Writing
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September 19, 2011 | 
Author 
Joyce: What inspired you to write?
Jackson: Reading inspired me to write and have my dad, Robert, to thank for that. Having bizarre dreams on a nightly basis, has been the fuel for so many stories.
Joyce: Why did you choose to write about “The Crucible of Happenstance?”
Jackson: “Crucible” is based on a Dungeons and Dragons campaign adventure that I wrote and had my college friends play. The idea for the series of books started back then. The content for this novel was supposed to be a fifty-page side note. But then the necromancer villain was so good (or not so good as the case may be), that the whole novel focused on the venture into the swamp.
Joyce: Describe the main character in your book of, “The Crucible of Happenstance.”
Jackson: There are three main characters in this book. All three were orphaned. All three are best friends. However, the way they were brought up creates the dynamic. Vlad was raised in a church as a warrior priest, Gelantri raised by woodsmen, and Merbellum raised himself as a street urchin.
Joyce: What were your building blocks to create this story?
Jackson: Writing scenarios that my gamer friends could play was the start. Seeing how they reacted to the situations gave me in-depth knowledge of how the characters would develop on paper. Once the characters were established, they kind of took over the writing themselves. I was doing my best just to keep up with them.
Joyce: Do you have a favorite character that reminds you of you?
Jackson: Actually, none of these characters in this series are reminded of me. Vladimir is based on Chad Vanoni. Gelantri is based on Jason Hendricksen. Merbellum is based on Scott Istock. However, if you read “Night’s End,” I’d say I’m a split between Flange and Sprig. Just opposite sides of the same coin.
Joyce: Do you have an estimate of how many books or even series you plan on writing in the future?
Joyce: I have five sets of characters that will share this world together and eventually crossover into each other’s stories. At present, I’ve mapped out stories for roughly fifteen books, but could end up being more. I’m also writing a Steampunk series. I’m writing comic book projects and screenplays as well. I’ll continue writing until my dying day.
Joyce: Would you like to see your books made into movies?
Jackson: Yes and no. Yes, if it could be done right, and I had creative control. I have the writer/director mentality. It’s hard to cram a books worth of content into a two hour movie. A miniseries or series would be the way to go. However, I’m not above writing commercial content and do, but I never truly look at those projects as being mine and distance myself from them after my initial involvement. It makes it easier to deal with if they go sour.
Joyce: In each book you write, do you gain experience, not only in writing styles, but in learning about the characters, places, and the era it came from?
Jackson: I love “Night’s End” for the story, but parts of the writing are embarrassing. I’m trying to clean that up for a re-release through Literati Press, but I’m not going to rewrite the story from scratch. Have no intention of making Greedo shoot first. It is what it is and I’ll move on. So yes, those who loved the first book will love this more because it is better written. The more you write, the better you improve. As far as fantasy/horror goes, there’s not a lot of research on my end. The content is just there in my noggin somewhere. However, on the other end of the spectrum, I’m doing research for the Steampunk novels by studying the history and technology from the Civil War and World War I. Also studying historical figures to be used as fictional characters.
Joyce: Has your life changed since you started writing?
Jackson: Certainly, for the better and the worse. Circumstances have made me fiscally poorer, but knowing that I can share a story with so many people, makes a huge difference in my outlook on life. It’s an aspect of what I love doing, and when the funds/opportunity present themselves, I’ll make comic books and films as well. A nice by-product of writing is meeting so many talented people. It’s been a tradeoff.
Joyce: What are you working on now, and what is the genre?
Jackson: I have several things in the works. I’m about a third of the way done with “Fates Journey,” the sequel to “Crucible.” I’m working on the new Steampunk novel, “STEAMED! The Chronicles of Aviator Jack.” Still trying to get two SCI-FI comic book projects off the ground, “Tainted World” and “Nadir’s Zenith,” but haven’t had much luck with artists. The exception has been the cover for “Crucible” that Arne Cooper did a kick-ass job on! Kudos! Look forward to working with him again on future covers.
Joyce: What other goals do you have as being an entrepreneur?
