tale, Geron. Please, let us have the next Door tale in less than three years. (Never a Door Lost was copyrighted in 2018.) Thanks you for the great writing. So far, I enjoy the Door tales even more than the Charlie Boone stories, and I favor them at a positive 98 on a scale of 1 to 100. The door tales are 99 out of 100. DSo, you can see that I greatly like both.
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Well, Geron, in chapter 7 I see that both Derry and Mike ad lib well. I had been wondering if, perhaps, Nyf might be able to do exactly what he said he could do. Considering the abilities already demonstrated by Nyf and Brik, and from what Difris said about the door from the spaceport in "Never a Door Lost," what Nyf said was a logical deduction.
I am also guessing that sooner or later, Mike will figure oiut how to use the exploration suit to see behind himself, and catch Derry and Cally kissing. But maybe not.
Also, considering the door status telemetry mentioned in "Never a Door Lost," it just might be possible for Difris, Nyf, or Brik to know when a door is opened somewhere else, with minor modifications to their programming. Just a potential story plot for a future story.
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
Writing more than one series has not proven to be the easiest thing to do. With one series, you sort of get absorbed into the world and the characters, and it gets to be second nature to you. The facts and figures are easy enough to recall.
More than one series, and it becomes a lot to remember, especially as each series grows. The Charlie Boone universe has a lot going on for me to remember, and while I keep some notes, they can't cover every detail. It's the same with the Doors series. You may have noticed that the copyright of this third tale is split between 2018 and 2021. I started this one not that long after I posted the second story, and then events and deadlines and other things got in the way, and the story lay dormant for nearly three years before I could pick it up again.
In that period of time, I had forgotten some of the details. I had to re-read both of the original stories to be able to complete this one. That problem has been growing with the Charlie Boone series, because there are now too many stories (and too many characters) in that series to be able to sit down and read them all over before starting a new one. So if glitches happen, they happen. I have a couple of friends that read my stories before posting, looking for my inevitable typos, and now and then they point out inconsistencies that I have to fix. I've been lucky so far not to contradict myself!
The Doors series has far fewer characters and is easier to keep up with. I already know where I want to go with the plot for the fourth story, so maybe that will come sooner than three years!
But I am always reminded by reader comments that even the author of a tale may miss things that seem obvious to others. So while Mike may or may not figure out how to see behind himself, let's just say that soon it won't matter if he does! ![Smile](images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif)
I just wanted to say that I appreciate everyone's comments, and hope that will result in better stories down the road.
[Updated on: Fri, 09 April 2021 20:14]
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
As I write this, it is 2:06 a.m., Central Daylight Time in the USA. Geron, you have left us in tangible suspense at the end of chapter 8. Some questions are being answered, and more have arisen. Way to go!
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
You're up at 2:06 AM? Wow.
Pleased that you are pleased. I don't think there is more pleasure for me to get than that!
|
|
|
|
|
|
As always, Geron, I'll wait till your tale is complete before I indulge. I much prefer binge reading to Bisexual Guy's version of suspense! LOL
“There's no grays, only white that's got grubby. I'm surprised you don't know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That's what sin is.” - Terry Pratchett
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
I tend to prefer to read the whole story at once, myself.
There are 13 chapters in this one. It should be all posted by next Friday.
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
So, Geron, in a future story, will Mike, Derry, and Cally invite Gilden and Erva through the transfer station, to the side tunnel, and show them the door to Saspar?
Will Derry dream about Gilden at Halloween, as was hinted at in a previous chapter?
Will the new memory implants help them learn earthy languages more easily, such as Spanish and French?
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
"Bisexual_Guy wrote on Sat, 17 April 2021 03:37"So, Geron, in a future story, will Mike, Derry, and Cally invite Gilden and Erva through the transfer station, to the side tunnel, and show them the door to Saspar?
Will Derry dream about Gilden at Halloween, as was hinted at in a previous chapter?
Will the new memory implants help them learn earthy languages more easily, such as Spanish and French?
--Maybe if I write fifteen or twenty sequels, the Sasparians can go home!
I don't know what Derry will do at Halloween. We'll have to check back with him then.
I don't see why the new implants couldn't make the guys language whizzes at home on earth. Can't quite see where that might come up yet, though. And it would draw attention they don't need, unless they were careful with it.
