*waves awkwardly* Hi, I'm New.

Hi. I'm Stephanie, I'm new, and I have no idea what I'm doing even though I've read the rules THREE TIMES.

I am currently ignoring my blog and a speculative fiction novel while I write a paranormal romance or two.

I hate synopses with the fire of a thousand suns.

I have about 500 million different syndromes/diseases, for example: A tick bit me 6 or so years ago and now if I eat mammal meat (or byproducts--did you know sugar is processed using bovine bone char?) I will likely stop breathing and die. True story.

Okay, enough about me, back to lurking.

pbates said:

Also, I think getting a tick bite is one of my biggest fears. And, wow, that's really crazy about that disease. I'm sure it's super difficult to keep away from all animal meat and byproducts. Do you essentially have to stay away from most restaurants because of the risk?

Click to expand...

I think I totally just messed up that quote. ANYway.

Thank you, and I agree, it would be nice to have writer friends!

My novel -the one I'm NOT working on- has been an idea in my head for years. My biggest worry right now is that some parts of it are intersecting with things that are actually happening. So, it's gonna suck if my "Handmaid's Tale" (Please GOD, DO NOT THINK THAT I THINK I'M M. ATWOOD. Not what I meant, lol.) comes true before I even finish the thing.

Okay, so here is where your quote was supposed to be, about the tick. 1. That is so crazy to me, because ticks are so bad here that it's just a thing...go outside, come in, check for ticks. 2. The thing I have is called Alpha-Gal, and it is ridiculous. But it goes up and down, like in sensitivity--I'll get a little ill if I put real sugar and milk in my coffee, and I might get really sick eating an egg cooked on the same grill as a piece of sausage, and if I ate, say, a bacon cheeseburger, my throat would swell shut. YAY, epi-pens! Some restaurants are okay; some I avoid completely.

I'm really lucky though, bc it's fairly new and no one knows about it, except an allergist I found who worked with the doc who discovered it. So that's handy.

Thanks for the welcome, and sorry about my quote confusion!

Hi, regdog, and thank you for the welcome. I've read a lot of the FAQs--you guys have a TON of information here. I will try to keep it all straight. If I mess up, please know it was definitely due to a broken memory and/or idiocy, and not on purpose! A place like this, with all the work that has obviously been put into it, deserves respect, and has mine.


Hey, regdog! I just wanted to add: I read tons and tons of the rules and tips and stuff, but I don't remember seeing anything about etiquette. I haven't been on a forum in a long time, and it was REALLY bothering me that I hadn't replied to everyone here because I felt like I was being really rude. But, I also don't know if that's considered, like, spamming or something, since it took me so long and now I have so many comments in a row that it is embarrassing. And, I didn't think of the post count thing until I was already almost done answering, so if someone wants to set mine back to one, that is totally fine. That wasn't a consideration of mine at all, and I will probably never post any of my work anyway.

You guys made me smile--thank you all!

CAQuinn said:

howdy stephanie,

did you know that you write comedy?
do you hate outlines with the fart from a thousand bumms
because if you don't then use an outline and turn it into a synopsis.

ps. grow your own food , fed with your own organic compost.

Christoph

Click to expand...

You are FULL of good ideas! I attempt to write comedy, but what gets published is the serious stuff--go figure. I do not hate outlines, and I'm totally going to try this. I used to have a vegetable garden. Now I'm lazy and grow flowers.

Norman Mjadwesch said:

Hello Stephanie,

I'm new here as well, but more than that I wish you well with your health. Ticks are a problem where I live too, and their effects upon some people I know have been horrific (the Australian Medical Association doesn't fully recognise some of the effects of tick bites, but that is a separate story altogether). There are parts of the surrounding bush here where I refuse to walk into, because I invariably come out covered in the things. They are vile!

Click to expand...

Welcome to you too, then! I have it stuck in my head that Australia is the Realm of Spiders. Ticks, too? That doesn't seem fair.

J_Star said:

Eek, bummer about the tick-borne illness. But on the other hand, you're hella funny and seem very awesome, so you've got that going for you, which is nice

Click to expand...

EEEEK! FINALLY someone who agrees with me. (JK. Thank you!)

CR, I couldn't tell you. But I do understand anxiety, unfortunately, so I bestow upon you...uh...nothing. I am a fish here, and I'm picturing a really tiny one.

What kinda keyboard do you have? I used to do transcription, and I wish I still had my dual-monitor, split-keyboard set up. But it's hard to work with all that when you mostly work from bed.

How old is your kid (if you don't mind)?