The Devil Fights Back
Viewing comments for Chapter 47 "The Devil Fights Back - Ch. 47"Challenges in the pharmaceutical field
15 total reviews
Comment from Neonewman
Well shit! I guess it's up to Marie to save the day. I have complete confidence in that woman. She'll bad-mouth them to death. Lol. This was another suspense-filled chapter. I was on the edge of my seat, Jim, and I'm in a recliner. Lol.
God bless,
Steve
reply by the author on 01-Apr-2025
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Well shit! I guess it's up to Marie to save the day. I have complete confidence in that woman. She'll bad-mouth them to death. Lol. This was another suspense-filled chapter. I was on the edge of my seat, Jim, and I'm in a recliner. Lol.
God bless,
Steve
Comment Written 01-Apr-2025
reply by the author on 01-Apr-2025
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Who'd have thought? Little Marie tasked with being the hero? Bad-mouth them to death--that's a good one!
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I love this woman. I know she's not real, but I still want to meet her. Lol.
Comment from Ric Myworld
These gals have certainly gotten themselves in a mess this time, but at least they've found little Johnny, and know Woody is the bad guy who has them. LOL. Thanks for sharing another fine chapter.
reply by the author on 27-Mar-2025
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These gals have certainly gotten themselves in a mess this time, but at least they've found little Johnny, and know Woody is the bad guy who has them. LOL. Thanks for sharing another fine chapter.
Comment Written 27-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 27-Mar-2025
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As Chester A. Riley used to say (although he may have been before your time), "What a revoltin' development this turned out to be!"
Is there any way out of this mess? One last hope, perhaps.
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Well, I'm 70, so I doubt that I missed Chester A. Riley by much. But his name doesn't ring a bell. Of course, that doesn't mean a lot either; since my memory is leaning toward sporadic these days. LOL. I mentioned the name to someone I was was talking with a few minutes ago, and they said, oh, "The life of Riley" was a radio show back in the 40s, which would have been before my time. But he said there was a movie in the 50s, which would have been closer to my salad days. I'm enjoying your story!
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There was also a TV show that I used to watch as a kid: "The Life of Riley" starring William Bendix. It ran from 1953-1958. I would have been 7 in 1958. You wouldn't have been old enough to watch or remember it.
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I guess it’s remembering now that’s my problem. lol
Comment from eliz100
This is another excellent chapter. I knew things were going to well for the ladies. They still have Marie in the car. I wonder how long she will wait ti call the Sheriff. I do not see any room for improvement.Have a blessed day.
reply by the author on 27-Mar-2025
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This is another excellent chapter. I knew things were going to well for the ladies. They still have Marie in the car. I wonder how long she will wait ti call the Sheriff. I do not see any room for improvement.Have a blessed day.
Comment Written 27-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 27-Mar-2025
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Marie may well be their last resort. Imagine Fran's and Dana's salvation coming down to little Marie. I wouldn't be too confident if I were them.
Comment from lyenochka
Oh no! I was counting on Fran to throw Woody down the stairs! I wonder how Dana is doing with Billy. I hope she has some good defense skills that would make her a natural as an FBI agent. Woody better help Johnny in time!
reply by the author on 25-Mar-2025
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Oh no! I was counting on Fran to throw Woody down the stairs! I wonder how Dana is doing with Billy. I hope she has some good defense skills that would make her a natural as an FBI agent. Woody better help Johnny in time!
Comment Written 25-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 25-Mar-2025
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The tension is ratcheting up as Johnny begins showing signs of real distress. Can this intrepid group overcome the odds and save him in time? Stay tuned.
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Oh, I'm counting on you to make it so!
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
It is too bad home surveillance cameras are so small they didn't see them. Fran has lost any advantage she had. Dana is probably in a lot worse spot as she must have been taken into a bedroom. Hopefully Woody gets upstairs in time to save Johnny.
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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It is too bad home surveillance cameras are so small they didn't see them. Fran has lost any advantage she had. Dana is probably in a lot worse spot as she must have been taken into a bedroom. Hopefully Woody gets upstairs in time to save Johnny.
Comment Written 24-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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Johnny's asthma notches up the stress level quite a bit for all of them. It will be a race against time to make sure he's not the ultimate victim in this.
Comment from Debbie D'Arcy
I was wondering, by the end, what had happened to Dana but I see she was taken into the bedroom. Also I was surprised that Woody would be so prepared to give Fran all the background when he had the upper hand and didn't need to divulge anything. But the tension in the chapter is well done and the more so because of little Johnny's condition which could be life-threatening. I like the way Fran is so professional and warns Woody that, if anything happens to the baby, the leverage will be lost (albeit she does tell him twice). Her immediate focus is on ensuring Johnny's asthma is controlled. But the burning issue is how she gets out of this.
Excellent, Jim! A very dramatic scene in which the kidnappers seem well and truly in control. I'm wondering if Dana might be the one to get them out of this as she's never afraid to get herself into the action and Billy may well be a weak link here, given his behaviour earlier. Well done! Debbie
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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I was wondering, by the end, what had happened to Dana but I see she was taken into the bedroom. Also I was surprised that Woody would be so prepared to give Fran all the background when he had the upper hand and didn't need to divulge anything. But the tension in the chapter is well done and the more so because of little Johnny's condition which could be life-threatening. I like the way Fran is so professional and warns Woody that, if anything happens to the baby, the leverage will be lost (albeit she does tell him twice). Her immediate focus is on ensuring Johnny's asthma is controlled. But the burning issue is how she gets out of this.
