Reviewer: lostatc (Signed) · Date: 26/06/09 12:41 AM · On: Chapter 3 Ending with a Difference
I came to read this after the Writers Group about characters. I am fascinated by family when it comes to the Winchesters so when you presented Amelia at the writer's group, I had to know what you did with her. I like this. She was a wonderfully developed character. I liked her and could completely relate to her. I could also relate to Dean and his aversion to her. Southern Stock? No. I can't buy them being from a southern heritage but once Amelia entered the scene it "read" southern. I don't know how to explain it any more than that, I could hear a southern accent from that point on. Dean and Sam are pure Mid-west to me (which says a lot about Jensen and Jared's acting skills cause I don't get a lick of Texan from them.) This was a good story with great characters. I'm glad I stopped by to read it. Kim (lostatc)
Author's Response: Hi Kim, Wow, thanks for the detailed review and the stars. I'm so glad you found Amelia to be a believable character. Tickled pink that Amelia turned your perspective southern, even tho you couldn't see it that way before. I was born and raised in Indiana, my Mom's family was in Minnesota and my Dad's in Massachusetts. When they got married, they settled halfway between the two. That's how I figured the Winchesters got to Kansas, Amelia and Ed moved there from South Carolina;-) Again, thanks for the review! Sue
Reviewer: bhoney (Signed) · Date: 28/04/09 02:11 AM · On: Chapter 3 Ending with a Difference
I think I would've liked some more backstory on the ghost, and he and his brother's relationship. That part of it seemed to end more quickly than I wanted. It was a cool twist though, to have it be a Union ghost. And to have a set of brothers involved. Loved that Dean understood exactly why the ghost would've been tormented with guilt. Especially apt at this point in the series, right after John's death. I liked that Sam got to visit with his grandma and we got the background on what happened that drove John from his family and from Lawrence. You worked it in very nicely with canon, and the snippets from John's journal. I especially liked that Sam understood the distinction between "relative" and "family" at the end. I was a little sad that Dean didn't get to reconcile with his grandma, or at least hear her side of the story and realize that she really loved him, but it was understandable and he might not have been willing to forgive her anyway, with how it all affected him all those years ago. I did find myself wishing there was a bit more with Sam and Dean at the end, maybe Sam telling Dean what he'd talked about with their grandma--I'm sure Dean would've loved the stories about wee!John just as much as Sam. The ending was cute though, with the "good day at the office" bit, and Dean planning to introduce Sam to southern cooking. LOL Nice story. Good characterization, really interesting location, well-written, cool twist. Nicely done.
Author's Response: Hi Beth, Ah, the ghost backstory. When I was plotting this, I thought about including a scene where Sam's researching at the library and discovers that the Brown(e)s are brothers. I thought Sam could find a diary kept by Michael, which explained the whole brother thing, but it just felt too contrived. Plus, a scene with Sam researching at the library is pretty static, so I opted for omitting it altogether and did an expository lump in the next scene instead. Originally, I was going to use a Confederate ghost, but then I thought a Union ghost would be more unexpected. By then, I'd researched Windsor Ruins' role as a Union field hospital in the Civil War and the ghost's background started to come together. Sam has a bystander's view of the family tragedy, and a few years of living a normal life, so he welcomes the chance to meet his grandma. Dean sees her as the woman who tried to take his dad away, shortly after he lost his mom, and I don't think he's ever going to forgive her. Sam does tell Dean about John's childhood shenanigans, over their pork barbeque dinner;-) (I just had no idea what they were, so I left it up to the reader's imagination.) Sue
Reviewer: bhoney (Signed) · Date: 25/04/09 10:49 AM · On: Chapter 2 A Hunting we Will Go
Interesting tidbit about their grandparents. So they are alive, just estranged. Hmm... I think you hit on a fundamental truth about the boys characters, and assuming the Winchesters were from the south, you're probably right about where the boys would be: "I’d be here, defending home and family—and you’d take your ideals and your sense of justice and hightail it North, to the Union Army.” “I wouldn’t,” Sam started to protest, then reconsidered. Isn’t that what Dean thinks I did, when I left for Stanford? “Maybe,” he conceded softly, “but I’d be back, after the War, and you’d welcome me home with open arms.” Nice tie-in to Stanford, it's not a bad parallel. And you showed well here Dean's tendency to forgive his family anything--a tendency that I think both John and Sam take advantage of at times. I'm glad this isn't set during the Civil War then, because the last thing I want to see is the boys on opposite sides of a war (hear that EK??). Seems that Dean noticed something about the ghost that he was trying to tell Sam--maybe it's not from the side they thought it was, after all. Loved his little "twin" remark before drifting off. The part where the ghost lead Dean into the kudzu was really creepy. Nice job!
