It's strange but I just can't leave it alone, (ooer!).

I started out with the single intention of looking at, and correcting as necessary, the manuscript that George, (cheers G.) proof read for me.
Unfortunately I can't stop changing everything!
You think it's done and finished. You think it's all over but the spit and polish, and then you give it a second glance and find you're back to square one.
Doh !!

Ah well, maybe it's all for the best.

Today is the day I start going through 'Division' again.
I'll take George's notes and compare them page for page.

I've decided on the next agency. They're highly recomended on P&R and Writer Beware so that's a good start. I'll revamp my letter, do another synopsis and then send 'em the new improved first three chapters.
Wish me luck...

Reg :-)

Merry Chrimbo peeps.
Have a good un.
Reg :-)

Well it's arrived.
The answer from the agency.
Not quite the answer I was hoping for but still, an answer.
Written on a polite little slip of paper were the words, "We hate you, your idea is crap and you suck too."

Ok, ok not really.
Anyway, the next Agency hasn't been found yet, I need to research.

I hope I don't end up like the sad drunk at the disco going from one girl to the next asking for a dance and geting refused every time, (this is experience talking here).
However, saying that, so what if I do end up like that? I've spent my whole life drunk at the disco so let's take it on the chin and move on Ginger Boy.

As Jack Black would say,
"Next Agency, NEXT AGENCY !!!"

Nothing.
Not a twitter, not a tinkle of a falling pin, nothing.
There's got to be an answer sometime, surely? Mind you, it is only three weeks now.

My mate George proof read the MS and did a spanking job, fair play. So if it comes back with, "Nice but the punctuation and grammar mistakes were so bad we binned it." , I'll go through it armed with George's efforts. That should see 'em off.
Thanks G.

It really is scary how many mistakes he found though.

Ah well, sit tight and see as they say in Kenya.

Reg :-)

Still nothing.
Bah.

Monday morning, just knocked off from nightshift. On my weekend now untill Wednesday, 0530 sharp.

Who knows, perhaps I'll hear someting this week?

Hope springs eternal...

Just had a scan through the net about the agency I've sent my query letter to. Apparently they're very prompt at answering, (or so it say's in one of the myriad of sites I've bled my eyes over whilst trying to glean any snippet of information about the people I'm trusting my soul to...)

Now bearing in mind that they haven't contacted me yet, and that this other person's prompt answer was a rejection, then could it be that the Gods are favouring this loveable, ginger-mopped Welshman....?????

Dare I hope for anything other than dismissal?
Should I dice with the fates or is this strip poker with destiny holding the Aces??
Anyone understand that last line?

Well, whatever.

By the way, the end of Operation Vampyr was so transparent that it spoilt everything. It turned out to be a nice read with a glaringly obvious ending. A pity really but let's not dwell on it, eh?

I'm just glad that my sortie into the twilight world of the National Socialist Vampire ends with a twist that'd put a curlywurly to shame. In fact, I'm feeling quite superior now, (I'll just ignore the minor detail about Operation Vampyr being in print and that 'Division' most definitely is not.)

"The artist's best friend is not talent or style, it's the hope on a prayer in a cloak of denial"

All's well that ends well, eh?
Reg :-)

Well I'm coming to the end of Operation Vampyr.
The book is only 250 or so pages long and though it's readable, there is a definite feeling of being rushed along in regards to the storyline.
Well, whatever, he's in print and I'm not so let's not get bitchy Reggie...

Still nothing from the agency, I don't know if that's good or bad.
Rich from Struggling Authors wrote to say that he told of my idea to an editor friend of his, and she was impressed with it. Nice of him to do that I thought; and a flicker of the light of achievement in regards to the supernova I'm hoping for.
Nil Desperandum, right?

Reg :-)

Do you know what sucks?
I was hoping that this other Vampire meets the Third Reich book would be rubbish, and it isn't.
Bah.

I mean, it's not a modern classic, we're not talking 'Shakes' here; but it is readable and the characters do come over quite well.
Bah.

Operation Vampyr is good light reading, packed with facts about Operation Barbarossa and I'm enjoying reading it...
I'm a traitor to myself.
Bah.

Reg
ps. Bah.

