Thanks for your comments everyone.
Liz, thanks for taking the time to read and comment even though you're busy. I do really appreciate it. Talan is a fun character to write - control freaks are generally interesting when you put them in situations they can't control.
Hi Jo. I'm really trying to get in some writing when I have the time (which sadly is almost never), but I am working on it, I promise!
Hi Ann, thanks so much for your comments. I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed this part. I'm obviously cribbing very heavily from real life events in this story and hoping to show that even when the ethics of a situation are as black and white as they are in places like Darfur, designing a response still isn't easy, but it is a fight worth fighting. On that note, if anyone's going to be in the NYC area on Sept. 17, please come to the Save Darfur Rally.
Hi Maria. I will post more as soon as I can, I promise. As for why Clark turns to Talan instead of Zara, I think it's because he thinks that only someone who has seen a lot of intense combat could understand what he's going through. This is apparently a pretty common sentiment among veterans - that only other vets can really understand what they experienced.
Terry, thanks for your comments. I agree that circumstances are forcing Lois and Clark to take very different paths and that picking up where they left off will be very difficult as a result. As for the challenges they face, I think they're both going to have to deal with mental and emotional trials that are all the more difficult because they're apart.
Carol, thanks for commenting. As you can tell, I'm also keen on placing my secondary (and even tertiary!) characters in emotionally trying situations. Like Lois and Clark, Talan will face situations that will make her question who she is and what she believes. As for whether I'm trying to set up a 'last temptation of Clark,' I am going to beg the board's indulgence and ask that you all trust I am trying to stay true to the characters.
Thanks again for your comments everyone, and thanks for sticking with this story despite the long delays between posts.
