David McLeod

Danny is much easier to spell...Welcome, please be sure to let us know when you post your story. Alek, be welcome. You'll find other wise sons of the oak here, as well as a galaxy of others.

Welcome, Claudiu...no matter where you're from or where you are, I'm sure you'll add some spice to the site. Welcome, Lukas...looking forward to hearing more from you. If you want to keep your skills sharp between jobs, you might consider signing on as a beta reader or editor. Check the editor's forum link for more information. And please, let us all know when you so post a story. Jamie, welcome to both you and your boyfriend. On behalf of all the authors (if I may be so presumptive), thanks for reading and for your kind words. Welcome, Rod...looking forward to reading "Bokassa's Last Apostle." The name is quite intriguing! Skyler, welcome to another solipsist! I'd rather think that we're both "beings in the middle of everything."

Hmph. What is the basis of superstition? Not walking under a ladder, from which something might fall, makes sense. Not opening an umbrella indoors, where something might be knocked over or broken, makes sense. My mother, a staunch Christian and twice elected Elder in her church, demanded that Christmas decorations be removed before 12th Night lest the witches carry her off. I never reconciled her religion with this particular superstition. Seriously, what is the basis of your supersitition(s)?

Welcome! Looking forward to hearing more from you.

You? Ben? What?

Are we still talking about a cat?

Welcome, Josh. If you have questions about the site, there's a link in an "administrative" forum to all the administrators. They're a very helpful group.

Tuna salad with lettuce and tomato is near the top. A good Cuban sandwich is hard to beat, but unless Mimi's of Lakeside has been reincarnated since Katrina, it will be hard to find a really good one. A muffaletta with olive salad from Central Grocery, New Orleans (see the wikipedia article here) is, however, almost certainly the greatest creation since the sandwich was invented.

Thanks for starting this topic, James. I enjoyed your original post as well as Louisiana Writer's tongue-in-cheek suggestions. I see the "reverend" and his actions as another example of the extremes to which our society is moving. Sorry...can't finish. The cat just came in, and wants out.

Welcome, JT. We're all looking forward to reading you, and I suspect all the authors appreciate your kind words. After all, we live on sunlight, air, and feedback. I think you will find a good group of folks who will not only offer support, but also share their knowledge and experience with you. None of us is immune from criticism; however, I think you will find even "corrective feedback" offered without sarcasm, but with caring. Please be sure to let us know (posting a notice on the "eFiction announcements" part of the site) when you publish.

Old Bob asked how many versions there were of English that had a literature, as opposed to merely spoken dialects, if I understood his question. Nephylim suggested that there is only one version of contemporary, written English, although mentioning that there are multiple versions of historical English literature (Chaucer to Shakespeare to modern, e.g.). I would offer that differences in spelling (color-colour), nomenclature (torch-fllashlight), slang (TV-telly), dialect (am not-ain't) and idiom (sorry, I couldn't come up with an example) are probably insufficient to cause speciation (in a Darwinian sense) of a language. After all, we can and do read and understand each other's stories. On the other hand, I do suggest that English has speciated. For example, I can easily read Shakespeare even though some of the words' meanings have changed; I find it more difficult to read Chaucer; and, the early parts of the Croyland Chronicles are nearly indecipherable. If this premise is correct, then there are at least two versions of English with a literature (if one considers Croyland, literature). However, I'll stick with my assertion that there is presently only one version of written English, today. Anyone interested in the evolution of the English language would, I think, find interesting Professor Elliot Engel's lecture, "A Light History of the English Language." The audio CD should be available through a public or university library, or through inter-library loan. Dr. Engel's works are also available through www.authorsink.com (This is not a commercial endorsement, and I am in no way associated with Dr. Engel except to admire his brilliance.)