Jackson: Nothing major… Just make a living at writing and to rule the galaxy as Father and Son until Dante’s old enough for the mantle of Galactic Emperor of the Universe!
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Posted in Books | 
Tags: Best Friends, Bizarre Dreams, Building Blocks, College Friends, Crucible, Depth Knowledge, Dungeons And Dragons, Flange, Happenstance, Hendricksen, Istock, Jackson Compton, Nightly Basis, Sprig, Street Urchin, Villain, Vlad, Vladimir, Warrior Priest, Woodsmen | 
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Darkfaery Exclusive: Rough Hausen Interview
by TristaLou
So where was I the night of January 29th? I was at the Rough Hausen show in Tulsa at the Eclipse!!! I got to interview some members of the 
band and see a kick ass show as well. So grace your eye’s with one of the strangest and weirdest interviews I have ever done. I myself can not even figure out what was their true answers to my questions so I will let you the reader decide……
Denni- Listen I can do this interview in 30 seconds, ok. Don’t believe a word that any of us say, we will say anything for alcohol, we will do anything for alcohol, and uh… did I miss anything??
Jeff- You described us as a whore, quite aptly as a whore so ya, your all right.
Denni- Ya
Jeff- That’s Denni by the way. EG. He has done work on every Rough Hausen since Agony of the Beat. He’s done something. He’s either written songs with me, done production.
Trista- So you have been involved for quite some time.
Denni- Ya I guess so. Like 30, 40 years, I think.
Jeff- Ya he knew my mom really well.
Denni- Ya, ya, well everybody does.
Trista- Wow I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
Denni- Oh well it’s a good thing. (as he proceeds to make the sounds of a bed moving)
Trista- How’s the tour going?
Jeff- Lots of driving, Lots of Stupidity. Good, Bad, Ugly, Great.
Denni- We’re writing down quotes.Our favorite quote for every state.
Jeff- Ya.
Denni- Tell me you wouldn’t like to see this on a t-shirt? This is Texas.
Jeff- “Dude, quit fucking my pumpkin.”
Denni- Can you ever imagine a situation in your life that you would have to say that phrase?
Jeff- There’s a long story to it, and it is awesome.
TristaLou- I’m thinking a horror house.
Denni- No, no, no.
Jeff- Noooo….It was a show. But every state we’ve got a quote like that, where someone has said or done something so outrageously stupid that I had to write it down. But think of the shirt..”Dude, quit fucking my pumpkin.”
Denni- and then Rough Hausen 2011 US Tour.
TristaLou- That would be an interesting shirt. I’d get it for my husband. But I don’t think I’d wear it myself. I tend to not cuss so much.
Jeff- But would you stand beside him when he was wearing it?
TristaLou- Okay maybe not.
Jeff- Well that part (of the tour) has been fun. Collecting the quotes.
Denni- Oh ya. No we have had a lot of fun. For real.99% of the people that we have ran into have been really cool. Midwestern people are laid back and nice. In most cases.
Jeff- We’ve had two outrageous assholes out of the hundred and twenty we have met. That’s a pretty good ratio.
Denni- Ya. If it was the East Coast it would be different. Everybody is an asshole on the East Coast.
Jeff- Your from the East Coast.
Denni- Shh
Jeff- LA wasn’t that much fun.
TristaLou- Why, what happened there?
Jeff- No great details just cause that’s not nice. But LA was not much fun.
TristaLou- But we like dirt.
Jeff- I like dirt too, but I just don’t like to be the purveyor of dirt. I like to be the consumer of dirt.
TristaLou- Oh okay.
Denni- We were all graduates of Emily Post. We know our etiquette. There hasn’t been a truck stop that we have stopped in that we didn’t say Please or Thank You. We go to church on Sundays.
TristaLou– You do not.
Denni- As a matter of fact we went to a chapel right above he men’s room at one stop.
Jeff- And the quote for that was…. Naw I’m not going to.
Denni- oh ya it’s a little dirty. What’s the age group of your readers here?
TristaLou- Um it actually ranges quite a bit.
