I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving this on Thursday had an enjoyable time with friends and family. Even if this wasn’t one of your holidays, I hope every reader is having a great weekend. Our son, who lives in Washington, D.C., couldn’t make it for Thanksgiving, but we did have a whirlwind visit from him last weekend. His next visit–Christmas.
Birthdays come and go and it’s always nice to find out who shares your birthday. One of my favorite authors, Brad Thor, shares the same day with me, although I’m a bit older.
Here are some noteworthy birthdays during the past week: Charles M. Shultz, American cartoonist who created “Peanuts” starring Charlie Brown; Charles A. Beard, American historian (History of the United States); James Agee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author (A Death in the Family); Virgil Thompson, American composer (Four Saints in Three Acts, The Mother of Us All); Shelagh Delaney, playwright (A Taste of Honey); Gail Collins, journalist; first woman to serve as editorial page editor of The New York Times; Carlo Collodi, the creator of Pinocchio; Margaret Anderson, editor, founder of The Little Review; Dale Carnegie, author (How to Win Friends and Influence People); Garson Kanin, writer and director (Born Yesterday); William F. Buckley, Jr., journalist, founder of National Review; and, Spider Robinson, Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction author (Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon; Melancholy Elephants).
Happy birthday to all and may you have many more.
Why I want to Write–What’s Led Me to This Stage in My Life
As I continue to work on my regular writing projects, concentrating on my novels, I decided to branch out. Although I’m writing modern-day action thrillers, I’ve taken a step back in time. My newest project, tentatively called New World Revolution, will be a historical thriller, following the lives of an English family uprooted from their tenant farm due to massive crop failures. Where do they end up? America, just in time for the Boston Tea Party.
This story will require extensive research. Not just for an accurate setting, but even the everyday words used at the time. I’ve already written a draft first chapter and fans of historical fiction have pointed out things that I’ve taken for granted. The first, the word okay, was introduced into writing until the 1830s, several decades after my story. The second was my reference to spitting image, which apparently originates from the 19th century. This will be an interesting story to put together and I look forward to the challenge.
My Work in Progress
Of course, I can’t let my progress on my other novels diminish. Chapter six of Dangerous Alliance is nearing completion, as if chapter eight of A Cartel’s Revenge. Both should be posted this week to the two subscription writing sites I use.
In the short time the first chapter of New World Revolution has been posted (posted on Thursday), it’s received twelve reviews. Almost everyone seemed to think it has great potential, which is encouraging. More to follow on this as my research continues.
Books I’m Reading
I recently read Twice Dead by Michael Kent. Part of the Lieutenant Beaudry series, it’s another great story, full of action, with a fast pace. We find Lt. Robert Beaudry embroiled in a mix of murder, narcotics, and even on a hit list. Someone is killing gays in Montreal and Robert’s boss gives him the task to find the killer.
Once again Michael works his magic and Robert works with a narcotics detective named Nico to sort out the pieces to this puzzle. Every time you think you’ve uncovered the identity of the killer, a twist will reveal new information pointing elsewhere. An excellent read!
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. Today, though, I have links to two sites about pets. The photographs are fantastic and I thought worthy of sharing.
Flawless Animals – a great compilation of animals doing their thing.
The Cute Pet – more outstanding photos of pets.
Writing Resources
Time didn’t provide an opportunity to delve into more writing resources. However, someone recently suggested a book I’d like to share with you:
Getting The Words Right: 39 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Theodore A Reed Cheney.
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.
