Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 96

#Music Monday: Tomorrow (Song from Annie) - 5-Year-Old Claire Ryann Crosby

I love the movie, Annie, and the song "Tomorrow" from that movie. I also love listening to Claire Ryann singing. So, of course, I had to share this one. Enjoy!

Mental Noise On Memories

Ears flat against her head, tail and head drooping, Lilie slinks towards me, approaching with caution. Finally at my side, she gives my hand a tentative lick - her way of asking forgiveness.

I grant it. She's done her time in "puppy jail" and hopefully learned from the experience. There's no reason not to.

Instantly the bad memory of the time out is a thing of the past for her. Banished to the depths of her mind. It's over. It's in the past. She's survived it, possibly even learned from it. Experience has taught her there's a chance it could happen again in some vague time known as "future" - which is a concept she can't grasp, and has no interest in trying to understand. But that's not now.

Now there is only us, and a nearby ball, which she grabs, throwing it against my leg as her ears perk up and her tail begins to wag so furiously it causes a breeze. Now there is only the ball, and the expectant hope radiating from her that I might throw it.

I do, and she races after it, tail still wagging furiously as she enjoys this moment of pure bliss that is play time.

If only my own bad memories were so easily cast aside. If only I could learn what they have to teach me, and then banish them to the depths of my mind, leaving myself free to focus on the moment, enjoying whatever it has on offer for me.

But it's not as easy for me as it is for Lilie, no matter how much I wish it was.

#FurkidFriday: The #EasterBunny Came To Visit (FD)

Hi everyone. This is Mollie the chinchilla.

A couple of weeks ago, the human caretakers suddenly told us the Easter Bunny was coming. I seem to remember them saying the same thing around this time last year. I didn't see a bunny then, and I didn't see one this time either. Neither did my chinchilla sister, Maizie, nor my degu brother, Joshua. Even the Lilie dog said she didn't see any bunny (Maizie asked her... I wasn't about to talk to a dog... Not even to get the answer to a question like that).

Maybe we didn't see him because we weren't ready for him? I mean, the human caretakers didn't put up sparkly and twinkly things like they do when it's time for Santa Paws to visit, and the first we heard he was coming was the night before he supposedly came, so we didn't really have time to make plans to watch for him or anything like that. But that doesn't sound right, because we usually notice when visitors come. Well, except Santa Paws... He always seems to get past us for some reason, even though we aren't quite sure how he always sneaks past us.

Well, I suppose the Easter Bunny must have somehow sneaked past us too, because there were all kinds of things in bright packaging for the human caretakers, which they said were called "Easter eggs" and left for them by the Easter Bunny, and some extra nibbles for us (since the human caretakers wouldn't share any of those Easter egg things with us). But, like I said, we didn't see any bunny, regardless of what the bunny might have been called. We did enjoy the oatmeal he left for us though. At least, we chinchillas and Joshua did... The Lilie dog got some other kind of nibble.

I suppose this mysterious Easter Bunny knows the same tricks as Santa Paws? He'd have to really, to be so sneaky he can get past us, even if we're watching for him. I mean, I know I said we weren't as ready for the Easter Bunny's visit as we always are for Santa Paws, but surely one of us would have noticed a bunny hopping about trying to carry all those Easter egg things for the human caretakers, right? After all, there are three of us, even if you don't count the Lilie dog.

So how did he hop past us? For that matter, how does Santa Paws keep doing it?

It's really quite puzzling.

If this Easter Bunny does know the same tricks as Santa Paws though, he's not as good at being on time. The Mummy human said he should have come a few days before he actually did. Something about how he didn't come because of her being somewhere... It doesn't make sense to me. I mean, I don't see why we should have to wait because she's not here. I also don't see why she went away again when we keep telling her it's bad behaviour. But that's humans for you: you humans never listen!

Anyway, back to the Easter Bunny mystery... I think I'm going to go find some nibbles to eat while I try to figure it out.

