Congratulations, Janet. Will you be serving a glass of ale to all who voted?
2,452 2018-01-17 20:02:20
Re: Best Captain contest (3 replies, posted in Science Fiction, Steampunk, and Space Opera)
How about Admiral St. James, Lady Kay, and Leonardo? St. James can blow herself up on cue, Lady Kay unleashes poisons that cause people's intestines to expand at the speed of sound, and Leonardo can bring down whole buildings with just a taxi cab.
2,453 2018-01-17 15:39:49
Re: Hope you're sitting down (if you still remember me!) (36 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Done.
2,454 2018-01-17 06:38:26
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I toyed with Into the Mind as well, but the book summary immediately drags you back to God and religion. I can't figure out who my target audience is. Galaxy Tales is the series title, concluding with a book set in 7329 AD, where Joseph's religious fanatics get the ultimate revenge for the destruction of New Bethlehem.
2,455 2018-01-17 04:33:24
Topic: Amazon cutting your book prices? (0 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
See this article for a story about Amazon cutting your set book prices.
http://writersweekly.com/ask-the-expert … iced-price
2,456 2018-01-17 04:18:39
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
My latest chapter, Imperial Riots, is up. It's just minor edits, mostly from the v2 reviews. I'm not incorporating Nero into Apollo's head at this time, nor am I using Aussie or Acme in the chapters that remain, unless it's an easy change. I've decided to put further major edits of Galaxy Tales on hold indefinitely. My next book series about the Antichrist will primarily target a Christian/Catholic audience (along with supernatural thriller readers), whereas Galaxy Tales treats Christianity somewhat irreverently, in spite of Joseph's serious attitude toward it in the first two acts. As a result, I can't market these books under one pen name, requiring two marketing campaigns, which is too much. Also, I've been told by several people that they have avoided Galaxy Tales on the site because they thought it was a Christian book, whereas serious Christian readers would probably be put off by it. That makes me wonder if there is an audience for this book in its current form. I'm going to finish minor edits (12 chapters to go), then shelve it.
2,457 2018-01-15 22:48:57
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
njc wrote:
For the connoisseur of calamities: A car driven into the second story of an office building: https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/285946/
From the Darwin Awards website:
The Arizona Highway Patrol were mystified when they came upon a pile of smoldering wreckage embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The metal debris resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it turned out to be the vaporized remains of an automobile. The make of the vehicle was unidentifiable at the scene.
The folks in the lab finally figured out what it was, and pieced together the events that led up to its demise.
It seems that a former Air Force sergeant had somehow got hold of a JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) unit. JATO units are solid fuel rockets used to give heavy military transport airplanes an extra push for take-off from short airfields.
Dried desert lakebeds are the location of choice for breaking the world ground vehicle speed record. The sergeant took the JATO unit into the Arizona desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. He attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, accelerated to a high speed, and fired off the rocket.
The facts, as best as could be determined, are as follows:
The operator was driving a 1967 Chevy Impala. He ignited the JATO unit approximately 3.9 miles from the crash site. This was established by the location of a prominently scorched and melted strip of asphalt. The vehicle quickly reached a speed of between 250 and 300 mph and continued at that speed, under full power, for an additional 20-25 seconds. The soon-to-be pilot experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners.
The Chevy remained on the straight highway for approximately 2.6 miles (15-20 seconds) before the driver applied the brakes, completely melting them, blowing the tires, and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface. The vehicle then became airborne for an additional 1.3 miles, impacted the cliff face at a height of 125 feet, and left a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.
Most of the driver's remains were not recovered; however, small fragments of bone, teeth, and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.
Ironically a still-legible bumper sticker was found, reading
"How do you like my driving? Dial 1-800-EAT-SHIT."
Fortunately for the sergeant, this story is listed as an urban legend, although it lives on among conspiracy theorists.
2,458 2018-01-15 19:33:40
Re: Hope you're sitting down (if you still remember me!) (36 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Force projection.
2,459 2018-01-15 05:21:26
Re: A Slow Death (44 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Sol, I've suggested this before: post a release note on a regular basis (doesn't need to be detailed) about what you're working on or have implemented. It helps to know you're actively working on the site. Makes it feel less lonely since barely anyone is posting in the forums right now. I was really surprised to see that the Mysteries & Thrillers forum has never been used. I talk up the site on Facebook when I can in the writing groups. A short post from you per week would raise interest. You could also elicit feedback about what your plans/priorities are.
