Sasha Distan

cellophane

that pretty much much sums it up. Poor Kieran, he really has no idea why he feels this way, though the truth is starting to dawn on him.

Thanks Tim. I'm glad someone else thinks it's funny too.

Can I help you?

um... thanks?Kieran has good qualities, the dogs, the kids, even sort of the motorcycles. And Robin isn't a twink, it's just everyone looks short to Kieran. Oddly, some of these characters have lived with me almost longer than I can remember, which might be why it's taking so long to show their good sides. I know Kieran is worth it, because I know him. I promise I won't let you down.

he has his moments... but stay with him, he's so worth the bits where you wanna tear your hair out.

As some of you know, I am a fairly recent and fully immersed convert to the power of twitter. I have discovered cool new art through twitter, bought awesome things, been amused by cats and found new horse-based free to boot. And boots, the guy who sells my western boots often posts pictures of new arrivals on twitter – it’s generally delightful. My twitter feed is made up of three things: general and often strange musings; #cowboyhour, a weekly event I run where each Friday we indulge in something suitably fitting for which I try and get photos (last week we had a play by play of horse shoeing, just for those who have never seen it done); and stuff about the writing. And it is, of course, on this last point that I wish to speak with you. There is lots of cool writing stuff on twitter, and you can keep up with your favourite authors with the #amwriting hashtag (there is also an #amediting for those who dedicate themselves to making us authors look a bit more clever than we actually are, and for this, we thank you). And because twitter is on my phone, I often accompany these with pictures taken from my current writing screen: tiny little snapshots into the world of the future. There aren’t ever any actual spoilers, but by following me on twitter, I guarantee you’ll get more information about Kieran and Robin, Oli and Buddy, and the Chalk Horse Hill pack, sooner than you would otherwise. The last part of this is that often, other agencies on twitter will launch competitions and challenges. Edinburgh Book Festival (@edbookfest) are currently running a series of themed ‘a story in one tweet’ challenges (for those of you who don’t know, twitter is limited to 140 characters per tweet), and I am lucky enough to have been features for yesterday’s challenge: “Beginnings” #StoryShop It was too hot to walk, so he took the train. And that was where he first saw the boy with the blue eyes. They shared a moment. You can follow all the entries with the #StoryShop hastag, and you can find out more about the challenges and the featured authors here: https://storify.com/edbookfest/twitter-storyshop-challenge You can follow me on twitter @sashadistan

Yeah, I got distracted. For some reason I am still uploading these by hand.

yes, new DC tomorrow. New RAB today though!

“Where are you going?” “Out.” Kieran knew he sounded like a sulky teenager, but right then he didn’t care. “Anything you’d scheduled for me today, cancel it.” “But the suit fitting…” “I don’t care!” Kieran slammed the door into the garage behind him. There was one sort-of vehicle in the back of the garage which looked just as rugged as it should have done. He put the dogs into the Mitsubishi and then re-parked it in front of the bike-trailer, hooked up the tow bar and checked over the two bi

I agree with Kitt and Aditus, and others, in that it can actually help to expose people to new music and new films, books, etc, because this is the internet and you can find anything. I also agree that too much "product placement" can be aggravating to the point where i will stop reading - but that is usually because the said "product placement" has nothing to do with the actual story. if the particular song is important, then name it because it matters. Personally, I wouldn't worry about how it 'dates' the story. One of my favourite books, Desert Sons, talks a lot about music (one of the MC's in in a band) and their putting stuff down on tapes and no one has a mobile phone. Everything will 'date' your story - good stories transcend that and are relevant whenever they are read.

onomatopoeia i hate 'on' words...

who's definition of cute are we aiming for?

bloody

I do not have a good relationship with apostrophes. Thanks for that, I never knew.I actually skipped the funeral, and didn't realise until a few chapters later. It just didn't seem as important as all the other stuff. Funerals can give closer, but not for Luke. Lisa, you, like many of my readers, are just too damn nice. There are plenty of things I can't do. mostly they involve plants - and keeping them alive more than a day.

it takes a while... also you're right, he definitely did more than one thing wrong.

i have not written The Wedding yet and we're typing on chapter 13.

onlooker

why would plane tickets be in the kitchen?

hey, even i have decided if momma knows yet! but poor Oli, don't worry though, his luck is changing.

cells

if it's well written, and if it is approved by the proper channels (see Wildone's post) then go for it. I have written things with incest, and while there were less read than my other work, there were not wholly unaccepted. if there is a point to this incest, and if the story is good, then it deserves a proper showing.

sorry but I thought that Magic Mike was good, for the first half. Then it decided it wanted to be a drugged-up burnout stoner movie, and got really shitty. Shame, because the first half had potential and it was funny, and sexy as dammitall. I won't be going to see 50shades - as far as i could make out between the appalling grammar and diction, most of the book was about the ins and outs of female plumbing. I assume the film will follow a similar approach. no thanks.

germinate

Aww! Uncle Mickey! I think Irri should do a live stream of her reaction to my chapters as she reads, would make for interesting viewing!