ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 5:08am

Okay, I was wrong. I was sure it was Trent using Polyjuice Potion. Still, I'm on my guard. This could be just the beginning.

This Nancy's the one that wanted something suggestive written on the card Harry signed for her that day in Diagon Alley, right?

I can't imagine what it's like to have someone stalk me like that. It's sick.

Abraxan replied:

Real celebrities have stalkers al the time - it's a scary thing.   I never thought Trent was that   scary!   Interesting that you see him as a danger!   Yes, Nancy's the one who wanted the "special" signature on the card.

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 4:51am

I was wondering if Ron would walk in on that and take it out of context. It would have been easy to misinterpret that exchange between Harry and Hermione, especially since she'd been acting so oddly. You wrote it well.

Abraxan replied:

Thanks!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 4:38am

I think I'd be a little careful about the letters and cards on that grave...

Abraxan replied:

:)   But being careful could take a lot of the excitement out of a story!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 4:19am

The statues creeped me out. I may be overreacting, but that sculptor seems a bit off. If, in fact, she's really a sculptor. It's like there's a shrine in the town square there. It's dodgy to me.

It's a piece of good writing that gets me to speculating.

Abraxan replied:

ROTFL!   If ytou think the sculptor's dodgy, then you'd think I'm dodgy, because I based her on myself - I'm a professional sculptor.   This is my "Mary Jane" moment in the Refiner's Fire universe, LOL!   Glad it got you speculating!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 3:57am

Awww. This is just to precious for words. Harry truly adores Ginny, doesn't he? He's just a hopeless romantic who wants to put the past behind him...or as Puumba would say, "put your behind in the past."

Excellent job.

Abraxan replied:

:D

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 3:40am

Now that's funny! Make the urn useful. Only Ginny would come up with that.

Hermione's having a hard time of it. This is more than just packing up her parents' house. Something else is at work here.

Abraxan replied:

Hermione's a control freak in many ways, and things are just out of her control.  

Glad you like the urn!   Ginny's a creative girl, isn't she?   LOL!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 3:33am

I have an idea who the stalker might be, but I don't want to say yet. You write a good mystery.

Abraxan replied:

Yay!   Glad to hear you think I'm writing a good mystery!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Tuesday 10th February 2009 3:15am

Well, they're getting the disguise thing down anyway. Ginny's rather observant. She knows her man.

Abraxan replied:

Yes, she does, and she has THOROUGHLY enjoyed studying him, too! LOL!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 7:48pm

Another reprisal against Ginny. No doubt it's the same person who sent her the poisoned letter. I say "person" because it doesn't necessarily have to be a female...

Abraxan replied:

Yup, it doesn't necessarily have to be female!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 7:27pm

I'm jealous again and you know why. That's just so romantic! But why do they keep getting interrupted? Molly's playing "check up on the children," isn't she? Harry's not going to put up with it either. She needs to quit.

She took Marcus' prescription well, didn't she?

Abraxan replied:

You're jealous again?   Yeah, I understand!   LOL!   They keep getting interrupted because that causes tension in the story, and without tension, a story is boring!!   LOL!  

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 7:09pm

Now that was scary! Will they have to keep a tank of water in his bedroom all the time now in case he does that again?

Dear Tonks. She's doing everything a mother does for a frightened child after a nightmare, only this child is a man. A scared little boy still lives inside this strong powerful young man, though, doesn't he? *sob*

Abraxan replied:

A scared little boy still lives inside a LOT of strong,powerful men - they just keep those precious boys hidden most of the time.   And yes, Tonks is being as good a mother as she can to Harry - and heaven knows, he needs it!!

As for the tank of water - handy to be able to conjure things, isn't it?

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 6:59pm

Harry's a big brother! That's really cool! As a musician and singer, I love that you've given Harry the singing talent. I see Harry as a baritone; he's just too big to be a tenor. Besides, he isn't pretentious enough to be a tenor. LOL (I'm an alto).

Anyway, those nightmares are going to kill that boy...

Abraxan replied:

I'm a soprano myself - and yes, my Harry is a baritone, although I have known some tall, broadshouldered tenors (and they weren't/aren't necessarily pretentious!)   My hubby fits that description, actually.

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 6:47pm

I love Tonks--I was sad when JKR knocked her and Remus off in Book 7, but I saw it coming, too.

Your Tonks is hysterical! I love how she flirts with Harry because she knows it makes him feel better.

A prescription to get married? That's a new one. I like it though. Very imaginative. Now, I'm expecting the issue with Scott Old Crow is important to the story, so I'll bite. That was no accident, was it?

Abraxan replied:

I love my Tonks and I was SO annoyed that JKR killed her and Remus off!   Glad you like the prescription!   As for the Old Crow thing - it may just be there to be a distraction, who knows??

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 6:31pm

Whoa!

