105 replies to this topic

[Bond_Bishop]

I have a question. Does this take place in the novel universe or the movie?

Very good beginning!

[Joyce Carrington]

It takes place somewhere between the novels and the movies. I've incorporated elements of both.

[Joyce Carrington]

Well, I've started working on the first few chapters, while still mapping the last ones out in detail. I feel there's still someting missing - mentally - for me to really get into it. I don't know what... but I'm going to find it.

And now I think I have found it. The thing that will make this a challenge for me to write.

*does little happy dance*

[Hitch]

*Lifts safety catch*

Go, Joyce!

Did the announcement of Casino Royale catch you off balance?

[Joyce Carrington]

*Lifts safety catch*

Go, Joyce! 

Did the announcement of Casino Royale catch you off balance? 

Hehehe

I'm pleased with the news, but it hasn't affected my writing.

So far.

Thanks for the support, Hitch.

[Robert Watts]

Your fan fiction is one of the best I have read in a long time. Also thanks for giving me some pointers on how to improve my fan fics.

[Joyce Carrington]

No problem, Robert. Glad I could help.

And thank you.

[Joyce Carrington]

Thanks to CBn, there is now a small Circle Trilogy website up, with a little information on the series.

The Circle Trilogy

More content to follow, perhaps a sneek peak at the new novel in the future?

Updated quite a bit almost a year later, but beware of those Off Balance spoilers.

[Robert Watts]

Thanks to CBn, there is now a small Circle Trilogy website up, with a little information on the series.

The Circle Trilogy

More content to follow, perhaps a sneek peak at the new novel in the future?

Updated quite a bit almost a year later, but beware of those Off Balance spoilers.

Carrington's secretary looks suspiciously like Melissa George on that site.

Edited by Robert Watts, 19 December 2005 - 10:59 PM.

[Joyce Carrington]

How odd!

Actually, I still haven't found anyone who really captures her look.

[Robert Watts]

How odd!

Actually, I still haven't found anyone who really captures her look.

You know that still doesn't answer my question, it implies the answer but if the world ran on implications we'd all be dead by now.

[Joyce Carrington]

That sounds scary. Well, if you want a real reply: Yes, it is a pic of MG I used.

[Robert Watts]

You see if you had just said that it would've saved time and space and we wouldn't have an extra two posts each would we

Mocking MI6's spam policy is now treason over there

[Bring Back Valentin]

I downloaded your novel a few months ago, but just got round to reading it...in less than 12 hours!

Awesome story, Joyce!

I cannot wait for the rest of the trilogy!

[Robert Watts]

Unfortunately we'll probably have to wait a good year at the very least before the Dutch broad finishes anything (All in jest Fenna)

[Joyce Carrington]

That's okay, Robert. I really do think I'll finish this baby before we hit 2007.

Bring Back Valentin: Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And now I'd suggest you look at something else than your computer screen for the next 12 hours - to prevent an eyestrain!

[Rusty Cage]

I just finish reading your novel, and I was extremely impressed. I was hooked from the very beginning. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in the trilogy, and I have begun to read some of your other stories as well. Keep up the good work, I think you've got a bright future ahead of you.

[Joyce Carrington]

Thanks so much!

[MkB]

Congratulations, I've been impressed by your first Fan fiction ! The psychology of the characters is thoroughly examined, and I found your mix between the literary and cinematic Bond universe(s) very well-balanced (if I may ! :-))
Well, I must admit that, sometimes, I get a bit pissed off at Joyce, wanting her to pull herself up and be tougher and more self-assured, but anyway, it's fun and interesting to look a character so different from the usual Bondian ones moving on in this very one Bondian world.

If I may ask a question : if I understand well, english is not you mother tongue ; so, how on earth did you reach this level of writing skills ?? (yes, I'm jealous ! :-) I mean, I know Dutch people are naturally skilled for foreign languages, but is it possible to master english that way without spending some time abroad in an english-speaking country ? (please forgive me if my questions sounds too personal)
Anyway, you deserve two thumbs up for making the effort of writing your Fan Fiction in english to share it with as many people as possible. Thank you very much for this !

Well, I'm a little late, since "Off balance" has been released quite a long time ago now, but the good thing is, I can immediately read "Past bearings" :-)

Cheers, MkB

[Daddy Bond]

Joyce:

Quick question. I just started reading - well done. I am only a short way into the book, here's my question...

I know it's fiction, but Emma Lewis 003 - she was recruited out of the Air Force as one of their best pilots - was she a fighter pilot? If so, does the RAF have women fighter pilots? This is not a big deal - but I was just curious.

From my understanding, women are generally not allowed to pilot jets that pull extremely high G's in combat because of physiology/biology. A woman's muscle tone and blood pressure(even for a very, very fit and toned woman) prevents her circulatory system from transferring a sufficient amount of oxygen to her brain during heavy G's (even with a modern G suit) such that - not just most women - but all women black out for WAY too long a period of time to recover safely from a black out at high G's. This is actually why women pass out much more frequently then men.

Does anyone know? Perhaps the Harrier (a relatively slow jet) does not pull enough G's? I don't know - just curious. Perhaps one of you Brits could fill me in.

[Bryce (003)]

To my knowledge, the Harrier MK Five pulled about 4 G's. The MK IV is the one implemented in "True Lies".

The newest Tomcat - by way of the USAF - is the most recent of the jump jets.

BTW - 004 finally managed to read OB. He loved it. He's ready for Past Bearing when I told him that the two CIA lads were modeled after the Wanker Brothers.

Looking forward to part 3.

