The Wayward Son

[Bruin Fisher]

I stormed through the first five chapters of The Wayward Son last night, and I'm well and truly hooked.

I've read a lot of Dabeagle's work before, but this story is new to me and it's involving, intriguing, and the characters are sympathetic and likeable. What more could I ask? I'm loving it.

Go read!

[Merkin]

I think the plot 'gimmick' is brilliant and absolutely engaging. I love Mr. Woolcott. I hope Dabeagle will post five chapters every time.

James

[Guest Dabeagle]

Five at a time? Good lord! No, no, no. The only reason five showed up at once is because that's how far along I am! I'm writing chapter six now, but i have several active story-lines so WS sort of takes it's turn.

I'm glad you enjoyed it so far, and I have a number of left turns and switchbacks planned for the overall story. Trust me, Warlock's and light workers are just the beginning.

[aj]

I am a huge fan of Dabeagle's work. One of the early stories that I read and really got me hooked into this genre is tale about the young man and his friend working on the old volkswagen squareback...forget what they called those officially. Good memories and a lot of anticipation as I go to read this new tale.

cheers!

AJ

[Guest Dabeagle]

I hate to be contrary, but when it comes to Volkswagens I'm afraid I just can't help myself. I have been a big VW fan for years, in fact as child I was placed on my Uncle Neto's lap while visiting my mothers family in El Salvador. He drove a VW Bus, one of the post 1971 models, and he allowed me to steer. I had always been car crazy, but form that point on it was pretty much VW's.

I later owned a fair share of these admirable little cars, my first being a 1970 something Bus. Post apocalyptic bus one employer called it, due to the black spots of primer that probably made it look like it had indeed been through a war. Later came a Dasher station wagon I resurrected in dire straights, much like my story. I also owned a 1984 Rabbit GTI with the recaro seats and the golf ball shifter. That was followed by an '86 Golf, after the rabbit was sold at about 250,000 miles. In between I briefly owned another Dasher I sold to a friend, a few busses that passed in and out of my stewardship without being driven (in fact I don't think they all had engines). Then I got my first one of three total I was to own, a Quantum.

I eventually traded that Quantum for a BMW (Bad trade). Later I owned another Quantum, which died in Nevada. I owned an unfortunately stripped Fastback while there, and bought a Diesel Rabbit. I replaced that Rabbit with another Quantum. Today I still own a 1991 Vanagon and a 1999 Passat.

I say all this because I never owned a squareback, I based the story around the obscure Quantum because I loved it so much. You know what though AJ? First there was air, then there was water. I guess I should get off my duff and write that story around an air-cooled VW, shouldn't I?

[aj]

We have that in common, debeagle. I learned to drive in my parent's VW Superbeetle, and have loved VWs ever since...but only the really old ones. The first car I ever owned was a VW Thing... gods, I loved that car. It was just so contrary, so incredibly reverse chic. It was ugly, uncomfortable and unsafe, and I plan on buying another one as soon as I can find one at a decent price. There's a guy a few blocks from here that has a '73 parked in his driveway....*sigh*

Anyway, I read 'Wayward Son' and loved it. Very much looking forward to the next chapters.

cheers!

AJ

[Bruin Fisher]

Me too! Me too!

My first car was a 1965 Beetle, I loved that car. I also owned a 1967 camper, split screen, and another Beetle, a 1961 model on its last legs. Then I got a relatively new Polo, then a Mark 1 Golf, then a Mark 2 Golf, and since then I've had three Passats. My current one is a 1999 Diesel Estate which has done 180,000 miles. I think the engine is just about run in, and about to hit its peak. It does 55mpg and I don't plan on changing it until its wheels fall off.

Now, what were we talking about? Oh yes, Dabeagle's splendid story. When do we get the next chapter, then??

[Camy]

I used to borrow my sisters green and white '73 camper van - a lot. I drove a silver soft top golf - a lot. And I once bought an ancient blue '60s beetle at auction. I had it for nearly a day before the engine blew up. :(

The thing I miss most is their totally unique sound. Oh, and the camper van (1600cc) used to take a week to get to 60mph - we'd plan the route to avoid big hills! ;)

The Wayward Son is marvelous! More, please.

[Guest Dabeagle]

I never owned a beetle, but my bus needed a good tailwind and a downhill run to hit 60. It also backfired slightly between 3rd and 4th gear. Wonderful personalities those cars had.

As far as the next chapter goes, I'm struggling with a plot device that i can't decide if I should use or not. Unfortunately it could have larger implications later, so I really have to think about it, and maybe write farther ahead to know if it will work or not.

Damn characters anyway....

