Mightier than the Sword - A Part of the Aidan Moher Network

Ahh, I must apologize for my absence. It’s not for lack of wanting to update, truly I did… but, well, you know how it is.

Life’s been busy lately, and writing’s been sparse. Well, no, scratch that, I’ve been writing a fair bit, but in the form of A Dribble of Ink as opposed to Through Bended Grass, which is valuable in its own right.

Those of you who follow both of my blogs (which I expect is about, well, all of you) probably followed along the little incident that happened as a result of my review of Paul Kearney’s The Ten Thousand. I didn’t talk about it much over at A Dribble of Ink, but the aspiring writer in me had a really hard time writing that review.

Writing Through Bended Grass has been such a learning experience for me, such a labour of love, that the writer in me (as opposed to the critic) could understand Kearney’s reaction 100%. I know how heartbroken and frustrated I’d be if someone said similar things about my baby. An author puts so much of themselves into each and every novel that they write, that it would almost be like a personal affront to hear negative things said about their work.

Being a critic, as much as A Dribble of Ink qualifies me for that title, leaves me, and any potential novels I write, open to harsh criticism. I have to be as blunt and honest, as objective and fair, about every novel I read that I can expect nothing less from those who read (and hopefully) review them.

To this end, each time I set out to write a review (whether positive or negative), I keep it in mind that the reviews I write can be a powerful tool for the authors of the novels. Positive reviews can help fuel their engines, their desires to writer; negative reviews can help point out the areas in which they can improve. An honest review, therefore, is almost as much help to the author as it is to potential readers.

If Through Bended Grass does make it to shelves, I know that I can’t expect every review to be positive, that’s just not the way it works. I do hope, however, that I can learn something from each of those reviews, something that can help me improve as a writer.

Hopefully Mr. Kearney was able to learn something from my review, whether he agreed with it or not.

As for Through Bended Grass, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, Chapter 16: The King of the Faeries? has been done for some time now and turned out even better than I had hoped it would.

It’s a very surreal chapter - not a whole lot of action, but a good glimpse at some of the more obtuse and fucked up areas of the Fey world. This area that Rowan finds herself in is infected by the addled magic of a particularily prominent Faerie who seems to be Rowan’s last hope in finding Lewis.

Playing with her perceptions of the world, which is an endlessly shifting morass of imagery. Rowan has, up to this point, taken most of the weird shit she’s encountered off the chin, with a certain distractedness. This chapter is one of the first times where she really starts to question what she’s seeing, to consider the reality of what she’s been accepting on her journey to find her son.

It’s a tough aspect to juggle. A lot of people would just collapse under the stress of being thrown into a bastardized version of a landscape that’s only supposed to exist in their picture books; Rowan’s a special breed, though. But even she has her limits, and they’re certainly stretched to the limits in Chapter 16.

Fun times, indeed.

Chapter 17 (which is currently untitled) is on it’s way and is a pretty big turning point in moving the plot to the final endpoint. A new character is introduced who, along with his companion, is going to be a lot of fun to write about. Especially if I can get a certain scene to play out properly near the end of the novel (what would happen if a big fuckin’ Fey creature rampaged through contemporary Dublin?)

Ever onwards.

Gah! No time to write!

 Chapter 16 is done. I’ll write about it when I get a chance….

Well that was quick.

After so bloody long without updates, it seems like I’m on a roll again. Chapter 15 titled Here Be Dragons is done and dusted. Hell, Chapter 16 is almost done, too.

 Shawn Speakman (blog HERE) often speaks about hitting the homestretch of a novel, the point after the halfway mark and how it starts to feel like you’re going downhill from there and gaining momentum with every word. I beginning to understand what he means by that. After finishing off Chapter 14 and the interlude, that marked roughly the halfway point of the novel (about 46k words out of 90k) and also served as the climax for ‘Part One’ of the novel (despite what I said in the last post, this was actually the end of ‘Part One’ not ‘Part Two’…). It seems that since hitting that point, or even a few chapters earlier, when I finished off Chapter 12, the words have just been flowing out of me.

 I may not exactly be able to see the finish line at the moment, it’s still a ways off, but I know that there is less in front of me than behind and that’s an encouraging thought. I find that the second-half of a good book is almost always a faster read than the first half, and I think it’s a good sign when the writing’s the same way.

