Groms by Chris James

[Nigel Gordon]

Great, a new story from Chris. As usual Chris has set the scene and given a vivid impression of the location where the story is set. I can't wait to find out where it is going but from what I have read this is going to be interesting. Then all Chis's stories are.

[Cole Parker]

Wonderful start. I still remember Marathon Gold fondly, and this has something of that in it. Looking forward to where this goes. I already like Lucas and Neil.

C

[Rutabaga]

Although I have lived in California most of my life I know zero about surfing, so Chris could be making it all up and I wouldn't know the difference. (I'm sure that's not happening.). Lucas and Neil seem like good kids and Mr. Beale seems like someone useful to have around. Carlos, on the other hand . . .

R

[Cole Parker]

I think Carlos is going to come around. He's seen the light.

C

[Lugnutz]

Although I have lived in California most of my life I know zero about surfing, so Chris could be making it all up and I wouldn't know the difference. (I'm sure that's not happening.). Lucas and Neil seem like good kids and Mr. Beale seems like someone useful to have around. Carlos, on the other hand . . .

R

Does your car have a 710 cap on it?

[Rutabaga]

How'd you know?

R

[Merkin]

Chris is a master at setting his stories up and “Groms” is no exception. In this opening chapter we have hero, sidekick, and potential antagonist, along with a cast of characters each of whom is interesting and full of potential to affect the storyline. We even get a cliffhanger ending and impatience for the next chapter begins immediately.

I especially like the part Chris’s so well-evoked surroundings play in his tales, and here I can already smell the familiar ‘seawater and seagull poop’ of Florida’s small-town east coast, no less intense than it is on the gulf coast that I know and love.

[Chris James]

Many thanks to those of you who have chosen to read this first chapter and comment so favorably.

I have been living here in Florida for the past nine years and felt it was about time to address the images of the people and places surrounding me. Sebastian is featured in this story as the average small town and yet it is several hours drive from where I live, but I have been there.

What got me started on this story is that the Boulevard leading to the beach in my town crosses over the Inter-coastal Waterway and just beyond the bridge is a Checkers Burger restaurant. Within walking distance of the ocean, it is the gathering place for the surfing crowd either coming or going to the water.

On weekends surfboards are stacked against the fence and the tanned gods of our youthful generations are out strutting around on the patio of the restaurant. You can see the family resemblances in some of them, boys from ten to twenty years of age, the long hair, the strikingly athletic bodies. It inspired my imagination and this story...hope you enjoy the rest as it posts.

[Lugnutz]

Now, who would the story center on?

[Rutabaga]

I'm in awe of the many layers textured together in this story. (You knew "texture" was a verb, right?) And the discovery in the boat yard adds an interesting twist of intrigue and peril. Can't wait for more.

R

[JamesSavik]

This one is on my list.

[colinian]

Good story with lots of twists. Something bad is going to happen from that alcoholic father, isn't it? At this point in the story he's too much in the background.

Colin

[Rutabaga]

More things than I ever knew about or even thought about concerning surfing. Lightning would be a major issue in Florida, I would think.

Carlos is proving to be the most intriguing character of all, primarily because our perception of him is by way of Lucas.

R

[Cole Parker]

As I don't much like people speculating about where my stories and characters are going before they get there, I won't enter my suppositions about Carlos. Turnabout is fair play.

c

[JamesSavik]

If anything can crack the Cuban machismo, it would be a cute little surfer guy I think.

[Rutabaga]

The intrigue level just builds and builds.

R

[Rutabaga]

Between sharks, storms, and drug dealers, seems like an idyllic life there at Sebastian Inlet!

Glad Neil seems to have found a buddy.

R

[Rutabaga]

Two words for this chapter: "Loose lips . . . "

R

[Cole Parker]

Story is going great. First think I read on Weds. and Sats.

C

[colinian]

Two words for this chapter: "Loose lips . . . "

R

It's that way with teens. They don't start their brains before the open they mouths and exercise their vocal cords. I know — I was one of them with the same problem not that long ago.

Colin

[Nick Deverill]

'Make sure your brain is in gear before setting your mouth in motion...'

My mum and quite a lot of others

[Nigel Gordon]

I am not sure if I should be sad or happy. Sad because some delightful writing by Chris has come to an end. Happy because I have finished a really good story which I have really enjoyed. Like always Chris has not just given us interesting characters but he has also given an insight into a society which many never see. This is a good story, well told and well worth reading.

[Chris James]

I had better get this over with. No, that was not my objective as I wrote the story, but here it is eight o'clock in the morning and already four readers have sent me mail asking why the story has come to an end so soon.

Most stories follow a train of thought. I don't think of myself as a writer who belabors a subject to death. I had goals, introduced characters and activities, and then tried to wrap up by resolving the crimes, the competition and what my characters needed to say. Yes, seven chapters is short and perhaps disappointing for those who became invested in the characters. No, I do not plan a sequel.

Rarely have I injected such young characters in a story. Youngsters don't have much to reflect upon simply because they haven't been around that long. But Groms seem to have more excitement and energy in their lives than the average kid and so I enjoyed giving the readers a glimpse of what they think is important.

You could spend hours watching surfing video and still not catch the sense of thrilling danger each of these kids has in riding a wave. Any sport that pits the individual against the surrounding environment only serves to show that some people seek that small piece of danger to define the best they can give in life. Perhaps the adult surfers handle the waves better, but then most of them have been doing it for years. That should serve to tell you that the sport is something only a surfer can define.

But I had fun in the writing. It is now summer and the local kids will spend their vacation hours in the surf. It isn't the best time of year, nor the biggest waves, but they are surfing, dude...and that is all that counts. Thanks to all of you who have read and commented. I will spend the rest of the summer writing the next story.

[Cole Parker]

Very pleasurable story. I too was sorry to see it end, but happy to have read it.

C

[colinian]

I was amused by the reason Chris gave for ending the story after 7 chapters. I tend to write longer stories. Nothing wrong with either approach. In fact, in chapter 40 of one of my current stories there's the following bit of internal narrative from my protagonist, Tony:

There was a saying I remembered from a story I read for one of my classes, either English or Creative Writing. "There comes a time when all good things must come to their end." I could sense that end time coming.

Even though Tony is using this quote in reference to something other than writing, I think he would agree with Chris that a story ends where the story should end. For example, short stories end after one chapter.

Colin