No, threats are good. Just be sure to follow through.

Ian: Just a note: I've picked up that apologizing in advance for no reason is frowned upon in this forum :) Nice work

Then again, the quantum mechanical model says an electron is not really a moving target existing at a point, but a probabilistic wave function describing possible locations for the electron, all of which are actually occupied simultaneously in a quantum uncertaintly until collapsed by an observation, and hence Schringer's paradoxical cat. I find Bohr's "planetary" model much more intuitively comfortable, yet I have no problem with the quantum leaps between energy levels of orbitals. (Just noticed that you mentioned the charge, which is actually constant, rather than energy.) I find it fascinating how you've turned DNA and quantum computers into poetry and metaphysical speculation !) Mr I

Oops. Make that the December Analog, page 140.

Attached Link: http://stephenlawhead.com

Under table manners, "desert" should be "dessert."

Other than that, great stuff!

The following is copied from the Q&A archives of writer Stephen R. Lawhead's site:

Q: One little nit-picking comment: In Taliesin and Merlin, you have the characters in Wales eating potatoes quite frequently. If I remember correctly, potatoes were brought to England from Central America by Sir Walter Raleigh in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I -- some centuries after Taliesin/Merlin/Arthur.

and

Q: In The Black Rood, as Duncan and his friends are fleeing Antioch, they pass a 'squalid little farm, the crabbed fields of which yield more stones than corn.' I don't want to sound like I am nit-picking, but was not corn a discovery of the new world that did not occur for several hundred years?

and

Q: Your description of the feasts always makes me drool. What sources have you used to develop the menus and have you ever considered creating a cookbook? Sounds corny but I'd love to try some of the things you write about.

and

Q: I eagerly await the publication of each of your new books. I do however have one great complaint. I have gained at least fifteen pounds since I began reading your books. It seems that I have developed an insatiable appetite for meat, broth, dark bread, and ale.

A: Food, food, glorious food! We'll deal with the matter of potatoes first. Potatoes are a New World crop and had no place on Merlin's table -- it only happened once, however, not 'frequently' as you suggest. The error was actually caught just after the first edition went to press and in subsequent editions the more acceptable turnip was substituted on the menu. I thought the error had been dealt with, but apparently this is not the case. I invite any readers who spot potato-eating in Merlin -- I believe this is the only book involved -- to cite publisher, edition, and page number so I can follow-up. Leave your message on the Readers Write page.

As for corn: in Britain (where I live) this word is used to describe any cereal grain -- especially barley and wheat -- as what North American's call 'corn' (maize) is a relatively new crop. Thus, Duncan, like all good Scots at the time, would have thought of any field of grain as 'corn.'

Now onto medieval meals. Yes, I'm a foodie. For many years I was unaware of the role that food and feasts played in my books. Now it has gotten to the point that even I realise that my love of food and drink has found its way into my stories.

As it is an interest of mine, I am constantly on the look-out for factual information about the ancient and medieval diet that might find a place in a book. Many foods eaten today have been little-changed in past centuries: wine and ale, of course; whole-grain and granary breads; sweets containing honey (not sugar); various indigenous birds such as partridge, pigeon, or duck; and any sort of game cooked over an open fire. In fact, for most of the world's history people ate pretty much whatever they could find or catch, including many things even the more adventurous would question -- from swans to sparrows, and porcupines to porpoises. Really.

Beyond that, I have a modest collection of cookbooks with such titles as How to Eat Like a Roman Emperor, Food and Feast in Medieval England, Cooking in Roman Britain, etc. Other books dealing with specific subjects such as travel conditions of pilgrims, monastic life, women's work in medieval France (or whatever) will contain some information about what those people ate and drank.

Then it's simply a matter of bringing imagination and enthusiasm to the subject. I'm glad so many people are enjoying the feasts. If you have a real taste for these foods, they can certainly be tried by amateurs (especially those who know a co-operative butcher). And, if you are visiting an Old World country, why not go to one of the many medieval banquets offered in various castles? For example, they're offered at Bunratty Castle near Shannon in Ireland (been to that one), Ruthin Castle in Wales, Warwick Castle . . . and a host of others. Although I've not tried them myself, I wouldn't look for an authentic experience in Orlando or Las Vegas, though.

TJ- It is Schringer's cat, and it knows it is there, just not whether it is alive or not! I did like the poem. Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine ran a letter to the editor piece commenting on the analog vs. digital nature of quantum computers in the January issue. And their sister mag, Asimov's, runs a lot of science-related poetry. I'd send yours in!

May your always miss your scabbard when you sheath your sword. I have a friend who witnessed just that at a martial arts competition. The guy neatly lopped off his thumb, bowed to the judges, picked up the thumb, and then hurried off the floor. Ghastly thought.

Merlin said he could see clearly last night, but I didn't have a chance to check in and contact you. So that's the best you can do so far? To be honest, when you first said it seemed they were looking at a map, I was a bit suspicious. Knowing these guys, I thought there might be more to it.

I think anyone well-read in the English language will have no problem with centre, colour, etc. I would say the guidelines are consistency, and whatever an editor demands if you go that far.

The Merlin has just indicated that Sol has a lot of freckles. You probably need to do a bandbass with the low at 500mhz and the high at 2.2Ghz with a phase 90 inversion and genlock set to maximum. Any clearer yet?

How wide is the spectrum on your satellite? See if you can isolate the signal on the blue end, and if you have anything beyond the visible range, say in the UV band, perhaps the smaller wavelength can improve your resolution a tad. If you still want a color image, you can composite the detail you pick up back into the original, I suspect.

Regarding length, I restrained myself a bit for the original to keep it at (just) under 2000 words, and do have some ideas I couldn't explain in that space. That ties into your last comment about the time the rukai had Sharon. Even I don't have a full answer to that yet. In hinting at the rukai prowess in genetic engineering, I toyed with the thought that they can modify genetic expression in adults instead of zygotes. Details of Sharon's abduction need clarification in my own mind. I can't count how many times I missed content versus continent. Of course, my brain KNEW it said "continent" and that's what I saw, and the darn spell checker didn't help a whit on that one! I agree with you on all three phrases you tagged. They even went through a few drafts, but as the clock ticked down to submission time and my brains got gooey, I left well-enough alone. I am extremely pleased that you understood the implication of James resisting the suggestions of the sam-alruk in spite of the mangled phrasing. I worried that I was being too subtle. Just before posting, I looked at the sentence containing both "rukai" and "Moors" and noticed the inconsistency in capitalization. I yield to the wisdom of the jury. I'm glad you enjoyed it and extremely appreciative of your thoughtful critique. And I'll take a look at WritersWrite.com.

Steph hated this every month. She always felt cranky, irritable. Then there were the urges, the irresistible cravings. There would always be chocolate. But now she wanted richer food to sate her hunger and slake the alien thirst. Hormones flowed; her change came. The full moon rose time to feed. jon-Thanks for introducing me to Brians. This is my first attempt.

Thanks for the feedback. Moebius, I especially appreciate the comment on the dialogue. I've realized that realistic dialogue is hard to accomplish, powerful when done right, and something I still need to work on. Now you've forced me to go back and look at how to improve it. Of course now I've got to go back and find those typos, too!

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/homepage.ez?Who=mysteri&ViewArticle=2045