Denni- Here is proof, absolute proof (that we have been to the chapel above the men’s room). ( He then shows me a picture of Jeff standing in front of a picture of Jesus in the chapel. You can find this picture on the facebook in their tagged photos)
Jeff- The waitress was awesome there.Every single person in that restaurant above 40 was looking at us with seriously disapproving eyes, but the waitress was awesome. I sat on their Jesus and I did my little (makes a clicking noise with his tongue), they didn’t like that. Apparently they didn’t have a sense of humor.
Denni- That was the place with the nastiest bathrooms. You walk into the men’s and women’s bathroom and awaiting you is
some beautiful graffiti.
Jeff- Modern day poetry.
Denni- Which we have been collecting as well.
TristaLou- So what has been your favorite part of the tour besides collecting the quotes?
Jeff- Scottsdale, Arizona we played a show and the first words out of my mouth the audience stood up and moved back twenty feet.
Denni- No, You got to back up. We didn’t play a show. We crashed an open mic night. We bombed the open mic night. We walked in there. Hey how you doin?
Jeff- All smiles. Cute little Asian bass player.
Denni- We wait our turn.
Jeff- The first fucken words out of my mouth they stood up and moved back.
Denni- Tables go back (makes the sound of tables being moved back). It was great.
TristaLou- So what were the first words?
Jeff- I’ve got a black skin suit.
Denni- See nothing offensive.
Jeff- But I believe it was the volume of the first words out of my mouth.
Denni- And the vocal effects..
Jeff- But they were really polite afterwards. They were “gah that was good”.
Denni- See the act before us was a very classy traditional blues bassed guitar duo. You know Eric Clapton meets, Jeff Beck, meets Jimi Hendrex.. So everyone was doing their own free bird thing and all of that.
Jeff- And then I stepped up and that was funny. I enjoyed that.
TristaLou- I bet you did. So what are some of your other stops for the tour?
Jeff- We have another one in Colorado and one in Utah, and two in California, and then we are done. this is sorta the tail end of the tour.
We are going home soon. It’s been almost a month for me. So I am ready to go home. I’m ready to go home and see my wife and kiss my dogs.
Denni- In that order.
Jeff- Well my dogs are pretty hot.
Denni- Ya I know. I’ve seen em dude.
TristaLou- What made you contact Darkfaery for this interview?
Jeff- It was actually facebook, me starting to post about the tour and then someone said if you are going near this place you need to contact these people, and I believe the exact words they said was, “These people are fucking cool”.
TristaLou- I don’t believe that.
Denni- Really?
TristaLou- No, but that is really cool.
Jeff- So I sent out the email and the email I got back was concise and professional and they knew the scene, and I had to follow up on that.
Denni- Now are you sure you didn’t find that on a truck stop lavatory?
Jeff- Pretty Sure.
TristaLou- So what are some other bands that you would like to tour with?
Jeff- NSYNC, Backstreet, I’d really like to do some work with Bieber.
Denni- We’re shooten for the stars here. I mean you gotta think big, you gotta hope.
Jeff- What’s that girl that sang that song that I like so much?
Denni- Whitney Houston?
Jeff- Ya that one.
Jeff- Thrill Kill, I think would be great to tour with. KMFDM would be amazing. Uncle Al would be awesome.
Denni- Ya Uncle Al would be awesome.
Jeff– Kenny and Download would be an awesome tour.
Denni- Yes that would be cool. What about Ogre?
Jeff- Fuck ya! Of course I’d like to tour with Kevin. I would happily roll around in his bloody mess.
Denni- We saw that Kenny Rogers was touring again. We’d like to open for Kenny. It’s the Face Lift Tour.
Jeff- Kenny Fucken Rogers, Mr. Crazy Face Plastic Surgery. It’s a freak show.
