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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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That Yoda quote is just another excuse to tell my husband and my mother. I hate you so much right now because I love it so. I'm probably going to use it some time in the future.
First round edit on chapter 26 done. I did a better job writing the fight scene than I initially thought. For those of you who have read my book, I believe that I have given you a fight that you might enjoy. Inner main group tension is so fun.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Kevin. You are quite right. At least I hope you are. I do think the work has, overall, a little more focus. And, despite the bits I'm expanding and adding back, it will still end up being a good 5000 words shorter than when I first submitted it.
I certainly do want to find an audience, but I am wary, naturally, of thinking 'Well, so-and-so wants more of this and Whozis wants more of that, so I just need to take one from column A and one from column B...' Advice is great, and I appreciate all feedback, but the writer has to be the ultimate arbiter -– decider-in-chief if you will. Everybody makes changes based on critique, but you have to step back and make sure you're still being true to yourself. I'd rather sell a book with a few compromises than never sell at all, but if you don't listen to your intuition, the result will be so incoherent it won't mean anything to you anymore.
Pardon the soap-boxing. Talking to myself here, you know.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Kevin, you are so right about letting the paint dry! If you don't, and keep layering on more and more paint, you could end up with a murky shade of gray.
Love the Yoda quote.
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Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
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First - go Kevin!
Second, I'm planning on submitting my YA Space Opera to a place that does serialized stories, so I'm going to be posting the bits one at a time. I'll be posting the first one in just a few minutes, so...
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Joined: 1/10/2012
Posts: 192
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Atthys and Kevin - thank you both, as always, for the big picture.
As for my own progress, slow as it might be, I think I've got a new chapter one to place in front of my existing three chapters of Aequitas, and have also revised the original first two chapters to be more in line with what I hope is better material based on people's comments. I'm hoping to post the revision and new material this week and get revisions done to chapter 3 (now 4). I am, however, getting sidelined by my POV conundrum, which I've explained in another thread started by Robert! Hopefully, clearing that up with help speed me along.
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Joined: 1/10/2012
Posts: 192
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Quick update: have finished revisions to first three chapters and am going to dive into chapter 4 (formerly 3) tomorrow! Yippeee!
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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Finished typing up Chapter 18 of "The Wedding Game." Still writing Chapter 19. Think I may make my self-imposed July 1st deadline to finish the first draft of the manuscript.
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Wow, lotsa progress being reported lately. Reading what others are accomplishing motivates me. This morning I finished a basic edit of chapter 9, "A Library In Ur" & plan to dive into chapter 10, "Slow Babies" tomorrow. Writing is fun when y're swimming in it!
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Joined: 1/10/2012
Posts: 192
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I've just uploaded my new chapter 1 and the revised chapters 2 and 3 for anyone who'd like to take a look! Hopefully, I've addressed all of the comments thus far. Now, on to chapter 4!
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Got a couple more paragraphs done on chapter 11 this morning before I went to the gym. It flowed much more easily today compared to earlier this weekend - I think I was trying to force it too much. The book I'm reading right now is motivating me to pay closer attention to how my characters act and react, because the author is doing such a beautiful job of just letting things unfold spontaneously - I feel like I was trying to move my characters around like Barbie dolls, and it just wasn't working for me (it's painful to reread, actually). Hopefully these couple of decent paragraphs will bode well for continued progress on this action-heavy chapter. 
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Yep, must've paid off, because I just finished chapter 11. Yay!  Now I have to go clean like a madwoman because I'm expecting a friend over in 30 minutes...oh, writing, since when did you become the tool of procrastination rather than the object over which to procrastinate??
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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GD - This thread was a stroke of genius! I know, at least for me, it has really helped me to be more productive.
And it's great to read about other folks day-to-day writing challenges and how they work through them.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I finished the first round edits on 26 and 27. Now it is time to run back through 24 - 27. Ah, the joys of editing.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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This was supposed to be my summer without commitments (no classes, no regularly scheduled volunteer activities): a summer to spend working on my writing and really getting into reviewing on this site.
Yet, somehow, I managed to "volunteer" to edit (more like chop) some 20,000 words of the history of the Catholic Italian American experience in Philadelphia and write some short sidebars for my parish's 100th anniversary commemorative book.
In a few weeks. . .
Bring it on.
Still planning on posting the rest of A Kaliphian Matter: Transformations on this site, start posting some chapters from the third book in the series, and send out a few query letters (thinking about that part just makes me break out into a sweat. . .).
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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Angela, I know the feeling. I've "volunteered" for a few things in my life too. Like, I recently "volunteered" to supervise the seventh graders who were cleaning the parish cemetery for Confirmation hours. Thanks, Mom.
