At about 5 pm on October 29, a bunch of kittens began staking out the board, sharpening their claws, looking anxiously around the corners for dlline, and each waiting to pounce on the very last post of The Lamb. Phoenix, who might I say is innocent, didn't know she was taunting each of them, as she surfed the last few chapters of her story to be sure she got all the pieces correct.
Each time she showed up on the board there was a flurry of responses. The hours passed by. Masterjendu refreshed so often at one point that her computer crashed. Jude was up until past midnight in her own time zone. Zooey's Bridge suggested a revolt. Finally, Phoenix posted the last chapter and the real dibs war began.
Masterjendu won, by a hair, posting within seconds, Rachel within more seconds, and Jude mere seconds after that.
Thank you ladies. That, in itself, was reason to write The Lamb.
Now on to some feedback! (starting from just after the last feedback...)
Zooey's Bridge – Thank you for being an avid supporter of The Lamb Dibs War 2008. I hope it didn't interfere too much with exams. Seriously, you and Jude and Jen were seriously cracking everyone up – well, everyone who was also hovering around, waiting for a dibs! That was a great suggestion for a Foovatar.
Congrats on nearly getting the dibs, but more a heartfelt thanks for reading my story. I really appreciate the time you've spent giving me feedback. Thanks for commenting on the repetition – with such a long story, I was trying to find some way to knit it all together. A year for us, 14 days for them.
Quote:
No more words, because oftentimes they are too cheap in the face of such beauty.
Wow. That is amazing praise. Thank you so much.
taraslove – My dear Jude, am I ever glad you came to the KB, and to my thread. Your own works are amazing – remember me trying to rip off some of Portal? I'm glad you could feel some vicarious action with Jude, of the Order of the Crescent. I sincerely swear I did not tip off masterjendu, as you could see from the frantic state she herself was in. She just has jedi mind powers. Diane didn't even need to wield her 15 dibs billy club of power. One question though. Did you really call in sick?
Thank you for your feedback, and I did not mind at all that it was late. See how late my feedback to feedback is? It's so true that we expected it to be longer than two weeks in the story because so much kept happening out in our real lives. You've had a big year, Jude, with lots of heartbreak and change. I hope my story was able to help a little. John is kind of thanks to you. When I first wrote him in, I had no idea who he was. You said in one fb that you really liked him and I was thinking, well, maybe I should flesh him out a bit more. So, thank you, Jude, for inadvertently saving Tara's life.
I wish only the best things for you, Jude. Thank you for being here.
masterjendu – WINNER OF THE DIBS WAR! It really was kind of fitting, seeing as you got the first dibs ever of this story. I am so grateful to you. I'm amazed that you were able to beta two chapters a week, even while you were going to school full time. Your attention to detail, especially in the last crucial chapters when Caleb was jumping all over the world (everyone, she seriously made me a time zone chart relating all his jumps back to California time so I would know how much real time was passing...), was astounding. This story is what it is because of you. You're a fantastic beta, and a fantastic friend.
Here's to future collaborations! First, Revenant! There will also be Aurora, and many others, I'm sure.
Paint the Sky – Okay, seriously? Wonderful that you tallied the dibs. That was awesome. I'm sure Diane is proud of her 15 dibs billy club. Thank you for the feedback. I'm very pleased that you were able to join me on my journey of self-discovery. The Lamb healed me of many sorrows, gave me hope for the future. I can't imagine how it must have been for my readers, never knowing what I was going to do next, whether I would be ripping you apart or not. In a way, you must trust me a great deal.
Thank you for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback. I very much appreciate it. I hope you continue to enjoy my work!
dlline – It feels pretty amazing to get to this spot, doesn't it? I can only imagine how it felt for you to get your story published, to share it with an even larger audience. You've been with me from day one, and I appreciate it so much. Thanks for your help on the earlier chapters, for being such a staunch supporter of the dibs machine. If I have any power vested in me, I shall dub thee DIBS MASTER, just for dibsing more than a quarter of the story! There will certainly be more tales, and I am excited to share them with you. Thanks again for everything.
Bardic Myth – I love seeing newbies! Thank you for coming on the board and for speaking out. I know how hard it can be to leave comments sometimes. You are right – you have all won, to see this story end. The only reason it ended at all, the only reason I had the strength to keep going when the times were really rough, was because of my readers. Thanks for being among them.
Foomatic – My dear Foo, thank you! I bow in awe to your banners and your foovatars. Thank you so much for using your skills to make such amazing images for me to use. I'm quite excited about future collaborations, starting with Revenant. You say that you're not as wordy as other kittens, but that's all right. If I may say something trite, we all know that pictures are worth a thousand words. We'll talk soon about the next project!
Nenyath – You certainly get kudos for amazing feedback. I'm awed that you would put me and JK Rowling in the same context. I'm sort of hoping you will write something for the KB – you've got a fantastic turn of phrase. “Stampede of sorrow” and “strong like a folded blade”. Amazing! As you may have already realized, there will be no sequel to The Lamb. At one point I had a story flutter up to me, involving more Faith and the Order, but I didn't write it down and it fluttered away again. And now I have too many other stories to write. This one will stay where it is, warm and snuggly near my own heart. Thank you, Nenyath. I hope you also fly forever free.
ophelia 11 – So glad to see you here again. Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I'm glad you appreciated the difficulty in actually going through with killing Tara... twice... I didn't want to do a last minute save, so I hoped I had built up John enough that it didn't feel like I was copping out. As a reader, I hate that most of all, when authors write themselves into a corner and don't know how to get out. I was very aware of that, and hoped to pull it off with the dignity the story required. You're right – it was a little sad to see it end. The Lamb had been a very formative part of my life this past year. But new projects are forthcoming. The next one is called Revenant. I hope you enjoy it!
