Author: Ev Bishop

Love – It’s in the Details

/ Ev Bishop / 9 Comments

I had a terrible day a few weeks ago. When I finally crawled into bed, my husband was already asleep. That was great with me because I really didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I tucked myself up into a ball and rolled up against the mighty wall of his thick-muscled back as tightly as I could.

As I listened to his heartbeat and to the rumble-not-quite-snore of his dreaming, I was slowly comforted. No matter what days come, I thought, I have this.

And then something struck me so hard I literally jolted, causing him to pat my leg absentmindedly (no doubt thinking, Shh, shh, let me sleep—don’t wake me up . . .). What I realized was this: There are other people who, when they feel bad, sneak onto their side of the bed without making a sound and lie there, silent in their misery, alone—the body beside them being the last person they would—or could—seek comfort/solace/respite in.

And because I’m a freak and can never totally escape my inner writer, I had to turn this sweet moment of gratefulness into a craft lesson. I thought about the writing rule, “Show don’t tell,” and how in general, the way a couple positioned themselves in bed at the end of a bad day would be a powerful indicator of how they related to each other.

What I did says something about me. What my husband did (in not rolling away and burrowing his head under a pillow when I’m sure having my knees jammed against his back and me sniffling and flinching wasn’t exactly a big pleasure) says something about him.

People reveal themselves—their passions, their fears, their insecurities, their hopes, their strengths, their vices—in a million ways in little moments everyday. And often, because none of us are perfect or completely consistent, even with ourselves, there are tiny contradictions that may (rightfully or wrongfully) colour our interpretations of people.

A relationship might seem rocky or strained when couple snipes at each other in public—but that falls away, or at least loses weight, when they hold hands when no one else is around and he opens the car door for her or she gets him his favourite snack. And vice-versa, Shakespeare’s famous line, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” can apply in a negative way to romantic love too. If a couple is too sugary-sweet and all over each other all the time in public (and they’re older than nineteen), I confess I’m a little sceptical about the strength of the tie that binds them . . . (But than again, maybe not—maybe they’re genuinely more touchy-feely and I’m just an old curmudgeon!)

Now how about you . . . Do you consciously consider little “throwaway” moments that reveal your characters’ relationships with themselves, their mates, their kids, their friends, etc? Do you notice what, if any, contradictions exist between what they say and how they act? Is it harder, in your opinion, to show nuances of love or nuances of trouble brewing . . .

Take 15 . . .

/ Ev Bishop / 6 Comments

I’ve been extra busy lately—in good ways, with great things: my business, my part-time day job, my family. . . And though I strive (and mostly succeed) to work on my own writing projects, plus do at least one “author Ev” chore daily, I’m always tempted to give into the feeling that I can’t fit one more thing in and should go watch TV.*

The ongoing struggle is not to find words, but to sit my butt down and get them out on the page.

For the most part though, I’ve learned well not to yield to sloth (unless I really need to which is another post for another day ;)). Not making my own work a priority makes me miserable. Plus, I work hard to not let other people down and to help them achieve their goals—so why wouldn’t I give myself the same treatment?

And in that vein, I was fortunate this month to discover two amazing strategies for getting work done even when you think you have no time.

The first strategy comes from a course I took online through RWA, offered by author Kerri Nelson , called “The Book Factory—Produce Multiple Novels in a Year” (an amazingly practical and inspiring class, by the way. I highly recommend it). It boils down to this: write new words everyday, even if just for 15 minutes. Set the timer and write flat-out, no editing, no breaks, no pausing to think . . .

It’s freakish how effective those fifteen-minute sprints have been for me this month and last. I’ve had NO fiction writing time, yet in January I wrote 18 142 new words.

The second strategy is a bit more specific, but no less powerful. It’s “Plot your novel in 15 minutes or less” by Claudia Suzanne and I came across it at Mayra Calvani‘s blog (Mayra’s Secret Bookcase), a site recommended to me by author and friend Angela Dorsey (Oh, the tangled World Wide Web!).

I don’t usually outline at all, but desperate to not lose a new novel idea that just occurred to me last week, I thought I’d give it a try. I loved it. I now have a very bare bones, yet fantastic 15-point outline that gives me plenty of freedom, but that will guide me through to the story’s end, and (even better!) provide a frame for the book’s synopsis (my least favourite part of novel writing).