 Chapter 15 is a bit of a change of pace from 14 (which was balls to the wall), but it was challenging to write in its own part. Without giving too much away, the structure of the chapter jumps around a lot in time and answers some question posed at the end of 14 in (I think/hope) interesting ways. There’s also a lot of room for some neat imagery and it was a great way to explore some aspects of my version of the Fey lands.

One character in particular has really stepped out of the shadows and surprised me. He doesn’t appear in this chapter - in fact he doesn’t appear again for a few chapters - but I’m constantly surprised by how much he and his actions have rippled  through the story. He was originally going to be a bit of a bit character, no more than a plot device, but as the writing has moved on he’s affecting more and more of the story and it’s even getting to the point where he (and his parallels to Rowan) will have a defined effect on the end of the novel.

Now, who said writing isn’t bloody exciting?

I outline in a pretty organic manner, but at the end of the day I have a solid outline for the novel and the first 18 or so chapters. It’s nice to know that even with all that outlining, I can still be surprised by the twists and turns of the story.

Well, onward to writing. Chapter 16 should be done pretty soon!

Well… no updates for almost a month and now two in two days? What the hell happened?

 Chapter 14, The Calm Within the Storm,  is done. No I didn’t write it in a day (productivity like that is in my repetoire) , but rather half of it has been written for about 6 months now.

 ”6 months?!!?” I hear you exclaim. “But why?”

There’s a good reason. Back a few months ago I was in a creative writing class (I didn’t have a job and figured I should keep myself busy somehow, so I enrolled in school) and used it as a great launching pad to get started on Through Bended Grass. I wasn’t able to bend each and every assignment towards my novel, but when we had to write a descriptive piece, I knew this was the scene to do.

 Chapter 14 is one of the most frenetic and important chapters in my novel and one of the first ones to form fully in my head. I won’t go spoiling much, but the end of the chapter ends with Rowan conciously throwing herself off the top of the Cliffs of Moher during a wicked storm  and tumbling 600 feet into the frothing ocean below.

 This ends the second part of the novel with a hell of abang and sets up the rest of the story. This also acts as roughly the halfway point in the novel, meaning it’s all downhill from here. Like walking south.

The next portion of the chapter, a short interlude, was also written almost a year ago and was originally included as the prologue of the novel. The interlude showcases the first moments when Rowan and Lewis’ father meet and then spend a rather twisted, tangled and sweaty night in the sack. I decided it wasn’t the best way to start the novel, but it acts as a perfect foil coming off of the frantic Chapter 14. It also allows me to drag out Rowan’s fate for a few more pages.

Chapter 14 is home to a few revelations and a couple of minor twists, which have been fun to play around with. Hopefully I’ve managed to drop enough hints and red herrings throughout the text to make it satisfying to the reader.

 All in all, I couldn’t be happier with how the first half of the novel has gone. I spent a lot of time beforehand plotting out the novel and outlining things. I’m amazed by how closely what’s been written matches what was in my head when first dreaming it all up. It’s the little things that have reared their heads along the way, however, that really make the whole process so exciting.

 Well, onwards to Chapter 15!

Well, after Chapter 12, which took a bloody era to write, Chapter 13 and most of Chapter 14 are done.

 Chapter 14 marks the halfway point of the novel, roughly, and features one of the most dramatic and tone setting scenes. I’m really happy with how things are coming together and after this chapter it’s all downhill to the conclusion of the novel. I can’t believe I’m nearing the hump, the end line is in sight and I just gotta find a way to get there.

But that’s half the fun, right?

I’m still thinking of putting up a new excerpt. Either Chapter 10 or the extended excerpt that some of my friends have read which contains chapters 1-3. Let me know which one you might be more interested in.

Jeez, where to start.

 I haven’t posted one of these progress reports in a while. Why? Because I’ve been writing so damn much…

Chapter 10 and 11 are done and dusted. Actually, they’ve been done for a couple of weeks now and I’m currently hard at work on Chapter 12, which is proving to be the most difficult to write chapter yet. I’ll speak on that later, when the chapter is done, and instead I’ll just let you know that Chapter 10 & 11 were a blast to write and came quickly. I probably spent less than half the amount of time writing them combined than I’ve spent on Chapter 12 so far.

