Yes, still up for beta reading.

Drop me a PM.

Fantastic!

Well, the good news is that I have now finished the first draft. I started the SPAG checking last night, and should complete that by, or over the weekend. There are a couple of points where I might add a little more atmospheric detail, but the story itself is done, and I should be ready to send you a PDF early next week.

The first round of SPAG checking is complete, and I have sent the first draft out to my fantastic beta readers. I think I'll start from the beginning and have a proper read through, to see if I can spot any more errors, while I'm waiting for feedback.

Having received some awesome feedback from the beta team, I've got some more writing to do.

I'm sure that there was a time when I would have not been as welcoming to anything other than totally positive feedback, but the quality of the points which have been made has really inspired me.

I really like this writing lark! lol

I remember in my early 20s when I tried to write a fanfic. I got up to a reasonable point but I ran out of enthusiasm for it. I came across the papers (I would write things out on paper before typing it up) and chucked them. Having read a few more books in that time, I don't think the story was worthy of being published, even just online. I can visualise the story in my head. It's transferring it across into the written word where I become unstuck.

This is my first attempt at writing fiction, having limited my writing to technical literature, such as instruction manuals and how-to guides.

I'm sure that, in the last ten years, I must have mentioned the fact that I left school with no qualification in English, (I wasn't even entered for the exam) and as far as first attempts go, it isn't half bad!

I don't think a qualification in English is essential (might help with SPAG) but more that you have a good idea and an enthusiasm for writing it out. Looking back, my enthusiasm was really just the novelty of writing a fanfic. I'd read a lot back then but I've since realised I really have no desire to write a book. IMO, just like some people are naturally good at art (and others practice to become good), I think some people are naturally good at writing, and others can become good by lots of practice. I fall into neither category.

It is very good. I really enjoyed reading it. It is a real page turner. The style is fun and easy to read. It isn't Frank Herbert or Peter F. Hamilton, but it is certainly a big step up from a lot of stuff I've read lately. (And I find Peter F. Hamilton too long winded, it was certainly easier to read John's work and he keeps your attention better).

I bought "the Girl with the Lightning Mind" earlier this year. It got recommended somewhere, and I fell for it. It was written by a guy with 4 degrees who teaches at 3 universities... It wasn't good enough to use to wrap your chips in! It certainly wasn't worth the money. On the other hand, I'd definitely pay for a copy of John's book. It just shows, you don't need exams or degrees to show how good a writer you are.

Keep up the good work John!

Thanks!

I was talking to someone today, and it turns out he knows a publisher who might be interested, so he's going to set up a meeting, once the guy gets back from his holidays.

Ooh, this is getting exciting! lol

I'll cross my fingers that it goes well, well over here it is "press my thumbs" (Daumen drücken), crossing fingers is only used it you a lying.

This one's probably only of interest to Ernie … Def Leppard in Funko Pop format

Mark

Cheers, I really want these to do well but they could be almost anyone! The Queen ones had the same issue.

I'd have preferred a later look to these just to make them more distinguished. Hopefully we'll see it. Funko usually gets it - I have loads of the Rock Pops lol. Freddy/Queen, The Police, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Billy Idol, Prince, AC/DC Angus... awaiting Rob Zombie and dying to see what the Stones look like!

I could name at least 20 I wanna see too

Does anyone here know anything about home heating/hot water systems?
How can you tell the difference between a system that is unvented vs. vented?
Is it purely just the inlet from the mains = unvented?
I'm trying to determine if a house has one or the other.

Mark

a vented system will have a boiler normally gas which will be vented to the outside of the wall the boiler is fitted on.

a unvented system is normally an electric water heater or water storage tank where no venting is required ...

Finally got round to getting some new hard drives for the laptop. It shipped with a single 500GB drive. I later added a 750GB drive.

Now the main drive is a 1TB SSD and the second drive is a 2TB drive. I'm hoping to get my Diskstation up and running some time this year with a UPS attached so it can run back ups.

Also installed Windows 10. What a pain.

I'll need to spend some time going through all my files that I've backed up to see if there's anything worth keeping too.