32 Comments
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Nan Tepper's avatar

Good one, Douglas. Great piece. xo

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Nan Tepper Thank you. Kudos from a notable memoirist always is a nice accompaniment to my morning coffee!

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Nan Tepper's avatar

Love you, Douglas. I’m lucky because I get the sneak preview!

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Sally Jupe's avatar

I did a first Douglas, and left two chapters to read and delight at one sitting this quiet Sunday morning. Also because I was so busy too appreciate them otherwise.

And they didn't disappoint! Love the scenes and the quiet and clever reveals of new information as always. Now I am 'cliff hung' like The Hanged Man in the Tarot, on an out of the blue police car..........

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Sally Jupe Thank you! I now have a chapter index, designed by @Nan Tepper of Style Your Stack, on my homepage so finding your place in my Starting After Zero series is much easier than before.

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Sally Jupe's avatar

Oh that’s perfect. Thank you. I’ll go there.

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Susie Anderson's avatar

You always leave me wanting more. Thank you.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Susie Anderson Thank you for reading!

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Anne Arthur's avatar

Nice development of the story and well written scene/dialog. Curious what comes next.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Anne Arthur Thank you so much!

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John Klassen's avatar

Anticipation…

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John Klassen's avatar

Anticipation…what’s the next daemon of an experience to be shared?

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@John Klassen Thank you!

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Kathy Stout's avatar

Love it! I’m becoming very fond of these two characters and all their little dances leading to romance (hopefully). Will has had significant tragedies in his life that have informed his inner self and personality. The fire revelation and Will’s relationship with both his sister, mom and dad helped me understand why a naturally brooding man. And now we learn that Nadine has secrets of her own. Each development you have created has led to deeper understanding of these two people. I almost feel like I know them personally!

The police car makes me think some emergency has come up for Will and the police are there to bring him back home to handle it. I don’t think either of them have done anything illegal to make them get arrested. But, as always, we will find out in two weeks!

Fun to read!

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Kathy Stout Thank you. And, yes, the next chapter is already set for release a week from this coming Thursday…

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Stories Sown With Hope's avatar

A grease fire! The scariest of all fires. No one is prepared for that, unless you “know”.

Your description is so vivid, you must have experienced one… or you research really well.

The house burning so fast… there are those who might question the speed with which a house burns, but not me. Our house (4 story, completely wood) burned when I was 12. It was that fast… and gone.

This was an important read, the difficulty getting prepared to tell it, the story of the fire itself and siblings, the immediate aftermath, the effect upon Will today.

It reads like an autobiography. But one brought to life under one with a skilled storytelling ability.

This story has become part of me now, informing my understanding of others.

Thank you!

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Stories Sown With Hope Thank you! And, yes, I did experience one decades ago. I am sorry to hear about the fire in your past, and thanks for reading!

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Ellie Johnson Searle's avatar

Another great chapter and I've no idea what the police car will lead us to 🤔🙂

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Ellie Johnson Searle Thanks Ellie! You will find out in less than two weeks…

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Barbara Angermeier Malcolm's avatar

Another dangling cliffhanger! You're very good at those. See you next time.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Barbara Angermeier Malcolm I greatly appreciate you as a reader!

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Nancy E. Holroyd, RN's avatar

Wow, that was one intense chapter, with another great hook for the next chapter.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Nancy E. Holroyd, RN Thank you! It was fun to research the history behind the Watson Settlement Bridge and work it into the storyline.

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Deb's avatar

Feeling unsettled now, more than before. They are so uncomfortable . Will wait to read how it pans out.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Deb I feel perpetually unsettled so perhaps that seeps into some of my characters…

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Deb's avatar

Makes sense. I can be same. So that characteristic could be why my intuition kicks in. So appreciate your courage to put words together for we readers. Bravo!

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Sue Ferrera's avatar

Nice story. Looking forward to more.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Sue Ferrera Thank you! Reading your profile, I thought I’d share that I am planning on taking my first yoga class ever after forty plus years of considering that possibility…

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Sue Ferrera's avatar

Douglas, that’s awesome. I hope you enjoy the practice. There are so many different forms of yoga one can try. My favorite at this point in my life has become yin.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

Sue: Thanks for the encouragement. My hesitation comes from the fact that various orthopedic surgeons have told me that I am one of the most inflexible humans they've ever encountered (as torn hamstrings have verified). But enough people have told me to try yoga that I think I'm going to give it a shot to see if it helps...

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Carla Boucher's avatar

Terrific as always. Thank you.

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Douglas Halpert's avatar

@Carla Boucher I appreciate the friendly wind that pushes my writing sails to the next horizon…

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