tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40992320392753695242024-03-14T01:07:27.200-07:00Fog on the BrainAbout writing and reading and living with FMG E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-16356594349719793522012-04-02T21:51:00.000-07:002012-04-02T21:51:16.203-07:00Moving HouseMy blog is moving house now. I've decided I may get more people to check in if I move to word press <a href="http://fogonthebrain.wordpress.com/">http://fogonthebrain.wordpress.com/</a> so here's my new address. I would love for my followers to pop on over and sign up. I know I don't exactly blog for Wales, or even my little part of it, but I do like to say Hi once in a while.G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-40480720537582580612012-04-02T01:21:00.002-07:002012-04-02T01:21:15.655-07:00The Storm is here!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And you can win a free paperback copy! Announcing the release of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Storm is Coming: An Anthology</i>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Storms can come out of a clear blue sky, or they can build over a long period. They can take many forms, all terribly destructive: a tornado or hurricane that destroys all your belongings, an abusive spouse who destroys your sense of well-being, or human actions that can devastate an entire society.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this collection of short stories, poetry, non-fiction, and images, you will find the range of approaching storms, and the range of emotions involved in such cataclysmic events. Within these pages you will find Mother Nature on the warpath in the form of tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, and vengeful plants. You will find storms approaching in the form of an abusive spouse, a fed-up spouse, and the down-trodden. You will find murder and suicide. But, as is always the case after a storm passes, you will also find life beginning anew.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To celebrate the release of this anthology in both paperback and ebook formats, Sleeping Cat Books will send a copy of the paperback to one reader chosen at random. The rules for entering this drawing are below.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The Storm is Coming: An Anthology</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is now available in paperback (<a href="http://sleepingcatbooks.com/storm-store.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://sleepingcatbooks.com/storm-store.html</span></a>) and for Kindle (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L3M7QE"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L3M7QE</span></a>) and NOOK (<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-storm-is-coming-various/1109651115?ean=2940014274623"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-storm-is-coming-various/1109651115?ean=2940014274623</span></a>).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Please visit these contributors' blogs as we continue our blog tour to celebrate the release: </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gill Shutt – 2 April – </span><a href="http://fogonthebrain.blogspot.com/"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://fogonthebrain.blogspot.com/</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Fog on the Brain</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carole Bellacera – 3 April – </span><a href="http://authorcarolebellacera.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://authorcarolebellacera.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – Musings and News</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Randy Mixter – 4 April – </span><a href="http://randy-mixter.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://randy-mixter.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Writing for Fun and Profit</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joe Massingham – 5 April – </span><a href="http://jmassingham.blogspot.com.au/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://jmassingham.blogspot.com.au/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Joe’s Blog</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Catherine McGuire – 6 April – </span><a href="http://www.cathymcguire.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.cathymcguire.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Cathy McGuire – Writing and Art</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ransom Noble – 7 April – </span><a href="http://ransomnoble.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://ransomnoble.wordpress.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Ransom Noble – Writer</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rules for Entry</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Comment on the announcement post on the Sleeping Cat Books blog (</span><a href="http://www.sarah-holroyd.com/blog/the-storm-is-here/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.sarah-holroyd.com/blog/the-storm-is-here/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) between 1 April 2012 and 30 April 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be sure to use a valid email address when you post so that we may contact the winner. (This email address will not appear on your comment when you post it.)</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One entry per person. You may comment more than once, but your name and email address will only be entered for the first comment.</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The winner will be chosen at random on 1 May 2012 from all of the unique commenters on the post linked above. The winner's first name will be announced on the Sleeping Cat Books blog that day.</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the event that we are unable to contact the winner by 7 May, a second name will be chosen at random and announced on that day.</span></span></div>G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-46207488386449775872012-03-03T23:48:00.000-08:002012-03-03T23:48:01.425-08:00Invites For Frogs It's been a funny few weeks, sometimes rather surreal. I was invited to a book launch for Short Stack, the book of short stories I contributed to, published by For Books' Sake and Pulp Press. You'll find mine on page 72 by the by. Anyhow, they are having a launch party for the actual, hold in your hand, look at it and grin, copy and it's going to be in London towards the end of March. <br />