Squeak soon,
Mollie

#WriterWednesday: A #Poem By @cyallowitz

[caption id="attachment_23985" align="aligncenter" width="612"] Cover Art by Alison Hunt[/caption]

Thank you to Victoria for letting me promote my newest book War of Nytefall: Loyalty . This is the first of a new series that focuses on the vampire civil war that occurred in Windemere. Now, I could mention it in a simple paragraph, but it’s more fun to do it in free verse poem entitled ‘Rise of the Dawn Fangs’.

Born from light
Summoned to deliver death
And an accident
That washed across the world
One was born anew

*

A world unknown
Wracked with changes
Another added to the list
But one that must hide to thrive
Two agree to secrets

*

More mysteries unfold
Deviations from the norm
No longer of the true fang
Answers are needed
Three decide to find them

*

The inevitable occurs
A war of fangs now looms
Those who need the dark
Will face the vampires of light
More Dawn Fangs will rise

Book Blurb

In the wake of the Great Cataclysm, a new predator will emerge within Windemere’s shadow.

For fifty years, Clyde has remained buried while the rest of the vampires have been battling against their enemies. Only Mab believes that her former partner survived his execution and is determined to bring him back to the city of Nyte. Retrieving the vampiric thief is only the beginning as he comes out of the ground stronger, faster, and demonstrating powers that their kind have never witnessed throughout their ancient history. Thrown into the war, Clyde must be careful to hide his true nature while fighting alongside his old friends. Too bad he is having so much fun that keeping his secret might be furthest from his mind.

Will anyone be ready for the rise of the Dawn Fangs?
Grab your copy of War of Nytefall: Loyalty on Amazon!

Author Info

Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After his wife decided that she was tired of hearing the same stories repeatedly, she convinced him that it would make more sense to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house under orders to shut up and get to work, Charles brings you Legends of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you, and his wife is happy he finally has someone else to play with.

Blog: www.legendsofwindemere.com
Twitter: @cyallowitz
Facebook: Charles Yallowitz
Website: www.charleseyallowitz.com

#KidLit #Poetry #Book - The Leaf Monster And Other Children’s Poems Now In#Audio!

A random collection of poems of different lengths and styles, all of which are written with children in mind. Themes include family, animals, and special occasions (among others).

Previously only made available in eBook and paperback, my children's poetry collection, "The Leaf Monster And Other Children’s Poems" is now available as an audiobook, read for you by Jane Hopkins.

Regardless of the format you'd prefer, here's where you can buy the book:

Audible, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo, iBooks, iTunes, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, and The Book Depository.

The Book also has a page on Goodreads.

Random Ramblings - April 8th 2018 (FD & LBE)

It snowed a bit more after the cut off time for the events in my previous random ramblings post. Not much, but enough to replace what had started to melt throughout that day. There was still some snow on the ground on the following morning, when the post went live, and it started snowing a bit more that morning. Unfortunately, the temperature then rose enough that the snow turned to rain, which soon got rid of what was left of my snow.

We were promised more the following weekend, but none came. I don't mind though. Well, not too much. I always want more snow, of course. But we've done well for snow this year, and we had made it to the Spring Equinox by then, so the lack of snow didn't bother me in this particular case. After all, by then it was Spring for certain, whether you work with the calendar that says the Equinox is the midpoint of the season, or the one that says it's the start of the season.

Personally, I usually go by the one that says it's the midpoint of the season, even though the weather doesn't always reflect this. I often feel like I should apologize for this though, since me believing this so firmly resulted in an argument that got out of hand, and cost me an online friendship I'm still sad to have lost. I'm sorry for how I handled it. I'm sorry the argument happened, and that it got out of hand. I'm sorry it cost me the friendship. But I'm not sorry for believing what I do, nor for holding firm to my belief, even when others were disagreeing with me.

Anyway, the temperatures over the past couple of weeks still haven't been all that warm most days, but they've been staying above freezing as a general rule, sometimes hovering around 10 or 11 degrees C (52 or 54 degrees F). At one point it even got up to 12 degrees C (56 F). Though mostly it's been 6 degrees C (44 F) or lower.

As for actual weather: some days have been sunny, but there have been Spring rains happening quite often. No actual storms though. Not unless they were mild enough that I slept through them and didn't notice they happened.