Anyway, I’d love to hear how your writing and life is going this month. And if you’re busy and my small suggestions above motivate you to put off your lounge on the couch for even just fifteen minutes, you’re welcome, heh heh.

* Yes, I realize there’s an obvious logic problem there—if I have no time, how can I manage to watch TV? What can I say? I like television . . .

The Pedastal Magazine

/ Ev Bishop / 2 Comments

I was checking out the latest issue (61/Ten-Year Anniversary) of an e-zine I read in regular binges, The Pedestal Magazine, and I had to bring the editor’s letter to his readers to your attention.

I’ve written before about why I write, why I read and the value of the Arts to me, personally, and to Society as a whole. John Amen’s articulations on the subject so closely mirror my own, I confess I got a little misty: “. . . art saves lives. It saved mine when I was a teenager. If I had not somehow believed in the importance of creative expression, I would not have had anything tethering me to life itself. That I could write (or paint or make music) was paramount to me; it was everything, in a way. It was a redemption.”

I want to quote his next paragraph too–and the next. Instead, however, I refer you to the Readers’ Message in its entirety. I hope you find it as inspiring, affirming, and challenging as I did.

Happy Valentine’s Day — pre or post apocalypse!

/ Ev Bishop / 4 Comments

Dear All:

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’ve had a love-themed blog post in mind for February 14 for quite some time, but (wail!), it just hasn’t reached the on-the-page-stage yet. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I have have some other themed reading to recommend in the form of a quirky, great anthology: Nothing But Flowers ~ Tales of Post-apocalyptic Love – you definitely should.

All of its stories are available for free on the blog (linked from the title above) for 48 hours or so, and then it will be available as an e-reader download. I particularly recommend Jen Brubacher’s tale is called “I Dream of Cherry Pies” because . . . well, actually, no spoilers, but I loved it even though it made me sad (isn’t that what most great love stories do?) even while I smiled . . .

If you get a chance to read Nothing But Flowers, I’d love to hear about your favourite stories.

That shiny sparkling hope . . .

/ Ev Bishop / 3 Comments

So I’ve been hiding out in my little buried corner of a very white world lately, busily, busily working away–on my own writing, yes, but also on an editing project and two writer-for-hire gigs.

It’s lovely weather for tea and books and holing up, and I have to fight going into full hibernation–but fight it I must. Spring will come and I will be very sad if I have not ventured out to the mailbox and kept my submissions up. So far I’ve been doing well, sending out a couple of things every week or so, and–even better–getting responses. That’s the trick, isn’t it? In order to get acceptances, we have to send things out (I know, I know–my blog, so enlightening isn’t it? Heh.).

A friend of mine always says to make a lot of submissions when you’re feeling down about your work because having things “out there” is inspiring and motivating. I totally agree. I think it’s because of the shiny sparkling hope that goes along with each hit of “send,” each envelope we seal and stamp. As long as our words are out there they have the chance of meeting some one who likes them, relates to them, laughs at them, or cries with them . . . And while they’re out, our minds are free to find new stories to spend time with.

What about you? Are your submission habits different according to the season? Do you send less or more in long winter months? How do you keep your writing hopes sparkly?

What you always wanted to do

/ Ev Bishop / 10 Comments

My little sister Ellie Higginson is an Opera singer and moved to Germany just over a year ago, after several extended trips to various locations in Europe. In many ways her artistic journey echoes my writing journey (and I suspect there are similarities between most artists whatever their mode of expression!); each exciting step is the result of many years of unseen work.

Ellie’s living in Goerlitz (a small town in the furthest part of East Germany, right on Poland’s border), singing under contract with the Opera theatre there. And now it’s audition season again and she’s eagerly looking ahead, working toward roles with other larger theatres—see, again, the writing connection: you get one gig, hurrah! But you haven’t arrived, you have to keep working, keep submitting, and repeat, repeat, repeat. 😉

The Terrace Standard and its sister publication, The Weekend Advertiser, ran articles about her recently because having any kind of an International performing career—let alone an Operatic one—is exciting news to the people you grew up around, but when you you’re a small town girl hailing from, of all places, Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, it’s that much more newsworthy.

