little_details

Location: UK

Setting: A large Victorian terrace house, now converted to flats, with a flight of steps up to the main front door. Under the steps is a separate front door to the basement flat. That door is lower than ground level.

What I am asking is, what is the term for the area outside the basement flat. I have always called it the 'area', but my beta was unfamiliar with that term, so I wondered if it is regional and there is a more commonly accepted alternative.

In my searches I have seen it called a front garden and a veranda, but those are not right.

( I have taken some photos from around where I liveCollapse )
The last one is closest to what I have in mind.

I have googled terms such as, 'Victorian Terrace Front Space', 'Victorian house sunken area' (and many variations on that), 'Victorian basement flat floor/ground plans' (and clicked on any image that looked promising), 'Architecture terminology' (with various additions) and 'Victorian architecture terms'.
I used the sentence that is the title to this post and I have looked through RIBA and other architecture sites.
I have searched estate agents' sites looking at basement flats, but like the floor plans, they all concentrate on the interior.

Any suggestions that I could google further would be welcome.
Thank you.

( Cut for effects of dog attack on six-year-old girlCollapse )

Hi guys!

My story takes place during a zombie apocalypse, roughly around now (maybe a year or two in the future). It's set at a college that is very much like Mount Holyoke but doesn't say so.

I Googled a bunch of versions of "fair use" and "what counts as fair use," which helped but didn't answer all of my questions. Searches like "can my book characters be doctor who fans" were utterly useless and turned up crap about legality of fan fiction.

Specifics:
- I'd like to have my characters mention they were planning to put a Tardis on their wedding cake.
- One proposed to the other with a ring in a Tardis-shaped box.
- They sometimes pretend that they have a Tardis of their own, and say things like "I'll come pick you up in my Tardis!"

Before I add any more things like that, I'd like to know if it's legal. Should I just be more vague and say "I'll pick you up in my spaceship" or "my time machine?"

Thanks! :)

ETA: I'm American, and would be planning to publish in the USA.