***~~~***

We got some new teatowels, or "dish towels" if you prefer to call them that.

We kind of needed some new ones anyhow, but the real reason I ordered some was because the place where I order the bulk of our food shopping from had some with unicorns on them. Except the unicorns weren't in stock, and they aren't sure when - or if - they'll come back in stock. So they brought some butterfly ones to see if I'd accept those as a substitution, which I did, since we did need some, and I couldn't count on the unicorn ones coming back in stock. Unicorns would have been better, but butterflies are nice too, and I didn't want to refuse the substitution, and then find the butterfly ones weren't available either when I next did an order. The other ones they currently have are just plain different coloured ones, or basic patterned ones. Not as interesting as unicorns or butterflies.

I always have "allow substitutions" turned on when I do my grocery order, because most of the time I'm happy to accept the items they pick as substitutions for out of stock items (it's usually just a different brand of the same thing, so I usually accept it, unless I have a good reason not to). I'm given a chance to refuse them when the shopping arrives, so I can tell them to take back anything they've picked that I can't - or won't - accept as a substitution for the out of stock item I ordered, and this way there's less chance of me ending up without something I'd counted on as part of a meal.

Anyway, my tea towels are a set of three "butterfly print" tea towels. I don't have a picture, but I'm sure you can imagine what butterfly print would look like, and be close enough in your imaginings to be reasonably accurate.

Yes, I could have looked elsewhere, but chances are it would have cost me more to do so, and the butterfly ones were already here, so... *shrugs* I could still look elsewhere for unicorn tea towels anyhow, if I want to.

***~~~***



Towards the end of March, the landlord's workmen came to install that extra fire alarm the health and safety guys insisted on.

I might have mentioned this before, but... The reason a fire alarm was put elsewhere in the first place is because the kitchen is an area at one end of the living room, with no windows, so the fire department guy thought it would be better to have the alarm further away from the cooker. But the health and safety guys didn't like that because of the location of the stairs that are the safest - and only proper - exit from the building. Where the fire department guy put the alarm means chances of making it to that exit between when the alarm went off and when the fire blocked it would be slim. We see his point, and do agree that having more time to escape the building in the event of a fire starting in the direction of the kitchen - the most likely place in the home for one to start - would be a good plan. But it's still annoying that sometimes just cooking dinner will set the alarm off. Luckily Kelly's tall enough to easily reach to stop it when that happens. I'd have to climb on a chair, and even then would struggle to reach, since the ceilings are high and I'm short (and can't stretch up very well). Mind you, me climbing on a chair wouldn't be a good idea to start with. I used to be able to do that kind of thing. Maybe not easily, but certainly without a high risk of falling off. I could even - with the help of a chair to get me started - climb up on the kitchen counters so I could reach high cupboards. Not any more though.

Anyway, the installation of the new fire alarm is done now.

They came one day, when we thought they'd be doing it, just to look at where it needed to go. They kept us waiting for a couple of hours, since they wouldn't give us a firm arrival time, came in and looked at where it needed to go, and then left, saying they didn't have the things they needed with them, so they'd be back the following week to put it in. It always irritates me when they do that, especially when I know for a fact they were given instructions on where it was meant to go before they came out. Why couldn't they just bring the stuff they needed with them when they came to look? It would have been a lot less hastle, wouldn't it? I always wonder if they do the extra visit just so they have an excuse to charge for a bit of extra time spent on the job.

Yes. They came the following week, as promised. But still didn't have the right part. So they left their tools here while they went to fetch it. They weren't gone more than 20 minutes or so. But it took a couple of hours to actually do the job, because there was some issue with the wiring. I'm not sure what it was, but whatever they were doing to fix it kept causing power surges that made me glad our computers have surge protectors.

So, that's one more job out of the way.

