Yeah, fall was in the air yesterday for us too! Cooler and rainy today. I love it.

Finished the crow and magpie story. It might be good. I've gotta find the actual story in this first draft and cut away all the unnecessary BS and find out.

Three day weekend, and we are dedicated to a long weekend of lazy indolence. Maybe a movie. Maybe grocery shopping. Definitely grilling! Salmon, steak, sausage, peppers, corn.

Getting low on cookies Sara. If you email me the recipe, I'll attempt to fill the cookie jars myself, but it would be much easier and tastier for you to grace us with fresh treats, when you feel able.

Coffee please. I'll limit myself to a single cookie.

Quote by ladysharon

Hello, everyone. Life is good, and I had a great few days ending August and am ready to tackle Blogtober on my website. The little one is in preschool and recently turned four and it seems like she was just born yesterday. 

I see the site has a new design and I'm feeling it. I'm going to have a look around and get some writing done. I hope to have a new original piece up soon.

I won't discuss politics here, but I've spent the last two hours talking down a friend of mine over the new abortion law in Texas. We live in very troubling times.

I'm a tad upset. So, I'm gonna put pencil to paper, just like Sharon, and write my frustrations and fears down on paper as fiction. Coffee and LOTS of cookies please! 

Quote by rbo

HELLO EVERYONE!

one thing that a lot of people who write on here wish is to be a published author someday.

(everyone who writes on here is an Author)
To physically hold your book (or see it on a Kindle) is an amazing feeling.

I came on here a few years ago and published a few stories and was very happy.
I decided to try and take it to the next level and I am pleased to say... I made it.

My book was taken on by a small Americal publishing house and will be published on the 4th of September.

.

(find me on Face book https://www.facebook.com/byrlstevens/ )

.

Lowenna.

.

Washed ashore with no memories,

Lowenna pieces Together bits of her past.

Dreams catch her unaware, sending her to strange and terrifying places that may or may not be real.

Her quest to find answers reveals her powerful magic and creates lifelong friends.

She is Lowenna the last of her Kind.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB097Z2SNF2%2Fref%3Ddbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0fEnwlGoX1KMxN1FqCelRoOX6m6-I_yiQskrcdCq-AIYd-4kpXqvCtMMM&h=AT3yHIXQh-2pkbRnQ79nsdQmq_xvWBRhHF1wUOO1q1ssXiYcmX9xs3Hkuormbb2oFtqu2r24MPWyt5tw1vTfhQ-qoFGR7toBlx3tgUgu_V0CWh73-qArLdG-es6zLeaiQKvM&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3dYHt1XGM3z-mN2Ejr7pPwV5vUfnRGuVFLsRJvmEqmfjP8WDXdPfRXUeL8pWJ5cM14Vns6dCblZJae3cdIa6vaTSjnMZiGsKlv4VzJJWV_RfD-omsqA9QMabLEudssF_Xq3N90is9so_NfdiZQGY6UtqcgNHXyVd-ag13FxgImJxES07MBdr_IehU245hSjNKYa9mf

Thanks for the set-up Scott. I need coffee badly.

Feel better Sara! We have an emergency stash of your cookies hidden in the back of the freezer, we'll thaw them out until you are up and baking.

I LOVE Niven - Ringworld alone gets him in my own personal hall of fame. Plus, he was my introduction to the idea of the multiverse and alternate timelines. I was a sucker for all that hard sci-fi in high school.  

Still fighting Imposters Syndrome. Haven't written a good story in awhile. I need a good one under my belt.

But hey, the Mets swept a double header yesterday, and it's a sunny day, and all is good with the world. It's No Talia Wednesday, so me and the cats are gonna learn to tap dance!

Hope everyone enjoys the day.       

Quote by DenimAngel

Hi peeps

A large ginger ale would be welcomed 

 Feeling awful today . 

There are leftover cookies in the cookie jars and in the cookie tins behind the counter

Fresh cookies when i don't feel like I've ran over by a big truck 😷🤧

Gonna go hibernate now 

 

Stay safe everyone.

I'm expecting a slow day today. Drink coffee, write and edit, lunch with one of the daughters. Grill some salmon for supper. Yum!

I'm not writing well, and I don't know why. Keep at it I guess.

I hope everyone is well. 

Coffee and three of Sara's day old cookies please. 

Finally got around to reading stories here on the new site last night. Lotsa new writers and stories here. Nice to be back in the groove. Easy to vote and comment here. And change votes - I'm happy for that, I have clumsy fingers. 

Still having trouble plotting well. I basically threw away my latest story without even a second draft, and I'm hoping the current one isn't listing in that direction. I'm a little worried I'm psyching myself out.

The Mets sucked slightly less than they usually do this weekend.    

Coffee and a raindrop shaped cookie please.  Enjoy your day all!

Thank you Gav, for years of putting up with such an unruly crew for so long. We appreciate all the thankless hours you've pu in.  

Quote by Violet_the_Verbose

I've just realized I can copy-paste directly from other people's stories, not just the story preview. I know previously, this wasn't possible.

