Mandi Browning posted a comment on Monday 11th February 2008 1:21pm

I wanted to write and tell you what a wonderful story this was and how much I enjoyed reading it!! Your attention to detail is amazing and you have a true gift for storytelling. I look forward to reading your other Harry Potter fan fictions and I want to thank you for sharing your gift with the world. Also, I am curious where you got the idea for the character Alex McCullough's name. That is my mother's maiden name and I just wondered if you knew any McCulloughs or if it's just a coincidence.

Abraxan replied:

Thanks a lot!   Yeah, the details were fun to write - I wanted the story as rich and layered as I could get it.   As for Alex's last name, hmm.   It's been a long time since I wrote Destiny and   a lot of words have come out of my head and into the computer (I have written two original novels since then, the first of which is now available on Amazon.com for pre-release ordering - just do a search for "Lynda Sappington" and then click on "Star Sons - Dawn of the Two" and you're there!).   Anyway, I THINK I was looking for a Scottish-sounding name and just dug through my character-naming book ("Character Naming Sourcebook") until I found one I liked.   I have several name "resources" but that book is the best one - it's divided by nationality/culture and includes both first and last names as well as meanings. so it's very useful.   So I guess it's just a coincidence that I used the name.  

Thanks for writing!   Be sure to look for Star Sons on Amazon.com!   And you can read a sample chapter of it on www.whimsyhill.com - and  the sample chapter will soon be on Amazon as well.

Abraxan

Jitz posted a comment on Sunday 3rd February 2008 6:10pm

Hey Brilliant story and excellent writing!! I would give you a full score except there is one thing that i must point out! Harry changed into a stag that night to save Remaus than it has not been mentioned at all after that why? I wanted to see Remaus reaction when Harry transformed into a stag like his DAD

Abraxan replied:

It's been at least two years and a LOT of words since I finished Destiny.   Since then, I've written two original novels and a bunch of ficlets that fit into the time gap between Destiny and the epilogue, so I have no idea what I was thinking about when I used the stag.   If he didn't change again, then I saw  no need for it, that's all.   Glad you enjoyed the stories.

Abraxan

Princess Fictoria posted a comment on Thursday 31st January 2008 8:52pm

Though I have read this story several times already, I just had a though explode in my head after reading this chapter.

Coming soon to a bookstore near you!! The latest in the wildly succesful series... THE PHOENIX TALES: A glimpse of history through the eyes of a Phoenix. The latest book focuses on several famous and not so famous wizards through out history. Learn the impact they had on the world, wizard and muggle alike as well as the lesser known mishaps and adventures as seen through the eyes of their Phoenix companions.

I couldn't help myself, I can just see the books being sold throughout the world. As fact in the wizarding world and fiction in the muggle world.

Still love it and look forward to more of the wip sequel you have going.

Abraxan replied:

Cool idea!   If you use it, don't use Merlin as one of the phoenixes - I created that and am using that in my original novels.   If you aren't going to use that idea, may I at some point? Could be a lot of fun to write (and then Merlin would have yet another place to be a phoenix if I chose to use him there.   Of course Harry Potter couldn't be in that book unless it was a fanfic, and I'm writing original novels now).

Glad you're enjoying it!   And that is a cool idea - let me know for sure if you're going to use it or not.   :)

Abraxan

annemjw posted a comment on Saturday 26th January 2008 8:04pm

I wonder that your Brit-picker is teasing you! People who speak British English spell it Romania as well, Rumania is a very dated form.

Abraxan replied:

Nope, she was quite serious about it, even insistent.   She's a grown, mature woman, not a kid goofing around, so she had some reason for telling me to write it that way.

Abraxan

BrinkL posted a comment on Thursday 17th January 2008 9:19am

I have to say I loved this story and the one before it! they made me laugh and cry. it was exciting and suspenseful. In other words it was brilliant! thanks for writing it i loved it!

Abraxan replied:

Thanks a lot!   I'm glad you enjoyed them!

Abraxan

black_kitten34 posted a comment on Monday 14th January 2008 12:01pm

You may want to tweak this chapter a bit cause both tonk's parents are alive. Book seven has both of them in it

Abraxan replied:

Nope.   If you read the chapter header (author's notes) you'll see that Destiny was written after OotP came out and is not compliant with HBP or DH as a result.   And I finished it two years ago - no way am I going back to try to make it compliant now.   My stories are OotP and RF and ToD compliant, not HBP or DH compliant at all, except I did use Neville's grandma's first name  in Destiny - that's the ONLY thing in there that's from those last two   JKR books.

bgoldnyxnet posted a comment on Thursday 27th December 2007 8:01am

Wow! Two funny incidents in one chapter! First Ron & Hermione as baboons, nearly getting it on, then Trevor turns out to be Neville grandfather.

This was so funny!

Abraxan replied:

Glad you enjoyed it!   This chapter led to my Yahoo group calling any romantic scene "Baboonery(c)" LOL!   They always ask if there's going to be any "Baboonery(c)" in each new story I upload, heehee

Abraxan

halbert posted a comment on Saturday 8th December 2007 8:57pm

Galanga is similar to ginger. I suppose someone may have already said this, as I'm posting this comment a long time after this chapter was posted.

