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Bisexual_Guy
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Once again, Geron Kees has come up with a wonderful Halloween story to go with the rest of the Charlie Boone holiday series. First the link to the story, then the comments.
http://iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/geron-kees/charlie-boon e/11.html
First, it was good to see that Kippy's parents now approve of the guys being gay. That had not been explicitly stated in the first ten chapters, as I recall.
Second, when reading about Charlie on the way to Kip's home, all all four of the guys only children? It is pretty well implied that Charlie and Adrian are, but it has not been firmly established that Ricky and Kippy are only children (though events teen to imply that they are.
Third, when Pacha and Mike appeared in Kippy's room near the beginning of the story, Pacha mentioned that he had learned teleportation well from Max. When do we get to find out something Max or Pip or Frit or Keerby has learned from Pacha?
Fourth, I was glad to see that Kippy and Adrian both have a bit of skwish in them, according to Ragal, and that Charlie and Ricky have potential other abilities. With Ricky's quick reflexes and dagger skills, as recounted in the previous chapter, it seem possible to me that sometime in the future he MIGHT become able to teleport/transfer/transition from one spatial location to another.
Fifth, I love the addition of Keerby. I predict he may become a recurring character.
Sixth, I like how Illia and Onglet were featured more, in addition to having Murcha assist again. Also, when do we get to see Bob Travers again? After all, he has met Max and Nicholaas and the Twombly elves; he would be more understanding of outer space that most of the relatives of the boys.
I will guess that Ragal and Casper will be recurring characters. Hooray!
When do we get to see what Pip is extra good with in the way of ka/magic? It would appear Frit is inheriting some of the movement/force talent that Max has, while Keerby is a whiz with time. What is Pip's specialty?
Looking forward to the next eleven plus chapters of Charlie and company! Thanks, Geron, for the enjoyable stories.
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luvtwinks
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I've been awaiting this latest chapter for months! Geron never fails to disappoint! I haven't read this chapter yet so no spoilers please! 😀
[Updated on: Thu, 31 October 2019 23:28] |
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Geron Kees
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I don't want any spoilers, either, so I'll be brief. First, thank you for the kind words from both Bisexual Guy and luvtwinks. I do enjoy writing the Charlie Boone stories, and look forward to the holidays where they apply. I've already started the Christmas story, and some characters not seen for a while are back in that one. 
One problem I am having now is that the series has gotten long, and there are something like 350,000 words involved. I have a set of notes, but they don't encompass everything, and I just can't sit and re-read the entire series every time I make a new entry. I'm hoping that I don't accidentally contradict myself at some point, but that may just be inevitable with time.
I took a screen shot of everything you said, BG, and will try to address those issues in future stories.
Interesting, about the 'only child' thing. I was pretty sure that I mentioned at some point that Ricky had a sister, at least. But maybe that needs to be clarified. Once, only kids were rare, but it's a lot more common today, and many of them are teens now. Charlie, Kip, and Adrian are definitely 'onlies'. Ricky has a sister, and I'll mention that again at some point.
I will get more into the trading of information between Max and Pacha'ka. They've become friends, and that will be a common element in future stories. I'll also add more on what Frit, Pip, and Keerby may be up to. Ragal and Casper do both have things to do in the future. And Charlie and his friends will have their own interesting 'things' happening.
The series is still fun for me to write. I guess I'll keep at it for the foreseeable future.
Thnaks to you both for the comments!
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Geron Kees
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Whoops. I hope that 'Geron never fails to disappoint!' is a typo.
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luvtwinks
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"Geron Kees wrote on Sat, 02 November 2019 04:22"Whoops. I hope that 'Geron never fails to disappoint!' is a typo.
--
Definitely a typo. I meant the exact opposite. I should have written "Geron never fails to please". I think I need a vacation to give my brain a rest. 😂
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timmy
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The thing I find most interesting about this is the intertwined threads which emphasise one very important Issue for whole of all of mankind. It seems odd that no one has mentioned it so far
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
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Geron, I emailed you when I was only a few paragraphs into this story to express my delight in what I'd already read. I think it was Kippy's conflicted complaint about the smell of the alien in his closet. That delight continued clear through to the end. Very good tale, as always with this series.
I was thinking as I read this that not since the very first tale in the series that introduced us to the main characters as they attend the Halloween Party down the street, do they interact with their peers from high school. Far be it from me to tell you what to write about. I trust your creative abilities ennough by now to know that I'll be delighted with whatever you write, but if I could have a wish granted, I'd love to see one of their adventures take place entirely, or at least mostly on earth amongst their friends and peers.
