Tag Archives: reading

My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

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Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it’s all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.

And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family?

Now her life is completely different…every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left.–Description from Goodreads

Paperback, 287 pages
Published April 2nd 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN
1402277857 (ISBN13: 9781402277856)
edition language
English

My Thoughts:

This book is heartbreaking, beautiful and the kind of novel will stay with you possibly even forever. I do not think I will ever hear about this subject again without thinking of this character.

I wasn’t sure what I would think of this book when I first started reading it. This is difficult subject matter and I thought it might be too sad to read. It turns out that it is pretty realistic, but it is written in such a way that it offers you hope for the young woman that is the main character.

You struggle with her as she learns the truth of her situation, learns about her options and the disease itself. You are there as she discovers that her life may not end abruptly and without warning as she first feared. This is an incredibly moving book with many different facets that make it interesting.

The family dynamic is wonderful. The parents are supportive of her and try to improve her situation with understanding and compassion, yet the author also gave them time to grieve and react to the news of their daughter’s illness. I thought the relationship the main character shared with her birth mother was tragic, but also resulted in a beautiful gift that made this story even more worth reading.

The romance is plausible and the author did a superior job of making the here today gone tomorrow feeling of high school relationships shine through. It takes talent for an adult to write as a teen, and Jessica Verdi did it wonderfully.

The only thing I would say that I would have liked to see and perhaps wasn’t quite explored enough, is that it is not always the one night stand or the creepy guy who sleeps around that can be the cause of this disease. I felt it would have been important to focus on the possibility of her ex boyfriend being someone who should have been tested for the disease. I also found it very hard to believe that one of the characters would have kept her mouth shut about what she knew in a certain situation when she had been built up as a spoiled brat who hated the main character.

All in all, this was an amazing book. It deserves a read. If you have a teenager, it might be a good choice. This book covers some harsh reality, but in a way that I think would speak to a teen audience in such a manner that they could not only understand, but also relate to.

Very well done.

This review is based on a digital ARC.

Sihpromatum: I Grew My Boobs In China by Savannah Grace

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  If you have been looking for a travel memoir that will make you laugh, make you cry, make you think–this is the book for you.

 

http://www.sihpromatum.com
Here is the description from Goodreads:
SIHPROMATUM (Sip-row-may-tum) is a memoir series of one family’s four-year backpacking adventure around the world. The first installment, I Grew my Boobs in China, is the beginning of an intensely fascinating, sobering, and emotional memoir of Savannah’s introspective and innovative family adventure.

In 2005, 14-year-old Savannah Grace’s world is shattered when her mother unexpectedly announces that she and her family (mother, 45; brother, 25; sister, 17) would soon embark on an incredible, open-ended journey. When everything from her pets to the house she lived in is either sold, given away or put in storage, this naïve teenage girl runs headlong into the reality and hardships of a life on the road.
Built around a startling backdrop of over eighty countries (I Grew my Boobs in China relates the family’s adventures in China and Mongolia), this is a tale of feminine maturation – of Savannah’s metamorphosis from ingénue to woman-of-the-world. Nibbling roasted duck tongues in China and being stranded in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert are just two experiences that contribute to Savannah’s exploration of new cultures and to the process of adapting to the world around her.

ebook
Published August 19th 2012 by Sihpromatum Publishing House (first published August 16th 2012)
ISBN13
9780988123113
edition language
English
Here are my thoughts:
I dare you to read this book and not fall in love with it. Seriously, I dare you to. If you have been looking for a memoir that will make you smile, make you laugh and help you to look at the world through different eyes, this is surely the one to do it.

The first portion of this memoir tells the story of the average teenage girl. She is somewhat insecure, has had plenty of experience being the new kid in town and is trying to settle into a rhythm in her young life. She loves her dog, her best friend and her family. A phone call changes all of her plans, when her mother decides they are going to travel through China and live out of a backpack for a full year.

I could feel the devastation that young Savannah felt through her writing. She is very talented at expressing her memories and emotions through words and truly makes the reader feel as though they are right along beside her for the duration of the journey. What a journey it turns out to be–so many ways to experience all of your senses in this book!

