Here we are in June, trees are in bloom, and gardeners and farmers are busy with necessary planting and the weather’s better. Yesterday, our local ‘no-kill’ animal shelter had a daylong charity event. In addition to sponsoring an ‘ask the vet’ booth and providing two hundred forty bottles of water and four cases of soft drinks, we put up a canopy and took along crafts and other things to raise additional funds. The outpouring of volunteer support was fantastic to see, at times there seemed to be more volunteers than visitors. That said, I’m sure they did well with their primary annual fundraiser, and three dogs were adopted on the spot.
Why I want to Write–What’s Led Me to This Stage in My Life
Quiet on the news front regarding contacts with publishers. Perhaps this coming week will provide something exciting. At least, I can hope.
A bit more from ‘The Kurdish Connection’:
By early afternoon, they found a pleasant spot at the base of several large boulders to rest and eat the goat cheese and cucumber sandwiches provided by the hotel. Fatigue caught up with them from all the climbing, but they wanted to finish their Zelve excursion in one day.
Willie stopped in his tracks and turned around.
“Ya smell that?”
Aiden grinned, recognizing the familiar aroma. “Come on, Willie, lead us on, eh?”
“Let’s head down the path between the trees.”
They rambled along, heads twisting from side to side. Willie kept muttering, “Stronger, stronger—the nose knows!”
In front of them, a dozen foreigners leaned against various rock formations and a few trees, looking like Woodstock rejects. Music played in the background while they passed around joints and wine bottles.
An elderly woman approached Dersim as he returned to his vehicle. She held out her wrinkled, arthritic hands. “This is all I own of value. My husband’s—the Turks killed him.” On one palm lay a gold watch; on the other, six small gold coins, still attached to red ribbons, customary gifts given to couples on their wedding day.
My Work in Progress
This week, I concentrated my writing on a short story for possible inclusion in an anthology organized by the Writer’s Network Club. The theme is nature. I won’t provide any details yet, but will have the story completed within a couple of weeks.
I’ve also commenced in-depth research for the second book in the Bedlam Series, which I’m calling ‘A Malicious Affiliation.’ Here’s my initial synopsis:
United Nations’ sanctions are crippling North Korea. China has turned her back on her malevolent partner. The North Korean military machine is crumbling, unable to function. Oil reserves are minimal and the government seeks new alliances.
Cargo and tourist ships are disappearing along the Somali and Kenyan coastline at an alarming rate. Speeches abound in the United Nations, but inaction emboldens Al-Shabab to seek their next prize: Kenya. The terror organization controls land but requires weapons.
Soon after Bedlam Bravo is called upon to disrupt their plans, a VIP’s son is kidnapped while on a Peace Corps mission. Can they manage to disrupt the North Korean-al-Shabab axis and save the kidnapped son?
Team leader Colonel (retired) Trevor Franklin leads the small international team into East Africa. Tempers flare as the team is embroiled in a political quagmire. The axis must be stopped to avert an international crisis but will it be at the expense of the VIP’s son?
Books I’m Reading
I completed my review of another book written by one of the “Sunset Thrillers’ beta group. Since this is unpublished material, I won’t be providing any public feedback, but once the story’s available to everyone, I’ll be happy to do so. Now, I’m putting my notes together to provide to the writer and moving to the last book of the group.
Blogs/Author Pages/Writing Sites I’d Like to Share
I’ve now expanded this section from being only about blogs that I follow but also introduce you to some new authors and a few writing sites. Hope you’ll check out the links!
Lonely Blue Boy – written by Juan Sendison, who shares his poetry and thoughts with us.
Sacha Black – an interesting collection of writing tips and news by Sacha.
Writing Resources
I don’t have any new writing resources to share this week, although you might find something of interest in Sacha’s blog. I hope to have something new for next week. Have an enjoyable weekend.
Once again, we’ve come to the end of another ramble. Hope you’ve found something of interest or at least useful for your own writing. Until the next time, thank you for reading!
© Copyright 2016 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved.
‘A Malicious Affiliation’ sounds awesome! 🙂
Many thanks, hope it will be!