I'm American (USA) and am editing the magnum opus of an Australian now living elsewhere in the "Far East." We've been working together for some time, and have a relationship similar to what Graeme described. I've also edited extensively for two authors who are steeped in vernacular (contemporary, everyday) UK-English. The mechanics of UK or UK-influenced English do not seem to be a problem: I've long accepted (although not understood) tyres vs. tires; defence vs. defense; and similar situations. I've learned that while I have napkins on my table, I'd best not ever put a nappie on the table. I did have a long go with one writer on "pinny" (pinafore, which turned out to be what I'd call an apron); however, we both chalked it up as a learning experience. I was sorry to learn that Graeme's knowledge of the USA culture was based in such large part on television. What could we possibly produce that would be worth shipping to Australia, even in the form of electrons bounced off a satellite? Sorry, that's probably off topic. Except that thanks to television, Microsoft, Hollywood, and other similar influences, the USA-American culture is perhaps the closest the world has to a common culture. Which makes editing to USA vernacular sensible. Yes, the author has the final say...but the author should always understand the editor's reasons for offering a change. This implies a deeper relationship than simple "blue pencil" entries. I try to offer a reason for each (non-obvious) change I suggest.

There are things that are appropriate to this site; there are things that are appropriate to other sites. That said, please consider the following examples. I think they are both exemplary of what is appropriate to this site and exemplary of stories in which intimacy and sex are integral and not gratuitous. (There are many other similar examples; I happened to have read these two this morning.) Metanonfiction: A Paralysis Study, at this location. Lovers Blind, at this location.

Yellow pads, letter size plus a fine-point rollerball pen equals 4--6 pages an hour in a coffee shop, fast food "restaurant," or on a park bench. Transcribed on a laptop, and edited, there. I also write initially on the laptop, and do all editing on it.

Perhaps you could get the Old Marion Baptist Church (see my previous post) to put a mood light on their steeple.

While I generally agree, there is no substitute for Crisco® in a pie crust. (And, as long as mentioned something so important in the southern USA, what about Velveeta (also ®)?) Well, perhaps not everything! A tip of the chec's toque to you, for remembering Julia! James: I assume all ingredients are warmed together over medium heat until the butter is melted?

Another excellent addition to the list...and isn't the movie excellent! I never understood how "Of Mice and Men" could both be banned when Lennie is often held up as an example of a "Christ figure" in literature. Perhaps it was because Lennie was developmentally challenged. Check out the school required reading shelves in any major bookstore in the USA to see what's required now...I haven't heard of half of them. Sigh.

If you put down "continential USA" as your location, the central dot would put you at Meades Ranch, Kansas, the geographical center of the CONUS and the base point for the North American Datum (1927). Given that Kansas does not have a reputation as a gay-friendly state, the results would be, to say the least, hilarious and ironic. If I were to put, simply, Georgia, the central dot would be on top of the Old Marion Baptist Church, a little southwest of Macon, GA...another likely "not gay friendly place." I think the map idea is a good one: it could create some rather interesting data.

Tonsils, adenoids, gall bladder removed; nothing added. I'm signed up as an organ donor...although the odds are that they'll be of little use: I plan to live forever.

Congrats on publishing...please start a forum to discuss your final point...it might be useful to many of us.

Kind of makes me believe in miracles. Seriously, it is interesting to know that what one group bans, another demands. I think you've identified an element that is common in many of the banned books--this list and others--and that is, the uncomfortable truth about us. I'd sure like to go back to my grammar and high school libraries, and see how many they had then...and now.

The original list is one of many similar lists that float around from time to time; this one came from the Americal Library Association site. I think, however, that the additions various readers put up in their posts are probably more telling.

Missed your birthday, so "happy day after."

Welcome to the site; please be sure to let us know when you're ready to publish! (Any hints?)

Hmm. When I lived in northern Mississippi, Arby's was fine dining. The Gulf Coast was a different story, entirely. Today, in "small town Georgia," oddly enough, there is no Arby's and no Burger King. The closest Taco Bell is 10 miles away. The only Kentucky Fried closed several years ago. There are, however, two McDonalds, two Chick-Fil-A's, three Waffle Houses (now that's fine dining), four Starbucks...is this hog heaven, or what? Oh, and don't overlook the pancake place...I dispair of remembering the name...at which, per Lewis Black, no matter how obese you are, you'll find someone heavier than you, there.