Dixie, my mate, gave me an interesting book this morning.
It's called Operation Vampyr and it's set on the Eastern Front. The book deals with vampires fighting for the Third Reich...
"Mmmmm, sounds familiar" I hear you say.
Well, it was a shock to me when I read about it, I can tell you.
My original title for 'Division' was "SS Division Vampyr". So imagine my utter horror when, whilst browsing through the pages of Amazon, I stumble upon this book. Especially because I'd just finished what I thought was a book with a very novel, (pardon the pun) idea; bloodsuckers working for the Nazis.
So I scrabbled around and, (funnily enough) it was Dixie who came up with the idea for the 'Division' title.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it reads and what the plot involves.
Tara.
Reg.

Third day of illness...
actually I feel ok now. I almost had a bad conscious about being on the sick as I've another day off work tomorrow as well.
But as I said, 'almost'. Yuck yuck yuck .

So, no news from the agency but optimism rules supreme in the Jones household, (and well it should.) I bet right now he's phoning up every publishing house in Britain, "Stop the press", or whatever they say, "I've found him, the new Steven King!"
Perhaps he's even sorting out the keys to the city of Cardiff for me right now...

I've sort of hit a barrier with book two. I don't think there's enough religious mystery in it so I'll go back to the drawing board and see what I can hatch out by way of an obscure Biblical fact.
Whatever, have a good un.
Reg :-)

It was all signed for on the 20th, so it's either on the slush pile by now or the could-be-interesting pile.
Hopefully it's on the latter.

I'm written off sick at the moment with magen-dahm grippe, (stomach and bowel flu) so I might be able to get some more down for book two, (Gulag).
Well that's the plan.

I was never any good at waiting.

My Mam sent the query letter, synopsis and first 50 pages off by registered delivery.
The idea with registered mail is that you can see, online, whether they've received my envelope with all the goodies in or not. You simply type in the number given for the package and when the recipient signs for it it's registered online.

It was sent on Monday, first class, so ideally they should have it by now, shouldn't they?
So why does it say, Try again later" when I attempt to chase it up?

The reason Royal Mail.com gives is that they have a backlog because of the strike... that happened two weeks ago.

I don't believe them.
Bugger.

According to my Mam the manuscript is supposed to be there by now.

However, according to Royal Mail it isn't.
Bah.

Perhaps I won't get the rejection email this week then?
My confidence is once more on the wane. I feel like a teenager hoping for a wet dream but not knowing when it's going to happen.
(That didn't happen to me, I hasten to add. I didn't even know what a wet dream was until it happened and I looked it up in the Reader'S Digest Family Medicine. Life is so sheltered when one grows up in North Wales...)

Ah well, I'm wittering now. Time for night shift.
Reg

It read OK.
As ever there were changes to be made but all in all it works.
Happy with that.

My Mam phoned up to say that she'd sent the manuscript, synopsis and query letter off by registered delivery and that it should be there on the morrow.
Hurrah!
Finally something is going to plan.

Where would we be without our mums, eh?

So now we wait.
Reg :-)

Well I had a great time with my parents and brother but it's back to reality now I'm afraid. They flew back earlier on today with my manuscript and a solemn promise to send it tomorrow. So all going well the agency of choice should get it on Tuesday, by registered mail.
Hurrah!
The rejection will probably be emailed to me on Friday.
Bah.

I looked at the outline that I've got down for the sequel and I still like it; which is a good sign I think. I'd researched some names already for the Nephilim, (I used Angel names) so I could just crack on and start typing. It flowed easier than I thought it would but the test is tomorrow, when I reread what was done tonight.

I'm on a bit of a downer right now, to be honest. I miss my family in Wales and we always have a good laugh whenever we visit each other; so saying goodbye was, (as the old cliche goes) such sweet sorrow.
Writing the first seven pages, (yes, you heard me; seven!) was good, (don't say it, don't say it...) therapy, (damn, I said it.). Let's just see how the therapy reads tomorrow shall we.

Reg :-)

I've been thinking about starting the sequel to 'Division'.
I already have a basic storyline down and have started doing research about the SS prisoners in the Gulag system, the Tree of Life and the Nephilim.

The story moves on with Von Struck and his men being taken prisoner and sent to a Gulag in the Kolyma region of Russia.
Well that's about as much as I want to give out but it should be good and it'll be written far quicker than the first book.
When I started 'Division' I had literally a start and an end, but the middle was a plate full of idea-spaghetti. At least the second book has a plan right from the start.