Denni- (singing) “You got to know when to fold’em”
Jeff– Ah Dude…
After a little more banter the opening band was starting (or so we thought) so we ended the interview there. So there ya go. I hope that you all enjoy reading this very random interview. Oh and just for the record. The picture taken during this interview that is on facebook I am not disgusted… I was just appalled at the current topic of Asian tattoos and how they are so wrong usually. Apparently you can get something you think says flowers and actually it could say whore. I would have to say this was the most entertaining interview by far, but not good for me since I am such a gullible person and fall for anything, but thanks to the band anyways for the interview, and I advise anyone to go see the band preform when they come to your town. You will not be disappointed.
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Posted in Interviews, Music, Tulsa | Tags: Agony, Alcohol, eclipse, Favorite Quote, Horror House, Kick Ass, members, Mom, Phrase, pumpkin, Quite Some Time, Stupidity, T Shirt, Texas Jeff, True Answers, Uh, Whore, Ya | Comments Closed
Midnight Reign – A Vampire Novel By Patricia Altner Midnight Reign by Chris Marie Green. Ace, 2008. (Vampire Babylon, Book. 2) Hollywood stunt-woman Dawn Morgan continues the search for her father Frank who went missing in Night Rising, the first book of Green’s Vampire Babylon series. Along with her team, the psychic Kiko and the tech savvy Breisi, she has learned that within an area called Underground lie many of the secrets that may help her learn the whereabouts of Frank as well as solve the mysterious and vicious vampire-like murders of two young women. The Underground is the haven where the undead and their master Dr Eternity reside. Unlike many recent urban fantasies with witty, fast-talking female narrators, this tale has a darker tone. Dawn is intelligent, serious minded, with deep psychological scars that continue plague her. Chasing and fighting off the undead does not help her mood. Neither does her reasonable paranoia that certain people she encounters may still be human but also have links to the Underground. She, Kiko, and Breisi have committed themselves to the task of tracking down Dawn’s father and destroying the Underground. Leading them in this quest is The Voice, a man Dawn has yet to see, who feeds them information and guides them toward their mutual goal. He also has the mystical help of a group of beautiful spirits called Friends, who reside within portraits that line the walls of his mansion. Although the descriptive passages are not graphic Dawn’s strong erotic feelings come to the fore when in the presence of the masculine tones of The Voice as well as when she is around an attractive, but rather unsavory, private investigator named Matt Lonigan. The novel’s tone is dark, dramatic, and erotic. Green writes a complex story with well defined characters and more than enough paranormal mystery to keep readers enthralled from beginning to end. Book three of this series Break of Dawn was published in September, 2008. Patricia Altner is a freelance writer, researcher, and bibliographer. She has a special interest in vampire and paranormal fiction. Visit Patricia’s blog Patricia’s Vampire Notes.
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Posted in Reviews | Tags: Ace, Babylon, Break Of Dawn, Descriptive Passages, Erotic Feelings, Eternity, Fantasies, Kiko, Murders, Mutual Goal, Paranoia, Portraits, Private Investigator, Psychological Scars, Spirits, Stunt Woman, Undead, Vampire Novel, Vicious Vampire, Young Women | Comments Closed
Anya Bast takes a new approach to vampire erotica in The Chosen Sin, the first book in her new series that has a dash of sci-fi. In The Chosen Sin, Bast calls her vampires the Chosen, a minority that is frequently descriminated against. The Shining Way commune, however, provides a haven for vampires and succubare looking for a place to call home. But is there a darker side to this seemingly idyllic city? That’s a question a pair of investigators are determined to find the answer to. Driven by a need for revenge, Daria, one half of the detecting duo, agrees to become Chosen in order to infiltrate the domed city. Her target is the founder of the city whom Daria is convinced must be involved in illegal activities and who also is the prime suspect in a kidnapping. Daria is partnered with Alejandro, a vampire agent for the Governing Body of Chosen (GBC). He is assigned to make Daria into a Chosen then together, posing as lovers, they find themselves accepted into the Shining Way. Once inside the commune, however, it quickly becomes clear that Alejandro has another mission as well — a personal one to win Daria’s heart … and body. Personally, I found the concept of a vampire commune intriguing and liked that their society was the most human-like I’ve ever read. Instead of being wealthy recluses they have to work and find their place in society just like everyone else — some even worked in a factory! I also liked that there were two levels one could achieve in the conversion process, becoming either vampire, the upper level and one not many humans could reach, or succubare, a creature that feeds off lust. The Chosen Sin features some hot and kinky sex, but I feel it would have benefited from a bit more action of the kickass variety. As for the sci-fi elements, they’re present but minimal — basically in the form of colonization of other planets. Overall, I felt the The Chosen Sin was well written and the story wrapped up nicely, getting the series is off to a strong start. I’m anxious to see where it goes next. Have you read this The Chosen Sin? If so, feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you think!
