Stuart Aken's Blog, page 244

The Light Keepers, by Mande Matthews, Reviewed.

Described as a prequel to ‘ShadowLight’, this short introduction to a fantasy world came to me as a free download for my iPad via Kindle. A prequel is designed to tempt a reader into trying the book or series of books that follow it, of course.

This is a story set in the dark and cold of Scandinavia, with references to some of the myths of that part of the world. The characters are intriguing and compelling, which is always a good start for me: I love character-driven fiction. Straight away, I was curious to know what happened to them. There are, of course, elements of the story that remain unexplained, but these didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment. Instead, they leant mystery and layers of fascination to the story, making me want to know more.The events, and conflicts, both internal and between characters, drive the story at a good pace. The language is clear and well-chosen, matching the environment in which the tale takes place. There’s clearly an element of magic, though this is never referred to as such, in the text. Some hidden and unexplained power, at war with another, darker power that is introduced skilfully, drives the actions of the characters.
So much fantasy makes stars and heroes of male protagonists, that it’s refreshing to read a story in which the true heroes female. Here we are introduced to strong women, albeit under the protection of an alpha male. But the women have their own strengths and idiosyncrasies that allow them to be depicted as independent and brave; qualities that lead the reader to want to know more about them and to follow them through the story.
I said at the beginning of this short review that the purpose of a prequel is to persuade the reader to read the book or books following it. Did this one do that? Absolutely. I will read this series in the future. Not immediately, because my ‘to read’ list is too long to be added to at present. But this is a fantasy I shall come back to; of that I have no doubt. Recommended.

Writing, As A Woman.

A little over 3 weeks ago, my wife had a fall, resulting in a broken wrist. This, in turn, means I have to do a lot more of the domestic tasks. I’ve generally done a few things around the house and made the car and garden my particular responsibility. But we’ve always shared the load between us. What I’ve come to realise, however, is just how much my wife does silently in the background whilst I’m tapping away at the keyboard.

This has educated me a little more in the difficulties that must be faced by many women writers, especially those who have children and/or another job. I’ve always been employed as well as doing my writing, at least until I retired from employment a few months ago. So, I’ve had some understanding of the way a writer must juggle other tasks with writing: not always easy and never very satisfactory. But this experience with my wife effectively out of action (though her independent spirit means she’s still tackling anything she can manage with one hand!) has shown me just how hard it must be for those women who write whilst caring for a family. We have only one daughter, now at university, but currently at home for the holidays and working in a local hostelry.
I’ve found myself washing up (glasses and pans) – a task I’ve previously done only occasionally. Organising the dish-washer for the ordinary crockery and cutlery. Washing clothes and hanging them out to dry ( a time-consuming job). Ironing (also time-consuming). Preparing meals (another job I’ve done from time to time rather than regularly). Shopping (neither of us likes this one, but we’ve generally done it together to make sure neither of us gets lumbered). Preparing packing up for Kate on her work days (yes, she could do it herself, but she has the social life of a student and she’s doing research for her dissertation, so I’d rather she concentrated on being a student at present). So far, I’ve not used the vacuum cleaner, as Valerie insists she can manage that one-handed. And the dust is starting to collect, so I’ll have to get that duster out soon. The weather has been generally kind, so the car has managed without a clean for a few weeks. But the grass keeps growing, so that has to be tamed, of course. And, if I don’t get out there with a trowel, the weeds will soon become a veritable jungle.  And, because she can’t drive, I’m also the chauffeur for when Valerie wants or needs to go places. There are lots of other ‘little’ jobs, of course, but it would be boring to enumerate them all. It all eats into the writing time.

But this is all temporary, of course. Once that pot comes off her arm, I know Valerie will go back to doing all these things and encourage me to spend more time writing. It’s those women who have no such relief from the daily grind that I’ve come to sympathise (dare I go as far as ‘empathise’?) with more over these few weeks. I’ve also come to admire them more. To continue day after day and still get those words down: that’s quite an achievement, ladies.

So, let me just say: Well done to all those women (and the few men) who write in spite of caring for their families. I admire your effort, concentration and spirit of determination. More power to you all.Related articles Author Interview with Stuart Aken A Lot To Do Or Just No Time? Reminder: Special Issue of Women's Writing "19thC Women Writers & the Rise of the Bestseller" (9/2/2013) Self-Confidence: How do you feel about your writing?

