The Dastardly Dungeon of Deliciously Devious Drinks

Thanks for the well wishes on my dad! And hooray for sleeping through (most of) the night for Hoplittle

For those that are interested, there is a voice-over actor named Will Hughes that allows you to submit a short excerpt from your book. He will perform an audio recording as part of his blog for free! I submitted the opening scene of Legacy of Hunger, and he published it today. Other than missing the title of the book (he put the setting indication instead) and mispronouncing the main character's name, he did pretty well!

I've a link on my blog today

*is writing in a somewhat focused manner*

"Somewhat" being the operative word here. I just took a break for lunch, but otherwise, words actually are happening. Slowly, but surely.

greendragon said:

Thanks for the well wishes on my dad! And hooray for sleeping through (most of) the night for Hoplittle

For those that are interested, there is a voice-over actor named Will Hughes that allows you to submit a short excerpt from your book. He will perform an audio recording as part of his blog for free! I submitted the opening scene of Legacy of Hunger, and he published it today. Other than missing the title of the book (he put the setting indication instead) and mispronouncing the main character's name, he did pretty well!

I've a link on my blog today

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*saves to listen later*

E.F.B. said:

*pounces on Froggy because she's there*

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Yeah, I have had to accept I can't be on here daily anymore. Too busy.

But I'll pop in when I can.

Fashionable-fashion can be so weird sometimes, and I'm not one to follow the trends just because it's a trend (though I won't avoid a trend just because it's a trend either). I wear what I like, and what looks good on me.

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Which is a healthy way to look at fashion, I think.

jallenecs said:

*hides stripey socks I wore to church this morning, the ones that make me look somebody just dropped a house on my sister*

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Don't hide them! Coloured socks are cool.

*is currently wearing socks with little black cats*

lilyWhite said:

Long story short, I was thinking about sand mermaids before popping in. As in, mermaids that swim through sandy deserts like they're oceans.

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Hm, cool idea. But I think one'd have to use snake or lizard instead of fish, but you'd be in naga-country, rather than mermaids.

Shadowflame said:

Besides that I am now officially engaged. Just as soon as the ring is done and we have the paper ill be married!

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Congratulations!

E.F.B. said:

My beagle has figured out that water tends to come from bottles. We keep a small water bowl in the car for him and just now there was a water bottle near him. I didn't realize he'd run out of water, but he told me by suddenly focusing intensely on the bottle and then poking it with one paw. I poured the water and he drank it all up. First time he's done that, Lol.

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My cat insist on drinking from plant trays. I have tried tap water and bottled water but she just bypasses it to beg at the door to be let outside to drink there. The more stagnant and smelly the better. Strange cat.

zanzjan said:

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I kept looking at this a long time, wondering why the sunglasses were on the wrong side. Clearly I need to see the Little Mermaid again.

Lissibith said:

ETA: I swear this week is going to break me. I'm about to call my doctor and demand an appointment because this medication I'm on still has me feeling like garbage

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I hope you get your medication sorted out soon.

What has become of Dammy??? It's been decidedly less rainbow-y and sparkly around here without Dammy.

And I miss the reviews!

Damoclian, buddy, you okay??

Morning. Having an annoying one myself. I really need yo stay off politics before my writing time; the overwhelming rage makes concentration difficult.

Got another question for our Brit Cantinaites, and this one really is a quick and dirty one: does twat (whited out for those with tender sensibilities) mean the same thing in the UK as it does here, ie. a crude name for a girl's naughty bits?

- - - Updated - - -

Morning. Having an annoying one myself. I really need yo stay off politics before my writing time; the overwhelming rage makes concentration difficult.

Got another question for our Brit Cantinaites, and this one really is a quick and dirty one: does twat (whited out for those with tender sensibilities) mean the same thing in the UK as it does here, ie. a crude name for a girl's naughty bits?

I think I know why my last post doubled itself: evil cloning pods from outer space.

And to clarify: I don't keep asking about UK naughty language because I enjoy naughty language (yes, you do! Shut up!) in my audio scripts, I encourage ad libs; some fun stuff comes out of the actors' brains with satisfying frequency. This time my script had a character (played baby a Brit) call a baddie 'twit.' Which my actor did, twice. The third take, he said the aforementioned naughty word. I love the UK pronunciation of said word (it just sounds more insulting), but I have to work within a rating system. if this worked is too naughty, it's got to go.

