All my fantasy projects have maps. Blame it on being introduced to the genre by Tolkien. One short story, Wee Ginger, which will be in my upcoming Scottish spec fic anthology, has a newspaper-style comic strip at the beginning, because it's about a character from a Sunday paper. I copied the Sunday Post's style and was actually quite proud of the result!
Malásek has mobility issues after a knife attack throughout the book. He's also a bit autistic, (in his era, it wouldn't be diagnosed very readily).
"Dex", my nearly finished fantasy book, has an MC suffering the effects of a serious head injury throughout the story.
I suppose most of the disabilities I include are sort of post-trauma or post-surgery because that's what I have and so I can be accurate in my portrayals.
Happy birthday, Terry Pratchett, born 28th April 1948. I was in a B&B in Leverburgh, Harris, when the news broke of his death, and had to explain to the landlord why I was so affected, but Terry's books were some of my earliest influences. My very first "book" was pretty much an attempt at a Discworld-style universe. "Mort" is still one of my all time favourite books. #TerryPrachett#discworld#TerryPratchettDay
#WordWeavers Do you have an irrepressibly good-humoured character?
Yes, in Rachis. Merry very rarely loses his good humour, although it is a bit of a front and it slips now and then. It's how he copes, trying to look for a bright side all the time. Needless to say it gets on the MC's nerves, but he puts up with it because he knows Merry is a genuinely kind and caring person.
Thought this lady deserved a post to herself. I believe this is my great aunt Ellen, my maternal grandfather’s sister. She was a district nurse, and was killed in a head-on collision with a police car travelling on the wrong side of the road. Her husband tried to throw himself in front of her to save her before the impact, but by horrible fate, he survived. Turned out a senior officer was late for a function and told his driver to overtake another vehicle. There is a street named after her now.
Found a cache of photos in a cupboard I was clearing out. The piper is my great uncle Billy, my maternal grandfather’s brother who, by all accounts, was a bit of a spiv and was a regimental piper. The man in the flat cap is my great grandfather, my maternal grandmother’s father. I’m not sure if that’s gran he’s with or one of her sisters. No idea who the couple in Edwardian dress are but the woman is definitely related to my granddad. The other photo, no idea, but it’s dated 1928.
We are home! The cats moved in today. Rassilon has decided the whole house is his and has been exploring all day. Frankenstein is hiding under a chair because mummy put him in a nasty bag today for a while as he traveled (he does not appreciate the new pet carrier apparently). I was going to cook stovies but then remembered I don’t have a potato peeler or sharp knife so have ordered supplies for tomorrow, and tonight’s dinner is courtesy of the local chippy!
So… this is my new (old) house. Going down tomorrow to see what needs doing or buying to get it habitable, but it won’t take much. Should be able to move in before the end of the month.
@QuokkaMocha ooh nice! Love a bay window (though I didn't love the cost of getting curtains for ours once the cats grew out of their curtain shredding phase)
My new pills are making me exhausted and AO3 is being weird with my formatting all of a sudden but I have managed to post a chapter at least, which gives an excuse to finally post the little cover I made. Nardole is AWOL with the TARDIS, leaving Bill and the Doctor stranded in revolutionary France, and the Doctor is enjoying himself just a little too much. https://archiveofourown.org/works/42928764/chapters/132437347#fanfic#fanfiction#DoctorWho#DoctorWhoFanFiction
@QuokkaMocha hey this is really great! Enjoyed the first chapter and have bookmarked for when I have time to read the rest.
Love finding a well written Doctor Who fict!
5:30 on the dot, Frankenstein always comes in for his cuddle. No idea how this tradition started but it seems to now be the law. #Caturday#CatsOfMastodon#Cat
#WordWeavers Any scenes inspired by personal experience?
Loads. I mean, I write horror, and right now I actually live in a horror novel, so I might as well use these bloody experiences! Get some good out of them. But more so than actual events, I tend to use the emotion I remember behind those events. My first ever job in theatre was on Fame the Musical and so I always get "Think Like Meryl Streep" in my head when I think about this, though.
Malásek - reading, mainly, though he's interested in art and architecture. Not so much music, as he likes silence more than anything.
Nat Chapel - art, probably, because he's interested in design, although he likes reading and favours philosophical texts and poetry most of all.
Varyenukha - music. He was a prodigy as a child and composer to the royal court as a young man. He still listens to music when he can now, despite his circumstances.
I've never had a comment on my published work (in magazines), except from the editor at Ellery Queen, who said she'd really enjoyed it and that it reminded her of The Old Man in the Corner by Orczy.
My couple of readers on AO3 keep me going with their comments. It's things like, the other day, being told I'd got the voice of a character spot on, or someone noticing an Easter egg. Those are the ones I love!