Anyway, now you know. I'll give it a couple of days and then, when my Mam and Dad have gone, I'll do it; what the hell, eh?

Tara.
Reg :-)

Chance and fortune deal me blow after blow !!

Everything is set, the 50 page manuscript, the query letter, the synopsis and the envelopes. All I needed was the stamps for the self addressed envelope and that's when fickle fate stuck her treacherous oar in.

As it stands now in the EU, I cannot buy a stamp in Germany that will cover the postage from Britain. I thought there would be some sort of system in place but apparently not.
Bah.

Luckily my aged but beloved parents are visiting and they'll post the manuscript and buy the necessary stamps for the second envelope. However that means it won't get posted until next week, Monday at the very earliest.
Bah.

Does destiny slap everybody in the face with a dead fish like she does me?

Just goes to prove the old saying that, "if it can go wrong, it already has" is true.
Bah.

On a good note, I'm feeling far more confident than I did the other day. Having it all laid out in front of me, the weapons of my assault on the literary world as it were, bolstered my spirits no end.
So bring on next Monday...

Monday morning.
No work today.
Actually I'm just waiting for the 50 page manuscript to turn up.

I'm a bit nervous to be honest. I mean I know I should take rejection on the nose, then get up and start again but being logical is not one of my forte's.
I mean you pin all your hopes on your book, you tell your friends about it, you talk about it constantly and then some faceless secretary slips you onto the slush pile out of spite because the boyfriend who just dumped her is also called Jones....
See how nervous and irrational I am about this?

Ah well, it'll be alright on the night.
It 's a good story, I've had help from a load of people because they believe in it and so I'll draw my fortitude from their support and see it through like a trooper... gulp.

Reg :-/

Holiday, celebrate...

Well, Ads, my main man, has sorted out the 50 page manuscript for me so a hearty 'thankee soir' to the Hardon, (his name's Harding).

My query letter is done, the synopsis too, (though to be honest I hate the fact I had to leave so much out of it to get it on one page but what the hell, eh?)

So if all goes well I should be able to send it all off next week, Tuesday. The rejection should come around Christmas time I reckon. Apparently the suicide rates among young(-hearted) Welsh would-be authors is very high around the festive season...
What am I saying, it's gonna be a Chrimbo Presy, "Mr. Jones, yes I will represent you; in fact I've found a publisher already who wants to offer you a million pound book deal, his firstborn child and the keys to the city of Cardiff!!"

Optimism never hurt anybody, (unless your name's Adolph Hitler...)

Reg :-)

Diese Zusammenfassung ist nicht verfügbar. Klicke hier, um den Post aufzurufen.

Well it's a one page synopsis now. But I literally had to search for a way to cut every sentence down to its bare minimum. From two and a third pages to one is a radical difference. It's like reading 'Jurassic Park' and not knowing about the genetic engineering...
Anyway, every second sentence was cut down, rephrased or cut out and it was harder than you think.
I'm still not happy with it but it's a one pager now so we're half way there.

I had another go at the query letter last night. I was happy with it up until yesterday evening, when I realised that I hadn't put the title of the book in until the last paragraph.
"So what?" you say?
Well, it's just not done, OK? Accept it and read on.
So... so I changed the first line, then the second and now I'm completely rewriting it.
There's so much to this attracting an agent malarkey that you civilians out there have no idea about.
There's still time because I'm still waiting for the manuscript to turn up in the post, (that's not meant critically, Ads.) so until it arrives I'll just carry on tinkering with them both.

Reg :-/

Tuesday afternoon.
I've just had a relatively relaxed shift and am thinking about how I should tackle the synopsis.
"What?" I hear you cry, "You said you'd won on the synopsis front."
I did, however, (there's always a however, even if it's a BUT.), however the agency that I want to send my manuscript to require a ONE PAGE synopsis.
The outline for the story I have now is more than two pages long.
I have to lose a page.
Should be a snap, I mean it just means cross out the bits that really don't count.
Unfortunately, (synonymous with, 'however') the problem is that the story is sooooo interconnected that to drop some points might mean confusion in the story for the reader, (agent); and confusion is something I don't need in my synopsis.

Anyway, as I said, it's too long so I'll have to shorten it.
No time like the present, (unless you're a Time Lord.)

