Date: 06/25/12 02:40 am Title: Chapter 19
I really liked this chapter - gave me some answers, but also more questions. Like, I know now that it's really still 1999, so they're not in the future, more like an alternate reality with a different past, in which Trump was president instead of Clinton. I'm glad Howie asked about that. I get the celebrity thing, but I wonder why they started taking all the kids too. And if I was reading this while you were writing it, I would have hated you for the way you ended this chapter, because I'm dying to know how Howie fumbled through that explanation, but I guess I can just read on and hopefully find out soon! :)
Author's Response:
I was pretty brutal with cliffhangers for this story. Even more so than What Lurks so yeah, i'm glad you're reading it while it's finished as well lol Who in their right minds would elect Trump? Stupid people deserved what happened to them! Glad you were happy with some answers. :O)
Date: 06/23/12 01:21 pm Title: Chapter 18
I read this chapter earlier on my Kindle, but typing on there is no fun, so here's my delayed review now that I'm back on my computer. I'm glad those guys turned out to be not-bad guys - and finally, we meet Charlie! I remember him being mentioned earlier and know something bad is going to happen to him, but for now, I'm glad he's here to help them out. Another piece of the puzzle! I like how you included the Numb3rs characters, though I never would have known that without the author's note; I never watched that show. Clever way to work them in without doing an actual crossover, though!
Author's Response:
Typing on the smaller things isn't fun! I'm on my desk top right now too! Thanks! Numb3rs was a great show and that's coming from someone who hates math! lmao I always wanted to have Nick part of the family but he would have been such an odd man out! Giving the words 'dumb blonde' new meaning! Thanks for the review, Julie! :O)
Date: 06/20/12 10:00 pm Title: Chapter 17
I love how all the pieces are starting to come together - like the fact that Sydney knows Randy and Clara, too, as well as Scott. I didn't expect AJ to reunite with Brian and Kevin so soon, but I'm glad they're together now! I appreciated the bit of back story Sydney gave to AJ, too, about why people turned on celebrities. I'm still curious to find out what "deal with the devil" Trump made that allowed Canada to turn on us, but I'm sure that will be explained at some point. I'm used to having to wait for answers to my questions in your stories, but it's nice knowing the story is done, so if the suspense really starts killing me, I can just keep reading! :)
Author's Response:
Thanks! Yup, hopefully as you continue on things will start coming together and some of the puzzle pieces will gradually be revealed. When I was writing this, I wanted my readers to feel as confused and in the dark as my characters. It's only fair, right? lmao Some you'll have to wait longer for then others but eventually I do explain most of what's going on...most. LOL THanks for all the reviews, Julie! It's fun revisiting this one!
Date: 06/20/12 09:50 pm Title: Chapter 16
Aww, this was a sad chapter, but I'm glad Kevin and Brian made it. I hope Brian's okay; I wonder if he has internal injuries or something beneath that bruise on his stomach. I felt so bad for him when he was lying under the rubble, not sure if Kevin had survived, thinking about suicide. I did appreciate this line though: "Whenever I heard people talk about when they almost tried to kill themselves or wished they were dead, it would really piss me off." ;)
Author's Response:
I don't remember this one lol I might have to go back and check it out. And lmao thanks! Glad you liked that line. So, true! "I'm leaving this time...I mean it!!" ;)
Date: 06/20/12 09:41 pm Title: Chapter 15
Ooh, so the truth is out - now they know the bad guys are hunting celebrities. I love how the world has regressed to hanging people in public gallows - brutal! You did a fantastic job writing the guys' reactions as they came into the city and saw what it looked like. The sick feeling Brian had is how anyone would be feeling if they were thrown into that situation, I'm guessing. I like how Nick's mind went right to aliens LOL. Doesn't seem that far-fetched though, given how crazy everything is.