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Posted in Reviews | Tags: Bast, Colonization, Conversion, Darker Side, Domed City, Elements, Erotica, Governing Body, Illegal Activities, Investigators, Kinky Sex, New Approach, Planets, Prime Suspect, Recluses, Revenge, Sci-Fi, Shining Way, Target, Vampire Erotica, vampires | Comments Closed
Horror Book Review – Dean Koontz “The Darkest Evening of the Year” – Love it Or Hate It! By Carlene Rae Dater I picked up this book at the library mainly because it’s the story of a woman who helps to rescue Golden Retrievers. I personally became involved with Labrador rescue recently when my husband and I adopted a three-year-old Lab, so of course I had to read the book. The story held my interest, but was hard to read in part because, unfortunately, too many dogs are abused in puppy mills and Koontz goes into detail about them and how they operate, yuck. At one point, when he talked about putting a dog to sleep, I wept. I’ve had to do it too often and it was a reminder that dogs do not live nearly long enough. There was also a long thread about the abuse of a disabled Down syndrome child which was stomach turning – very tough to read. Well, Koontz IS a horror writer. I enjoyed Darkest Evening for the most part. The story was told from various view points, by apparently unrelated people. It was interesting to see how Koontz wove all the disparate threads together towards the finish of the book. However, the ending didn’t work for me – or for many people who reviewed the book on amazon.com. It almost seemed like Koontz got to a certain point, looked at his watch and said, “Boogers, I’ve got to wrap this up!”, and he did. There’s a big element of woo-woo in this book, so be prepared. Nickie, the Golden Retriever, who shows up in the beginning of the book may or may not hold the spirit of a previous dog or person. I think the dogs were more complete, interesting characters than the people who seem to me like caricatures. Once again, the woman were all gorgeous and the men handsome, the minor characters witty and rich. Give me a break. In spite of the dark element of this novel, there are some very funny, laugh-out-loud lines in the book. The humor is a nice counter-balance to all the horror. I loved reading about the Golden’s even though I’m a Labrador Retriever lover. I’ve lived with dogs long enough to know that they each have their own unique personalities and funny little quirks. A lot of Koontz books are very long – partly I think because he just LOVES to describe! He’s good at it but often it’s just too much – it makes my teeth hurt. This book had lots of lush description, and frequently I got lost in it all and had to go back to see what was happening to the people! Unlike some of his longer tomes this one is a more normal length at 354 pages. All in all I guess I’d have to say I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it but I finished the book and that’s something I don’t always do! Carlene Rae Dater has been a writer of both fiction and non-fiction for over 25 years and has been published in a variety of genres. Writing, reading and talking about mysteries is her passion. Please visit and leave comments on her mystery blog at: http://www.themysterystartshere.com Please also visit her published books at: http://www.silveradopublishing.com
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Posted in Reviews, Writing | Tags: Amazon, Caricatures, Dark Element, Dater, Dean, Dean Koontz, Disparate Threads, Down Syndrome, Down Syndrome Child, Golden Retriever, Golden Retrievers, Horror, Horror Book, Horror Writer, Labrador Rescue, Puppy Mills, Rae, Reminder, Spite, Stomach, Story Of A Woman | Comments Closed
Fairy Tale Appeal By Mary Jensen 
As a child, I loved the Gem Classics Library of Fairy Tales. These were multiple books containing collections of the classic fairy tales – Emerald Fairy Tales, Sapphire, Ruby, Diamond, etc. I fell in love with fairy tales, and continue to enjoy them today. Why are so many people drawn to these stories, all around the world? Fairy tales appeal to our very basic human needs. In Snow White we have a queen that epitomizes vanity and jealousy. Snow White is beauty. We can relate because even the best of us have felt these emotions, dealt with the insecurities of a world obsessed by beauty. These stories allow us to confront these fears and emotions. We see the dangers of being consumed with jealousy. The queen