Date: February 26, 2008 11:13 am Title: Chapter 5
Sometimes I wish that you weren't such a skilled writer, because that way I wouldn't be drawn like a moth to a flame to your stories and the angst within. There's a happy ending in this story somewhere, I'm sure, but this whole waiting thing sucks. :P
I'll decode what I just wrote: I really like this story. And please don't make up wait too long for more!
Author's Response:
Aww, you're too sweet! I'm glad you're enjoying the story in spite of the angst; I know some people find it too heavy at times. I just can't help myself.... :o) But yeah, there's a happy ending in there somewhere; you just have to ride a big old angst wave to get to it, LOL.
Thanks so much for reviewing!
10 [Report This]Date: February 26, 2008 11:08 am Title: Chapter 5
pams in tears, jims in tears, and now im in tears. now thats some nice work!
:)
eagerly awaiting more!
Author's Response:
See, comments like those make me smile and feel great, yet somehow feel guilty all at the same time. :o) I'm really glad you're enjoying this - and I'm working on it as we speak, so there'll be an update sooner rather than later.
Thanks for reviewing! :o)
Date: February 26, 2008 10:52 am Title: Chapter 5
Did you hear that? That was the sound of all pretenses of work halting because a new chapter went up on Nearing the Edge!
Your imagery is astounding. Thank you for continuing to torture our poor little Pam and Jim. You always make it well worth the payoff in the end!
Author's Response:
Listen, sister, don't talk to me about work screeching to a halt -- I've got a honking huge stack of essays to grade, yet here I sit... :o)
I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter -- and you'll perhaps be happy to know that there's more torture to come...at least for a little while. :o)
Thanks so much for reviewing!
Date: February 24, 2008 05:48 pm Title: Chapter 4
Um, hello! Why am I getting butterflies in my stomach at the thought of Pam going up to Jim's room to look at baby pics? Me thinks that baby pics are not all she is going to see!! OK, whoa...x-rated review in the works.
Obviously I am eagerly anticipating the next chapter! Keep up the great work, girl7!
Author's Response:
Why are you getting butterflies about that? Why, my dear, because it's a confined space, and they've got unresolved tension out the wazoo! :o) (I'm laughing still at your comment that baby pics aren't the only thing you'll see -- hee!)
Next chapter is up - hope you like it as well! Thanks so much for reviewing!
Date: February 23, 2008 05:51 am Title: Chapter 1
This is one of the BEST I've read! Please update again soon.
Date: February 22, 2008 04:57 pm Title: Chapter 4
For a second there I was worried that the promise of smut might include some sort of crazy gang-bang...but I get it, they remind her of Jim, she loves Jim yadda yadda...That's just where my ridiculous mind went.
Oh, and I started watching Chuck...and I completely and totally blame you. I didn't need another show to be obsessed with...I really hope you're happy
Author's Response:
Oh my god -- a gang bang!? Nah, my stories tend not to go that way. :o) (Though when I was working on "Only," more than one reviewer commented that she/he wanted to see Pam & Jonathan get together for a little while. ...Tempting, but poor Jim!)
Sorry for getting you sucked into Chuck -- but you're enjoying it, right?? And really, that's all that matters; who needs a life, as long as you've got good TV? :o)
Thanks for reviewing!
Date: February 22, 2008 05:28 am Title: Chapter 4
Yay!!! Sorry it's taken me so long to review. My computer hates me and had to go to the shop. Sorry, friend.
Onto the review:
Pam! There is something bigger than you governing your actions! It's called L-O-V-E. Yes, I sound ridiculous, but I don't care. This is all kinds of wonderful! I cannot wait! to see what happens when they enter the enclosed space of Jim's bedroom. And I love his younger brother! Also...so sorry for your husband, though I must admit that I'm STILL laughing about seeing into the soul...
Great stuff, girl7, and I anxiously await chapter 5!
Author's Response:
Hey there! I'm so glad you're enjoying this -- and yes, putting them in enclosed spaces is one of my favorite things to do. Heh, heh, heh.... Glad you're enjoying Josh as well; Zach Levi/Chuck is such a doll, I swear.