A man who read the article approached me in the grocery store the other night.

“I saw that article about your sister in the paper,” he said.

I said something witty, like “Hello and oh yeah?”

“It was really cool.”

There was something so genuinely pleased for her in his tone that I can’t really explain it in words very well.

“I took it to work and showed all the guys—‘This is Wilf’s sister, man. She’s living in Germany and singing Opera.’” (Our brother used to work with him.)

We chatted on for a few minutes more about where she was exactly and how she was doing. Then he shook his head, and repeated with just a touch of wistfulness, “It’s just really cool. She’s doing it—she’s doing what she always wanted to do. Not many of us can say that.”

Bam! I was at once so happy and so sad, because he’s so right. Not many of us can say that. Somewhere along the way of growing up, getting married, and/or having dependents or other responsibilities, it’s easy to give up on that thing we always wanted to do, that artistic or athletic or fill-in-the-blank pursuit that made us happy, made us feel uniquely us. I think that’s what we love about someone else accomplishing something unique or special—it’s a reminder: Following your dream, living your dream, is possible.

I feel very fortunate. Dreams are about the experience you have while dreaming, not “results” and while my dream isn’t over yet, just like Ellie, I’m doing what I always wanted to. I wish I’d thought to ask the guy what it was he’d always dreamed about . . .

I hope Ellie knows what an inspiration she is . . . I think I’ll give her a call this week and remind her.

What do you want out of your writing?

/ Ev Bishop / 8 Comments

What do I want out of my writing, or why do I write?

The other evening at my local writers’ group meeting, in honour of the new year and the evaluating, assessing and planning that usually goes with it, we each did a free write based on the above questions.

My answers weren’t anything incredibly deep (or that surprising to myself), but they were encouraging. It’s easy to get entangled in the outer elements of writing—word counts, markets, publishing “successes,” reader responses, etc—but the really important aspects of writing (for me, at least) are the immeasurable, non-trackable, non-recordable inner ones.

Here’s what I came up with—but wait, before you read mine, why don’t you take ten minutes and answer the questions as fast as you can, writing whatever comes to mind—then come back and read mine and if you want, share what you came up with. I’d love to read about why you write.

* * *

What do I want out of my writing, or why do I write?

Hmmm, they’re good questions, actually—ones that I ask myself semi-regularly in order to refocus my efforts, to motivate and re-inspire, and sometimes (especially if I’ve received a particularly disappointing rejection letter) to console myself.

I want many things from my writing. I write for many reasons!

In no particular order of importance—or rather, in order of importance that changes from day to day with whatever’s going on in my life—here are the main fuels for my for my muse:

Writing is pure fun! No matter what the genre, how picky and unfamiliar, thus arduous, the non-fiction topic, or how dreadfully thick a bog I may have hit in a plot, I just really love working with words and playing with stories.

Writing is a great comfort to me. Everyone has hard things they go through and while, yes, I suppose I’m saying I use writing as an escape at times, I also mean that seeing stories come out of me, out of my experiences, and out of the questions I have asked when confronted by my pain or the deep pain of others gives me comfort and a feeling of connection. We all have stories; it’s the one thing that all humans have in common.

Writing is a great way to think through what I believe, what I love, what I despise—and what, if anything, I can (or should!) do with those realizations.

Writing is cathartic. In terms of mental health, you can get a less expensive or more holistic form of therapy!

Writing helps me celebrate and remember beauty, love and all that’s good in the world. My non-fiction words (and who knows, maybe my fictional ones too) create a record of who I am and who I’ve been—and perhaps foreshadow who I will become.

Though I hope to one day make my living fully from my fiction writing (so I can have that much more time to write more!), writing is not (and has never been) about the money for me.

Going into a new year, the exercise was a lovely reminder: come whatever may, I am doing what I love to do. I hope reading this post—or even better, writing your own response—has been affirming for you.

Happy New Year and happy writing! May your words flow like they never have before.

Cheers,
Ev

E-reading + Ether Books + short stories by me!

/ Ev Bishop / 6 Comments

So how many of you found an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or some other e-reader wrapped in pretty packaging this year? I sort of did. My mother-in-law spoiled my hubby and me with a very generous gift and I decided to dedicate my half to my craft: an online writing class and an iPhone (Yay! I knew there was a reason I was still using my old flip-talk even though Bell has been telling me for almost five years that I’m “entitled” to a new phone). I’m completely excited, primarily because of the phone’s e-reading possibilities.