The Old Ones, by Arnold Wesker, Reviewed.

First performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London, 1972, this two-acter from a wise playwright fell into my hands through a library sale. I’d enjoyed his ‘Chips With Everything’, and thought I’d see what he had to offer here.

This is a play, as the title suggests, about old people. Though the definition of ‘old’ has probably shifted since the writing of the play, since the eldest character is only 72. Personal viewpoint, probably, but as someone only 7 years junior to that character, I don’t consider myself ‘old’. It’s also about Jewish people, with the preparation and performance of a Jewish ceremony running as a thread through the performance. But the observations about aging, relationships and the generation gap are universal, of course. Where I do find a slight disagreement with the author is in his implicit suggestion that wisdom is the sole province of the old. It’s true that he shows foolishness and senility lie there as well, but he has no representatives of wisdom amongst the young. My own experience of life has shown me that age and wisdom are not always bedfellows. In fact, I’ve experienced wisdom at the hands of youth very frequently. And I’ve witnessed foolishness in the actions and thoughts of the old on too many occasions to record.
That said, the play is entertaining and does encapsulate certain attitudes without turning them into clichés. There are moments of great insight, moments of sadness, spells of conflict and periods of harmony. I could have done without the biblical quotes, which, for me, added nothing to the structure of the play and seemed no more than seasoning to flavour the Jewishness of the characters. Other quotes and philosophical meanderings I found instructive and illuminating, however.
Youth is shown only as uncaring, selfish, destructive and ignorant, which is a real shame and no accurate rendition of reality as I find it. The senility is early onset in current terms, but was probably accurate contemporaneously. Nowadays, we expect people to demonstrate senility in general terms when eighty or older.
There’s some demonstration of the basic hypocrisy of religion, but I couldn’t decide whether this was unconscious, ironical, or a deliberate uncovering of this unfortunate quality. No matter, it served the purpose of revealing the unfortunate habit of many religious people of saying one thing whilst doing something else entirely.

I think I’d enjoy this play in performance. On the page there’s humour, which, allowed the right sort of actors, would probably turn the work into a very good work piece of philosophical comedy. A good read.

Acid Drops, by Kenneth Williams, Reviewed.

Kenneth Williams, of ‘Carry On…’ fame for many, was a troubled character. Clever but socially handicapped, he lived a mostly solitary life. It comes as no surprise, then, that his collection of witty quips and quotes is entirely made up of the sort of put-downs that leave the victim feeling bad. Of course, the title gives a clue to the nature of the assortment; his selection is pungent with acerbic witticisms.
As an optimist and, bearing a philanthropic nature, I found only a few of these short forays into wit amusing. Many are cruel. At best, most are caustic. I laugh easily; it’s in my nature. But I didn’t laugh at many of these. Though I can admire the intelligence that created them. And Williams’ short accompanying accounts of how the quips came to be are quite amusing and informative.
Of course, this is a book intended to be dipped into rather than read, as I did, at one sitting. Perhaps I was overwhelmed by the nastiness of much of the material.
I have no doubt that those of a misanthropic or sour disposition will find plenty to enjoy here. But, for me, there was a little too much acid to make the book enjoyable. This is a volume that illustrates that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. For me, it was distinctly ugly, but clever. So a mixed review. If you like your wit with a cutting edge and little mercy, this will suit you.
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Do You Love Words?

Regular visitors will know I love words. As a reader and a writer, I'm fascinated by these small
packets of information that allow us to communicate, imagine and to explore our world. Here is a website I came across recently that I think will interest those with similar interests. I've copied the most recent of the weekly newsletters, with, of course, the permission of the site owner, Michael Quinion. Have a read, and if you're intrigued like me, you can easily sign up for the newsletter by going to this link: http://www.worldwidewords.org/