"Mrs. Hamlyn, did you know your son speaks 42 languages, along with their various dialects and sub-tongues?"
"Derry?? You're kidding me!"
"No, ma'am. We want to send him to Stanford for some tests, okay? To try to figure out how he got to be the language prodigy he is!"
Who needs that sort of attention?
[Updated on: Sat, 17 April 2021 16:55]
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Geron, how could you! Leave us on a cliffhanger -- er -- tube hanger like that in Chapter 11. I can make some guesses as to what will happen in Chapter 12, but that is all they would be.
I would really like to see a "Door" Halloween story at the same time as the Charlie Boone Halloween story. Not in a crossing universes tale, but separate stories. And should you come up with a "Charm" Halloween tale as well, that would be great. However, in the real world, you might not have time to write all three this year.
Well done.
[Updated on: Mon, 19 April 2021 07:47]
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
When I was a kid, my uncle here in the US was a real hardcore movie fan. He had all these old films on 16mm, and every now and then my dad and I would go over to watch these things with him. Most were old black and white movies no one had ever heard of, like Ghosts on the Loose and One Body Too Many. They were creaky old movies, but they were often a lot of fun because the actors acted like they believed every line of the story. And I learned to love the creepy look that black and white film could give to scary movies.
One of the gems of my uncle's collection was a Republic serial called Daredevils of the Red Circle. It was a story about an escaped prisoner, who seeks revenge against the millionaire who sent him to prison. The escaped prisoner goes by his prison number, 39013, and he manages to invade the millionaire's mansion and place him into captivity in a secret room inside the old place, and then disquises himself as the millionaire. His purpose is to then destroy everything the millionaire owns.
It sounds ridiculous, I know. But they make it sound perfectly reasonable in the film. Anyway, Thirty-Nine-Oh-Thirteen destroys several of the millionaire's properties before coming to a circus he owns. He contrives to burn the place to the ground, and in the process, the brother of one of a trio of acrobats - daredevils - working there, dies. The three daredevils escape, and vow revenge against the mysterious person that destroyed the show. They become private detectives (every acrobat is a detective in his spare time, you know), and start hunting down leads. They are aided in this by a mysterious figure known only as The Red Circle, who is never really seen. Slowly but certainly, they close in on the escaped prisoner, who becomes aware of the pursuit, and does everything he can to thwart our heroes.
The story is presented in 12 chapters. Each chapter was shown in a movie theater back when, along with a cartoon and a newsreel before the main feature the movie house was showing that week. A new chapter came out each week, thus assuring that a legion of kids and young adults would return to the theater each week. Pretty savvy marketing, actually.
Almost every - if not every one - of the chapters ended in a cliffhanger. The heroes about to be smashed between two large trucks on the road, or their airplane about to plunge into a hillside. Just as destruction loomed the chapter would end, and we would be left groaning and wondering what miraculous event would save our heroes at the start of the next chapter.
I actually saw that serial twice, and two others my uncle had. But Daredevils was the one I remember best. Those old films left a real impression on me for the FUN that storytelling had to offer.
My uncle is still around of course, but the 16mm prints are long gone, sold off as first video cassettes, and then DVDs, became cheaper and easier to find and own. His collection of old serials is enormous now. I actually own a copy of Daredevils myself, and some other of the old serials. They don't impress now like they did when I was 10, but they are still fun to watch now and then.
But seeing those old fims left no doubt in my mind as to the value of the occasional cliffhanger. ![Very Happy](images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif)
Hmm. It would be tough to write more than one holiday story at a time. But we'll see what happens!
[Updated on: Mon, 19 April 2021 17:48]
|
|
|
|
|
luvtwinks
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Registered: August 2018
Messages: 175
|
|
|
"Bisexual_Guy wrote on Mon, 19 April 2021 07:46"And should you come up with a "Charm" Halloween tale as well, that would be great.
--
Funny you should mention this. A few months ago I asked Geron about continuing the Charmed series. IIRC he basically said there was no immediate plan to continue the series, but it wasn't out of the question either. See Geron? Now there are two of us bugging you about this! 😂
But in the meantime we will continue to enjoy the adventures of Cally and Derry in the Door series.
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Quote:Funny you should mention this. A few months ago I asked Geron about continuing the Charmed series. IIRC he basically said there was no immediate plan to continue the series, but it wasn't out of the question either. See Geron? Now there are two of us bugging you about this! 😂
But in the meantime we will continue to enjoy the adventures of Cally and Derry in the Door series.