Bubs – What a time to come creeping on to my thread! I'm glad you made it, and I'm grateful for the comment. I know it's difficult at times to say anything at all. I appreciate it, and I'm glad my fic made you feel all nice and warm inside. That means I did a good job! Good luck on not being shy on the kitten board, all right?
Katjetson – It's so nice to be able to picture you in person when I write to you. I hope that life is getting a little better – things were pretty awful for a while, weren't they? I hope you're doing okay. In a way, I feel a little bad for taking everyone out with this update, the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. In another way, I'm immensely pleased that I can get such a response! Thanks for being here throughout this story, Kat. I appreciate all your words. Next time you go to that Italian place for a gelato, think of me, okay?
Zampsa – Hello, my friend. You've been with me a very long way. Thank you for always commenting, it is so appreciated. The reference to Bargaining certainly worked out, and hopefully it didn't sound too far fetched. I'm glad you enjoyed my story, teary as it was. Hopefully you'll love the next one as well!
Wimpy – I was glad to see your post. I'm also glad you enjoyed the update; I was happy to share this story with you kittens. You'll have to wait a little while for the next one, but I guarantee that there will be a next one. Thanks for being with me on my journey.
Polar Bear – Thank you for taking a moment to comment. I realize how difficult it can be to leave feedback, especially when you don't know what to say, and others have already said the things that you want to. I'm glad you enjoyed my writing style – I never thought I was very good at poetry, but I did love trying to make this story lyrical. I can also understand quite heartily that it would be challenging to read this story at times – it's not exactly fluffy. I'm glad you stayed with me, though. Thank you for the feedback.
cammy – Sorry, dear girl. There just isn't a sequel in me for this work. There will be other stories, though. Many others. I hope you enjoy them as well.
Just Skip It – It doesn't matter that you can't write volumes. You have, at times in the past, when life wasn't as hectic for you. I'm just glad that you were here throughout. I'm glad you enjoyed the ending – I had hoped not to make it too trite or easy. That would be a letdown for myself, not to mention everyone else. Thank you for supporting me so much in the early days when things were tougher – I appreciate it. Take care.
Rane – Thank you for leaving some feedback. I can understand why you might want to wait until a fic is finished before you read it – leaves you less chance for serious heartache! Though it's always Willow and Tara, each story has a special resonance, an arc, and you want to see those fulfilled. I'm glad you were able to enjoy my story. As far as your own fic goes – just keep plugging away!
ceridwen – I'm glad you loved the bit about Osiris giving up his immortality for Tara. I'm sure glad that John was able to work out that way. Thank you for your comments throughout the fic, I really appreciate them. Thanks to you and my other dedicated readers, I am seriously pursuing publication of some of my work. I promise to let you know when (see the optimism?) I'm successful. Until then, I hope you enjoy my W/T work. My next project won't be for a little while, but I'm sure you'll love it. Thanks for reading.
MelCar19 – Wow, I hope you were able to function normally at work after staying up all night to read this. I'm glad you found the story enchanting and suspenseful. Too bad about your friend Caleb. Maybe he can redeem mankind? Don't blame him too much for how the story ends. If there were people walking around named Voldemort, they'd probably get punched a lot, too. Thanks for reading, and for commenting.
Second Fig – I began this story knowing full well the policies of the board, which made me become a little creative. I'm glad that you were able to enjoy this story, even with all my hinting of Tara's death and sacrifice. I'm also a little pleased that you don't think this needs a sequel – we know they live happily ever after. Thanks for the invite – if I'm ever in Tampa, I'll certainly pop by!
Puff – No need to feel ashamed at coming in at the end. Sometimes it's safer for the heart to know the story has a ending to it at all. Made me chuckle when you said you read in all your free time (and not so free time). I'm glad I could hijack your heart in a small manner. Thank you for leaving your comments, it means a lot to me.
Bent Broken Theory – I'm glad I could share my story with you. I hope you are now out of shock. Thank you for reading.
If you are someone who actually read the feedback for everyone, you would have caught a few things. For my NaNoWriMo project this year, I wrote a novel titled, “Revenant”. It was not W/T. I am going to adapt it for the KB and test it on you, and then submit it for publication later in the year. I'm not sure when I'll do the adaptation – I'm actually knee deep in another story project – in fact, the novelisation of The Lamb. It may be March or April before I'm able to get it to you.
I just want to thank all of you for your support. This has been the biggest, most life changing year I've ever had, full of extreme ups and downs. Your support of me and The Lamb has meant the world to me. It gave me the courage I needed to come out to my parents, to realize that I could be more than the person I was, to realize that I also deserved to be happy. I still have a long way to go, and my first kiss to look forward to.
Va pup!
Jen (the Phoenix)