Borderline [On hold for major revision]

Revisions and technical aspects

If you started this story January 9th or later (the date of the last major revision), then you can just skip this whole thing. Actually, even if you started before that you can skip it because most of these won't affect the story too much.

So, since I wasn't very fond of the way I set up the story, I went back through it and made some changes. Most were minor changes of the wording, though some things I completely switched around. I'll list the more major ones here for you to help out when you're reading.

Revision: Mark Wolfe's name was changed to Mark Walton

Reason: The first one came from a random name generator, but I really don't like the last name Wolfe for some reason.

Revision: Added a two-page scene in Chapter 9.

Reason: Didn't make sense that the main character got in a major car wreck and didn't see a doctor about it. So, now he sees a doctor. Plus the character introduced in this scene shows up again later on (chapters 23-24).

Revision: Bethany Tellis' name was changed to Bethany Martina.

Reason: I realized her name was a subconcious copy of a book character I really like named Tessa Ellis (I had just finished a page where she signed her name T. Ellis when I wrote that chapter).

Revision: Changed chapters 3 and 4 so that Cal is at the restaurant for a meeting rather than a date.

Reason: I hate writing anything remotely romantic.

Revision: The main setting of Calexico, CA was changed to Falkner, CA.

Reason: Calexico's geography wasn't really working with the way the story was set up, plus its population is much too small for the purpose the main setting serves in my story.

Revision: Added a new chapter between 9 and 10 (now called Chapter 10; all of the other chapter numbers were bumped up as well.)

Reason: I felt like Cal is always talking about his secret life, yet never really lived it. So, I added a scene. That made the chapter too long, so I split it into two shorter chapters.

Revision: Added some explanation of the building layout in Chapter 1

Reason: I realized that the way I had it set up isn't possible at a real Border Patrol station.

Revision: Added a whole lot to Chapter 5 (two or three extra scenes)

Reason: It didn't seem very realistic before. Too quick.

Revision: Added a scene in Chapter 13.

Reason: The reason has a lot to do with something that happens a lot farther on in the book, so I don't want to give that away. I also added a short scene in Chapter 14 in which Cal and Terra talk about the part I added in Ch. 13.

That's everything noteworthy I changed...I think.

By the way, here's a note on the realistic accuracy or lack of when it comes to things in this book. When I write my stories, especially ones in which law enforcement protocols play a large role such as in this one, I make sure to get all of my research straight before typing all of this out. That being said, sometimes I change things either to protect real people's privacy or for dramatic effect. For example, in the first chapter Cal uses a satellite on his phone to locate an illegal immigrant. While satellite technology is often employed, the typical agent would not have the governmental authority to be granted such easy acces to it; that would violate the constitutional rights of the citizens who could easily be spied on using a satellite. I also made up the town where Cal lives: Falkner, California. Other examples would be the time it takes to replace the Deputy Chief Patrol Agent (it would likely take months, but in this story it takes only hours in Chapter 5), the fact that Border Patrol agents merely patrol, and don't interrogate suspects (Ch. 1). Other than those few examples, everything involving protocols, laws, or anything like that should be accurate, so if you're curious as to how any of it works out in the real world, feel free to ask me and I can try to explain it.

~Parker