Just so you have a flavour of what is coming in the next few chapters up to Chapter 5 the Brewery, here is a brief synopsis of each one... (hope it doesnt spoil any of the suspense for anyone .. 'if you don't want to know the score, look away now!'


Chapter 2 The Rescue
Saturday April 31

Vicky rescues Erica from her predicament, and they become immediate friends. While on the bridge, the Reverend Rodney Radpole introduces himself to Erica. After the Ceremony, Vicky offers Erica a lift home. (The tarot reading comes later in Chapter 4)


Chapter 3 The Way of the Wolf
Saturday April 31

At the Ceremony, Simon meets Beth Frank, a photographer and journalist. She takes publicity shots, but to photograph the event is counter to the local tradition, and so some in the parade do not take kindly to Simon’s actions. A fracas ensues, and Simon is knocked into a cowpat, and Beth lands on top of him.

Simon and Beth retire to the local pub whereupon she invites Simon back to her flat in Dorchester, to freshen up, and to look at her first edition collection.


Chapter 4 The Prediction
Saturday April 31

After the Ceremony has passed through the village, Erica and Vicky go back to Vicky’s Cottage, which she runs as a sleepy Bed and Breakfast. Erica sees a photograph of Will, Vicky’s son, when he was ten years old.

Erica a Tarot reading and Vicky predicts that Erica will make a discovery. She also predicts the arrival of a man of knowledge and identifies a significant event in Erica’s past, when at the age of fourteen she was given an ammonite by a teenage boy.


Chapter 5 The Brewery
Saturday April 31

On Saturday evening Simon visits Beth’s flat at a converted Brewery. He spends the night with Beth. He feels pangs of guilt, because the following day is his wife’s fortieth birthday, and also the seventeenth birthday of their daughter, Sarah.

Talking about sexual symbolism, (which we of course were not, but never mind...) I was wondering whether anyone who has read Chapter 1, was particularly aware of it in the Ooser parade? Was it too subtle or too overt? Did anyone see the symbolism of the torc and the snake etc or not?

Andrew

it was symbolic enough.....

male and female sexual symbolism... is this the new black? lol

E

The snake? Yes. The torque? No.

ok thanks Ellie and Nell ... that tells me I think I have it about right.

Anyone interested in knowing more about the Ooser can click on this web link, It also has some photos of the old Ooser mask and more modern ones (which are not so scary?) ...

http://www.dorsetooser.fsnet.co.uk/

I should have pointed out... that web site above is by Daniel Patrick Quinn, with whom I have no connection.

I am developing a web site for the Icera Stone itself, as a taster for the book. If any one has ideas for things that should be included on it, please let me know.

This is a link to open a window to
The Icera Stone - The Rescue - Chapter 2 Part 1
http://www.writewords.org.uk/archive/1096.asp

This is a link to open a window to
The Icera Stone - The Rescue - Chapter 2 Part 2
http://www.writewords.org.uk/archive/1097.asp

This is a link to open a window to
The Icera Stone - The Way of the Wolf - Chapter 3
http://www.writewords.org.uk/archive/1099.asp

I don't know if anyone went to look at that web site to see how scary the Ooser was?

And with regard the nuts and bolts of sexual symbolism, I blame my metalwork teacher for that, with his female nuts and male bolts. (... a misspent youth?)

it`s a great site yes ! and i went off on a tangent particularly like the D H lawrence quote...
Remain quiet within the convention, and you are good, safe and happy

in the long run, though you never have the vivid pang of sympathy on

your side: or, on the other hand, be passionate, individual, wilful, you

will escape, and you will die, either of your own lack of strength to

bear the isolation and the exposure, or by direct revenge from the

community, or from both.

lol.... sorry back to the Ooser.... a fearsome beast thanks for putting it up.

Ellie

Yes, I was surprised when i read that, because I associated Hardy with an older generation of writers than Lawrence.

Hardy's style is 19th century and Lawrence 20th.

However, if you look at the dates

D H Lawrence 1885-1930
Thomas Hardy 1840-1928...

(I hope I have them right) although of different generations they died with two years of each other.

A publishing group have contacted me and one of the points they raise is that the link between names Icera and Erica is too weak and too obvious.

No one on the WriteWords site pointed out the link beforehand, until I asked, and the then Nell did say she saw it, but only when her attention was brought to it.

I am happy with the link between the names and will make that point to them, but if others could confirm they had not made the connection straight away, then this would help the case?

Please let me know if the link was too obvious?

Andrew

Nil response to that last question, so I assume that nobody saw the connection? Anyway on to another topic...

Hilary says in response to the Prologue...

'It was exciting in the middle though I had a reality problem at the end – if a meteorite had landed that close, even if living beings had survived, they would have been engulfed in smoke and debris for weeks to come. On the other hand, this is fiction, so I guess you can make the atmosphere the way you want it.'

And so what effect would a meteorite 1 to 2 m in diameter have? And also what would its cultural impact be as well as its physical impact?

Andrew )

I have had a text message from some geeza called Isaac Newton, he tells me that

E= ˝ m v squared

where...

E is energy of impact
m is mass
v is velocity

and that if a 0.5m meteorite could make a crater of 10 meters then I should easily be able to work out the effect of a one meter metorite of one ton in weight. (errr..)

The mass is a factor of density, but stone is at least 1 ton per cubic meter.

He also asked if I knew a meteor the size of one meter hits the earth every year. (Bloody hell! I said I didn't realise that but I would be looking out for them from now on, while I am stuck on the M25 with nothing else to worry about)

He also mentioned the average velocity of meteors entering our atmosphere is 10-70 km/second, but the smaller ones that survive the trip to the Earth's surface are quickly slowed by atmospheric friction to speeds of a few hundred kilometers per hour, and so hit the Earth with no more speed than if they had been dropped from a tall building. Aparently they can also lose 90% of their mass on journey.

The the angle of impact would be a factor also. (In the case of the story it hits the bottom of a vertical cliff face.)

thanks for that Isaac .. I reckon I might work it out meself now...

Oops .. it looks like I am monopolising my own Forum site at the moment? Nevertheless, I shall carry on regardless...

Just wanted to say that everything is by no means finalised, on the I.S., and there is still some fine tuning to do, not only with the dialogue, but also with the weight between dialogue, descriptive prose and action, to get improved flow and dynamic balance and even possibly also with some of the details of plot, which I am always open to finesse if there are any improvements that happen to strike anyone.

Cernunnos, the Horned God is an interesting archetype and appears in many forms in many cultures.

I found this web site today that is quite fun as it has great little illustrations against each of the entries, and you will see with Cernunnos with the torc in one hand and the snake in the other!

http://wiccachile.tripod.com/moon/deities.htm

Andrew

All the best A...keep on truckin'

Yes its a great site btw..had fun looking in there..

E