lol @ Emma. The eyes in my stories are generally glowing, blazing, flashing or something similarly bizarre.

I always thought the expression 'he flicked his eyes' sounded painful.

JB

I do recall a piece of gothic horror where a eyeball was flicked out with a screwdriver, but perhaps not what you were thinking of, JB

Jess, my people are alwasy gazing at one another, I have to limit myself, definitely. And smiling/grinning. It's bloody difficult, without these repetitive statements, to show that such-a-person has 'got' what such-another-person had just said. Love stories are the worst. If there are two people falling for each other, their eyes just have to meet the whole time (across a crowded room or otherwise!).

(Poppy, so interesting what you say about Anna's friends Jessie. When I was reading, I could NEVER remember her name. All the others - Helen, Alistair, all the minor charcaters - even those boys at college whom I could not name now, if I see their names I remember who's who. But Jessie never feels like a Jessie to me. Maybe when she's just Jess. But even that's not really right.)

Rosy

Naomi, Poppy Z.Brite once wrote a horrific scene involving a screwdriver, but it didn't go into the victim's eye...

JB

Ear?
Or, did they do a William II? (or was that Henry II?), anyway, the one with the hot poker

Yes, the hot poker thing. Nasty!

I'm not a great fan of too much gore, but I do like Poppy Z.Brite. That bookw as called Exquisite Corpse about two gay serial killers, one American, one British, who fall in love and go on a spree.

JB

<Added>

On another note, my copy editor pointed out that sometimes I have a propensity to 'humanise' limbs and that it's a no no in fiction. For example 'legs ran', 'foot kicked' 'hand slapped' etc. Apparently, rather than saying 'my hand slapped the President's face', it should just be 'I slapped the President's face'. Learn something new every day.

Her book Liquor is fab.

The hot poker was Edward II, though that may have been gossip based on his sexual tastes. Richard II also died in mysterious circumstances, and Henry VI.

I still remember Diane Keaton being murdered in Looking for Mr Goodbar, though I was young and innocent enough not to really understand at the time.

Emma

Not read that one Jess, but read Swamp Foetus and really enjoyed it. I'll have to check it out.

JB

Oh lordy, yes, yes, yes...mine are always gazing all over the place and smiling/grinning etc! Good to know there are so many with this affliction, Jess!

I went through a dreadful phase of 'She sighed, and smiled' popping up all over the place in one novel...

Emma

...who fall in love and go on a spree.

As one does




<Added>

Aha, thanks, Emma, I knew there was a II in there somewhere :)

Yes, it seems to be a mistake to be a II, if you're planning on being a monarch - Henry II did very nicely thank you, and George II, but William II was assassinated too. Maybe it's sex-related: Elizabeth II's okay so far .

Emma

I had a review which said that Gentle Axe had the most closely observed eyes in literature - or something like that.

So pile on the eye action, is what I say!

Better than eyes on the pile action, at any rate...