It was amazing to read about this girl and her family and how much she grew up and changed over the course of their adventures. The descriptive language she uses to tell of her surroundings and each new place they visit made this somewhat like watching a movie. You could smell the air and see the colours through her words.

This is more than just a simple travel memoir. This is a story of spiritual and mental growth, physical change and family. Be careful when you read this, you might just want to sell everything you own and buy a sturdy backpack for your own adventure.

One of the main things I enjoyed about this book was the humor. There is a thread of hilarity that spans the course of the story, and the author never loses the ability to make her reader feel warm inside even during the portions that are more serious.

This is an excellent book from a talented author, and I recommend checking it out. You won’t be sorry you did.

On one final note–what a great title for a book!

The Tattered Banner By Duncan Hamilton

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The Tattered Banner coverI am pleased to feature “The Tattered Banner” on my blog today. I just finished reading this book the other day and couldn’t wait to share it with you guys.

 

Duncan Hamilton is a very talented author and also a fellow wordpress blogger.

You can find his site here:

 

http://www.duncanmhamilton.com
 
Here is the description from Goodreads:
 
Unique talent always attracts attention…

In a world where magic is outlawed, ability with a sword is prized above all else. For Soren this means the chance to live out his dreams.

Plucked from a life of privation, he is given a coveted place at Ostenheim’s Academy of Swordsmanship, an opportunity beyond belief.

Opportunity is not always what it seems however, and gifts rarely come without conditions. Soren becomes an unwitting pawn in a game of intrigue and treachery that could cost him not just his dreams, but also his life.

 
 372 pages
Published March 2nd 2013
ISBN
148101322X (ISBN13: 9781481013222)
edition language
English
 
On Amazon
 
and other retail stores
 
My thoughts on this novel:
 
The Tattered Banner by Duncan Hamilton is a different sort of fantasy novel and one that the reader can grow with. The events in this book span a lengthy period in the main character’s life and therefore the plot reveals itself in bits and pieces and there is a good amount of rise and fall in the story. The reader never has a chance to get bored as the pace is quick and the story is thoughtful.

Reading through this novel, there are moments when you know what is coming for a long time, but it isn’t exactly predictable. It actually feels rewarding when the character finally realises the same thing that you have known as the reader for a long time. There were a lot of other places in this book where the author went a completely different direction than I expected, and for the most part I think it worked.

I was impressed that Mr. Hamilton did not waste pages and pages of space describing the school his character was sent to. This has been seen and done in other novels of recent memory and I felt avoiding that aspect made this book much more original.

The descriptions in this novel are handled well. There is not so much description that the actions and events become lost in it, but there is enough to paint a visual picture of the world.

The story itself is well written and highlights the author’s style of writing. I enjoyed the third person perspective as it gave the reader an opportunity to get to know all of the characters rather than just the main.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that fantasy lovers and those who enjoy reading adventures will most likely want to read again. If you haven’t read this book yet, pick up a copy and explore this world for yourself. I recommend it.

RCC, I’m a Jerk and admit it and other stuff

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CavegirlFirst, the RCC update on my progress.

Have I made any? A bit. Maybe nothing worth throwing a parade for me or anything but here it is.

One of my original goals for the Rome Construction Crew was to get better about public speaking. I still freeze when I’m in a large group pf people and have to be the central focus of attention, but I am getting better about video conferencing.

 

I completed my marathon and came in second, which wasn’t too bad.

Everything else…I’m working on it.

 

If you would like to find out more about the support and community that is the Rome Construction Crew click here:

http://romeconstructioncrew.com

 

I’m awful, I’m horrible. I’m terrible. You should all take away my toys and ground me to my room. No really, I would love a nap. What I’m trying to say is, some brilliant woman got the idea to round up her friends and start a new blog and it has taken up a lot of her time the last few days. She has been terrible about reading your posts, answering her comments and being a good blogger. (I find it easier to apologise in 3rd person.)

As soon as the new website is fully operational I promise to come back to my senses and kiss a lot of bum and do whatever I can to remedy this. Really, so sorry. I love all of you guys and I thank you for supporting me and this blog. I really haven’t forgotten how much you all mean to me. :)

 

I am a bad blogger. Bad bad bad blogger. I hang my head in shame. Hey…there’s than grilled cheese I lost last week.

