Reading Room XVI: Stories with Sequels - Cards by Georgina Kirrin

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Title: Cards
Author: Georgina Kirrin
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Link to story: at the author's website

I should warn you right now that I'm a huge fan of this story - even on its own, without its sequel. I find it poignant, and heart-wrenching, and full of the passion that's our lads (even if they haven't quite realised it themselves yet).

The story is told by Bodie, and the first thing we hear is that I stopped writing to him back in 1991... - no! Don't let it be Doyle, I think - but of course it is... It's a great start, because of course we have to know what happened, and why, and when they're going to get back together, and how it's going to be fixed, and...

It turns out that they didn't separate because Doyle got married, but because he was offered a powerful position in the police, one that Cowley (fairly easily, it seemed) convinced Bodie Doyle needed as much as they needed Doyle, especially with the closure of CI5. Rather than sound like a bitter contrivance though, this plot device makes absolute sense, not just mechanically, but because it fits with Doyle's character so well that it's natural Bodie would know that too - how could he not? There's no question that he'll try to stop Doyle's progression, only what we realise is a kind of numb acceptance. In fact it's only several years later, when Doyle gets married, that Bodie even realises he's in love with him, and I love the heart-wrenching tragedy of it - mostly, I must admit, because this is Pros fic, and the odds are high that our lads will find some way around it. But how - it seems impossible! I can't help but read on, hands gripping the zine in desperation to know...

The background world is well written too, everything subtle and true. Cowley's uncompromising stance on honesty and justice make it all too probable that CI5 wouldn't survive in Thatcher's Britain, and his inability to do anything but fight against corruption means that I absolutely believe he'd rather see CI5 sunk than "prostituted" under a successor when he was forced into retirement. Sink me the ship Master Gunner...

Of course it has me clutching the paper still harder - if there's not even any CI5 left, then... then... what's going to happen?

Well, disaster of course strikes our Doyle - it had to really, he couldn't stay married in the face of Bodie's love, could he? Okay, I know Elizabeth Holden pulled it off (well, she did for me!) but that can only happen once... (*g*) Again it comes in the guise of something absolutely believable - that Doyle is caught up in a carjacking when on holiday in the US (where Bodie fled), handles it as he's been trained to do, decisively and victoriously, and brings home the harsh realities of both his job and character to his wife, whose background makes it even more difficult for her to come to terms with. She's not only a doctor involved in "equal opportunities or community liaison or something like that" - surely just Doyle's type - but her background is Ugandan Asian, and at the same time as understanding that it might have increased Doyle's fascination in her, it means that she's experienced violence as a child in a way that means she can't accept seeing it in Doyle. And even though I desperately want our lads back together, there's so much heartbreak in Because the card this year was signed just, "Ray"." that you still want to cry for him.

And even the last paragraph, where we find out that Bodie's going to take his chance, that, even feeling like a "vulture", we understand exactly what he means when he says "Some friend I turned out to be, eh?" Nothing's ever black and white - people don't really move so easily from one love to another, and we know when we've done something wrong - and this is just the shade of Pros-y grey that our show does so well. Victory - but always at some cost or other, and this time the cost is Doyle's heart. What will that mean for their potential future together?

When I first read this story I had no idea that it had a sequel - luckily in the same zine - but I loved it even though it didn't come with a decisive ending. For me there was hope in that ending, enough optimism and reality both that I could imagine all the ways that it would work out for them when Bodie got back to England. Right? *g*

So...
1. Do you believe in the way that Kirrin separated our lads? In what Cowley did, and the choices Doyle and Bodie make? In their reactions? Why/not?
2. Have you already read the sequel? (Just yes or no!) Did you know there was one, when you first read it, and if so/not how did that make you feel about the ending?
3. What do you think will happen next?! (And be nice if you've already read the sequel - it's not clever just to say what does happen and pretend you knew all along! *g*)
4. Are you going to rush ahead and read the sequel now (if you haven't already) or are you going to be good and wait for our next exciting installment...? *g*

ETA - and please try not to put spoilers for the sequel in your comments, in case someone's waiting to read it!

Comments

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Yes!!! Yes I'm a believer, and Yes, I read the sequels.
I forgot about them for a second or two at the end of Cards, and I was thinking, yes PLEASE!!!!! make it work, come on Bodie!
When I started the sequel I was sure tey'd get together in a heartbeat, yup and hooray....weeeeell.....
That answers No. 4, too.....

