10 [Report This]Date: November 21, 2006 05:13 pm Title: Closing In
This is excellent! And your other story, too! You really have a way with the characters. Thanks for writing*g*
Author's Response: Thanks for the compliment and the review!
10 [Report This]Date: November 17, 2006 03:33 pm Title: Closing In
Beautiful story. And after last night, the happy ending gives me hope.
Author's Response: I always have hope for Jim and Pam. Even though things are a bit bleak right now, I have complete trust in the actors and the writers to find the right way to someday end this story. Thank you for reviewing!
10 [Report This]Date: November 17, 2006 03:28 pm Title: Hide and Seek
"...she suddenly feels like the worst person in the world for lying awake the whole night wishing for exactly this outcome." - you've captured something I think we've all been through with this line.
Author's Response:
I, errr, wouldn't know anything about that...
Thanks.
10 [Report This]Date: November 17, 2006 03:23 pm Title: Hallelujah
Karen was very likeable here, very much the girl we've all been at one point. Great chapter, very well-written.
Author's Response: Thank you!
10 [Report This]Date: November 17, 2006 03:18 pm Title: Candlelight
I found the idea of Jim's "I’m in love with you" as a means to hurt Pam an interesting one. I loved this first chapter.
Author's Response: Me, too! I was really inspired by the way he smiles after she says "what?". It looked like he was a little bit pleased and sad at the same time. Thank you!
Date: November 15, 2006 01:58 pm Title: Closing In
(Please forgive me if I end up reviewing twice; I left a review this morning while on my crappy work computer, and evidently it didn't take.)
Anyways. I loved this... loved your writing, loved your characterization, loved the way you showed us Pam's feelings post-Confession. And I am reduced to squee over the terrace.
Author's Response:
I am reduced to squee over your review. Who needs three kitchens when you finally have a terrace?
Thank you!
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 12:05 pm Title: Hallelujah
I full-out loved this chapter. Really liked the way you wrote Karen-it seems to fit with what we know of her, but you added depth to her character in a way that feels real--the way that she knew better than to get involved with Jim from the beginning but couldn't quite help herself, her thoughts on Pam, and the way that she ended things all felt so right.
Author's Response:
I found Karen to be the easiest to write (maybe because there's hardly any canon for her?). She just took up residence in my brain and I had to find a graceful way for her to leave.
Thank you for your wonderful reviews!
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 12:01 pm Title: Candlelight
Really liked your take on Jim and his emotions during his here. It's beautifully written and a bit different--his little moment of triumph at actually being the one to inflict a bit of pain during his confession and his "defense" of his feelings is so human and recognizable.
Author's Response:
Thank you, Yippee! Yes, Jim is human. Sometimes that gets overlooked in fics and I wanted really show that even Sensitive Jim Halpert probably has some ugly things going on under the surface.
Thank you!
Date: November 15, 2006 10:58 am Title: Candlelight
Okay, you very nearly broke my heart and then made me deliriously happy. This was just so.... I guess the best way to describe it is that they were a mere breath away from completely falling apart and then at the last minute, they managed to somehow barely bring it back together. Lovely how this worked out!
Author's Response:
Oh, yay! I mean, sorry I broke your heart. These characters break my heart every day, so...
Thank you for your wonderful words!
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 10:57 am Title: Closing In
The misunderstandings and time apart don’t really seem that big a deal in the end,
I sincerely hope you're right. This is hopeful and beautifully written and realistic. They are home to each other, and it is beautiful.
Author's Response:
Your reviews totally made my day. Thank you!
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 10:48 am Title: Hide and Seek
the days of blaming him for her new life are gone because she really wants him to be a part of it.
I love this because it is precisely the mix of smallness and wonderful sweetness that drives people nuts about Pam. She's hard to get a hold of as a character because she's still so mixed up. I love her, and I love your portrayal of her. Gorgeous.
Author's Response: Blushing even harder.
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 10:30 am Title: Hallelujah
Pam is… plainer than she expected. Not that she’s unattractive, even Karen can admit that, but considering the depth of Jim’s devotion, she expected someone a bit more… awe-inspiring.
Second only to my anxiety on how Jim and Pam will finally reconnect is my curiosity about how Karen will react to Pam. I really like the tone you've taken here, and your peek inside Karen's under-developed character rings true for me.
Author's Response: Still blushing.
9 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 10:23 am Title: Candlelight
he starts being a little more proactive about keeping them both safe.
This is so, so true. Her "What are you doing?" is the closest she'll ever come to acknowledging it, but it's his job and they both rely on it. This beginning left me in chills. Amazing.
Author's Response: Blushing.
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 10:13 am Title: Closing In
Wow, this was absolutely beautiful and so, so real. You really nailed Pam's voice, and that's so hard to do. Bravo - seriously. I hope you keep writing and posting...
