Well, here it is! Book 2 has started. I posted it a little while ago, so it should show up sometime tonight. Please remember to look in the New Stories section of SOL since it won’t show up anywhere else 🙂 I went back and looked at some dates, and realized that I’ve been writing Avatar for over a year. Wow. That’s much longer than I intended.
Hope everyone had a great New Years. I, of course, didn’t get nearly as much done as I wanted to. I was hoping to get some heavy duty writing done, but, as it turned out, the mood to write (aside from a commissioned piece I was working on) didn’t strike until late in my vacation. As a result, I didn’t continue on Book two until this week. Man, I gotta get a job that’s supportive of my writing habit. Any my really bad habit of wanting to be able to eat and pay bills. And get electronic toys. Being a Starving Artist is not something that appeals to me. Sorta reminds me of a Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In Episode quote: “If each and every one of you could send in one dollar…” Ah well. I guess you had to be there.
Anyway, I hope that you like Book 2. Those of you who were looking for a quick resolution on the Tina thing are no doubt gonna be hammering me. Sorry about that Folks. Ya just gotta keep reading.
BTW, I love your comments, so feel free to write here or email me.
Thanks!
Avatar Ramblings 
It’s up
As of 8pm EST, it’s online for everyone’s reading pleasure. My initial comment on this chapter is that I find it very well done, although the occasional hints of “plot in the dojo” is beginning to get annoying.
I also appreciate the amount of development in this chapter — the last few of Book 1 felt, as a rule, short and abrupt.
Re: It’s up
The ‘Plot in the Dojo’ is anything but. It’s simply one more plot point in the story line. It will be going on for a while, so I’m sorry you don’t like it.
Re: It’s up
No, you misunderstand me — I like the dojo setting quite a bit. It’s just that you haven’t developed it much since you introduced it and set up the rivalry with Chad.
Chad and the Sensai (especially) are both enigmatic characters, and there’s already plenty of foreshadowing that it will be important for more than just the self defense. As a reader, it’s just kind of frustrating for that interesting thread to be left hanging.
So, when I say “plot in the dojo,” I mean just that — the subplot related to the dojo. It’s mentioned every two or three chapters, and I’d love to see more of it! 🙂
Re: It’s up
Yeah, it is pretty slow moving. No doubt there will be much more of Sensei in the latter part of this book. Believe it or not, much of that stuff is set up for … um… book 3.
As I’ve mentioned, I’m not a pro, so I don’t always get things right.
Avatar, Book 2 and Rowen & Martin
Soupy Sales did it first and better. He asked all the little boys and girls to take those funny green pieces of paper out of their daddy’s wallets and put them into an evelope addressed to Soupy Sales at P.O.Box 100, New York, New York. That almost got him taken off the air. This was almost as funny as when he asked the kids to slide the channel selector knobs off of their TVs and hide them so that they could be sure to be on the right channel for next weeks show. Now that’s television! Oh, BTW, I’m enjoying the story. Thanks.
Re: Avatar, Book 2 and Rowen & Martin
See? Now that puts it in perspective for me. And makes their skit way funnier than it already was. Thanks for that.
Of course, the days of good television like that are mostly over. Can’t do anything that might get the FCC on your ass.
Glad you’re enjoying the story 🙂