 Why so fast?

Simply put, they wrote themselves. Chapter 10 was interesting for me because I was able to explore a part of Ireland I’m very familar with (and rather fond of), but through the eyes of a character that is very much aware that there’s a whole other world existing just beneath the surface. The whole chapter leads towards a violent confrontation between Rowan and a faerie creature with rather nefarious intentions. It was an interesting challenge for me to write such a dark chapter in a setting that I have nothing but fond memories of.

 Chapter 11 was fun for a totally different reason. Rowan once again steps away from our world back into the world of Faerie and it’s always a pleasure to explore it with her. I’m not a hugely descriptive writer, I tend to believe that the characters should tell the story and the readers deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to imagining the world it takes place in. Of course, this doesn’t mean I don’t use description (as you all know from reading the excerpt!) and this chapter was one that really allowed me to test my abilities to paint a picture in the mind of the readers. Rowan travels into a weird world and I hope that everyone reading the novel feels like they’re right there alongside her.

 One thing I made a conscious decision about before I started writing Through Bended Grass was that, despite drawing heavily from the history and lore of our world, that I wouldn’t let myself be tied down by that same lore. I want room to wriggle around in what’s already been established and give it my own spin, to make my mark on the lore without taking any self agrandizing liberties. It’s certainly a fine line to walk, but also a fun one.

As a bit of an aside, I think Chapter 10 would make a good excerpt, giving readers a taste of what the story’s like later on in the novel without giving away too much. It’s not going to happen right away, but if people really want it, I’ll consider it.

Now, back to Chapter 12, it needs all my attention!

Over at NeoGAF (an incredibly dense forum I visit regularly) they hold semi-weekly writing “assignments.” The purpose of these assignments is to get people to step outside their comfort zones and tackle subjects or themes that they normally stay away from.

 I decided to take part in this one at the last minute, and threw a piece together in about 45 minutes. It was a lot of fun and it’s something I think I’ll take part in again. I also thought that you guys might want to have a peak at it. It hasn’t seen any editing, and was written late at night, so just see any typos as, erm… flavour!

You should also know that the piece is completely unrelated to Through Bended Grass, so don’t go making any connections!

 I should warn you that it contains some explicit language, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, watch out!

Enjoy.

The Office

   There was something brutal about him. Not in the UFC, nail your balls to the wall and then screw your wife kinda brutal; but more of a Simon Cowell, “Hey look at me, I’m a british asshole on TV. Aren’t I soooo fucking endearing?” kinda brutal. He was cute brutal. Fake brutal.

   “Take this shit and rewrite it,” he mumbled at me from across his desk. I watched the little ticker on his iTunes as a tired System of a Down song played its course, muted for my benefit, thankfully. Yeah, he was a System of a Down kinda asshole.

   “The deadline’s in like forty-five minutes…,” I mumbled apologetically.

   “Do I look like the kinda fuck who cares? The articles rubbish. You should’ve written something that reads better than my cat’s ass smells, then you wouldn’t have thirty-fuckin’-minutes to rewrite it. Now fuck off out of my office.”

   I pushed myself up out of the plastic chair and did my best not to tear his balding fucking face off his body. Of course, I was no better than any other pansy in the office, too afraid of his limp combover and the vein that stuck out on his forehead when the steam started pouring form his ears.

   I’m surprised the door didn’t hit me in the ass on the way out.

   Musical shrapnel violated my ears as he took his iTunes off of mute.

“Wake up,
Grab a brush and put a little (makeup),
Grab a brush and put a little,
Hide the scars to fade away the (shakeup)
Hide the scars to fade away the,
Why’d you leave the keys upon the table?
Here you go create another fable”

   I died a little more inside.

   “He seems to be havin’ a good day, eh Lucy?” Brian called from over on the other side of the small corner of the floor we all shared. The one benefit of having to put up with his shit music all day was that we all knew we could say whatever the fuck we wanted and he was oblivious.

   I responded as I walked over to my desk, sitting snugly next to Brian’s, “A right fuckin’ dandy, today. He only wants me to rewrite the entire fucking Coldplay article over again. Upstairs wants it in 30 minutes.”