Quote by magnificent1rascal
Hi everyone!

After spending the day at a writers conference, I’m stopping in to unwind before heading home. What a wonderful spot this is!

Ten words? How do I tell a story in ten....

Quote by Mendalla

Quote by verbal

I REALLY wanna go see Candyman this weekend. I love every piece of movie DNA in it, from Barker and the original story to the excellent first movie and Peele being involved in this iteration. The trope of repeating some name into a mirror scares the F out of me. I won't do it. I wouldn't let my kids do it (they did anyway, I've since learned).

I wrote one of my best stories ever about it.

Anyway.  Enjoy the day everyone. Coffee and ten thousand sugar cookies please. 

  

Strange as it seems, I never saw the first Candyman. Love the original story and Barker in general. Part of it is, I think, that the original story is so good, I don't really care if I see it adapted.

Good morning all. Thank for the coffee Ape.

Talia didn't sleep well, so we are staying close to home (we would have stayed close to home regardless but now we have an excuse). I'll write and take care of my True Love. I think the Mets are scheduled to begin losing around 5.

I REALLY wanna go see Candyman this weekend. I love every piece of movie DNA in it, from Barker and the original story to the excellent first movie and Peele being involved in this iteration. The trope of repeating some name into a mirror scares the F out of me. I won't do it. I wouldn't let my kids do it (they did anyway, I've since learned).

I wrote one of my best stories ever about it.

Anyway.  Enjoy the day everyone. Coffee and ten thousand sugar cookies please. 

I gotta start trying that like button.

The Forums are MUCH easier to use (especially the New Posts link)! Since that and reading stories are all I do, I'm happy.

Good morning all.

Guess who lost again last night?

I now know more about magpies than...well, people who who a lot about magpies. And, actual magpies. I'm still scared I'll finish this story only to find the main myth in it (throwing bleach on a crow) is totally stolen. I'm sure I stole it, I just can't find the source. My writer friends say f*ck it, make it your own story. I am hesitant.

Crows and magpies HATE each other: https://www.birdforum.net/threads/why-do-crows-hate-magpies.143191/

I'm very behind on stories - I apologize. Reading a lot of stories of other sites, and for critique groups. But I'll get to them. Maybe this weekend.

Okay, time to start up the day. I'd love a coffee. And a...oh my God, look at all these cookies! Three umbrella cookies too.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

Quote by CuriousAnnie

 

Anna, I totally support Violet in this, as it is the right thing to do. My gender and sexuality, I hope, don't affect how you see me as a writer. And we have in these changes accentuated rather than de-emphasised gender. I republished Oxford Street here, it was a cri de coeur for the 'mode' or the most common not to be our frame of reference. Let that flow though to how we present ourselves to the next generation of writers. 

Annie, quite honestly, I don't care about your sexuality. It doesn't matter here. You are a person, a writer, a reader. If you want to wear your sexuality on your sleeve, fine, but here, it means nothing.

I think Violet and Annie's concerns are reasonable, and have been expressed politely and eloquently. I think the developers have been taking it seriously too, and I expect their concerns to be addressed eventually. I'm disappointed you chose to be dismissive about their very legitimate concerns, and hope the site as a whole is more inclusive and welcoming.

Quote by Mendalla

Well, good morning all. Back from a morning ride on the ole bicycle. Starting to think about writing a story about cycling. Maybe a 'kids with bikes" story, as some call media like Stranger Things and the eighties movies that inspired it.

COOKIES!!!  

Quote by Ping

Quote by verbal

Hey everyone.

It's No Talia Wednesday. Gonna teach the cats how to whistle.

Also, lunch with a daughter.

My story about the girl in the dog park sucks. Wah. Not gonna even bother to edit it.  I finished it. Sometimes you've gotta know when to throw em back in the pond. I'll try a story about magpies today.

Coffee and seven iced oatmeal raisin cookies (thanks Sara!) please.

Magpies?

I just bought a slingshot and hard foam balls to chase them away from the lawn furniture. They’ve been pulling out the stuffing in our older chairs.

Maybe a story about how they collected and saved everything people have thrown at them, for the day they exact revenge, and kill that person under the weight or suffocation of those items. Good premise. And, we’ll, there it is.

Killer Recycling Magpies - When going green turned everything mean.

Lots going on in PingVille.  Won’t bore y’all with the details except that I did have a basil carcinoma removed. Scalpel to the face. Stitches under the eye. I’ll now have a scarrr. I can officially do pirate jokes with the look of authenticity. Hopefully, the dermatologist got all the cancer. TBD.

Another week and the kids are back in school. Same COVID protocols as before. Excellent compromise for keeping our youngest citizens in a classroom. Our educational system have done a fantastic job keeping everyone safe. But we now enter the era of vaccers vs non-vaccers. It’s already getting divisive and ugly.

Good day for a ride. Sunny. Temperate. No wind. A good chili dog should cure that.

Later…

Glad to hear you are doing alright. If you ever come Then-Came-Bronson-ing down to these parts we’ll go to a biker bar, you can flash the scar and scare the bikers.