destroys herself in her efforts to destroy Snow White. And the endings feel good, they leave us with a sense of rightness. We want to believe that good values will conquer over bad. At the same time, it appeals to our carnal nature. The villains don’t just disappear, or go to jail. The queen in Snow White is punished by wearing hot iron shoes. Versions of Rumpelstiltskin end in his stomping into the floor and tearing himself in two. All around the world, people have been telling stories with the same themes. For example, almost every culture has a Cinderella story. What changed over time is the values and message of the tales. Victorian tales dealt with the wish fulfillment of good things come to those who wait, and had very passive heroines. Modern retellings generally have stronger, more active heroines, to reflect the independence of modern women. Not only am I a fan of the traditional tales, I also seek out retellings. Robin McKinley and Donna Jo Napoli write wonderful young adult versions (though enjoyable for more than youth). For a fantasy targeted to adults, try Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters Trilogy. The first book, “Daughter of the Forest” is based on the tale of The Six Swans. Since I can never get enough of fairy tales, I’ve even written a couple of my own, one based on Sleeping Beauty, and one on Snow White. If writing your own, you can change everything but the bare bones – the basic structure or theme. Change the motivations, the protagonist, the setting, whatever else you want. It will work as long as your characters are believable. If you stray so far from the original fairy tale that it’s no longer recognizable, you may lose the ability to label it a fairy tale, but don’t let that stop you if you have a different story to tell. Does it matter the roots as long as it entertains? Mary W. Jensen is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Creative Writing She is an editor for the Writing.com Fantasy newsletter, and the cofounder of an offline writing group. Mary is working on a fantasy novel, Emergence of the Fey
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Garbage Bleed Like Me Rock Music CD Review By Clyde Lee Dennis Bleed Like Me is the latest release from Garbage, and is another great one from this talented group. It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply is NOT a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all. These days it’s a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs. Overall Bleed Like Me is an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up and is most definitely a worthy addition to any Rock collection. Truly an outstanding Rock CD. One of those that is completely void of any wasted time, as each track is simply superb. While the entire album is outstanding the truly standout tunes are track 3 – Right Between The Eyes, track 4 – Why Do You Love Me, and track 8 – It’s All Over But The Crying. My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore …as in “Stuck On REpeat” is track 10 – Why Don’t You Come Over. Good stuff! Bleed Like Me Release Notes: Garbage originally released Bleed Like Me on April 12, 2005 on the Geffen Records label. CD Track List Follows: 1. Bad Boyfriend 2. Run Baby Run 3. Right Between The Eyes 4. Why Do You Love Me 5. Bleed Like Me 6. Metal Heart 7. Sex Is Not The Enemy 8. It’s All Over But The Crying 9. Boys Wanna Fight 10. Why Don’t You Come Over 11. Happy Home Garbage: Shirley Manson (vocals, electric guitar); Duke Erikson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, Mellotron, synthesizer, programming); Steve Marker (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer, bass instrument, programming); Butch Vig (electric guitar, bass instrument, drums, programming). Additional personnel include: Dave Grohl (drums). Recording information: Smart Studios, Madison, Wisconsin; Sound City, Van Nuys, California; The Boat, Silverlake, California.
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Posted in Reviews | Tags: Bad Boyfriend, Bass Instrument, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, Garbage Shirley Manson, Geffen Records, Guitar Synthesizer, Label Cd, Metal Heart, Must Have Music, Rare Cds, Recording Information, Right Between The Eyes, Rock Music Cd, Sex Is Not The Enemy, Smart Studios, Steve Marker, Synthesizer Programming, Van Nuys California, Worthy Addition | Comments Closed
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