Anyways, I'll just wait to read the sequels for the next installments again.
It was my first time and I LOVE it!!

The only things that bother me a bit are the little words, some missing, some twice - these things really confuse me, because I keep thinking "It should sound like this or that." And I start to wonder.

I love this story as astand alone, but I'm just Sooooooooo glad that she wrote a sequel!
I totally agree with you and thank you for introducing a new story to me!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeay for being a believer!

I'm so glad you liked the story - isn't it wonderful! *g*

The only things that bother me a bit are the little words, some missing, some twice - these things really confuse me, because I keep thinking "It should sound like this or that."
Oh, I'm curious - do you have any examples? I don't think I noticed much in the way of typos etc when I was reading (though perhaps the zine version is different from the online version too, come to think of it...)

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

These are just things that sound funny to me. I have no idea, if it's wrong or right, just made me stutter while reading.

I even tried to find someone else; there was a woman called Maddie I saw for a quite a while.
One "a" too much in the last part....

Once or twice in the old days, I'd had half an idea that Ray might have been interested in taking it further.
"I'd had".....isn't the "d" short for "had"?

and he never said or did anything anything definite.
Obvious?

It just one more irony when I realised that in the 1990's, when hardly anyone would care about us being together, he was happily married with a kid and everything,
Shouldn't the sentence start with "It WAS just...."?

I stopped looking after these four examples, because I got lost while reading.....*g*

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

"...because I got lost while reading....."
Shouldn't you paint walls or something like that instead of reading Pros?
Tse, tse, tse... ;-)

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Oh, ahhhhh....well.....have a piece of cake???

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I even tried to find someone else; there was a woman called Maddie I saw for a quite a while.
One "a" too much in the last part....
Good catch - and it's in the zine version too...

"I'd had".....isn't the "d" short for "had"?
This one is fine - "I had..." means something different to "I had had..." (I'd had). I had half an idea... means that the idea has already occurred to you. I HAD had half an idea... is when you are talking about an idea that has already occurred to you - and you are also talking about a past period in your life. In that past period (I had) the idea you're talking about had already occurred to you.

and he never said or did anything anything definite.
Obvious?
Obvious and definite have slightly different meanings, and I think definite is the best one in this case. Something might be obvious (Doyle flirting for instance) without meaning anything definite (that he wanted to have sex with Bodie). In this case:
He never made any secret of the fact that he went in for what he called a "varied diet"; and he never said or did anything anything definite. It was just that sometimes there was an air of .... acceptance about him , a willingness if I were willing --
This is talking about two separate things - Doyle doesn't keep his sexuality a secret and Bodie also gets a feeling that he'd accept it if Bodie made a pass at him, but Doyle doesn't do anything definite to make Bodie think that - it's just a feeling. The definite thing might or might not also be obvious... There's a fine line between them though, it's true! *g*

Shouldn't the sentence start with "It WAS just...."?
Yup! *g*

See, I was so wrapped up in her story, that I didn't even notice the typos (and you know what I'm like... *g*) Sign of a good story, for me, that is... *g*

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the had explanation, it makes sense now.

And I'm sorry about the "obvious" comment, I wanted to say, that it's obvious that "anything" is written twice....
I promise to write definetly more the next time, to explain what I try to say, instead of expecting poeple to guess what I want to say.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh - heeee! I didn't see that anything was written twice, so it clearly wasn't obvious to me... or even definite... *g*

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

I don't think I noticed much in the way of typos etc when I was reading (though perhaps the zine version is different from the online version too, come to think of it...)
I dug out the zine version, and the ones milomaus highlights are in the zine too.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes! I noticed the same thing! (Sorry, it must have been in a comment further down somewhere - oh no, found it - further up somewhere! *g*) I suppose it all depends on what versions an author sends out where, and perhaps whether they have more than one to start with... interesting how we all do things, isn't it!

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

1. Do you believe in the way that Kirrin separated our lads? In what Cowley did, and the choices Doyle and Bodie make? In their reactions? Why/not?
Unfortunately I believe it. We want them to stay together no matter what happens post-CI5, but this is a scenario that is much likely to happen, isn't it?

