Important Update, 14/09/2016

Hey guys, this is something I had hoped to not have to do but right now I feel that I have no other choice.

As of the above date I am taking a long break from writing and posting fan-fiction on this site. I have just lost focus recently and found myself deleting more guest reviews that are full of rude and ignorant remarks despite what I have asked people to do as written in the post below. This is making it much harder for me to actually get anything written, I am starting to get stressed out, and my focus on anything beyond writing is starting to take a hit. So for the time being I am not going to be writing for a long time.

When I started writing ADCoA I was enjoying what I was doing. It was something that I felt I was doing quite well at. But thanks to some people I am now questioning what I have done and whether or not I can do better, and when I get like that that's it... my focus goes, my will to write disappears, and when the stress piles up I can no longer work productively. It has gotten to the point that I am no longer enjoying what I am doing. In such a situation it's better to take a step back and take a long break.

For those who are enjoying ADCoA, I am really sorry for having to do this to you. I know no one likes excuses, but with things as they are I need to put myself first for now. I can't produce decent chapters for ADCoA like this, so I'd rather leave it for the time being. I don't know how long this break will be; it could be weeks or months, perhaps even years. I may even go so far as to take everything down and start all over again from scratch, that's how bad this has become for me. If you decide to unfollow me because of this, I understand and I won't hold it against you.

I will still be reading stories other people put up on here, but that is it. For the foreseeable future I will not be posting anything up on this site. Hopefully once I have had time to cool down and rethink everything I will be able to resume writing.

Until then, this is Dovah-wolfbear64, bowing out and signing off.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL WHO WISH TO LEAVE A REVIEW

We write because we love it. We share it because we hope other people might too. All we want is for that effort to be respected. It isn't difficult.

Manners cost nothing, and respect means everything.

THINK before you post.

I would hope that the above statement is something that other folk on this site would agree with. I had another long statement above this before but I have decided to edit it. My previous statement was a touch harsh as I was telling folk to only leave negatives for every 2 positives REGARDLESS, which I realised meant that anyone wanting to point out a spelling error or an inconsistency might hesitate before pointing it out by review or PM. So allow me to clarify and reword.

Like DizzyDG I do not like people behaving like trolls and being rude and nasty in their 'reviews'. DizzyDG and I both understand that not everyone will enjoy our work (as I am sure other authors will understand). What we authors do not want is for someone to just say 'I don't like this for whatever reason' and then leave it at that. What do you hope to accomplish with that kind of 'review'? Yeah okay you are just letting your view point be known but by doing it as a negative review all you are doing is effectively putting us authors down and making us think 'should we even bother continuing with this'.

So, as a general rule, yes leave reviews by all means but please, if you must point out that thing you did not enjoy do so in one of two ways;

1 = by pointing out 2 positives for every negative (that way we know that you are enjoying something and we are more inclined to improve our work without feeling down and miserable and thinking 'why the hell should I bother?')

2 = if you cannot point out 2 positives, then offer some constructive criticism (we will be less likely to feel angry and/or depressed if you give advice, suggestions or ideas and are more likely to take on board what you say to us and improve upon our stories for other people to be able to enjoy it)

I am NOT saying fawn over our work and give false praise, because I do hate that. What I am saying is tell us what you enjoy about the story/chapter, and if you are only pointing out what you felt was bad/terrible/rubbish/etc. then tell us what you think we as authors can do to improve upon it.

If you are just pointing out a spelling error ('you spelled such-and-such's name wrong' or 'you've used the wrong 'there' for this sentence') or are pointing out an inconsistency in the story ('last chapter you said this but now you are saying the complete opposite' or 'earlier you said that these two characters never met when four chapters before they have met, I'm confused') then please do so. There is nothing worse than reading something in a story and then going 'uh, that was not what was said in an earlier chapter'. Errors like that we appreciate having them pointed out to us so we can correct them.

That all said and done, if your aim is to just write up a negative review and not give constructive criticism or point out a couple of positives, then do the decent thing and walk away quietly (i.e. just don't bother leaving a review). You don't like the story? I'm not forcing you to read it, go and find something else to read. Something doesn't sit right with you? That's your opinion and you are entitled to it but there's no need to go preaching it. You (to use an oft used quote) want to throw your toys out the pram? Nah don't flaming well bother, we don't need that nonsense around here thank you very much.