--Luvtwinks, I think it would be a great continuation of the Charm Series to have a Halloween story as Jesse, Marty, Nick, Brian, David are in a new school, now that they would age out of James H. Schmitz Middle School. It would be easier to have a Charm Halloween story than a Door Halloween story -- unless Derry and Cally wore their Armenti exploration suits as costumes. THAT would involve too nuch explaining. Unless one of the guys had a dream that they did that --
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Okay, Geron, I think you just tipped us off to something for the future. That should keep the series going for quite some time.
But a possible inconsistency. HOW did Koort hear what Nyf said, because he responded as if HE heard Nyf on the private channel before Mike made the next statement about the cargo door. Can Koort hear the stuff on the private channel well enough to guess what Mike and the guys were discussing? Maybe Difris and Nyf need to strengthen the encryption? With the memory implants, havde Mike and Derry and Cally started thinking in the trade language?
I have other thoughts, but I will shoot you an email in a few days to discuss any not cleared up in the next chapter. I don't want to give any thoughts away to those who have not read the chapters up to this point.
Once again, well done.
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
"luvtwinks wrote on Tue, 20 April 2021 13:09"
"Bisexual_Guy wrote on Mon, 19 April 2021 07:46"And should you come up with a "Charm" Halloween tale as well, that would be great.
--
Funny you should mention this. A few months ago I asked Geron about continuing the Charmed series. IIRC he basically said there was no immediate plan to continue the series, but it wasn't out of the question either. See Geron? Now there are two of us bugging you about this! 😂
But in the meantime we will continue to enjoy the adventures of Cally and Derry in the Door series.
--
The Charmed series is my first and possibly favorite one. I don't feel at all like I'm done with it. But I have kind of backed myself into a corner with so many series going at one time. Just not enough time to keep them all going like I'd like to. I'm going to need to figure out a cycle that works, or something like that!
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
"Bisexual_Guy wrote on Wed, 21 April 2021 07:56"Okay, Geron, I think you just tipped us off to something for the future. That should keep the series going for quite some time.
But a possible inconsistency. HOW did Koort hear what Nyf said, because he responded as if HE heard Nyf on the private channel before Mike made the next statement about the cargo door. Can Koort hear the stuff on the private channel well enough to guess what Mike and the guys were discussing? Maybe Difris and Nyf need to strengthen the encryption? With the memory implants, havde Mike and Derry and Cally started thinking in the trade language?
I have other thoughts, but I will shoot you an email in a few days to discuss any not cleared up in the next chapter. I don't want to give any thoughts away to those who have not read the chapters up to this point.
Once again, well done.
--
Koort cannot hear the private messaging between the guys and Nyf. I re-read that sequence and decided it did sound like he could, though. So I sent in a quick amendment to Tim, who has kindly posted it already.
I appreciate the heads-up. Inconsistencies are a pain, but they do creep in now and then. That one was an omission, more than anything else.
I have the plot for the next Door story already in mind. But I'm getting ready to start on Charlie's July 4th story, so it will have to wait! ![Very Happy](images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif)
If you guys figure out how to add about ten hours to each day, let me in on it, please (Difris won't loan me the time calibrator, unfortunately).
|
|
|
|
|
Bisexual_Guy
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA Midwest
Registered: September 2015
Messages: 154
|
|
|
Chapter 13 was an excellent ending to "The Darkness Between Doors." One part of the ending, involving Dith, surprised me, but upon reflection, made sense. Derry's idea about the moon starport was a good way to emphasize the point Mike was making to Dith and the Crites of Crowla Holding.
So, Geron, will the next Door tale start with Derry and Cally coming out to Derry's mom?
|
|
|
|
|
Geron Kees
|
![](images/rank-icons/3-star.png) |
Likes it here |
Location: USA
Registered: February 2016
Messages: 148
|
|
|
I actually won't know exactly how I want to begin the next Door story until I get there. I have a plot in mind, but don't know how important it would be to actually have Derry come out to his Mom as part of the story. I'll see when the time comes.
This third tale opened up several possibilities to tackle later. I'm sure there will be enough to keep the guys busy!
Thanks again for sharing the journey with them.
|
|
|
|
Goto Forum:
|