2. Have you already read the sequel? (Just yes or no!) Did you know there was one, when you first read it, and if so/not how did that make you feel about the ending?
Yes. Yes.
I agree that this first story has enough 'hope' and 'optimism' to make the reader happy in the end! :-)

3. What do you think will happen next?! (And be nice if you've already read the sequel - it's not clever just to say what does happen and pretend you knew all along! *g*)
Though I was happy with the ending of this first story I always appreciate new twists and turns an author makes! ;-)

4. Are you going to rush ahead and read the sequel now (if you haven't already) or are you going to be good and wait for our next exciting installment...? *g*
*rushes ahead to reread*


I love this story! :-)

Thank you!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I believe it.
Yes, that's just how I felt about it - but I think that's what makes a story properly good. There's doubt in life, and that's what makes it interesting (and not always nice), so stories need that same doubt too... and hopefully a happy ending at the finish!

So glad you love this story too! *g*

[tango65.livejournal.com]

I had read this story a while ago and then forgotten about it. How could I? Its a great story.

1. I totally believe what Kirrin did to separate them and how the characters reacted. I don't know that I believe that they would go with so little fuss, but I accept that in the face of a good read. Which it is.

2. I didn't know there was a sequel, let alone two until I saw the schedule, but I always hoped there would be. After all, our lads belong together!

3. I am hoping that they do get together. :)

4. And yes, as soon as I finish typing this, I'm going to read the sequel to find out!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It's a shame it's not up on the main Pros archives, because it should never be forgotten, you're quite right! *g*

I don't know that I believe that they would go with so little fuss
When you say "go with so little fuss", I wonder if that's reading it from a fan-pov rather than for what the story's actually about, though? If someone offers you a promotion, a wonderful opportunity in life, then you don't make a fuss, do you? You take it, and work to fit everything in around it, including your old friends etc. And Bodie says he understood why Doyle should move to the police - for everyone's sake, including Doyle's, and they kept in touch. Actually, it'd be interesting to read a Doyle's pov story, wouldn't it (though it'd have to be written by Kirrin for me to believe it! *g*) - after all, Bodie was really the one who left, moving to another country entirely... Hmmn - interesting to wonder about! *g*

[tango65.livejournal.com]

It would be interesting to see Doyle's POV and you're right, I am probably looking at it from fan-pov, but that's just the romantic in me when it comes to our boys. :)

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

I love this story! And its sequels. Looks like we've got a consensus going! I think what I loved most was the line you quoted "Because the card this year was signed just, "Ray".. Heartwrenching, as you said. (I'm a BIG fan of angst!)

One little thing bothered me - after Doyle re-joined the police, we don't know what Bodie was up to, but he says he hadn't seen Ray for 8 months. Why? Bodie doesn't leave for the States until after the wedding - so what happened to keep them apart for so long? Just a bit of a hole in the story, for me.

I didn't know there was a sequel when I finished the story - and was satisfied with the bit of hope we were left with at the end of "Cards." Going to the author's webpage I found "Cards on the Table" and thought "YES!" and it said part 1 - so that meant more, right? And sure enough, even though the title said "Carts on the Table -part 2", it was one more story in the Cards Series. I enjoyed them all!

Thanks for the review - and I'm looking forward to talking about what happens next!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - there definitely sounds like consensus to me! Of course I'd say the story completely deserves to be adored... *g*

after Doyle re-joined the police, we don't know what Bodie was up to, but he says he hadn't seen Ray for 8 months. Why? Bodie doesn't leave for the States until after the wedding - so what happened to keep them apart for so long? Just a bit of a hole in the story, for me.
My understanding is that Bodie did leave for the US not long after Doyle moved to the police. He doesn't tell us exactly when, but I'm sure it was before Doyle's wedding. These things happen in between:
- ...I went in as a partner. I hated it... I missed everything...(American beer always reminded me...)...
- We wrote a lot of letters back then. Every couple of months I'd get a huge envelope from him... he was hating it too...it was a comfort in a way, knowing he was as pissed off as I was...
- I even managed to get back to England once or twice, and we had some high old times the pair of us... Once we rented a farmhouse in the Dales...
- Then the letters started to mention this woman he'd been seeing...
- And then he married her. And then I found out.

So it wasn't that they were kept apart - Doyle was Superintendant in the police, Bodie was partner in a firm in the US, and they actually did still get together occasionally, and keep in touch. So I guess there were 8 months in between the last time Bodie went back to England and saw Doyle, and when he went back for Doyle's wedding, but there'd been a couple of years since they both left CI5 by the time Doyle got married.

