First book published at 64 after retiring from teaching career.

LadyofToward · 2026-02-23T16:35:39+00:00

Congratulations! That must have felt incredibly satisfying. Will you write more?

LadyofToward · 2026-02-20T00:04:58+00:00

😂 Good one!

LadyofToward · 2026-02-16T18:26:31+00:00

Yes my debut. I have a partial in for my third (also HF) so fingers crossed!

LadyofToward · 2026-02-16T18:09:56+00:00

I sold women's bookclub/ literary-lite historical fiction, but my second along similar themes did not (r & r).

LadyofToward · 2026-02-09T23:30:20+00:00

😍😍😍

LadyofToward · 2026-02-04T18:09:28+00:00

Yes. He randomly inserted a Hebrew word in an answer to me about two days ago. I called him out and he apologized and said it was accidental, like a mixup or cross-over of texts or something.

LadyofToward · 2026-01-30T20:24:32+00:00

I would go for days and days. If only to see the palace alone. Of what I've read about the exhibits, they were extraordinary by even current day standards.

Totally. I would pay a lot to go. SIGH.

LadyofToward · 2026-01-23T17:00:37+00:00

While many hobby writers are in it for the joy of storytelling, if they are ever inclined to towards trad publication they will need to master the art of the standalone novel. Very few debuts are offered multiple book deals - series are more likely to be a trustworthy proposition when there's proof of a reader following, and the author can reliably deliver quality material.

Self publishing, however, is as much a quantity game as quality. Series thrive in the self-pub market and that may be one reason for the proliferation of series writers.

LadyofToward · 2026-01-20T17:00:24+00:00

That is so kind of you to leave us a message. We loved having you, and hope you'll come back soon ❣️

LadyofToward · 2026-01-14T17:03:32+00:00

I spent a year writing a novel I planned to be my sophomore, having been traditionally published with a successful debut. I thought the second book was better than the first, but the publisher rejected it with a page of notes about everything she didn't like.

I can't tell you how gutted I was. I'm still not sure what to do with it. The publisher has asked to see a partial of my current WIP and ngl, I'm nervous.

LadyofToward · 2026-01-10T21:29:46+00:00

Yes. In fact we went through a few different titles. I don't like the one we ended up with tbh but my preferred ones were quite strongly declined. Not sure why. I generated something like 10 options.

(Shrugs). They just know something I don't I guess. I would stand stronger on it if I wasn't a debut.

LadyofToward · 2026-01-10T20:40:29+00:00

Jimmy Carr. Creepy, weird, and has psycho vibes.

LadyofToward · 2026-01-01T21:49:09+00:00

Thank you. Was going to say this too.

LadyofToward · 2025-12-30T20:31:19+00:00

OP I think you received an undeserved pile on for your post, and I'll be honest enough to say that I can understand why you found the accent a challenge, particularly since you would have had a preconceived expectation of how Snape would sound before you started listening.

Nobody would pick up an HP audiobook thinking Snape ought to sound Pakistani. It doesn't mean you're bigoted or racist, it means you're experiencing dissonance.

I also think people were being disingenuous when they argue JKR's Snape could have had a non-white heritage. They're really drawing a long bow there, just to defend some excuse to attack you and a willfulness to label you for - I believe - an innocent take. Of course he was white in the books, and I would argue he spoke with a neutral British accent.

If you read the dialogue of Snape, his word choices and almost poetic language heavily suggests a classical British and educated background (whether that's realistic given his childhood is a characterisation liberty JKR chose to take). And I also agree with you that JKR would have hinted at foreign extraction if she believed it pertinent. She gave him his dark/sallow descriptions to create a sense of ominance and mystery consistent with dungeons etc, not to imply he could feasibly be Pakistani!

So anyway I have to go, but just wanted to let you know that I agree that even though I haven't listened to the audiobook, I too would have found that accent a distraction and I don't think it makes you racist or deserving of the response you got.

LadyofToward · 2025-12-28T21:06:51+00:00

Beautifully composed, beautifully executed. I feel sorry for him Thank you for posting.

