Eileen Owbridge

Mrs. Eileen Owbridge, of Three Ways, Whepstead, Bury St Edmunds, who writes under the pseudonym of "Jane Arbor," has had her first novel accepted by the publishers she first approached. "This Second Spring" is the title of her light romantic story, set in India, and is expected to be published early in 1948." (Suffolk and Essex Free Press, 9 October 1947)

Thus began the career of novelist Eileen Owbridge, whose novels from Mills and Boon were best-sellers. They found a wide audience and proved popular with reviewers who took to her vivid characters. Reviewing two of her early novels, XYZ of the Bury Free Press, described one as "an appealing story of a young and attractive war widow, who gives up a profitable London job to live in a small Suffolk village, where she eventually finds a new romance" (14 May 1948) and the next in even more glowing terms:

In this, her third novel, Mrs. Eileen Owbridge, of Three-ways, Whepstead, has written what is likely to become another best seller. She has the rare knack of being able to tell a story in such a way that one can believe that it might well have happened; her characters are beautifully drawn, her situations invested with a great sense of reality. In other words, Mrs. Owbridge is a writer who will make a big name for herself in the literary world. (6 May 1949)

Her next novel, Strange Loyalties, was serialised in at least one Scottish evening newspaper under the title "If Anyone Should Tell" (1950) as was the later "Blind To Her Love" (1953).

Eileen Owbridge subsequently disappeared into the treadmill of Mills & Boon, eventually penning sixty novels for the company between 1948 and 1984. For some years, Mrs. Owbridge ran a bookshop at Whepstead, a village of around 400 people south of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, from which experience she learned exactly what romance readers were looking for in their books. Although she described herself modestly as an “acceptable storyteller”, Arlene Moore (in 20th Century Romance & Historical Writers) says of her “[she was] a storyteller of great originality and sensitivity; she tangles her skein of characters and backgrounds into a many-hued tapestry of love and happiness.”

Most of Owbridge’s early novels fall into the hospital romance category, although many are set in more exotic locations – Morocco, Venice, the Greek Islands, Amsterdam, the Pacific Islands, etc. – which she researched heavily in order to write about them with effortless authenticity. Her heroines are usually well educated and employed in responsible jobs, although they inevitably fall in love with someone (a dedicated, brilliant surgeon, a nobleman) who cannot return their love. Invariably, love wins the day.

Owbridge was born Eileen Norah Murphy in Yeovil, Somerset, on 8 September 1903, the daughter of Irishman Patrick Murphy, an officer with Customs & Excise, and his wife Rose Emma (née Mothersole). She and her sister, Kathleen Ellen Murphy, were both born in Yeovil, but were living in 81 Fox Oak Street, Cradley Heath, Staffordshire, in 1911.

By 1939, she worked as a retail stationer, living at 29 Bell Street, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, and had adopted the surname Owbridge, which became her legal name by deed poll on 15 January 1946.

The Whepstead address often given in early newspaper reports about the West Suffolk author was that of Major Walter Wills Owbridge, born in Kensington, London, on 23 January 1895. During the war, whilst serving in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, he married Loula Wilna Miller, an American born in Arkasas on 25 August 1891, who had previously married Jim Walter in April 1905. Her marriage to Owbridge took place in London in early 1917 and a son, Giles William Gidley Owbridge, was born in 1920. Both Walter and Loula were supposedly living together at Hunton Mill, Epping, Essex, in 1939 where Loula was a restaurant proprietor.

Loula Owbridge died in Cambridge in 1963. While probate records list her as a married woman, she leaves her effects to a waiter named William Sole.

It seems likely that Walter and Loula Owbridge separated before the war, but were never officially divorced, hence Eileen Murphy changing her name by deed poll in 1946. Walter died at Dene Cottage, Route Orange, St. Brelade, Jersey, on 12 June 1966. His son, Giles, died in South Africa.

Eileen Owbridge retired from writing in 1984. She died  in Worthing, West Sussex, on 4 February 1994, leaving over £360,000.

