Graeme

It says something about the amount of kids TV I watch that, even at the ripe old age of 44, I know what this show is all about.... I've even seen a few episodes.

Yes, we have six states and several territories: States: Queensland, New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia Mainland Territories: Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Northern Territory Both the ACT and Northern Territory have had attempts to becomes states, but failed. I'm not sure of the legal situation or complexities, but I remember the Northern Territory having a recent referendum on the subject and the attempt failed. While these two territories are really states for most practical purposes, they don't have all the legal rights of the states. It only happens rarely, but the federal government has the power to overrule territory legislation. The two times I can recall are when the Northern Territory passed voluntary euthanasia laws, and when the ACT passed same-sex civil union legislation. We also have some non-mainland territories, but I can't remember them. The main one I know about is the Australian Antarctic Territory -- the biggest in Antarctica.

But he's an Australian lurker After we take over, he'll be able to lurk much more freely... or something like that

While that is the basic plot for Master of the Five Magics, I didn't find it annoying. It came over as natural -- a logical progression in the story, and not forced. If you haven't read it, I'd suggest giving it a go if you can find it at your local library. I'd offer to lend you my copy, but you're a bit far away...

Gaydar is one of those things that everyone has heard of, but no one can clearly explain. There are subtle hints, but do they really mean what we would like them to mean? Since I'm still largely in the closet, I don't have a chance to check if that person who I thought might have kept eye contact for a moment too long is really gay. Or if it is just that they need glasses, because I'm not the most attractive of physical specimens....

Okay, I'll concede that one...

Happy Birthday, Miso!

Normal, rational spelling? What language would that be? It can't be English.... After all, the language that has "one" and "won" with the same sound, and "tough", "though", "thought" and "through" with completely different pronunciations clearly does not have normal, rational spelling.

Have you ever seen what echidna spines do to someone silly enough to try to stand on one?

Welcome, Kizuna! Feel free to ask questions if you're not sure. The natives are friendly...

Many years ago, my family had a Norwegian exchange student stay with us for a year. I remember any time there was the slightest bit of sun, she was out in her bikini, sun baking.... I'm guessing from that one example that Norwegians have a different understanding of the word "warm" than we do The northern parts of Australia are very nice. Brisbane and the surrounding areas of Queensland aren't always warm, but they are warm for most of the year. If you go up to Far North Queensland, to Cairns or Townsville, it's warm almost all year round.

I'll state for the record that I'm not part of the team While CJ will occasionally ask for my advice on writing issues, I don't have any real involvement in the production of the story. Even when he asks for help, he won't tell me anything about the story itself -- he keeps mentioning something about being pincushion-adverse... I'm happy with that! I can be magnanimous and share....

*cough* or Australian....

We only have two warring factions until the Caprican's win. After that, there is only the victors Sounds good to me! I'm a proud Caprican.

And just to complicate thing, in Australia labour is work, while Labor is the political party....

Not for me I use an Australian English dictionary....

Excuse me? We Aussies have a perfect right to plot for world domination, starting with GA. I'm sure it's in the constitution, or something.... :sword: :axeman: :battleaxe: :fire: :fire: :fire: :pickaxe: :mace: :ranger:

I would be surprised if they went for anything too revealing in the photo shoot. While sex sells, I think Helen is smart enough to realise that the band's long term future is about their music and not their sex appeal. Overdoing the "sex appeal" side too early, especially with a new lead singer, would be a mistake. I believe there will be enough flesh revealed to make young girls (and some guys) swoon without going so far as to have the pictures banned by some puritanical groups. RS doesn't mind some controversy, but they'll want their magazine to sell, too.

This has been mentioned before. The new eFiction software puts that on the end automatically. I personally don't like it as it creates confusion about if something really is the end. It even causes more confusion when it appears immediately after a cliffhanger chapter ending.

Now you have me completely intrigued. I'm looking forward to reading the story when it comes out

Colour is the preferred option for me because that's what I grew up with, though I have been told that schools in Australia will accept either spelling. The preference is for the UK spelling, but there is so much American influence in Australia that the US spelling is deemed acceptable. In a story, it would depend on whether it is set predominantly with a USA focus. If so, I would use American spellings. Otherwise, I'd use the UK spellings. I have a handful of short stories that are set in the USA and these use American spelling. I can get away with that because my editors are American and they'll correct any mistakes I make

Well, Brandon has already done that -- slipping out of Chase's hug after Gabe's arrest. Chase's only saving grace is his age -- he's seventeen, maybe eighteen, I think -- because otherwise he's an idiot. Of course Brandon is not going to approve of a public display of affection! Of, and it's good to see another Aussie posting here. The Aussie takeover plans are progressing to schedule.... Helen has said they're a Rock band. Lump was the lead singer who would just stand there and sing. Since he didn't want the rest of the band to show him up, I suspect their on-stage antics have been pretty mild up until now. Given that they consider Brandon to have a lot more stage-craft than Lump (ie. he will actually move around the stage...), Eric and Jon may start doing more, too. So, up until this point in the story, they have made their way pretty much purely on the music itself -- not on presentation/dancing. I see them as more like the older Rock bands -- prior to, or in the early days of music videos. There's no indication that they've done a music video, apart maybe from simply recording one of their performances.

You're not wrong You can also email him: joe at gayauthors dot org

Starting the silliness early... just because I can. I found a video clip of someone singing about Brandon... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGsl0IXPZGI I'm probably showing my age, since I knew what I was looking for when I found that clip....

Google is my friend Yes, the photos and author's notes did help. I don't think they were needed because I don't see that having this particular location well detailed is that important (unless it re-appears in a future scene, and I know CJ can't comment on that), but it certainly helped to visualise the situation. Neither sounded far-fetched. That's a part of the world where storms occur, and with a storm, there is storm damage. I wouldn't be surprised if the walkway washed away periodically. For tourism purposes, they'd want that to be as seldom as possible, but I can't see how they could stop it completely without spending a lot of money. As for the brick jetways, it took me a bit to understand what they were since that's not a termiology we use here. I think "air bridge" what we call them. Honestly, that's the sort of thing that authors don't make up. If they include it in a story, it's because it's real .