I think I know why my last post doubled itself: evil cloning pods from outer space.

And to clarify: I don't keep asking about UK naughty language because I enjoy naughty language (yes, you do! Shut up!) in my audio scripts, I encourage ad libs; some fun stuff comes out of the actors' brains with satisfying frequency. This time my script had a character (played baby a Brit) call a baddie 'twit.' Which my actor did, twice. The third take, he said the aforementioned naughty word. I love the UK pronunciation of said word (it just sounds more insulting), but I have to work within a rating system. if this worked is too naughty, it's got to go.

see what I mean? evil cloning pods. WATCH OUT!!! THE BODY SNATCHERS ARE COMING!!!

Wrote almost 2k words of sheer awesome this morning. Of course, I had to wake up at 4:30 to do it. Not too sure about this trade-off.

But really close to finishing this sequence. After which there are just a couple of chapters left. (Originally I was thinking of this as a single chapter, but it's really turning out to be more like five.) Overall project has crossed the 90k mark. Some of that is from the second book though. I think I'm in the 85k range on this one though. And still counting.

Cold here this morning. Like, turn the heat back on cold. Not quite cold enough to frost our peas or anything, but definitely chilly. Had to put Monkey in a sweatshirt for school which he was not thrilled about.

Aggy, too full of squee to be tired just yet

greendragon said:

For those that are interested, there is a voice-over actor named Will Hughes that allows you to submit a short excerpt from your book. He will perform an audio recording as part of his blog for free! I submitted the opening scene of Legacy of Hunger, and he published it today. Other than missing the title of the book (he put the setting indication instead) and mispronouncing the main character's name, he did pretty well!

I've a link on my blog today

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That is SO awesome! I'mma have to listen as soon as work is over!

Friendly Frog said:

I hope you get your medication sorted out soon.

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Thanks! I'm going in tomorrow morning. Onward!

jallenecs said:

see what I mean? evil cloning pods. WATCH OUT!!! THE BODY SNATCHERS ARE COMING!!!

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Danger danger!!

Aggy B. said:

Wrote almost 2k words of sheer awesome this morning. Of course, I had to wake up at 4:30 to do it. Not too sure about this trade-off.

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As long as it's not every morning, I think it sounds like a good thing but I'm biased


Good morning Cantina! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

My night was much better than my day yesterday, as I have heard from both friends who live in that city in Alberta that got evacuated because of holy-hell-terrifying fires. They are safe, and the one with pets has found a place which will let her have them with her. Thank goodness

jallenecs said:

WATCH OUT!!! THE BODY SNATCHERS ARE COMING!!!

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Just once I wish someone would snatch me for my body.




Morning, gang.

Whut up?

paddismac said:

What has become of Dammy??? It's been decidedly less rainbow-y and sparkly around here without Dammy.

And I miss the reviews!

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Filigree said:

Damoclian, buddy, you okay??

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"Damoclian, buddy" is melancholy and ennui-ish, trying very hard to accomplish things like healthiness, wealthiness, and not-melancholy-ness. Also words. Soooo many words, very few rainbows. I haven't read a Sisyphus in a month.

I feel bleh. Send chocolate :/

Morning, Cantina. We had a little crisis this morning because my dad's CPAP mask broke at 5am last night and we couldn't find any back-ups. He had to go out first thing this morning and go to the supply people to get a new one, but they were all like, no, you can't just buy another one even though you have the machine, you have to go get a prescription and come back. So my mom kept looking here at home to see if she could find a back up mask while my dad went to the doctor. Thankfully, my mom did find a mask buried under some stuff, so my dad will be able to sleep tonight, but it was just a stressful morning in general.

We also got a notification saying that someone other than us had tried to access one of our credit card accounts, but thankfully was stopped before they did any damage.

And also, the national news said that yahoo, gmail, and one other thing I can't remember have been hacked and anyone with an e-mail account under one of those things may have been compromised, so I have to go figure out a new password for my e-mail. *snort, growl*

In other, better, news, I got a fairly good number of actual story words done yesterday, compared to the time I had to get them done. So, yay for that, at least. I'll try to use my annoyance and frustration from this morning to motivate myself to do more words today.