Wrote a long magpie-related monologue today. No idea what to do with it. Sigh.

*Steals ALL the cookies in a fit of misplaced rage over my own crappy writing*

So, I'm crowdsourcing here: I'm SURE I read a novel once about a maid (I think) who threw bleach at a crow and turned it into a magpie, or something like that. I'm thinking Toni Morrison, or maybe Bastard Out of Carolina, but I can find no mention on the internet. Anyone else heard of this? I'm about to steal it if I can make sure it's not plagiarism.  

Hey everyone.

It's No Talia Wednesday. Gonna teach the cats how to whistle.

Also, lunch with a daughter.

My story about the girl in the dog park sucks. Wah. Not gonna even bother to edit it.  I finished it. Sometimes you've gotta know when to throw em back in the pond. I'll try a story about magpies today.

Coffee and seven iced oatmeal raisin cookies (thanks Sara!) please.

Quote by verbal

I came up with a drinking game for non-drinkers.

Watch Personal Shopper. Do a shot every time Kristen Stewart makes a facial expression.

Two hours later, you'll still be sober.

  

I came up with a drinking game for non-drinkers.

Watch Personal Shopper. Do a shot every time Kristen Stewart makes a facial expression.

Two hours later, you'll still be sober.

I’m a good Dad. 

Awaiting Sara's iced oatmeal cookies.

Not feeling it this morning. Still trying to wake up. Coffee, come to me!

We have two really good friends who I think may be getting a divorce. Really bummed. Their kids have just hit adulthood, which is a slightly good thing, I guess. But you can just feel the thunder rumbling on the horizon, like a bad movie.

At least the Mets didn't lose (they didn't play).

Time to write.

Quote by DenimAngel

Hi peeps 

A beautiful day here .got some cleaning done now time to chill for a bit.

*Peeks in the cookie jars* we are in good shape.*giving the adorable critters fresh water and treats* 

Hoping to get some writing done but drawing a complete blank . I got a idea and then it ran away from me . Other than that not a lot going on . Hoping to get something on paper. 

Fresh cookies tomorrow. Any requests? 

Hugs  

Stay safe

Iced oatmeal cookies please!!!

Thanks for the set-up. Mr. Ape.

Low 90s, partly cloudy all week here.  I don't mind, I kinda like the heat. I take a walk every day around 4, when writing is done and the temp has dipped back below 90 (though just barely).

How did the Mets fall 7 games back? At least Baez is back, and led us to a win last night. Too little too late.

Short story critique group tonight. Check your ego at the door. I'm just critiquing, nothing of mine on the chopping block. 

And, that's about it. A boring day in my cats-and-Talia-filled paradise. 

Coffee and exactly fifteen snickerdoodles please. 

Cheese tortellini and a salad. It was yum.

From Daniel Woodrell's Tomato Red: "You're no angel, you know how this stuff comes to happen: Friday is payday and it’s been a gray day sogged by a slow ugly rain and you seek company in your gloom, and since you’re fresh to West Table, Mo., and a new hand at the dog-food factory, your choices for company are narrow but you find some finally in a trailer court on East Main, and the coed circle of bums gathered there spot you a beer, then a jug of tequila starts to rotate and the rain keeps comin’ down with a miserable bluesy beat and there’s two girls millin’ about that probably can be had but they seem to like certain things and crank is one of those certain things, and a fistful of party straws tumble from a woven handbag somebody brung, the crank gets cut into lines, and the next time you notice the time it’s three or four Sunday mornin’ and you ain’t slept since Thursday night and one of the girl voices, the one you want most and ain’t had yet though her teeth are the size of shoe-peg corn and look like maybe they’d taste sort of sour, suggests something to do, ’cause with crank you want something, anything, to do, and this cajoling voice suggests we all rob this certain house on this certain street in that rich area where folks can afford to wallow in their vices and likely have a bunch of recreational dope stashed around the mansion and goin’ to waste since an article in The Scroll said the rich people whisked off to France or some such on a noteworthy vacation.

That’s how it happens.

Can’t none of this be new to you."

Good morning everyone. No one has made coffee yet, so I will bring some in a vacuum flask, since I don’t know how to w the coffee maker. At least Sara’s cookies are here. 

I am submitting the opening of a novel (actually a modified version of the 2 Chew stories on this lovely site) to my critique group tonight. Nervous. They are nice but TOUGH (and usually correct) and I am a little worried. I have to learn to play with the big kids. So, today I am editing all day. 

Mets lost AGAIN. I think their season is officially over. At least Sara’s Braves woke up.

Found a great podcast about old school country music: Cocaine and Rhinestones.

Enjoy your day everyone. Coffee and a pencil shaped cookie please!

Quote by Mendalla

The opening paragraph of H. G. Well's The War of the Worlds. Sets the stage for what is to come beautifully. Richard Burton did a wonderful reading of it to open the concept album based on the novel by British producer Jeff Wayne.

"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment."

The magnificent opening of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House:

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

Quote by Mendalla

For verbal (and his Dad)