Hee - I keep forgetting that there's theoretically three stories in the Cards series! I always think of it as Cards, and Cards on the Table (never mind that CotT is divided into two parts. I remembered when I realised it'd take three weeks to review it as a series! *g*

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

I think what I loved most was the line you quoted "Because the card this year was signed just, "Ray"..
Just jumping in here to say that this is a great example of what I like about this writing: sentences and phrases that leap out at you. She has one of the most memorable first lines in Pros in "Watching his mouth", and there's several more in here: "the lesser honesties are the easy ones" (is that a quote? All Google knows about is a letter from Coleridge), "identical expressions of slightly stunned amazement," "sell me the chipset he'd stolen from the man we were both working for" - I don't know why, I just love that, an entire job in one phrase - and, of course, the very final sentence in this one: brilliant.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

1. Do you believe in the way that Kirrin separated our lads? In what Cowley did, and the choices Doyle and Bodie make? In their reactions? Why/not?

I'm not sure. While I can see Doyle taking the job he's offered, I don't really see Bodie being that unaware of his own feelings. He left, not realizing what he felt? That's the part I find hard to believe. I've never understood someone not knowing they're in love.

2. Have you already read the sequel? (Just yes or no!) Did you know there was one, when you first read it, and if so/not how did that make you feel about the ending?

I think I have at one time, but have since forgotten it. I'm not going to reread it until your next review.

3. What do you think will happen next?! (And be nice if you've already read the sequel - it's not clever just to say what does happen and pretend you knew all along! *g*)

I'm assuming they get together. If not, that would definitely be the reason I don't really care too much for this story, no matter that it's very well written.

4. Are you going to rush ahead and read the sequel now (if you haven't already) or are you going to be good and wait for our next exciting installment...? *g*

I'm waiting for the next exciting installment. ;-)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I've never understood someone not knowing they're in love.
Interesting question! I dunno - I suppose it might depend on our different definitions (and experiences) of being in love. You'd presumably know about the whole desire-passion part of things, but maybe you might not always understand how much someone means to you? You might have the feelings, but not join the dots and realise that it all meant you were in love with someone, and actually when you thought about it, yes you did quite fancy the idea of having sex with them too? Especially if your life is built around other kinds of adrenaline, where you've never really considered eternal domestic love something you might ever have?

If not, that would definitely be the reason I don't really care too much for this story
Interesting again! I think it would be fairly unusual to know that one of the lads (at least) was in love with the other, and for them not to get together by the end of the story - but if the author took me along the right paths I'd still have enjoyed the story... Ooh, this is like that is it the journey or is it the destination discussion we had here one! *g*

I might not have picked the best story series for the first example of the theme - everyone's just so keen to read ahead already, I don't know if we'll be able to divide it all into a three week discussion with any depth! It's just too brilliant a story... *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Interesting question! I dunno - I suppose it might depend on our different definitions (and experiences) of being in love. You'd presumably know about the whole desire-passion part of things, but maybe you might not always understand how much someone means to you? You might have the feelings, but not join the dots and realise that it all meant you were in love with someone, and actually when you thought about it, yes you did quite fancy the idea of having sex with them too? Especially if your life is built around other kinds of adrenaline, where you've never really considered eternal domestic love something you might ever have?

I suppose you could not know for awhile that you're in love, but you're talking years here. Who takes thirteen years to figure out they're in love with someone? Really, that Bodie doesn't realize it until after Doyle gets married makes it sound as if he's more pissed that someone else is playing with his favorite toy, no matter that he hasn't touched it in three years! than because he held any especial feelings for it. And not picking up that you lusted after someone in all that time? Love may have different levels and complexities, but lust doesn't. That feeling is usually pretty much in your face.

I don't know, I do like the story, but extremely long separations, especially when caused by extremely hard to believe ignorance of their own feelings by the characters, is my number one trope dislike (probably because of the long canonical separations in Trek and UNCLE which I tend to ignore.)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Who takes thirteen years to figure out they're in love with someone?
I dunno - to be honest I can imagine it happening... *g* Maybe more the realisation that actually your feelings can be traced back for 13 years - maybe we're not really talking about the same thing!

I'm the opposite of you, by the sounds, in that I rather like long-separation stories (as long as they're believable) - maybe it's the tragic romantic in me... *g*

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love this, and I was very glad when I saw these three come up.