Aggy B. said:

Wrote almost 2k words of sheer awesome this morning. Of course, I had to wake up at 4:30 to do it. Not too sure about this trade-off.

But really close to finishing this sequence. After which there are just a couple of chapters left. (Originally I was thinking of this as a single chapter, but it's really turning out to be more like five.) Overall project has crossed the 90k mark. Some of that is from the second book though. I think I'm in the 85k range on this one though. And still counting.

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Yay, words! Boo getting up at 4:30, but yay words!

jallenecs said:

I think I know why my last post doubled itself: evil cloning pods from outer space.

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My phone causes double posts sometimes too. Tis annoying.


Edit: *sends Dammy chocolate*

Damoclian said:

"Damoclian, buddy" is melancholy and ennui-ish, trying very hard to accomplish things like healthiness, wealthiness, and not-melancholy-ness. Also words. Soooo many words, very few rainbows. I haven't read a Sisyphus in a month.

I feel bleh. Send chocolate :/

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To: Damoclian
Re: Request to feel melancholy and ennui-ish

Your request is hereby denied. You are directed to feel jolly and full of energy and get much writing/reading done.

You may submit in 90 days for further disapproval.

Department of Moods

KILL ALL THE MELONS!!! (for Dammy's sake)

And yes, there was a huge hack of emails (see here). I changed my gmail yesterday.

Afternoon all.

junely, hugs the polotics are getting nasty at times. This is why I don't look at the dayjob twitter feed. (Note: some people think that some one dressing in drag is p0rn *shakes head)

There were interviews conducted this morning. I hope someone is hired soon. Tomorrow is my last official day. It will be weird.

Good evening Cantina. Caught a cold the other day and attacking it with Lemsip. I haven't had one for a good six months - managed to get through the whole of Christmas and New Year without catching anything, and now I do.

Some bad news at work. Someone I didn't know (a new trainee to the job I've been doing for a year now, some way down the office) had a massive heart attack at the weekend. His life support was switched off last night.

jallenecs said:

Got another question for our Brit Cantinaites, and this one really is a quick and dirty one: does twat (whited out for those with tender sensibilities) mean the same thing in the UK as it does here, ie. a crude name for a girl's naughty bits?

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It can mean that, but it seems more an Americanism to me. The pudenda word I more often hear that's a much less offensive alternative to the C-word is "fanny"...and I know that means something different in the US.

Anyway, I most often hear your T-word as meaning "idiot" -a little ruder than "twit".

Cf - "prat" which I've hardly ever seen used in its original meaning, which is "buttock".

Hello, Cantina. We have a loong weekend at the moment! Bless Spring and all its holidays! And the fine weather of May! And me getting up at seven only to sit and write for well over two hours before doing anything else (1021 werdz)! And puppies being adorablez!

Regarding the recent rap battle, Tolkien won hands down.

Now, to see if more werdz come before heading off to the park for long walkies in greenery.
ETA: Nope, no more werdz. Dang. Hey, Department of Moods, can I put in a request to feel in a writing mood or to get struck with inspiration?

greendragon said:

I've met Michael Whelan at Dragoncon. Very shy and modest! Especially when my friend (a young, buxom redhead) tried to sit on his lap

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Missed this the first time round. I'd be very shy and modest too if a young, buxom redhead tried to sit in my lap. Or brain-broken.

Damoclian said:

"Damoclian, buddy" is melancholy and ennui-ish, trying very hard to accomplish things like healthiness, wealthiness, and not-melancholy-ness. Also words. Soooo many words, very few rainbows. I haven't read a Sisyphus in a month.

I feel bleh. Send chocolate :/

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*drives in van full of chocolate* Delivery for Dammy Buddy Damoclian!

eyeblink said:

Good evening Cantina. Caught a cold the other day and attacking it with Lemsip. I haven't had one for a good six months - managed to get through the whole of Christmas and New Year without catching anything, and now I do.

Some bad news at work. Someone I didn't know (a new trainee to the job I've been doing for a year now, some way down the office) had a massive heart attack at the weekend. His life support was switched off last night.

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Dang. Sad news all around.

It can mean that, but it seems more an Americanism to me. The pudenda word I more often hear that's a much less offensive alternative to the C-word is "fanny"...and I know that means something different in the US.

