[DomLuka] Domluka's Extreme Hiatus

[Adam Phillips]

The thing I liked the most about Dom Luka's stuff was that he was so adept at characterization. Yeah, his stories were strong and often featured storylines that were unique; but what was even more significant for me was that his characters seemed to live and breathe. They weren't cardboard cutouts or stereotypes or archetypes or prototypes or any kind of types, for the most part. You cared about many of them, and if you can get a reader to care about your characters you've pretty much won that reader over. And if you didn't care about one--say, because he was an unpleasant character--you at least believed in him. That's no small accomplishment on the part of an author.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Adam Phillips

[Phantom]

I think it's safe to say that Dom had an impact on us in many ways. Desert Dropping will always be one of my favorites and it's not because of the story line but because his characterization made it so easy to identify with characters outside of the main ones. I do miss him but in a way that you miss a good author. I hope he does come back one day but all in all I wish him well no matter what.

[Warrior1]

Does anyone know what happened to Shadowgod (Steve)? He was my favorite writer here.

[Trebs]

Steve is alive and well, just totally crazed with going to university and working.  I've tried a few times to drag him back, but he's just a bit overwhelmed right now.

[Warrior1]

OK! I hope he's happy.

He's a good person.

[Warrior1]

^ And I also take it that Steve is not finishing Dreams and Clipped Wings, anymore?
That's OK -- he's a life to lead, it's easy for us to just gulp down the stories, but very difficult (in the sense of disciplining and preparing yourself) to write. Considering that he leads a busy life, I suppose I understand why.  

[Trebs]

Trust me - the number of times I kept hinting "Hey, want me send you some bagels for inspiration" and other texts...  I wanna see what comes next as well.  He may finish it and return, but right now, he's just keeping his head above water.

 

PS I just updated the status of the story to "On Hold" - so if anyone notices the change, it was me and not Steve

[Wynter]

For a few brief moments I thought this thread might mean Dom had finally returned to complete WT. But alas...

 

I've just finished rereading some of Dom's classics and they gave me the same twisted stomach of excitement and sadness they did the first time I read them years ago. It always hurts reading those last chapters knowing that his writing is finite and that there won't be a new chapter for me to devour next week.

 

I found the the discussion here fascinating, especially Jim's comments. As one of the adoring legions back in the day I really hope I didn't contribute to the pressure. I did message him once to thank him and he gave me a brief but sincere sounding reply. Dom's writing helped to get me through the dark years of my late teens when I felt like I was alone. TOU in particular really helped me to feel normal, although it has left me forever jealous Quinn whose journey I related to much more than Owen's. 

 

I'd love nothing more than to see a new post, even if he abandoned the old stories and started anew. He had such a talent for creating hope, and given how many young people there are going through the anguish of denial and self doubt and persecution, I can only hope that there will be a Dom there to tell them that they're normal when they need to hear it. 

[Melethen]

I miss him and loved all of his stories, I hope all is well with him and life is awesome.

 

M

[The Pecman]

I had quite a few email conversations with Dom over the years, and he was a good guy -- perfectly willing to discuss his writing decisions, open and honest when it was clear he might have made the wrong choice, and very much interested in the writing process. The last email I got from him was in 2007, and he gave me the impression he was having some trouble with his current project. I always tried to encourage him and told him several times he should consider making his work available to mainstream publishers. Nowadays, I bet he could do very well as an eBook author.

 

But inspiration is a tricky, delicate thing. It strikes or it doesn't, and sometimes the realities of life crash down upon you and get in the way of writing. I hope whatever challenges he has are something he can overcome, and Dom can find his way back to the keyboard sometime soon.

[Jenash]

Welp I just did my yearly re-read of one of Dom's stories in which I hope he'll magically reappear once I finish, but I guess it didn't work this year either lol. Also I still really love The Ordinary Us.

[koregaboku]

Just came to say that however many years later I still come back and see if there are any updates.