Author's Response:
Thanks! Yeah i'm pretty sure that would be quite a shock for anyone to see. I think my mind might go to aliens to in that situation lol
Date: 06/20/12 04:46 am Title: Chapter 14
I'm glad they finally found some shelter, along with food and warm clothes! The radio message intrigued me; I'm glad they took the advice and shut the lights off, though I wonder if it's too late. I'm guessing they'll try to go to this Delilah's place if they can find it; I'm curious to see what's waiting for them there. I can't imagine how scared they must be, knowing they're in danger, but not knowing why or from whom. It'd be hard to sleep with all those questions running through your head! Great job with all the details that make this so frightening, yet interesting!
Author's Response:
Thanks for the compliments, Julie! Hearing frightening, creepy, goosebumps and interesting are the reactions i'm looking for. As long as it doesn't turn into sucky, horrible and is it almost over? lmao That wouldn't be good! Thanks for the reviews!!
Date: 06/20/12 04:37 am Title: Chapter 13
What a scary, miserable situation to be in! The descriptions of the snow and them shivering and sniffling are making me cold! LOL Poor Nick especially - the way you described him in his shorts, shivering so hard he was practically convulsing and with tears streaming down his face, made me feel so sorry for him! :(
Author's Response:
Aww, I know! I think it was actually really cold here when I wrote that so I was just internalizing how awful it would be to dress in summer clothes and be stuck outside in the brutal cold! Poor Nick! lol
Date: 06/20/12 04:31 am Title: Chapter 12
Ooh, this chapter was even creepier than the last one! You did a great job building the suspense. I felt the same ominous feeling that Nick did, and when they saw the sea of dead birds in the road and the spray-painted sign saying "This is the end," I literally got goosebumps. I still have them now as I'm typing this. Very eerie - I love it!!
Author's Response:
Yay! Goosebumps are always a good thing. Thanks, Julie! I loved writing the crunching sounds as they walked on the dead birds lol
Date: 06/18/12 06:57 pm Title: Chapter 11
The imagery in this chapter was so creepy - the house on fire and almost split in half, the snow falling in May, the abandoned cars with mold growing on the coffee inside, and not another living creature in sight. It reminds me of "I am Legend" or something like that, only with Canadians stalking them instead of the undead. So weird... I'd react the same way as Howie at the end - what the hell is going on?! I love the way you're slowly piecing it all together, just giving snippets of information at a time to make it more mysterious, but I can't wait till all the pieces of the puzzle come together!
Author's Response:
Wow you read a lot of this today. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I'm glad you liked all the imagery in this chapter. Writing the descriptions of how things are in this place was my favorite thing to do. I've never seen I am Legend, but I'd imagine when Thr end of the world comes its pretty much like this. There are no zombies in this one though lol well not literally. You'll see what I mean later. ;-)
Date: 06/18/12 06:49 pm Title: Chapter 10
Ooh, this chapter was exciting! I like how it started with the fight between Brian and Leighanne; I'm sure he's always going to regret not trying harder to make things right with her before he left. I wasn't sure if you were going to have the actual crash landing happen in this chapter or not, but I'm glad you did! Like I said, it was exciting! I'm guessing the blast of heat at the end was a bomb. I'm not sure if the plane took them into a parallel universe or alternate reality or the future or what, but I'm curious to find out, if we ever do. Can't wait to see how the boys react!
Author's Response:
It's funny because I debated on not having the plane land until the next chapter but then decided I had enough things hanging already and thought it was best to get things moving. I'm sure Brian was grateful she wasn't on the plane after seeing what happens to all the misc people in Mare's stories lol Thanks again, Julie. I'm on my iPod so sorry for all the typos in The last response. It was very Cary's dad ish lol
Date: 06/18/12 06:36 pm Title: Chapter 9
Poor Nick, he seems to be having the hardest time of all of them with this. I wonder who Laura was and what happened to her that no one else saw. I'm eager to find out as we get closer to the emergency landing part. It's too bad Nick and Howie are getting kicked out; I bet Kevin and Brian will just miss them. Frustrating!
