Rejection slips are a rite of passage for a writer, aren't they? And they motivate you to do better (or pick a better market, anyhow).😀

Good afternoon. Poop hitting fan at work today. Can't say more but suffice it to say, ape not happy. Somewhere, out there, there is a piece of human garbage that I want to throttle with my bare hands (well, I might wear gloves and a mask just in case but you get the point).

Quote by sprite
not a huge fan of the musical version. i like the Lon Chaney version best

The Chaney is by far the best.

I do like the musical (was already a Lloyd Webber fanboi when the original album came out) but will happily concede that it's more of a dark romance than a gothic horror like the novel and Chaney's version. Nightwish's metal version of the title song really made me realize you could take it much darker and still leave the story and music intact.

And the musical is still better than the godawful versions (there are several) that have the Phantom the victim of an acid attack instead of born with a deformity. The latter makes for a more interesting character. The former tends to result in just a plain old revenge thriller of varying degrees of quality.

You should have just let the officers have some cookies. There would have been enough left for Inspirations. Now look where you're at.

Quote by sprite
next one is the phantom of the opera.

Oo, a favorite of mine. I've seen a couple of the movie versions, the original Toronto production of the stage musical (but not the movie version of the stage musical, oddly), and read the novel. Have flirted with doing a Phantom-based story myself but have not gone there, yet.

Quote by sprite

i wonder if, after her win, it might drop back onto the radar?

Who knows? Discovery is done after the next season so maybe they'll need a replacement, eh.

Quote by sprite

be nice - i'm fragile. also, just to spite you i might write another one ;)

So if I keep taunting you, you'll write more? Seems like a deal. 😊

Quote by redwriter
Last Sunday I watched as that very film won 7 Oscars including best picture.

And Michelle Yeoh! Yay! She's a wonderful actress who can do just about anything in my experience. Drama, action, comedy. She even played a villain on Star Trek : Discovery (who was supposed to get her own spinoff at one point but that seems to have dropped off Paramount-CBS's radar).

Quote by sprite

as threatened, i posted a story here: https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/fantasy/monstersikatrina a joy to write and the first of (hopefully) many. hope everyone's doing well, better, good, great, not horribly.

How dare you? Now get back to where you belong, you hussy you. 🤣

Nice to see you here. Will get to it later. Need to do some reading.

Should be reading more, but writing is what seems to engage me these days. (see sig for evidence)

Handwash dishes or use a dishwasher?

You might say he "Drew" you in, eh. 🤣

Sproinged back is still sproinged but feeling a bit better. Still, I'll that over what Verbs and Talia have, please and thank you. I am close to making it through another winter with no flus or colds beyond very mild ones. My worst illness in like three years was COVID and I got it in summer, not the traditional cold and flu season.

Tee hee hee. Or should that be "Tea hee hee".

Anyhow, I am drinking Russian Caravan this fine day so there's a pot of that and one of Red Rose. Coffee is on, too. Hot water is ready for yer favorite hot drinks and the pop stock is ready if you're craving something cooler.

Sunny here and supposed to be warmer for the next few days so hopefully we can lose some snow and ice. There's way too much around here right now.

My back went "sproing" this morning 😕 (bending over to, um, pull up me trousers) so I'll just find a comfortable and ergonomic place to enjoy my tea.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
Rumor has it DCS is not streaming seasons 2-9 because of the amount of music they used

It has caused problems for other shows, too, IIRC. Basically, anything that uses a lot of licensed (vs. original) music on its soundtrack.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
Vanilla cherry Coke Zero

Is that really a thing? Because that sounds almost drinkable. My favorite shawarma place insists on including a drink when I order a wrap online and the only thing they have that's really sugar-free is Coke Zero. I am really not a cola fan but what can I do?

Originally, it looked like The Dark Side of the Moon, a project led by vocalist Melissa Bonny and guitarist Hans Platz was going to be a cover band. However, their new release is an original song.

Baked, preferably with butter, sour cream, and chives

Scary movie or funny movie?

How much can Drew carry anyhow? 😜

Good morning. One week until Spring Equinox. But will that translate into actual Spring weather? We shall see. Right now, it is very much winter out there. Fire is lit in the Inspirations fireplace for those needing a place to thaw.

Coffee is on, teas are Red Rose and Assam. Hot water is ready. Thanks to Sara for reminding me to the check the soda supply, but we don't tend to go through those very much in winter. Did stock up, though.

I was trying out a documentary series on the history of sitcoms that's up on Gem, the CBC's inhouse streaming service. The series originally ran on CNN it looks like. And Drew is one of the "talking heads". First I have seen the beard. Wow does he look different with it.

Good morning! It's snowing here. But, hey, what else is new?

There's some nice Costa Rican medium roast in the coffee pot. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Russian Caravan. Hot water is on for other teas and hot chocolate.

Happy Monday! Happy New Week!

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess

Glad to hear another part is coming. I got to the end of the story and wanted more. It's fabulous!

I'm thinking of this as another trilogy like The Chronicles, at least. Maybe more. You've read the Chronicles of Tana, right? This is in the same world and will probably connect to them later.

