Date: 06/24/13 08:42 pm Title: Chapter 16
I was right about the woman being Brian's mom! I wonder if Harold knows and that's why he doesn't seem to like Nick. I loved the scene of them in the car listening to the radio, especially the Titanic part. All these late 90s references are great! That was the best era ever. I also liked the part where Nick got to meet Brian's goat LOL. I wonder what Nick will have to do on the farm the next morning.
Author's Response: I love the 90s, it was my favorite time period growing up, and since this takes place in the late 90s you know I couldn't resist including some references. I had to do a lot of research on things that had come out in 1999 and what songs were popular etc. Glad you are enjoying them. As for Harold, he is a different character....his intentions will come clear soon. Thanks for the review.
Date: 06/24/13 08:34 pm Title: Chapter 15
Wow, this was a nice turn of events! I liked seeing AJ outside of the frat; it's nice to know he's not a douchebag like Howie. I love that he helped Nick prank Howie again and got him put on probation. Also, the brown-haired woman who looked familiar in the picture with Nick's dad HAS to be Brian's mom!! I wonder if they're going to find out during Christmas vacation and if it's going to be awkward. This should be interesting!
Author's Response: Yeah somehow I missed this one LOL. i liked writing AJ because even though it was AU i could somewhat keep him the same, being a partier. The frat was a good place to stick him in the story..
Date: 06/24/13 08:32 pm Title: Chapter 14
I'm glad Nick and Brian did something to get Howie back! A fish in the kitchen and laxatives in the brownies (I'm guessing) - can't beat that! It was cute that Kevin came to help them.
Author's Response: Yep they put laxatives in the brownies. My friend Ali looked up some pranks for me and I came up with these on my own, the internet is full of useless information like that for college pranks. thanks Julie.
Date: 06/24/13 08:30 pm Title: Chapter 13
Poor Nick, he just can't win! I felt so bad for him after what happened at IHOP, especially since he had to ride home with Crystal afterwards. Before that happened, I did think it was sweet that she knew about his Disney obsession and asked him out because of that. I like how you had him try to give vague answers that he thought she would want to hear to her questions about his favorite music and movies and so on - that's such a real thing to do on a first date. And again, I liked the ironic dig at boybands LOL.
Author's Response: He really can't :( I wanted someone to finally understand him, and Howie has to go and screw things up of course. I am glad their conversation was real enough for a first date as I was unsure about that at first. Thanks Julie!!
Date: 06/24/13 08:27 pm Title: Chapter 12
The scene with Nick meeting Crystal and getting stuck in the vending machine was cute. He is so socially awkward! It makes me wonder what the real Nick would have grown up to be like if he hadn't been turned into a teen idol. He said he got teased in school as a kid, so maybe he would have been more like this. Who knows LOL.
Author's Response: Sometimes I think he would be like this as well too. I myself was bullied growing up and sometimes I still feel awkward around new people, I end up doing or saying dumb things. That's where some of Nick's personality comes from in this story. I always put a bit of myself in the characters. Thanks for the comments Julie, I always smile when I get the email notification you reviewed :)
Date: 06/24/13 08:25 pm Title: Chapter 11
I read a few more chapters on my Kindle, where it's a pain in the ass to review, so I'm catching up on my reviews. This is my second-favorite chapter so far, after the scavenger hunt one. I felt so bad for Nick, especially when the cleaning ad went up, but it was nice to see Brian trying so hard to make him feel better. This whole incident seems to be a turning point in their friendship.
Author's Response: I actually had to get on my computer because it is faster for me to respond to reviews here.
I liked writing this chapter as well and I feel for Nick wanting to fit in but feeling humiliated by the fraternity being so cruel. I think this was when the two of them really started becoming closer friends, because like you said previously Nick's kind of been a jerk at times when Brian was being nice. Thanks for reading and reviewing Julie!!
Date: 06/22/13 10:53 pm Title: Chapter 10
Well, I was wrong! Good for Nick for standing up for himself and for Brian. Howie's a douche! I would never dress in drag and clean up shit just to join a club. I'm glad Nick came to his senses, although I'm sure this isn't the end of it.
I've been meaning to tell you, you did a great job with the first person narration in this story. I know you said this was the first novel you'd written in first person, but you can't tell - you're a natural at it. I really feel like I understand Nick as a person and get where he's coming from, and that's because you did such an excellent job writing from his point of view. I really felt for him in this chapter, being put in such an awkward position and ridiculed. I love that you borrowed ghetto Nick's "kiss my rosy white ass" line from Punk'd, btw LOL. Great chapter!
Author's Response: That means so much you said that, Julie. I knew when I was developing the story that I wanted Nick to tell it and I am really glad it came across well. I was so nervous writing it as I had never done a whole novel like this in first person POV. I wouldn't have done all the things Nick did for the frat either, it was a bit ridiculous. I love douchey Howie though, he was fun. Thanks for the review!
Date: 06/22/13 10:45 pm Title: Chapter 9
That's interesting that Brian didn't know his mom went to college with Nick's dad. Further proof of my theory! LOL I was not surprised at the catch when Howie approached Nick about joining the Pikas. I have a feeling Nick will go for it behind Brian's back and end up hurting his feelings. At least he's suspicious of Howie and his winking, though LOL.
Author's Response: Hmmm yes things will be explained, trust me. Howie is very suspicious haha thanks for the review!
