IBM, (NYSE: IBM) today announced the findings of its 2016 Global Customer Experience Index (CEI) Study, which showed that Australia is above the global average when it comes to providing a good shopping experience for consumers, with a CEI rating of 43 percent compared with 40 percent globally. The results provided a snapshot of the Australian retail sector, revealing that some businesses are still struggling to provide a seamless cross-channel experience, personalisation and convenience for customers.

One-shot between Harry and Ginny a day before his Auror-training began. Canon, R&R

Six-year-old Teddy Lupin was feeling unnaturally nervous. One-shot Teddy's speech for his primary school about his parents, or people like his parents. R&R!

One-shot,*not what you might think* Now that Harry and Ginny are dating, Ron needs to get his brotherly duties out of way, but who is he going to talk to if not Harry? Read to find out... R&R!

Next quarter, starting March 30, I will be teaching “Math 247B: Classical Fourier Analysis” here at UCLA.  (The course should more accurately be named “Modern real-variable harmonic analysis”, but we have not gotten around to implementing such a name change.) This class (a continuation of Math 247A from previous quarter, taught by my colleague, Monica […]

On Saturday, January 26, 2019, I had the privilege of giving this year’s Paul Sykes Memorial Lecture to the Vancouver Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. My topic was “Astronomy and Science Fiction” and during the talk I mentioned the following SF novels (listed in italics) and short stories (listed in quotation marks):H.G. […]

Part of how I got out of debt last time was to be frank with myself and others about my finances. For the first 10 years we were together, James and I had zero debt, and it took some pushing past shame to admit we'd accumulated $10K+ in consumer debt, but admitting it was the first step to eliminate it. This time, the debt is even higher (but it was important, she says with some shame, to fix our teeth and our car, and and and...) but it's not any different: the key to getting rid of it for me is facing it. Well, facing it and having a plan.

Facing it, having a plan, and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.

Another thing I have to face is that I can't afford to go part-time yet. Not until either James gets the job he applied for or I get more editing work. I'm a little sad about that, but it's okay -- I can do this for a year while we knock out debt, and then I can decide what to do after that happens. When we don't have debt, we have SO MUCH FREEDOM. I just need to keep that in mind.

In completely other news, I don't get a "Least Complicated" earworm often, in day-to-day life, but something about getting to the "Music" box on the DW posting page brings it to mind; it's my most frequent "Music" entry, and it seems to just be a conditioned response to seeing the input box. Weird.

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Starting on Star Wars Day, for one week you can enjoy artistic renditions of your favorite films and series.

Two StarWars.com writers debate Luke’s choice in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

When Chris and I were at GenCon this year, we had the chance to sit down with a few of our favorite publishers for some 1 on 1 interviews and get information on upcoming releases from their catalog. I wanted to share some of this info with you guys to aid you in planning your board game purchases. 

Japanime Games

Domina Anthology featuring Argot, Miraris, and Pralaya (2019 4th quarter or 2020 1st quarter expected Kickstarter delivery then retail release) .
This anthology of games from Japanime is illustrated by Qtonagi and features games originally released by Domina from 2015-2017. Argoat is a worker placement game in which players travel trough the land looking for pieces to get to Eden and escape the nightmare of their current reality (bonus – it’s colorblind friendly). Pralaya is  competitive press your luck set collection game reminiscent of Forbidden Island in which your island is sinking and you must collect relics and pay the boatman to get off the island before it sinks. Miraris is a competitive bidding social game in which a row of cards equal to the number of players is established. All players choose a card from their hand and then all chosen cards are revealed simultaneously and placed in numerical order in a new row above the existing row of cards. Players get to claim the card from the initial row located underneath their number. If more than 1 player has revealed the same number, none of them get to claim a card. Also, there are secret objectives involved. Note: Japanime is taking pre-orders for the Domina Anthology on the Kickstarter page here: https://japanimegames.pledgemanager.com/projects/domina-anthology-featuring-pralaya-miraris-and-arg/participate/

Tanto Cuore 10th Anniversary Edition (coming to Kickstarter in the near term. Exact date TBD).