A quick question

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I have been toying with the idea of starting another blog, but I want an opinion from my readers. If I were to start a second blog, and it was just short stories and poetry, maybe some occasional non fiction–most genres– would you all be willing to write and contribute to it? If so, please let me know what you think. I am surrounded by talented writers, and often want to write but the things I wish to write do not always fit with my own blog. Opinions please.

Would you like to contribute stories, poems and non-fiction pieces?

 

I sayin pwetty peez. :)

Author of the week:)

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    My very first Author of the Week is the lovely Sarah Cradit. Sarah is smart as a whip, funny and has been one of my very favourite bloggers ever since I started this blog.

 

She is also an author and has written a series that you will not want to miss.  You can already find St. Charles at Dusk and will soon be able to get your hands on the second book in the series.

For more info on how to find Sarah’s books or if you just want to go say hello to her, click here:

http://sarahcradit.wordpress.com/an-introduction-to-the-house-of-crimson-and-clover-series/

Marketing With Harry Steinman: Part IIII

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I am beginning to love Thursdays, how about all of you? Time for another round of do and don’t about Marketing with the very talented Gentleman Mr. Harry Steinman.

The feed back from this series has been great, but every author needs a bit of encouragement, so if you feel you have learned something here or are just enjoying listening to the story of another author, please let Harry and I know that you would like for us to continue:) Without further ado–Harry Steinman

 Pantser or Planner?

Twelve Tips to Self-Publish

By Harry Steinman,

Publisher With a List of Exactly One Book

Some authors are “pantsers”—free-form writers who write ad hoc, and then edit like crazy. Others are planners, methodical writers who follow outlines…and then edit like crazy. The best approach to writing is the one that works for you.

Publishing is another story. Only planners succeed. Publishing is right-brain territory. Pantsers succeed in self-publishing about as often as construction crews erect habitable skyscrapers without blueprints.

I studied self-publishing in workshops, read books and pestered experts with questions. Sometimes, I ignored the planning discipline, because I prefer fast to careful. This led to speed-induced bonehead decisions that were expensive to repair and humiliating to endure.

Lesson learned: planning and execution take time. Allow at least nine months—perhaps longer—to move your baby from final draft to first edition.

Here are a dozen tips so you can prepare to self-publish. See the last ‘graph of this post for more information about timelines and costs.
1. Decide on a selling strategy and stick to it. Print or eBooks? This single decision drives the entire process. I attempted both. EBook sales went well but print sales languished. IMHO, significant print sales require distribution through the traditional publishers.

2. Create a budget. Understand the process in advance and estimate the costs. Figure out how you’ll pay. I used Kickstarter to raise about half of the costs to self-publish. That will be the subject of a future post.

3. Should you just let a vendor do the work? There are dozens ready to handle all of the publishing and distribution tasks for you. Give ‘em a manuscript and, presto! Book. WARNING! If the vendor provides the ISBN, then the vendor owns your content. WARNING! Vendors will format your book, but many will not return your formatted manuscript if you choose to go elsewhere. Some will not let you go elsewhere.
Read the street-savvy guide, “Editors and Predators”. This labor of love exposes publishing, agent, and writing contest scams. http://pred-ed.com/

4. Shop for a cover designer. Don’t skimp here. A great cover plus a perfect blurb sell books. Weak covers produce tepid sales. You can get a cover, cheap, and it will show. I paid the price for a pro. It was the best decision I made. Look for a future post on covers and interior design.

5. Learn about book interior design and find a good designer. Good interior design is a plus for eBooks and a must for paper books. I consider the interior of Little Deadly Things to be exemplary. Check it out.

6. Amazon, Part I. Going to publish a paper edition? Create an Amazon strategy. Many print-on-demand (POD) houses act as a distributor for you for a small fee. If you use them and Amazon and other retailers will buy your book at a discount and then undercut your retail price. Amazon will always take first position in the buy box. Not sure what that means? Better learn everything you can about Amazon before you commit your resources.

7. If your strategy focuses on eBooks, then a POD that provides distribution may be a good idea. Smaller royalties for you, but no printing costs, no inventory carrying costs, and you can stick to promoting eBooks.

