I on the other hand, don't have a clue what you've just said. Just another reminder not to read this thread, I'm not nearly as confused while reading the story! smile But then again, I don't read while updating/keeping spreadsheets ... sad

652

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

njc wrote:

Actually, in the Cinderella retelling, it is the tools in the belt that have that effect.

Knowing men, this doesn't surprise me either. Or maybe I know too many engineers ... LOL

As a side-note, I'm running to Amy when the apocalypse happens.
I also only have to run faster than Elisheva ... hehehehe

653

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

njc wrote:

Ho yez!

LOL there's a Girl Genius for every situation! Even for girl's "tools" that Amy (probably) wasn't referring to, the ones that only work on men ... hehehe


I'm going to shut-up now and try and finish the next chapter.

654

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

I went with "Very well then." even though it's not very well at all! I've still made notes though ...

655

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

amy s wrote:

He likes to kill the characters of other writers. Don't take it oersonally

Problem is, he also enjoys killing his own characters ... *looks worried*

656

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

It would've been ssssooooooooo much easier if "okay" had been first used in the fifteenth century!!!!!! grrrrrrrr ......

657

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

njc wrote:

Oh, dear.

janet reid wrote:
KHippolite wrote:

Ah, I think I figured it out... and it may be an across-the-pong thing, but the expression should probably be

"X wasted no time in doing Y"

which is very different from X didn't waste his time doing Y. Maybe it's an idiomatic expression. *shrugs*. Either way, I get the meaning now

The difference is the word 'in'.  With no 'in', Catherine's dress is still up around her admirable front.  With 'in', the dress was set right expeditiously.

See The Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendation, also called LIAR.  (How do you read "I cannot recommend him too highly."  ?)

He's highly recommended. But it's because I speak LIAR as a fouth language fluently ... tongue
(my third language is talking sh#t wink )

I'll make doubly/triply sure her skirt is where SHE wants it before she leaves the hall! big_smile

658

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

KHippolite wrote:

Therefore, Catherine didn’t waste time to right her dress and after a cheeky curtsy...
>If I read this correctly, it means she did not fix her dress and is now prancing around with everything all hanging out

Ah, I think I figured it out... and it may be an across-the-pong thing, but the expression should probably be

"X wasted no time in doing Y"

which is very different from X didn't waste his time doing Y. Maybe it's an idiomatic expression. *shrugs*. Either way, I get the meaning now

I do this deliberately to keep you up at night K! wink

It can be stated better/more clearly, although you are so far the only one who interpreted it this way! smile

659

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

amy s wrote:

I got warts?

You tell us?

d a reynolds wrote:

Happy Birthday...from a stranger.

Thanks D! And for singing along too. smile

amy s wrote:

You need to read your own spreadsheets.

Funniest thing I've read all week! LOL Here, here is another rock.

K!!!!!!!!! Duck!!!!!!

KHippolite wrote:

Did you just admit you're not giving me extra hard reviews?

Yeah well this is a romance... If this was fantasy or historical fiction I'd be all over you that no one died yet or had legs cut off

Be careful what you wish for ... someone is going to die soon (I just have to get C pregnant and Anthony trained first), and then you're going to bawl your eyes out and will never ever wish for a character to die ever ever again. It's going to be THAT sad.

Don't worry Rebecca, his horse is going to make it!

663

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

I'm going to point K in your direction (that's you Amy AND you njc) - around here, we want results, not excuses!

ps - it has nothing to do with getting him off my case at all ... I see the cattle prod thread is still going strong.

664

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

Huh, seasoned writers! I like you already smile Also, the trick around here is to get away, not getting to stay! LOL

Well, to answer your question - I'd strongly recommend sticking round here too. I write romance, PROPER romance (very flowery, and little death, lots of luuuvvvvvv) and I found a place here. Granted, it's historical romance, so it does fit this group a little bit, but other than that, I have very little in common with the fantasy powers, magic stuff, etc., and it doesn't matter one bit - I have learned a lot from this group and have received valuable feedback and help.

I have no idea how active the YA group is, but compared to some of the other groups around here, this group is by far the most active (that I know of). Everyone is great, warts and all! (see what I did here with the warts .... LOL) But unless it gets too hard to manage two groups (and it might be if the YA group is as busy/active as this one), I'd say join both!

