Verbal's Profile

8 Oct 2018

Quote by Ping

Might as well complain about another one. Pacific Rim - Up Rising, which should have been ‘Upchucking’. Damn it. Even my son was pissed off with this movie. If you make a monster movie, don’t wait until more than half the movie is over before the monsters make an entrance. Ugh.

I STILL HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE!!! THERE IS NO JUSTICE!!! I've seen the original three times!

I skipped your comment about Shape of Water in case it contains spoilers. I'll try to see it this week.

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8 Oct 2018

Quote by seeker4
Rogue One : A Star Wars Story. While it's not quite conventional Star Wars, probably one of the best movies in the series in terms of acting, story, etc. Up there with Empire Strikes Back in my books and I say that as a fan of the original trilogy who was disappointed with the prequels. I don't hate on them as much as some fans, but I was disappointed.

The new Star Wars movies get so much hate, and I don't know why (though I did read an article last week that said Russian bots were stirring up some of the hate and controversy, what a weird time we live in). I like the new ones better than nearly all the old ones (haven't seen Solo yet). Empire Strikes back might still be the best, but the acting and directing and world-building of the new ones FAR exceed any of the other 5 originals.

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8 Oct 2018

Quote by fuzzyblue

I don't write linearly so I can write one bit of a story on a piece of paper and one bit on a laptop. These different bits of a story have a habit of coming together in the middle of the night in my head and having a nice little chat, but by morning they aren't speaking to each other any more.

I know so many writers that can do this, write down bits and eventully weave them all together, whether they are on speaking terms or not. I am really envious. I am a plodder, start at the beginning, and write til I get to the end.

And then rewrite 10,000 times.

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8 Oct 2018

Quote by seeker4

Liked it, Jeff, though I nitpicked the ending a bit (see my comments).

Yeah, I felt a need to add a horror equivalent of the "money shot" in porn, just to throw in a quick scare. The last couple of stories have been more quiet, as the next one will be too, so I thought I'd use something a little more high octane.

Coma and tose haven't moved for the 4 years (!!!) I have been here, Grace. I thought that was how they got their nicknames.

My name on Blue is the same name I use here. I didn't know you weren't supposed to do that. Should I change it to Herbal? Or Furball, the name Sprite is so inexplicably fond of?

Family life is chaotic and ever-changing Tonya. Hang in there.

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8 Oct 2018

10,000 times. It's my nature.

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8 Oct 2018

Thanks for geting the köffee going Scott. I'll take a mug o' sludge.

I woked up tired, maybe starting to get a cold. Wah! Hopefully the caffeine will turn things around.

I have a new horror flash up on Blue. Channelling a little Dario Argento with the title.
https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/flash-fiction/mother-of-glass-mother-of-tears.aspx

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8 Oct 2018

So sorry to hear about your family's loss, Scott. Hope you enjoyed Phoenix. I lived in a suburb of Phoenix in 6 and 7 grade, and I really developed a great love for the desert. Back in the day, Camelback Mountaiin was a good place to hike.

SERIOUSLY bumming that X Files is no longer on Netflix. I binged on those with the girls many a time, and was a big fan when they were on TV, of course. I'd go back and watch the occasional classic like the kid who can channel lightning (Giovanni Ribisi AND Jack Black) or the one set in the baseball Negro Leagues where one of the players was an alien. Or the Taos Hum one with Bryon Cranston! I'll miss them.

We watched Mother! last night. WTF? Srlsy.

Bourbon neat please.

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7 Oct 2018

We finally watched Mother! last night. Three words: what the fuck?

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5 Oct 2018

Quote by Green_Man
Greetings dear folks.

I've spent yesterday getting an infusion of immunotherapy meds and today digesting a report I received from my oncologist. I got a CT scan on the 26th of September and the results are promising.

After translating all of the medical and technical language it boils down to this. The scan does not show any cancer. Apparently the immunotherapy is working and my body has been destroying the cancer. It is not observed now. Everything the scan shows is "unremarkable." That does not mean it is gone. But the positive take away is that it seems to be disappearing.

So, I will celebrate with a virgin Hannah right now. I'm still on meds that don't allow me to drink the alky.

Cheers to all.

