amy s wrote:
You have 5 corners in the room? Bad math, sir!
And Dirk has also put himself in one, so that makes 6 ...
926 2015-05-19 03:33:23
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
927 2015-05-18 01:17:31
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
amy s wrote:
Hey folks, I've integrated you reviews into Honor Amongst Thieves. I think I've made massive improvements, especially the beginning. Does anyone have time for a quick perusal?
I'm moving on to part two of this story as my next project...
Amy, if I check your update out this week, would you pretty please check my updated chapter (when you have the time of course, no rush! oh, and let me know if you need me to do something about that electric chair, njc's been most helpful even though that's risky given there is still one corner left)? All I need to know is whether Catherine's wound and her reaction and the treatment match in your opinion. Her reaction isn't so much only due to pain, but also a little bit of shock too. I've assumed it would be reasonable given that she hasn't been shot by arrows on a regular basis. And then, the score is deep enough to need stitches, so I don't know if it needs to bleed more than what it does or whether it now has nicked an artery or a piece of bone or something that it shouldn't have. And I'll only be sure I've done it properly once I receive your seal of approval. This ER/first aid/anatomy stuff is really hard! Thanks!
*hopes the combination of promises, threats and compliments work like a charm* 
928 2015-05-17 23:35:12
Re: Northern Skies - Janet! (520 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Yeah, but you know me and explosive atmospheres ...
929 2015-05-17 16:16:58
Re: Northern Skies - Janet! (520 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Wow, look, a nice comfy chair to sit and drink wine and slack off!
pft, 10000 volts *borrows a book from njc to short-circuit the whole thing, closes laptop, sits down and takes a sip of wine, watching Amy typing frantically*
Should I also short-circuit Amy's comfy chair? Nah, it looks like she wants to finish that chapter and wouldn't appreciate the gesture ... 
930 2015-05-16 00:43:44
Re: Be back soon (15 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Hope to see you back soon Tom, and don't worry, just for you, I'll write even slower (not sure if that is even possible at the moment) But in any case, I haven't forgotten about you too, the dust settled and I'm slowing adjusting to my "new normal". Rest as much as needed, don't rush it, your health is really important, and I'll check in once you're back. All the best! Janet
931 2015-05-14 03:04:57
Re: Spacing (6 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)
I hate to admit, but I tend to agree the writing is on the wall for the double space. Now to get rid of that habit ...
932 2015-05-14 03:02:52
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Amy, that's a really tricky one - if someone is reading a genre they normally don't read, it takes a very special kind of special person to let go and put a new shiny, unfamiliar hat on, so take those suggestions with buckets full of salt imo (that goes for me too - this fantasy magic stuff is pretty new to me too!). I think it may be a combination of expecting a Collin story (although with a title like that one must wonder, but then again, with your sense of humour, I'm not surprised, no one can predict what to expect next!), but it may be more because they expected a typical crime/suspense piece? I don't know if the reviewers are your usual suspects or if there were a few new ones from cop shop?
Oh, and I forgot to add, good luck!!!
933 2015-05-13 04:20:14
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Review coming up tmrw, I'm loosing my touch *blushes*
934 2015-05-13 04:19:16
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
That's a keeper K, but now it's more like coke spraying all over my phone ... New rule: don't drink coke when reading Amy's comments.
935 2015-05-13 00:21:07
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
KHippolite wrote:
janet reid wrote:KHippolite wrote:Mysterious? Reclusive? Don't you mean ornery and contrarian?
Yes Amy, you forgot a few of them!
>:@
You need to help me out a bit K ...
936 2015-05-12 19:57:11
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Amy, I've started my review yesterday, trying to get it done over lunch today *crosses fingers*
937 2015-05-12 19:56:31
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
KHippolite wrote:
Mysterious? Reclusive? Don't you mean ornery and contrarian?
Yes Amy, you forgot a few of them!
938 2015-05-12 19:55:26
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
amy s wrote:
I needed that smile. Thanks:-)
Even I got that one! 
939 2015-05-07 02:14:10
Re: Back in the saddle (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
njc wrote:
Take a look at the roof of 20 Exchange Place. See that framework for the microwave relays? I held the other end of the tape measure when he took the measurements for that framework.
You have a library, and now THIS. That is an awesome story!
940 2015-05-07 02:07:29
Re: Back in the saddle (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
We received 218 boxes/items on Monday, and Tuesday evening we had 45 left to sort out over the weekend. From what I see here, njc is also exercising the same muscle groups. And may I get a nurse like Amy should I ever have to go to an ER.
My biggest priority is to get Northern Skies onto paper after deciding half-way through that Catherine and Matthew need to slow down despite neither of them being virgins. I've managed to get them to listen (not while I was waiting for my fast food order, by the way - hehehe) and think I'd be able to use most of the first draft, but it still needs some rewriting to make the scenes fit. I'm always 1-2 chapters ahead in my head than on paper, and some new scenes are needed and some scenes will be gone. Or maybe not, who knows what will happen in Ch15 this time around. But I hope it will go quicker than the first draft although here on the site it may not seem as if I'm writing any quicker given that I have less time to write.
And I need to catch-up with K and Rocket Baby, as with a few others.
