Chrissy

Love it Muggle!

Martha's Harbour ~ All About Eve

locomotives

Neither have I (and hope never to need to!) Never have I ever managed to 'walk the dog' on a yo-yo. < (when you spin it down and roll it forward along a flat surface then reel it back in)

I agree with the desire to see less romance. I'd be delighted to read more on other types of relationships. Friendships can be complex, emotional and intense at any age and I would be intrigued to see good writers really get to grips with them, from the 'known since kindergarten' type through the making new and strong friendships in your teens. I'd also add that a number of YA books get rid of the parents too often, for example Harry Potter's are dead, Katniss' (Hunger Games) Mum is absent in spirit for the most part, Clary' s (Mortal Instruments) Mum is absent in the beginning, and Jace's parents also gone, as are the parents of the female characters in Joss Stirling's Savant series. I understand that the absence enables a certain textual tension for the character that would otherwise not exist, but it feels too convenient to dismiss the families rather than actually deal with them in any meaningful way. It also implies that one is only brave / adventurous / creative etc. if one has suffered the loss of a family or parental figure, whereas surely it would be inspiring to read that those aspects of character can be found in anyone.

Oh Muggle! I send you my gentlest of hugs. Sometimes things happen so darned fast you can't catch yourself and your face gets it fully. Take very good care of yourself, something like that is such a shock to the system, let alone painful. Awww, Eleonora. Sorry that you aren't getting any answers, it must be so frustrating for you.

Conversation

Exempt

crumbles

Me, Myself, I ~ Joan Armatrading

A short (stubby) can of pepsi max. I don't tend to drink fizzy drinks, but I do enjoy an occasional p m.

Me too! It's an occasional treat, and I enjoyed every forkful!

Many congratulations to Kell, Dale & Xander.

I was still living in London then, so probably about 15 years ago. I have to not compare other writers to her, as I feel she stands alone as a writer. In each book I have read by her there has been one character, one sentence or one scene that has made my heart ache to the point of clasping a fist to my chest. She is that good in my very humble opinion.

Carol O'Connell is mine. I happened upon a paperback book with a sepia coloured cover photograph of an angel in a churchyard and loved the look of it. The title was 'The Flight Of The Stone Angel', and the blurb read, How could I resist? Taut writing, captivating and exceptionally well drawn characters and an intriguing plot. I was blown away. Then I discovered that this book was the fourth story in a series that gave us a significant chunk of back story on the central character of Kathy Mallory, including how she 'found' her surname. I have since read everything she has written . Carol O'Connell's original and ever human plots are startling, and her depiction of children especially is painful, searing and complete. Her stand alone novel 'Judas Child' is a book that upon completion made me immediately return to page one to start again. When I see that a new book by her is due for publication I actually feel breathless and scared that I may fall out of love with her writing. It is yet to happen.

I have (but didn't like it!) Never have I ever seen peacock with it's tail on full display.

I thought Poppy was suggesting that she no longer hates wine because of you....... ........although the alternative reading of it is that she is saying that you have driven her to drink! The gardening I was carrying out was savagery! It was cutting weeds and brambles back from a rockery so that I could actually see the rocks again. Some of the brambles were over 6 feet long.