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I can't go, to be honest I wouldn't have been able to go even if it had been a few miles down the road... I would have looked like I had come in fancy dress. My story is about the reanimation of corpses and that's roughly what I look like past about nine at night, my eyes dry up and go red and my joints etc have just about given up by then too. But I would have so loved to have gone, mixing with my fellow authors and the other people from the literary world... and probably saying something stupid or doing something dull. They asked if I wanted to read my story at the do... um, yes if you provide a large bucket of water, a packet of sugar free sweets and allow me a good hour to do it in... either that or I'm going to sound like a frog with a bad cold.<br />
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I've got a new novellette coming out soon, On The Edge is a prose book this time, still Fantasy/SciFi and still darn good of course, and this time it'll be coming out in a paperback version as well, for all you people who don't have an e-reader. Greyhart Press are also going to be releasing Legends as a paperback which will be great because the artwork is so wonderful it deserves a wider audience and a better platform.<br />
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Watch this space for a post about the launch of a poetry anthology called The Storm is Coming, published by Sleeping Cat Books, which I've contributed to. They are going to supply the blog so I don't have to think too hard, all I have to do is copy and paste which is a blessing at the moment. I've hardly written anything for a week or more, the energy to lift the pen just hasn't been there and my mind has had it's proverbial tumble weeds rolling around in it... probably with Vivaldi's Four Seasons playing as well while everything is put on hold. I haven't even been reading much which is almost unheard of.<br />
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That's it for now folks... watch this space.G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-25706631550509316792012-01-31T23:49:00.000-08:002012-01-31T23:49:26.996-08:00AWOLSorry I've been AWOL for so long, life keeps getting in the way of what I really want to do... which is write. Having a young child, and one who needs me to be there for him even if it's just to drive the car, means I'm bound by motherly duties which are, by their very nature, fixed to set times of the day. You can't get breakfast at three in the afternoon, for example, and the schools take a dim view of 'My child won't be in today because I've had this great idea for the next chapter and have to get it down on paper'.<br />
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Then there was Christmas which takes up a huge chunk of time even if you do order most of it over the internet. My husband is great and does most of the cooking and washing up when he's at home and does it all over the Christmas period but I still have all the presents to buy, even two for myself this year. And when you have a family the size of a small state, a son born on Boxing Day and a grown up child who still insists on having a stocking, it works out to be quite a lot of things to organise.<br />
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So writing has taken a back seat, not that I haven't done any but blogging and everything non-novel has been dropped until now. One of the presents I got was an Italian leather journal which I started my new novel in and I've written 130 pages so far, not bad considering. Considering what? Considering my hands don't like the cold so they give out on me or refuse to work at all. I've had the odd day when my brain has given out on me and the journal has remained unopened on the bed next to me.<br />
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Now, I'm going to try harder to get things done... I've said that before though so don't hold your breath!G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-17258761952885231982011-11-24T23:10:00.000-08:002011-11-24T23:10:51.587-08:00Untitled Project<a href="http://animoto.com/play/eXKS954fdzbjmr2ij6z0zg">Untitled Project</a><br />The Legends of Light video... my first attempt. I got up at three in the morning due to pain. So I checked my emails, went on Facebook and Twitter and made it to half five, then got bored. So here is what I did for an hour, went on to Animoto and made a video for Legends. Not bad for a first attempt if I do say so myself. Now all I have to do is stay awake until I can get the kids off to school. *YAWN*G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-2031203135579445332011-11-02T02:51:00.000-07:002011-11-02T02:51:59.328-07:00I'm there. I'm not sure it's any different from here.Yesterday was the day I'd been waiting for. The day my book was published. The Legends of Light is now available to buy. My e-book is a reality. So I'm over the moon right? I'm dancing on air and shouting it to the world... right? Well no, not really. I'm wondering what to cook tonight. Yesterday I rushed out during the dry spell and cleaned up after the dogs (I know, too much information). I'm wondering if there's enough washing for a full load and deciding that if I don't look it won't exist.<br />
So what's going on? This is something I dreamt of, this is IT as far as a writer is concerned surely? <br />
What I've discovered is that the thing that gets your heart racing (only a little, hopefully), the thing that gets you excited and up in the mornings, is writing. Creating something out of nowhere, getting involved with your characters, getting to know and love them, even the evil ones. Once the book is written then that's it, unless you are doing a sequel or a prequel or an offshoot or some other quel or shoot, you need never see those people again. It's like being on holiday, you make new friends, you have so much in common, you are going to keep in touch no matter what. Then when you get home you never hear from them again and you don't mind.<br />
At the moment I'm still typing up Altair Jones' story, I'm editing my horror poems, I'm starting a book with no name yet and I'm wondering if I should do a short story as a lead in to my next published work... Endings. Oh and I'm doing pizza tonight, it's quick, it doesn't involve lifting heavy pans and there's only me and youngest at home. And it doesn't take up so much of my life if I do quick and easy meals. I'm never going to write a cookery book that's for sure.<br />
<a href="http://greyhartpress.com/our-fantasy-stories/the-legends-of-light/">http://greyhartpress.com/our-fantasy-stories/the-legends-of-light/</a>G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-55740947279448475172011-10-14T09:41:00.000-07:002011-10-14T09:41:56.641-07:00Went AWOL... sorry.I'm back, sorry I went AWOL. I've been trying to write a book of horror poems and am nearly there. I've also finished writing my pulp fiction novelette (is that how you spell that?) provisionally called Altair Jones and the Rehab Murders. A woman who's only friend is her ship's computer Dan. She's a PI and is called in when the bodies start to pile up in The House of Lost Souls a rehab run by The Order of the Sun. Who dunnit and why? I'm not telling.<br />