When I read this for the first time, I did not know there was a sequel. Although, it turned out, I had read the sequel already! The sequels are on the CD, but this story isn't, and I read the CD first, and then went hunting for anything else, so I came to this without realising it was connected. I loved it.

I liked the ending. But I definitely wasn't sure it was going to work out for them - and, taking this as a standalone story, the way I read it originally - I'm still not sure. I have said before that I like the fact that there are stories in Pros without a happy ending, which end up with them apart, or realising too late, or unable to do anything to stave off disaster. I want it all to work, but I do think that the chances of them successfully maintaining a long relationship in 'real life' are not as high as I want them to be. Knowing that there *are* such stories, that means that when it's an open ending, I do consider the possibility that the next events might not be what I want to see happen...

Do you believe in the way that Kirrin separated our lads? In what Cowley did, and the choices Doyle and Bodie make? In their reactions? Why/not?

I don't disbelieve. CI5 being disbanded under a new government is an idea I've seen several times. Although the Conservatives got in in 1979, and from "we'd worked together for 10 years", I presume CI5 was disbanded in 1986 or so, so matters obviously took a while to come to a head. Bodie finding there's no place for him: definitely. Doyle returning to the police: yeah, I suppose so. The paragraph about how Bodie hated so much of his new job made perfect sense: "In the middle of all that, the fact that I missed Ray got.... not lost in the crowd so much as swamped. I expected to be unhappy and I was -- so nothing strange there." That I can see.

Skimming through to find the right quotes, one thing I notice now is how carefully it must have been written to include things in the right order. We start with a thing that happened in 1991, then the next paragraph is 1993, then late eighties, then a jump back to Cowley's chat with Bodie, then forward to what happened next, and so on. But it all unfolds so clearly.

Those end passages are great, though. Bodie's got more of a sense of what's right and wrong than me there. I am cheering for him to get back there and give it a go (because, of course, they ought to be happy), and I suppose you could always read it as not selfish and that he is doing himself down and that he *is* going back to be with Doyle while he's in trouble, "friend in need and all that"... but... no, I get the impression that he's telling the truth as he sees it there, and that he is seeing it correctly.

I suppose part of my concern is that he sounds almost... embittered... at the end. Hard. It doesn't sound like he has much spark in his life any more, or fun and joshing. I know that soldiers are supposed to use a lot of humour involving taking the piss out of each other, but with these new workmates - okay, "they weren't as funny" - but I bet he doesn't joke around and put on silly voices to amuse, the way he did with Doyle.

And there's this knowledge that he's not as selfless as all that, and that is going to lurk under the surface when he gets back. He's so changed from the Bodie of CI5. And presumably Doyle has changed, too. So certainly when I read this the first time, I wasn't at all sure they could recapture what they had, nor that they could build something different to replace it. And when I read it again now, I'm still not sure!

Oh, I am a cheerful soul, I am...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I like the fact that there are stories in Pros without a happy ending, which end up with them apart, or realising too late, or unable to do anything to stave off disaster
I agree - it is real life, and knowing that it might not happen makes it sweeter for me when it does happen. Which is why I'm a bit meh about the zines etc that insist all their stories have happy endings. If you know what's going to happen, then that's half the point gone, for me...

from "we'd worked together for 10 years", I presume CI5 was disbanded in 1986 or so
Hmmn, I didn't try and work out the dates or anything, but I assumed it would have taken several years under Thatcher's government for it to become obvious that CI5 and Thatcher couldn't coexist. I could see Doyle going back to the police, with all the experience that CI5 had given him - he never seemed to lose faith in the idea of honest coppers, or that everyone was supposed to be working together rather than against each other...

I get the impression that he's telling the truth as he sees it there, and that he is seeing it correctly
I liked that too! He knows it's not nice of him, but he can't keep away... now there's eternal love and passion, complete with its dark side... much more interesting than just fluff and sunsets! *g*

I suppose part of my concern is that he sounds almost... embittered... at the end.
Yes! Which is all part of the heartbreak that I love about this story - but it ends with hope! If Bodie goes back, then maybe he and Doyle can bring each other back to life - look what happened to them when they separated, it was just never right... So - ooooh, promised tension in the sequel as well, which means it's going to be another bloody good read, if you ask me... *g* (Yeah, you know I've already read and re-read it a dozen times... *g*)

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

1. Yes I thought it was neatly and believably done. I especially liked Cowley's decision and the reasons for it. I can see Doyle as ambitious and character-wise I liked that the force kept a spot warm for him.

