As the end of another August rapidly approaches, we’ve seen the high humidity finally break but it seems we have a rain shower every day. It’s been so wet the grass in front of the house (or the back as I haven’t gotten used to calling the part of the house facing the lake the front. For me, the road side has always been the front) is now about nine inches tall. Good thing I cut it two weeks ago!
If you’re celebrating a birthday this weekend, you are in good company: Theodore Dreiser, novelist (Sister Carrie); C. S. Forester, novelist and author of the Horatio Hornblower series; Ira Leven, author (Rosemary’s Baby, The Boys From Brazil); Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, playwright, novelist (Faust); Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist (War and Peace, Anna Karenina); Liam O’Flaherty, Irish novelist and short-story writer; and Roger Tory Peterson, author of the authoritative bird book (A Field Guide to Birds).
Happy birthday to all!
Why I want to Write–What’s Led Me to This Stage in My Life
A few weeks ago I stepped outside of the box again. This time, it was to see if I could take the opening chapter of ‘A Cartel’s Revenge’, approximately 2,500 words, and whittle it down to less than 400. Why would I do this? To enter a monthly one-page short story contest held by Wildsound Writing and Film Festival Review.
I figured it would be a good lesson in cutting out unnecessary wording. It wasn’t easy ,as I still wanted to maintain the essence of the chapter. I must have, because after I sent last Sunday’s ramblings out, I received notification that my short story called ‘A Dangerous Occupation’ had been selected as a winner.
My story was performed by an actor and can be viewed below:
Needless to say, I was thrilled to find this out!
Next week, I’ll include more from ‘A Cartel’s Revenge.
My Work in Progress
Over the past week, I continued to concentrate of providing reviews for those who’ve been reviewing my work. I’ve also been applying what I learned with the short story contest to help a new writer one of the subscription writing sites to condense a story from eighteen to fifteen pages.
Chapter six of ‘A Cartel’s Revenge’ was posted this past week, with six reviews received thus far. Work also continued on chapter three of ‘A Malicious Affiliation’, but I didn’t make enough progress to be able to post.
I mentioned last tie that my sci-fi short story, ‘Countdown to Extinction’ was been entered in a contest held in memory of a novice sci-fi writer who passed away a week ago. She actually passed away over a year ago. The contest closed last weekend, but the winners haven’t been announced yet.
Books I’m Reading
This week I finished reading ‘Blood Tail (Lieutenant Beaudry Novels Book 1)’ by Michael Kent. If you like murder mysteries, grab yourself a copy and enjoy a fantastic read set in Montreal. Beaudry has a bad reputation with his boss and Internal Affairs–it seems every time he’s involved in the investigation of a crime, more bodies appear.
Meet Beaudry’s unlikely new partner and his even stranger new friends as he takes on various cases, each with its own special twist. Mr. Kent’s writing is superb and just when I had a case figured out, something new would pop up and keep me guessing.
The only problem I had with ‘Blood Tail’ was it ended too soon! I can’t wait to read the next installment. I’m definitely adding Michael Kent to my list of favorite authors.
Blogs/Author Pages/Writing Sites I’d Like to Share
I’ve expanded this section from being only about blogs that I follow but also introduce you to some new authors and a few writing sites. This week, I’m returning to two favorites. Hope you’ll check out the links!
Cheeky Column – a great mixture of quotes and fantastic photography. Don’t forget to check the pull-down menu and read the author’s categories.
Quintessential Editor – writing tips for everyday writers.
Writing Resources
With the homework I have from my publisher, I have plenty of resources to share. Today, I’ll point you towards several links that will help you write an author’s bio. Here are just a few of the links I’m now reading:
https://litreactor.com/columns/no-one-cares-about-your-life-story-nine-tips-for-a-better-author-bio
Once again, we’ve reached 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.
Firstly, congratulations on the short story prize. Alaways hard to trim to the bone and keep the essence of the story. Super job.
Secondly, thank you for your kind review of “Blood Tail” It’s really appreciated.
You, sir, are a gentleman and a connoisseur of fine books (big smile).
Mike
Hi Mike,
Many thanks for the kind words. I hope one day to be able to write as smoothly as you do.:) Regards, Randy
I certainly appreciate you mentioning me on your page! You forgot to mention the tomfoolery I provide though (it’s my saving grace!). I’m just being ridiculous of course. I bookmarked your page so I will return when I have some time to dig in more.
Happy writing and thanks again.
No problem. I try to add links to blogs where I enjoy what I’ve read and think others might, too. Keep writing!