Core Connection: Rise of Atlantis (straight to retail release 2020 1st quarter). Atlantis is rising and player must stop robots from taking over. Tableau building game. Pre-order here: https://japanimegames.com/products/core-connection-rise-of-atlantis





Finally, while details are still tightly under wraps, Japanime did let me in on the news that they are developing some non anime board games centered on themes of Japan such as Japanese cuisine. These will be a mix of Kickstarter and straight to retail offerings in 2020 and beyond.


Calliope Games

Ship Shape (out now; released at GenCon). This game, designed by Rob Daviau, centers on strategically arranging crates in the hull of a cargo ship in a attempt to earn the most victory points.
Scoring is based on what you can see in the hold when viewing directly from above. The game includes friendly catch-up mechanisms. The story goes that Rob had a loose idea in mind for a packing game but it wasn’t fully developed until after Calliope approached him and asked him to design a game for their audience (Calliope focuses exclusively on family friendly gateway games that can be played in under an hour and accommodate 2-6 players) .


Tsuro (originally released 10 years ago; Calliope still enjoys healthy sales of the game that started it all; expect to see 10th Anniversary press and promos forthcoming).

Spymaster (estimated retail release 2019 3rd quarter). Players take on the role of spy agency chiefs attempting to accomplish their missions.

Everyone Loves a Parade (estimated retail release 2019 3rd quarter). In this dice rolling game, players compete to create the best parade float.

Tsuro: Phoenix Rising (estimated retail release 2019 4th quarter). 3rd and latest release in Tsuro line.






Matagot




Paris New Eden (will be released at Essen 2019). In this medium-weight worker placement dice game, players navigate a post-apocalyptic Paris landscape, attempting to use survivors to rebuild the city.





Kolossol Games



Omen: Heir to the Dunes (coming to Kickstarter 2019 3rd quarter). This is the latest release in the Omen series. A standalone expansion,  it’s the largest edition to the series since Omen: Reign of War that was released in 2011. It is set in ancient Egypt and introduces factions and structures.





Almanac (coming to Kickstarter date TBD) is a choose your own adventure system resource management game.



Renegade Game Studios

There are so many recently released and upcoming games coming out from Renegade that I’m going to break them down by quarter.

Recently Released

Proving Grounds is the first release in the solo hero series. These are immersive narrative dice games designed for solo mode. A novella or graphic novel is include with each release for full engagement.

Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated (not to be confused with the Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated - Upper Management Pack that is also out now). This game introduces legacy elements into Clank! . Players can create a franchise of the Aquisitions Incorporated company and steer the franchise in a direction toward victory.

2019 3rd Quarter

The Aquicorn Cove Board Game is based on a graphic novel. It has an environmental theme and features water dwelling unicorns. It’s a step up in complexity from the Tea Dragon Society card game but still family friendly and features a bit of the press your luck mechanism.

ClipCut Parks is a twist on the roll and write genre. It’s a roll and cut game and includes the required scissors. Players compete to build parks.

Gates of Delirium is the latest game from the designers of Lotus (Jordan and Mandy Goddard). Players take on the role of investigators exploring a map and trying to keep gates that hold back horrible monsters (from the H.P. Lovecraft universe of creatures) from opening. At least that’s what they do while they are sane. Actions available to players differ based on their mental state of sane or insane. When players are insane, they work to open the gates. Note: We had the chance to play this with one of the designers overseeing and available to answer questions at Renegade Rally during GenCon and I LOVED IT. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy and get it on the table to give you guys a more thorough report.



2019 4th Quarter





Paladins of the West Kingdom is the second strategy game in the West Kingdom trilogy. It ships to Kickstarter backers in the 3rd quarter of 2019 but won’t be available in retail stores until the 4th quarter. This one will be a heavier game than Architects and features engine building as a path to victory.



Clank! In! Space!: Cyber Station 11 is the latest expansion for Clank in Space. I don’t have a lot of details on this upcoming release but I assume if you’ve been a fan of the previous CIS expansions, this one will not disappoint.