   “Just send it up anyway, I don’t think he even reads the magazine. I do it all the time?”

   I paused, looking at Brian like he told me he had the cure for cancer or an alternate fuel source to replace gas.

   “That works?” I said slowly.

   “Oh fuck yeah,” a smug smile crept onto his face. “You think the guy’s upstairs give a damn about him? He ran some web site that closed down and had too much seniority to be fired. Hell, there’s a reason he just sits in his office like an asshole and doesn’t write anything.”

   “So just… send it up?”

   “Yep.”

   I slumped down into my chair, it bounced down softly under my weight. I leaned back, as one was wont to do in those chairs, and put my hands over my face.

   Was it really that easy all along? Just ignore him.

   “Why the fuck did I never think of that?” I wondered aloud.

   “Because you hate this place, Lucy. And you’re always looking for more reasons to hate the fucking place. So you write your work and, even though you know it’s the best stuff that comes out of this floor, you submit it to the fat, brutal bastard in the backroom, knowing full well that he’ll take all the anger in his miserable little life and throw it at your work. You want him to tear it to fucking pieces so that when you finally quit this place, you’ll feel vindicated.

   “We all do it.”

   I goggled at him. “Fuck if you shouldn’t have been a shrink,” I said, “or at least start a web site where you solve people’s problems.”

   He simpered, cocky pride beaming on his face.

   “So what the hell are you still doing here, if you have all the answers?” I countered.

   “I like the coffee.”

   “The coffee. That I make.”

   I did make a damn good cup of joe, I’ll admit to that.

   “And the bagel guy’s pretty cute. I’d miss him if I quit.”

   Another good point.

   Brian looked at his watch, “You’ve got 20 more minutes. What’re you going to do?”

   A few flicks of my mouse.

   “Done.”

   Brian gave me a look like I had just deep throated a hotdog, impressed but unsure really how to react. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

   “What?” I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

   “I was just fucking with you. I’ve never sent that shit up there without any regard for the boss.”

   “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I felt a flush of panic creeping up from my chest and spreading over my face. I turn into a bloody tomato when the going gets tough.

   “Well, it’ll, um… it’ll be an interesting experiment.”

   My fingers ran nervously through the curly mop of hair on my head.

   “What’ll be an interesting experiment,” I heard from the door that led to the hall outside.

   “Hey Jess,” Brian called, “Lucy just sent her work upstairs without making the boss’s changes.”

   Jess, a blonde bombshell walked over to our little arrangement of desks. None of us could figure out why someone who looked like her would work with a bunch of folk who look like us. Even I had a crush on her and I was straight as an arrow… or so I thought. I think it was her french accent that sealed the deal.

   She set down her bag and then shrugged in the nonchalant way typical to her, “It’s too late now, right? Just hope for the best.”

   The music in his office shut off, Limp Bizkit put on temporary hold.

   The phone on my desk rang, a double ring indicating someone in the building was phoning me.

   The three of us all turned around and looked through the glass windows of the office, at the lumpy potato sitting in the chair. He had his phone pressed firmly to his ear and was furiously fixing his combover.

   Of course the asshole would phone me into his office when I was fifteen feet away.

   Jess patted me on the back and Brian had the decency to look a slight bit sheepish. I pushed myself up out of my chair, comforted by the familiar creak of the hinges. The few strides to his office door felt like a funeral march.

   I gripped the round door knob, looked back at my work mates, opened the door and stepped through to my silent grave.

I actually finished Chapter Nine a little while ago (currently halfway through Chapter Ten at the moment), but got so caught up in writing, publishing the excerpt (read it!) and starting a redesign of the web site that I forgot to write about it! Well, it’s a slow day at work and I figure it’s finally time to get caught up on the progress report.

Chapter Nine, titled Four Leaf Clovers and Bended Grass, turned out to be the longest chapter yet, weighing in at a respectable 4011 words. I wasn’t really planning for this to happen, but as the chapter wore on I realised just how much needed to be accomplished and it lengthened. I feel confident that despite the increase in word count, I still managed to create a chapter full of interesting situations, solid pacing and good dialogue

Chapter Nine begins the second act of the novel and sees Rowan back in our world, but having to deal with the fact that she’s very much aware that another world exists out there, her son is still missing, and she’s meant to find someone she has no idea how to find. In a lot of ways I get to take some of the ideas that have been floating around Epic Fantasy – A missing son, an alternate world, magical creatures, a sense of discovery and wonder – and play with them in a new light, getting to put my own spin on things and (hopefully) making a lot of it seem fresh again.