Most excellent news Larry. Will you be able to drink again someday, or the meds a lifelomg necessity? I was on meds where I couldn't drink for 3 months last year. It is nice to be able to. Though not nearly as nice as you victory over this disease.

I'll have an early drink to celebrate - two fingers of Safeway Select burrbin.

And some of Ping's cheesy jalapeno cornbread too, hot out oof the oven!

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5 Oct 2018

I won a contest in Cub Scouts by stuffing 15 marshmallows into my mouth.

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5 Oct 2018

Purr-fect.

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5 Oct 2018

In the Cut. An erotic thriller. Dark, well-written, a little dated. It was made into a movie with Meg Ryan, but I haven't seen it.

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5 Oct 2018

Congrats again on the great-grandkid, Bill.

Thanks for the black coffee-like substance, Curvy the Unquenchable.

Date night! It's a First Friday wine bar thing, not my cup of tea (if I may mix both metaphors and drinks), but all time with LJ is well spent, and since I am wanting to do a Star Party with the local astronomy club next Saturday as a date, it all evens out. Compromise is the essence of marriage. Well, compromise and sex. Okay, compromise, sex and backrubs.

Enjoy your weekend all!

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5 Oct 2018

Saw A Simple Favor and loved it.

The Shape of Water is on HBO now - I REALLY want to see it. This weekend.

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5 Oct 2018

Nope, but plan to do a cruise to Alaska on our honeymon.

HYE been on a airplane flight that became scary due to crazy weather or mechanical failure?

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4 Oct 2018

Quote by RumpleForeskin

Folks, it's one week until the deadline for entering Lush's 'Back To School' contest. Not meaning to be a nattering nabob of negativism' but, last time I checked, there were only 20 entries and a bunch of them need votes to hit the 10 minimum. There are only a handful of Rumplators on the list with Ping's story leading all the rest. So if you get a chance, slide over and cast a vote or two.

Some of us are old enough to catch when you make a Spiro Agnew reference Bill.

I have ben AWOL this entire comp. I think the only entry I read was yours, Bill. I will try to get to the Rump patrons' entries, but as I have mentioned beofre I am suffering a bit of comp fatigue.

Got a PG-13 rated Shard published this week. I'd name the mag but this submission had my real name on it, and not written under the J G Cain pen name. Don't want to be stalked. Well, to be honest, I guess it depends on who is doing the stalking. smile

Thank for the tar-like köffee, Bill. If there is any left I will pave the pothole out from wiith it.

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4 Oct 2018

I'd rather be flirted with, though I enjoy both.

Are you offended or your feelings hurt if your partner harmlessly flirts with someone else?

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3 Oct 2018

Quote by kiera
Most of us join because of Verbal. The forums can be fun too, but mainly because of Verbal.

Hiya

I joined because of me too!

Hiya KK!

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3 Oct 2018

Quote by FirstBlush
Awesome! Likin' the J.G. Cain a lot too. 'Tis cool!

NO PERIODS! (Sorry for yelling.) It's J G Cain. smile

Thanks for the well wishes everyone.

Just added a mailchimp email list popup thing to the site but I can't get it to work. Wah.

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3 Oct 2018

Quote by IMPÜRETHOUGHTS

I haven't explored the stories section of lushstories.

You should smile

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3 Oct 2018

Hey E! I don't know you apart from reading a few of your stories, but I have noticed your always caring and upbeat messages on the Semi Colon thread (that thread helps a lot of us, whether we post there or not - the thread deserves an Awesome award!) and everywhere else. Congratts on the award, E. And tell us how to pronounce your name!

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3 Oct 2018

Quote by sprite
Never owned a boat, so I have no experiences with docks.

Dock envy?

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3 Oct 2018

NPR on the radio.

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3 Oct 2018

Ping, you magnificent bastard, you had me at Scully. I have an idea for a flash erotica you'll love: The Taos Hum. A tad of sci-fi thrown in.
Haven't written it yet.

Serious congrats on the great-grand-kid, Bill. Glad they found your story. I will read it today. Proably the only comp entry I'lll read on Red, though I have read all of them on Blue. I have a horror story on the front page of Blue too, if anyone is interested in changing colors.

Thanks for the warm sludge, Curvy. Particularly tar-like tooday. Yum!

