Graeme

I've just read an article from the Sydney Morning Herald where it presents the claim that this is a hoax. Based on the information, it's quite feasible since genetically and from a reproductive point of view he is still female, but I would be worried about any long term effects from the hormone's he had been taking prior to the decision to become pregnant.

Congratulations, CJ! I really enjoy your posts: the serious/informative ones, the interaction about your stories, and even the ones where I think you're completely wrong (usually in The SoapBox ). Cheers! Graeme :mace:

I can think of two print trilogies that I had a similar reaction to. In one, I loved the first two novels and was eagerly looking forward to how the author would resolve the situation in the third and final novel... only to find the story going in a completely different and (to me) unforeshadowed direction. Not only that, but I couldn't reconcile the new direction with the rest of the story. I was very disappointed. In the other story, I wasn't as disappointed, but I still thought the ending was weak, given the quality of the first two novels. This was part of what taught me about how difficult it is to end a story. In the first case, I believe the author had written themselves into a corner. I have trouble believing that it was what they intended all along, as otherwise I would have expected some earlier hints as to the sudden change in direction and nature of the story. In the second case, I'm sure it was the ending the author had expected, because there was a lot of foreshadowing, but I still felt it was weak.

Thanks, Rose! My concern is mainly that the charger is listed as being for 230-240V, which is a lot more than the 110V USA supply. My chargers for the laptop and camera clearly state that they are for 110-240V, but not the Nintendo.... If I was going the other way, I'd be concerned about blowing up the charger or Nintendo. I can't see that a lower-than-expected voltage will cause any harm, but they may not work properly....

Computers and the Internet are, to me, tools. There are some things I can't do without them, but I don't need them. I've had other things I've done in the past for leisure, and I can do them again if the computer is unavailable. Work, however, requires a computer -- I can't do my job without one. The problem with the above survey is it doesn't distinguish between time spent because it's required (ie. five days a week for my job) and time spent because I want to (ie. the time after hours when I'm surfing or writing). Most of computer and internet time is still work-related, though I'll admit that my leisure time use has gone up a lot over the last couple of years.

Interestingly, the part of the question that I had the most problem with wasn't the 'take' but the 'life'. I know that while I'm very introverted, I like being with people. I'm not a good solitary person. So, for me, I'm most comfortable being with someone. Naturally, the more I know a person, the more I'm comfortable with them, and hence having a partner that I spend a lot of time with is good for me. However, while I may wish to spend my life with that person, I can't say I'm going to stay the same person the whole of my life, or that they will stay the same person the whole of their life. I can hope that as we change (and I know we'll change) that we continue to be compatible and comfortable with each other, but I can't guarantee it. Hence, I'm uncomfortable with the term 'life partner'. It's an ideal, not a straitjacket. The other reasons for a partner have already been mentioned -- sharing, mutual comfort, support in times of need... essentially a reliable person in my life that I can depend on. Hopefully, I'm the same for them, but their needs may be different. I've got a friend who is around my age, but is still single. His last serious relationship (that I'm aware of) was more then ten years ago. However, he's very much self-contained. He doesn't need someone else. He's comfortable being a solitary person, though he's quite open to a relationship if one develops. He just doesn't need it.

Does anyone know if we can use an Australian Nintendo DS charger in the USA (with a suitable plug adapter, of course)? I can't find the information on the Nintendo website, or with a Google search. I'm tempted to play it safe and purchase a USB charger, but if someone happens to know the answer, it would be greatly appreciated. We fly out in just under 48 hours time....

Happy Birthday, Camy! Party hard!

Welcome, Julia! If you've got any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the moderator or admin teams. This is a great place and there's a lot here for all sorts of tastes

It's your life, James. It's the old issue -- to make a lot of money real fast you have to accept risks. It's a gamble and if you're happy with the level of risk and the reward is suitable, then you say yes. If the risk is unacceptable or the reward insufficient, you say no. Iraq and Afghanistan are not the complete quagmire of violence, though that is the impression that the media sometimes gives. There are safe(ish) areas and unsafe areas. Since I don't know what the job will entail (will it require travel to the unsafe parts, and what transportation options are there when passing unsafe areas?) I can't make the call for you. The degree of risk aversion is always a personal thing. Personally, I wouldn't take it. I'm too risk adverse, and that is without taking into account my family. Even if I was single I wouldn't take it -- I would consider the risk too high. However, I know people who wouldn't have a problem with the risk and that's fine -- it's what YOU are comfortable with that's important, not what I'm comfortable with. Good luck with whatever you decide

:king: :king: :king: Congratulations, Steve! :king: :king: :king: What else is there to say, except thanks for being here and thanks for being a great guy!

