All Comments on 'Where the Deer and the Antelope Play'

Awesome!

glad he woke up and turned into a real man

A good read, but the unnecessary length caused by the trivial conversations kept it from a 5*. At least the author avoided the temptation of having Ian accept the local dentist opening. He and Liv would have been miserable there in the long term.

Sweet story, Mr. Crossfire. Thank you very much. Randi.

Wonderful story, really well done.

Really nice story and you avoided the temptation to make everyone’s dreams come true by moving them to the boondocks to take over the practice there. Can leopards change their spots? Yes, I think so given the right incentive and this felt believable and not overly contrived. Thanks

A very enjoyable read. Thank you.

What bugged me about the story, besides how unsympathetic Ian is as a character for 85% of the story, is your geography. Western Kansas is not the Midwest, it's the Great Plains or the High Plains depending on how far West you go. Your airport choices, Wichita? KC? Lincoln? Denver? Huge differences between them--and ability to get flights into them. Where do Ian and Liv live? And what a coincidence that they live an hour from one another. Wouldn't the newlyweds have known they were that close? Try some couple making shenanigans?

Sure, it was hot, but the details bugged me.

Hope you and your family enjoy a Wonderful Christmas. Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Very Productive New Year!

All the Best

Smuttyandfun

just a little fun: Pronghorns are NOT antelopes — they are as species unto themselves. The other similar species were from Asia and have all been extinct for some time. They are also (josh, now let’s get really geekie) the only species of horned animals (as opposed to ‘antlered’ species, such as deer, moose) who shed their horns! Really interesting animals - often called ‘speed goats’, and really good tasting! LOL. They are also one of the ‘game’ species that was almost extinct when hunters helped set up systems (the American system of game management) that limited hunting and brought their numbers back to sustainable levels.

Ian isn’t a very likable person and there is no real explanation as to why he had such a huge change of heart. Otherwise so very good story.

Best of the group so far and there are some good falling stories

Ian is a douche bag. Didn't buy the sudden reformation. Liked the sentiment but Ian was a really unlikeable character.

Author's Response:

Thanks to everyone for reading and for the nice comments.

Responses to comments (SPOILERS!!!!):

The location of Bettleys Corners, Creek City, and Ashantie County is deliberately left vague. My description in the comments of "Where the Buffalo Roam" offers an even better explanation.

Yes, I made a big mistake when Alan says "Bettleys Corners, out here in the Great Midwest, you know, where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play." Alan would have said "Great Plains" instead of "Great Midwest." I missed that this was coming from him rather than Ian, who doesn’t know the difference and really doesn’t care, it’s just a long way from civilization and he wants to get away ASAP.

People fly to different cities different distances apart not only due to the distance but also to airline connections, ticket costs, etc., particularly when on leisure travel.

Ian lives in NYC and Livia lives in NJ. Alan and Nessa had visited both (separately) in their trip over the holidays, but Alan hadn't considered setting them up since he knew of Ian's playboy ways and knew that any setup would be wasted as a result. He even asked Ian not to hurt her when they arrived. Imagine Alan's surprise when Ian makes his change.

Speaking of which, I will agree that Ian is a complete and utter jerk and I didn't like him either! I hope that readers will agree that his willingness to transform from playboy to boyfriend/more is foreshadowed at various points in the story. For instance, he's approaching the big birthday and is thinking about his life, he thinks of calling Kara back despite the “rules,” he considers a second date with Sophie, and he feels bad about the way Silas is treating women before realizing he's doing almost the exact same thing. There's also the thought of getting together with Candy, making him wonder what he missed out on over the years if that had worked out. Thus, when the opportunity for change knocked...

Finally, thanks for the info on the pronghorns. I really didn’t realize that, but do know they are often called antelope despite not actually being antelope.

A really well done story. I agree with others that Ian was a loser to begin this story but the change was wonderful to see and I think he will follow through and be a good person moving forward.

I know a lot of Ian's of both sex and they are the reason I have never made a real commitment to a lady. I don't trust people.

Interesting story!!

An absolutely delightful story. Improbable maybe, but still beautifully done.

Impressive story and very well done.

I think you hit the nail on the head writing to how Ian was a lot like his father, while, in the reality, the only difference at that point was the lack of a marriage license. Behaviors in people are often generational, "inherited" from a parent. I also loved the last page when, instead of the mother, the father picked up his daughter to comfort her as if it was the "most natural thing in the world," because real men do exactly that. I always despised hearing my guy friends years ago beg out of a night out because they had to "babysit."

No, you're a dad, dude.

This was a good tale on many levels. Rounding up to five stars.

Devious Molly bitch and her post - she should be charged for reputational damage

Those women in the web Forum were all players, willing to be picked up at bars for one night stands.

Surprised nothing much was done about devious Mrs Nolan

I don’t know why I missed reading this until now. A bit long, but as usual, well written. Ian was a typical male in his youth, maybe carrying a bit too long through his adult years. But hey, we all do things we sometimes later regret. I think I nice touch ending would have Ian and Livia marry and settle down in Bettley’s Corner, with Ian buying the dental practice. That would have been a good ending to a romance story. But still worth 5 stars.

I must be 'discovering' your work/talent. While preoccupied w/ the LW genre, I had read a few of your romance stories & liked them. The 'home on the range' stories seemed a bit more like RomCom, but way better done than most. Your period pieces are seriously impressive. You can really craft and tell a tale - as good as big-name published pros. (Michener is a fav). 'Still working through your offerings with delight.

Again, bravo Southern. I wish you great success & satisfaction (and recognition) with your excellent work.

-the dreaded Anonymous

Just finished reading your shelf, top to bottom, AtoZ, which explains the comment on this story. Your work is outstanding and I look forward to keeping an eye out for more. Especially liked the Old Trunk stories following various family members, maybe because they reminded me of the well loved generational Sackett stories from Louis L’Amour.

If you are open to suggestion, I’d like to suggest you rethink the use of the long Epilogues as a standard story element. It’s not always necessary to clean up every dangling story arc. Many great works leave the clean up to the imaginations of the readers and their book review clubs. Or sequels. Or in this story where a simple 250 note, from a perspective other than the protagonist could have opened the door for another story in the same vein (c.f. Sackett reference above). Say from Mrs. Nelson’s perspective selling the practice to a young dentist, where Ian and Livia are mentioned as doing well. And the big lug helpingwith the moving truck invites the new dentist to the opening night of a play at the local theatre.

Keep writing, please, and I’ll keep reading.

-rwh

Really enjoying these characters and this story.

Mrs Nolan a small town conniving devious old bitch!!

Pity Candy was not divorced because she and Ian was better!!

Liv is just another self-centred bitch!!

IAN AND LIV TOGETHER WAS A 2*