And to pretend to be on topic, Chapter 18 of "The Wedding Game" should be up this Friday and I'm still chugging away at Chapter 19.
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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I'm 5.5 pages into chapter 12, which I expect will be the final chapter for Strain - as long as the characters cooperate with the game plan. My goal count when I started this project was 55K, and I'm now less than 500 words away! And the best part is that there are way more than 500 words left in this story before it's quitting time.
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Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
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@Angela - you're in Philly? Might be fun to touch base at a con some time! Or... did I meet you at a con and now I'm not remembering? ARGH! Curse my flaky memory!
As for progress, I finished a fairly long guest blog yesterday, so I'll count that, kinda. My writing goals for the summer (today is the last day for teachers) are:
- Get my blog set up at *least* four months in advance
- Complete the first draft of 'Blanks'
- Complete the first draft of 'Blue Bloods'
- Complete the first draft of 'The Desert Fox and the Iberico Clavel'
- Complete the first draft of 'The Adventures of Tina Eastman'
- Edit 'Drag.Race'
- Write my 2012-2013 lesson plans
Can't tell how much progress you've made unless you know where you're going, right?
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Hi, Robert - Don't worry about your memory. I've never be to a con.
Quite frankly, I would feel like a fish out of water at one of those - a fish who's been out of the water a very long time. Is there schedule of Philadelphia events somewhere? Maybe someday I'll muster up the courage (and find the time) to go to one.
Good luck with your ambitious summer writing plans!
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Progress faltered significantly today thanks to getting caught up in finishing this book I've been reading. And now I'm in that funk you get after finishing a really good story, which is so not conducive to writing. On the plus side, I did type out another page before I got distracted, and now I'm only 150 words from goal. Baby steps...guess I'll see how much more I can get done before hubby gets home from work in less than an hour. 
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Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
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@Angela - Honestly, I feel like a lungfish at times. I can survive, but it's a strange place. Of course, in some ways it's nice - people don't look at me funny when I start talking about fictional characters and have no idea who the cast of Jersey Shore is.
The three events I'm at reliably are PhilCon (November), Steampunk World's Faire (May) and Dorian's Parlor (Quarterly).
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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Wait, Robert, you went to the Steampunk's World Faire? My friends and I went this year on Saturday! One of my friends has a "I'll try any con once" philosophy and the rest of us go along for the ride because, hey, it's something to do. It did get me interested in Steampunk, though.
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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FINISHED!!!!! Yes, I am doing a little happy dance in my chair right now.
I'll be posting the last three chapters shortly, and adjusting the title somewhat. If anyone has any better suggestions for a title (and frankly, any suggestion would probably be better than what I've got right now), please let me know.
My plan now is to distribute the remainder to my beta readers, let them make suggestions and edits, and otherwise personally leave it alone for a little while. In the meantime, I'm going to catch up on some reads and reviews on here, and then I'll go back, probably in July, and start tweaking this draft according to the reviews I've gotten and further feedback I receive.
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ConGrats! Nicki,
I can only imagine the sense of relief and accomplishment you are feeling time to celebrate!
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Joined: 1/10/2012
Posts: 192
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That's great, Nicki!
Speaking of betas, how the heck does one go about getting some?? I really hate bothering people, twisting their arms in all sorts of horrible positions to get them to read/edit/critique my stuff.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I hope to take a look at your new stuff this weekend, Laura. I think it's only fair since I just gave you my current manuscript of my WIP.
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Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
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@Alexandria - I was one of the Guest Authors at the Literary Salon this year. If you made it there, you might have seen me and not realized.
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Joined: 1/10/2012
Posts: 192
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@LeeAnna - Oh, thank you. I'm hoping to dive into your MS tonight after the little one's in bed.
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Thanks all! I may have spoken too soon, however - Trev is being ridiculously vocal in demanding an epilogue; he doesn't seem to feel that I let his story end on a high enough note. So I'll be writing that out tonight - and then I will be done.
Laura, my beta readers are my best friend and my mother. Ha! Other than that, I don't really know how to get more - I tried soliciting on Facebook, but while I got encouraging feedback, nobody became a member here (as far as I know) to be able to read the whole thing, and I'm a little leery about posting it in, like, a blog or something, since it's got adult content. I might try twisting a few arms on Facebook again now that it's (yes, Trev, almost, I know) finished.
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Joined: 1/9/2012
Posts: 22
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Congratulations and well done! I'm looking forward to reading the final draft.
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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I've just finished reworking Slide the Scales From My Eyes and I've just uploaded the epilogue, so its available to read for anyone who's interested. I 'think' it's ready to send to agents, but we'll see.
As to where Scales came from, it's a mixture of annoyance and lunacy. I started working on the rough plot when after seeing just how repetative the covers (and often characterisations) of most urban fantasy novels are (which is why my female lead has a very odd dress sense), but the universe came from me reading the setting for Genius: The Transgression and trying to come up with something just as gleefully insane. I think I succeeded.