Wish me luck.
Reg :-)

Another party last night.
Damn that demon drink... never again, not a drop, I swear it, on the nose of my badger...

I may be away for a while.

I spent about two hours yesterday looking at who exactly I should send my manuscript to.
Not all agents deal in Horror/Adventure and a careful consideration of who is suitable is needed.
However, it goes further than just, "Do they like my work, will the girls like this, is it too big, is it too small?".
For example, does the agent that you think is suitable charge a reading fee? Do they charge upfront for their services or take a commission? How much is the commission in the first place? Ten to fifteen percent is the norm but because I'm based Sausage-side, (Germany) I'm looking at about 20%; which is fair I guess... bloody parasites, as bad as bloody lawyers.
Or what if he/she is really just a front for an editing service who expect you to pay their horrendous prices to edit and correct your work before they send it off; that's IF they send it off?
Who are they going to send it off to anyway, have they done this before? Has your chosen herald to the literary world any published clients on their books, and if so were they paid for getting published or did they pay to get published?

Then there's the copyright thing.
To the novice author, (like myself), there seems to be very little in the way of protection for your work. You really are relying on the agent's good manners and personal reputation. To me it seems like dipping your todger in a tank full of hungry sharks with only a sock and their sense of modesty for protection.


So... I took all these worries on board and found a rook of suitable names that deal in my corner of the market. I looked them all up in Predators and Editors, (a good site). Then I checked them out in Writer Beware and then I rechecked them again in Agent Research and Evaluation.
I was merciless.
I wanted honesty, I wanted success and I wanted a damn good deal!

And from the plague of hopeful contenders only one name made the grade.
One lousy agency filled all my criteria; I mean what is the world coming to, eh?

The next move was the forums. I had a look at what people said about my hero of the hour and, I'm glad to report, was pleasantly surprised. Thumbs up. :-)
So I think I may have my candidate for the first attempt at attracting an Agent.
Think of it as being a mating ritual, if you will.
God I hope it's a woman. I hate the idea of trying to attract a ... I can't even write it.

Ah well, have a nice day, I'm off to bed now.
Nights last night, again, but I'm off now.
Three whole days off work. Hurrah... ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz
Reginaldo

Nightshift was not good.
The things I do for an extra twenty percent; though it is taxfree mind.
Anyway, I'm off to bed.
I sent Richy from Struggling Authors a very dodgy photo of myself, I think later on I'll push out a couple of lines for the Home page on the website.
The picky and a, "How do you do?" should do the trick.
I'm tempted to just copy down the opening words from my first Blog entry. Why not, eh?
You only live once, that's what I say, so let's go crazy and copy... !(gasp, shock,horror!)

Do you know what's really strange?
When I first started this blog I was worried in case I let myself become too cozy and that people would read it and think I should be taking medication or something.
I think I've reached that critical mass; so anything I write from now on is to be taken lightly and with no thought to the serious author person I'm meant to be portraying here.

Da Boch.
Reg

Well..
what I lost on the weekend I more than made up for in the week.

I've been in contact with Richy from Struggling Authors about the website and it's all coming together nicely, thinks I.
We've found a couple of photos, rewritten the Biog/How I-came-upon-the-idea part and the logo that Chris did for me is also in there now.
We're not haring along but we're not tortoising it either.
I suppose you could say, "Softly softly catchy monkey", (whatever that's supposed to mean).

Anyway, enough of the pre-War folksayings, let's get back to business Ginger!
Chocks away, crates across the Briney and don't tell Mum... !
I'm in such a good mood, does it show?
Reg :-)

Sunday afternoon.
I'm still poorly from Friday !!
Ah well, time for me to move on...
I'm going to write a few words about Dachau and Wewelsberg, (or Wewelsburg) for the website.
However, I don't feel too good right now so maybe I'll pass on it today.

I know it's not the mindset that built an Empire but I'm 40 years of age, fragile and poisoned so give me a break.
I'll get on it tomorrow, ok?
Right.

So...
the printing is on schedule. Well done Ads.
The Website logo/symbol/whatever is looking juicy and I've the whole weekend to sort out my biog/introduction thing.