Now the landlords just need to sort replacing the living room door for a fire door like the health and safety guys want them to do, repaint our bathroom from when they replastered the wall after that water issue, fix the speaker for our buzzer thingy (because something happened to it to make it that we can hardly hear the people asking to be let in through it, and they can't hear us at all, though we can still buzz people in to the building) and replace the windows. I have no idea at the moment when they plan to do those things though. Hopefully soon, but we'll see. They still have a load of problems to deal with because of the issues they've had with workmen in the past, as well as some new ones that have cropped up and are more important than the things we need them to do. When the work in our place will get done depends where our stuff is on the long list of tasks they have. We know they're working on things though, and they know they still have those things to do in our place, so all we can really do is to be patient, I suppose.

Besides, first they have to see to the new leak in the roof, which set off the fire alarm when the water got to the wiring for the one in the downstairs hallway. An event that meant I spent my Easter weekend in hospital.

Well, if truth be told, I hadn't been feeling well for ages. I mean, I never feel fighting fit or anything like that, but I'd been feeling very unwell for a few months, even for me. But the incident with the fire alarm sort of pushed me in to doing what I should have done a few months back, but was reluctant to do after a bad experience with a doctor who thinks being over weight is the cause of all the health problems in the universe.

You see, that doctor took away my medication. I was meant to be on iron tablets because I'm anemic, and inhalers because I'm asthmatic. But blood tests came back normal for the anemia - bearing in mind, they were done while I was on iron tablets, and had been for a while - and the doctor decided my asthma would get better if I exercised more. He basically said all my issues were because I'm over weight, and suggested I go for regular runs along the beach or something. I'm blind, have issues with my right leg because I've torn the tendons in my ankle (twice) and knee on that leg, I get dizzy from the anemia, and out of breath from the asthma. But he wanted me to go run along the beach to get some weight off. Uh-huh... Sure! So, should I call an ambulance before I start running, or have someone ready to do it after I either fall, pass out, or can't breathe? Yeah.. Needless to say, I didn't take his advice. However, I did find myself without medication.

A similar thing has happened before, and it once again ended the same way as it did this time: I eventually end up in hospital, and back on iron tabletts and asthma inhalers.

So, what does this have to do with water setting off the fire alarm? Well, what happened was this:

The water got in to the fire alarm, setting it off. We, of course, didn't know that was the problem until we got downstairs. All we knew was the fire alarm downstairs was going off, so we had to get out as quickly as was safe. So we just grabbed Lilie and left. We felt bad about leaving Joshua and the chinchillas, but there wasn't anything we could do. As it turned out, we could tell at once when we got down there what had happened, because it was raining in the downstairs hallway. So we stayed down there long enough for Kelly to enter the code to make the alarm shut up, and went back upstairs.

Trouble is, by the time I got downstairs I was a bit out of breath, and by the time I got back up, I couldn't breathe at all. No amount of breathing exercises were fixing it, and every time I even tried to use any, I ended up coughing so hard it stole whatever breath I'd managed to catch. So Kelly called an ambulance.

The ambulance guys managed to get my breathing OK, though I was still coughing a lot and had some wheezing in my upper right lung, but my blood pressure was through the roof, and my heart rate was even worse. My blood pressure eventually dropped to 170 over 100 after half an hour with them, but that was still too high, and at that point my heart rate was still 150, which is WAY too high. So they took me to hospital.

Giving me access to asthma inhalers eased the cough, but there was still concern about the rest of it, so I ended up with a couple of EKGs, a chest xray, several hours on a heart monitor, a bunch of blood tests, a CT scan to check for a possible blood clot - since my anemia made them reluctant to give me anything for any potential clot, since it would make the anemia worse - a blood transfusion, and a weekend in hospital.

They checked my kidney function too. It's always been low, ever since I was born, and still is. At one point it dropped down in to the range where things needed to be done about it... That was when I was a small child, and the reason for some of my many hospital stays. But my kidney function is staying in the safe zone at the moment, so that's good. I'm not sure if I mentioned on here, but I eventually found out that my kidney problem is part of the reason for my weight issue (because of water retension) as well as the original cause of both my anemia and the hormonal imbalance that causes the irregular bleeding that's now pretty much constant bleeding. I also get a lot of urinary tract infections.

