Chatting with the Chatterer

One meets the most interesting people at literary events -- in this case Edge-Lit, held last weekend in Derby. For example, Jan and I had just arrived in desperate need for refreshments. So it was a mug of coffee each, and a chat with Nicholas Vince. In case you don't know him, here he is in another guise, Kinski (from the Nightbreed movie):

But he is perhaps best known as the Chatterer Cenobite in the Hellraiser movies. Who'd have thought that this charming gentlemen could tear your soul (and flesh) apart?

Verisimilitude

Last night I watched an episode from NCIS Los Angeles. In it, some wronged-American terrorist had stolen a drone aircraft armed with a missile and he intended to wreak much havoc in LA. The NCIS agents had little time in which to save the city. Someone suggested that they scramble USAF jets to shoot it down -- but the 20 minutes needed to achieve that would take too long. So the agents then had to determine the target -- a school -- and drive over and evacuate the buildings, all  before the drone fired its missile. And they did all that in less than 20 minutes? Come on, when writing such scenarios be realistic. Stories require verisimilitude in order to suspend disbelief.