Unfortunately, I'm off to a party tonight so I won't be up to much today. In fact I can just about write off tomorrow as well.
It'd be great to be able to say I'll excersize restraint; however, because I'm so starved of social contact I'll probably drink enough ale and spirits to slay a moose.
So tomorrow is dead moose day, (or snoring bear day as my kids call it.)

So Sunday it is then.
Hopefully I can send my biog, the picture and a few other bits and bobs off to Richy at Struggling Authors.com. to see if he can help with the website.

I stumbled onto Struggling Authors by chance, (actually a buddy told me about it).
I recommend it to anybody who's starting out in writng, at any level.

I'll wibble more about it another time.

Right, I'm off for a lie down.
I've been on the go since 0430 hrs. and if I don't have a power sleep now I'll be drooling and snoring on the table before eight!!!
Oh the trials of being a shiftworker...

Reg.

Well...?
What do you think?
I think The Chief, (as he is known) did the bizniz, don't you?

Fair play, I asked him for something specific and he delivered like a champion.

Thanks Cheester, I am forever in your debt.

I've written a biog for the website but I'm not happy with it. It's what I want but it's just not there yet.
I will prevail, I'm confident on that, it's just that I'm not prevailing fast enough for my liking.
AND, to top it off, there's been some problems with the printing. For some reason the document I sent seems to have gained a lfe of its own.
My mate, (Ads) on the printing side thinks he's sorted it all out but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

Bugger.

Ah well, despair breaks only the weak.

Immer gerade aus...
Reg :-/

Wednesday morning, 0638 hrs. (in Army talk).
I've just knocked off and am considering what to do.
Sleep or write a bit?
It's a toughie but the bed is just taking the edge.

The thing is that I want to write but I'm so tired I know that whatever I do scribble down will turn out badly.
However, I've still got so much to do for the website.
Permission for pictures to be reproduced, my Biog, a write up for the book... Mmmmm; I've just had an idea.

You know what?
(no?)
I think I'll combine my Biog and the introduction for the book into a how I came upon the idea for 'Division'.
Now that IS original.
I mean how many times has a writer ever thought of putting down how he (or she) came upon the idea for his (or her) work? I've never seen anything like that before, have you?
What the hell, let's do it.

Another bit of news is that I recieved permission to use a map of the Dachau KZ Lager yesterday.
It seems the map went out of print and the chap on the other end of my mail reckons it's now in the, "Public Domain".
Sounds like another name for a toilet actually but I'm not complaining.
So thanks a lot, whoever you are, for your quick and accomodating answer to my mail.

my bed is calling, I must obey...
ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

Reg :-)

The synopsis is history !!
I won.

Next move is the website.
Wouldn't it be great to send in my query letter, (and synopsis, don't forget that nugget) and be able to give a website that supplies all the background knowledge any agent/editor would need about the book?
"But that's why you have the synopsis" I hear you cry.
No, the synopsis is for the agent/editor to scope the story to make sure it's not a political/sexual/social hot potatoe and that it makes sense.
With a website dedicated to the story and characters you can introduce a whole new dimension to your presentation. Taking the reader right into the realm of your own literary world.

Of course, if your book is about toilet blockages you might not want to be so graphic; but for the rest of us hopeful mortals, (with less exotic topics to cover) it would be a major boon.

Brilliant !!
So where to start.

Well, you don't want a website that looks like it was put together by the rag and bone man.
A bit of effort is required. Know-how too.
That's where contacts and friends come in, or a lot of money. The money option is not an option, (if you follow my meaning) for me.
So friends and contacts it is.

I'll let you know how I got on.
Reg :-)

Is it me or is it this damned synopsis?

I just can't seem to strike the right balance between what is neded and what's not needed.

Ah well, perhaps it'll mutate into something good on its own for me, (denial comes easy to the desperate.)

Hard day at work yesterday, finished around ten, (at night) and then I was on the phone with my brother for nigh on two hours. He's just become a father for the fourth time, (four girls !! The man is mad.).
So we jabbered about his new baby for about two minutes and then the Rugby World Cup and England's pathetic game in Moscow for the remaining one hour and fifty six minutes.
Then I decided to tackle the synopsis. With hindsight, this may have been a mistake.

Tonight, after work, I'm going to crack right on with it.
No ifs and no buts: the synopsis will be finished and that's final.

There, I've said it now.

I had another nice email today as well, reference the website.
This idea is really exciting and I'm in the happy situation to know some peeps to help with the technical and the design side.