8. Amazon, Part II. Learn about the Kindle Select program. Great benefits, but you’ll give up some freedom with eBook sales in order to sign up. I’ll cover this in a future post.

9. Independent third-party reviewers require an advanced review copy (ARC) at least three months in advance of publication. Ignore this and you’ll empty your wallet to get an independent review—with no guarantee you’ll like the result.

10. If you publish a paper edition, choose cover and paper stock carefully. The tactile experience will enhance or diminish the reader’s pleasure.

11. Print your ARCs at least four months in advance of your production run. (Certain language is crucial on your ARC. You can find it on Dan Poynter’s website, listed below.)

12. Buy your own ISBNs. You will need an ISBN for each edition, print, eBook, library, etc. You can buy a single ISBN (bad deal) or 10 or 100 or 1000. There is only one vendor for ISBNs in the United States, Bowker. You’ll also need a bar code on a paper book.
This step is expensive but crucial. DO NOT LET A VENDOR OBTAIN YOUR ISBNs. (See Tip #3.)
I’ll share a bit more next week, enough to get you started. You have beacoup research ahead,well in advance of publishing. A good resource is Dan Poynter’s website and books. http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/about/danpoynter.cfm
Next week, I’ll cover an equally bewildering list of tasks, and, in future posts, discuss the importance of cover design, and interior design, of selecting vendors, and planning your launch.
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Why bother with all this? Freedom. Creative control. Money. Satisfaction. Read the lengthy post, “Eisler & Konrath Vs. Hanchette” and you’ll be proud to say, “I self-published.” http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/12/eisler-konrath-vs-hachette.html

Want more info on planning and costs? I’ll trade you my timeline and a breakdown of the costs I incurred for a review of Little Deadly Things on Amazon and Goodreads. I’ll send you an eBook copy, no charge, or a print copy if you cover the shipping cost (media mail is cheap). E-mail me at info@littledeadlythings.com for your copy.
Till next week!

A Kindle best-seller

on sale on Amazon or www.littledeadlythings.com

Every purchase supports the Young Adult Writers Program at grubstreet.org

cover   Buy this book for Kindle here

Everville:The First Pillar

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Here is some great news! This book is FREE through tomorrow! If you have not grabbed a copy for yourself yet, you can do so here.

Free Everville

Here is the description:

Owen Sage is the emblematic college freshman at Easton Falls University. He studies hard, plays hard, and is incredibly charming. With all the worries about his first year in college, he was not prepared for what would happen next. His way of life was flipped upside down when he was drawn into a different world, a world unbeknownst to him. He mysteriously crossed into another dimension, into the beautiful land of Everville. His tragic excitement was abruptly halted when he discovered that there was a darkness forged against both the natural world, which he knew well, and the new land which he discovered, Everville. He must devise a plan to save both worlds while joining forces with the race of Fron and The Keepers, whom both harbor hidden secrets he must learn in order to gain power over the evil that dwells in The Other In Between.

With a race against time to save both worlds, his short time at Easton Falls did not quite prepare him for the evil, dark forces he must fight in order to conquer The Other In Between.–goodreads

I read this book and fell in love with it. Roy Huff has a unique style that makes you feel almost as if you are one of his characters.

I asked him to do a guest post about publishing and why he chose the route he did, and he kindly agreed to do so.

You can find him at http://www.owensage.com

Please welcome him to Readful Things:)

 

The original idea to write the book Everville: The First Pillar came from the response I received to an English paper written for a college course I had taken.  It was the first time, I had seriously thought about writing a book, though I had often flirted with the idea through various stages of my adult life. After I decided to embark on the journey of writing a book, my initial plan was to go the traditional publishing route. My thoughts were that I wanted to be respected in the writing community as well as have a better chance at a commercially viable book. Even though I expected it to be a little more challenging, I thought using the standard method would make the most sense.