2020 1st Quarter

Fox in the Forest Duet. The follow up to the widely popular 2 player trick taking game Fox in the Forest, this new release is a cooperative trick taking game for 2 players.

Eternal: Chronicles of the Throne is a player vs player deck builder currently available from Renegade. The second title in the series will be released in the 1st quarter of 2020 with organized play kits for in store play also available.

Warp’s Edge by Scott Almes will be the second release in the solo hero series I described above.

In development for 2020 and beyond (no specific quarter details given)

Vampire: the Masquerade – Chapters is a narrative role playing board game for up to 4 players.
It includes detailed miniatures and you can track the Kickstarter launch here: http://www.vampirethemasquerade-chapters.com//

Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid. Ok, so there is a detailed description of this upcoming release on the Renegade web site as well as on BGG but they lost me at Power Rangers so I couldn’t find the motivation to go look this up.

Gods of Metal RPG. I don’t have many details on this title but the slideshow presentation during the Renegade Rally was quite impressive. There a decent overlap between heavy metal music fans and RPG fans and Renegade has that intersection on the Venn diagram in mind with this release. What I do know is that you’re definitely going to want to curate a kick-ass soundtrack to play alongside this.

Wardlings RPG. In partnership with WizKids, every character has a familiar who whisks them away when their life is in danger (no death=kid-friendly). When a character is whisked away they wake up the next morning in their bed a year older. Eventually characters age out of the thematic setting and can be shifted to a standard D&D RPG.  This RPG was actually first announced back in March and the press release has more details.

Finally, there is a new title coming out set in the Scott Pilgrim universe featuring minis. There aren’t a lot of details available on it but if you loved the graphic novel or the 2010 movie, my guess is you will want to be all over this.

Téměř 40 procent Čechů pocítilo dopad pandemie na své příjmy. Třetina jich má finanční rezervu na čtyři a více měsíců, 42 procent maximálně na měsíc. O zaměstnání v době krize přišlo sedm procent dotazovaných. Většina se ale jeho ztráty nebojí. Vyplývá to z dubnového průzkumu NMS Market Research pro Raiffeisenbank.

Kvůli epidemii koronaviru se vláda na čas vzdá EET, projektu, který vnímá jako klíčový pro snížení daňových úniků. Sněmovna kývla na odklad celé EET do konce letošního roku. Potvrdit to ještě musí Senát. Neprošly návrhy opozice odložit EET ještě déle, když přitom Pirát Mikuláš Ferjenčík navrhoval odklad až do stých narozenin premiéra Andreje Babiše v roce 2054.

Americké ministerstvo financí v pondělí uvedlo, že si v současném čtvrtletí půjčí rekordní 3 biliony dolarů (v přepočtu asi 75 bilionů korun), aby mohlo pokrýt obrovské náklady spojené s koronavirovou krizí. Peníze vláda potřebuje na testování, zdravotní péči, pomoc pro firmy a domácnosti a na opatření, která mají pomoci v boji s nemocí a zmírnit ekonomické dopady.

Každá krize znamená příležitost.Takovým heslem se řídí egyptský miliardář Naguib Sawiris. Podle něj se bude ropa do roku a půl obchodovat za sto dolarů za barel. Zatímco jiní miliardáři se podílů v leteckých společnostech zbavují, Sawiris je chce nakupovat. Potenciál vidí i v turismu.

  

 My kindle has arrived BRAND NEW!!! My old one was sent away... to the depths of despair, and I am pleasantly disappointed in the ending of my book.  I'm sitting here ready for the football game to start and I can smell the pizza my husband thought would be a "great idea" to make.  I haven't had the time to exercise in almost a week. Although my eating is still on key, I feel bloated... fatter if possible.  I've done the math, and in order for me to swim the five miles I plan on in October, I have to do the following ASAP.

