31 Comments

Excellent.

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Thank you. It was a challenging one to rein in. Didn't want it to go all Lifetime melodrama on me.

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Tone was perfect. I didn’t see it coming.

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I don't like to telegraph em. Don't like predictability as a reader, sure don't want to create it as a writer

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Good story.

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Thanks Patty. The skate imagery was in my head all day. I knew I had to use it.

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That opening line was an awesome hook.

Had me going!

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Strong opener weighs more than people think. Thanks J/S

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You know how to tell a good tale!

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Thanks Kim. Always trying to keep it entertaining.

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It’s kind of great, this one. Not Lifetime by a mile, more mystery but not romance unless Dexter comes back to town...

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No spoilers, but I think if Dexter came back to town he'd be more antagonist than romantic lead.

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I prefer that. Way more.

Lifetime would make him the head of an international tech company..At Christmas. With a puppy.

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My friend was just a lead in a Lifetime movie. I've never been prouder of an actor for delivering abysmal dialogue in the most believable, committed way possible. Every line seemed to be " how not to write" and I never would have watched it had she not been in it. It was such a good reminder to stay real.

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You’re a good friend. And an honest writer.

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Thanks. I think good friend is "change a flat in the rain," but "watch entire Lifetime movie" might be up there.

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More painful for sure

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The circle of life.

When I was young, the marsh in Yosemite Valley was drying up.

The rangers said soon it will be a meadow.

Today it is.

Maybe someday it will become a marsh again.

Who knows?

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I went to Hocking Hills years ago and a once mighty waterfall was a trickle. A very beautiful trickle, but tiny compared to what it had obviously been based on the terrain

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Wow what a great story. And it was unexpected in so many ways.

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Thanks. Life always has twists and unforeseen developments, so I try to capture that.

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nice story....send me a friend request on FB when you have a chance......peace....

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It's wonderful. Very descriptive, makes you feel like you're right there with the characters.

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That's always my goal. Thank you.

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I love how you incorporate the detail about the skate in the opening line and unravel its history so tactfully in the paragraphs that follow. What a great story!

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Thanks Justin. I'm not very happy with Substack right now,but I'm glad I'm still putting good work out there.

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Totally understandable. By the way, I loved today’s story, too. Sometimes I get lazy and decide not to comment, but know this: every time that ♥️ is pressed, your readers mean it (this one, at least!).

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I love the feedback and interaction. But I can't continue to justify the effort if the platform won't fix some of the issues that have been brought to their attention. I'm doing something unprecedented, something that takes a very high degree of skill, and my compensation is less than what I would make to assistant manage a Dairy Queen

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Love it!

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