Summer will not get in the way - travelling might
941 2015-05-02 23:20:04
Re: Awesome defense of romance literature (2 replies, posted in Romance Inc.)
This is great and something I think all romance authors have to get use to - I wish it was not so, but I don't think the "stigma" will be gone soon, if ever. I just shake my head sometime: if you look at the numbers, there are a lot of people that read romance but don't admit it!
942 2015-05-01 04:13:43
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
njc wrote:
janet reid wrote:Hey!!! We give you alcohol and gasoline and heaps of other super useful (and safe-ish) stuff that you use everyday, you know, like that keyboard that you're typing on! I'm sure K will be more appreciative ... *thinks a bit about that last one, starts search for a new group*
Speaking of which, The Computer Museum would probably like to take you to task for rubber feet, and worse, rubber capstans, that turn to sticky goo after twenty years or so. I just donated an old CRT terminal to them because I need to get stuff out, and the keyboard feet were brown sticky plastiglop.
(That donation hurt. It was a Heathkit that I assembled myself and used for several years.)
20 years is actually pretty good njc? But it must hurt, that's a classic!
943 2015-05-01 04:13:28
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
njc wrote:
What comes out is great, but we're talking about the worrkshop itself.
Yeah yeah
944 2015-04-30 19:26:08
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Hey!!! We give you alcohol and gasoline and heaps of other super useful (and safe-ish) stuff that you use everyday, you know, like that keyboard that you're typing on! I'm sure K will be more appreciative ... *thinks a bit about that last one, starts search for a new group*
945 2015-04-30 02:42:35
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Norm d'Plume wrote:
Actually, I was the twit who stuck a large firecracker in the barrel of my brother's toy gun and held it while it went off. That really hurt! My brother probably wondered why he couldn't find his gun after that. I'll have to tell him.
Dirk
Kids do stupid things! Their guardian angels work overtime, otherwise humans would have been extinct before the dinosaurs ...
Dirk, you reminded me of a similar "experiment" I was involved in when growing up. My brother and I carefully took out some tobacco from one of my dad's smokes, and placed one of those really tiny firecrackers (they were red and green, not sure if it was around where/when you grew up) inside and carefully put the tobacco back. We kept an eye on him the whole day. It was funny as hell when that thing went off - pieces of ash were hanging from his eyebrows. He was less impressed and very lucky not to have gotten his eyes injured. Our backsides were not so lucky though.
He looked very much like the unlucky kid in our electronics class at school who inserted a capacitor the wrong way around into his circuit. His face was covered in ash and pieces of paper when that tiny thing exploded. We laughed, but most of us was just lucky he did it first - a few of us had to fix our circuits accordingly when the teacher explained what just happened! <---- and njc, that's also when I knew I'll be doomed in any career to do with electronics, so I went for chemistry - much safer! 
946 2015-04-30 02:30:17
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
njc wrote:
What I'd like to argue is that nothing I have or do is as dangerous as frying chicken.
Even frozen chicken with no oil in sight is a potential fire hazard in the hands of a suitably motivated idiot ...
947 2015-04-30 02:25:33
Re: The Winner (9 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
"The Winner" has a nice ring to it! Congrats Adrian! And Amy has done well to choose only one from the entries, hat's off to everyone who entered!
948 2015-04-24 23:19:50
Re: Interesting article on the future of publishing (17 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Jube wrote:
I think the end question for the future is will there even be authors remaining? This topic is interesting in that it leads to discussing the rip current while the Tsunami isn't far away. Quill is an existing artificial intellligence that already can take data and rearrange it in a story mode setting for easier understanding by clients. The developers of Quill and many others are already predicting similar and more advanced AI will soon be able to construct stories as good as any human author. As it was with the first: calculator, PC, television, etc. time is on the side of such technology. What we may laugh and feel confident won't take place, will simply be staring us in the face later on. I used to play a mean game of chess, and thought no AI would reach a point where it could beat a world champion. Along came Deep Blue and put an end to that. One more piece of motivation to get our writing done asap.
When AI authors happen, they will just be another author that joined the ranks in my opinion. Sure they'll be able to produce more stories in a shorter time span than humans - and I'm not so sure what the quality will be like either - but if they do, they will still just be one more author that wrote a book? It's not like no one plays chess anymore since Deep Blue came along ...
On a lighter note, we could always still exist as their beta readers? :-)
949 2015-04-21 03:57:47
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
njc wrote:
If you're ever in south-central NJ, you should find Book Garden Florists in Cream Ridge on Rte 537. (It's southwest of Great Adventure, and in the vicinity of Fort Dix/Naval AS Lakehurst/McGuire AFB.) My rough estimate is over half a million volumes, categorized but uncatalogued, on homemade shelves in a huge space with many narrow aisles.
It's hard to get a mental picture of what half a million books all together would look like - I've made a note, if I'm ever going that way, I will put in some effort to check it out.
Good luck NJC! When it rains ... so just hang in there!
950 2015-04-21 03:55:12
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
amy s wrote:
I wonder what their landlords say to th "Book Garden FLorists' and their pile of books and possible fire hazards. Are they really making you get rid of books?
Your landlords need to be cooked in their own juices and roasted slowly over a low fire.
*gathering fire wood and stakes*
