G'day readers,

Okay, it's been a long time, I know, so I have to say a huge thank you to all my readers for your unwavering patience and commitment to Lisa's unfolding story: it will be, I hope, rewarded in due course.

Firstly, I did address my extended absence in some detail in Smiley Town, but I feel like I owe my LTL readers - as distinct from all other fanficcers - a more specific apology, so, I have to say I'm sorry for leaving you all in the lurch for the last few months. Though I have checked TPM regularly, I have scarcely posted or contributed since May, and I'm sorry about that. My absence can be explained by a combination of my job, my relationship and new villa with my partner, and also - more specifically - by a convalescent period of giving up a problematic addiction to alcohol and going sober to basically grow up and deal with my issues. (Five months sober now, and counting!)

Now that we've got that out of the way, I'll get on with responding to your replies from May.

Sike: Indeed, Lisa's mental state was pretty paranoid at that point, so it's no wonder she was quite so trigger happy. I think the result was quite amusing, as well as realistic, I hope. I'm glad you enjoyed the HSM and yeah, I chuckled to myself when I wrote that line, it was ridiculously satisfying. As for Gavin's scene, it will come into play, but not for quite some time yet ... Thanks for reading so loyally as you always do, and I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters ... I think there will be quite a few HSMs ahead, and not in the usual style, either. Cheers!

Tara: Yay, I'm stoked that the mood of the chapter had such a strong impact on you. I think it was much more frightening when Lisa is sneaking around the streets of Red Rock as opposed to actually being confronted with the Union. The threat is always more frightening than the actual agent posing the threat, it seems - at least in writing. And thanks for your feedback about the general shape of the chapters and the way they end. It's something that I think changes a lot over the next five or so chapters ... but I'd love your feedback on whether or not it actually does differ from the present structure or not. Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you'll have enough breathing space to read the next instalments!

Guys, chapter 69 has been written for ages, but there are a couple of sentences (seriously, that's all) that need to be rewritten before I post it. I'm going to work on it tonight (I'm currently absorbed with the current new chapter I'm writing) and so it will hopefully be up very shortly.

Thanks again everyone for sticking around.

Cheers!

- Gavin.