Publications

Novels as Jane Arbor
This Second Spring. London, Mills & Boon, 1948.
Each Song Twice Over. London, Mills & Boon, 1948.
Ladder of Understanding. London, Mills & Boon, 1949.
Strange Loyalties. London, Mills & Boon, 1949; as Doctor’s Love, Harlequin, 1962.
By Yet Another Door. London, Mills & Boon, 1950; Toronto, Harlequin, 1980.
No Lease for Love. London, Mills & Boon, 1950; as My Surgeon Neighbour, Harlequin, 1964.
The Heart Expects Adventure. London, Mills & Boon, 1951.
Eternal Circle. London, Mills & Boon, 1952; Toronto, Harlequin, 1958; as Nurse Atholl Returns, Harlequin, 1960.
Memory Serves My Love. London, Mills & Boon, 1952.
Flower of the Nettle. London, Mills & Boon, 1953.
Such Frail Armour. London, Mills & Boon, 1953; Toronto, Harlequin, 1959.
Jess Mawney, Queen’s Nurse. London, Mills & Boon, 1954; as Queen’s Nurse, Toronto, Harlequin, 1960.
Folly of the Heart. London, Mills & Boon, 1954 [1955]; as Nurse Harlowe, Toronto, Harlequin, 1959.
Dear Intruder. London, Mills & Boon, 1955; Winnipeg, Harlequin, 1965.
City Nurse. London, Mills & Boon, 1956; as Nurse Greve, Winnipeg, Harlequin, 1958.
Towards the Dawn. London, Mills & Boon, 1956; Toronto, Harlequin, 1959.
Yesterday’s Magic. London, Mills & Boon, 1957; Winnipeg, Harlequin, 1967.
Far Sanctuary. London, Mills & Boon, 1958; Toronto, Harlequin, 1960.
Consulting Surgeon. Toronto, Harlequin, 1959.
No Silver Spoon. London, Mills & Boon, 1959; Toronto, Harlequin, 1964.
Nurse in Love. Toronto, Harlequin, 1959.
Sandflower. London, Mills & Boon, 1959; Winnipeg, Harlequin, 1961.
A Girl Named Smith. London, Mills & Boon, 1960; Toronto, Harlequin, 1966.
Nurse in Waiting. London, Mills & Boon, 1962; Winnipeg, Harlequin, 1962.
Nurse of all Work. London, Mills & Boon, 1962; Toronto, Harlequin, 1962.
Desert Nurse. London, Mills & Boon, 1963; Toronto, Harlequin, 1964.
Jasmine Harvest. London, Mills & Boon, 1963; Toronto, Harlequin, 1963.
Lake of Shadows. London, Mills & Boon, 1964; Toronto, Harlequin, 1965.
Kingfisher Tide. London, Mills & Boon, 1965; Toronto, Harlequin, 1965.
High Master of Clere. London, Mills & Boon, 1966; Toronto, Harlequin, 1966.
Summer Every Day. London, Mills & Boon, 1966; Toronto, Harlequin, 1967.
Golden Apple Island. London, Mills & Boon, 1967; Toronto, Harlequin, 1968.
Stranger’s Trespass. London, Mills & Boon, 1968; Toronto, Harlequin, 1969.
The Cypress Garden. London, Mills & Boon, 1969; Toronto, Harlequin, 1969.
The Feathered Shaft. London, Mills & Boon, 1970; Toronto, Harlequin, 1970.
Walk into the Wind. London, Mills & Boon, 1970; Toronto, Harlequin, 1970.
The Other Miss Donne. London, Mills & Boon, 1971; Toronto, Harlequin, 1971.
The Linden Leaf. London, Mills & Boon, 1971; Toronto, Harlequin, 1971.
The Flower on the Rock. London, Mills & Boon, 1972; Toronto, Harlequin, 1973.
Wildfire Quest. London, Mills & Boon, 1972; Toronto, Harlequin, 1972.
Roman Summer. London, Mills & Boon, 1973; Toronto, Harlequin, 1973.
The Velvet Spur. London, Mills & Boon, 1974; Toronto, Harlequin, 1974.
Meet the Sun Halfway. London, Mills & Boon, 1974; Toronto, Harlequin, 1974.
The Wide Fields of Home. London, Mills & Boon, 1975; Toronto, Harlequin, 1975.
Tree of Paradise. London, Mills & Boon, 1976; Toronto, Harlequin, 1977.
Smoke Into Flame. Toronto, Harlequin, 1976.
A Growing Moon. London, Mills & Boon, 1977; Toronto, Harlequin, 1977.
Flash of Emerald. London, Mills & Boon, 1977.
Two Pins in a Fountain. London, Mills & Boon, 1977; Toronto, Harlequin, 1977.
Late Rapture. London, Mills & Boon, 1978; Toronto, Harlequin, 1979.
Return to Silbersee. London, Mills & Boon, 1978; Toronto, Harlequin, 1979.
Pact with Desire. London, Mills & Boon, 1979; Toronto, Harlequin, 1979.
The Devil Drives. London, Mills & Boon, 1979; Toronto, Harlequin, 1980.
One Brief Sweet Hour. London, Mills & Boon, 1980; Toronto, Harlequin, 1981.
Where the Wolf Leads. London, Mills & Boon, 1980; Toronto, Harlequin, 1981.
Invisible Wife. London, Mills & Boon, 1981; Toronto, Harlequin, 1982.
Handmaid to Midas. London, Mills & Boon, 1982; Toronto, Harlequin, 1983.
The Price of Paradise. London, Mills & Boon, 1982; Toronto, Harlequin, 1982.
House of Discord. London, Mills & Boon, 1983; Toronto, Harlequin, 1987.
Lost Yesterday. London, Mills & Boon, 1984.