😊😊😊😊😊
[Updated on: Sun, 03 November 2019 18:30]
“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
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Geron Kees
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Thanks for the nice note, Teddy. You're right, that the guys have not interacted with school friends much since the first story. They did see a number of them at the Halloween party that introduced Will and Billy. That was the third story. But not since then.
Most of the stories take place on weekends, or during holiday vacations. I can use this as an excuse for limiting them in their interactions with people at school, but it's really just that: an excuse. By my count the guys are all 18, or just about 18, so this is their last school year. If I'm going to do a school-related tale, I'd better get cracking!
Thanks for your input, as always!
Tim, I'm not sure what you mean by the 'intertwining thread'. Can you clarify?
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timmy
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"Geron Kees wrote on Sun, 03 November 2019 18:45"
Tim, I'm not sure what you mean by the 'intertwining thread'. Can you clarify?
--
I could, of course I could, and I shall if no-one else gets there first
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
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"timmy wrote on Sat, 02 November 2019 10:00"The thing I find most interesting about this is the intertwined threads which emphasise one very important Issue for whole of all of mankind. It seems odd that no one has mentioned it so far
--
I'm not sure what you're speaking of here, Timmy, but I've noticed a willingness, often but not always driven by SKWISH, among the main group of protagonists to give the benefit of the doubt up until those who seem to be in opposition to them show their true character. It is certainly not something a lot of us do out of habit. But then our heros do seem to have that added benefit of someone in the group exercising their SKWISH, and we don't.
Either way, I think the world at large would be much better served if more of us were willing to extend the benefit of the doubt or, if you will, grace, a little more often. I think that's one of the things that makes these stories such happy stories.
“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
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"Geron Kees wrote on Sun, 03 November 2019 10:45"They did see a number of them at the Halloween party that introduced Will and Billy.
--
Yes, I had forgotten about that particular episode, though not about Will and Billy. I'd simply forgotten their origins in this tale, but there's a good reason for that. At the same time I read that particular episode I was also reading another story that had a major chapter or three that took place in an old abandoned house out in the country, and in the intervening months or years the fog moved into my mind and I lost that part of our story thread to the other author. (speaking of which, does anyone remember the story I'm speaking of? There were muscle cars and drag racing involved in that particular tale... and the old abandoned house... and weed...)
[Updated on: Mon, 04 November 2019 00:59]
“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
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timmy
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Well unless I read a story that's different from the story you guys all read, the thing that I thought was important was not killing or harming somebody because they were different. Of course this may be the tramadol that I'm dosed up with talking but I'm sure it is in the story
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
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Geron Kees
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(speaking of which, does anyone remember the story I'm speaking of? There were muscle cars and drag racing involved in that particular tale... and the old abandoned house... and weed...)
I'm assuming you're kidding, right? That sounds like my own Road of Dreams. I never considered the parallel, but the haunted house in the Road tale was not really haunted.
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Geron Kees
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[Well unless I read a story that's different from the story you guys all read, the thing that I thought was important was not killing or harming somebody because they were different. Of course this may be the tramadol that I'm dosed up with talking but I'm sure it is in the story]
Yes, that thread was there, and was a point of the story. It does not apply just to aliens, but to all living things.
Including human beings!
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Bisexual_Guy
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I did not have time to reply to Timmy's comment at the time, but I also thought about how Geron has included respect for life in many of his stories. This has shown up time and again in the Charlie Boone stories, and also in "The Odd, Onward Door" series. Some pretty good hints of that appear in some of the other stories as well.
Another strong theme is respect for differences. This is expressed clearly again in both the Charlie Boone series and the Door series. When we consider how different are many of the characters in Charlie Boone, then consider the respect that Difris and Nyf have for the boys and Mike in the Door series, and the other way as well, yet all have respect for each other.
In story after story, Geron demonstrates respect, consideration, and attempts of his characters to understand others. Several other authors on this site also demonstrate sensitive, such as Andrew Foote in more than one story, David Lee, Nicholas Hall, Cole Parker, Teddy Bower, the Webmaster, and others.
Please keep of the good work, authors.
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"Geron Kees wrote on Sun, 03 November 2019 20:53"(speaking of which, does anyone remember the story I'm speaking of? There were muscle cars and drag racing involved in that particular tale... and the old abandoned house... and weed...)
I'm assuming you're kidding, right? That sounds like my own Road of Dreams. I never considered the parallel, but the haunted house in the Road tale was not really haunted.