Author's Response: Hi Beth, Thanks for another detailed review. "I'd be here..." is my favorite line in the story, along with Sam's answer. Glad you thought the ghost in the kudzu was creepy, I was going for a creepy moonlight encounter vibe;-) Sue
Reviewer: bhoney (Signed) · Date: 24/04/09 10:02 PM · On: Chapter 1 Road to Ruins
Intriguing beginning to this. I'm going to have to look up the location and see if I can find some pictures. I love when authors choose real places for stories. Is this place supposed to be haunted for real? Sounds cool anyway. LOVED the Indy-500 themed motel room. LOL And Dean calling Sam a neon sign to the supernatural made me laugh. The geek in me also enjoyed the little history lesson on kudzu--that stuff is a little creepy, sometimes. Great start!
Author's Response: Hi Beth, I don't think Windsor Ruins is supposed to be haunted for real, altho the unmarked graves part might be true. I vaguely remember my friend saying something about unmarked graves when she was talking about the history of the place. Glad you liked the Indy motel room. Figuring out and describing a motel room theme is one of the fun parts of writing a SPN story, to my way of thinking! Sue
Reviewer: fredo (Signed) · Date: 12/09/08 01:36 PM · On: Chapter 3 Ending with a Difference
nice story, thanks for the read.
Author's Response: Thanks for reading, and especially commenting on all the chapters. Glad you liked the story! Sue
Reviewer: fredo (Signed) · Date: 12/09/08 01:23 PM · On: Chapter 2 A Hunting we Will Go
“The Winchesters are from Southern stock, Sammy. I’d be here, defending home and family—and you’d take your ideals and your sense of justice and hightail it North, to the Union Army.” Really loved this line, sounds absolutely right...
Author's Response: Thanks, fredo. It's my favorite line, too. And Sam thinking that Dean would apply it to what he did when he went to Stanford seemed to flow naturally from this. Sue
Reviewer: fredo (Signed) · Date: 12/09/08 12:43 PM · On: Chapter 1 Road to Ruins
interesting first chapter, and now i'm curious about the Winchester's family history... Like the details you put in. Going to next chapter.
Author's Response: I'm glad this chapter left you curious about the Winchester's family history. I think details and anchoring - hooking the story to an aired episode - add to the believability of a story. Sue
Reviewer: justannanow (Signed) · Date: 06/09/08 12:40 PM · On: Chapter 3 Ending with a Difference
This was a nice story. Enjoyed reading it and really appreciated it that you didn't dumb Dean down like so many writers do. As for the whole Civil War question, I've always figured with them being from Kansas that they would lean more towards the North.