Newsletter 843
Saturday 3 August 2013Contents1. Culprit.2. Pony up.3. Sic!4. Useful information.1. CulpritThis is a common word with a strange genesis, arising out of an old legal abbreviation, compounded by popular etymology.When England was conquered by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings, French became the language of the law. It remained in use among lawyers even after the language of the courts changed to English in the fourteenth century, latterly in a stylised and degenerate form called law French. Fragments of law French survive even to this day in parliamentary proceedings.Culprit is another survivor.The records are sparse, but the usual explanation goes like this: if a prisoner in a medieval court pleaded not guilty to the charge, the prosecutor would respond with the words, Culpable: prest d’averrer nostre bille, which may loosely be translated as “We believe him to be guilty and I am ready to prove the charge”. This was recorded in the court rolls as cul prest or cul prist.The two key words are culpable and prest. The former remains in English in the sense “deserving of blame”, ultimately from Latin culpa, blame or fault.Prest is Anglo-Norman, meaning “ready”, which survived in English until the eighteenth century, but which has become prêt in modern French (as inprêt à manger, ready to eat, or prêt à porter, ready to wear).The abbreviation cul prest became modified down the years and was somehow misunderstood very late on in the history of law French to be the way that the accused was to be addressed. It turns up first in the record of the trial in 1678 of the Earl of Pembroke for murder; he was asked: “Culprit, how will you be tried?”Culprit became part of the language in the sense of the accused person. During the following century people came to believe that it meant a guilty person, perhaps in part because of a confusion with culpa.2. Pony upQ From David Shapiro: Where does pony up come from?A This is a classic American expression, but one now widely known in other parts of the English-speaking world. To pony up means to pay what you owe or settle your debt. It usually refers to a smallish sum of money:The promotion offers Virginians 16 and older the chance to fish without a license for three days in the hopes some of those folks will have so much fun they’ll decide to pony up a few bucks for the privilege of fishing for the next 12 months.The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, Virginia), 2 Jun. 2013.It dates from the early nineteenth century. This is the earliest example so far known:The afternoon, before the evening, the favoured gentlemen are walkingrapidly into the merchant-tailors shops, and very slowly out, unless they ponied up the Spanish.The Rural Magazine and Farmer’s Monthly Museum, May 1819.(Spanish here is slang for money, a term known a little earlier in Britain — Francis Grose recorded it in the 1788 edition of his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. It’s short for Spanish money, from an association of Spain with rich treasure fleets, doubloons and pieces of eight.)It seems very likely that pony similarly derives from English slang. It appears in several works at about the same time, including the 1796 edition of Grose’s book. It also turns up in another famous work, which will expand even further your knowledge of long-obsolete slang terms for money:It’s everything now o’days to be able to flash the screens — sport the rhino — show the needful — post the pony — nap the rent — stump the pewter.Tom and Jerry, by W T Moncrieff, 1821.The presumption is that it comes from the equine pony because it was a small horse, as relatively small as the sums of money which users were concerned with. Among the moneyed classes a pony at this time meant 25 guineas (later 25 pounds), a very large amount at the time by most people’s standards, but presumably not thought excessive by individuals who paid their bills in guineas. Horses for courses, you might say.3. Sic!• “The quote below,” emailed Hal Norvell, “is from a local newspaper here in central Maine. The source is the Associated Press. ‘A court in Cameroon found two men guilty under the country’s law banning gay sex on Tuesday, a lawyer said ....’”• Nancy Miller found this in the Premier Traveler magazine for June & July, reviewing ANA business class: “The meal was expertly finished off with a decedent Pierre Hermé Paris dessert: vanilla and dulce de leche ice cream with raspberry sauce.”• Speaking of decedents, the New York Times obituary of 26 June for the photographer Bert Stern contained this sentence, Kate Schubart reports: “His death was confirmed by Shannah Laumeister, a longtime friend, who said she and Mr. Stern had been secretly married since 2009. No cause was given.”• It-could-have-been-better-punctuated department: in a story about acute oak decline, a bacterial disease which is afflicting British trees, the Guardian on 16 July referred to “Brian Muelaner, an ancient oak adviser at the National Trust.”• Detlef Pelz read a Reuters report dated 1 August on the website of The Agein Australia: “Mr Chong’s lawyers have said that he was arrested at the home of friend during a raid by a drug enforcement task force investigating an ecstasy trafficking ring that included DEA agents, sheriff’s deputies and San Diego police officers.”4. Useful informationWorld Wide Words is copyright © Michael Quinion 2013. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this newsletter in whole or part in free newsletters, newsgroups or mailing lists online provided that you include the copyright notice above. You need the prior permission of the author to reproduce any part of it on Web sites or in printed publications. You don’t need permission to link to it.Comments on anything in this newsletter are more than welcome. To send them in, please visit the feedback page on our Web site.If you have enjoyed this newsletter and would like to help defray its costs and those of the linked Web site, please visit our support page.
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July, a Month of Change and Progress