That's all on the creativity front for today.
Good luck to England, (even though I'm Welsh)

Reg:-(

Now we're really ticking.
The synopsis is down to a healthy two pages, (A4 with no gaps).
I'm not happy with how it presents the story but it's in the zone for the lengh.
A scribble here, a delete there and I'm sure it'll be fit for presentation.

I'll be honest though, I sweated blood on it.
Every line was checked for word economy and information delivery.
It's not finished yet but I'm optimistic. I've got to be;
let's face it, if I'm not optimistic about my chances, who will be?

Despite the intensity of my workload, (the synopsis, query letter and doing shifts at the steelworks), I've decided to enter a writing competition.

"What?", I hear you scream, "Are you mad?"
No, not mad; audacious.

I won't go too much into it, follow the link and take it from there Sherlock.

http://strugglingauthors.co.uk/default.aspx

It looks right up my alley and ignore the uninvited double entendre there please.

Another 'audacious' project on the near horizon is a website dedicated to the book, or series of books, I intend to write... and publish. (Never say die.).
Nothng concrete yet but the key to success is in the planning and preparation, so watch this space...
Right, got some P&P to do,
(Planning and Preparation?
No, Partaking of Plonk!)

Bon soir.
Reg

It's been a long day at the ranch, I'm tired and, though I hear the typekeys-a-callin', I don't think I'll be up to much today.

I've had some nice feedback on the blog and it spurs me on to TRY and make an entry every day.
I won't but the will is there, if you follow my meaning.

It seems that all's set with the printing side, (thanks Ads) and I should soon have an avatar for my blog page.
One of my buddies is an artistic designer by trade and I've set him on the case. I'm quite excited to see what he comes up with. I hope I like it, it'd be a blow to our friendship if I say, "Thank bit no thanks... mate."
(Not that I would but I thought I'd put it out there as a bit of food for thought... and because I'm wibbling now.)

My eyes are heavy and my bed is calling, lights out London.
Reg :-)

So...
The hour draws nigh.
I've sent my manuscript off to be printed, (a full manuscript and the first three chapters) and now I'm juggling ideas for my query letter.

I'm thinking something along the lines of my introduction to this blog as a hook. If that doesn't move 'em, nothing will.
Then I'll slide on to a short outline of the story followed by a brief history of my writing experience, (namely nothing, so I think I'll drag the outline part out a bit. What do you think?).

Then I'll work on my synopsis. The one I have at the moment is way too long, has way too much info and is way too wordy.
Think, "Less is good", Reg, (that's me by the way.).

The thing is, I want to put the fiction across without leaving any details. But I also want to carry the story so the Agent/Editor doesn't get confused whilst reading it... or even worse, loses interest !!!
However, the synopsis I have now is four A4 pages long, with no gaps.
Too long?
I think so too.

An abridged synopsis, is that an example of tautology there?

Ah well, nil desperandum.
The keys are calling me, I must obey...
Catch you later.

Berlin, 1972. The photo of the SS soldiers standing amid the carnage of their crime was astounding. But it wasn’t the slaughter that grabbed the reporter’s attention; it was the weapons that the young soldiers in the picture carried. They were armed with swords.
Faulkner knew it was worth following up and the investigation led him to the long forgotten secret of the Division of the Damned.

Berlin, January 1944. Reichsmarshal Heinrich Himmler sends SS Standartenführer Markus Von Struck on a mission that could bring the Third Reich back from the cusp of destruction; unaware that its success will inevitably lead to the ruin and enslavement of all humankind.

Interested?
I hope so, this is the basis of the plot of my first full lengh novel, 'The Division of the Damned'.
It follows the story of SS Standartenführer Markus Von Struck and his oddysee from Himmler's office in January 1944 to battling a vampire army in the Carpathian mountains one year later.

Still interested?
Well I hope I can inspire the same interest in a Literary Agent who will then represent my book to the man-eating Editors of the Printing World.
Legend has it that only 1% of books ever get to print without the help and guidance of an agent so I think it's defo. a good move for me to try and entice a reputable agent into my parlour...

However, before I send anything off I have to do some groundwork, (prepare the manuscript, write a letter, save up a bribe; you get the idea.)

So I'll leave it for now.
Catch yer around :-)