Also, if Amy throws a rock at you, don't take it personally, it just means she missed K! wink

I'll check you novel out - I have been reading a few YA novels on the site, so it's not all foreign to me. And soooooo, do you read romance at all?

Thanks Rebecca! LOL

Marilyn Monroe voice ... I like! smile

K, really?! That's sssooooo SWEET!!!!!!! Wait what?! Did you just admit you're not giving me extra hard reviews? I'm leaving this to our fearless leader (that's you Amy!) to sort out .... *glares at K*

Just renewed my premium membership for the second year. Which means I've been a member (non-paying/testing the waters + paying + freebie month when we move to the new site/thanks Sol!) for more than 1 year and 4 months. It feels longer than this though with all I have learned during this time though!


I have said it before and I will say it again - joining this site has been one of my best decisions ever!


So everyone together now: "Happy birthday to Janet being on TNBW for more than a year, happy birthday to JBOTNBWFMTAY, happy birthday dear Janeeetttttt, happppyyyyy birthday tooooooo you!"

667

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

I've solved the POV issue whoo-hoo! By doing what I always do, use both POVs ... phew, that was a close one. and funny what difference a good night's sleep can do?! LOL

And also, the fact that Catherine can't have children should also be part of the equation (like Amy said), although it's not a big one - it will only make it heaps more fun if you don't worry about getting pregnant! smile

Winter clothes ... Okay, in addition to having the nicest caps in the world, and being really good at doughnuts, it looks like the US also do clothes for colder weather much better than what Perth do. Eastern/southern Aus isn't too bad, they also have good gear, but Perth sucks at it, because we don't really need it. And it would've been a waste to buy nice winter gear you don't need while visiting the colder side of Aus, so we just looked at the nice stuff and never bought it never thinking we would ever need it. When we knew we were coming over to this side, we then decided to upgrade our winter clothes when we got here. Aus is bloody expensive. BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Okay Amy, so we found one pair of gloves each, I have a beanie (so far husband and kids don't think they'll need it - it's game over the day they change their minds, I'm going to take them out and never let them forget - I'm a bad person IRL smile ) and long-sleeves/clothes you can layer. We found under armor (I think it's called) at pretty reasonable prices. We have a good pair of boots each too (from Aus - Perth is wet in winter too). No coats at the moment, but we each have a good windbreaker that's also waterproof - it won't be any good when it snows, I think, not warm enough, but with all the other layers, it might be enough. When we get there, we'll invest in a good coat each then.

So PM me with a list of stuff you have - but if it's Colin's gear that Sean can use later, I'd rather you hold on to it. The rest will be appreciated and used until it can't be used no more. I'll also let you know where the friendly courier can drop the package.

I'm still working on the scheme to get money to you beforehand - best I have is not to tell you where I live until I have your bank account details (if you wouldn't mind, your SSN, DOB - mmm, maybe I can get this one, so don't worry about it - what else, your mother's maiden name too, that'd be really nice hehehe). But I have a feeling you'll be really upset if I do that. So I'm still working on a cunning plan that you won't see coming and won't upset you too. Maybe enough wine that's worth your weight in gold .... I still have your address from the previous failed attempt.

You're the best! And everyone else that's been giving me really helpful advice too. You guys rock! smile

ps - I'm not going to check for spelling or closed parenthesis - deal with it! tongue

668

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

I have big problems with the next chapter - I think it needs to be in Catherine's POV, but it looks more and more like it will work better in Matthew's. And I so do not want to write two chapters to see which one works best ....

669

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

njc wrote:

Notice though that the expected readership is female, so you can't go too deeply into the male perspective.  Enough to lend a corroborative verisimilitude to ... oh, fiddlesticks!

Male romance readership is approx. 20% of the market and growing, a decade ago it was less than 10%. So yes, the majority of readers is female, but I'm hoping that NS will also appeal to the 20% of men reading this, hence all the action and why I think it would be good if I can portray the male psyche accurately too.

670

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

This is getting complicated now! LOL

This is the mindset I was trying to convey ....

He wants her. And he wants her A LOT, more than any other woman before her. And he doesn't want her only once or twice either. But taking on a mistress while you're also trying to catch a bad-ass is probably not the best idea, you may run into time constraints. Then there is Catherine's suitability - same class, widow (i.e. independent, she can decide) and with discretion of course - so she would do quite well. With this, I was trying to show that at least Matthew isn't only thinking about his own physical needs and meeting them at any cost, but that he was considering the impact of this becoming known - and it would only be Catherine's reputation that would be at stake, i.e. he cares at least.