[Cole Parker]

I both hate it and love it when the characters dictate to me.

All's well until they start to screw up their own story.

C

[Guest Dabeagle]

I can say that Mike has some completed stories of mine already in his inbox to sate interest for the short term. Not that I'm trying to toss a hot potato or anything....

[Camy]

I can say that Mike has some completed stories of mine already in his inbox to sate interest for the short term. Not that I'm trying to toss a hot potato or anything....

Well, hawt damn diggedy dawg!

[Merkin]

Although I am resigned to the fact that Dabeagle likes to take his time, every chapter I read of this tale whets my appetite for more IMMEDIATELY!

James

[Guest Dabeagle]

James,

You'll be pleased to know the next chapter is done and the one to follow is nearly so. I suppose if I were smart, ala Gee Whillakers and others, I would finish the whole thing then hand it in. Dude will have the next chapter for the following week's posting shortly.

Dave

[Lugnutz]

I suppose if I were smart, ala Gee Whillakers and others, I would finish the whole thing then hand it in.

Dave

That would mean you would have to dust off other projects. We can't have that can we?

[Guest Dabeagle]

That would mean you would have to dust off other projects. We can't have that can we?

Hush, you.

[Camy]

I'm a sucker for good fantasy, especially where it's blended with reality, and The Wayward Son continues to be a cracking read.

Woolcott (of similar ilk to 'Grandpa' in 'The Quantum') is a masterful character and everytime he appears I start chuckling.

The burning questions I'm left with at the end of chapter 7 are: who is Moloch, and how deeply is Seth involved?

Hmm. Roll on chapter 8!

[Guest Dabeagle]

Camy,

WS8 is currently in it's final state of editing, but let me also give you something for your other questions.

Moloch will be further explained in 8, and Seth is a stranger to himself, though he doesn't know it..

[TracyMN]

So this is what the ruckus is all about! I should have known, this story has me clapping my hands, and laughing out loud almost every time Wolcott opens his mouth. Poor Daniel, such a perfect vehicle for his wit...

I'd like to join the VW parade, sadly without a VW Bug, because I love the old Bugs too, and Minnesota winters ate them like M&M's...I had I think 5 of them, the first (and second) I paid $150 for, and the most expensive was a VW convertible I bought for $500 from a co-worker, a rather large man, who had to sell her because the seat was threatening to go through the floor...looking back, I'd say the best thing about those cars, next to driving them, was that when something was wrong, you called your VW mechanic, who invariably was one of your best friends, and took it over--no need to worry about the repair bill--after all, how much could it be?

Simply a joy to own, and to drive. Much as...Wayward Son is to read. And at the rate I'm reading these days, I should have little, if any, wait at all! Bitchin'!!

Tracy

[Camy]

Chapter 9!

Dave's character interaction and their dialogue never fails to make me laugh. And now the action has kicked off again and in a major way.

I can't wait to find out what Woolcott's going to say!

[Lugnutz]

Pure gold..........

Neither side is what you'd call good or evil, more like two sides of the same ass, and once in a while they flare up like hemorrhoids.

[Guest Dabeagle]

Hi. My name is Dave and I'm a moron. In particular this time my moronic tendencies manifested themselves in my current serial novel, Wayward Son, which only were noticed upon a total review while writing the next two chapters. These were:

Changing people's last names.

Changing people's hair (straight v. curly)

Myriad typos

Oh, and I left out an entire scene. Yes as I re-read I thought to myself 'Self, something seems off. We were going right along and suddenly there's this uneven lurch in the storyline.' I was sure I wrote the scene, because I found I later referenced it. Took me a while to find the original document, but yes, there it was. It has all be changed and updated and reattached with new html files which Mike tells me are now online here as well.

Apologies to Mike for having to change it and to readers who were thinking wtf??

[Lugnutz]

We won't hold it against you, just pump out the quality stuff you're known for.

[Steven Adamson]

Changing people's last names.

Changing people's hair (straight v. curly)

Oh, and I left out an entire scene.

Apologies to Mike for having to change it and to readers who were thinking wtf??

No, no, no!

You can't ever apologize for this stuff. You see, you have to incorporate it into the subtext of the novel. Meaning is created in the space between the reader and the page. You need to trust your reader to construct what happened using the materials you gave them and they'll quickly realise that somewhere between scenes your characters got

a) a deed poll

b) a perm

c) selective amnesia

And they'll congratulate themselves for their cleverness and keep reading. Trust me on this, I'm a literary academic.

(comic from xkcd.com)

[Lugnutz]

Just read chapter 14. May be the best one yet. Wollcott puts the wiseass away to be Yoda. A lot happens in this chapter.