The edits are more or less done for The Legends of Light and the book cover is wonderful. Greyhart Press rock. Well I would say that wouldn't I. Anyhow it should be available to buy hopefully next month. I'll try and keep you updated, if I remember.<br />
Apart from that I'm feeling like death warmed up. The fibro isn't liking the weather changes and it's getting colder at night so I'm waking up more often. Not much I can do about it except complain to anyone who'll listen... that'll be nobody then... except you guys. Oh god, my best friend is a blog!<br />
The kitten we got in the summer is well and truely settled in. He's got the dogs in order and the staff are doing what they're told (me) He will insist on helping with my writng though. If I'm in bed writing by hand he keeps nudging the end of the pen. If I'm typing he'll attempt to walk across the laptop... ho hum. Maybe I can teach him to type and he can earn his living.<br />
That's all for now. See you soon, I hope.G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-85942075213743110342011-09-03T04:13:00.000-07:002011-09-03T04:13:31.615-07:00I'm in!Well today's email brought with it the contract from Greyhart Press and I've agreed. So that's it, I'm on th ebooks, I am one of their books... I'm an author :) Okay so edits and publishing and stuff needs doing first but I'm not going to worry about that. Although editing poetry can be a bit of a pain.<br />
I had to change a few parts already as the use of words didn't fit the voice of the piece. In a prose piece that would just mean a change of word...in a poetry piece it can mean a rewrite of a couple of lines if you can't find a word that scans or the word you want to replace is at the end of a line and rhymes with another one... no good just bunging in a replacement if it then ruins the whole thing. Anyway, I think I got all of them so it may well just be the odd stray comma or lack of one.<br />
Apart from the excitement of that I'm struggling with my right wrist in a neoprene doohicky to protect a damaged tendon so writing is limited to the essentials... and the blog of course. G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-66923328306628929742011-08-31T00:32:00.001-07:002011-08-31T00:42:23.260-07:00Two days offI've had to have two days away from blogging, not that I'm obliged to blog every day of course but it's noce to keep my hand in as it were. On Sunday I had a long trip in the car which in turn caused my fibro to flare so the last two days, when I should have been writing I've been asleep because I can't sleep through the night because of pain... which in turn is a pain! I've got virtually nothing done.
<br />I have however come up with a, I hope, great idea for a steampunk story. Just a short one based on a few bits I read about Tesla... the 'father' of electricity. He sounds like a very strange man and a genius... which often go hand in hand it would seem.
<br />I must get back to the book as well, I've not even looked at it since the weekend. But I have a short story buzzing round in my head and the two are incompatible so I can't do both or I'll confuse myself... easily done.
<br />So back to writing and not prevaricating or falling asleep I hope...
<br />G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-82847619318025156692011-08-27T09:19:00.000-07:002011-08-27T09:32:12.073-07:00Bad day all round.Today my daughter set off to Mongolia. Okay so she's going with a group of volunteers to help some Mongolian youths set up their own youth group. It's not like she's alone on a train steaming through Russia prey to criminals and god knows what. But I'm a mother and it's my job to worry... so I am
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<br />This in turn has caused a flare up of my fibromyalgia and I'm in pain and exhausted... typical. I've managed to write a couple of pages of the project I'm working on... a pulp fiction book staring Altair Jones, an inter-galactic private investigator with questionable morals.
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<br />Altair first appeared in a short I wrote for a pulp fiction competition... still waiting to hear about that one. She's young and pretty and her only friend is her onboard computer Dan, he's got a personality chip and sometimes a chip on his shoulder! She's just as likely to use sex as she is a gun if it means she gets what she wants. I like her, maybe because she does stuff I no longer can... not shoot people obviously!
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<br />Anyway, she got in my head and I thought she deserved her own book. I started writing it with no idea how it ends or who-done-it even. At the moment it's called 'Unknown' because I haven't come up with a title yet. Set in a rehab clinic on a planet inhabited by a cult religion she needs to discover who is murdering the clients before she becomes one of the victims. I've made it a 1/4 of the way through.
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<br />Watch this space...
<br />G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099232039275369524.post-61895132678732065372011-08-26T01:16:00.000-07:002011-08-26T01:26:47.173-07:00To blog or not to blogOK so I was stuck for a title but it just about sums it all up.
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<br />I've been toying with the idea for a while and finally decided that, since I already had a Blogger account I may as well use it.
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<br />News on the writing front, I'm hoping to have my book of Fantasy poetry published towards the end of the year. I had begun to wonder if I was ever going to get anywhere other than the odd short or poem hidden away here and there in obscure magas or e-zines. Mind you if you write fantasy and or poetry there's not a huge choice when it comes to lack of obscurity.
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<br />Recently, on Linkedin, someone described speculative fiction as crap for teens... this got a whole lot of 'crap writers' talking, as you would. We now have our own catch phrase... Crap On! So I will.
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<br />On the fibro front, I'm doing better than I could be doing. Not much else you can say about it... for those who don't know about fibro or don't have fibro feel free to just ignore these bits... or better still look it up, educate yourself there's probably someone near you who has it but doesn't talk about it for fear of misunderstandings and abuse.
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<br />So that's it, my first blog... enjoy, hate whatever... but please don't ignore.
<br />G E Shutthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16348373100801668659noreply@blogger.com0