Over the next eighteen months, I slowly wrote a page or two in fits and starts, while periodically doing research into literary agents, publishing companies, and what would be the best approach to getting published. It soon became clear that before I even approached a literary agent, I would need to have a polished manuscript. Even then, it would still be difficult to find an agent willing to look at the completed manuscript, and I would likely receive numerous rejections beforehand. If I were fortunate enough find a literary agent who would have been willing to represent me, the manuscript would still need to be sent to publishers for review with no guarantee that it would be accepted. I could have tried to go directly to the publishers, but considering most publishers do not even consider unpublished authors, it seemed unlikely that would have been a good idea.

After writing only thirty pages, I realized that the daunting task of getting represented and published was preventing me from writing the book. I did want the book to be commercially successful, but I also wanted to finish the idea that I had in my head as well as make a contribution to the literary world. I then did a little more research into self-publishing and e-book options, and I eventually decided that it would be the best approach. Once I made the decision to self-publish, through Kindle as well as print, I finished the first draft in three months and took other steps to market the book. I can honestly say, that had I not done that, the book would not have been written.

If only for the purpose of completing the book, self-publishing was clearly the correct choice. There were some mistakes that were made, and the traditional route may still be an option now that the first book in published, but the initial decision has so far seemed like the right one, and it has allowed me to start on a path that I otherwise might not have taken. Whether the book or subsequent books in the series achieve commercial success, remains to be seen, but deciding to take the plunge and self-publish has encouraged me to make connections and contacts in the writing community, as well as research additional ways to improve my writing and market future books. More importantly, has also allowed me the opportunity to get feedback from readers who have already been inspired by my work. That alone has made it all worth it.

Thank you so much Roy for sharing your thoughts with us. I would love to have you back for another visit to tell us more about your series!

You can see my review of Roy’s fantastic book here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/558632473

Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser

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Questions of TravelQuestions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser

A mesmerising literary novel, Questions of Travel charts two very different lives. Laura travels the world before returning to Sydney, where she works for a publisher of travel guides. Ravi dreams of being a tourist until he is driven from Sri Lanka by devastating events.

Around these two superbly drawn characters, a double narrative assembles an enthralling array of people, places and stories – from Theo, whose life plays out in the long shadow of the past, to Hana, an Ethiopian woman determined to reinvent herself in Australia.

Award-winning author Michelle de Kretser illuminates travel, work and modern dreams in this brilliant evocation of the way we live now. Wonderfully written, Questions of Travel is an extraordinary work of imagination – a transformative, very funny and intensely moving novel.–Goodreads

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My thoughts:

I am really not sure what to think of this book. It has an interesting plot and it definitely has some beautiful prose, but the characters just fell flat for me. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it, I came up somewhere in the middle.

I liked the idea for this story, but honestly the idea was somewhat lost in miles of description and the slow pace of the novel. There are things happening in the book, but it takes the author a decent while to make sense of the situation and after a 100+ pages the book was still just meandering along.

This is a book that requires the reader to focus. The story is quite unique and intelligently written. The author has a pretty astonishing command of language, but I just can’t say this is my favourite book.

Sometimes the descriptions get so far off track that you can’t figure out what the original object the author describes actually is. Although there are some incredible passages in this book that are definitely worthy of being quoted, I found this novel rather lengthy for a book with such a slow moving pace.

Would I read another book by this author? Definitely. This one just wasn’t my personal taste.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher and provided by Netgalley.

Five Star Unicorns of Happy Reviews (also known as my review of Legends of Windemere by Charles Yallowitz) Holy cow this is a really super very long title.

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Luke Callindor was born into Windemere’s most decorated family of adventurers. Since his birth, he has been treated with the greatest amount of respect and awe. Now, with a lifetime of training and the reckless cockiness of youth, Luke has set out to prove that he deserves the admiration that comes from being a Callindor.

Luke gets his chance when he convinces a royal messenger to hire him to protect the heir of Duke Solomon. This future leader is secretly attending Hamilton Military Academy, an esteemed school run by the former mercenary, Selenia Hamilton. It is a dangerous secret mission requiring that Luke pretend to be an average student while keeping an eye out for any sign of danger. Unfortunately, Luke has no idea which student the heir is and a demonic assassin is already several steps ahead of him. Finding himself in over his head and constantly in trouble, the young warrior realizes that the only things he has on his side are some new friends and his unwavering courage.

