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He's doing good though, gets a little sore after PT but all in all he's getting much better and in good spirits.

I know what you mean and I fully agree. Here we go, flair for the obvious: There are two senses in which a reader can hate a character. The reader can hate a character that simply doesn't work, in terms of craft. If the character and/or its situation/action/milieu are implausible, the writer has failed in the execution of some technical aspect of his/her job. In another sense, the reader can hate the character as one would detest a person. And in this sense, the writer succeeds, whether the viscerally negative reaction is intended or not! There is nothing more cool than hearing a reader say he's in love with a character, or equally, that he wants to find the character and kill him. I try very hard to avoid hated characters in the first sense. But in the second sense... I don't mind it at all!

Don't get me wrong, I didn't say I don't care what they think. I like to hear that a story is at least provoking some sort of emotion even if it is hatred for a character or a storyline but I don't let it sway the course of my story. I'm simply saying that I've found that people tend to like a certain type of story and if you dare to go down a different line than they are used to, you can get quite a bit of resistance (or less hits - since that's what this all started off as anyway). If I wanted to I could write a story that follows a formula and would please many of the readers in my genre. That's just not what I've set out to do so therefore I don't. So that's how I see myself as writing to please myself first and if others like it, that's just a boon. It's nice to hear that your work is appreciated but would I stop if nobody told me they liked what I'd written? No. CL

I don't think of it as a popularity CONTEST, but I am definitely affected by whether a story is a hit or a flop. I had my first straight-up flop recently (in that reviewers were explicit about not liking it, and the reasons why), which has definitely made me question some of my assumptions about what readers want to see. Because if I didn't care about what readers thought, I wouldn't post my stories online in the first place (or else I'd post them on a site that has no mechanism to allow readers to respond). I guess I don't see it that way. I've had readers that have been quite vocal about what they didn't like about some of my stories but it didn't change the course of the story I wrote. Hell I got a couple of threats on another site when I started posting a sequel to a story some people sort of liked when it went in a direction they didn't like. Though I do admit that some reader feedback on another story did help to make it better in that I continued for a couple extra chapters to make the ending more complete but it didn't change the story I wanted to write. If I let the readers dictate what I wrote, all my stories would have one big guy, the dominant alpha male (most likely a werewolf because that's what readers want in the genre I write) and one smaller effeminate guy that the big guy wants but doesn't want him but he gets anyway because of the 'mate bond'. *shudders at the thought of attempting to write that story* I couldn't write a supernatural fic to save my life. I just think when writers write to appease the readers, they can lose sight of what got them excited about writing the story in the first place. If I looked at hit counts, rates and reviews, I'd have quit posting after my first two stories (I'll smack anyone that tells me I should have taken the hint. ) and then FFH would never have seen the light of day on this site. Anyway, my advice is to just keep writing what you're compelled to write, post it and even if it's not what you think is a major success (What constitutes success on this site, 1k hits, 10k hits? I've no idea.) if you're happy with what you wrote then you did what you set out to do. CL

So that thing about pregnant women having weird cravings is true? yep, worms and ice cream Just not the worms and ice cream you're thinking of

Um, thanks for poking? So that thing about pregnant women having weird cravings is true? I don't think of it as a popularity CONTEST, but I am definitely affected by whether a story is a hit or a flop. I had my first straight-up flop recently (in that reviewers were explicit about not liking it, and the reasons why), which has definitely made me question some of my assumptions about what readers want to see. Because if I didn't care about what readers thought, I wouldn't post my stories online in the first place (or else I'd post them on a site that has no mechanism to allow readers to respond). Very well said.

Chapter 39 is up! This is another milestone chapter, not because of what's in the chapter necessarily, but more because...well, it's my last chapter I'm posting from where I live now. I've been posting chapters while living in this apartment for over a year now but, thankfully, the wife and I are moving to a house so, now, hopefully I'll get a bit more inspiration from being able to sit on the back deck with a beer and some nibbles and not have to deal with shrieking pot-smokers two feet away. Ah, the joys of life. We hope to be moved in by Friday so you probably won't hear anything from me until then, but I'll still be starting work on Chapter 40 (holy crap...Chapter 40! And I didn't think I'd make it to Chapter 4!) See you all soon!

Gotta concede the point, Desiderius. I could write straight into a diary, seal it in wax, and bury it under the roots of a hemlock tree. But I'm here. So my claim that I write only for myself must be poetic crap!

He's getting frisky so I think he's doing fine

Not sure yet, but it'll be shadowy oh, and bloody

Not to worry, we shall be invading their shadowy world soon Mwahahahaha

I don't think he's up for that yet, but this isn't the first time she's crawled into his hospital bed...I've been known to do it myself now and again... He sleeps better with someone in his arms, I so love that, that just by holding him I can make his nightmares go away (L)

Magus is fine, says he feels great, his back doesn't hurt and judging by the kisses Kari and I are getting I'd have to agree with him. Kari just crawled into bed with him. She's just cuddling with him you pervs All in all I would say the surgery was a total success!