 

Dom persists as one of my favorite authors, I probably started reading (binging at first) what he wrote when I was in High School and I can't believe that it's been ten years since. My hopes that he return are thin but I still do. Wherever Dom is, and whatever he's doing, I hope he's doing well. He's given me hours upon hours of amazing stories and it would feel wrong to hope any other way. 

 

Maybe I'll start re-reading again soon.

[Ron]

I can agree with you about Dom, he is a favorite of mine and many others. If you haven't read any of Viv's stories then you should head on over and check them out. Like Dom, Viv has slipped away from GA but her writing is easily comparable, she has that same ease and grasp of human interaction—of human foibles—that Dom expresses so well.

[Billy Martin]

Dom is definitely a site favorite.

[SolarMaxx]

On September 10, 2014 at 10:30 AM, Jenash said:

Welp I just did my yearly re-read of one of Dom's stories in which I hope he'll magically reappear once I finish, but I guess it didn't work this year either lol. Also I still really love The Ordinary Us.

Wow! I do the same thing. "The Ordinary Us" is my all-time favorite -- so far!

[Gandalf]

Dom was one of my first addictive writers here.  Like a number of other great authors here at GA he has disappeared.   I wish them well and dream they might return.  I occasionally re read some.  I hope a new writer will grab me in the same manner.  So far that has happened. Pax. Steve

[Northern Dutch Guy]

On 3/13/2017 at 5:58 AM, koregaboku said:

Just came to say that however many years later I still come back and see if there are any updates.

 

Dom persists as one of my favorite authors, I probably started reading (binging at first) what he wrote when I was in High School and I can't believe that it's been ten years since. My hopes that he return are thin but I still do. Wherever Dom is, and whatever he's doing, I hope he's doing well. He's given me hours upon hours of amazing stories and it would feel wrong to hope any other way. 

 

Maybe I'll start re-reading again soon.

 

Dom's stories also catched my hearth. For me it was Desert Dropping... that  I read 1st. And reading all of his stories was really a pleasure.

[Cachondeo]

On 4/29/2012 at 7:37 PM, Andrew Q Gordon said:

Marco,

 

I too am saddened that stories I started and liked are not completed, but as a writer I can say sometimes it happens. Sad but true.

 

Now I get your gripe that it would be nice to have some answer - like - hey guys sorry, I'm not likely to ever finish this because. . . . I've seen that happen with a couple stories. Others the author has just disappeared without a trace. Yes Dom is one of those.

 

That said, and I know this is me making excuses for others, but as Tim and Gene said, this is a free site, free to read and free as in we who write don't get paid. Things have greatly changed since GA began. Once there was 1) find a publisher to accept and publish your work or 2) Post it for free on line here or on Nifty or some other place. Now however there is ePublish it yourself.

 

I know, you're saying, not shit sherlock, but my point is people's focus can change. Maybe they've decided to try their hand at getting published and have been devoting their time there. maybe, life just interrupted and this part has taken a back seat. It still doesn't prevent them from saying that, but it happens and like you, I am saddened, (though not disgusted).

 

My only suggestion is to move on to others who have completed their stories and if you're not too angry, sit tight and hope your old favorites come back and finish what they've started. Getting mad at them on here won't bring them back any sooner, and it might turn them off for good. I doubt Dom wants to poke his head into his forum and read people trashing him for taking a hiatus. It might just get him to say - whatever, who needs this.

 

Andy

I abso-freekenly love your stuff, man!! Second shot is in my top 10!

Cheers!

And I also think that sometimes life gets in the way and...well it saddens me deeply (mostly because I’m a drama queen and I wonder if something bad happened to every author that’s vanished) but we can hope.

[Cachondeo]

On 2/28/2014 at 5:40 PM, Leftcoast said:

As an addendum to LJH's post above, Dom also posted several of his stories to the Stories On Line site, and everything there has been edited.  That Spirit of James story is edited there, and all of Desert Dropping.  About two-thirds of The Long Way is edited there, but longtime readers should be prepared for something of a shock reading it.  Dom had become a much more sophisticated writer by the time it was being edited, and readers should be warned that he was a bit ruthless in dealing with his earlier writing self.  The story's the same, but the presentation is different.