I'm worried about Ron's injury. I think it's worse than the mediwizard first thought and now Harry's blow might have opened it up again.

Harry needs some help. Those flashbacks and night terrors/nightmares are going to lead to something really nasty if they're not addressed.

Ginny was right. Trouble brewed--right up in her face. She's in danger and Harry probably is too. It's also just a matter of time before some fruitcake of a fan attacks Hermione. I shall read on.

Abraxan replied:

Harry does need help - so does Ron.   I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 6:16pm

Now that was a dirty trick, especially if the individual calendars aren't for charity. I think somebody's playing games here. Ginny and Hermione are right--there's trouble brewing and Harry (and Ron) may have a problem.

Abraxan replied:

People are always trying to "use" Harry for their own purposes, aren't they?   Poor guy!   It isn't as much fun to be a celebrity as those of us who aren't celebrities might think it is. (Sorry for the convoluted sentence!)

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 6:06pm

Poor Harry. He hates publicity--always did--and this just takes the cake. I have a feeling our Mr. Trent might have thing for our hero...

Harry's so noble, this calendar thing has him feeling as though he's cheating on Ginny in some way. I think he's worried also about Ron because of Hermione. That could be messy.

Abraxan replied:

You're right about Harry's nobility as well as his discomfort!   Poor guy!!

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 5:43pm

Actually, what I was thinking is "this kid can't catch a break!" He needs his Ginny, that's all there is to it. Let the Board of Governors be damned! Cut the boy some slack, people. He saved the freakin' world!

Abraxan replied:

Yeah, you'd think they'd REMEMBER what they OWE him, wouldn't you?   But no, they have their own fish to fry.   And you're right, he can't catch a break, but that's true of many celebrities in real life - that's where I got the ideas for the way I wrote Harry's life - as a reluctant celebrity who'd rather be a private person, but isn't allowed that privilege so many of us take for granted.

Abraxan

ghostchicken posted a comment on Monday 9th February 2009 5:34pm

PTSD. It's killer. I can't imagine the horrors people in wars suffer. I've been spared that little corner of Hell. I've had nightmares, but nothing like this.

My husband is a Vietnam-Era vet. He was stationed with an air rescue unit based in Korat, Thailand. Their motto was "That Others May Live." He has...dreams sometimes and when he does, I have to be careful how I wake him. He's nailed me a couple of times. Nothing bad, mind you, but it didn't tickle.

Good job.

Abraxan replied:

My father had PTSD from WWII, so I saw it first-hand.   Back then it was called "shell shock."   He rode two B-17s to the ground the hard way during the wary and walked away from both crashes. Once he got home, he had a real terror of heights - not a good thing in a man who owns a roofing company and has to get on roofs to do the job estimates!   The biggest problem was bridges.   If we had to go across a long or high bridge, he'd pull over and Mama would have to drive across hte bridge.   I wasn't around for his nightmare phase - I wasn't born until he'd been back from the war several years.   But I've known other vets who've shared stories on rare occasion, so I had some good source material to draw on when I came up with Harry's problem.   I can't believe JKR didn't deal with this problem with Harry AT ALL, but there are a lot of things she didn't deal with in ways I thought were eigher necessary or logical - which is why I wound up writing fanfics!

Sorry your hubby has PTSD - it never goes away for some guys.   Thanks for writing!

Abraxan

Crys posted a comment on Thursday 2nd October 2008 5:10am

> The couple from Ohio had them all beat at 37 years.
Anyone we know? :)

Abraxan replied:

Yeah, that would be my hubby and me!   LOL!  

Sorry I didn't reply sooner - I never got the notice about your reviews being here!   I do try to reply to all reviews, so my apologies for being late in responding!

Abraxan

Crys posted a comment on Thursday 2nd October 2008 1:09am

> To change the size of a room, just touch the corner with your wand and drag it to make the room bigger or smaller. To change the shape, just touch the middle of one line and you can push or pull it to change the size."
*laugh* Someone has played with a computer drafting tool, I see :)

That scene in the restaraunt started out kinda uncomfortable but believable. Did a good job fading it down.

Never really thought about the kinds of things a real hero must have to put up with on a daily basis. Some of the things (that little proclamation, for instance) are the kind of junk that makes sense after a bit of thought. You're making this story quite interesting just on that point.

Abraxan replied:

Thank you very much!   And apparently you like my house design spell too!   A friend just wrote me that his wife had bought a computer program that does almost exactly what I described - he wanted to know if that's where I got it.     Nope.   I got it from my hubby working on a computer-aided ship design program for the Navy back in the early 1970's - the ship designs were all just green lines, but you could "walk through" the ship.   I took that idea and just ran with it.

I've known a few famous people and have watched the way they have to deal with their lives.   That experience informs how I write Harry's life.   Glad you liked it, and that it made sense to you!   Thanks for writing!

Abraxan