‘No, I hardly think that will be possible,‘ I answered; ‘I’m 80 years old and a bit past rushing about chasing space vessels at the speed of light.But I will do what I can to help and guide you.‘
‘Hello, Octavia, you seem real, almost as if you were here, inside my head (are you as beautiful as you sound?)‘ then thinking to them all I asked, ‘Can you all hear me?‘
Now back to you, Octavia:
Here on the Beagle everyone turned to me for reassurance.
‘Yes, I hear him.’ said Robanne.
‘So do I.’ added Kris quietly, in an awed voice.
While the twins silently nodded to Tavi with slow, timid smiles.
‘Then why don’t you tell him so yourselves?’ I asked smiling.
‘Hello Captain, and ‘Yes, I hear you‘ from Robanne and Kris drowned out whatever the little ones might have said.
I started work fitting tyres on anything from wheelbarrows to earth-movers. Then I became a software engineer, from correcting programs to designing and building systems.
In contrast to that rather sedentary occupation, my outside interests were essentially practical, learning to a level of competency any skill that opportunity presented. From cooking, knitting and gardening to building dry stone walls, wood-working and rock climbing.
I retired early following a mountaineering accident. As a part of my recovery I found that trying to write what I felt, resulted in poetry. Collected into a small book, self published but never distributed.
Then I wrote a fantasy novel, printed it and hand bound it - just to feel how it was done.
I then became interested in the whole arena of writing and am now returning to that first effort and rewriting it with more insight into what I am doing. I am learning all the time, writing when-ever and where-ever the opportunity presents itself.
The benefits that accrue from accepting the advice inherent in reviews are immense, if one has the humility to weigh them and accept rather than deny what they are saying.
I acknowledge that I am a mere tyro compared to the majority on here but trust that you will look kindly upon my desire to develop my skills.
Took me a while to read but was definitely worth it. A very good one John. I thoroughly enjoyed each of those 35 pages, even though as a rule I don’t like “reading” Sci-Fi but rather wqtch it. Here is one exception to the rule
This first part of your story is interesting. Well written and I especially like the way you’ve described the bank on the first paragraph. Looking forward to reading the following chapters. Cheers.
An intriguing beginning! One suggestion: Remove the comma from “Like being on the inside of a tumble dryer, full of stones.” I am imagining that the poor prospector has had a dinner of stones before tumbling down the mountain!
Took me a while to read but was definitely worth it. A very good one John. I thoroughly enjoyed each of those 35 pages, even though as a rule I don’t like “reading” Sci-Fi but rather wqtch it. Here is one exception to the rule
Keep it up.
Hello John,
This first part of your story is interesting. Well written and I especially like the way you’ve described the bank on the first paragraph. Looking forward to reading the following chapters. Cheers.
Punitha
Thank you Brenda, well spotted, comma removed.
John.
An intriguing beginning! One suggestion: Remove the comma from “Like being on the inside of a tumble dryer, full of stones.” I am imagining that the poor prospector has had a dinner of stones before tumbling down the mountain!