Also (and this one should go without saying but I'll say it anyway) if you can only be negative in a cruel and rude way, just 'sling your hook' as we say in my part of the world (if you don't know what that means it's just another way of saying get lost). We don't want negative reviews with clear bad manners and childish wording; 'that was just rubbish' is one thing, but 'that was total and utter fucking bullshit' is a whole different ball game. If that is all you are capable of then just do not bother.

DO

NOT

BOTHER

Anyway, all that aside I do hope you guys and girls out there can take this to heart and just remember that at the end of the day we are all human beings with real feelings. So please read, enjoy, review in a civilised manner, and remember; 2 positives for every negative, or give constructive criticism. And don't worry about us getting uptight over you pointing out spelling and grammatical errors and inconsistencies in our chapters. That is something we need to have pointed out to us.

Dovah-wolfbear64 signing off.

A NOTE ON A PLOT POINT IN MY ASoIaF FIC 'ADCoA'

So, some people out there are a little bit put off by what I have written in 'ADCoA' in regards to the sellsword company called 'The Company of the Rose'. Now I do understand that it does come across as being somewhat unbelievable as I have not gone into detail into how a small sellsword company managed to defeat a force of at least 40,000 Dothraki. But what is really starting to annoy me is that some folk are getting, in my opinion, a little bit too picky about the details of it, so I am going to post this explanation of sorts for you.

Here is what we know of the Company of the Rose; they are made up of the descendants of men (and women) from the North who went into voluntary exile after King Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror. That... is... it. Nothing else apart from the name. Everything else is left open to speculation until GRRM decides to flesh out the Company of the Rose himself. So their numbers, how many are actually descended from the Northern exiles, their tactics and methods are still left open to our own interpretation.

Now I know that Essos is very different from Westeros in terms of culture and how they wage war over there, but let's just think for two seconds. The CotR have managed to survive for three centuries, so about 10-12 generations roughly. During that time their ways would have had to evolve in order to survive the way of life in Essos. Yes they would have had problems to begin with, but unless the exiles and/or their descendants were wiped out and the company taken over by Essosi they must have learned how to cope and adapt (in case it wasn't obvious enough that is not what has happened in my fic). So while they would have done what they could to retain their identity (their sense of honour, their way of life, etc.) they would have changed how they behaved in order to work effectively as a sellsword company in Essos, including their methods during conflict and how they would go about defeating foes who are numerically superior to them.

Now as already said, we DON'T know much about them so we are left to our own devices to decide what they are like. For 'ADCoA' I have written the following things about them for my story;

1 = at present the CotR numbers roughly 12,000 members (Oberyn's POV in chapter 15)

2 = there is a small group among their number who are descended from nobles who chose exile, named as Bera Mormont, Ronnel Hornwood, and Osric Umber (Daenerys's POV in chapter 6)

That is basically all I have published through my fic so far. I am still deciding on some things and have decided on others. I will not reveal everything I have decided upon nor will I tell you what I am still debating on doing. But I will say this;

So far all we know of the sellswords attack on Drogo's khalasar is what is mentioned in Dany's only POV in this story so far, and do bear in mind that her POV in chapter 6 starts after the attack on the Dothraki has happened. We are seeing this through the eyes of a traumatised 14 year old girl, who has just seen her husband who she came to love being killed and she is looking back on what she can remember of the attack as she is fleeing. When we come to 'present time' in her POV she is only just snapping out of it if you will and trying to get her head back on straight. And the only named members of the CotR we have seen are the ones Dany observed, plus the mentioning of the current leader of the company (Lady Marshal Erika). That small group of folk who are clearly of Northern descent are not representative of the wider company. Of the named characters that is only what, 5 out of a possible 12,000? Hardly an estimation of how many of the sellswords are indeed descended from the original exiles is it? Also I have not gone into detail about the area the khalasar was in when they were attacked (in Oberyn's POV in chapter 15 while speaking with Doran it is mentioned that the Dothraki were getting ready to fall upon another village, but that offers little explanation over the surrounding area, plus Doran's information is not as complete as he would like).

So while I appreciate that it is a little bit unbelievable, unless you are going to offer ideas on how I can further explain it as believable please stop stating how unbelievable you find it. All will be explained in due time. And if this is for some reason ruining the story for you to the point you are not going to continue reading, then kindly sling your hook quietly. Thank you.

If you must make mention of it in your reviews that you are not happy about it then please state what you think I can do to make it more believable. Who knows, I might even like your idea and implement it (unless it's to just delete it; if that's the case it'll be ignored).

Dovah-wolfbear64 signing off.