Glad that you and the family are OK. The boys are sure all grown up now, compared to when I first met you online!
Do you know the dates for your trip yet? I will be away on August 13-21 but should be here before and after those dates, and if our respective plans allow, I might be able to go up to meet you in northern Italy, either Milan or Venice or Verona (or Innsbruck for that matter, though it is more of a question mark), especially if you are at any of these places over a weekend (August 6-7 or Aug 27-28). If you are going to Milan for more than a day, I'd very much recommend a day trip to Varenna on Lake Como, an hour's train ride from central Milan. It will be relatively busy in August, but it is simply too beautiful not to drop by.
I know what you mean about Eleanor; do not remember precisely what she did in ep VI but by the time she kicked Vane out of his own ship in ep III over a matter where his intentions were better than she imagined, without even trying to let him explain, I wanted to smash her head in. In reality her behavior does veer between bona fide bitchiness and an apparently earnest need to do the right thing and/or survive in a cutthroat world by what means she has available, and at various times in seasons 1 and 2 my opinion fluctuated between one and the other; but in the final tally the bitchiness won out.
As for the show in general, I am glad you are giving it a chance beyond season 1. I certainly noticed a quality leap between seasons 1 and 2, and again between seasons 2 and 3. Season 1 has its highlights (or highlight character in my case :) ) but IMO the treasure hunt took up too much of the plot, Vane's slave camp trip took him away from the swing of things for too long, and I was annoyed beyond words at fucking Max (literally, too :P ) - she is not a bad sort as a character, but I still am no fan; that said, I have to admit that she is less grating in later seasons. As for season 2, if you like Rupert Penry Jones (I am afraid I don't), you are in for a treat.
I seem to find that fic writing, unfortunately, is not an indefinite pastime, so I know what you mean about seemingly having exhausted the options. I wonder if it is because we both tend to be relatively picky about the shows or fictional universes we like and so tend(ed) to give it our best, so that it is harder to get excited by other/new stuff and to invent fresh plots. I love writing so much that I find it sad, and yet cannot do anything about it - I've always had fairly short favourite book/TV show/etc shortlists and cannot write in a dozen fandoms as some others do; and your Robin Hood stories are such an epic masterpiece that I can see how embarking on another writing experience like that may be a challenge. By multichapter Robin Hood fics, do you mean Choice and Endgame, or have you written others since (and if yes, where are they found?)
In my case with Jeopardy and Prize, I had a pretty self-contained plot that took about 45K words between the two stories, which is why I was able to type it up in a month. Talking about historical detail, I was hugely helped by a very detailed real account (Captain Charles Johnson's book published in 1724) where I was able to borrow significant plot twists from the real Charles Vane's life, down to dialogue lines - at times I felt I should list him as co-author :) If you get to the point of reading Jeopardy, you will see the extracts from Johnson's book that I re-typed after the relevant chapters (alternatively I can send you the stuff with all the notes in Word).
I read your short stories on FictionPress and started reading the drabbles; it never fails to impress me how much you manage to convey while using words sparingly, without delving into stylistic flourishes - it is very elegant writing, and the short story/drabble format really shows it off. I loved the surprise twists at the end of some of the drabbles, too! I wonder if there can be a way to string these, or similar mini-stories, along an overarching framework/plot, however loose, e.g. by using a common observer/narrator, so as to bring them together into a longer book that could be published - assuming that you would consider it.
Do you know the dates for your trip yet? I will be away on August 13-21 but should be here before and after those dates, and if our respective plans allow, I might be able to go up to meet you in northern Italy, either Milan or Venice or Verona (or Innsbruck for that matter, though it is more of a question mark), especially if you are at any of these places over a weekend (August 6-7 or Aug 27-28). If you are going to Milan for more than a day, I'd very much recommend a day trip to Varenna on Lake Como, an hour's train ride from central Milan. It will be relatively busy in August, but it is simply too beautiful not to drop by.
I know what you mean about Eleanor; do not remember precisely what she did in ep VI but by the time she kicked Vane out of his own ship in ep III over a matter where his intentions were better than she imagined, without even trying to let him explain, I wanted to smash her head in. In reality her behavior does veer between bona fide bitchiness and an apparently earnest need to do the right thing and/or survive in a cutthroat world by what means she has available, and at various times in seasons 1 and 2 my opinion fluctuated between one and the other; but in the final tally the bitchiness won out.
As for the show in general, I am glad you are giving it a chance beyond season 1. I certainly noticed a quality leap between seasons 1 and 2, and again between seasons 2 and 3. Season 1 has its highlights (or highlight character in my case :) ) but IMO the treasure hunt took up too much of the plot, Vane's slave camp trip took him away from the swing of things for too long, and I was annoyed beyond words at fucking Max (literally, too :P ) - she is not a bad sort as a character, but I still am no fan; that said, I have to admit that she is less grating in later seasons. As for season 2, if you like Rupert Penry Jones (I am afraid I don't), you are in for a treat.
I seem to find that fic writing, unfortunately, is not an indefinite pastime, so I know what you mean about seemingly having exhausted the options. I wonder if it is because we both tend to be relatively picky about the shows or fictional universes we like and so tend(ed) to give it our best, so that it is harder to get excited by other/new stuff and to invent fresh plots. I love writing so much that I find it sad, and yet cannot do anything about it - I've always had fairly short favourite book/TV show/etc shortlists and cannot write in a dozen fandoms as some others do; and your Robin Hood stories are such an epic masterpiece that I can see how embarking on another writing experience like that may be a challenge. By multichapter Robin Hood fics, do you mean Choice and Endgame, or have you written others since (and if yes, where are they found?)
In my case with Jeopardy and Prize, I had a pretty self-contained plot that took about 45K words between the two stories, which is why I was able to type it up in a month. Talking about historical detail, I was hugely helped by a very detailed real account (Captain Charles Johnson's book published in 1724) where I was able to borrow significant plot twists from the real Charles Vane's life, down to dialogue lines - at times I felt I should list him as co-author :) If you get to the point of reading Jeopardy, you will see the extracts from Johnson's book that I re-typed after the relevant chapters (alternatively I can send you the stuff with all the notes in Word).
I read your short stories on FictionPress and started reading the drabbles; it never fails to impress me how much you manage to convey while using words sparingly, without delving into stylistic flourishes - it is very elegant writing, and the short story/drabble format really shows it off. I loved the surprise twists at the end of some of the drabbles, too! I wonder if there can be a way to string these, or similar mini-stories, along an overarching framework/plot, however loose, e.g. by using a common observer/narrator, so as to bring them together into a longer book that could be published - assuming that you would consider it.
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