Omnibus
3 Great Novels. Toronto, Harlequin Books, 1975.

Comic Cuts - 12 May 2017

I found it a bit of a struggle to get any work done this week and I've only myself to blame. It was just one of those weeks when any distraction – anything – was more interesting than knuckling down and getting going. My computer is low on disc space, so it became an almost daily ritual to clear the decks a little. The workspace on my computer is a measly 3.8gb, as of Thursday afternoon,

And that 3.8gb is being filled constantly with e-mails full of attachments, podcasts downloading automatically, scans of comics, scans of covers, downloaded music and video plus lots of space-snaffling scans that I generate myself. The latter is a particularly frustrating problem as it can take years for me to get around to tidying them up. Case of point, some of the pictures below I scanned from copies of books that I disposed of back in 2010 before we moved house. The cleaned up versions are quite a lot smaller than the original scans and are stored on external hard drives. I've got over 5,800 book cover scans that need cleaning up, clocking in at a whopping 29.4gb. I've been working on lists of annuals and have a folder with 12gb of scans; and my Valiant folder with stuff relating to the new book is 15gb.

What I need is a few months free of doing anything else just to make an impact on that lot.

Other distractions this week include the upcoming One-Eyed Jack reprint from Rebellion – I was answering a few questions for an article but I was double-checking everything I said as it wouldn't look too good if the guy writing about Valiant got his Valiant facts wrong. My Mum was over the following day (Tuesday) and Wednesday became a bit of a runaround and I only managed to write 500 words in the late afternoon. 

But they were 500 words about Mytek the Mighty and one of the most insane stories that ever appeared in Valiant. Here's a taster from the book:

The giant mechanical ape had been left to roam in peace from his hidden plateau base. But Gogra has survived and returns to Africa to stir up the Akari tribe using a pair of giant robotic hands. After capturing Professor Boyce and Dirk Mason, Gogra finds and traps Mytek and steals the ape’s electronic brain.
    Escaping, Boyce realises that a new brain will not restore Mytek’s memories or what he has learned over the years. “We may find that we have created an uncontrollable monster!” he confesses.
    Thus begins the longest—it lasted fifteen months—and arguably the most crazily inventive of the Mytek stories. Already bizarre, the strip went into weird overdrive when giant legs began attacking a helpless village and then give chase to Mytek, kicking his backside.
    Eventually, Gogra’s creations assemble into a giant robotic replica of himself called Gogriath. The next few months of storylines involve humiliating dances, lava monsters, an attack on Mytek by the Jakortan air force (“The pilots are mistaking us for Gogriath!” “A natural mistake, Dirk! It’s not often you see two giant robots in one day!”), a burst dam and, along the way, discovering that Gogriath can spit bullets out of its mouth, pump water out of its ears and spray liquid from its fingers.

Claang! Random scans this week... apes!

Rebellion Releases (2000AD)

Rebellion releases for 10 May 2017.