2,460 2018-01-15 04:14:44
Re: Hope you're sitting down (if you still remember me!) (36 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Did anyone take any pictures?
2,461 2018-01-13 23:28:30
Re: Old and New (2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
eynarawolf wrote:
...so here I am, contemplating reviewing and posting my own work again.
Do or do not. There is no contemplate. :-)
Welcome back.
2,462 2018-01-13 05:03:38
Re: Grammarly fee structure? (5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thank you both.
2,463 2018-01-11 22:41:02
Re: Maiden and other stuff (52 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
"teach" should have been "reach" - I should have taken typing 20 and 30 in high school, rather than henpecking keystrokes in my old age.
2,464 2018-01-11 15:50:34
Re: Maiden and other stuff (52 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Cool. Now I can reach my whole audience of three remaining reviewers when I post in this forum. :-)
2,465 2018-01-10 04:30:31
Re: Grammarly fee structure? (5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thanks, Bill. Do you use Pro Writing Aid with MS-Word?
2,466 2018-01-10 03:48:31
Topic: Grammarly fee structure? (5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I'm considering signing up for premium grammarly. However, I can't pay $30/mo - $140/yr for an ongoing subscription. Does anyone use this on a short-term basis (e.g., pay $30 for 1 month to polish a complete draft of a novel, then allow it to lapse until the next time I need to polish another book)? Can I download the report(s) it creates to continue to edit offline after my subscription lapses?
Thanks
Dirk
2,467 2018-01-08 16:31:17
Re: Hope you're sitting down (if you still remember me!) (36 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Janet (AJ) Reid wrote:
I'm on my way at the moment
Be sure to wear your robopilot outfit, Aussie. Available at any Acme, Inc. location near you. Mama's Little Shipping can have it at Dr. Ess's house by the time you get there.
2,468 2018-01-06 21:05:09
Re: New since yesterday! (10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Christine, at the top of this forum page is a subscribe link. Clink on that and you will receive an email when someone posts to this thread.
Welcome to the site.
Dirk
2,469 2018-01-05 17:46:40
Re: Please review (2 replies, posted in Science Fiction, Steampunk, and Space Opera)
Hi. You'll get a broader response if you post this message in the Premium forum as well. A lot of potential readers aren't necessarily in the smaller groups.
2,470 2018-01-05 17:26:09
Re: The Telltale Tattoo (11 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Amateurs. :-) Try -40 in Calgary. I've lived through -50 with windchill.
Why did I move back here again?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRI-A3vakVg
2,471 2018-01-04 11:56:11
Re: Brand New Member (6 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)
I just had a look at your story. It's well-written, but huge. I would split it into parts and definitely post in Premium.
2,472 2018-01-04 11:46:53
Re: Brand New Member (6 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)
Welcome to the site. I suggest posting your hello message to the Premium forum as well, since not everyone is a member of Basic. Also, you'll get more feedback if you post your story in the Premium group if you haven't already. Premium requires that you have points to post, but it also pays points to your reviewers, which is the local currency. Specify if you want inline or just regular reviews. Inline will get you better reviews, but if you're on the site for your free initial week, you'll only be able to give/receive inline reviews for that week.
2,473 2018-01-02 23:29:55
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Amazon routinely recommends Catholicism for Dummies for me. 
2,474 2017-12-31 15:51:45
Re: Ottawa, Canada is colder than Mars! (6 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Ah, but when the Sun returns to its normal output, we're screwed. Hopefully, I'll be dead by then. Y'all can deal with the fact that the Middle East will become uninhabitable. That'll make the Syrian refugee crises look like a minor migration.
2,475 2017-12-30 21:42:10
Topic: Ottawa, Canada is colder than Mars! (6 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Most of Canada is setting records this week, with various cities colder than Mars, the North Pole, and the South Pole. Ottawa is colder than the capital of Mongolia, Ulan Bator.
I read a science story the other day that the Sun is entering a recurring cooling period, where it gives off less heat than usual. The last time was in the 1700's, which led to a mini ice age.
O the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful...