Click on the chart to open in a new window at a larger size

It’s been a mixed month. The weather, always an important component of British life, has been largely hot and fine, which is fine with me: I detest wet and cold. But, of course, we get so few hot days that we feel we must make the most of them. So, the garden has been well attended, and we’ve had a couple of trips out. Relatives and friends have been visited. It all takes time out of the writing calendar. Unfortunately, my wife had a fall (at her bowls club, slipping on a wet floor) and broke her wrist in two places. She’s in plaster and still in some pain, which means I’m doing more of the household tasks than normal.
As for the writing, which is the purpose of this post, that has been going relatively well. I sent the first 3,000 words of book 1 of the adult fantasy to a publisher and, within a few days, Fantastic Books Publishing asked to see the whole MS. That involved a little bit of final tweaking, of course (you have to make it as good as you can). And, as a result of their interest, I decided to prepare book 2 for publication, just in case. I’m now awaiting their decision, but, as you know, the wheels of publishing turn slowly. So, watch this space.
In the meantime, I started book 3 in earnest and have, to this date, written 24,131 words. Not as much as I’d hoped, but the emergency with Valerie’s broken wrist and subsequent hospital visits have eaten into my days, of course. I was planning on 3,500 words a day to get the first draft completed before a specific date in September. It’s looking as though that is now unlikely, but so be it.
As for what I’ve achieved this month: I’ve written the first 6 chapters of book 3 and edited the final 10 chapters of book 2, read and reviewed 3 books, posted 11 posts on here, and submitted 1 short story to a contest. I also discovered another way to present the writing contest information I thought I’d have to abandon last month. If you look under the ‘Writing Contests’ tab above, you’ll find it there. I don’t have as much time to update this as I did before, so it’ll probably only be done once a month or so, but I will endeavour to keep the information current for you.
So, not a bad month. How has July gone for you? Let us know through the comments. Oh, and if you’re not yet following the blog, I’d appreciate a follow. And, by all means, connect with me on the other social networking sites: the links are all in the side bar to the right.
The chart, explained: 'Writing' - initial creation of stories, blog posts, reviews and longer works.'Editing' - polishing of all written work to make it suitable for readers.'Research' - discovery of info for story content, market research, contests and blog posts.'Reading' - books and writing magazines.'Networking' - emails, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and comments.'Admin' - story submission, blog posting, marketing, organisation, tax, and general admin tasks.

Someone Up There Doesn’t…Or, Perhaps…?