2000AD Prog 2030
Cover: INJ Culbard
Judge Dredd: Sons of Booth by T.C. Eglington (w) Nick Dyer (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Defoe: Diehards by Pat Mills (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Ellie De Ville (l)
Brink: Skeleton Life by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Scarlet Traces: Cold War - Book 2 by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Cursed: The Fall of Deadworld by Kek-W (w) Dave Kendall (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Robert Holdstock cover gallery

NOVELS

Eye Among the Blind (London, Faber & Faber, 1976)
Pan Books 0330-25178-3, (Sep) 1977, 219pp, 70p. Cover by Peter Goodfellow
VGSF/Gollancz 0575-04010-6, (Jun) 1987, 219pp, £2.50. Cover by Susan Hunter

Earthwind (London, Faber & Faber, 1977)
Pan Books 0330-25513-4, 1978, 245pp, 80p.
VGSF/Gollancz 0575-04011-4, (Sep) 1987, 245pp, £2.95. Cover by Michael Posen

Necromancer
Futura 0708-81406-9, (Nov) 1978, 327pp, 95p.
Futura 0708-84547-9, (Jul) 1990, 327pp, £3.99.

Where Time Winds Blow (London, Faber & Faber, 1981)
Pan Books 0330-26759-0, (Sep) 1982, 286pp, £1.50. Cover by Michael Van Houten
VGSF 0575-04279-6, (Jul) 1988, 286pp, £2.95.

Bulman
Futura 0708-82548-6, 1984, 224pp.

Bulman 2: One of Our Pigeons is Missing
Futura 0708-82716-0, 1984, 192pp.

Elite: The Dark Wheel (novella)
Acornsoft SBG38/B3, 1984, 48pp. 

Mythago Wood (London, Victor Gollancz, 1984)
Grafton 0586-06585-7, (Jan) 1986, 319pp, £2.50. Cover by Peter Goodfellow
---- [2nd imp.] 1990, 319pp, £3.50. Cover by Geoff Taylor
Voyager/HarperCollins 0586-06585-7, (May) 1998, 319pp, £5.99. Cover by Jon Howe
Earthlight 0743-44081-1, (Aug) 2002, 319pp, £6.99. Cover by Larry Rostant
Gollancz 978-0575-08657-9, (Jul) 2009, 304pp, £7.99.
Gollancz [Fantasy Masterworks] 978-1473-20545-1, (Nov) 2014, xi+302pp, £8.99. Cover by iamgabz.com

The Emerald Forest
Penguin Books 0140-07775-8, (Sep) 1985, 253pp, £2.50. Cover: still. Movie tie-in.
HarperCollins 0006-48014-4, (Aug) 1995, 254pp, £4.99. Cover by Geoff Taylor

Lavondyss: Journey to an Unknown Region (London, Victor Gollancz, 1988)
VGSF/Gollancz 0575-04375-x, (Oct) 1988, 367pp, £6.99. Cover by Alan Lee
Grafton 0586-20760-0, (Jan) 1990, 475pp, £3.99. Cover by Geoff Taylor
Earthlight 0743-44078-1, (Mar) 2003, 475pp, £6.99. Cover by Larry Rostant
Gollancz [Fantasy Masterworks] 978-1473-21199-5, (Jun) 2015, ix+345pp, £9.99. Cover byb iamgabz.com

The Fetch (London, Orbit, 1991)
Warner Books 0751-50084-4, (Sep) 1992, 376pp, £4.99. Cover by Jim Burns

The Hollowing (London, HarperCollins, 1993)
HarperCollins 0002-24201-x, (Aug) 1993, 314pp, £8.99. Cover by Geoff Taylor
HarperCollins 0586-21293-0, (Sep) 1994, 376pp, £4.90.
Earthlight 0743-44079-x, (Mar) 2003, 314pp, £6.99. Cover by Larry Rostant

Merlin's Wood; or, The Vision of Magic (London, HarperCollins, 1994)
HarperCollins 0006-48001-2, (Mar) 1995, 286pp, £4.99. Cover by Geoff Taylor

Ancient Echoes (London, HarperCollins, 1996)
Voyager/HarperCollins 0006-48000-4, (Dec) 1996, 405pp, £5.99. Cover by Geoff Taylor
Gollancz 978-0575-08418-6, (Sep) 2009, 352pp, £7.99.

Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn (New York, Roc, 1997; as Gate of Ivory, London, HarperCollins, 1998)
Voyager/HarperCollins 0006-48002-0, (Dec) 1998, 348pp, £6.99. Cover by John Howe
Earthlight 0743-44080-3, (Aug) 2002, 348pp, £6.99. Cover by Larry Rostant

Celtika: Book One of the Merlin Codex (London, Simon & Schuster, 2001)
Earthlight 0671-02882-0, (Jan) 2001, 435pp, £6.99. Cover by Larry Rostant
Gollancz/Orion 0575-07973-8, 2006, 326pp, £7.99. Cover by Corbis

The Iron Grail: Book Two of the Merlin Codex (London, Simon & Schuster, 2002)
Earthlight 0743-22078-1, (Aug) 2002, 301pp, £10.99 [tpb]. Coverby Larry Rostant
Earthlight 0743-44032-3, (Aug) 2003, 418pp, £6.99. Cover by Larry Rostant

The Broken Kings: From the Merlin Codex: Book Three (London, Gollancz, 2006)
Gollancz 0575-07931-2, (Jan) 2007, 357pp, £12.99 [tpb].
Gollancz  978-0575-08155-0, (May) 2008, 368pp, £7.99.

Avilion (London, Gollancz, 2009)
Gollancz 978-0575-08301-1, (Jul) 2009, 342pp.
Gollancz 978-0575-08302-8, (Mar) 2010, 341pp, £8.99.

COLLECTIONS

In the Valley of the Statues  (London, Faber & Faber, 1982)
VGSF/Gollancz 0575-04023-8, (Mar) 1988, 223pp, £2.95. Cover by Chris Brown

The Bone Forest (London, Grafton Books, 1991)
Grafton 0586-21292-2, (May) 1992, 268pp, £4.50. Cover by Geoff Taylor


NOVELS AS ROBERT BLACK

Legend of the Werewolf
Sphere 0722-15468-2, (Sep) 1976, 158pp, 60p. Cover by Les Edwards

The Satanists
Futura 0708-81361-5, 1978, 176pp.

NOVELS AS KEN BLAKE

The Professionals 10: Cry Wolf
Sphere 0722-11659-4, 1981, 160pp.

The Professionals 13: The Untouchables
Sphere 0722-11663-2, 1982, 122pp.

The Professionals 14: Operation Susie
Sphere 0722-11664-0, 1982, 124pp.

The Professionals 15: You'll Be All Right
Sphere 0722-11657-8, 1982, 122pp.

NOVELS AS CHRIS CARLSEN

Berserker: Shadow of the Wolf
Sphere 0722-14631-0, 1977, 160pp, 65p. Cover by Melvyn Grant

Berserker: The Bull Chief
Sphere 0722-14632-9, 1977, 175pp, 85p. Cover by Melvyn Grant

Berserker: The Horned Warrior
Sphere 0722-14633-7, 1978, 172pp, 95p. Cover by Melvyn Grant

NOVELS AS ROBERT FAULCON

The Stalking
Arrow Books 0099-30430-9, 1983, 208pp.

The Talisman
Arrow Books 0099-30440-6, 1983, 208pp.

The Ghost Dance
Arrow Books, 1984

The Shrine
Arrow Books, 1984

The Hexing
Arrow Books 0099-39960-1, (Dec) 1984. 207pp, £1.75.

The Labyrinth
Arrow Books 0099-52160-1, (Jun) 1987, 283pp, £2.50.

