Danny January: Blog

I've had a surprising amount of positive feedback on feasting and the follow on, Summertime. I've decided to continue the story and am working on Aquaman and Kim's junior year. It's taking a while so be patient.
In the meantime:

If you've never been to Charleston, pay us a visit. Spring is best. April and May see the azaleas in full bloom and it's not too hot or humid.

Emmylou Harris collaborated with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt for an album - Trio. If you like Country at all, it's a great album. If you don't like country, give it a listen anyway. Very sweet sound.

I was at the stables the other day and there was a horse that reminded me of Ghost. She was 37. I miss Ghost.

If you've ever thought about a riding vacation, a horseback safari is an amazing adventure and one you'll never forget. PM me if you want to know more.

I enjoy the comments and emails. I've made a few corrections, mostly typos and such.

Before you send me an email telling me about an error, realize I'm trying to write this from the POV of Jack at 15. I've learned a lot of Spanish and physiology since then. I know there are errors in some areas. Most of it is intentional.

Merry Christmas, ya'all

I just re-posted Science Experiment and Cousin Removed. I did a bit of editing, providing some clarification where needed, made a couple of continuity corrections and broke them into chapters. I may do that with other stories as time permits. I'd rather write than correct so I'll work on them a little bit at a time and post about it in my blog when I do. I've gotten a lot of feedback recently and appreciate it. Thanks.

I wrote Feasting with a Silver Spoon after a friend of mine (you might know him from Beach House) suggested it. I had an enjoyable time writing it but didn't think it would be well-received because it was basically a chronicle of a year in the life. It turned out to be a lot more popular than I could have imagined - undoubtedly because of my description of the LowCountry.

I hadn't planned on writing Summertime, but, since there was such positive feedback for Silver Spoon, I sort of dabbled at it for a while. So, I tried some new things.

I shared work experience and cultural lessons with Hector's people and then with our trip to Puerto Rico. A couple of chapters would have been easier to write in Spanish than English, but I don't think my readers would have appreciated that. Again, I've had surprisingly good response.

In both of these stories, the backdrop has been pretty important but it's probably really the people. So many people have the opportunity to have a big impact on a teen. Franklin was, and is, an enormous influence. Timex, Dane, Doctor Legare, Coach Miller, and more, each played a part.

And Veronica. She was so difficult to figure out.

At any rate, I'm sort of working on sophomore/junior year. We'll see what happens. As always, I appreciate your feedback.

The preface and first few chapters of Summertime have been published. Voting and public comments are now permitted. The story is 13 chapters long. For quality control, I plan to publish a new chapter every couple of days.

This story ends at the beginning of the school year. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to vote. Feel free to post public comments or shoot me an email. I respond to them.

It's been a few months since Feasting with a Silver Spoon finished up so here are a few refreshers.

Jack Pierce - 15. Attends Porter-Gaud, a private college prep school. Typical SAT scores are more than 300 points higher than national average. Tuition last year was $30K.

Christie Pierce - Jack's mom. Married twice. She divorced Victor Strzok when Jack was little. Married Ronnie Pierce, who provided for the family financially, but spent little time with them. He died young. Christie is engaged to Dane Isdris

Dane - Yankee. Cardio pulmonary surgeon at MUSC. Moved south to Charleston a couple of years ago.

Franklin Pierce - Jack's brother - older by 10 years and recently married to Karen.

Sally Hinkleman - Jack's first love. Her father moved the family to Nashville. This didn't go over well with Sally or Jack.

Kim McTighe - Jack's second girlfriend. 16, and a junior at Porter-Gaud. She's perfect. You can ask anyone.

Pat and Mary McTighe - Kim's grandparents. Kim's biological parents and older sister died in a car crash. Her grandparents have been raising her.

Veronica - Christie Pierce's good friend. Recently went through a divorce. (She hit on Jack and Kim let her know he was off-limits. Their relationship has improved tremendously).

Melanie Middleton - Kim's best friend and fellow cheerleader.

Bobby Claire - Jack's friend and fellow swimmer.

Lori Newsome, Lisa, Allie, and Annie are fellow cheerleaders.

Vince Delinger - Porter-Gaud graduate and former QB.

Doctor Hank Legare - Dane's good friend, orthopedic surgeon and a bit of a health guru.

Coach Miller - Swim coach

With the departure of Sally, and new romance with Kim, they have been through an emotional wringer. Recently, Kim and Jack were T-boned by a drunk driver. Kim's parents were killed by a drunk driver. Kim and Jack both spent time in the hospital. Both have a very dim view of drinking.

This is not a typical cast of characters. The neighbors are affluent and Porter-Gaud is very definitely an elite school with highly motivated students. The standards are very high. Within that environment, someone rises to the top. I understand that this environment is very unusual for some readers to get their arms around. It is, however, very real.

I hope this helps those who've read the first story get back on track. For those that haven't, this will not be enough to bring you up to speed.