Do you ever have the feeling that someone up there isn’t on your side? I say ‘up there’ but I really mean ‘out there’, since the idea of heaven as an actual destination, let alone a geographical location, is something I find impossible to accept. However, the point is that sometimes things seem to be against you, as an individual. There are theories about this sort of thing. That book of promises, The Secret, is full of the sort of pseudo-philosophy that preaches a belief in some power that will take your side for good. Though why such a power should be interested in any one individual above another is less certain.
What’s my point? Well, I’ve been having one of those periods when things have appeared to gang up against me for no apparent reason. It’s very easy to ascribe such misfortune to some power outside of oneself, to place the blame on fate or your own particular brand of god, or bad luck. In practice, of course, it’s generally just the way life is. Coincidence is far more common than most people realise.
So, coincidences have been lining up to form a peculiar set of circumstances that I could, quite frankly, do without. On the other hand, if I actually examine my life, I realise I’m far more fortunate than many of my fellowmen. I have food in my belly, a roof over my head, a loving wife and daughter, an income, albeit not a large one. There are folk out there living on a handful of rice each day, folk with no visible means of support, folk living in ditches and sewage pipes, folk dying from the combined efforts of extremists who all believe their point of view is not only the right one but a philosophy worth killing and dying for. So, all in all, I feel I have little to complain about, if I face the facts squarely and without self-pity.
What motivated this piece?
Small misfortunes. Small inconveniences. Small disappointments. That’s all.
For the past few years I’ve been struggling to write and get published an adult epic fantasy trilogy. It’s important to me. The story deals with themes that matter to me, themes that I can become quite passionate about. But, in the end, it’s just a series of books. Whether, in published from, the story will cause readers to think, will enhance lives, will, as all writers hope, change some minds, is a matter for speculation.
The coincidence part comes in the way that the first 2 books are written and edited and the first is now with a publisher, whom I’m hoping will publish it, and the series. Whilst I wait, I’m writing book 3. Or, at least, trying to write it. For reasons I won’t bore you with, I would prefer to have that first draft complete before a specific date in September, which means I need to write around 3,500 words a day. For some, such a target is impossible. For others, it represents nothing out of the ordinary. I took part in the annual NaNoWriMo project the year before last and, over the 30 days of November, I turned out over 100,000 words of a new novel. (In the end I decided against publication because it was fatally flawed). But the point is that I wrote the words. I can produce the necessary number of words to hit my target.
So, what’s the problem?
Well, since the publisher asked for the full MS of book 1, which he now holds, I’ve been beset by a number of unrelated domestic accidents. The net effect of these has been to reduce the amount of time I have available for writing.  I sent the MS in full on 19 July. Today is 31 July. That’s 11 days ago.11 x 3,500 is 38,500 words. But, to date, I’ve managed only 24,000 words, or about two thirds of the target. If this rate continues, I’ll miss my self-imposed target by a long way.
But, that’s the point. The target is self-imposed. No one else has set me a goal. No one is asking me to complete book 3 in any given time. It’s entirely my own decision. So, you see, whilst I could wallow in inefficient self-pity, decrying the vagaries of fate for placing barriers in my path, I’ve decided such a response is idiotic. Instead, I’ll continue to write as much as I’m able on every day and be content with my progress, knowing I’m doing all I can to achieve my target. If I fail to hit it, so be it. I’ll have to adjust my expectations and take appropriate action.
And my point here?
Well, most of us have a tendency to set ourselves unrealistic targets and then blame anything but ourselves when we fail to achieve them. Not healthy. Not productive. Perhaps better to set a realistic target in the first place and be prepared to modify our expectations when unexpected barriers fall in our way? So, don’t do yourself down when you fail, or rail against some unseen entity. Accept that sometimes life is like that and learn from it.
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Charley, by Shelby C. Jacobs, Reviewed.

Novels are works of fiction, by and large. But we can often learn from them, especially if some of the subject matter is unfamiliar to us as readers. In this romance, I learned about aspects of American Basketball, the position and influence of the church on certain moral issues and the ways in which business might be conducted in the USA.

This is essentially a love story, employing an important theme with which I have sympathy: it discusses, through the interactions of its protagonists, the difference between lust and love. The eponymous Charley is a very strong female character and, in PJ, she is thrust, literally in certain passages, into the arms of a very strong male character. Their introduction, mutual exploration of sex and love, and their attempts to resolve the problems they face in getting together form the plot of the story.
I have to confess that much of the Basketball description went over my head. As a Brit, I have little knowledge of the sport and, with its own jargon, which is clearly understood by aficionados, I was often in the dark. But it wasn’t important, as the sports sequences are few and their content is more emblematic and symbolic than essential. I was able to grasp enough to understand the significance.
Similarly, although I’ve been involved in the business world, both as practitioner and in the role of tax collector, many of the practices exposed in the book were new to me. Of course, this is set in the southern states of the USA, so a degree of fraud and double-dealing was not unexpected. The author makes no moral judgement on the issues raised, but allows readers to come to their own conclusions, which is a stance I heartily applaud.
Also, as an agnostic, albeit raised on the rather loose moral standards of the Church of England, I’m not particularly sympathetic to the church movement as a whole. I felt the author managed very well to convey the inherent hypocrisy and self-imposed blindness of the protagonists as they allowed their actions to declare their true feelings whilst their words frequently hinted at more scriptural concerns. Again, it was left to readers to make their own judgements. In spite of the inclusion of scriptural references, I never felt I was being preached at.
The characters are drawn so well that it’s easy to get to know them and to feel with them. Since such empathy is an essential component of fiction for me, I was able to enjoy the read so much more. Written in the first person, and with occasional ‘mental asides’ that hint at the true state of mind of Charley, this complex and multi-layered piece of fiction reads easily, whilst challenging the reader to make certain judgements, sometimes only to discover that new facts must overturn those conclusions.
A really good read, this. The romance and erotic element will undoubtedly appeal more to women readers, whilst the other components will probably have a stronger appeal for those men who don’t generally read this genre. That sounds sexist, but I’m trying to point out that there’s something here for both genders. I have no qualms in recommending this novel.

