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A few minor corrections to 'Gay!' went live earlier today. The plot hasn't changed but I've tried to make the terminology more consistent as well as correcting a few typos.
I admit I'm not good at choosing titles but to me, 'Gay!' chose itself, referencing the story's inciting event. I've received many complaints about the title being deceptive and off-putting. I assume that's because of the squick regarding male homosexual sex, even though none occurs in the story. So far nobody has suggested a better title so I reckon SOL is stuck with it. Two related observations - I've had no complaints from people who started the story because of the title then were disappointed about the absence of gay sex. And I've been gratified by the proportion of positive feedback from female readers - thank you, and I'm glad what I wrote turned out to be female-friendly.
I've abandoned my quest to get a version of the story on Amazon for defensive purposes: the story isn't erotica, the story rating isn't very attractive to thieves, and Amazon might have issues, real or imaginary, with the content. That doesn't mean it hasn't already leaked - Google "Joanna Kafkasian". And no, I haven't dared to actually open those pages.
I recall at least two people offering to produce an American English version of 'Gay!' but I've scrutinised my mailbox and can't find their details, either because I'm too disorganised or the relevant personal messages have expired. If either of you are still interested, please make contact again. I'm not sure how it would work - perhaps the American version in your name with half credit? We'll have to ask management.
AJ
In the initial version of 'Shoe Girl', I unthinkingly wrote "rat's nest". Then, overthinking the situation, I decided a nest was likely to house multiple rats and therefore should be a "rats' nest". Belatedly I remembered Joe Internet and discovered that the colloquialism for a 'messy disorder' is ubiquitously spelt "rat's nest". So I'm in the process of changing it back again.
Although no longer relevant, I checked a 'nest made by feathery dinosaurs' for comparison purposes. The winner was "bird's nest", but "birds nest" is rapidly gaining in popularity.
And just to prove you can be wrong all the time, the Google summary of the Wikipedia (spit!) entry reads: "Bird's nest. A bird nest is a place where birds lay and hatch eggs."
For those who are downloading the story, when the next new chapter goes up, hopefully this afternoon UK time, you might like to refresh your copies of the earlier chapters.
AJ
The good news is I've started writing again. The bad news is I've started writing again!
Slowly and painfully, I've drafted the scene-setting for a new story. It uses a plane crash as a device to set the characters up together. Okay, it's a hoary old chestnut but not quite as overused as the thunderstorm causing a girl to jump into bed with her brother.
I'm not going to post it to SOL, at least not yet, because I don't know when or if the story will ever been continued, and now that I've done the scene setting I intend to return to polishing off the sadly becalmed 'Gay!'. I'm not an expert on planes so I've written what I hope is entertaining rather than what might be accurate. I'd appreciate feedback from plane-junkies on just how unrealistically I've portrayed things, and whether any simple changes would be worthwhile. I'm NOT looking for editorial scrutiny.
If you're an altruistic plane-junkie who can spare a few minutes to cast your peelers over some very rough copy, please send me your e-mail address via the SOL messaging system.
Thanks, AJ
I haven't repeated any serials I've mentioned before, and I've been slightly more liberal in how recently the stories have been updated. But here, in no particular order, is a list of the recently updated ongoing serials which are giving me the most enjoyment.
Of Dancers and Doves by Lord Van Leak
Pantheon 2 by PuffDragon
Penumbrials by SciFurz
The Runaway by Geek of Ages
Artifact by blackrandl1958
The Wrong Girl by Lumpy
AJ
In no particular order, this is a list of the recently updated ongoing serials which have given me the most enjoyment in the past couple of weeks or so.
Retribution by Thornfoote
False Signs by Lumpy
What Lies Ahead by Lumpy
Chances Are... by Stultus
Dragons of the Night by Stultus
Convergence by MisguidedChild
Mayhem in a Pill by Shinerdrinker
AJ
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