Mondays - Swim minimum 80 laps
Tuesdays - Strength training , Swim 80 laps
Wednesdays - OFF
Thursdays - Strength training, swim 80 laps
Fridays - Swim 80 laps
Saturdays - OFF
Sundays - Strength training, swim 80 laps

WOE IS ME! In order for my school schedule to not co-inside with my work-out schedule I will have to plan in advance.  I am currently taking 4 classes this semester, all of which are history classes.  That can only mean one thing:  mass amounts of reading and papers at the same....time.....

Advancement toward my goal at this point in time is vital, I must use my young age to my advantage and endure no social life as well as sleep... who needs either anyways?

Crap.... haha...... keep me strong friends... I'm going to need it, as well as my gym membership I so am looking forward to getting by the end of this month.  I miss swimming.

xoxo

Dear QueryShark:

They stumble through a portal? Generally when I'm slinking about with my Muse  here in NYC I avoid the manhole covers portals.     --------------

Original query

Question Re: contact info. Should a tumblr be included? I have over 2k followers, but it's mostly fandom content. And what about fanfiction? I've been writing for 17 years and I have stories that have close to 50k hits online, and several hundred likes and comments. But I also know that a lot of people see fanfiction as taboo. Should I reference it, or am I better off not mentioning it at all?

One last question - when submission guidelines ask for pages, should they always be double spaced, even if the submission guidelines don't say either way?


Dear Query Shark,

Rosie’s pretty sure it would take magic to help her publish a novel at this point. Her best friend, Adelaide, always said she had it in her. But to be honest, Rosie hasn’t written a word since Addy died two years ago. Right now, she has less chance of publishing a book than she has of landing a decent date on Tinder. And that’s saying something.

Novels about writers are really tricky. Only writers care about whether someone publishes a novel. And writers aren't your audience here: readers are.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a doctor once at a writing conference. I asked what the stakes were in his novel. He said in a horrified voice "he will lose his hospital privileges!" The writer/doctor was shocked to his shoes when I said no one would care about that.

My point here is the book needs to be about more then whether Rosie gets published.

Theo has worked as a muse at Muses Inc. for two hundred years. Now, at last, his contract is almost up. He just needs to sign one more writer and he can get back to his life, to his own writing, to his freedom. But his boss, Calliope, doesn’t share his enthusiasm, and seems determined to make him stay, whatever the cost.

 This is actually a much more interesting start to the query. But what is Calliope's problem here? She doesn't like writers all of a sudden? Last I looked, she's the muse of Poets et al.

When Rosie inadvertently summons Theo, the two of them end up thrown into The Sandbox, a world where Rosie’s writing comes to life. The only way back home is to follow the story through to the end. Cue hybrid monsters, fire mages, fairy queens and one seriously manipulative Greek goddess.

So, what's the plot here? Rosie wants to get published. Got that. Theo wants out of Muses Inc. Got that. Who's running the Sandbox (ie the antagonist)? And by Greek goddess do you mean Calliope, cause she's a muse, not a goddess.


Rosie’s pretty sure it’ll all make a good book if she and Theo can just survive it.
ROSIE AND THEO is 74,000 words. It is a contemporary fantasy novel about reclaiming agency, overcoming fear, and becoming the protagonist of your own narrative.

Well, ok, but I don't get how this is any of that. What fears does Rosie overcome? Reclaiming agency? I'm pretty sure you don't mean literary agency, cause that would be weird. Become the protagonist of your own narrative sounds like a self-help book, not a novel.

This is my debut novel. When I’m not writing, I’m raising five kids to be pretty cool humans, along with my pretty cool, human husband. Sometimes, I’ll go on long and very excited rants about Jewish pirates. It’s a thing.

This is the best part of the query. It's funny. It makes sense. And it makes me want to know more about you.And where's the book about Jewish pirates? Oy matey!

Thank you for your time and consideration.

You don't have any plot on the page here, and I'm not seeing what you tell me the book is about. Start over.

As for your questions:
Question Re: contact info. Should a tumblr be included? I have over 2k followers, but it's mostly fandom content. And what about fanfiction? I've been writing for 17 years and I have stories that have close to 50k hits online, and several hundred likes and comments. But I also know that a lot of people see fanfiction as taboo. Should I reference it, or am I better off not mentioning it at all?