Author's Response:
You'll be introduced to Laura in a little bit as well as finding out why things are worse for Nick. I know it's annoying to know two of them are heading there while two of them are leaving. Thanks for your comments!
Date: 06/18/12 06:25 pm Title: Chapter 8
LOL This was a cute chapter. Poor Howie, what a sucker!! He has the patience of a saint to put up with all of Nick's bullshit, but I love that he caved and went out with Nick so he could make sure nothing bad happened to him. Having some idea of what's coming, I figured he'd regret it later if he didn't go!
Author's Response:
Thanks, Julie. I think this was one of my favorite chapters to write. Just a fun one that sets up the relationship between those two.
Date: 06/18/12 06:17 pm Title: Chapter 7
I loved how you wrote Kevin's inner turmoil in this chapter. He's thought of as everyone's Superman, but he's scared shitless himself - and who wouldn't be?? That's way too much pressure. I would want to hide under the table and call it quits, too. I was hoping the people breaking into the house with be AJ and his new friend, but I'm glad it was at least people who know Randy and Clara, which hopefully means Kevin and Brian will be reunited with Howie and Nick soon. That is, if they survive the tank. I loved the detail about the Canadians tattooing a little maple leaf on their arms, btw; it reminded me of Voldemort's Death Eaters, with the Dark Mark on their arms. The idea of the Canadians being this bad-ass enemy out to annihilate us is still kind of amusing to me, but you're doing a great job making them seem like a real threat!
Author's Response:
I know, those poor Canadians. I laughed a lot while writing this trying to picture these moose loving people being that horrible. Glad younliked the maple leaf, i was afraid it was over the top corny and thanks for your comments about Kevin's thoughts. I'm glad you are reading this after its completed because I could tell all the unanswered questions would drive you bonkers lol
Date: 06/12/12 02:42 am Title: Chapter 6
This was my favorite chapter so far; I laughed almost nonstop! I know you are a Nick/Kevin girl, but you write AJ really well! It's fun to get inside his head. I think my favorite part was the whole Nick-spitting-like-a-llama sequence, but seriously, the whole chapter had me cracking up!! How ironic that AJ said Canada was his favorite place to travel and that they owe Canada everything, knowing that Canada's about to destroy their world LOL. Love it!!!
Author's Response:
This was an example of a chapter I had to go back and skim after reading your review because I had no clue what you were talking about with the llama scene lol I enjoy writing AJ even though I feel absolutely no connection to him in real life so thank you for the compliment. I need to throw in a funny chapter every now and then in this dark one and AJ is going to be the funny man. You know me, I love writing them in first person and way back when. Thanks again for the reviews after your long day!
Date: 06/12/12 02:30 am Title: Chapter 5
Yay, AJ's alive! Not that I thought he wouldn't be, but I'm glad to find out where he's been all this time. I could see AJ going crazy in his solitude; he definitely seems like the type of person who needs constant companionship and attention. But what's this now - a GIRL in a Mare story??? Get out of town! Curious to see what her role will be. I like that she seems a little bit badass so far. :) I also love that I got some info on the backstory here - Canada, eh??? That's hilarious; I love it! I could see our neighbors to the North harboring some resentment and wanting to strike when we least expect it! I laughed at the Star Troopers and AJ's reaction to the name too LOL. Now that I know all the guys are alive, I wonder how long it will take them all to find each other. After reading your author's note, I just figured out how you've organized this - obviously I knew you were going back and forth between post- and pre-apocalypse, but I didn't connect that you had the chapters paired up by which boy they were about. I like that you're writing each of their perspectives, and you do a great job with each one!
Author's Response:
Going into this and knowing it was my last one, I wanted to go as far out of the box as possible so that's where this mystery girl came from. I knew AJ would need some kind of companion while he was searching for the guys so I decided against my better judgement to make it a her lol I'm glad she's coming off as a hard ass! And yes, it's all Canada's fault. Isn't it always? Eh? hehe thanks, Julie!
