Learning to Live Again Update

So here I sit looking at the screen and wondering where to start.

I have recieved many nice (and some not so nice) inquiries into why I haven't updated Learning to Live Again in months. It was never my style to write a story and not update regularly and commit to finishing it, but this time fiction and reality have overlapped rather closely.

For those of you that followed the story, at the end of the last posted chapter the adorable Miss Sophie was in danger of losing her beloved Miniature Horse, Daisy. While this was only a small plot device to show how truly calous and self-centered Alice was, the reality of having a sick pony hit me hard.

A few years ago I rescued a Mini of my own who I named Sophie after a particularly soapy bath to get rid of the dirt and pests covering her. And while she was a grey ball of fiery attitude, she was still adorable. At 44" tall she had more personality than some horses three times her size. She was the rock that kept my nervous gelding grounded, the babysitter for the youngster and a fun pony to feed when my nephews came to visit. She was never supposed to be more than a companion animal for my older horses, but she turned out to be so much more. Finding out that she was broke to ride and drive a cart were unexpected joys and her last years of life were probably the best she had ever had.

My little girl was an emaciated bag of bones when I found her. She probably wouldn't have lasted through the winter. Poor diet and a complete lack of any kind of equine dentistry left her with horrible mouth sores and a complete inability to chew her food. It took a year of expensive vet visits for her to come back from the brink, but she did it with a quiet determination and a ball-busting attitude that wouldn't allow for anyone to disturb her meals.

Last year she developed a new problem. After repeated and expensive trips to the vet for cronic choking I lost my little girl in March, only weeks after posting the chapter about the fictional pony that was based on her.

Then, not a month later, on Mother's Day I was forced to put down my best friend and long-time companion of 13 years, Casey. My German Shepard and I had spent almost every day together and had competed in dog sports for years before she retired. Her death was just as unexpected as Sophie's and left me sad for a long time.

The empty stall in the barn I go to three times a day and the empty bed beside mine have left a HUGE hole in my life. I have tried to pick up the story, as I still have all the ideas and scenes written down and planned out, but every time I try to write the next chapter in the story I get choked up. Now isn't the right time.

I have not and will not abandon the story, but for now I feel I have to break one of my own rules and put it on permanent hold.

I have other stuff in the works. In a matter of days I will be posting the first chapter in a three part mini fic that I was blackmailed into writing by Cris (aka @judo_lin) in order to get her to stop tweeting me horrificly terrifying pictures of spiders. It sounds rediculous, but the woman made me scream in the middle of a traffic jam. Getting a pic like that while you are at a dead stop in a topless jeep and scaring the guy in the car next to you with your shrieks is embarrassing. Something had to be done to stop the menace she was becoming.

The first story in a two part full length fiction is also close to being ready to start posting. It will be a new genre for me to post in the Harry Potter fandom but I am looking forward to it.

Also my first full length original novel is almost done. I have been told by a reliable (and unbiased) source that I should pursue getting it published so I will keep you posted on how that goes.

Well that is my fic life as it stands now. I know I may not be popular for making the decision to pull 9 of the 10 posted chapters of Learning to Live again and putting it on hiatus, but it is the only option for now. I will not apologize for loving my animals as if they are children, because to me they are. I need to be in the right head space to write something of quality and the subject matter (and my own sense of pride) will not allow me to post anything less than the best I am capable of.

I hope you will understand but if you don't, well I'm sorry you feel that way.

Until next time,

James Ramsey

Learning to Live Again

Hello All!

Well the first five chapters of my new story have been posted and to date 205 of you have left reviews.

LTLA has had a very emotional impact on many of you, moreso than I ever imagined it would. Reading many of your reviews choked me up and I am so very awed at the courage so many of you have. Many of you are the family or friends of service men and women, and for many of you this story hits close to home. When I started to write this story I honestly didn't think of the impact it might have, it was just a plot line that refused to leave me alone until I started writing.

As I get farther and farther into the story, and Jasper reveals more of the circumstances surrounding the roadside bomb that sent him and Peter to the hospital, I find myself more and more aware of the sensitivity of the subject matter.

It seems that chapter 6 is shaping up to be one of the most emotionally gripping chapters I have ever written. I will be having someone who used to be in the Army pre-read it for me and offer her opinion. I will also be prefacing the chapter with a strong warning that I hope doesn't get ignored.

The next chapter should be up in a few days.

Learning to Live Again

Hello All!

Well as I have said I've been working on something new lately. I know I told you all it was a Harry Potter Fic pairing Hermione and Draco together, and I have been working at it. However, something new popped into my head that demanded to be written.

Yes, Jasper is a demanding one. He has been knudging me for months on this one and finally wouldn't take no for an answer. So I give you "Learning to Live Again".

This is an all human fic that finds a traumatized Jasper returning from being wounded in Iraq only to lose everything that he was holding on to. Where does he go from here? Can he make his way back or will his memories destroy him.

Here's a glimpse.

***

My dreams were haunted by the faces of my men as they died screaming, begging me to save them, crying out for their mothers or wives. There had been nothing threatening about the day that we were blown to hell; no intel about insurgents so close to the base. It was a leisurely drive through the desert, nothing more than returning to base after a routine low risk recon mission. The roadside bombs had been unexpected.

All three of the cars in our convoy were hit. One minute I'm laughing with Garza and the next my world was fire and screams.

***

Check it out and let me know what you think. A huge thanks to KareBear1965 for giving me a crash course on Army terminology.

Until next time!

James

Update

So I have been told that I have been too quiet and I need to update you all on how the writing is going. Hmmmm... Well it is going. Slowly. But I am still working on the Harry Potter fic starring Draco and Hermione that I blogged about previously. The first 10 chapters are being preread and it's looking like it's going to be a longer story than I thought. Possibly needing to be split in to two separate stories by the look of the plot.

Real life has been literally kicking my ass lately between trying to sell our house and move, my sister passing away at 31, going back to work for my husband after he had to fire two of his employees, getting another job (bringing the grand total up to 3 for those of you that are counting) and still dealing with the day to day crap that everyone has. This means that I have been reluctant to publish anything because I would hate to leave a story hanging.

Time to write is at a premium right now but stuff IS getting written. Initial feedback on the HP fic is positive. I have also been working on a couple other things including an original story and a Chronicles of Riddick fic (don't ask where that one came from - cause I got no idea).

But rest assured stories are in the works and will be posted eventually.

Thats it for now. I'm being called back to work. Later!

James

Upcoming Fic

Hello all! I have no idea if anyone reads this or not but I thought I would post my thoughts.

I've been hard at work on a new story that has me pretty absorbed. However it's not my usual and beloved Twilight fandom so I'll completely understand if none of you want to read it.

I've ventured into the world of Harry Potter. Now before you make that disgusted sound and go back to Jasper worshipping (I mean who doesn't), you have to remember that I hate the usual pairings and canon is never really for me. Couple that with my obsession for the bad boy, and you have a story that pairs Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Yes, it was a challenge.

I loved the books but hated the epilogue. So in true James Ramsey fashion, I have rewritten it the way I wanted to see it. I'm currently 8 chapters in but intend to write a few more before I start posting.

Here's the summary,

It's two years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione and Harry work at the Ministry fighting a new war against former Death Eaters who've fashioned a New Order, following in the footsteps of the fallen Voldemort. Leaving the Ministry late one night, Hermione is abducted. Who will be there to save her?

Fic is fated M and has dark themes. Mentions rape, torture and slavery.

I hope you Twihards out there will give it a chance and have take a read.