Of course, by no means would I call Through Bended Grass an epic story, quite the opposite actually. Through Bended Grass is a story about people, about relationships (both internal and external), about discovery and, maybe most importantly, about family. It’s not about a quest to destroy an evil-something-or-other (though a certain antagonist certainly tries to fill that role), it’s not even about “good vs. evil”, but rather about the shades of grey found throughout the world. I know that’s a cliche at this point, but I still think it’s an integral part of writing a good novel, Fantasy or otherwise.

One character, who is introduce in this chapter, has surprised me a lot by how much he’s become involved in the story. When I was in the early planning stages he had a single, small role to play and then more or less disappeared. But then I started writing about him, discovering his history and what brought him to where he is during the story, and I began to realize how important he is to Rowan’s story. His role has expanded since then and I expect that by the end of the novel it will have expanded even more. Anymore about him would be spoiler territory, but I certainly can’t wait for my readers to meet him and continue to learn about him just as I have.

Chapter Nine turned out to be a hefty chapter, but I think it adds a lot to the novel and manages to keep up a good pace. The start of Rowan’s real journey begins with this chapter and it doesn’t let down with the wonder, discovery and action until the end of the novel.

Over at Shawn Speakman’s blog (check it out, it rules.) there was a good amount of discussion about the titles of the novels he and I are separately working on. I have great respect for Shawn, his knowledge of the industry and his abilities as a writer, so it’s always a invigorating to get his thoughts on a subject, especially when it concerns something I’m working on.

The problem? He’s not really a fan of Through Bended Grass!

It’s turning into an interesting conversation and I’d love to hear the thoughts of some of you guys who read my blog (though most of you also read Shawn’s). Here’s the exchange:

Shawn:

Aidan: I don’t know if I like Through Bended Grass. I’m not sure what it means, to be exact which I guess is okay, but it doesn’t seem fantasy-ish enough. I like the phrase a lot though; you know me, I like literary titles!The overall series title is The Dark Thorn Cycle:Book One: The Dark Thorn
Book Two: The Kingdom’s Keys
Book Three: The Splintered King

Book Four has no title. It barely has a plot, thankfully! Otherwise I’d probably already be thinking of it.

I respond:

I’ve always been a fan of your titles, Shawn. They always strike a nice balance between poetic and literal. They don’t overwhelm, but they still intrigue.I’m more a fan of The Dark Thorn rather than The Dagda King. I know who The Dagda is, but most people won’t, to them it will just sound like another generic fantasy name.Through Bended Grass is pretty poetic and esoteric, but that’s also how I like my titles! It’s somewhat intentional that it doesn’t sound entirely like a regular fantasy title, which tend to be much more literal, because I’m drawn to titles like The Blade Itself, The Darkness that Comes Before, etc…. Unlike those, however, Through Bended Grass has a direct connection to the plot of the story and will become very clear to the reader as they read on. I like that sort of reward. It helps balance things out.

Of course, I understand that no matter what I name my novel, it will be up to the publisher in the end and I may not have a say. I’d rather have a published novel under another name, but I’d put up the good fight to keep Through Bended Grass.

I’ve got a few threads of my next novel percolating in my head at the moment. It’ll be mostly unrelated to Through Bended Grass, though set in the same universe and will probably have a few overlapping characters, but I try not to let it get too much or else I’ll start neglecting Through Bended Grass for it. It’s nice that you’ll be able to keep using the same characters/world/themes as you move along because it allows you to think so far in the future. I don’t have that luxury, however, as Through Bended Grass is a standalone.