2. Nope, I hadn't read any of them.

3. I'm hoping they will get together, but that it might not be straightforward :) And I'm looking forward to hearing how Doyle has thought about Bodie all these years.

4. Of course I'm going to be good!

I'm not a big fan of first person povs but this was pitched just right. The story has a nice unadorned style, with wonderful little touches of character and mood. I loved All those years partnered with the only man in CI5 who didn't fiddle his expenses had left a mark. My only quibble with the style was the switch to present tense in the watching TV part. I know it's a recognized technique for a scene like that but I didn't think it was needed. However, it was so short that I didn't get miffed by it :) And hee I have obviously read too much fanfic because I sniggered at the image of the little granny pumping Cowley...

Looking forward to the next part - great rec and review, thanks!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I especially liked Cowley's decision and the reasons for it.
Me too! It also, oddly, makes me feel better about CI5, cos you know Thatcher wouldn't have been on the side of Geraldine Mather - which actually she should have been! And Cowley was too, really, he just didn't know it cos she was challenging him about something else... *g*

I'm totally with you on first person povs (in Pros anyway) - it's so hard to get right... Or maybe it's just that I hear them in the eps and also in my head (not in a scary way!), and so if they don't speak that way in a story then it can't really be them... But as you say, Kirrin's got Bodie. I didn't even notice the tv bit being a pov switch, though... well, I suppose I did, but I didn't find it jarring - as you say, I suppose it's a conventional enough technique that it didn't throw me, just helped draw me deeper in for those few seconds, so that I'm as heart-stopped as Bodie... I'd be wary of alot of writers doing it though - it's got to be done just right not to be annoying...

Sooooo impressed by how good you are... *vbg* Though I'm not 100% convinced the little granny pumping Cowley thing is all down to reading fanfic.. *g*

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

The fates have conspired again to make sure I don't have time to really get into this (::headdesk::) but I do just have to say - this is Very Very Good Stuff. Kirrin has a lean, spare style that manages to fill in masses of detail and nuance without wasting a word (I was going to say that this reminds me of some of jessinengland ... but unless I'm mixed up, as I so often am, that's another pseud for the same author, isn't it?). She has a wonderful, clear voice - and shows us a very perceptive and self-aware Bodie who simultaneously manages not to have seen what was going on before (not to have allowed himself to see ...???). The plotting and logistics and timing and everything works fine for me - nothing that requires too much of a stretch, really.

There are a few minor niggles (of the order of things needing more proofreading, for the most part) but on the whole I love this. And I had in fact already read the rest - so I'll say no more for now.

Except that I have now pasted all three bits together onto my kindle, so I hopefully won't lose them again!

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Exactly what I thought....and tried to express.

What I'd love to know is how you pasted the three parts together on your Kindl...sorry to spam this post with this, but I wanna know so badly!

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

OK, let me see if I can remember how I did it ... *g*

First off I should mention that I use Calibre to manage my kindle content (do you know Calibre? It's freeware or shareware or whatever that's called - really useful, let me know if you want the link and I'll try and find it)
And I should also mention that I'm using LibreOffice, which is a freeware/shareware/I-can't-remember-but-it's-free-to-download-and-use office suite - I don't have MS Office any more. I would guess that MS Office will do the same thing, but can't check (and if not, LibreOffice is really handy - basically does all the same stuff, and happily opens MS Office files for me to work on them, and then lets you save them back into MS Office formats if you want)

So what I did was, first open a LibreOffice "write" document - the equivalent of MS Word - and copy and paste all three bits into it.
Then I told it to "save as" html, because I remembered that Calibre "knows" how to convert from html to something the kindle understands (but iirc it has trouble converting to kindle from doc and similar Office-type formats)

Then I plugged my kindle into my PC, told Calibre to import my nice new html file into itself, and then told Calibre to convert it and to send it to the kindle. All done.

(I am a total technosaur, so please excuse me if I've been over-detailed here - I'm always the one who needs instructions right down to the level of "now click on the little box marked with an X in the top right hand corner of this window to close the file")
Let me know if it works!

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the explanation!! That's so very nice!

I do know Caliber and I use it always the same way, just still with word.

I thought you found a way to do it right on the kindle, without putting the parts in one folder...