As a reader and a writer, I have always adored the short story form, but it’s become harder and harder to find short stories to read (and short story markets to submit to).

The boom of e-zines has been good for us short story lovers, however (especially the story-a-day sites like Every Day Fiction Magazine and Daily Science Fiction, but perhaps the saviour of the short story will be electronic readers, including the new generations of phones with their lovely do-everything-but-the-dishes apps and gorgeous screens. Perfect for packing lightly in your bag or pocket, you have a variety of reads available wherever you go. And what better read could a person have in transit or when waiting for a meeting than a short story?

Ether Books, a UK publisher, agrees with me so much that its whole focus is publishing “the very best short stories and essays from today’s literary stars and up-and-coming writers directly to your own phone.”

And, I’m ecstatic to say, Ether Books has acquired three of my short stories–all speculative in some way or another–for your reading pleasure (er, well, I hope it’s pleasure!): “HVS,” “Red Bird,” and “Wishful.”

I’d love for you to read them and share the word with any one you know who likes a weird little story–and don’t stop with my works. Ether’s “shelves” are full with a great collection of short stories and essays in every genre you can imagine.

Ether Books’ app is available for free here or by searching for Ether Books with your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad.

You can find “HVS,” “Red Bird,” and “Wishful” by selecting New Releases (green button) or New Authors (orange button).

Just for fun, see if you can spot me in Ether Books’ “Our Authors” page. 😉

If you read my stories, let me know what you think. I’d love feedback.

Happy reading and readying yourself for the new year!

p.s. If you’d like a more detailed description of Ether Books, visit this post at BubbleCow (a great blog that you should be visiting regularly, anyway!).

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

/ Ev Bishop / 5 Comments

Well, here we are with only one more sleep ’til Christmas 2010. It came extra quickly this year didn’t it?

As some of you know, I’m working on unique-for-me type of story this December—a Christmas themed romance. I thought I’d just a tiny snippet from Candice’s Christmas prep, though admittedly, if you’re hitting the stores today (as I will be after work for just a few things), you’re probably going to be in a busier place than even she finds herself. 😉

The line up at the till was twelve heaping buggies deep, but the two express lanes were worse, with twenty people or more each looking like they’d taken “fifteen items” as a minimum suggestion not a rule, so Candice stayed where she was. The last Friday just before Christmas—what a stupid time to hit a grocery store!

As she stood waiting with her small basket of milk, eggs, bread, and frozen pizza—meant to hold them over to her “real” shop later in the weekend—she perused the droves of people milling about, shopping, laughing, fretting. It was kind of nice to stand still. A waste of time, obviously, when she had so many things to do, but kind of an enforced break all the same. She sipped the Eggnog Latte she’d splurged on and felt quite decadent as she played a game she hadn’t in a long while. Who was that person, what did they do, how were they feeling?

What I like about the scene (that will no doubt change immensely as it’s first draft stuff) is that even feeling stressed and cranky, Candice finds a few seconds of calm inside herself and even daydreams a bit. And that’s my wish for you this Christmas—not that you’ll be stressed or cranky at all, but that you’ll find some time to sneak away—whether you’re in a crowded place or not—to observe and ponder and feel just a bit decadent as you do so.

Merry Christmas!

Leigh Russell Interview

/ Ev Bishop / 8 Comments

A couple of days ago I connected with Leigh Russell—a UK thriller writer with two titles fresh on the shelves (CUT SHORT and ROAD CLOSED), another soon to be published (DEAD END) and a fourth and fifth title for the series in the works. The fan girl part of my personality was jumping up and down and I won’t pretend I managed to be cool when she volunteered to be interviewed here.

It’s always wonderful to find a new author—and even more wonderful if you discover them early on and they’re prolific. I hope the writer in you enjoys Leigh’s comments, that the reader in you seeks out her books, and that the Christmas shopper we’re all called to be these days is relieved with a great idea about how to make a reader on your list very happy (or, at least, held in chilling suspense for 350 pages!).