Shawn brings up a good point:

What I like about the titles you posted is their fantasy-ishness (I love making up new words). The words “blade” and “darkness” still have a fantasy quality about them. But your main noun, “grass,” doesn’t. That’s my only grip about the title. Now, if in the novel, one of your characters is talking about a scythe through bending grass as it relates to a retreating army or something, that’d be awesome. Just be readu when a marketing or publicity department points out the noun issue and be prepared with your certain rebuttal! Gotta fight for what we want, ya know?And personally, I don’t think my newer titles have any literary merit whatsoever, just by looking at them anyway. Once the books have been read you’ll see how each title has a double meaning. I wish I could make them more literary but it just isn’t going to happen. All of my energy is going into the book. *sighs*As for your next book, it’ll be nice for you to not have to create a new universe. You’ve already made it with Bended Grass. At least that part will be over with. All of my novels in this cycle will be stand alone, but each does build on the last one as the themes get darker and darker. The great thing about it is I’ve already built the universe, how magic works, the history behind it all, so now I can just sit back and play and have fun.

My response:

That’s a really good point about the non-fantasyness of the noun “grass.” I suppose, however, that that’s what I’m trying to go for in a lot of ways. Through Bended Grass is a fantasy, of course, but it isn’t a fantasy in the same way that The Blade Itself, The Darkness That Comes Before, Lord Foul’s Bane or even The Dark Thorn is (if my assumptions about your melding epic fantasy and urban fantasy are correct.) There are no epic battles, not even close; there is no end of the world at hand, though the antagonist likes to believe otherwise. It’s more a story about people, relationships, family and overcoming struggles – with an interesting urban fantasy setting – more akin to White Apples and The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll, Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn or The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, than The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan or A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin.From what I’ve read/know of your novels, the titles you’ve picked out worked perfectly for your novels, the story you’re trying to tell and the style of your writing. I’m not sure that a more typical fantasy-like title, littered with fantasy heavy words like “Fey”, “Faerie”, “Sword”, “Hound”, “Spear”, etc… would necessarily fit what I’m writing.

Does all this make some sort of sense?

Like I mentioned earlier, Through Bended Grass has a direct connection to the plot of the novel, first appearing in Chapter Nine, Bended Grass and Four Leaf Clovers, so that’s obviously a benefit for readers, though I’m not sure if that would be enough to convince the marketing department!

When I say universe, I literally mean universe. The next novel I have planned doesn’t take place in Ireland and involves very little of the same themes and plot devices, in fact it’s essentially a standalone novel. I just want to leave things open so that I could connect the two in subtle ways, similar to what Stephen King has done with so many of his novels.

The rules will change as other legends and myths come into play, moving away from the Irish/Celtic mythology and into another area of the world. So in many ways I’ll be back to the drawing board! I’m impressed you’ve already got so much planned for down the road, I can’t wait to get a gander at some of it.

So, thoughts? And don’t feel restricted to just the title of my novels, or Shawn’s, but rather just any thoughts on titles in general. I’m always looking for ways to improve my own writing and a titles is one of the most important things when it comes to convincing someone pick up a novel in the first place.

Alright, after way too long, I’m finally feel ready to reveal Through Bended Grass to the world in a more concrete form. It took me a while (and several good conversations with the two Shawn/Sean’s) to find a chapter I was comfortable with to represent the novel.

Originally I was going to post the first interlude, a short chapter that comes after Chapter Four and is from the POV of Fithéal, Rowan’s companion leprechaun, but in the end it just didn’t make sense for several reasons. I love Fithéal – I think he’s an utterly charming and fun character, despite his social deficiencies – and I think my readers will, too; he’s Rowan’s guide through the Fey world and is a cynical devil on her shoulder as she discovers all the wonders along her journey. The problem, however, is that he’s not Rowan. Obviously it’s important for the first impression of potential readers (you guys!) to accurately reflect the novel they are thinking of reading. To that end, I decided that the best chapter to post as an excerpt was also the most obvious: Chapter One.

Chapter One opens the novel and, if I say so myself, starts off with a compelling situation and jumps right into the action. It’s a great way to meet Rowan, her young son Lewis and to be introduced to the main plot device driving the story. There’s a lot of foreshadowing throughout the first novel, but I try to keep the magical elements to a minimum, giving the reader just a small taste of what it would be like to have Fey Magic invade our world. This is just the beginning for Rowan and this chapter gives her just a little taste of what’s to come.

I know you’re eager for it (humour me for a second, will ya?) and I won’t keep you from it any longer. Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait!

Download chapter one of Through Bended Grass

Can’t wait to hear what you all think (for good or ill)!