NOVELS AS RICHARD KIRK

Raven: Swordmistress of Chaos (with Angus Wells)
Corgi Books 0552-10694-1, (Mar) 1978, 174pp, 70p. Cover by Chris Achilleos

Raven 2: A Time of Ghosts
Corgi Books 0552-10861-8, (Jul) 1978, 176pp, 80p. Cover by Chris Achilleos

Raven 4: Lords of the Shadows
Corgi Books 0552-11029-9, (Mar) 1979, 204pp, 95p. Cover by Chris Achilleos

ILLUSTRATED BOOKS

Alien Landscapes, with Malcolm Edwards (London, Pierrot Publishing, 1979)
(no UK paperback; d/j by Les Edwards)

Tour of the Universe: The Journey of a Lifetime, with Malcolm Edwards (London, Pierrot Publishing, 1980)
(no UK paperback; d/j by Jim Burns)

Magician: The Lost Journals of the Magus Geoffrey Carlyle, with Malcolm Edwards (Limpsfield, Surrey, Paper Tiger, 1982)
(no UK paperback)

Realms of Fantasy, with Malcolm Edwards (Limpsfield, Surrey, Paper Tiger, 1983)
Dragon's World 0905-89583-5, 1983, 120pp, £5.95. Cover by Mark Harrison

Lost Realms, with Malcolm Edwards (Limpsfield, Surrey, Paper Tiger, 1985)
Dragon's World 0905-895-91-6, 1984, 114pp, £5.95. Cover by John Avon

ILLUSTRATED BOOKS AS STEVEN EISLER

Space Wars: Worlds and Weapons (London, Octopus Books, 1979)
(no UK paperback; d/j by Chris Moore)

The Alien World: The Complete Illustrated Guide (London, Octopus Books, 1980)
(no UK paperback; d/j by Mick Brownfield)

NON-FICTION

Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (London, Octopus Books, 1978)
(no UK paperback; d/j by Tony Roberts)

ANTHOLOGIES

Stars of Albion, with Christopher Priest 
Pan Books 0330-25872-9, 1979, 238pp, £1.20. Cover by Bob Norrington

Other Edens, with Christopher Evans
Unwin Paperbacks 0048-23378-1, (Jul) 1987, ix+237pp, £2.95. Cover by Jim Burns

Other Edens II, with Christopher Evans
Unwin Paperbacks 0044-40154-x, (Nov) 1988, viii+269pp, £3.95. Cover by Jim Burns

Other Edens III, with Christopher Evans
Unwin Paperbacks 0044-40400-x, 1989, viii+237pp, £4.50. Cover by Jim Burns

Ian Dickson

The Swift Annual, and others published by Hulton, often ran three- or four-frame strips as fillers. One of the most prolific contributor of these was Ian Dickson who also contributed to Eagle Annual and Girl Annual.

Ian Oscar Dickson was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 15 January 1905, the son of Mary Anne Dalgleish Trainor, an unmarried 25-year-old New Zealander who married Albert Wilson Dickson in 1906. After living for some time with his grandmother, Dickson joined his mother, step-father and step-siblings in Melbourne at the age of eight.

A self-tought artist, Dickson became something of a world traveller, seeking out work as a cartoonist and illustrator wherever he was. His earliest work appeared in the Adelaide Register News Pictorial, the Brisbane Telegraph and tourist brochures for the Queensland government. His first booklet of colour cartoons was published in 1931, The Adventures of Wacko, featuring "Australia's Own Comic Kid", a hard case Australian youngster "who is destined to become a firm friend of hosts of children." (So said the Brisbane daily Telegraph, 21 November 1931) "Wacko's adventures cover a wide field, but whether in school, at home, or at play, this fellow is unmistakably funny without being idiotic. His pet goat Lavender, his parents, schoolmates, and other characters are brought into the series, and publication as a whole is bound to win popularity in many Australian homes."

After visiting England,he spent several months in 1934 in Ceylon and, after briefly returning to Australia, he returned at the end of the year, working for the Times of Ceylon and Ceylon Observer. Returning to England in 1935, he produced illustrations for film companies and work for Razzle, Punch, London Opinion, Men Only and Blighty, often drawing glamour girls. During the War he served with the R.A.F.

For 15 years he drew 'Mum' each week for the Sunday Graphic and his cartoons also appeared in the Daily Mirror.

He died in Surrey on 21 July 1987. He was married in 1941 to Mary Catherine Pownall (1912-1994) and they had a son, Peter, born the same year.

(* Illustrations are from Swift Annual 6 (1959) and are © Look and Learn Magazine Ltd. Some of the biographical information above is derived from Dictionary of British Cartoonists and Caricaturists 1730-1980 compiled by Mark Bryant and Simon Heneage; the photo is from Ancestry.com. Expanded from its original appearance on 24 January 2007.)