At any rate, Ginger is a common alternative to use in Thai cooking if you can't find Galanga root. They do have a slightly different flavor.

Abraxan replied:

Thanks for the info!   I hope you're enjoying the story!

Abraxan

bookaholic_au posted a comment on Friday 30th November 2007 5:32pm

Hey,

I'm just reviewing to say how great it must be for you to have that success with "Elegance". I really look forward to your Star Sons book coming out. I hope I'll be able to get my hands on it, (I'm an Aussie, and I doubt they'll be distributed here, so I'll have to look hard on the net). Just wondering, when's the release?

Q. What is EKG (ECG)? I don't recognise either acronym.

Abraxan replied:

An EKG is an electrocardiogram, which is a graph (like a seismograph) showing how your heart is functioning.   "ECG" may be the British abbreviation, I don't 'remember now (it's been literally years since I wrote these fics, and I've written a LOT of stuff since then, so my memory of some things is foggy.)

Thanks for your comments about "Elegance"!   Yes, that was very exciting, and my customer just sent me an award photo (of the group of us and the horse and carriage that won it) which was very sweet of him!   Such nice folks, and they have a truly lovely horse (Nanning 374, the horse portrayed in "Elegance").

"Star Sons" will be available through Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.   I think Amazon.co.uk may cover distribution in Australia, but if it doesn't, I'll find a way for you to order it directly from me, no worries! I'll have to figure out the price and shipping for foreign orders, but I do want all my readers to be able to order it!   Thanks for asking!

Abraxan

k13cat posted a comment on Saturday 3rd November 2007 6:10pm

I think the best thing about the first story & this one is the wonderful loving relationship, of family, that has grown between Remus & Harry. The image of Remus running toward Harry with open arms after he (harry) returned from being with Merlin just really brought that home.

That "brittle"ness that harry talks about came through so clearly in the last chapter & the beginning of this one. My chest was absolutely aching for Harry.

Abraxan replied:

I'm glad those things have come through - that was my intent!   Both Harry's brittleness and Remus's love of Harry (and Harry's for Remus) are extremely important for the reader to understand.   I don't think JKR has shown Harry's pain realistically enough - but then again, she's writing for kids.   That's one of the reasons I wrote my stories for adults, so I could explore these things in greater depth.   Thanks for writing!

Abraxan

k13cat posted a comment on Saturday 3rd November 2007 3:21pm

I'm confused - why does Minerva talk as if Peter Pettigrew is alive at the big animagus meeting? Harry killed Pettigrew 'wormtail' to save Remus in the battle on the mountaintop in France. Was that kept secret or something?

Abraxan replied:

Because I forgot I killed him off and once something's published, I don't go back and revise it.   There are four "real" mistakes in my novels that I'm aware of - this is one of them.   JKR made a lot more than that, and my novels total more pages than all of her books together, so one of my readers told me, so I figure I'm allowed a mistake here or there since I didn't have professional editors looking over my work like she does.

Abraxan

k13cat posted a comment on Saturday 3rd November 2007 11:29am

Healer Pomfrey really dropped the ball in this one. I'm surprised Remus didn't put up more of an argument about the crowd coming in to watch Harry. Especially after 4 turned out to have dark marks! Teaching opportunity be damned - it was too much putting him on display.
At least the one healer apologized for not keeping Harry's privates covered when he turned him. It was pretty silly for Ginny to suddenly be proper & turn her back so Ron could help Harry dress -- she had already seen everything anyway.

Nice to see Harry getting back to his mosaics.

Abraxan replied:

Healer Pomfrey has never dealt with someone with as many threats against him as Harry, and there was a big teaching opportunity here.   There are no colleges in JKR's wizarding world, although I did make a wizarding branch at Oxford later on.   But to become a healer (or any other skilled job), you must be apprenticed and learn from masters.   So those healers who want to learn this stuff have to watch someone else do it - just as they do in our hospitals.   Marcus thought the healers had been screened well enough - he made a mistake.   He won't make it again.   And Ginny was just keeping up appearances and being polite - nothing wrong with that.

Abraxan

texasjack posted a comment on Friday 2nd November 2007 1:40pm

not that you would have known while you were writing this but tonk's mother appears in deathly hallows. I can't remember her name right now though

Abraxan replied:

Her name is Andromeda, which we learned in Order of the Phoenix from the Black Family Tree.   But no, when I was writing this, "Phoenix" was the most recent book released.

Abraxan

freckleforce93 posted a comment on Sunday 28th October 2007 10:03am

dam your the best.

Abraxan replied:

Thanks!   :D

Abraxan

freckleforce93 posted a comment on Saturday 27th October 2007 1:04am

you should do a long story on ginny's seventh year.

Abraxan replied:

It's nearly finished.   It's called "Now and Forever" and focuses, like all the other stories, on HARRY's life, not Ginny's, although she's a part of it.   I'm working on finishing and polishing it now.   I hope to start uploading it in a month or so, so watch for it!

