User: hafren Date: 2006-08-24 08:56 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Disgraceful! And me in the office too - why haven't I got a boss like that?

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-24 11:16 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

You were reading it purely for research purposes for your next non-fiction book, weren't you?

User: hafren Date: 2006-08-24 14:57 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

I am devoted to academic research.

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-25 01:21 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Indeed.

And more seriously, I hope the last academic book is still in print, because I failed to get organised last year and order it from the publisher in time to pick it up on the UK trip. Must try harder this year...

User:	l_prieto
Date:	2006-08-24 10:06 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

Thank you!!

I love that story :)

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-24 11:16 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Oh good. :-)

User: beth_bernobich Date: 2006-08-24 12:54 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Morning treat!

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-24 13:11 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Thanks. :-)

User: ally_blue Date: 2006-08-24 13:18 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Fantastic story, Jules! There's just something about the whole window thing, you know?
**grins**

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-24 13:24 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Thanks. :-)

It's a rather strange little story -- it's very melancholy, and yet he does have almost everything he wants. And it's been overtaken by reality, because in the year it was sitting in anthology slushpiles, the UK went ahead and legalised civil unions...

User: ally_blue Date: 2006-08-24 13:30 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Maybe Mark and Steven find that out, like, the next day, and get unionized and live happily ever after :D

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-25 01:23 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

I suppose I could write a sequel for the HEA fiends...

User: hafren Date: 2006-08-24 14:57 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

But this isn't set in the UK is it, judging by the US spelling - so it isn't overtaken by events yet!

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-25 01:26 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

The spelling was British when it left here...

I was actually thinking of London when I wrote it, but the city isn't named, so it could equally well be set in the US. There was a nice story at Clean Sheets in the last month or two that played with the fact that a couple of states have legalised civil unions, so it's technically possible for gay couples to stop being married as they cross the state line.

User: bakkhos Date: 2006-08-24 16:24 (UTC) Subject: (no subject) Keyword: You woke me up ... to talk about bonds?

I liked this a lot. >.<

Though I can't help but feel a bit disturbed by the difference in power between the two. Poor Mark. It seems like he's going to get disillusioned soon. (That's just my guess, of course.) Great stuff here.

User: julesjones Date: 2006-08-25 01:51 (UTC) Subject: (no subject)

Something that got lost in the final editing was the fact that Mark is a qualified scientist himself, so he's not kidding himself when he says that he's rather more than a secretary. Steven wanted a personal assistant who had a good enough grasp of the science to be an effective deputy for him in a small high-tech company, so he values Mark quite apart from the sexual relationship. But there wasn't any easy way to make that clear to non-scientist readers in such a short story without blatant info-dumping, and I had to cut it. The result was a bigger power gap in the final version.

I probably shouldn't say this when my editor might be listening, but I could probably write a novella with the same basic plot...

User:	ravenmcknight_1
Date:	2006-08-25 07:46 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

Your editor will pretend she heard nothing and will be suitably impressed and appreciative when the highly fleshed-out, extended version appears in her inbox.