tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post8302248177341787742..comments2023-12-31T16:30:56.708+00:00Comments on Lily Childs' Feardom: And Then by A J Humpage - February Femmes FatalesLily Childshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15861288507716873813noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-84708751207894411132012-02-08T19:37:17.478+00:002012-02-08T19:37:17.478+00:00Thanks Tony and Chris, I really appreciate the com...Thanks Tony and Chris, I really appreciate the comments guys.AllWriteFictionAdvicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381125356850555606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-33329803629897272912012-02-07T01:16:56.381+00:002012-02-07T01:16:56.381+00:00You have an unflinching eye for detail Ms Humpage....You have an unflinching eye for detail Ms Humpage. You unerringly home in on the most intimate, horrifying moments of existence, and you don't let the reader go until you're good and finished. That takes a large talent. <br /><br />I just loved how you didn't "cut away" from the protagonist, and had us follow him through confusion to realization, to nothingness. Well done.Chris Alliniottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04094925215735680849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-66683486584074043862012-02-06T11:19:07.402+00:002012-02-06T11:19:07.402+00:00I have two points to add. First is that horror, tr...I have two points to add. First is that horror, true horror, is about horrific things that happen to real people. When we read these we worry that it could happen to us or people we love. There is more anguish in that emotion than duvet full of monsters in a child's bedroom.<br /><br />The second is the best horror is about being trapped. Whether it's in an elevator with the Devil or a haunted hotel in winter. Here you have taken both and created a piece that is uncomfortable to read. The claustrophobic moments of a man trapped in his own broken body is truly horrific.<br /><br />I think this refreshing use of the trapped device was a stroke of genius and I'm a little more than jealous I didn't think of it. Dark fiction, horror or whatever else people call these tales one thing runs through them. They make us pray it is never us.<br /><br />Beautifully haunting with your usual high standard of poetic darkness.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04760596809720075421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-11091099366020005682012-02-05T10:59:28.512+00:002012-02-05T10:59:28.512+00:00AJ, you definitely captured the turmoil of the pro...AJ, you definitely captured the turmoil of the protagonist, eloquently, and I loved the ending. Beautiful, congrats!EChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09359075647077590741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-44745272964684601912012-02-04T16:53:55.385+00:002012-02-04T16:53:55.385+00:00Thanks everyone for such great comments and kind w...Thanks everyone for such great comments and kind words. When asked why I write, I always say the same thing: To move, to illicit emotion, to touch, to leave a lasting mark. And that's why writing is so fulfilling.AllWriteFictionAdvicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381125356850555606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-26353459879938326142012-02-04T14:51:28.721+00:002012-02-04T14:51:28.721+00:00This is fantastic, Ally. It really swept me up an...This is fantastic, Ally. It really swept me up and pulled me along, very touching. Beautiful, detailed prose. I'm looking forward to your next four. <br />:0)Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014683585191165226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-83433551270541454482012-02-04T12:50:54.741+00:002012-02-04T12:50:54.741+00:00Lily, you weren't kidding when you said her wo...Lily, you weren't kidding when you said her words are like poetry. I loved this line. "Sounds of the crash echoed around him like a residual tear in the fabric of space and time". <br /><br />I really enjoyed AJ's stories last year. This was another nice dose of darkness.Lauritahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03688820247531607677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-10730320519887219632012-02-04T12:38:31.498+00:002012-02-04T12:38:31.498+00:00Amazing. So much captured in so few words, everyth...Amazing. So much captured in so few words, everything he is going through and then some. Magical writing, a feast for the day. I am going to lunch now ... with visions. My daughter's boyfriend rides a big powerful Ducati motorbike.<br />AJ, you did it again. Produced that stunning impact work.Antonia Woodvillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12594229396805493611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-17052536005376027882012-02-04T12:19:25.660+00:002012-02-04T12:19:25.660+00:00Stunning writing all purposed towards seating the ...Stunning writing all purposed towards seating the reader inside this corpse-in-waiting. I defy anyone to not feel everything this guy is feeling...<br /><br />Outstanding piece of work, AJ.John Xerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17492709629314280633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-78280693494127805702012-02-04T10:00:41.369+00:002012-02-04T10:00:41.369+00:00"Sounds . . . lapsed into his conscience like...<i>"Sounds . . . lapsed into his conscience like the colours of a long forgotten sunset."</i><br /><br />I just love a tale where the sounds lapse like colours and the indigo and umbra come out to further set the scene. Then EGADS! What a careen of a scream you bring to that scene Ms Ally. To change poor Cathy's emotive response down to me being very, very concerned each time SK Adams takes to the open road -- that's quite a response-generator your words fling out. Now, as to this bloody mess . . . yuccccccch, you describe tight terror to being lost in helpless sadness as if you're at the scene.<br /><br /><i>~ Absolutely*Kate: 'Brava'</i>Kate Pilarcik ~ absolutelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12430278736281847787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-72460537484672219812012-02-04T09:21:04.613+00:002012-02-04T09:21:04.613+00:00Speaking from personal experience, been riding bik...Speaking from personal experience, been riding bikes since I was 16. Crashed 5 times over the years,1,ice,2,spilled diesel,3,speed & poor judgement,4,ignorant car driver.5 pot hole, :-) My very first thoughts were always for my bike before myself. Engine screaming, turn off ignition, petrol leaking, get bike right way up. That kind of thing. However, I was never badly hurt. I know that there is a point when severe damage has occurred, the brain dumps endorphin's, decides there is no point rebooting this mess and calls time. You described that moment brilliantly. Not a place where one would want to dwell.But it is human nature to want to probe that bloody gap where the dentist extracted the tooth.I look forward to reading more of your work.shaun Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03167565901368302269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-8282126915021008502012-02-04T03:34:14.451+00:002012-02-04T03:34:14.451+00:00Oh wow, what a ride! An incredibly masterful slice...Oh wow, what a ride! An incredibly masterful slice of drama and a crash I couldn't turn away from even though the inevitable sticky end loomed. Clever, realistic and emotive writing. In a word, superb.AnnaHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06613497715202166330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-90286417745536713372012-02-04T02:57:54.477+00:002012-02-04T02:57:54.477+00:00I was carried along with the momentum of the story...I was carried along with the momentum of the story. Half way through I thought something's happened to his head, then bam the truth was revealed. I found myself grimacing as I read yet unable to stop. I think you captured perfectly the feelings of the character, his confusion and his fear.<br /><br />Nice writing!Helen A. Howellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12748128819820230841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7536979460489400599.post-85200962772437446762012-02-04T02:12:19.283+00:002012-02-04T02:12:19.283+00:00Ally, that was stupendous. Really. I went from not...Ally, that was stupendous. Really. I went from not carrying one whit about him to being touched and almost weepy at the end. The fear he feels, the way you write about it, it's palpable.<br />Nice work.Cathy Olliffe-Websterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12729578896443750402noreply@blogger.com