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Thanks, Sol.

Hi Janet. Thanks for letting us know. That's very unfortunate (actually it sucks). He and I read each other's books for many years until he left the site. He was a really nice guy.

LOL. I just posted it. Now I get to spend several days getting caught up on reviews. Ugh!
Not to mention clearing snow from my deck and driveway. I think I need a nap first, though.

I'm curious if y'all have any thoughts on how to handle the following: I'm about to post chapter 3 of Connor v2, and the observant reader will note that Connor, as described in the chapter, looks nothing like the blond, blue-eyed, muscular, handsome, tan devil spawn on the front cover of the v2 book.

That's intentional since the transformation from wimp to pseudo-god will be gradual as his Christlike powers "grow". Most of the changes are no problem (eye color, hair color, tan skin). The fly in the ointment is him somehow developing a muscular body from a scrawny waif. Since it's Connor, I can always speed up the process, but I'm wondering if I should go to the trouble of giving him some crazy hunger for food, especially protein, that allows his body to develop those muscles fast. Or should I just let it happen supernaturally like his other changes?

He'll of course be pretending to be sick for about the first week in the Holy Land, so it doesn't really make sense for him to stuff his face while sick. I don't want to dedicate many words to discussing him constantly eating to get bigger, either.

There are a number of superheroes in comics who transform into their superhuman equivalent pretty much at the drop of a hat. Shazam is one. I believe a fairly recent origin film for Captain Marvel did something similar. There are others.

I'm leaning toward letting it just happen supernaturally, although I wish I had an explanation for how it could happen without eating constantly. It's one of those hokey plot holes that drives me crazy.

EDIT: Although he won't look muscular to start, he will reveal his incredible strength right from the first scene of chapter one, where he will fight Alessandro, admittedly using limited strength so as not to hurt him.

EDIT2: Perhaps his body grows unusually quickly at the outset based on what he eats, which is simply normal meals. His body could have the ability to turn what little he eats into muscles. In the third week, while sick, his body stops growing, and then resumes growing in the final week in the Holy Land.

Thoughts?
Dirk

While Connor, the AC, had those powers, Connor, the emerging Christ, does not yet have them.
Also, since I'm reverting to the original write-up, he won't use violence. He'll get flattened by Alessandro, then play dead until they run away in a panic.

I'll try writing it with brood of vipers first to reinforce who he may be.
If it stinks, I can go a bit further. Admittedly, I still like rat pack.

Also, since Connor is supposedly just an ordinary kid who doesn't yet know he's Christ, I felt it was okay for him to think of the bullies as demon spawns and rats. He thinks in terms of "demon spawns" because that's what he himself is (that's me having a little fun), and rats is just short for the "Rat Pack", which is a phrase the other bullied kids normally use.

Since Jesus referred to the Pharisees as a brood of vipers, it's safe to assume he had to think of them as a brood of vipers before he said it. So, demon spawns and rats doesn't seem too much worse for a bullied kid.

Let's face it, none of those three are "charitable" thoughts.

EDIT: Connor also reveals that Alessandro's roommates refer to him as Tiny Tim behind his back. Because Connor is still trying to provoke the "beating" the rat pack intend for him anyway, he suggests Alessandro change clothes in the dark going forward.

Too much? If so, why?

Thanks
Dirk

I'm working on a new scene for Connor v2. It was intended to be a short scene added to the beginning of the original chapter 1, where Connor cures Alessandro of his epilepsy through prayer. The new scene is supposed to happen before that, where Alessandro (a bully towards Connor) roughs him up.

I was going to have Connor play dead after a nasty punch (and of course he can slow his heartbeat and breathing to appear dead). However, in writing that scene, it didn't carry much punch as the opening scene of the actual "story", when the plot gets rolling.

As I changed and expanded the scene, it took on a life of its own (8 pages), and I now need to make it a chapter of its own, at least in terms of what I post here. I always have the option later to combine chapters when I pull the book together.

Here's a quick summary (Connor's POV, but I steer his thoughts around his real identity):

- Connor is confronted by Alessandro and his roommates (the "Rat Pack") who bully many of the kids, especially Connor.
- There's a flashback to some of the past abuse that Connor has suffered, all while refusing to engage in a fight (he turns the other cheek).
- At the end of the flashback, Connor realizes the violence is escalating and decides he has to do more to protect everyone and end the bullying for good.
- Back to the present, where Connor intentionally becomes confrontational toward the rats, especially Alessandro.
- As Alessandro attacks, Connor shocks them with some of his power (he takes a vicious blow to the face and barely flinches, then stops Alessandro's fist cold with one hand and won't let go, and soon ends the fight with as little violence as he can, then forces the rats to agree to stop bullying others).

Question:

- Is it okay for Connor (aka Christ) to finally resort to limited violence to protect everyone, or is that likely to be seen as too out of character for Christ as a child (who supposedly doesn't yet know he's Christ)? At that point, Connor is "merely" an innocent kid who cares about others and tries his best to avoid violence. He doesn't want to reveal any other powers at that time, and he uses as little violence as he can against the rats.
- I really haven't left him any other options if he wants to protect everyone. The priests do what they can but can't be everywhere all the time. The rat pack are relatives (nephews and grandnephews) of senior Catholic clergy, who protect them from what they see as too much (non-violent) discipline by Romano, so he's limited to stern lectures and figurative slaps on the wrist.
- Romano cares too much about the other orphans, including Connor, that he chooses not to resign his role as rector of the seminary in protest.
- If it helps, Christ is supposed to return as a lion, not a lamb, in the Second Coming.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Dirk

Only $6.99? I may have to drive down there for cheap groceries.
I normally pay USD $5.60, give or take the exchange rate, although those are free range/organic.
Naturally, the price would go up if Trump invades and steals our chickens.
We're paying on average USD $4.40 per gallon for regular gas right now in spite of Alberta's drill-baby-drill dumbass mentality.

Ah, my favorite topic. Capitalization alone has probably added months to my writing over the past 12 years.

I questioned Gemini about this. It sees bus driver as merely a job, whereas it sees doctor, captain, astronaut, etc. as titles of respect. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of cases where there would be no consensus as to whether to use titles of respect for given careers. I intentionally questioned it about astronaut and it says it should be capitalized in direct address ("Hello, Astronaut."). The latter is goofy since I've never heard of someone addressing an astronaut that way, although I suppose it's possible. Another case is someone with a master's degree vs. someone with a doctorate. Basically, no one calls me Master Dirk (except maybe if I had had a butler as a kid, lol), yet a friend of mine can be addressed as Dr. Lomow. Yet, if I'm a Jedi master or a mage, it would be Master Dirk.

If I had had hair over the past 12 years, I wouldn't anymore.

My mother despised the younger President Bush while she was still alive. Every time clips of him appeared on TV, she'd say she could just kick him in the face. :-)

She lived long enough to see Biden win in 2020 and probably thought, thank God that's over!

The period from 2016 through 2024 could never get made as a fictional TV movie because it's too far-fetched to be believed.

What kind of stories do you read/write?

It didn't previously, but I'll add it to the list of things it could be.
He's actually called that because I renamed the combat pit to rumble pit.