Setting up Gillian's writing retreat

Hi, for those who don't know me, I'm Sharyn, from Eneit Press http://www.eneitpress.com/ Gillian needs some time to concentrate on getting her New Ceres novel finished, and asked Eneit Press to keep everyone entertained while she's busy. Ah, she's just about to start, one moment...

Gillian, if you'll just step out here for a moment (surreptitiously opens garden shed door) You've had breakfast? Oh good. I've made this little work area for you. No, no, it only looks like your garden shed, I wouldn't be that evil. Well, yes, Granny might lock you into a garden shed, but only for your own good. Honest.

If you look around you'll see your modern state-of-the-art work station, cunningly wrought to look like a rickety potting bench. Behind the partition is your bedroom and en-suite. What? No, I didn't pinch the sheets off your bed and peg them up as a screen, really I didn't. I found an artisan who was able to take inspiration from your personal taste in bedding to make you feel at home here, and they created the screen just for you. You have a comfy bed just behind the screen. No, Gillian, (crosses fingers behind back) I promise I did not nick a park bench from the local playground, it's your rustic style bed. I'm assured it's very comfortable.

I'll let you get settled in, and bring you some lunch in a little while, I've got a cake in the oven for afternoon tea http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kitty-Litter-Cake/Detail.aspx and I'll get your evening meal cooking when I drive down the street later to do some errands http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Manifold-Stew/Detail.aspx (closes door and locks it) Oh, and Gillian? The little hinged door at the bottom here? That's where your food will come through. You get writing now. No one will bother you, I promise.

..Back again. I shall do my best to keep Gillian's friends list amused while she's otherwise occupied by telling you a bit about In Bad Dreams, perhaps introducing you to some of our authors, let you see more of the really delicious food stuffs I'll cook for Gillian to keep her strength up, and attempt to find where she's hidden the keys to the liquor cabinet. This should be fun.

Inspiration

I've been inspired by Gillian's planetarium, and ignoring the noises coming from the garden she...3 star accomodation. A while ago I had a discussion with amandapillar, one of the authors for In Bad Dreams Vol 1, about Dwarf Stars. It seems she'd never actually looked at the night sky and considered which one was Doc, or Grumpy, Sneezy or Dopey. At least, not until she talked to me. Then she came up with the following:

On the seven dwarfs and astrophysics...

This is in response to eneit's request for an explanation about how the Seven Dwarfs fit into astrophysics.


The Seven Dwarfs are not actually dwarf stars, although Dopey Stars do consist of some.

Doc is the leader of the Seven Dwarfs. He checked the authenticity of gems to make sure they’re real. In an astrophysics sense, Doc Stars are very hot, bright blue stars that are rare. They are around 25,000 K plus (degrees Kelvin), are over a million times brighter than the Sun and are about 60 times more massive than the sun. Makes sense since they're the boss. This type of star is otherwise known as an O type.

Grumpy is grumpy and is also a pseudo-misogynist. He has a big nose. Grumpy Stars are very bright, blue stars which have short life-spans. They are also rare and are around 11,000-25,000K in temperature and are 18 times more massive than the sun due to their short tempers. Otherwise known as B class stars.

Happy is happy; he is also fat. Sound a little like Santa Claus? Anyway... Happy Stars are blue stars, although cooler in temperature than Doc Stars and Grumpy Stars. Happy Stars are more common than Grumpy or Doc Stars, and you might find they include characters like Sirius from Harry Potter fame. They are only 3.2 times more massive than the Sun, because they like to be able to relate to other stars easily. Otherwise known as A type stars.

Sleepy is tired and droopy, and as sleepiness is a common trait, so are Sleepy Stars. These stars are blue to white in colour, and are main sequence stars. They are only 1.7 times more massive than the Sun, because they are too tired to have major fusion reactions taking place. Otherwise known as F type stars.

Bashful is a shy character that frequently annoys Grumpy. Bashful Stars are main sequence stars like the Sun (in fact, the Sun is a Bashful Star – can’t you tell by the way it hovers on the arm of the Milky Way looking longingly inwards?). They are white to yellow in colour, and 5,000-6,000K in temperature. They are hot stars, but have nowhere near the same temperature as their Grumpy cousin. Otherwise known as G type stars.

Sneezy appears to have allergies. Sneezy Stars are very common stars and are smaller in mass than Bashful Stars. Theyare orange to red in colour (probably from all the nose-blowing) and are around 3,500-5,000K in temperature. Otherwise known as K type stars.

Dopey hasn’t got a beard, and he is a mute. Dopey Stars are red in colour and have red giants, red dwarfs and some brown dwarfs mixed in. They are under 3,500K in temperature. Dopey Stars are such a mixed bunch because they aren’t really aware of what’s going on. Otherwise known as M stars.

There are a whole other bunch of stars that don’t fall into these categories, and which each have their own. But we’re going to ignore that for now ;)