Include your Tumblr account if you want an agent to look at it. Any social media platform is ok, particularly if it shows you've got an engaged audience.  Readers are readers and I'm always glad to hear that a debut novelist already has some. 

Fanfiction is taboo? I guess we should all forget that complete flop of a novel Fifty Shades of Grey?
I can't sell fanfiction using a world someone else created but I can certainly let READERS of that fiction know you have another book being published. There's a very clear distinction here. Let me know if you need elaboration.

One last question - when submission guidelines ask for pages, should they always be double spaced, even if the submission guidelines don't say either way?

Not in an electronic query. Pages are single spaced BUT you allow white space by inserting a line every 3-5 lines so you're not sending a Big Block O'Text.

Your first query worked just fine.
Why are you "fixing"this?
It's the PAGES that aren't working.

 ----------------------------------------

ORIGINAL QUERY
Question:

After a handful of rejections, I decided to commit myself to the Query Shark archives and I'm so glad I did. I killed my darlings, waited, then killed some more. But, the question is still the same. Is it my letter or my pages that get me rejected? I need the Query Shark.

Dear Query Shark,

When the earth starts collapsing around her, Lauren Sand considers herself lucky to stumble through the steel hatch she finds in a mine shaft—until she reads the notice on the bomb shelter door telling her it won’t open for two years, when the radioactivity outside has safely decayed. But, thanks to the final radio broadcast of a conspiracy theorist named Mick Parks, the young woman knows it was an errant asteroid that shook the world, not nuclear war. What she has two years to wonder about is why no one knew the end was coming.

Now, standing on the new shore of the sea, breaking six-thousand-feet high into the Rocky Mountains, Lauren understands she will never see her Shoshone grandmother Jean and sister Ava again. They, and her hometown of Shadow Grass, Wyoming are covered by salt water. She has survived the end of the world, but to what end? As she begins her treacherous search for other survivors, Lauren is driven by the need to know how there was no warning that the end was near, except for the disregarded claims of a radio talk show host.

Hostile vagrants with saccharine promises haunt the desolate landscape and threaten her resolve. But when she meets Jay, nothing seems impossible. Lauren will learn that one person willing to ask why, and not flinch at the truth, can begin to reconstruct the broken world. Along the way, she will shed the doubts and guilt of adolescence and accept the most unexpected gift of all at the end of the world—love.

CAPTURE THE TIDE is a 66,000-word post-apocalyptic survival epic and love story. It is my debut novel.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

It's your pages.
This isn't the most compelling query I've ever seen but I like the concept a lot. I'd read pages if  I repped YA. (You know this is YA, right?)

I'm not sure finding out why the world ended is a strong enough plot; the world after all did end. No amount of knowing why is going to change that.

"Hostile vagrants" is the wrong phrase here. I'm not sure you can be a vagrant in a post apocalyptic world since it means "without visible means of support" and no one has a job in this new world, or money, most likely.

You might mean vagabond, as in traveller. 

You're also missing the obvious: why are they hostile? If I was traipsing around at the end of the world, I'd probably be glad to find someone else.

All that said, I'd read pages.

So, what's wrong with your pages?  My guess (and I haven't seen them of course) is you start at the wrong place.  Start with the door opening, not the door closing.  And you might think about the plot too.

If we don't find ET, our secondary goal is to quantify the sensitivity of the search. Read about
some ideas about how we can do this in the Nebula blog.

CEOs of the major Wall Street banks have been summoned to the White House to discuss the coronavirus...

It used to be that people who owned a lot of things could protect themselves and their things by...

Societies gripped by cataclysmic wars, depressions, or pandemics can become acutely sensitive to...

In the latest episode of their safely sheltering podcast, Ken and Robin talk remote play tips, secret museum scans,  war movies you can nerdtrope into Yellow King RPG: The Wars scenarios, and USAF involvement in UFO patents.