Abraxan

freckleforce93 posted a comment on Thursday 18th October 2007 9:59am

you are the best dam author ever, i love your stories.

Abraxan replied:

Wow, thanks!!   Stay tuned for another HP story, "Now and Forever" that I'm writing now.   I also have an original novel that will be published soon, "Star Sons: Dawn of the Two," a fantasy I think will appeal to my HP readers.   So you have lots more stories to read coming soon!   Thanks for writing!

Abraxan

abraxis posted a comment on Friday 21st September 2007 7:54pm

An excellent series that has given me a great deal of enjoyment.

I particularly wish to thank you for giving Severus Snape a second chance at life and recognition for his service to the Light. Many authors not focusing their fanfic on him do him the same disservice that JKR did, seeming to judge that all his years of penance for his youthful sins weren't worth rewarding.

I fully enjoyed your sense of humor as well and the wonderful way you used it to give the reader relief in the most dire situations. There are too many instances of it to enumerate but, IMO, Draco Malfoy's continued ineptitude with so many high level spells was one of the most enjoyable - as was his mode of demise.

Again, thank you for creating such quality fanfics.

Abraxan replied:

Wow, what a fabulous review!   THANKS!

Re: Snape.   I honestly thought he was a loose end that needed to be dealt with, because of the complexity of his character.   I couldn't just "leave" him.   I'm nearly finished with the first draft of a new HP chaptered story, "Now and Forever" where you'll see how Snape is doing after Harry removes his Dark Mark.   "Now and Forever" tells how Harry copes with the aftermath of war, his first year in Auror School and playing for the Lions, as well as his and Ginny's wedding.   I hope to start uploading it in a month or so.   With each chapter upload, you'll get ordering information for "Star Sons:   Dawn of the Two," my original fantasy novel that will be published soon.   Those of my HP readers who've read "Star Sons" have enjoyed it a great deal, so hopefully   my other HP readers will like it as well!

Thank you again for such a wonderful review!   Be sure to read my ficlets, which all fit into the gap in time between the end of Destiny and the beginning of the epilogue (which is also true of "Now and Forever").   Thanks for writing!

Abraxan

mathiasgranger posted a comment on Friday 14th September 2007 3:12am

WTF...he'll break....wow I think that is a new one on me...

Ugh...Emo Harry always is hard to swallow in such large doses as you heaped this chapter...as if he can only deal with his emotional problems before he meets Voldemort...

Thanks for writing,
Matt

Abraxan replied:

I like delving into people's emotions - I think it's interesting.   I'm glad you're enjoying my story.

Abraxan

mathiasgranger posted a comment on Friday 14th September 2007 2:11am

I guess the whole calling Ginny 'baby' thing is starting to grate on my nerves....yes I know just now it is...but what an annoying pet name...ugh

Thanks for writing,
Matt

Abraxan replied:

So what do you call YOUR girlfriend?   Most people in serious relationships develop pet names for each other.   My hubby and I call each other "boo" for reasons you don't need to know.   My father, a WWII   veteran, called my mother "the War Department" (and no, they never fought - he was just being funny).   A good friend of mine is called "Buttercup" by her boyfriend and she calls him "Wesley" (both names from "The Princess Bride").   Would you rather Harry call her "boo" or "Buttercup"???   No, I didn't think so.   When I asked him, Harry said he liked calling her "baby" because she's petite and in my fics, Harry's tall.   So "baby" is better than "tiny one," right?   When you get in a committed relationship, you may find yourself calling your girlfriend something silly too.   I personally get annoyed by Molly calling everyone "dear" but "dear" isn't a term of affection I grew up with, so that's probably why it annoys me.   To each his or her own.   My Harry likes calling Ginny "baby" and that isn't going to change.

Abraxan

Imp posted a comment on Sunday 9th September 2007 6:49pm

Oh, sorry for double posting, but is there a release date for your novel yet? If so, when? Or at least an estimate when it might be available?

Abraxan replied:

No problem on the double post - if you forgot to ask something, I want you to ask it!!

I wish I knew for sure when Star Sons will be published, but each step of the process is taking longer than I hoped for (I'd HOPED for an August release!!).   However, it taking this long is giving me time to complete the H/G wedding story I promised, which is novel-length and will be uploaded a chapter a week, like ToD and RF.   Ordering info for Star Sons will be included with each chapter of "Now and Forever," which shows how Harry's doing at getting past the war and getting on with his life as well as his first year of Auror School and playing for the Lions.   And it includes Harry and Ginny's wedding as promised!   When you see "Now and Forever," Star Sons will be available on Amazon.com and a link will be included with each chapter.

To answer your basic question - I expect Star Sons to be available sometime in the next month or so, but I could be wrong.   It's out of my hands for now.   Keep your eyes peeled for "Now and Forever" and you'll know about Star Sons' release!   (Hopefully in the next couple of months . . .)

Thanks for asking!

Abraxan