--
Oh, Golly Gosh Darn Gee-Whiz!!! I didn't remember that tale being authored by you or anyone else for that matter, Geron, but you're right, of course. I simply lost track of who the author actually is. And an excellent tale it was, too. One of my favorites, though I read so many that I often lose track of authorship with the passage of time, so no, I wasn't kidding... 😳😳😳
[Updated on: Tue, 05 November 2019 21:32]
“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
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Geron Kees
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[Oh, Golly Gosh Darn Gee-Whiz!!! I didn't remember that tale being authored by you or anyone else for that matter, Geron, but you're right, of course. I simply lost track of who the author actually is. And an excellent tale it was, too. One of my favorites, though I read so many that I often lose track of authorship with the passage of time, so no, I wasn't kidding... 😳😳😳]
You're excused. I only knew it was my story because you mentioned 'muscle cars', not a big item here on Iomfats. The rest might have been done by anybody!
Just in case you're interested, projects for the coming year include: the third Door story; the third Thrift Shop story; the third Road story; and a bunch of Charlie Boones. And I'm sure a few challenge tales, too. I also hope to complete a long fantasy I've been working on, and a long sci-fi tale. The first has twenty chapters completed, the second over ten. So far, I'm still having fun!
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"Geron Kees wrote on Tue, 05 November 2019 18:56"So far, I'm still having fun!
--
"You say the nicest things, Charlie Boone!"
“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
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"Geron Kees wrote on Tue, 05 November 2019 18:56"I only knew it was my story because you mentioned 'muscle cars', not a big item here on Iomfats.
--
My first car was a '69 Pontiac Firebird so muscle cars were in my blood as a young man... Most folks only know them in car shows or car museums these days...
By the way, my car was totally stock and I kept it that way up to the day I sold it. Now I wish I'd never done that (sold it). I watched in fascination as an exact, restored version of my Firebird made it's way down the auctioneers carpet at some internationally famous auto auction, and sold for $104,000.00 US Dollars.
[Updated on: Wed, 06 November 2019 20:01]
“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
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Geron Kees
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[My first car was a '69 Pontiac Firebird so muscle cars were in my blood as a young man... Most folks only know them in car shows or car museums these days...]
I remember those cars well. The were extremely cool in their time, and have kept a following all these years. The 350 models were more common, but the 400-engined models were great performance cars. I had a high school friend that had the 400 tri-power model, bone stock, and it was a good runner. The Firebirds were like slightly smaller GTOs, and definitely prospered from that legacy. Pony cars were still hot when I was in high school, and you could still find them fairly cheap.
I did a look around on a few classic car sites before responding, and the average price for a '69 in nice condition is $50-$60,000. Not bad, for a car that cost three thousand dollars and some change new. I also saw a nice '69 with the 350 engine for a great price of $17,000. So they still can be found at an affordable price, if you aren't trying to get a barn burner.
Man. Those were the days when driving was REALLY fun! I'm tempted, from time to time, to buy an old muscle car I see somewhere, but so far the bug has not bitten deeply enough. Maybe someday, though.
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"Geron Kees wrote on Wed, 06 November 2019 15:19"Man. Those were the days when driving was REALLY fun!
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This is true. My Firebird was a 350 Hydro Automatic. Totally stock. I drove it up Washington State's Route 14 (North shore of the Columbia River) one Friday afternoon. There are a few little towns there on the west 60 or so miles of Route 14 where the road is not particularly straight, but once it opens up passed that last town you can put your foot down and hardly have to blink on the corners. I got the car up to 140 MPH with a lot more power to go but it got really loosey goosey. I could just imagine myself catching some air and tumbling ass over teakettle so backed it off to 110 and cruised all the way to the Umatilla Bridge. Pure dream driving at that speed.
Also did a little illegal drag racing down at Vancouver Lake, but only against cars that I figured were competition. Figured guys who'd built their cars and who wanted to go up against me were on ego trips and basically ignored them. Met some great guys in those days. Unfortunately none like your hero in your "Road of Dreams" met, but boy, that would have been so cool if I had... 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
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Geron Kees
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[This is true. My Firebird was a 350 Hydro Automatic. Totally stock.]
Your car was a better handler than the 400 engined car, because the big block was too heavy and it made the nose tend to outhandle the rear end. They were all very cool cars, though. Amazingly, nothing they built back then would handle like the cars they make today, and you can buy luxury cars now with 450 horsepower (or a lot more). But driving those old muscle cars was a sheer thrill. I think it was the feeling that you were not totally safe in them that gave them that speacial aura. They were way overpowered for the tires and suspensions they had in those days.
I did plenty of street racing myself. It was very rural where I lived, and muscle cars were everywhere. Much of the Road tales are based on my teen years. It may interest you to know that that Halloween party at the haunted house was a real event, save for the sex in the cornfield. Haha. You can't have it all!
It's good to have fond memories. The car culture that existed from the sixties through my time in the mid-eighties is still going strong today. But most of the guys you see ripping up and down the roads in old muscle cars are not teenagers, they're the same guys that owned those cars back then.