Author's Response: Thank you for your wonderful feedback, Girl7 and for your words of encouragement, I was literally bouncing in my seat to read them. I'm glad people seem to be enjoying reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully I can come up with something else soon! Thanks!
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 10:05 am Title: Hide and Seek
Oh my god - excellent chapter, but I have got to read the next one. This is amazing.
Author's Response: Aw! You're so nice...
9 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 09:57 am Title: Candlelight
I read this yesterday night, but just realized I forgot to leave you a note about it, because I loved it. I like seeing the same situation through different eyes; I think it just works very well. I like that Karen wasn't totally bulldozed by Jim/Pam and was able not to keep some dignity through it all. Oh, and I loved that Jim and Pam found their way back to each other in a realistic fashion! :)
Author's Response:
Wow! Thank you, Morning Angel!
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 09:55 am Title: Hallelujah
This is heartbreaking - makes me feel for her, seriously. And I really could see it playing out that way: Jim being honest with her about Pam; her thinking she can handle it; Jim thinking he can handle it, too.... The tension in this story is absolutely palpable.
Author's Response: Thank you! I was trying to show how I feel about Karen's character, namely that I love her, even though I want Jim and Pam to be together.
10 [Report This]Date: November 15, 2006 09:47 am Title: Candlelight
WOW. This is amazing, paperjam, just amazing. Beautiful prose and the insights you provide here are really compelling. I do not have time to be reading this right now, but I absolutely cannot stop! So off to chapter two it is...
Author's Response: Best way to start the day, ever. Thank you so much!
10 [Report This]Date: November 14, 2006 03:00 pm Title: Closing In
I love this so much - it all comes together so perfectly in the end. I love your Karen - she's sympathetic and she gets it. And the ending was beautiful.
Author's Response:
Wow! Thank you so much for this! I actually had no idea how it would end until it did, so I'm glad it works!
10 [Report This]Date: November 14, 2006 12:47 pm Title: Closing In
Very nicely done.
Author's Response: Thank you!
Date: November 14, 2006 12:41 pm Title: Hallelujah
How did you know I've been listening to "Hallelujah" all week? It's a great Jam song, for reasons I really don't want to know.
he whispers that he loves her and that he’s sorry
It seems wildly out of character for Jim to say this. Or to think this. I don't think he's in love with Karen or even pretending to himself. I believe he'd say he was sorry, though. He does that a lot. :(
He brings her flowers on the weekends and Herr’s chips at the office and makes her CDs for her car and doesn’t breathe a word about them to Pam.
Okay, this he would do.
And this sounds very Karen:
“Just don’t fuck it up” she says, instead of good-bye.
Well done.
Author's Response:
Thank you for the great review and feedback!
I wanted to respond this this especially:
It seems wildly out of character for Jim to say this. Or to think this. I don't think he's in love with Karen or even pretending to himself.
I agree with this about canon Jim. However, I was careful that he said "I love you," not "I'm in love with you." In this little universe, he really does love her, because she's actually a pretty awesome person that looked after him when he needed it. He's trying to say something nice to her, to explain to her that he does care even though he messed things up. Maybe I need to do a re-write so it reflects that. Thank you for pointing it out (not all fic readers live inside my head - go figure!).
Cheers!
10 [Report This]Date: November 14, 2006 11:38 am Title: Closing In
This was really beautiful and so well done. Great job!
Author's Response: Thank you so much!
10 [Report This]Date: November 14, 2006 04:24 am Title: Closing In
This was so well done - it had a great flow to it, was really well written and captures the characters subtly and clearly. I especially liked your portrait of Karen - how she's emotionally attached to Jim, but has the dignity to walk away. And how Jim sort of lets her be a life raft, while he can. And then he can't. And wonderful ending. The real Pam. He's seen her all along, hasn't he?
Author's Response:
Thank you!
I'm so glad you liked Karen's chapter. It was the one I actually wrote first, with the intention of it being a stand-alone piece. However, it didn't quite feel finished and the other chapters just sort of materialized around it, but that one remains my favourite, too.
He's seen her all along, hasn't he?
Yeah, he sure has. That's where I got the idea that Jim could be happy without Pam, as long as she was happy.
Thanks again for the review!
9 [Report This]Date: November 14, 2006 01:14 am Title: Closing In
This was so lovely, and beautifully written. I really like the tone of your prose - it's effortlessly lyrical and natural and fits so well with the show. Thanks for the fic!
Author's Response: Thank you so much, Rose. This means a lot to me!
10 [Report This]Date: November 13, 2006 10:10 pm Title: Candlelight
great story and GREAT choice of song. i love imogen.
Author's Response:
I know. Imogen's pretty wonderful! It's hard to not be inspired by her.
Thanks for the review!