– – – – – – – – – – – –

1. CUT SHORT, your first novel, introduces D.I. Geraldine Steel as she relocates to a small village (that’s right, guys, village, not town—we’re in the UK in this book), expecting peace, quiet and safety—a sheltered place to deal with the damage of her past. Instead she’s ensnared in a brutal serial murder investigation with herself as the killer’s next intended victim.

How did this story occur to you? Did the idea come fully formed? Did it originate with a character popping into your head?

Leigh: I was walking through my local park one day. It was raining and the park was deserted. As I approached a bend in the path beside a tangled copse of trees and shrubs a man suddenly appeared on the path, walking towards me. I’ve no idea where the idea came from but I wondered what I would do if I saw a body in the bushes and so became involved in a terrible crime, as a witness. I walked on and of course there was no body in the bushes, but the idea stayed with me and when I reached home I began to write it down. Who was the dead girl? Why was she killed? Who killed her? I became so engrossed in the narrative that I completed the first draft of my debut thriller in six weeks.

2. I understand that you broke into print in a way that most authors only dream about, receiving a three book deal just months into your writing life. Can you describe your personal journey from first deciding you wanted to write through to publication for us?

Leigh: F Scott Fitzgerald said, ‘You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.’ That was certainly my experience. There was no deliberate decision to write, I simply had an idea, started writing – and haven’t been able to stop since. I’m absolutely addicted! When I finished my manuscript I decided I might as well send it to a publisher who specialises in crime fiction, although I never really expected to hear back from them. You can imagine my surprise when two weeks later they called me for a meeting and soon after that signed me up for three books. I wrote somewhere that I fell into writing like Alice down the rabbit hole.

3. And now that you’ve “arrived,” how is publishing what you envisioned it to be? How is it not?

Leigh: We hear a lot about publishers who are distant and unhelpful but that hasn’t been my experience because my publishers are lovely people to work with. What I hadn’t realised was how much time I would spend promoting my books. I enjoy getting out and about meeting people and am passionate about supporting bookshops and libraries so most weeks I devote time to signing in bookshops. Just this week I signed in three bookshops and judged a short story competition for a writers group, and that’s fairly typical. I give talks at literary festivals, visit book groups and colleges, and give interviews to newspapers, on the radio and online – like this one! It’s all great fun but more time consuming than I’d anticipated.

4. Discovering that a book you enjoy is only the first in a series is a delight for any reader, and I was particularly excited to find out you’d done more with Geraldine. She’s a bit of tough character—very enigmatic—and by the end of CUT SHORT, though the ending was fantastic, there was still a lot I wanted to know about her.

Then I found out she had a series and I was excited because you’d left so much room to continue developing her (some series’ authors tell all, show all in Book 1 and don’t leave space for natural character growth and change).

Had you intended all the way along to write a series for D.I. Geraldine Steel or was it just good luck that you set your novel up to perfectly lead into one?

Leigh: Most authors plot the arc of their main character before they write the first book in a series, planning out the character’s journey throughout. I had no idea my initial manuscript would become a series so didn’t plan ahead in that way. As it turns out it was lucky I didn’t reveal too much about Geraldine in Cut Short. In Road Closed she sets out on a personal journey that is developed in Dead End in a plotline that will continue through quite a few books. I also have another idea for her, picking up on a character who is only mentioned briefly in Cut Short. Now I have a clear idea where Geraldine’s heading in her life, I have the end of the 20th book in the series in my mind and I know exactly how she is going to end up – although I might change my mind and come up with something entirely different.

5. What do you enjoy about writing a series? What are the challenges?

Leigh: I am enjoying developing my main character more and more as I get to know her better, but what I appreciate most about writing a series is that whenever I finish writing one book, the next one is waiting to be written. It means I haven’t had time to worry too much about how my books will be received, as I am constantly moving on the next story. One challenge is whether to write specifically for my growing fan base who are getting to know Geraldine, or for readers who are picking up one of my books for the first time. Another challenge for me is setting. In Cut Short and Road Closed I was rather vague about location, as I’m not very good with places. In Dead End I begin to tackle this, setting one scene in a real seaside town. In the following book Geraldine relocates to a real place.

