Jonathan

Sorry Kate: this stemmed from the couple of ideas I was playing with before I went away last week. Lack of time then (and little in the foreseeable with a kitchen about to be installed) this was what I came up with.

‘I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.’

I was taken aback by how irritated I was by the first part of this quo…[Read more]

Brilliant. Love that

Yeah, works. Nice one! Love the sound of the story and the dynamic between these characters x

Yup, that works.

…PS am certainly intrigued by the story’s ending now anyway

Ref Tony’s previous comment, if a call can’t connect to a mobile it doesn’t always go to voicemail. Plenty of times I’ve called a number and instead of an answer or voicemail, heard something to the effect of ‘the number cannot be reached’ (can’t remember exact wording).

In any case, I think if the caller was worried and desperate to get hold o…[Read more]

I remember reading after a train crash disaster, of the non-stop ringing of victims’ mobiles. Could you hot say “Somewhere there was a phone that seemed to keep on ringing and ringing.” ?

That’s exactly the sort of detail-conundrum that gets my knickers in a twist, too! I agree with @philippaeast on this. I’m hearing a mobile that rings and rings, cuts out and then almost immediately rings and rings, cuts out, etc etc. Without knowing exactly what that signifies in your story I think it has the same level of hopeful/hopeless effort…[Read more]

Damn don’t you just hate when reality gets in the way of a good turn of phrase! I do love the sound of that last line.

I wonder if you could play with the idea of someone repeatedly redialling so that the ringing sound becomes continuous even if each call begins and ends. Perhaps you could tweak the last line slightly to read something like…[Read more]

Very good question. You could have a play with the settings on your own phone to see if you can stop it going to voicemail, or set it for a greater number of rings before it does? I’m sure I’ve known mobiles that ring for ages before the go to voicemail, and also as the caller you can cut off the call and ring back almost instantly if the pho…[Read more]

@jillybean you MUST!

Mantra.

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

Such is the mantra, spoken quietly in hope during clandestine gatherings, or whispered in the darkest moments outside of them, when dreams of life lived to the full fall beyond my control and are squashed like bugs in the mud.

For certain, this mantra is against the teachings of…[Read more]

Thanks Elle and Mad 🙂

And Kaz, I am now tempted to do exactly that. ‘Ironside’s Guide to the bizarre Middle Ages’ :’D

Thanks all. Will post a link when the ebook’s published x

This looks absolutely brilliant! They both do actually and thank you for the reminder about book 1 – I’ve just downloaded both of them and am really looking forward to getting my teeth into them.

Contraception details! Sheep wool beards!! Are you planning on releasing a kind of “Ironside’s Notes’ on your research rabbit holes to accompany your…[Read more]

Have we ever had an entry in the form of a song before? Formatting may be a challenge, so bear with me.

On a restroom wall in Baltimore,
Above a broken sink,
Someone scratched this message,
“It’s later than you think”

I took this simple line to heart,
I saw that it was true,
And built myself a sturdy boat,
Then sailed the ocean blue.

Time goes…[Read more]

Like Richard, waiting for inspiration – and I’ve next week away from home in which to receive it (several ideas bubbling)