[MkB]

I know it's fiction, but Emma Lewis 003 - she was recruited out of the Air Force as one of their best pilots - was she a fighter pilot? If so, does the RAF have women fighter pilots? This is not a big deal - but I was just curious.

According to this document,
http://www.dasasurve...x...h&m=english

"All branches and trades within the RAF are open to females apart from the RAF Regiment.

There are currently around 65 female Pilots and 85 female Navigators serving in the RAF, about 3% of the Aircrew officer strength.

The highest rank currently held by a female officer is Group Captain, and the highest rank ever held by a woman is Air Commodore. "

[Daddy Bond]

I know it's fiction, but Emma Lewis 003 - she was recruited out of the Air Force as one of their best pilots - was she a fighter pilot? If so, does the RAF have women fighter pilots? This is not a big deal - but I was just curious.

According to this document,
http://www.dasasurve...x...h&m=english

"All branches and trades within the RAF are open to females apart from the RAF Regiment.

There are currently around 65 female Pilots and 85 female Navigators serving in the RAF, about 3% of the Aircrew officer strength.

The highest rank currently held by a female officer is Group Captain, and the highest rank ever held by a woman is Air Commodore. "

That's interesting. What type of jets do they fly in the RAF? How do they deal with the fact that women and most men cannot handle the G's in extreme combat maneuvers in certain fighter craft? True, in every day flight (when you are not at war) this may seem like a non-issue, but if some of the pilots (male or female) could not actually physically handle certain essential combat manuevers in a dogfight - why would you place them in the plane to begin with? It used to be that if you couldn't handle what the aircraft was capable of doing (within reason), you didn't get to fly that type of craft - at least not as standard operating procedure. I would be interested to see if they actually put the women through these manuevers in training as it would likely end in their death (if they were flying solo) - as it would many men.

Am I the only one bugged by people tipping their hats to certain aspects of so-called "equality", when in reality, they have no intention of following through on it? For example, the USMC either dropped or was considering dropping hand grenade exercises during basic training for women because an alarming number of female recruits could not throw the dummy grenades a safe distance (had the grenades been real). I'm not trying to sound chauvenistic - just realistic. It's just a fact. If you can't throw a grenade far enough or carry a wounded soldier by yourself (whether man or woman) - you have no business being on the battlefield - end of story.

Sorry, this has nothing to do with this really interesting new piece of fan fic - it just got me curious.

[Joyce Carrington]

Wow, quite the activity in this thread all of the sudden...

MkB:

I'm thrilled you enjoyed Off Balance, and even more thrilled that Joyce pissed you off. Yes, she should be tougher and more self-assured if she wants to make it in this job - hopefully by the end of the trilogy she will have figured out if she can be that kind of person. She's got a lot to learn, so stay tuned.

As for my English, I have no idea. I started writing in English because I wanted the international community of Bond fans to be able to read my fanfiction, but I never realise it's so 'outstanding', as a lot of people seem to tell me. It's just normal for me, I guess. English is a mandatory subject in high school, and happened to be the top mark on my list when I graduated. Other than that, I spent a lot of summers travelling through the UK on holiday and I've always watched too much English/American films and television (which is subtitled in Dutch over here, so when you're just starting to read anyway, it's a double learning process perhaps). Anyway, I'm flattered you would say so. I think my English is still improving, though.

Daddy Bond:

Honestly, my research phase for Off Balance is now so long ago I can't even remember it, but I'm positive I must have made sure if Emma's story checked out - as I think MkB demonstrates with his article there. Apart from that, it is a piece of fiction after all, and if Emma is a superpilot by the current standards (well, she's a Wing Commander, not even a Group Captain), then so be it. She did work very hard for it. I'll admit I never heard or have bothered to research physical limits for women to control jets at heavy G's, but er... let's just say Emma can handle 'em.

Bryce (003):

Nice to hear 004 liked OB. I can't wait to get back to work on Part III again.

Thanks for all the feedback, gentlemen. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

[MkB]

That's interesting. What type of jets do they fly in the RAF? How do they deal with the fact that women and most men cannot handle the G's in extreme combat maneuvers in certain fighter craft?

Well, this may be a little bit sidetracked, but anyway I made a little inquiry, and according to medical studies, it seems that, in fact, women (and not men) are naturally advantaged to withstand acceleration forces, and not the contrary :

"Women withstand more acceleration force thanks to physiological factors

[Joyce Carrington]

Aha! That's very interesting, MkB.

[Daddy Bond]

[quote name='MkB' post='762557' date='15 August 2007 - 06:41'][quote name='Daddy Bond' post='762490' date='15 August 2007 - 05:16']That's interesting. What type of jets do they fly in the RAF? How do they deal with the fact that women and most men cannot handle the G's in extreme combat maneuvers in certain fighter craft?[/quote]

Well, this may be a little bit sidetracked, but anyway I made a little inquiry, and according to medical studies, it seems that, in fact, women (and not men) are naturally advantaged to withstand acceleration forces, and not the contrary :

"Women withstand more acceleration force thanks to physiological factors

[Hitch]

Maybe you'll be famous one day.

Knowing Joyce, she'll be infamous.

[Joyce Carrington]

I can't believe you said that!



Well, who knows what happens. I'll be over the moon if some day I am both able to live off my writing and have the luxury to choose projects that I really like to do.

[Double-0-7]

Just finished Off Balance and enjoyed the story and writing style very much. I liked the way "The Circle" was introduced and expect to learn that someone within MI6 is a member of that nasty group.

Congratulations on the well-written novel, Fenna. If I can get Past Bearing to translate onto my Treo properly I'll start right in on Part 2!