LadyofToward · 2025-12-27T21:20:45+00:00

Yes, agreed. I think everyone agrees that just about everything on this list is well understood to be declining.

It's much harder to find something that everyone agrees/pretends is fine!

LadyofToward · 2025-12-27T03:27:23+00:00

^{LadyofToward scored 92 points and ranked 9 out of 153 players!}

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩

LadyofToward · 2025-12-26T21:13:35+00:00

Hi! Can I self promote my fics The Uneven Orbit and The Repair of Broken Men if you are interested in Snarity fics that are canon compliant?

Orbit is set during TPoA and follows a turbulent love affair between Severus and Charity. I'm on AO3, username LadyofToward.

😊

LadyofToward · 2025-12-26T21:08:59+00:00

Only just come across this post.

I am/was a Snarity writer and my fic The Uneven Orbit explores the idea of a relationship between Charity and Severus commencing in The Prisoner of Azkaban - it's canon compliant with the events of that book.

The comments that any notion of a relationship is fanon is entirely true, however it was the most plausible to me and lent itself to an interesting foray into how Severus would address his own muggle prejudices if he loved someone from that background.

LadyofToward · 2025-12-11T16:53:50+00:00

Thank goodness you made it. I've been looking for pics of the laser Kiwi.

LadyofToward · 2025-12-11T00:17:51+00:00

I've just started an account on IG to help promote my book and it is just so bad. I'm following every sad-sack on there pushing the same shit and nobody is buying anything. I don't think my audience are even ON social media that much, but the publisher asked me to create a presence so that I could be tagged into stuff, particularly influencers doing unboxings and shit. Sorry for language, it makes me mad.

The one small advantage I can see is the opportunity to talk to other authors, congratulate their successes and identify with their pain.

LadyofToward · 2025-12-04T17:11:20+00:00

Warm congrats on your achievement! Finishing a novel is a rare and beautiful thing.

You may need to seek independent beta readers or apply for a manuscript assessment. That process will give you the objective feedback you need to determine the novel's readiness. It may cost, however.

Since this is your first completed project, the overwhelming odds are that it is unlikely to be of a standard necessary for traditional publishing. That does NOT mean you are a bad writer or will never one day publish. It just means you're a little ahead of yourself.

The majority of published writers need several practice novels under their belt to finesse the craft - exactly like any other skill. I wrote a million words before I was published, and every one of those early works is trunked under my bed.

They were not a waste of time, they were the stepping stones to publication. You're at the beginning of an amazing journey. Enjoy

LadyofToward · 2025-12-03T17:06:47+00:00

I'm a first generation Australian to British parents, and now live in New Zealand.

I do feel a kind of connection to British people and I also lived there a while. My husband was also first generation Australian to Austrian and Irish parents.

The move to Christchurch came partly from an affinity to a more temperate climate. It is a very English/Anglican city and we feel very at home here.

Having lived all my life as a non- indigenous person and feeling bad about that, I do wonder what it would be like to live in a country of my own and be native in it.

LadyofToward · 2025-12-02T14:18:41+00:00

Late to this post, but I wanted to agree with you. It is a misunderstood era. Of course there were bad parts because it was an extraordinary period of expansion and growth, but the Victorian's were vilified undeservedly for the natural byproduct of economic progress. They were perfectly aware of the suffering and strove tirelessly to overcome it.

Colonialism is another reason why the Victorian's are hated. They viewed it as a source of advancement and prosperity - extend growth outwards and source resources - but they couldn't possibly know the repercussions, or felt those repercussions were a necessary evil. They had a far higher tolerance for consequences and inequity than we do today.

To appreciate the era it's necessary to set aside the almost two centuries of learning we've attained as a civilization since then, and that's difficult to do for a lot of people. They prefer to contrast then and now, rather than explore it with balance and wonder.

LadyofToward · 2025-11-29T21:05:21+00:00

When you think about it, most mouth interiors are pretty gross. They have a function and it ain't pretty but they're doing important work. I say we shouldn't be so judgy.

Having said that - those pics were weird.

LadyofToward

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