U.S. Financial System “Monitor” Failed to Flash Warning as Fed Pumped $6 Trillion Emergency Liquidity into Wall Street

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: May 8, 2020 ~  The Office of Financial Research (OFR) was created under the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation of 2010 to keep the Financial Stability Oversight Council (F-SOC) informed on emerging threats that have the potential to implode the financial system — as occurred in 2008 in the worst financial crash since the Great Depression. The Trump administration has gutted both its funding and staff. One of the early warning systems of an impending financial crisis that OFR was supposed to have created is the heat map above. Green means low risk; yellow tones mean moderate risk; while red tones flash a warning of a serious problem. On September 17, 2019, liquidity was so strained on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve had to step in and began providing hundreds of billions of dollars per week in repo loans. By January 27, 2020 (before … Continue reading →

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ESPN highlights the stories of athletes, coaches and other sports figures managing their mental health and well-being.

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome is unsure if the organisers can fully prevent large crowds from gathering at the race that was rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

ESPN will be releasing two brand new 30 For 30 documentaries in Africa in May and early June, telling the stories of cyclist Lance Armstrong and martial artist Bruce Lee.

Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing says his two Olympic gold medals along with his 1984 NCAA championship ring were stolen.

Distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein announced his retirement Thursday, closing a career during which he made three Olympic appearances.

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Finanční znalosti Čechů se začínají zlepšovat. V indexu finanční gramotnosti, který každoročně měří Česká bankovní asociace, dosáhli Češi 61 procentních bodů ze 100. Oproti loňskému roku to je o čtyři body více, což je doposud nejvyšší hodnota za posledních několik let. Problém ale je, že pětina lidí přiznává, že má finanční polštář vytvořený jen na pouhý měsíc.

Možnost cestování je silně omezená a nic zatím nenasvědčuje tomu, že by lidé v letošní letní sezoně mohli vyrazit na zahraniční dovolenou. Zároveň ale nikdo dnes ještě neví, zda se nějaká možnost přece jen neobjeví. Pokud jste si koupili dovolenkový zájezd, jste asi momentálně jako na trní. Pojedete? Vrátí vám peníze?

Splácíte hypotéku, u níž se blíží zlomové datum fixace? Jak na to, když chcete brzy půjčku doplatit nebo ji refinancovat? A lze před doplacením využít odkladu splátek?

Potřeba finančního polštáře je dnes aktuálnější než kdy jindy. Jaká by měla být naše rezerva? A kam ji uložit? Zmapovali jsme aktuální nabídku spořicích účtů. Příběh klienta Poradny při finanční tísni ukazuje, jak se dá náhle dostat do dluhů, až k osobnímu bankrotu.

Česká rodinná firma SSI Group vznikla v době, kdy jsme ještě neznali mobilní telefony a podnikatelské prostředí 90. let bylo poměrně divoké. Přesto se ji Václavu Vodrážkovi společně se synem Janem a dalšími členy rodiny dařilo každý rok posouvat o něco dál. Letos tak na trhu významná bezpečnostní agentura oslaví 30 let svého působení na trhu.

The finalists are:

• Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
• Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced & presented by Claire Rousseau
• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch
• Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show, presented by Jen Zink, Shaun Duke, Paul Weimer, Alex Acks, Trish Matson, David Annandale, and The Skiffy and Fanty Crew

I'm not familiar with any of these, and I'm not confident of finding time to change that between now and voting time. But I have at least bookmarked the YouTube playlist (she helpfully made a "Hugo Voter Packet" playlist!) and downloaded some sample episodes from each podcast to listen to.

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My washer and dryer failing me is a nightmare I don’t want to visit. You see, my current set came with the house 17 years ago, and were already 5 years old. The one set of appliances I’ve never bought is a washer and dryer–I’ve always purchased houses where they’d been left behind by the […]

Out of an abundance of caution regarding the developing COVID-19 situation, U.S. Grand Lodge has decided to cancel its scheduled national gatherings this spring, specifically Advanced Initiator Training, Kaaba Colloquium, and the Electoral College meeting. The Electoral College meeting will be held online according to standard Electoral College procedures. For more information regarding COVID-19, please …

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