We all grow older, but some things in us never grow up.
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Bisexual_Guy
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"Geron Kees wrote on Sat, 02 November 2019 04:17"
I took a screen shot of everything you said, BG, and will try to address those issues in future stories.
Interesting, about the 'only child' thing. I was pretty sure that I mentioned at some point that Ricky had a sister, at least. But maybe that needs to be clarified. Once, only kids were rare, but it's a lot more common today, and many of them are teens now. Charlie, Kip, and Adrian are definitely 'onlies'. Ricky has a sister, and I'll mention that again at some point.
I will get more into the trading of information between Max and Pacha'ka. They've become friends, and that will be a common element in future stories. I'll also add more on what Frit, Pip, and Keerby may be up to. Ragal and Casper do both have things to do in the future. And Charlie and his friends will have their own interesting 'things' happening.
The series is still fun for me to write. I guess I'll keep at it for the foreseeable future.
Thnaks to you both for the comments!
--Thank you, Geron, and I looked back at the very first story, and found the following:
Ricky pulled off the mask, looking embarrassed. "I raided my mom's closet for the belt, and my little sister's room for the other stuff. I was lucky that we still had the pink spray paint from when my mom painted styrofoam Easter eggs." He shrugged. "I thought about getting my dad's axe and painting it pink and bringing that for effect, but I figured he'd really be pissed when he saw it. No use shooting myself in the foot, you know?"
So, you were right. Ricky has a LITTLE sister. The question now becomes, How Much Littler? (Age-wise, that is.)
It had been a long time since I had read Chapter 1. Very much enjoyed reading it again.
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Bisexual_Guy
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Geron, Ricky also has a little brother. In the third Charlie Boone story, we find:
"I'm not worried," Adrian saaid, coming to stand beside Ricky. "This guy knows who he's with."
Ricky looked embarrassed again. "Yeah."
Charlie looked around, peering into the living room. "I take it we're alone?"
"Uh huh. My mom took my little brother out for trick or treats, and my sister is down the street at Janie Paulie's house."
The stories are so enjoyable that forgetting that Ricky also has a younger brother is easily forgiven. (Or, I HOPE you forgive me.)
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"Bisexual_Guy wrote on Sat, 09 November 2019 01:19"Geron, Ricky also has a little brother. In the third Charlie Boone story, we find:
The stories are so enjoyable that forgetting that Ricky also has a younger brother is easily forgiven. (Or, I HOPE you forgive me.)
--
Interesting little snippets that didn't seem important at the time!. It just goes to show that any of us, or none of us, inclucing Geron, seem to remember these seemingly small details, at least without going back and revisiting the previous tales in the series. We're too engaged in the overall story to quickly pick up on what is, as far as the plot is concerned, fluff or filler in the conversation. It's almost as if one of the boys mentioned off-handedly that he wasn't able to complete his outside chores due to the weather then, for whatever reason, eight installments later the incident is referred to again, but this time an essential element of the story requires the sun to have been shining. We won't remember it because at the time it was just filler in the conversation.
I'm not nearly as prolific a writer as is Geron or some of the others here, and I struggle to keep some of those details accurately, even within the short stories that I write. I cannot imagine how one keeps them straight over the space of several years writing about the same people.
“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
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Geron Kees
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There's nothing to forgive. You're right, BG, Ricky has both a brother and a sister. This goes back to me saying I can't remember all the little details, and that I would eventually contradict myself. The storyline has gotten pretty big now. The eleven stories have the word count of several novels (or one Stephen King novel). But I did add those facts to my notes, and hope I won't forget them. I guess at some point I'll need to sit down and re-read the entire thing, and add to my notes.
I did review last year's Christmas tale before starting on the new one, as Uncle Bob returns, and I wanted to make sure I had him right. But you should definitely give me a heads up if you notice somethng I missed. I would appreciate it!
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Geron Kees
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[Interesting little snippets that didn't seem important at the time!.]
I know exactly what you mean, Teddy. For instance, on the boy's first visit to Engris, they each bought a 'treasure' at the pirate market. I never really intended that scene to be a major moment in the series, but found that reader's were fascinated by it, and so found myself using those ancient baubles at some point to further the series. Only Charlie's piece, the metal plate that shows the holder an image of the place he or she loves the most (home) has not been front and center as a story element later on. That doesn't mean it won't come up...just that I haven't quite got that one set into a story just yet.
I reread parts of the different stories when I refer back to something in a later tale, and I am constantly surprised to find things I mentioned, that have not stayed in mind. So if you see something off, sing out!
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Re: Is That a Monster in the Closet, Charlie Boone? by Geron Kees 