You explained the procedure perfectly undrstandable! Thank you!!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ack and ack that you're not even allowed to read properly... you're going to have to put down that Life, you know... *g*

But yes! JessInEngland is indeed Georgina Kirrin - it's Jess's Omnigatherum (https://sites.google.com/site/jessinengland/pros).

I have to admit that I didn't have a problem with the order of things in the story, but then I also missed the typos that milomaus found - was there anything in particular about the order that didn't work for you? (*she says to the woman with no time...*)

So glad you love this story! *g*

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't mean problems with the order of events in the fic, just minor problems of the order of (magnitude) of the odd proofreading mistake - sorry, didn't put that very clearly!

No, I think she's an outstanding writer and while there are some of her fics I don't like this is one that I like a lot! (I think my favourite might be spring heeled jack ... *g*)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ah sorry - maybe I'm just not reading things clearly at the moment (I did that to Milomaus too)!

And ohhhhh for Spring-heeled Jack, that's another of my favourites (that I haven't reread for too long... *g*

[hagsrus.livejournal.com]

Yikes - didn't realise it wasn't on the CD! I will rectify that in short order!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Excellent - thank you! I'm pleased to hear that you have them for the CD, I didn't realise they were there at all, thought they were only at Jess' website or in the zine...

[alessa-dd.livejournal.com]

1.
Yes, the situation presented is credible. Using CI5 closure as an argument, and one of the many plays of Cowley, did not seem out of place. However, I disagree with the way Cowley worried about the future for Ray, but he left Bodie completely out of the question.
I wondered if that clever old head could have guessed Bodie's feelings towards his partner. When I got to the line "Do not hold him back, Bodie" I told myself that I had the answer: YES. It could have been also a subtle way to protect them from a possible witch hunt? Maybe.
I expected a little more resistance from Ray, having to deal with the self-imposed separation of Bodie. But as this is a story written from the POV of Bodie, there was not much to do about it.
Ray and his idealism. Save the world. Or at least make it better. With an offer like that, there was no room for speculation. Will I like it? No. I was intrigued to know how far he would go.
Bodie's reaction made me think of this:
A) brutal honesty: "Trouble was, I could see there was nowhere for me in that life." There's nothing for him. Why prolong the agony?
B) Do what you need to do, knowing the cost: "I expected to be unhappy and I was, so nothing strange there."
C) Give up the own happiness for the happiness of the other, "It was not that I did not want him to be happy, that was not it at all, but it hurt." "And that's how it stayed. It was not a bad life, it just was not the life I wanted ..." Bodie carries on the life he chose, in full awareness of what he lost, pushing aside those thoughts very deep, trying to make as if they had never been there: "So, I tried not to think about. It was just, sometimes, some nights, I could not help it." But how hard is voluntarily renounce the things that you want!
All those moments in the history broke my heart.

2.
No. No. I thought "The postman always rings twice" or "Life is too short to waste second chances" "... and it said what I hopped and feared it would. It said 'Fuck it, I ought to be used to it by now. Everybody I love leaves in the end."
Before reading further, I said ¡Bodie, go RIGHT NOW to buy a ticket to go home! I also felt completely selfish, but I could not help it. I'm on the side of those who suffer, and in this case, Bodie has given up almost everything for Ray.
I could not identify at any time with Ray and her marital situation, I mean, the whole story about his wife and his ideals ... when she married a policeman because it made her feel safe, must have thought that security has a price is not achieved with kind words and a pat on the back. See that price face to face makes it no less wrong to read it in the news. That part did not convince me at all. (Or maybe my romantic side refuses to accept anyone close to Ray than Bodie.) It is difficult for me to be objective in this matter, sorry!

3.
I do not expect roses and bells. However, Ray's words make me think that even though he has not realized yet, in its own way, is asking for Bodie. He needs him. And maybe there is an opportunity for them. Hope, against all odds. Although for this, perhaps we should we suffer some more. Ah, I'm an incurable romantic, what I can say?

4.
Ah, time worked in my favor for this question. I arrived late, so first I wanted to respond, and now, I can already read the sequel. I was a good girl and I did not have to wait!

For those who have come this far, thank you very much for the patience that you had to read these words.
As you may have noticed, I can read English a little more than I am able to write. I apologize for my many mistakes. This is my first appearance in a discussion of this kind, and I did it because the story really touched me to the point of encouraging me to write (also for the first time) to an author.
It was a pleasure to share this with all of you, who love these guys the same way I do!