Paula’s Comments (group member since Oct 28, 2015)

Paula’s comments from the Science Fiction Microstory Contest group.

Great work, Jot.

Sounds involving and worthwhile, Jot. Congratulations.

Oh wow, Jot, "have to take a new job" sounds like a definite time-grabber. I hope it goes well.

What would work for our advantage in leaving the Goodreads platform? Maybe I'm not seeing this, Jot--sorry, if so. It seems, though, that this would cost potential readership, and thus limit participation and readers. Can you clarify? Thanks.

I don't know, Jot. I think it's as likely to discourage anyone who doesn't get their story in ahead of most others from posting stories at all.
Actually, why not allow ties? Seems fair when in fact 2 stories get same number of votes, and in a way gives a more accurate picture.

Sensational theme, Thaddeus. Can work in most anything, including most books of the Old and New Testaments, the Koran, Gilgamesh, most of our own novels here, and most every work between---or at least, any with a theme of any depth. Should be an interesting bunch of stories, this month.

Your concern and work for your family is in fact inspiring, Thaddeus
You should be sending stuff to the pro magazines definitely, yes! And so should several others who've been in this group at some time. One should keep in mind, too, the example of the "Beatnik" writers who, standing with one another in the late 1950s-early 1960s, got themselves, each and severally, known as "the Beat writers" and, crassly put, made it big.

Another super story--terrifying and extremely well written--Thaddeus.

Indeed, lots of possibilities, Greg. The story also works, as is (with perhaps its last couple of sentences deepened a bit), simply as an attaction/friendship/love story that just happens to be cross-species--and a really fine story.
Greg wrote: "As for Singles Cruise, I was definitely going for sweet rather than creepy. (Thanks, JF for the critique) The original story grew to over 2000 words as I explored if alien pheromones were anymore u..."

Thanks, J.F. Actually, I wasn't clear enough, perhaps. The ending's not only the participants' joy--since the narrator and his family have been spreading (as foreshadowed in their gladness to attend though not yet 100percent cleared of) the viroids.

Great news, Justin!

Justin wrote: "Greg, loved your story! Fantastic!

Paula, the way you string words and phrases together continues to astound me. It is so unique from anything else I've ever read, anywhere. Mystical, magical, str..."
-----Justin, I am honored and flattered, and--what can I say? Thank you.
And, btw, very glad you were able to get back into your FB account!

Fest on Harrow
Copyright 2021 by Paula Friedman

First-rate vacation—enormous R & R for us and the little ones, ‘specially after these months-times of hunkering from the TooCrie Viroids, just the four of us staring and staring at our Pod’s six walls, no real-time contact with any other Be’ings at all.

Our littles were getting—well, “antsy,” all right. Desperate for action, so Millie and me, soon as we all got our "80% probably noninfectious--ok to travel" clearance, hey we decided yeah, the ActivePackage to Fest Week on Harrow’d be just right! Fully prepaid, too—no cost to us at all. So . . . off we rose! Hello, Harrow, and how!

Even so, we’d no idea!

Beauteous it was, the Fest Week, vendors spread like glitterful jewelry over the rolling hills and verdant valleys of Harrow’s Silver (and sole) continent’s High North Range. Glorious to the eyes of all—of we four E-Aurigae Be’ings, of the 16 Blue travelers from the Golden South, of every three-score Sible thin-worlder from the Tau Belt, eyes of tiny Magdae from Old Mars, the Wip-we-lings of distant Tei-O-Tamring. . . .

Oh, and to hear—as, awed, we heard—the wafting choral music of Stau-wa’s inner planets, yearning trebled scales from frozen Har, soft branch-stroked drumlets sweet young Siblet wing-birds play, the sax-and-bugle blarings of the blood-filled mammal-bornes of far half-forgotten Earth.

Odors, too, filled our nostuovss, and our Shnengs shied a-tingle with the strai-yahnn stirrings of our taster glands before each sylvan scent from seedpores of the Lomya worlds—and in our loins (my Millie’s and my own, that is, for neither our little ones’ nor the billlion worlds’ inhabitants feature (generally speaking) loins)—in our loins, then, strung sparkling throbs and thrusts of glorious sights, of tremulous sounds, of tingly odors, trilling tastes, a thrilling silvery brush of Northern breezes all along our paperings . . . ah, then how could we resist! “Chase—catch!” the ancient cry lurched out within us, called from every Be-ing of the multi-species gathered here together on these glowing peaks, these hungering dells, this lusting Silvered Continent! To leap! To lunge! To plunge! To feast!

So joyed we in our R & R, our Harrow Fest, our Feast.

. . . Say you what??? Oh, that.

Oh yes, of course. Well, viroids tend to joy in new sensations, too--new smells, new worlds, explorations, travel--their R & R, as well. Especially in some novel host that's jumping lively hunting prey, the blood a-flowing and the proteins thumping. Man oh man, indeed. And like it said on the ActivePack travel brochure, “No, YOU don’t pay—the natives do!”

[445 words]

I've one done in longhand. Shall try to get it up by 11:59pm on the 22nd, if that's the deadline. So much to do this month!
Justin, I really hope you can get your account back/up!

Re Thaddeus's excellently written, powerful story--yes, it's superb. I don't know if it's my own psych reactivity or the strength of the writing/story, but I find terrifying the idea of the woman who "once lived within the body suit [going] back into a state of waking terror. . . . all that she was had been replaced.
"A quirk of the software allowed her to continue to exist. . .. Her days were spent watching an alien intelligence" [take over her awareness, and at times (more and more?) she became only it.]
So--not a criticism, though.

Ooops, forgot about that contest. I am certainly not surprised that your entry has made it through the first gate/s, J.F!

J.F. wrote: "As I said, Paula, it needed work so I'm afraid it was pretty obscure. There was all this explanation of the holographic and increasingly subjective nature of the magnetic field that I had to leave ..."

Better and better and better. I love it, Joseph.

I always heard that good writing means selectivity in offering sense data, LOL Of course, really good writing requires selectivity in which "writing rules", such as "use selectivity in offering sense data," one may decide to follow (or not).

So now I've read it a 3rd time, J.F., as in part it wasn't clear to me on 1st reading. It is brilliant, and really downright-jitterbug done, with slight echoes of Ballard's old Kafkaesque "free space" one. Cool.

Very well written, J.F. Congratulations.