Oh my husband laughs about the story now, but he says that when it happened, he was so stunned afterward that he actually sat down after she left and watched some horrible movie (Anaconda or something like that). Hee.
Chapter five's up -- hope you like it!
Thanks for taking the time to review!
Date: February 20, 2008 02:39 pm Title: Chapter 4
I'm truly enjoying this story..just as I knew I would after reading chapter one. I hope you will update soon. Jim and Pam together again in Jim's bedroom--tension you can cut with a knife, right?!? Can't wait!
Author's Response: Eee, glad you're enjoying it! Yeah, there'll be tension in the bedroom, fo' sho. :o) Thanks so much for reviewing!
10 [Report This]Date: February 20, 2008 11:24 am Title: Chapter 4
ooh this is getting so good. i love the parallels to 'casino night' - heres hoping for a different ending! :)
Author's Response: Okay, so every time I see your user name, I think of Walt from "Lost." Hee. :o) Glad you like it -- and there'll be more parallels to CN. ;o) Thanks for reviewing!
10 [Report This]Date: February 20, 2008 09:40 am Title: Chapter 4
This is just outstanding, Girl7!! Written so well I can't possibly pick out a favorite part. Love the brothers, love the dynamics. Can't wait to see what happens when they go to look at the pictures of the bald toddler!
Author's Response: Yay! I'm so glad you're enjoying this; it really does make it that much more fun to write and post, seriously. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up (er, TWSS) in the next day or two. Thanks for reviewing!
10 [Report This]Date: February 20, 2008 06:12 am Title: Chapter 4
Spending a night playing poker with Jim and his brothers = heaven. *Swoons* Sign me up! :)
Loved it as usual! Keep it coming!!
(Hilarious first date story btw)
Author's Response:
Amen to that, sister. :o) Oh, and the first date story - Mr. Girl7 & I did a lot of our flirting via email when we first started "liking" each other. (That sounds so third grade, doesn't it?) Anyway, we'd ask each other questions, and I'd asked for his worst first date story -- and he busted out that one. All true, from the seeing into her soul to the uncontrollable sobbing. Very, very strange. :o)
Thanks for reviewing!
10 [Report This]Date: February 20, 2008 02:30 am Title: Chapter 4
I'm loving this reworking of the booze cruise era, given the girl7 touch... fantastic....
Author's Response: So glad you're enjoying this -- hopefully I can update in the next day or two! Thanks for reviewing!
Date: February 19, 2008 08:46 pm Title: Chapter 4
She's instantly struck by a small thrill in the pit of her stomach that he'd asked...as if they're a couple, as if she could just say 'no' and he'd immediately be at her side instead of playing the game. For a second she can't speak, enthralled in a fantasy of what her life will never be...because it wouldn't even occur to Roy to ask, much less give a damn about what she wants.
Wow.
We regret to inform you that the review that Mose was going to leave for this chapter has been delayed due to his sudden death due to that paragraph up there. We apologize for the inconvenience, but want you to know that just before he died with a smile on his face, Mose's last words were, and I quote: "Damn... that was good."
And we further take comfort in likewise knowing that that was also what she said. :)
Author's Response:
I want you to know that I burst right out laughing at that review -- then laughed even harder at the last line. :o) And yes, I shall take comfort in knowing that that is of course what she said. :0)
Glad you liked that section -- I just imagine that, after Roy's tendency to just completely disregard Pam in many ways (a la seasons 1 & 2 anyway), she'd have to be so taken off guard by how kind and considerate Jim always is of her.
Thanks so much, my friend, for reviewing!
8 [Report This]Date: February 19, 2008 08:45 pm Title: Chapter 4
This was one of those chapters where I kept peeking at the little box on the right to see how much of the chapter was left - I wanted it to last forever (TWSS!) because it was so good, so moving as the (sexual) tension was ramping up word by word. I absolutely adore Josh and his innocent little assistance. Pam, I definitely think there's something bigger governing you.....