The only good thing about spending the Easter weekend in hospital was that I got to meet Emma, and we had a fun Easter Sunday, because it was just the two of us on our ward for a lot of that day, so we had a good time with her family, and then watched movies on her phone. At least I was lucky enough to spend my time in hospital with someone as lovely as Emma. I do feel bad that she's still in there though... I wish she could have gone home after the weekend too.

My Mam's still in hospital as well. She went in a week before me because of an infection in her leg, and still isn't well enough to go home yet. Different hospital to me though... She's in the one where I had my eyes out in Wales, actually.

Oh, and my Grandma's now in hospital too, having gone in this past Friday with breathing problems. She's doing OK though.

Unlike Mam, Grandma, and Emma, I'm mostly doing OK now. OK for me, I mean. My asthma's still playing up so I won't be wanting to go without inhalers any time soon, I still need iron tablets because of the anemia, and we do need to watch my kidney function. But those things are issues I have to deal with all the time anyhow, and aren't anything new, so... *shrugs*

Well, that and the infection I ended up with during all this, which resulted in a return trip to A&E this past Friday. Thankfully I didn't get stuck in this time, but was sent home with antibiotics for it.

Anyway, let's hope this time the doctors leave me on the stuff, and don't decide that a good test result means I no longer need medication, which will eventually result in another hospital trip. Honestly, this pattern is getting beyond annoying.

So... Yeah... Our Easter celebrations ended up being me going in to hospital and then us eating chocolate eggs at home afterwards. Well, that and how I spent my Easter Sunday in hospital with Emma. Carl (my brother) says I fail at Easter hospital trips, because I didn't make sure I had an Easter egg with me in case I got stuck in. I had my Kindle and phone, and their chargers, but that's about it. I was wearing bunny rabbit pyjamas though, so he said I get some points back for that. Haha! Kelly would have brought me some in, but we had a slight problem: he couldn't leave Lilie, doggy sitters aren't easy to get at short notice (especially on a holiday weekend) and Lorna and Andy (our friends) were away for the weekend. They came home about when I was coming out of hospital. As it is, my ride home was via Lorna's friend, Anne. Who, by the way, I'm very grateful to for the ride home. Lorna and Andy would have helped out if they could. They helped a lot by arranging Anne as my ride home mind you. So I'm grateful to them too.

So... How did you spend your Easter weekend?

#FurkidFriday: How Joshua The #Degu Celebrated His 5th Birthday (FD)

Hi everyone. This is Joshua the degu.

You may remember I had a birthday last month... Yes? Well, I never did tell you how I celebrated it in the end, did I? So that's what I'm going to do today. I waited until now for two reasons: I wanted to let others have a turn on this thing, and my main birthday present came late... The human caretakers said something about it needing time to arrive in the post, which I don't understand, but meant it was after my birthday when I got it.

Anyway, on my birthday I got extra nibbles, like I hoped I would. The human caretakers gave me extra helpings of Shreddies... My favourite! Plus I got some kind of minty treat the humans had found for me at the petstore place, which tasted pretty good, if you're interested. I got a new cardboard tube to play with too. I love playing with those!

The thing that came late was something the human caretakers say is called a "sundae" - or something like that - they seemed to think it was important to point out it's not like the word "Sunday" for the day of the week. I don't know why. Also, the Mummy human says it's important for me to point out that it's a wooden one, and not a "real" one. I don't know what she means by a real one, because it seems plenty real to me, but she keeps saying something about how I wouldn't be able to have a real one because of "greedy ants" being a problem. At least, I think that's what she said. Though what ants have to do with it is beyond me. Either way, here are a couple of photos of me playing with my not real wooden sundae:



And here's a short video of me playing with it too:







So, that's how I celebrated my 5th birthday. It was a good birthday!

Squeak soon,
Joshua

#WriterWednesday - April 4th 2018

"Puppy Poems And Rodent Rhymes" is now available in paperback... Just in case you didn't see last week's post. If you'd like to buy a paperback copy of this pet themed poetry collection, take a look at the post I just mentioned, because there are links in it.

***~~~***

People argue about how many original plot ideas actually exist, though the commonly accepted number is most often around seven. As an example of one of those basic plot ideas, here's a post that examines the rebirth story. As a warning though, the post I just linked to contains Harry Potter spoilers. If you're one of the few people in the world who hasn't read those books yet, but you plan to, you may want to avoid reading the examples given in the plot breakdown.