I like K's idea - they think the arrow was meant for Matthew, but the fact is, Catherine is clearly not Matthew, yet she was shot, so it could still be a massive plot to kill her (this would work well for the third book especially). Bringing out some of Matthew's protective instincts so to speak would be a more logical connection to the blackguard than my effort where Catherine could be a distraction.

But where I disagree with K is Matthew asking so many questions, what do I miss when Catherine isn't there? can I/we pull this off without being caught/how are we going to be discreet? He knows what he wants (her), he's not missing anything (yet), he's done it before with other women (without getting caught), discretion is his middle name (it's not hard to make happen, at his castle? pft, easy as.).

Then I agree again - the big uncertainty/risk is Catherine's agreement to it. This is where her being a widow starts to come into play - it is her decision. So the next question is, will she agree to being his mistress which is a bit more than a quick tumble.

So this is why the following is there:

Now all that remained was to convince the lady in question of the mutual benefits of such a liaison.
He grinned like a lad who just discovered his horse could talk.
He was looking forward to this pursuit for sure.

Anything else is easy to fix/sort out. So maybe I should lessen his confidence here (maybe, I don't want to alienate readers in the process).

So basically I need to expand more on Matthew's protective instinct and like Amy said (I like that analogy), what he wants (the control/possess factor) - and Catherine's independence (and not only the widow related one, her personality too) makes it much more of a challenge and reward.

671

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

Okay, I'll get hubby to check it - white fur coat will stay white as pure snow and not brown like driven slush that way! smile
Thank you for all the tips - clearly you guys are pro's at this!!!! And keep it coming - I prefer learning from the mistakes of others! wink

672

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

amy s wrote:

smile to quote a certain character, you can try...

I'm not Matthew ... tongue

Scraper - saw one before in one of the company cars on site - so it seems like good advice. I'm going to be in the shops all day tomorrow at this rate! LOL

673

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

amy s wrote:

Don't know or much care about the cost. I figure shipping would be about $50 to $60 US, but that is less than the price of one good coat. And I have two coats, three vests, and assorted gloves collected already. They are women's, but I figure it doesn't matter about fashion as long as you don't freeze to death.

There is a rummage sale here on Tuesday (they call them flurries in the UK), so I'll see what falls my way. What are the sizes of your sons?

Elisheva, travel can come later. What matters is a willingness to listen and learn about other cultures. You've already got that down. You're a writer. Doesn't matter where you live.

The youngest one is Boys Size 10-12, the oldest one is Men - Small. And I couldn't care less if it cost less than a pair of knickers, you're not going to pay for it. If you insist and it will make you feel better, you can contribute $10 to postage, but just keep in mind I can be ingenious when I want to and will find a way to pay you somehow, one day (when your guard is down) ... As it is, I owe your two bottles of wine (minimum) and counting.

674

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

amy s wrote:

We replace our wipers at least once a year because winter ice rips them to shreds. Oh, Janet? Send my your address so I can send you my extra and outsized winter clothing/ hats/ gloves. That way, it won't be a tragedy if they lose a glove or something. This way, your kids will be equipped to play in the snow.

Would it be possible to find out what it would cost? And no, if you're going to send it my way, you're not going to pay for it too. And thank you for the offer.

njc is right about the temperatures being relatively moderate near the coast - it has only snowed twice in this region over the last 5 years and then it was a couple of inches at most. Prediction is this will again be a moderate winter (compared to the east coast, NY and Chicago etc. that is). I'm grateful for that much. We've already had a few morning this weeks with the mercury at 37F ...

We'll have to go back to Aus at some stage to visit friends and family and do some admin, I'll check out FedEx on this side and then I can try again! smile

675

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

njc wrote:

Lawyers are never DRT.  It has to be taken before a judge.  And I am that careful sort of guy who won't do any such damage.

I'd pushed the test question down on the stack, too.  Grumble.  I've got paperwork still coming in over Mom's death.

It's takes a lot of time and effort to get through all the things and paperwork that needs to be done to finalize a person's estate. And sometimes (most of the time) it's stuff you need to do yourself, as much as others want to help. I can only hope you get through it sooner than later. J