Or have one of those nobles mention the Empress in the third person ... and Madame say something that makes it clear that The Empress is indeed an absent third person.

I didn't have a problem ... but you could give them proper names.  Or have hadae mention the Empress in the third person.

1,703

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Hey, I was going to do this in book nine or ten, but I'll do it now instead.  Nothing says I can't do it again ... and you asked for this one.

What about the descending aorta and the inferior vena cava?  Aren't they in the general vicinity of the kidneys?

1,705

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Well, I think I =may= have a timeline for Day 2 Maurand that has everything in the right order.  I have to move a couple things to Day 3 and one back to Day 1, and decide just how the timeline maps onto the linear time of day.

Meanwhile, I have an appointment tomorrow, and at least one delivery to expect, and something I want to get built before the appointment, if I can.

Save the 3-5 day death for the bad guy--or for someone the bad guy loves, if there is such a person.

1,707

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

I'm still working on sequencing all the little events of Maurand Day 2.

Amy, I might give you a gross little scene of his treatment, just for you.  smile

For the femoral artery, think leg near the groin.  A wound that penetrated just right can open it in two directions.  Amy can give you a more detailed picture (but don't forget WikiP).

The ideal weapon might be the gladiius with its two razor-sharp edges.

Oh, what about a lower cut that opens a femoral artery near the abdomen?

1,710

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Almost like 'said'. smile

1,711

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

I'm going out of my gourd right now.  I've replaced my cellphone but--the existing stock of slide phones are incompatible with all the apps that were loaded on my old slidephone, including yahoo mail, chrome, and the Google play store app.

So either I have a phone I can type on, that can't run my apps, or I have a phone that the apps will deign to run on, but that I can't type on.

I feel like throwing wooden shoes through the touchscreen factories ... .   If I'd bought the new phones in a certain narrow time window, they would have gotten the update to the Android OS.

And I still can't schlepp my computer around with the PbSO4 battery pack.  I've just shelled out money for three spare flaptop batteries.  If I can keep them charged, I'll be able to use it most days (while I rehab my legs).  (The problem is tying up another hand with that 28+lb battery pack.)

Norm, when you get your list of curses, send it my way.   I need it.  (My good guys never curse.  My bad guys have yet to do so, but their character will be worse than any words they could utter.) Sorry, this is this best U-tube I could find.

Nobody there cares about kittens.  A full-grown mouser is another matter.

It seems that GoodReads has the same idea ... but this is a Kindle ebook giveaway handled through Amazon, and it can be done with pre-publication works.

1,714

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

The original production with Cariou and Lansbury was better by far.  The audio is up on youtube.  (The audio quality is better, too.)

Dragon Balls!  Rat spit!

You can also take mythic figures from your history: Bloody Caesar!  Arthur's Eyes!  That may help you introduce myth that is important to your story.

1,716

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Is that squire on the fire?

1,717

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Going to try to get the next chapter laid out.  All the little things I've listed have to fall into place, and so I need to get them in order.  This may be a sticky-notes problem.

1,718

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Janet (AJ) Reid wrote:

Don't worry about us! Look after yourself first. We'll be here waiting once you're sorted. Hope it's soon though!

So do I.  So do I.

Invent failed or corrupted magic, and use that for your curses?

Hmm.  Amy gave up on "Ghen's glowing green wanker" and went with phrases like 'clot and rot'.  I've got a strict rule that sorcerers do not curse--but that doesn't mean the don't say 'Thunder and Water' or 'frothing Chaos'.

Leaving aside such things as pig guts and pond scum ... tell us a bit about your world's magical foundation.

On the problem with elves -- linked off the Castiglia House website.

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(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

If you're wondering where I've been ... my cellphone died, so I can't do anything unless I'm at my computer.  And I won't be able to carry my computer bag for at least a week and maybe ten days.  I don't expect to be able to carry both my bags (plus battery pack) for four to six weeks.  I'll be using the cane probably into July, and I don't expect to be in shape to negotiate the stands of a ballpark until at least then.

And I have to see--carefully--how long drives affect me.  I took an 80-minute-each-way trip for an errand, and it didn't seem to do me any harm.  I'll have to push that gently, but I hope to be able to go up to Methuen sometime during their season.

(If you're near Boston on a summer Wednesday, put that on your itinerary: mmmh.org .  I can't promise you'll like the music, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to pick your jaw off the floor as you walk up the seating aisle.)

The depressing part--or maybe it's the good part?--is that a review not given seems more likely a tepid or negative review.

Does anyone have experiences to report on Librarything.com's 'early reviewers giveaway'?

Janet, was it you who mentioned the price of books in Australia? www.teleread.com/australian-government-local-books-cost-too-much-why-not-let-stores-import-them/