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Okay...finished the epilogue. I haven't even reread it, but I uploaded it just to be done with it! So now the thing is finished. For real. Until it's time for edits.
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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Congrats, Nicki! I'm slightly jealous but also happy for you.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Congrats, Nicki!
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Thanks!
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Great news, Nicki! Really looking forward to diving into your book (soon, I hope - along with the other 30 or so books I want to read and review!). I'm bumping yours up on the list.
I'm feverishly rewriting another chapter in the middle of the second book (Transformations). Something pivotal happens in it and I want to get it just right.
Sometimes I wonder if all this time and effort are worth it; if I should just throw in the towel with this whole writing thing and move on to something else. . .
But I think my characters would drive me mad if I don't put their stories into words.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I'm hand writing chapter 28, because I was too lazy to get out Typo (my typewriter) right now. So you could say that I'm beyond the half way point on my additions. I only have 7 more chapters to go. I hope I can crank them out like I was doing a couple weeks ago.
The thing I'm not looking forward to, entire book editing. I have some niggles to fix up that include POV problems and weak descriptions. After that, I need someone who can do a line edit for me.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Hi, LeeAnna,
I used to write everything out by hand before I got myself my first laptop. Actually miss it sometimes.
I would do line edits for folks, but the reading pane in BC is, well, a pain, for that level of detailed editing. The track changes and insert comments features of Word make it so much easier to do that type of editing. Hands of Ash has been on my list, too. Hopefully, I can look at it over the next few weeks.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Angela, if you want to do a line edit, I would email or google docs you the manuscript. I wouldn't expect you to do it through BC. That's just simply asking too much. But like I said, it'll be a while before I get to that point.
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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LeeAnna, I agree, whole book editing is not on my list of favorite things to do. I already found (really quickly) two (thankfully, minor) plot holes, but I'm feeling too lazy right now to address them. I'm sure if I get more reviews, people will highlight them, and that's cool. There's so much stuff I need to tweak and I just can't even think about it right now.
Angela, writing is always worth something, even if it's just your own sanity. I'd love to be published, but even if I'm not, it's worth it to me just to know that I can finish something (which is an ongoing struggle for me). And it's worth it to have a story that I want to read.  (Maybe not so much right now, because I'm sick to death of it...but you know.)
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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LeeAnna - Is there a way for BC members to contact each other without posting e-mail addresses in a discussion thread? If so, I'd be happy to take a look at your work.
Nicki - It does feel good to finish a story - even if only a handful of people ever read my work. For me, writing is just as much about discipline as it is about creativity. So I can understand the struggle to finish a work. As for the tweaking - do take a break. You've been doing marathon writing to finish the work. Let it sit a bit, then dive into the revisions and tweaks.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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@Angela: I posted my address up in the comments with Laura under my story because there is no way to communicate with each other except these discussion forums. (I think someone should fix that.) You can send me an email and I'll get your information that way so you don't have to post it up on this site.
I work tomorrow, so I should get more of 28 done.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Hi, LeeAnna - Under Ash? I didn't see any contact info there.
Any case, here is a contact I rarely use: diabase3 at comcast dot net
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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It's in the comments under Laura's review. I should have been more specific.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Hi, LeeAnna - I'm not seeing contact info there. Then again, I can be dense (just like my main character - unlike him, though, I don't think it's one of my endearing qualities ).
Anyway, use the contact info I posted previously initially, then I'll write back to you.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Angela, I sent you the email.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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LeeAnna - Got it.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I whipped out my typewriter and hammered out 7 pages today with the start of 8. Since it isn't on the typewriter, I couldn't give you word count, but I feel really good!
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Okay, all, a little shameless self-promotion:
I'm planning to enter Strains into the Indiana Romance Writers of America's Golden Opportunity contest (because I'd like to enter it into the RWA's Golden Heart contest this fall, and this will be a good stepping stone since I'm guaranteed feedback just for entering). I'm excited about doing this, but the bad news is that the deadline is July 8th, which means I've gotta put a rush order on that editing job. *sigh*
To enter, I have to submit a synopsis and an additional number of pages from the ms to add up to a total of no more than 55 pages. If any of you have maybe 30 minutes or so during this week that you would be willing to use to review just the first three chapters (of course, more is always appreciated, but unnecessary right now), I would so very much appreciate it. I want to go in feeling confident that what's been submitted is the best I could do at the point of submission.
Thanks!
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Hi, Nicki - just posted a review of the first three chapters of Strains. Good luck with the contest!
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Joined: 4/22/2012
Posts: 175
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Thanks, Angela! I really appreciate it.
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