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Post by Ernest Bywater on Oct 3, 2016 22:04:12 GMT -5
Ernest, I think you'll enjoy the first three Bullring Days books. I personally liked BD3 the best but the first two only a little bit less so. The first two books are the only ones so far that Wes has written in the first person (he can correct me if I'm wrong) and I think that he handles it very well. It took me three or four times before I could complete reading one of Wes' early books, Snowplow Extra. I think that's because it's more plot driven than character driven which I prefer. I just finished my third reading of it a few months ago and I think it compares favorably with his later books. Congratulations, on your new book, Mallard Heir, currently being posted on SOL. Your usual great effort and definitely worth a read by everyone on the SLT Forum. G'day Boyd, I've no problem with first person stories, I've even written a few myself. The issue for me was when I first tried reading Bullring Days 1 I just couldn't get interested in the story, gave it a couple of chapters and still wasn't interested in it. Which is an odd thing because I usually find Wes' stories very interesting from the start. I did find My Little Pony to be very interesting from the start, so I read further, despite my misgivings about it being a BD story. Got to chapter 12 and had to have the rest, so I forked out the money for it. Based on how it went I'll probably go back and give the other BD stories another go, probably when I finish the story I'm working on. Thanks for the plug about Mallard Heir, it's not as action based as most of mine are. At the moment I'm trying to focus more on showing characters changing and developing due to things and other people in their life. Thus action is aimed at causing such changes, and not a primary focus of their own. That's a major aspect of what i see in My Little Pony, the activities and actions are changing the perceptions and attitudes of the characters, just like they did in Out of the Cage.
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Post by Ernest Bywater on Oct 8, 2016 1:27:52 GMT -5
Boyd,
I'm reading Bullring Days 1 and quickly found out why I stopped reading in the first few chapters last time - it's very much an <i>info dump</i> style of story for most of the chapters. I'm persevering with it simply because you said I should, and I suspect it will add to the later stories in the series. In my opinion, BD 1 is far from Wes' best work.
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Post by Boyd Percy on Oct 8, 2016 16:34:59 GMT -5
Ernest, it should get better in the later chapters especially after Mel meets up with Arlene. He knows he needs to settle down but the wanderlust keeps driving him onward until circumstances beyond his control force a defining change on him. I assume Mel is a symbol of post-WW2 America for many soldiers coming home. Since I was born November, 1947 (the same as Wes), I can't speak from experience expect for reading about it and talking to my late dad. BD2 is better in my opinion since Mel has finally grown up and is putting down his roots though racing still has a hold on him that he can't fully shake. BD3 is about passing the torch to the next generation and my favorite of all four books. It has a feisty young female character in it. Wes seems to have the knack of creating them which I enjoy.
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Post by Ernest Bywater on Oct 9, 2016 9:27:31 GMT -5
Ernest, it should get better in the later chapters especially after Mel meets up with Arlene. He knows he needs to settle down but the wanderlust keeps driving him onward until circumstances beyond his control force a defining change on him. I assume Mel is a symbol of post-WW2 America for many soldiers coming home. Since I was born November, 1947 (the same as Wes), I can't speak from experience expect for reading about it and talking to my late dad. BD2 is better in my opinion since Mel has finally grown up and is putting down his roots though racing still has a hold on him that he can't fully shake. BD3 is about passing the torch to the next generation and my favorite of all four books. It has a feisty young female character in it. Wes seems to have the knack of creating them which I enjoy. Boyd, the first 30 chapters felt like an info dump, and even a lot of it after he meets Arlene is like an info dump. The best part of the story is after he wipes out the 66 Car. Just finished BD 2 and it also has large sections like info dumps, but read better, and am starting on BD 3. I like BD 4 and am happy I paid for it, but I wouldn't say the same about BD 1 or BD 2 - to me, those two just aren't up to Wes' usual standard, but they aren't his usual style, either.
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Post by Rob on Nov 10, 2016 19:07:48 GMT -5
Wes,
When scheduling the stories, did you intentionally plan on My Little Pony's last chapter being posted for Veteran's day?
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Post by Wes on Nov 10, 2016 21:27:17 GMT -5
No, it just worked out that way. In fact, I miscounted weeks and only discovered after the book was posting that it ended a week after I thought it was going to.
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Post by GaryDan on Nov 11, 2016 5:07:38 GMT -5
Thanks Wes for a great story. Much appreciated.
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Post by Kieth on Feb 2, 2017 12:07:43 GMT -5
Wes, I read My Little Pony and my big thing is that I think it ended to early. I think at the end the characters were fleshing out nicely and it was to a point where you want to see how their summer goes and the next school year; for ALL the character pairs Ashley and Matt, Susan and Jack, Chuck and Larissa, and Will and Telzey. Hope your Muse allows for more writing about them in the future.
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Post by Kieth on Feb 2, 2017 12:08:34 GMT -5
Forgot to say I did really enjoy the story.
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Post by Wes on Feb 2, 2017 20:59:13 GMT -5
It would have been tempting to carry the story onward when I first wrote it ten years ago, but it had to end somewhere and Telzey's parents returning made for a reasonable place to end it. But the possibility of returning to them sometime does exist and I have thought about it from time to time.
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