Excellent, Jim! A very dramatic scene in which the kidnappers seem well and truly in control. I'm wondering if Dana might be the one to get them out of this as she's never afraid to get herself into the action and Billy may well be a weak link here, given his behaviour earlier. Well done! Debbie
Comment Written 24-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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Thanks, Debbie. We'll see how accurate your predictions are very soon.
I could be wrong, but the way I figured it was Woody didn't mind blabbing precisely because he has the upper hand. He doesn't plan on staying around after it's all over and plans to retire to some island somewhere, probably using fake ID to flee the country. And, if he were to be caught before getting out, he would likely tell this same background information about his bosses to get a lesser sentence for himself, so he saw no downside to answering Fran's questions. Maybe it's still foolish of him. I don't know.
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I had some more thoughts about this scene and decided to rewrite it a little so that Woody would just be thinking these thoughts rather than relating them to Fran. I present it now as his internal thoughts by using free indirect discourse instead of speech or straight narrative. Are you familiar with that term?
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No I'm not familiar with that particular term but I like what you've done. It's so difficult when you're writing fiction like this and want to convey the facts but without losing credibility in the characters. This internal dialogue is much better. I'm happy:)
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Thanks, Debbie. Yes, I think this was the better way to go.
Free indirect discourse is used when writing in third person. It's a way of expressing a character's internal thoughts seamlessly with the narrative voice. When you write in first person, as most of my novels are, the main character is the narrator too, so everything is his thoughts, but in third person, you've got an omniscient narrator different from the characters. However, if done carefully, you can combine the character's thoughts into the narrative voice. You don't need italics or many thought tags like "he thought," though an occasional one is okay.
I will use this technique in the next few chapters in several places. See if you can spot them. You shouldn't use it all the time because it can disrupt, say, an action scene and distract from the action, but it's good for when you've got some time to get into the character's head.
This is all new for me, and I'm just learning to do it, but it's an old technique used by writers such as Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and even Tolstoy.
Comment from Pearl Edwards
Mòney problems and alimony turned Woody into a criminal willing to hurt a family with seemingly no regret, yet. So it looks like it will have to be Marie to the rescue. Well done, Jim, another good read. Cheers
Valda
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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Mòney problems and alimony turned Woody into a criminal willing to hurt a family with seemingly no regret, yet. So it looks like it will have to be Marie to the rescue. Well done, Jim, another good read. Cheers
Valda
Comment Written 24-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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It's a shame, but money corrupted him. He had a price, and the bad guys met it. Marie to the rescue, eh? Little Marie? We'll see.
Comment from LJbutterfly
Oh No! Another cliff-hanger. I wasn't expecting Fran to end up helpless. She is in an impossible situation, but I enjoy watching how everything plays out. Will Woody figure out how to help Johnny? Will Dana be of any value? Will Marie stay in the car? Will the sheriff ever show up? Take as long as you like. The enjoyment of the story is in the details.
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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Oh No! Another cliff-hanger. I wasn't expecting Fran to end up helpless. She is in an impossible situation, but I enjoy watching how everything plays out. Will Woody figure out how to help Johnny? Will Dana be of any value? Will Marie stay in the car? Will the sheriff ever show up? Take as long as you like. The enjoyment of the story is in the details.
Comment Written 24-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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So glad you're enjoying it, Lorraine. All good questions you've asked here. What will be in the end-game? I'm afraid the next chapter will be a cliffhanger too.
Comment from royowen
You're dragging this out beautifully Jim, heh heh, good action episode, he can't be that stupid can he? Whatever happens he's got little chance of getting away with it, or indeed, getting away, I believe they gave the death penalty for kidnapping somewhere in the US, well done Jim, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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You're dragging this out beautifully Jim, heh heh, good action episode, he can't be that stupid can he? Whatever happens he's got little chance of getting away with it, or indeed, getting away, I believe they gave the death penalty for kidnapping somewhere in the US, well done Jim, blessings Roy
Comment Written 24-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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Thanks, Roy. Maybe Woody has met his match with these women, but right now he appears to have the upper hand. He just doesn't know what other assets there might be arrayed against him. Pride goeth before the fall.
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Actually the proverbs says, Haughtiness before a fall, pride before destruction. Well done Jim,
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Correct!
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Well done
Comment from barbara.wilkey
Everybody we care about is in a gigantic mess, except for Marie. Is she going to save the day? I sure hope so. I also hope Johnny will be okay. I can't wait to read more. Great writing.
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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Everybody we care about is in a gigantic mess, except for Marie. Is she going to save the day? I sure hope so. I also hope Johnny will be okay. I can't wait to read more. Great writing.
Comment Written 24-Mar-2025
reply by the author on 24-Mar-2025
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Thanks so much, Barbara. Hard to imagine little violin player Marie saving the day. Wouldn't that be something, though?