En Route to Publication

Fantastic Books Publishing, having viewed my first 3000 words of the adult epic fantasy trilogy, have asked to see the whole MS. Fantastic! I know this relatively new publishing venture through a previous association, when I was asked to provide a story for a contest winner’s anthology of speculative fiction. Fusion ran with my story, Rebirth, as a sample of professional sci-fi writing alongside those contest winners.

Now, this publisher is considering my fantasy. A Seared Skyruns to 3 volumes, of course. I’ve already written books 1 and 2 and I long ago drew the map to accompany the story that takes place in my imagined world. Book 3 is well under way, with 8,500 words written so far. Book 1, Joinings, is now under consideration. As you can imagine, I’m delighted, excited, and looking forward to a long and fruitful association with Fantastic Books Publishing.
Many of you will know that I’ve self-published a number of books and may wonder why I’d want to become involved with a publisher for this project. I am a writer. I prefer to use my time to write. Whilst I’m perfectly capable of preparing a book for publication in either eBook format or for POD printing, and even design my own covers, I’d prefer to spend that time in actually writing. All the onerous, for a writer, tasks involved in preparation of a MS for conversion to the formats required for publication will be taken care of by the publisher. Cover design will be devolved to a professional designer, with input from me as author. As for marketing; well, we all know that writers are deeply involved in promoting their own work, however it reaches the readers. The difference will be that I won’t have to design and run the publicity events. I’ll merely have to be involved in promotion. I think that’s a worthwhile sacrifice of the small reduction in royalty this publisher takes for their professional involvement and expertise.
I trust this publisher. They already have a good track record. And I’ve met Daniel Grubb, CEO, through other published writers. Such recommendation is always valuable, I think. So, I look forward to the adoption of the book by Fantastic Books Publishing; by no means a done deal at this stage, but one I hope will come to fruition. I’ll keep you informed of the progress as I take this route to further publication and I’ll let you all know as soon as we have a launch date.
If you have something ready for publication, why not consider this publisher? Have a look at their website and see what they have already produced, see their terms and conditions and maybe try your work with them.  Here’s a link to their website: http://www.fantasticbookspublishing.com/about/

A Hiatus, a Break, and a Continuation, At Last.

A Screen capture of part of the timeline.Regular readers will know that I've been talking about my adult epic fantasy trilogy for some time now. I've written books 1 and 2 and both are now fully edited. I'm currently seeking a publisher for the series.

Meanwhile, I started to write book 3. I got as far as the end of chapter 2, around 7,000 words, before I realised I hadn't prepared the absolutely essential tool to aid in keeping track of my many named characters. I devised a timeline so that I'd know exactly where every named character was at any time and what they were doing. This is a necessary tool, as the story takes the form of three interwoven threads, combining to form the plot. Of course, both the time period and the selection of characters change with each book. Some of the players die, some merely fall off the edge of the stage, perhaps to be allowed back up to perform some other part before the end. The timescale is over three years and a great deal happens.

I could not continue without creating the necessary timeline for book 3. So, that is what I have been doing. It's a lengthy task; complicated though not difficult. Each player has a hyperlink to the character sketch I've produced, so I can easily check that I haven't unwittingly changed hair colour or gender!

As I have changed over from a PC to the iMac during the process of writing, most of my links no longer worked, as the files were in different places.  So I had to reform those links as well. It's all been rather time-consuming, but it's worth the effort. And I'm now back on track. So I can continue with the really great part of the process; the actual writing.

I don't know how other writers keep track of their characters when writing long works, but I'd be interested to learn. So, by all means, give us some insight.

I will keep you informed of progress on the trilogy. Watch this space, as they say.
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