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3 Oct 2018

Quote by WellMadeMale
clever...

That's really funny.

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2 Oct 2018

Quote by RumpleForeskin
The following is a serious and most sincere cry for...

HELP!

Seems 'Just Not Fair' My contest entry is hiding. ChrisM approved the poor thing but now it hasn't shown up on the main page, while the link in a comment announcement doesn't work, and it's inaccessible from the 'My Stories' list.

Never running into this before, I'm even more confused than usual.

Any help in solving this fnafu would be appreciated. Heck, if all goes well, there might even be some free beers a'coming.

I've been looking for it and haven't seen it. A few times I've hit the Submit button but then forgot to hit the Publish button on the next page. So I had thought I'd posted a story, but I hadn't. Could that be it?

Thanks for weighing in on the Shardoverse project, Scott. I will post updates as they happen, and make the mistakes so you can avoid them. The KEY bit is coming up soon: strategizing keywords and categories. Doing it wrong can get you in Amazon jail, where only an exact title search reveals your book. Doing it right means a LOT of readers. The woman doing my covers is an expert on this stuff. I will pass her knowledge along.

Sorry for the migraine Sara.

Burrbin please. One for Scott too. And Sara if she's still around. And one for Rump, because no one EVER thinks to buy the baetender a round.

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2 Oct 2018

Quote by FirstBlush

Oh! No pressure there, right? Doggonit, V...now I have to make triple sure it's more than a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of scene...

It's the price you pay for having fans. smile

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2 Oct 2018

So i guess it's no longer self-promotion if the stories aren't even available anymore. And I don't know if people read this thread anymore, but I figured I'd explain the process of moving the Shard series to Amazon, in case someone else wants to try it someday.

I don't call the stories Shards for this project. All the stories are under the umbrella title Serious Moonlight. My pen name is J G Cain, taken from J G Ballard, and James Cain. Mostly I chose it cuz it sounds cool.

I spent $90 for a Wordpress site for two years, using one of their free templates. It's here: https://jgcain.com/.

I spend $50 for 100 stock photo downloads (never expires) at DepositPhotos. Good high-resolution images, lots of covers that would work for erotica. The banner photo on the site is from there.

I am spending $200-ish ($40 a hour) for help designing one book cover template, that I can use for all 52 stories, simply by changing the name. I'll post it when it's done.

Putting the book on Amazon is free. Go to KDP--Kindle Direct Publishing--upload your cover, your content, give it some keywords and categories. Proof it a million times. I have one book up, as a test, while I fine tune it. You get 30% royalty if you charge .99 cents (which I am). You get 70% royalty if you charge $2.99 or more. Sadly, I can't really justify that for little 5 page stories. In fact 99 cents seems a little much.

That's probably all my expenses for the project: $340. I will release one story a week on Amazon for a year. 99 cents each. I get 30 cents for each sell. I expect to break even. Anything after that is gravy.

Anyway. That's as far as I've gotten. Wish me luck.

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2 Oct 2018

Quote by RumpleForeskin

Larry reminded me again (mega-embarrasement) that a strict Constitutionalist might interpret the LUSH contest rules to forbid, outlaw, condemn and in general, frown upon anyone other than the author proofing and/or editing their contest entry. Thanks once again, (blush) learned Larry.

Yeah, I have heard that before (I was even cautioned to NOT mention I had help proofing on my last entry). I've had another pair of eyes look at everything I've written here, including the two award winners. It's unrealistic (and counter-productive) to expect a writer to not get help with whatever they're writing. My two cents.

Thanks for the köffee Tanya. Glad your son is settling in to school. I remember living on my own for the first time being unnnerving but exciting.

Hope all is well with everyone. My 86 year old Dad is getting a tooth pulled today, so I will be taking the day off and acting in the role of nurse. I imagine there is gonnna be some pain involved. My last pulled tooth messed me up for a couple days.

EDIT: If anyone is interested, the Shards may be gone, but I'm describing the process of taking them to Amazon on the Shardoverse thread, in case anyone wants to give that a try themselves someday. It's kinda fun.
https://forum.lushstories.com/yaf_postst54177p2_The-Shardoverse.aspx

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1 Oct 2018

Quote by FirstBlush
One of my story characters will...soon.

Looking forward to it. smile

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