According to the calendar, yesterday was still considered a spring day. The temperature didn’t seem to care what date was on the calendar. We reached eighty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (31.1C), worthy of any summer’s day. Our cats and Tyson, the boxer dog, were flaked out, even inside with the air conditioning chilling the rooms.
Falling in line with this year’s topsy-turvy weather, today’s forecast is sixty-five degrees. I woke up about five a.m., to a reddish glow across the horizon, waves lapping at the shore. At least at the moment, there’s brilliant sunshine with nary a cloud in the sky. Long may it last!
A follow-up to last week’s comments regarding the local ‘no-kill’ shelter’s annual event: I mentioned three of the four dogs looking for homes were adopted by attendees. I’m pleased to report the fourth one found a home this week.
Why I want to Write–What’s Led Me to This Stage in My Life
I’m very pleased to report ‘The Kurdish Connection’ my first novel in the Bedlam series, is now under a publishing contract with Moonshine Cove Publishing, LLC. Needless to say, I’m delighted and look forward to working with publisher Gene Robinson and his team!
No further snippets from ‘The Kurdish Connection’ at this time, but I’d like to share a few lines from a short story, ‘Lakeside Retreat’, which I finished yesterday:
Angry clouds hovered over the lake, changing the deep azure surface to a cold gray. A cool breeze picked up speed, skimming across thirty miles of water, chasing whitecaps to the shore. Lightning bolts crackled, expanding the air. Thunder rumbled, growing in volume, as the lightning intensified.
“Ma, you alright?” Cecil Cardinal wrapped a wing around his wife as they huddled on branches of a Scotch pine.
“Yes, Pa. Stop frettin’.” Caitlyn spread a wing across her stomach. “Junior’s kickin’. Must be the storm.”
“I told you, we should go further inland during these storms.” Cecil shook his head to clear the raindrops now falling through the branches.
“Yes, Pa. But I wanted more seeds from the green feeder.”
“Cheapskate human. It’s spring, so we don’t get the good seed. He bought the economy stuff.”
“Now, Pa. At least he makes sure there is plenty to eat.”
***
The deer pushed through a final line of trees. They reached the bottom of the embankment and paused, listening. Ahead of them, a long black ribbon often filled with life-taking danger.
“Now, children, pay attention.” Willow Whitetail pointed with a paw. “We must cross the cordon. What should we do first?”
“Stop,” Winter said, beating her brother to the first instruction.
“What else?”
“Look and listen.” Woodstock glared at Winter.
“Show me.” Willow waited as her children stepped forward to do her bidding.
“Okay, Momma,” they chimed together.
“Let’s do it.”
Willow and the children reached the middle of the black expanse when twin beams of light dazzled them, bringing them to a halt in mid-stride. They stood, mesmerized, as a strange rumbling increased in volume.
“Run, children, run!” Willow screamed at Winter and Woodstock. They bounded to safety as she stood her ground.
My Work in Progress
This week, I concentrated my writing on ‘Lakeside Retreat’ for possible inclusion in an anthology organized by the Writer’s Network Club. The theme is nature, and as indicated above, I chose the birds and animals that surround us to be my cast. Or did they choose me? Will keep you advised of this story’s progress.
I didn’t have a change to continue my in-depth research for the second book in the Bedlam Series, ‘A Malicious Affiliation.’ Hope to continue this week. Likewise, I had little time for adding to ‘A Cartel’s Revenge’ but plan to post a prologue and perhaps chapter four to the two subscription writing sites I use for initial critiques.
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. This will conclude the initial teaming of the ‘Sunset Thrillers’.
I’m back to my regular reading and reviewing of published books and will share a new review next week.
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!
Kenton Woods – Check out Kenton Woods’s blog and follow his journey as a writer and his outlook on life.
Tracey Clark – Tracey provides a peek into her second book in the Finders Keepers series. The first book, ‘Shocking Finds‘, is already available through Amazon.
Writing Resources
I don’t have any new writing resources to share this week. I hope to have something new for next week as my research increases. 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.
Congratulations
Many thanks! Now the hard work will begin (working with their editors).:)
One step at a time. You will get through it.
Many thanks. Yes, I will. My foot’s in the door so I can work on the other novels until they contact me for changes.