Anyway, I most often hear your T-word as meaning "idiot" -a little ruder than "twit".

Cf - "prat" which I've hardly ever seen used in its original meaning, which is "buttock".

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Prat means buttock?! I need to use it more often. The same with the T-words. Especially twit, although the A-version sounds more like a hit over the back of the head to my mind.

Ah, the wonders of regional English!

Yes twat does technically mean that, but that's hardly ever how it's used. It's used more as a version of twit (which I don't think anyone really says anymore - pillock and plonker are so much more fun!), or as Rel says can also mean to hit someone - "I twatted him round the head".

In short: call a stranger a twat and you'll probably get a dirty look at worst. Call them a cunt and you'll get punched.

Oh, so I might actually have read that somewhere? Thank goodness, I thought I was mixing up my languages, but couldn't figure out which Danish word I was thinking of.

Oh, wow! I think I might only have one more chapter to go. Plus a little fiddling to fit some already written chapters together. But the sequence of doom that was five chapters instead of one is finally done. Even though I realized this morning I might need to add some chapters later to show the action in the other part of the conflict, but I'm going to wait on that for now. (Kind of depends on how "epic" we want to take the Epic Not Fantasy.)

Anyway. Almost. Done.

And it's Friday.

Aggy, *happy flails*

Morning, Cantina. I think mother nature missed the memo that April showers bring May flowers, not April flowers bring May showers. Well, I guess we needed the rain. *shrug*

Sinuses feel a little bleh, but I think that's the weather's fault this time.

I actually did do words yesterday. Will do more today, then looking forward to a fun weekend!

eyeblink said:

Good evening Cantina. Caught a cold the other day and attacking it with Lemsip. I haven't had one for a good six months - managed to get through the whole of Christmas and New Year without catching anything, and now I do.

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*dons environmental hazard suit* *hugs eyeblink*

Christmas and new years was when I was catching all the viruses, one after another, so I must have taken the hit for you.

Religion0 said:

Missed this the first time round. I'd be very shy and modest too if a young, buxom redhead tried to sit in my lap. Or brain-broken.

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I'd just sit there trying to laugh and go along with it while internally going, PERSONAL SPACE BUBBLE INVASION! and trying to figure out a polite way to get her OFF my lap.

Aggy B. said:

Oh, wow! I think I might only have one more chapter to go.

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Yay!

And it's Friday.

Aggy, *happy flails*

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More yay!

ALMOST ready to share my main website redesign with the world... still adding Iceland photos for sale. Each one takes about 3-4 minutes to add, due to slow load times on the website manager. And I've got 130 just in Iceland... I think I've done 70 so far. Just in time for show season starting next weekend!

Book sales are weird these last two months. Legacy of Hunger was doing well, until BAM April hit. I'd been selling 30 copies a month on average since I published in October, with promotion and pushing. Then I sold 2 in April. None so far in May. Boom. Granted, I've not done many paid promos, but I've still been promoting it on Twitter, Facebook, my blog, etc. And the stranger thing is that my travel guides are doing quite well... they WERE selling about 15 copies a month, now they're doing 30 copies a month each. Now, that may be partly because I have both on sale (9.99 down to 5.99) for the summer trip planning season. But I'm doing very little promotion on them.

Very weird.

Went for long walk in loveliest weather in semi-nearby park, which is the loveliest in the greater Copenhagen area. Puppies did not like the bike ride but enjoyed the walk. Will turn some shades browner.

Aggy B. said:

Oh, wow! I think I might only have one more chapter to go. Plus a little fiddling to fit some already written chapters together. But the sequence of doom that was five chapters instead of one is finally done. Even though I realized this morning I might need to add some chapters later to show the action in the other part of the conflict, but I'm going to wait on that for now. (Kind of depends on how "epic" we want to take the Epic Not Fantasy.)

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Very, very epic.

E.F.B. said:

Morning, Cantina. I think mother nature missed the memo that April showers bring May flowers, not April flowers bring May showers. Well, I guess we needed the rain. *shrug*

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She seemed to get it just fine here.

I'd just sit there trying to laugh and go along with it while internally going, PERSONAL SPACE BUBBLE INVASION! and trying to figure out a polite way to get her OFF my lap.

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In all fairness, I'd probably be too brain-fried to be thinking or do anything other than be a seat.