Can Luke find and protect the heir while keeping his own head attached to his neck? And, can he avoid being suspended long enough to see his mission through to the end?–Goodreads

ebook & paperback, 353 pages
Published February 26th 2013 (first published March 13th 2006)
ISBN
1482585146 (ISBN13: 9781482585148)
edition language
English
Website
My thoughts:
It has been a long time since I found an opener for a fantasy series that was better than some of the big names in this genre. Dare I say that Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings may have some competition in the works? I think so. Charles Yallowitz is one of the most talented new voices I have seen hit the fantasy market in recent memory.Charles Yallowitz clearly has the required imagination to write a top notch fantasy novel. He has an excellent grasp of the elements that all good high fantasy books should entail. His world is rich, descriptive and filled with dazzling sights that have not been visited time and again. He utilizes more than just the common senses that we typically see in characters, and that made this a pretty mind blowing experience.

There were some really original and unique aspects to this book. I thought the use of zombies in this novel was an out of bounds achievement. I wasn’t expecting to see popular genres of fantasy and horror cross that way, and the mindless killing machine mentality of the zombies in Windemere were somewhat reminiscent of “The Five Kingdom” Novels by Vivian French, another series of books that I adore that also crosses genres.

There is a lot of humour along the way, so even when things are serious for the characters and there is peril and danger, the author keeps you laughing and enjoying the comedy of the character’s situations. I appreciated this quality, as it has always been one of my favourite things about fantasy. The character’s also have the chance to be reflective, serious and compassionate, as I had hoped they would.

Luke is a well thought out character. He is trying to live up to the family name and meet the expectations of everyone around him, but in the process, is also trying to forge his own path and be who he is.

In the beginning, I was concerned that basing a character on expectation had been done before and may be a weak point for the story, but Charles Yallowitz made it his own. Luke makes friends, enemies and ultimately chooses to hone the gifts he already has for the betterment of his situation and that of those he cares for. This is my definition of a hero. Appropriately titled book–”Beginning of a Hero.”

One of the other things I liked about this story, was that you never quite knew what was going to happen next. The author did not waste miles of paper telling the reader every single thing that was about to happen, and managed to keep his narration to a minimum and let the reader discover the events as they occurred. Many fantasy author have a tendency to narrate their stories to death, but this author didn’t. I like it.

The book was written in third person and really fit in keeping with the RPG feel of the story. Since everything is progressive, the reader always feels as though they are moving through time at the same rate as the characters. This genuinely made me feel like the action was happening in front of my eyes. I think Charles Yallowitz may be ruining my love for the past tense. Perhaps I should deduct a star after all.

My favourite part of this book, hands down–was when Luke arrived at the training camp. He was self assured, cocky and a brat. All within a matter of hours, he learned that he should not be so certain of himself after all.

The way Mr. Yallowitz handled this was most impressive. Luke could have copped out and become a groveling fool, or he could have become even cockier and as a result, a less likable character. Instead, he accepted his faults, admitted his weaknesses and renewed his spirit by becoming even more determined to learn. This showed me two things: 1.) This is a character that can be both resilient and endearing. 2.)This character will not fail me in further novels. I can trust him to be reliable and intelligent.

The emerging friendship between Luke and Nimby is another strong point for this novel. Every great hero needs a sidekick of sorts, and that is the role that Nimby fills in this first book. What would Harry have been without Ron? What would have become of Frodo without Sam? Nimby is the glue that binds Luke to this tale.

I really don’t think there is anything I would have changed about this novel. I liked the dog (Stiletto). I liked the magic. I love the Lich. (Think epitome of evil.) I thought all of the supporting characters were well done. I am totally infatuated with Fizzle. I think I may even love him. I also enjoyed that each character has a personality of their own. You don’t have to worry about having “says so-ad-so” every sentence as the speaker is identifiable through the pattern of their speech. I think I may actually go into withdrawals until I get more Fizzle.

I do have to say, it has taken me a bit of time and effort to drop the R from windermere and get Windemere. I blame Oscar Wilde. Not the author’s fault, classic literature buff here.

I am really looking forward to the next book. If you love a good fantasy and have been missing the way things used to be, when heroes were truly heroic and didn’t back down from a challenge, pick up a copy and read it. You won’t be sorry you did.