Author's Response: Glad you liked the story. I try to portray Dean as I see him, and at the same time divide the smart ideas roughly equally between Sam and Dean. I think the Winchesters are a modern family and the reason they settled in Kansas was job-related, not that they were an old, established Kansas family. That way, they'd have no established pro-Union leaning, so I was free to give them a Southern background. Sue
Reviewer: IHeartSam (Signed) · Date: 06/09/08 08:04 AM · On: Chapter 1 Road to Ruins
good opening chapter-i'm definately interested! can't wait to see where this goes...thus am off to read more :) -aliyssa x
Author's Response: Hi aliyssa, Glad you're enjoying the story so far. Thanks for reviewing! Sue
Reviewer: amethyst (Signed) · Date: 06/09/08 02:46 AM · On: Chapter 3 Ending with a Difference
I've always wondered what happened to John and Mary's family and why they wern't around after the fire.Great chapter
Author's Response: Thanks amethyst, glad you liked this. I took what we know from the series and extrapolated backwards. Dean only mentions Mary's uncle - "a man we never met" - in CSPWDT. If John's an only child, that drastically reduces the number of Winchester relatives available. Given John's track record with people, having a break with his parents seemed reasonable. Coming right after the fire, and him starting to learn about the supernatural, his mother's well-meant suggestions of help and therapy led to John packing up the boys and driving off into the sunrise. Or at least that's one interpretation of the lack of Winchester relatives. Guess we're due to find out more in season four. Thanks for the review! Sue
Reviewer: vonnie836 (Signed) · Date: 05/09/08 11:19 PM · On: Chapter 3 Ending with a Difference
Love this story and I certainly love the thoughts of the boys coming from Southern stock. So are you finished with this or can I hope for more? Hugs, Vonnie
Author's Response: Hi Vonnie, Glad you liked this story. It's complete, but there's a couple of other places along the Natchez Trace that have the right atmosphere for a Supernatural story, so there might be more, eventually. Thanks for the review and the stars! Sue
Reviewer: mymuseandi (Signed) · Date: 01/09/08 11:20 PM · On: Chapter 2 A Hunting we Will Go
I'm enjoying the story...i love hurt!Dean too much. LOL I know next to nothing about the Civil War, and the Windsor ruins, but it sounds interesting..looking forward to more.. :p
Author's Response: Glad you're enjoying this. I've written 3 hunt stories so far and Dean gets injured in all 3, so I also fall in the hurt!Dean brigade. Hmm, guess I'll have to stomp on Sam next hunt, huh? Sue
Reviewer: amethyst (Signed) · Date: 30/08/08 04:44 AM · On: Chapter 2 A Hunting we Will Go
great update, very mysterious grey ghost with the wrong buttons, can't wait to find out more.
Author's Response: Hi Amethyst, More is on the way, last chapter should be up by Saturday. Glad your enjoying the story and the mystery so far. Sue
Reviewer: Vanessa (Signed) · Date: 29/08/08 05:42 PM · On: Chapter 2 A Hunting we Will Go
A great update, Sue. I'm really enjoying the historic detail you've thrown in. It gives a great "feeling" to the story.
Author's Response: Hi Vanessa, Thanks for the review, glad you're enjoying the story so far. History has always been a favorite subject of mine, and I think the historical detail adds depth to this story. I also think this adds to a story's believability, i.e. ability to capture the feel of an episode/hunt.
Reviewer: amethyst (Signed) · Date: 26/08/08 11:45 PM · On: Chapter 1 Road to Ruins
great start. I really like your descriptions, I can just picture the ruins in my head. can't wait for more
Author's Response: Hi Amethyst, Thanks for the review, and really pleased that my descriptions paint the scene so clearly for you. Windsor Ruins is an interesting burt out-of-the-way place; I'd never heard of it before my friend told me about it. Sue
Reviewer: vonnie836 (Signed) · Date: 26/08/08 08:32 PM · On: Chapter 1 Road to Ruins
Great start. I really like all the knowledge Sam throws out. This sounds interesting. Can't wait to see, where you are going with this, Hugs, Vonnie
Author's Response: Hi Vonnie, Thanks for the review and the stars, Sam is just full of knowledge, isn't he? Sue
Reviewer: mollieclarke1108 (Signed) · Date: 26/08/08 12:29 PM · On: Chapter 1 Road to Ruins
excellent start can't wait to read some more plz update soon
Author's Response: Hi Mollie, Glad you liked the beginning, next part should be posted Friday. Thanks for reading! Sue
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