Date: 06/22/13 10:31 pm Title: Chapter 8
Prediction: I think Nick's dad is also Brian's real dad, making Nick and Brian brothers. I found myself psycho-analyzing Nick a lot in this chapter. I wonder if, subconsciously, Nick is trying to stay a child because he lost his parents at such a young age. His early childhood was when he was happiest. Maybe that's where this Disney obsession stems from. I love Disney, but Nick takes it to the extreme. It's fitting that he has a thing for Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. I don't know if you used that symbolically or if I'm just reading too much into it, but it makes sense to me! LOL
Author's Response: Yeah that is where his childlike obsession with everything Disney comes into play. He identifies with Peter Pan...a boy that had no parents, a boy who didn't want to grow up because he is happiest as a child. I think you made a great observation there, Julie because nobody else made that connection. Nick is kind of a complex character in this story, so it was interesting to kind of mold him like that. Thanks for the reviews, you are.awesome :)
Date: 06/22/13 10:23 pm Title: Chapter 7
Ooh, so there's the back story I was wondering about - Howie WAS Brian's roommate, and it was Brian who did something to hurt Howie, albeit unintentionally. Interesting. This story is making for a fun challenge because it's so different from the kind of stuff I normally read, but I have to admit, I'm struggling with the characterization of the guys. It doesn't feel like a fanfic to me because, of the five guys, only AJ really seems like BSB AJ. I think I would enjoy it more if it were original fiction and I wasn't trying to picture the Backstreet Boys as the characters. That's just my personal preference, though, and it's why I don't read a lot of AU, so this was the perfect story for me to read for this challenge!
Author's Response: I totally understand, Julie. See this particular AU is a bit different than my romance series AU....in that one Nick is a singer still so he is not that different from BSB Nick. I think this would work well as an OF too, I haven't tried writing an OF yet so it's something to think about for the future. I might try it someday. Thanks for the review!
Date: 06/22/13 10:10 pm Title: Chapter 6
This was my favorite chapter so far. I loved the scavenger hunt! I also enjoyed the NKOTB reference and Nick saying he would not be caught dead in some stupid boyband. LOL I love little touches like that in an AU. I thought it was interesting that Nick used to be interested in music, until Kevin took his drums away. Again, very different from real life. Yet AJ still wears the black nail polish LOL. It's interesting to see which characterizations you kept the same and which ones you changed. I am now also wondering what Brian's deal with Howie and the Pikas is. I thought he was just too much of a goody-goody to want to be in a frat but maybe Howie WAS his old roommate and did something to hurt him. Sounds like there's more to this story that I'll have to read to find out!
Author's Response: This was one of my favorite chapters to write as well, lots of little things and references in there made it a lot of fun. That's why I like AU, you can keep some personality traits and make the play around with other ones.
I thought it made sense to keep AJ somewhat like himself because he was the partier in real life and being in a frat he could be the same way. Thanks for the review!!
Date: 06/22/13 09:59 pm Title: Chapter 5
I've never understood the whole Greek thing. So many rules and regulations! Doesn't seem worth it to me, but I see the appeal for Nick in wanting to belong to a group. Poor guy. I like that we got some more back story on Brian. Aside from it being AU, why did you decide to make so many changes to the guys' backgrounds, like having Brian be raised by a stepfather he doesn't get along with instead of his real dad? Just wondering! If there's a point to it that's part of the plot and you don't want to say yet, that's okay too.
Author's Response: I did a lot of research on fratetnities at the University of South Florida and it is really confusing. Pikas are a real frat there but I chose them because it was a Pokemon reference, as are Brock and Gary, they are characters in the anime.
as for Brian...I wanted to show him a bit different, kind of how Nick in real life doesn't get along with his mom, so i made it opposite. I wanted to have Nick come from having a loving family to having nobody, and Brian from not having that to finding his family (you'll see what I mean later on) glad youre enjoying the story!
Date: 06/19/13 03:56 am Title: Chapter 4
I'm back in the saddle again! I just reread the first few chapters to catch up to where I fell behind and stopped reading the first time. This is the first chapter that was new to me. Poor hungover Nick LOL. Brian seems to be a better friend to Nick than Nick's been to him so far. The TMNT talk was cute, and I LOLed at the thought of Nick being Peter Pan for Halloween. Nick wondering why Howie is always winking at him cracked me up too. Curious to see how rushing goes for Nick!
Author's Response: Glad you're giving this another try Julie. Writing Nick hungover was a lot of fun. I ember the pizza convo making mw hungry while writing it. Thanks for the review!!!
Date: 10/27/12 06:32 pm Title: Epilogue
Aww I really enjoyed this story, Tracy! Congrats on finishing it up. I liked how you showed the boys in the future and how Nick became a storyboard artist. Yay that his dream came true! I also thought it was very sweet how he and Laura got married and how his son wants to go to Disney for his birthday and takes after him. I'm glad things worked out for the two of them in the end - they really came full circle and grew into that classic Frick and Frack relationship that we all love :) Once again congrats on finishing it up, I'm going to miss the updates for this one, I really liked it!
Oh also how Howie's a janitor. Bahahaha! Karma's a bitch indeed.
Author's Response: You're absolutely right, they've been through a lot but at the end of the day they are still frick and frack :) I wanted Howie to have a demeaning job since he was such a tool. Thanks so much for the review!
Date: 10/26/12 07:02 pm Title: Chapter 29
Awww they graduated! I liked the little details that you put in here about Nick's I brake for animals bumper sticker and how Brian changed majors. I also love how Nick was accepted into Brian's family since they weren't so warm to him at first (well, Harold anyway but of course there was the obvious reason for that) I love how after all this time Nick still calls Brian Woody and GAH I just have so many bromantic Frick and Frack feelings for this chapter because I can just picture them having gone through the college experience together and still being best friends and brothers...and okay I'll stop now. /emotional/ lol love love love.. OH! I also loved the end bit where he said he really felt like his life was about to begin.
Author's Response: I love how into this bromance you were. I love the Frick and Frack dynamic so much, and I'm glad it carries over into the AU. I love that you liked the details as well, I had fun writing it :) thanks steph!