6. Give us the blurb version of the plots for ROAD CLOSED and DEAD END. Please. 😉

ROAD CLOSED. When a man dies in a gas explosion, the police suspect arson. The Murder Investigation Team are called in to investigate. The case takes on a new and terrible twist when a local villain is viciously attacked. As the police enquiries lead from the expensive Harchester Hill estate to the local brothel, a witness dies in a hit-and-run. Was it coincidence – or cold-blooded murder? The Murder Investigation Team has problems of its own – and so does Geraldine Steel. A shocking revelation threatens her peace of mind as the investigation races towards its dramatic climax.

DEAD END. When the corpse of Abigail Kirby is discovered, police are shocked to learn that the victim’s tongue was cut out while she lay dying. Shortly after coming forward, a witness is blinded and murdered. Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel’s flirtation with the pathologist on the case helps her to cope with the distress of finding out she was adopted at birth. Abigail Kirby’s teenage daughter runs away from home to meet a girl who befriended her online. Too late, she realises she has made a dreadful mistake – a mistake that may cost her life. Detective Sergeant Ian Peterson uncovers a shocking secret about the serial killer who has been mutilating his murder victims. Does the sergeant’s discovery come too late to save Geraldine Steel from a similar dreadful fate?

7. To date, all your books (published and in the works) are thrillers of a dark variety. Did you set out to write creepy stuff or did it find you? Do you write in other genres as well, or do you hope to?

Leigh: You’ve probably realised by now that my stories found me, as I never set out to write a series of crime thrillers. I had an idea and ran with it and here I am. As for other genres, I might want to expand my range one day, but I have no time to explore other genres at the moment. If anyone had told me two years ago that I’d have written two bestsellers by now, I would have laughed, so I try not to predict what might happen next. The future is mysterious, doubtless peppered with surprises, and I’m just hoping for the best.

8. My kids are pretty blasé about “Mom” being a writer. Not that I don’t share details about my day or projects occasionally, but for them, it’s a lot like anecdotes about dishes or gardening—occasionally interesting, but not at all focus worthy.

You have two young daughters. What is their take on your career? How does (or does) writing about and investigating the topics that you explore in your books colour or affect your parenting?

Leigh: My daughters are not that young! I only started writing when they had both grown up and left home. They are members of my small and select group of readers and their comments are always very helpful. They love reading proof copies of my books, although they aren’t always happy with my behaviour. Last summer I was doing some research in London where Geraldine Steel will be relocating in my fourth book. I discovered a great location for a scene in the book and told my daughter excitedly, ‘I’ve found a perfect place to dump a dead body!’ She had quite a startled look on her face as she told me to ‘shhh’, while looking nervously over her shoulder.

9. What’s your favourite part of being a writer for a living? What do you like least about it?

Leigh: I love everything about writing.

10. What book(s) are you reading right now and what’s on your to read-list?

Leigh: Since I started writing I have very little time to read and when I do have any free time I tend to be writing. Authors I enjoy reading are Jeffery Deaver (who is a fan of my own books), Mark Billingham, Ian Rankin, Val Mcdiarmid, Sam Millar (another fan of my work)… the list is too long to include them all. I also admire many authors outside of crime fiction, Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, as well as less contemporary authors like Dickens, Edith Wharton, Hardy, Steinbeck, Harper Lee – again, the list is a long one.

11. What would constitute a perfect day for Leigh Russell?

Leigh: I would get up late, write all morning, write all afternoon, and then spend the evening with my family. After that I would stay up half the night writing when everyone else was asleep.

12. Last but not least, do you have any word of advice, wisdom, or encouragement for aspiring novelists?

Leigh: I always give the same three pieces of advice to aspiring authors: Work hard, be brave, and be lucky.

– – – – – – – – – – – –

I don’t know about you, but I found that pretty darn inspiring. It’s fantastic to hear an author who’s doing it for a living still be so excited about the whole process. I love that she loves writing—and her books sound great, right?

If you’d like to read more about Leigh Russell in her own words, visit her online at No Exit Press or on her blog at
http://leighrussell.blogspot.com . You can buy her books (the first two anyway—DEAD END comes out early in 2011) in all major book stores. For your convenience, I hyperlinked the book covers to Amazon.ca for you. And if you’re interested in the kind of work Geraldine Steel does, check out this link: How to become forensic scientist

Happy reading and writing this month, all!

~Ev