Regardless of the plot of your story, if you're creating a fantasy world, or your characters will be exploring an alien planet, make sure you consider how realistic the fauna and flora in the world you create is, because readers will notice if the plants and animals shouldn't be able to exist in the environment you place them in. Yes, you can have some reason why an animal or plant that wouldn't normally exist in a certain climate does, but you need to think up that excuse in the first place, and then make sure it's clear in your story that the excuse exists, as well as what it is.

No matter what you're writing though, or whether it takes place in the real world or one you made up entirely, here's a post on how to defeat your writers' block when you're facing a minor writing block. On the other hand, if you've been struggling to achieve your writing goals lately for some other reason, and need to get your writing time back, this post contains some advice from one writer who found a way to take back control of her writing time. No matter what though, always remember that you're better at writing than you think you are.

Did you know: Smashwords has entered the audio book market. I can't say I'm all that surprised. I can see at once that there are benifits to using their service instead of something like ACX. However, I can also see a disadvantage: the Findaway Voices platform only offers the option to pay your narrator up front, with no royalty share option. Many wouldn't consider that a disadvantage, but it is if you're an author on a budget with several titles you want to produce in audio. It might be worth considering if you have the funds to pay your narrators up front though.

Regardless of the formats you publish your books in, or how you choose to publish the various formats of your books, if you're a self-published author, here's a post for you on making time and everything else your friend, and another on how changing up your writing routine could solve your biggest creative problem.

Next, here's some advice for when it comes to promoting yourself.

Finally, here are 12 things to tell yourself when you start to believe you can't actually do this.

#Music Monday: Dolly Parton - I Believe in You

Dolly Parton is one of my favourite singers, and this is a song inspired by the old story about the Little Engine That Could. Trains and good music rolled in to one neat little package. What's not to like? Well, unless you're Lilie, who has issues with trains. But you aren't, so... Enjoy!

Tori's March 2018 #Book #Reviews - #AmReading

It's time to take a look at what I read in March.

Whether you read as much as I do, or only manage a book every month or so, here's a post about how you can invest in authors and books. It will make your favourite author's day, and keep them writing, so it's worth doing at least some of the things on the list.

Anyway...

As with the previous posts like this one, if you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question.

Don't forget: the format I've reviewed may not be the format I read. Also, please remember that I read across multiple genres and age ranges, so you should always check if a book is suitable for the intended reader, especially when children are involved. Sometimes reading the book's description on its Goodreads page will be enough for this, but other times you may need to check elsewhere to figure out the genre and/or recommended reading level.

OK... On to the reviews!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book! It combined old style gaming and puzzle solving with a virtual reality setting, added some troubles for the main characters to deal with in their reality, and put it all together in a way I found both interesting and exciting. Those who aren't so interested in the gaming and media of the 80s may not find it as fascinating, due to all the trivia on those topics included throughout the story. But I am, so I really enjoyed it.

Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love the few Pern books I've so far read, and this one was no exception. The entire concept of the series is fantastic, the worldbuilding is excellent, and the characters are interesting and relatable. As for this book in particular: I loved the main character, and was hooked by the plot from the first page to the last.

Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a satisfying read, which makes a great addition to this series, as well as being an enjoyable - and often entertaining - read in its own right. Menollie is a great character, and it's impossible not to love the fire lizards.

Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
At first I was a little disappointed this one wouldn't be starting where the previous book left off. That feeling didn't last long, and I was hooked and loving the story enough not to care after just a paragraph or two. Awesome read!

Hokey Pokey Pirates by Peyton King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a sweet and fun story... I loved it!

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a delightful story. It's amusing, entertaining, and well worth the read.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I debated about whether or not to read this book, because I hated the few episodes of the TV series I managed to sit through. But several people told me the book was better - and easier to follow - so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. I don't think this is going to be one of my new favourites, but I did really enjoy it, am glad I decided to read it, and care enough about a couple of the characters to want to read the rest of the series.