Author's Response:
Eee, your comment about peeking at the little box made me want to clap my hands like a two year-old, because I know exactly what you're talking about (having done that so many times myself when reading other people's stuff). I'm glad you like Josh; I feel like I'm treading a line with him (perhaps going over it) in that I don't want him to be too much of a bumbling caricature kind of character. But I actually am basing him a lot on Chuck in some ways -- who is very much like that (bumbling, dorky, but ultimately very sweet and a total romantic).
And oh yes, there's something else governing Pam.... :o)
Thanks for the review!
Date: February 19, 2008 08:33 pm Title: Chapter 3
Holy cow! Two chapters? Did I miss an update? Tell me I didn't...*panics* If I did, however, at least I'm here now, right? :)
I'm amazed at how effortless you seem to make this. I know, of course, that it isn't, but trust me when I say that it's coming across that way. The images are simply flowing off my screen right now without the least bit of resistance. There are many passages of note worth mentioning here, but this one right here really stood out to me as being especially beautiful:
And sometimes when she really thinks about it, she can't quite believe that he really even has a crush on her; he's so charming and outgoing that he could have any girl he wanted. And he has a girl that all the guys in the office had wanted -- Katy, who's beautiful and vivacious and perfectly put together...all the things Pam wishes she could be; all the things she's convinced that she's not.
I love that simple yet powerful insight into Pam's mind. In many ways, Pam is the mythical "everywoman." She is smart, but she is sure others are smarter. She is beautiful, but she doesn't realize it. She has so many desirable qualities, but she's convinced herself that the man she loves can't possibly recognize them in her. It's both amusing and heartbreaking to see; it makes me want to chuckle knowingly and give her a reassuring hug all at once. And it's a testament to your skills that you're able to evoke those sorts of emotions in so relatively few words. :)
Well done!
Author's Response:
It's such a relief to hear you say (er, read you say) that it's coming across as effortless, because I worried that that particular chapter came off differently -- so thank you. :o) I'm glad, too, that you liked the little insight into Pam; I was thinking about "Hot Girl" when she was putting on the lip gloss and looked as if she felt so self-conscious. After years of being with Roy, who took her for granted (so it seemed), I can only imagine she'd be convinced she couldn't hold a candle to Katy -- when of course, we all know otherwise. :o)
Thanks so much for that thoughtful review -- you rock!
8 [Report This]Date: February 19, 2008 08:27 pm Title: Chapter 3
"She glances over just in time to meet his gaze, and again there's that pause, pulsing with all those ever-increasingly recognizable things that they're both trying to so hard to ignore."
I sure hope they know that ignorance is NOT bliss! Hopefully pizza and beer might relax their inhibitions.
Author's Response: No, ignorance is definitely NOT bliss -- at least not in this story! :o) Thanks for reviewing!
8 [Report This]Date: February 19, 2008 08:15 pm Title: Chapter 2
I love the addition of "Chuck" as Jim's younger brother. (Did you ever see Zach Levi when he was on that show with Sara Rhue - Less Than Perfect? I never realized his potential to be hottie Chuck way back then!)
"Knowing there's a date now is oddly like finding out in advance that some inevitable catastrophe is certain to strike and being utterly incapable of doing anything about it. It's only been two days, but already he's gripped by the unabating need to do something -- anything to keep it from happening."
I like how Josh and Jonathan have differing views of what he should do but Jim just follows his own instincts.
Author's Response:
So glad you like Chuck as Josh -- and I never did see Zach on that show, but I tell you, much like JK, his is a stealth hotness, no? Kind of creeps up on you and then knocks you over the head, turning you into a drooling idiot. ....Or is that just me? :o)
Glad you like the contrast between the two brothers; I really wanted to be able to sort of visibly play out the inner struggle Jim's surely dealing with.
Thanks so much for reviewing!
Date: February 19, 2008 08:07 pm Title: Chapter 4
"Hey, come up to my room and see some etchings! Er, I mean, photographs!" Well, well, what might happen? Wouldn't it have been nice if Jim had confessed a few days after the Booze Cruise? I'm really looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.