I've done this in each of my novels. I didn't find it difficult. In all cases, the characters met through normal and reasonable events. In my first novel, I had a (admitedly minor) character appear in chapter 8, and he presented a very good reason why he had jumped into the story. In my second novel, I had the protagonist meet some of his love interest's friends -- up until then all the interaction had been with the protagonists friends. In my third novel, I had the characters go elsewhere, looking for someone, and they found the new character -- an old friend of someone. It doesn't take a lot of effort to think of ways to introduce a new character without being heavy handed. As long as the situation suits, new characters can be introduced. After all, people meet new people all the time. The trickier part is to justify why the new character stays in the story. If there's no apparent justification for it, it stands out like a sore thumb. Give the new character a good reason to stick around and everything falls into place. The introduction part is the easiest part of the whole thing.

Seriously, it has. I'm no longer hiding things, so I'm a lot happier with myself, to the extent that other people commented on the fact (that is, people who didn't know what my wife and I had just gone through -- wouldn't wish that on anyone). We communicate a lot more now as a consequence and that also helps our relationship. Honesty is a key component of a health relationship and I wasn't being honest with her earlier. We still have our challenges, but, yes, we both agree that we have a happier and healthier relationship now than we had before. And to put things back into perspective, the last set of statistics I saw indicated that over 90% of relationships who have gone through what my wife and I have gone through have failed.... I'm lucky and I know it.

We've just had our 17th anniversary, so if you include the period of dating before we got married, we're coming up to twenty years. In that period there have been two times it could've ended. The first was before we had children, and it was a combination of stress from work and just generally drifting apart. We realised what was happening in time and we made a number of decisions to correct them. If we both hadn't agreed to that, the relationship would have probably ended shortly after. The second was only a few years, and that's when I came out to my wife. We've gotten past that point and things are going strong. I honestly can't imagine what life would be like if our relationship ended.

Welcome, Kit! Kit is the author of some great stories across at CRVBoy, and I'm really glad to see him here. Kit, if you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to contact the moderator or admin teams. I really hope you like it. You should also contact Joe (PM JSmith or email him on joe@gayauthors.org) and ask to be added to the Author's group. That will give you access to some of the Author only forums here at Gay Authors.

Congratulations, Nick It's been great interacting with you on the forums, and I'd like to say that I was honored and very pleased to have had helped you with beta-reading one of your stories. I wish you all the best for the future, and I hope you continue to write for many, many years to come.

Happy 21st Birthday! I hope you haven't been melting in the heat. Have a long cold drink (or ten) to celebrate!

Happy Birthday!

G'day, Jaime! Welcome to GA and if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. If you want to participate in the Author Only forums, contact Joe (joe@gayauthors.org) and ask to be added to the Author group Cheers! Graeme

I see things are off to a lively start already G'day, Tyler! Welcome to GA. My understanding is that ninjas are the sworn enemies of pirates, is that correct? I had that from a self-confessed pirate, and I wanted to check....

G'day, Michael, I'm always happy to find published authors. I think it's something special to be able to say you've got a book out there on bookshelves Good luck with your new novel when you get back to it! Graeme

Welcome, Andy! I think everyone will agree with you -- this is a great place. If you've got any queries or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or Kevin (AFriendlyFace) or any of the admins Graeme

I voted for the first one, but that's based on Australian phonics (which my boys are learning). The letter 'Y' has two sounds in Australian English, and there are rules to determine which one to use. On that basis, the first option is the correct one. Of course, that assumes that the word is an Australian English word.... I've noted that American's have a funny way of pronouncing some letters Seriously, though, since it's his name, he's the only one who can say how it's pronounced. We can have fun with guessing, but the majority option in the poll is not necessarily correct.

I'm not a technophile, so I was slow to get involved with texting. As a consequence, I rarely text -- it's usually in response to a text message I've received. Otherwise, I'll call or email. As has been indicated above, the major problem is that I'm not a fast texter, and I like my texts to be spelt correctly, which is a little painful....

I think it should also be pointed out that Brandon is the lead singer, not Jon or Eric. We haven't heard how much they do in the way of vocals -- do they occasionally lead a song, or do they only do backup vocals? My impression is that they only do backup vocals. That's partially because Joe was the previous lead singer, and it was made pretty clear he didn't want that position eroded (like the way he insisted on deciding the playlist). As such, they wouldn't be as sensitive on the subject of protecting their vocal chords.