 

You do have to register on the site to see everything that he's posted there--I think without registering, you can only see the Spirit of James story.  For some reason, his name is shown under the D's--something like Dominick Lucas, if I remember correctly.  I've been registered there for years and never had any adverse consequences from so registering.

 

Jim

What’s the name of the site again? Because I trod looking for “stories on line” and couldn’t find anything😯

Thanks!

[Marty]

On 10/26/2018 at 2:57 AM, Cachondeo said:

What’s the name of the site again? Because I trod looking for “stories on line” and couldn’t find anything😯

Thanks!

I found the following, but it doesn't look like it's the one Leftcoast was talking about....

 

www.storylineonline.net

[PaulP]

On 10/25/2018 at 6:57 PM, Cachondeo said:

What’s the name of the site again? Because I trod looking for “stories on line” and couldn’t find anything😯

Thanks!

 

https://storiesonline.net/a/Dominic_Lukas

[koregaboku]

1. Holy shit I was able to log back in.

2. I never knew that edited version were posted on Stories Online; as a fan who has (and still periodically does) reread the versions hosted on GA, would this be potentially jarring for me to read? I fully agree that Dom's grew as time went on (most evident in In the Fishbowl, With Trust, and Hello Stupid) but there is something to be said about the (closer to) OG versions that are hosted here.

3. When I was younger (probably right around the time Dom went on hiatus) I dreamed about pulling all of the stories, printing them out, and having them bound (at like Staples or Kinkos or something) since I'm apparently a terrible millennial and much prefer the weight of a physical book. Has anyone else thought about this or actually done it? Now that I'm older and relatively financially comfortable it's something I've started thinking about again. Also, are there any ethical concerns with that? The copy would be for me, myself, and I.

4. And, for the record, I have not lost hope yet that someday Dom magically returns (even if it means never finishing With Trust) and blesses us with his writing again. I realize realistically it's a slim to none chance but I'd like to think of myself as a bit of an optimist- at least in this respect.

[PrivateTim]

On 7/14/2011 at 1:41 PM, Mark Arbour said:

I like to think that Dom met a new guy, and he's been too busy having orgasms to write and post here. Barring some new revelation, that's what I'm going with.

Dom's ability to develop characters, and to make their quirks endearing, is really incredible. In that regard, my favorite character of the bunch is Quinn. Who else but Dom could make someone so uptight and anal-retentive so lovable?

I think that in this genre, transient writers are often the norm. Real life will usually win out in a battle with cyber-life, so it's not unusual to have a writer just vanish. Websites like this one seem to have the same general attitude: the writers are expendable. New ones will come in and replace the old ones who leave. It's mercenary, but that's just the way it is.

I think it says something about how exceptional Dom is that we all have a hard time accepting that he may have made that decision to wander off. We crave his talent, his craft. We should. He's that good.

I am in the end stages of reading Desert Dropping for the third time. The first two times were back in the mid-2000s and this third time two things strike me. One is how much I miss Dom and his immense talent in writing. Number two, is how much I appreciate Mark Arbour not disappearing, and blessing us with his immense talents. I know it is not easy to not let real life invade and overwhelm the cyber life, so that makes the dedication that much more special.

[Krista]

21 hours ago, PrivateTim said:

I am in the end stages of reading Desert Dropping for the third time. The first two times were back in the mid-2000s and this third time two things strike me. One is how much I miss Dom and his immense talent in writing. Number two, is how much I appreciate Mark Arbour not disappearing, and blessing us with his immense talents. I know it is not easy to not let real life invade and overwhelm the cyber life, so that makes the dedication that much more special.

I think it is time for me to start reading Desert Dropping again, it has been years. 

[FrenchCanadian]

20 hours ago, Krista said:

I think it is time for me to start reading Desert Dropping again, it has been years. 

I think I almost forgot the story! I would need to read it all over again too.

I wasn't aware that there was an more recent edit of it somewhere out there.

Edited May 30, 2023 by FrenchCanadian