Good evening, folks. Quiet day around here. I've been kind of tired and achy today. Hope it's just me adjusting to (bleep)ing daylight saving time again.

Quote by BillySoho

Is there a post for soundtracks to your stories? If not, should there be one?

Anyway, this Artie's theme for the series "The Artie Stories" which I've been posting.

I usually put these in their own thread in Sing Your Praises since they are basically a promo for the story. Haven't done it in a while, though I do have some songs I could post for The Chronicles of Tana.

Good morning, folks. Coffee is a nice dark roast from Nicaragua. There's Red Rose and English Breakfast in the teapots. Hot water is on for other teas or hot chocolate.

The Spirits of Tan Maldrin, my latest contribution to the wonderful world of fantasy fiction is out. It leans a bit dark but less so than earlier drafts where a character died (it is actually still obvious which one from what does happen). This one has been gestating for a very long time so I am kind of glad to have it out there. The inevitable second part will, hopefully, go quicker.

Later, alligators.

I have returned to the world of The Chronicles of Tana the Healer with my new fantasy story, The Spirits of Tan Maldrin. A priestess of the Denith Lorn (the world's main religion, mentioned briefly in The Chronicles) and her companions explore an abandoned palace in search of a rumoured haunting and find more than they bargained for. Not strictly a sequel to The Chronicles at this point, but I have left that door open. In earlier drafts, the character Elera was framed as being Tana's daughter. I pulled that out for now since I am rethinking how to work that in, if I use it at all.

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/fantasy/the-spirits-of-tan-maldrin

And for those who recall my musings about character death a while ago, that was this story. The ending has since been changed since I decided I really did want all three characters going forward as I develop this into another series a la The Chronicles.

So from the interesting coincidence file: One of my team at work mentioned that I might like a band called Asking Alexandria (he knows about my love of metal). So I mentally filed the name. Then, last night while checking out another band, Amazon Music recommended ... you guessed it, Asking Alexandria. Yeah, they're terrific. They are actually a relatively old band and have evolved over time. I listened to an album from 2011 and it was really heavy on screams and harsh vocals, but their recent stuff (including this song) feature more traditional rock vocals. The guest artist here, as I imagine Anna knows, is Sharon den Adel of the band Within Temptation who is another of those great female metal voices that I rant about.

Thanks, Sara. pours a Red Rose tea and scarfs a deer and a fox

New story is, finally, in the queue to stay. I have had a bit of a tussle with this one but I am finally happy with it. Now starting to tussle all over again with part two. For those who were in the discussion about killing off a character a while ago, this is that story and she lives. I decided I needed her in the story going forward. Does this mean someone won't die later? Nope, but as you know I am not someone prone to killing main characters other than in horror. In fact, I am hoping to lighten the mood of this series a bit. It's in the universe of, and might be a sequel to, the Tana chronicles and those got a bit heavy, I found.

Quote by CuriousAnnie
God forbid if Himself ever informs his father (or grandfathers) of a similar sentiment about cricket.

While cricket is next to non-existent in Canada outside the South Asian (and other immigrant) communities, a local radio station did used to do a cricket report early in the morning back in the eighties. I think the host was into it. And the words "two day test match" kind of had me going, "WTF? A sport that takes two days to play? And I thought baseball was bad." Keeping in mind that a regulation hockey game is technically only 90 minutes (3 20-minute periods with 2 fifteen-minute intermissions), even if pauses in play usually run the clock out closer to two or a bit more hours.

Good morning! There's lots of white stuff flying around and I'm not talking about my dandruff. We are looking at 10 or so cm of snow today. Already up to about 2-3 (c. an inch for you Americans).

So, I've got hot coffee ready for warming up. Tea, too, with some Assam and Red Rose. Hot water is ready for hot chocolate and other teas. And I've got the fire burning nice and bright so we can huddle next to it under a blanket and watch the flakes fly.

Where did you get the idea that stalking Drew Carey was a good plan?

Take a cup or two of Western rock and metal. Add a cup or three of Mongolian folk instrumentation and throat singing. Mix liberally. The outcome? Mongolian rockers The Hu.

First off, a musical "pick me up" from Mongolian rockers The Hu. This really got me rocking out in the car this morning (only at traffic lights, I promise 😉).

And then there's the oral (vs. aural) pick-me-ups. A pot of strong black coffee from the wilds of Ethiopia. Pots of Irish Breakfast and Lemon black teas. Hot water if you're craving some hot chocolate or other teas.

Have a fine, fine day. Which today looks like it will be here. Tomorrow? Yeah, 10cm more snow apparently. 🙄

Banned for kicking over Kat's sandcastle (you bully 😉)

Quote by verbal
I'm doing taxes and financial planning and all sorts of financial nonsense.

We've got problems with some tax slips from one of our investment companies so, yeah, me, too.

Quote by verbal
At least Talia cut my hair in the garage this weekend, so I don't have to find time for a haircut.

Need to get Lady Ape to do mine. Kind of came up and then slipped away on the weekend.

Thanks for the prep, James. I'll take a Red Rose with a bird and a bee. 😉

A Canadian band described as "punk metal" that I just found about this past weekend, even though they started in a city where I used to live (but about a decade after I moved away).