29 Comments

Holy Jesus in a Toasted Cheese Sandwich! Here I am, enjoying the backstory of Shultz and his passion for love and tanned shoulders and then wham! You knocked me sideways. Such a great, gut punch of a chapter Ben.

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Heh, you’re funny. Thank you Kim. Always a pleasure to knock you sideways. 😜

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my god, I knew it! It WAS an inside job....! But who - Jessie or Deepu?????? Gah!😵‍💫

(What have you done, Ben?🤪😃😘 This is fabulous.)

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Exactly the response I was hoping for from you Troy! I’m pleased as punch. 🎢💣😜

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OMG!! I'm not quite halfway thru this episode and am already guessing what comes next. WOW!!!

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Okay, I guessed *partly* right . . . and, hooboy!! What a TURN! So so so good, Ben! Genius! I won't write more, don't want to spoil anything. Just, poor Schultz. 💔

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Thanks, Julie! This was a little bomb today. You're apparently the first person to feel the impact.

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I certainly won't be the last. 💣 When this is all over, I'd love to hear how this all fell into place for you. I remember you saying you didn't know how it ends and now I'm so curious what aspects had to settle out for you to write the ending. (I can wait!)

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Yes I didn’t have an ending until a couple of months ago. It was a little stressful 😬

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Ben: dear Muse, I’ve been faithful here. I listen to you and do the work. When will you reveal the ending so I can wrap this up?

Ben’s muse: 😌

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I was just walking to the train and listening and stopped dead with my mouth agape 😆

👏Ben, well done on pulling off an excellent omg-moment.

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Thanks, Nathan! I’m so glad you didn’t see it coming. I was worried I might have tipped my hand too much at the end of the last episode.

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Nope. Well, not for me anyway! 🙌

I remember reading that things that seem obvious to the writer are 10x less obvious for the reader. 😁

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Ohhhh gosh. We're in it now!

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Yes, indeed! Thanks so much for reading Rhiannon. It’s gratifying to see your trail of ❤️ the past week.

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It's been fun catching up whenever I had a break! Now the weekly torture begins haha

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Feeling like you’ve knocked me out, but in the best way. Yikes! What’s next?!?

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Wow, not at all what I was expecting! (Never is!) And I’m grateful to have been given such a difference way to view Shultz. The depth of all your characters is amazing, Ben. Each a universe, as we all are, of course, but that so often goes unaddressed in fiction. Beautiful work. Thank you 🙏

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Thank you, Chloe. 🙏 I’m glad it’s working. I really wrestle my anxiety when releasing these episodes to the world. Fiction is such a weird thing to do. It needs to be real, but it also needs to keep moving and be infused with as much concentrated drama as possible otherwise, it can feel like watching paint dry. I worry that I’m not doing enough and then I worry that I’ve done too much! Basically, I worry. 😜

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Honestly, I can only imagine how much brain power is required to craft and to hold something like this. I am truly in awe of it. Fiction is so, so far beyond my remit that it’s like you’re able to speak some sort of highly evolved language. All that to say, you have nothing to worry about 🤗

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The awe is mutual, Chloe. I'm moved by every post you make on Death & Birds and I don't know how you continue do it week after week but I'm glad you do.

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Ben! Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly add yet another layer! Damn, this episode had my jaw on the floor. Friggin brilliant!

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Aw, thanks Holly!

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Oh! Wowie!

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Bombshell, indeed! Nothing complacent going on here. Trying to see how the kidnappers are going to get through this, as well as the contest creators/contestants. Well framed, Ben.

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Thanks Diane!

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Whoah!! Omg twist bombshell drop!! 😮😮😮

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💣💣💣💣

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