Author's Response:
Hahah! You know me too well, my friend. :o) While I think Casino Night was absolute perfection and remember watching it when it aired (was absolutely STUNNED and blown away), it is interesting to consider what might've happened if he'd come clean sooner. ...And that's what I'm gonna explore for the remainder of this story. :o)
Thanks so much for reviewing!
Date: February 19, 2008 06:47 pm Title: Chapter 4
Girl7, as always, this was such a great read. Can't wait for more!
Author's Response: Aw, thank you so much! Seriously -- glad you enjoyed it. And I so appreciate your reviews, you know. :o)
Date: February 19, 2008 06:40 pm Title: Chapter 4
Poor Pam, having to decide which unimaginably hot Halpert brother she's attracted to most. Having a tough time, myself.
P.S. I'm DYING for the next chapter, here. Dying, I tell ya.
Author's Response:
Heh -- what a dilemma, no? I think that if I were in a room with those three men, I'd just sit and stare from one to the other, mouth agape like Jim's when he was watching Michael dance on the Booze Cruise. :o)
Next chapter should be up fairly soon (and there'll be some action...heh heh heh).
Thanks, my friend, for reviewing!
Date: February 19, 2008 06:36 pm Title: Chapter 4
Great chapter! I love the alternate casino night scenario. Can't wait to read more!
Author's Response:
Ah, thank you! I wasn't sure about that -- had actually written in the dialogue from CN, but obviously with Jon standing in for Kevin, but it just didn't quite work. But I was going for echoes of that poker scene as there will definitely be more echoes of CN later that same evening. (Big winking face.) :o)
Thanks for reviewing!
Date: February 19, 2008 06:28 pm Title: Chapter 1
Okay, that was amazing. Seriously. Amazing. You're writing both Pam and Jim SO perfectly, and I LOVE how Jim's brothers are turning out. This is seriously one of my favorite stories. I hope you update again soon! :)
Author's Response: Well that review just thrilled me to death. Seriously -- I say it all the time, but it's worth repeating: Knowing there are actually people (even if it's just a few!) who're enjoying the story (and especially the semi-"original" characters like the brothers) is such a treat. So thank you for making me smile very early on this Friday morning. :o)
Date: February 15, 2008 08:12 pm Title: Chapter 3
You can definitely sense the building tension. I love the flirtation between them outside the car. And Jim brought her a sweater? Of course he did. *sigh* He is perfect, isn't he?? ;-)
Author's Response: Yes, I believe he's about the closest thing to perfect that exists. (And with that I shall sigh right along with you....) I'd write more, but I'm too busy trying to eat my way out of the chocolate avalanche you sent me. ;oD (LOVE it.)
Date: February 12, 2008 07:05 am Title: Chapter 3
Okay, so I love it, (as per usual with the things you write). Inviting Pam to meet the brothers was something I wasn't expecting, so I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with that...maybe Pam will fall in love with the brother modeled after Chuck...(though personally if given the choice, I'm a Jim Halpert kinda girl all the way) ;)
Sorry, I'm rambling. Long story short, fabulous job! You make it all flow so easily, while still building the tension that we have all come to know and love in the Jim/Pam relationship.
I can't wait for more! :)
Author's Response:
Eeee, it's so exciting to read that you're enjoying this, seriously! It makes all the difference in the world to know someone's looking forward to more, seriously. :o) Yeah, I had a definite destination in mind for Pam & Jim's brothers, and -- wait, that sounded dirty. Sorry. :o) Seriously, though, I wanted to offer up two sort of foil characters for Jim -- a practical one who's the voice of reason when it comes to Pam (a la Jon) and a more idealistic one who encourages him to go for it (like Josh).
Anyway -- thank you so much for reviewing!
8 [Report This]Date: February 10, 2008 09:01 pm Title: Chapter 1
This was such a beautiful line:
"For a split second their eyes had met, and she'd almost felt as if her knees were buckling beneath her with the weight of all that lingered behind his faltering, stoic smile...the tears standing out in his eyes seeming to spill right over into her own."
Author's Response: I tell you, that scene is one of my absolute favorites (as if it's not obvious, heh). That expression on JK's face never ceases to hit me in the gut. Sigh. Thanks so much for reviewing!