Jody Daniel: Blog

Hi all!

What a week! First, I was thrilled to see that “Jack Sparrow” (the last remaining stray cat) has somehow recovered from his head injury and seems to be back to his old self. Instead of fighting with the neighbourhood cats, he’s now acting more like a playful kitten. Instead of trying to scratch me, he allows me to touch his head and scratch him behind the ears. I’m still a little apprehensive of the black cat, but I go along with his attitude and do feed him. This reinforces my belief that he’s not actually a stray and does have a home. Otherwise, how could his head injury have healed so quickly without a huge scab? Plus, he looks healthy. He comes around every two to three days to beg for food, so he must have a home with people who love him. Oh, well.

Now, onto something that gave me a good chuckle—no, let me rephrase that—a screaming good laugh. SOL doesn’t usually want me to comment on story statistics, but boy, this was an eye-opener. 88% of readers score iSigodi 8, 9, or 10, with 10s leading the pack. THANK YOU!

The reason for my fit of laughter? Someone gave the story a score of 1. Yes, a ONE. Really? What more do I have to do to satisfy that person? I know you can’t please everyone, but if you don’t like the story, move on. A one, seriously?

I must say that I am not perfect. Yes, I know that my grammar sometimes stinks, and my spelling is also not up to scratch, but then again, who is? This person must have an incredibly glamorous life to score a story so low. I wonder what he (or she) scored our “Lifetime Achievement Award 2023” winner, StarFleet Carl? A 2? LOL! (Sorry StarFleet Carl, I know you did well and are also laughing at this.)

As my editors always say: “You can’t satisfy everyone!” But this just made me laugh. To my friend who scored the one, your contribution is just 0.002% of the total and is so insignificant that SOL doesn’t even factor it into the overall score. You wasted your precious time clicking that “You-Call-This-A-Story” button. Also, for all of the stories that I published, only 2.73% of the votes were 6 or less. That means that 97.27% of votes were a 7 or higher! LOLOLOLOL!!! Do yourself a favour and check out the comments section of my stories. Those pen names with an underscore under them are AUTHORS of fine standing who also read my stories. If they like them, I have nothing more to say.

I have also encountered authors who were so disheartened by bad comments and low scores that they stopped writing. I tried to encourage them to look past the negativity and continue their fine work. Some did, but others just disappeared into the void. It’s so sad because their work was outstanding.

I also have a reader who published two stories on SOL. One was an abandoned story that he took and finished the story for the original author. What a great story! With 631862 downloads and votes totalling 3580 for a single story! This reader became a personal friend and one who not only has my private email but knows my real name. It is such an honour to have such a person who enjoys my stories.

Here is chapter 13 for you all. Have fun, and enjoy it!

Until next week, be good and stay safe.

Bye for now!

PS: Mister One-score, how about YOU write us a story? Nah, I don’t think you’ll accept the challenge! LOL!

Hi all!
Thank you for all the well-wishes. I can safely say that the flu has passed and we, the Redhead, and I, feel much better. The Redhead is back at work, and I am firing on all cylinders again. LOL.

The past week had me worried as one of my editors did not get my mail regarding chapter 13, but all is done and dusted now, and chapter 14 is running on schedule.

Here is chapter 12 for you all. Have fun.

Until next week. Be good and stay safe.

Bye 4 now!

Hi all!
All is NOT well here on the western front. No! A small little bug got hold of not only me but of the Redhead as well. Since last Tuesday, when the bug struck, we were afraid that we were not going to die! It was that bad. And then the GP went and confirmed it: SWINE FLU! Where in the world did that come from? We don’t even have pigs within fifty miles of us.

People… I tell you it is not a walk in the park. But, we are feeling better now, although if I walk from the lounge to my study, I’ve got to rest up and catch my breath before anything else. I hope this will be over by Wednesday. I need to finish chapter 13 and get it out to the editors.

So, herewith is chapter 11 for you guys. Have fun. Luckily I have had these chapters in hand, else you would not have had chapter 11 on time.

I want to thank everyone who voted for “Amelia” in the Clitorides. Thank you for the nomination, it is highly appreciated.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my reader in Ukraine who sent me an email regarding my "Western Front" remark in the previous blog entry. Thank you for your email and be sure that you guys and girls are always in my thoughts, despite the policies and statements from the South African Government. You know, it is one thing to sit and formulate ideas on hearsay, but quite different to KNOW the real facts and how governments distort this propaganda for solely their own benefit.

Until next week. Be good and stay safe.

Hi all!
All is well here on the Western front! (For some of you it will be the Eastern front, or maybe the South?)

Again Monday has rolled around and here is chapter 10 of iSigodi. Enjoy! I had fun writing it. But it seems like I am writing slower. I had 5 chapters in hand when I started to publish. Now it is down to three with number three (chapter 13) starting to take shape. Chapter 12 has been received back from the editors, so they can rest for a while, until I finish chapter 13.

Until next week. Be good and stay safe.

Bye 4 now!

Hi all!

I do hope you guys and girls are well and in good health! Here all is well and going like… (Do we say “like a Boeing?”) Ag well, let’s just say it goes well! LOL.

On that note: I saw a video the other day about the last flight of a SAA B747 SP. The pilot said that although the aircraft did not fly for the last two years, everything on it still worked fine. One could just fuel her up and fly to Europe! Goes to show, they don’t make ‘em like that any more. What a shame.

Anyway, they did fuel her up, but flew only about 12 kilometres to her final resting place as a display for that kind of aircraft. They landed her on a runway only 15 meters wide. The engines were sticking out over the runway edges, but land she did, never to take off again. And so ended the life of an aircraft that once broke the speed record for flying from Seattle in the USA to Cape Town no-stop. But she will be preserved for the future at the museum at Rand Airport.

Herewith, iSigodi Chapter 9. Have fun! I had fun making the pics for the chapter. Well, it turned out I had to rewrite a few sentences in the text of the chapter, as the outfit Melanie had on only worked when she stood up or walked. But sitting down was a scary part, as the bottom half of the dress did not fit any sitting style. So plan B and a new outfit for her. Just before someone comments and say the pic does not show her correct outfit. So, all five pics had to be done over!

I would rather not elaborate on a second little “WHY” I had to change Melanie’s outfit for the sitting poses. The pics gave my Editor in Missouri a heart attack. Big Red Rubber Stamp on it saying: “NOT FIT FOR PUBLICATION.” LOL!!!! (Or maybe I could have just gave her some underwear…) Still, the forming of the dress was unnatural.

Until next week. Stay good and stay safe.

Bye 4 now!