Here we are, the first weekend in December. Hope where you are you’re having decent weather and are enjoying yourself.
Here are some noteworthy birthdays for this week: John Cotton, English-born Puritan clergyman (The Way of the Church of Christ in New England); Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian and essayist (The French Revolution, Sartor Resartus); Samuel Butler, English writer and painter (Erewhon, The Way of All Flesh); Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet; A. Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer (Lindberg, 1998); Joseph Conrad, Polish-born novelist (Heart of Darkness, Nostromo); Morgan Llywelyn, American-born Irish author noted for historical fantasy and historical fiction novels, as well as historical nonfiction (1921, the War for Independence); Ruth Draper, actress and writer; Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer and lawyer (Zorba the Greek); T. Coraghessan Boyle, novelist and short story writer (Water Music); and Ann Patchett, author, her novel Bel Canto received the Orange Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award (2002).
Happy birthday to everyone celebrating this week and may you have many more!
Why I want to Write–What’s Led Me to This Stage in My Life
Research dominated my time during the past week. I’m finding it’s not as easier to uncover some historical details regarding the eighteenth century as I’d like. While there’s plenty of information regarding the aristocracy and well-to-do people, trying to find out how the working class lived is more of a challenge. Yet I must persevere, as this will be important for my first historical fiction novel, New World Revolution.
My Work in Progress
As I predicted, chapter six of Dangerous Alliance as well as chapter eight of A Cartel’s Revenge were both posted this week to the two subscription writing sites I use. I’m very grateful to those who keep reading and providing their reviews. Thank you!
Over the coming week, I’ll be starting the next chapter for each of these stories, but I’ll concentrate on A Cartel’s Revenge first. I’m also working on the re-write of chapter one of New World Revolution, based on the original feedback I received.
Here’s a snippet from A Cartel’s Revenge for you:
Alonzo hung his head. “Colonel—”
“Silence.” The single word uttered by Colonel Santiago echoed throughout the cellblock. All conversations ceased.
“Except for my daughter, Gabriela, you would rot in your cell.” The colonel continued to glare at Alonzo. “I ignored the rumors about your family, but can’t believe your involvement in—in drug running.”
I like Gabriela—a lot. What will she think if she finds out? Hope she doesn’t.
“Colonel Santiago—”
“Be quiet. Nothing you say will change my opinion of you. Since Gabriela professes her love for you, I will give you one chance. You must leave the drug business or stay away from my daughter.”
More next time.
Books I’m Reading
Real life events didn’t permit as much for pleasure reading this week, so I’ll have to pass on a review of a book. Hope to have one and perhaps two for you next time.
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. Here are a couple I’ve mentioned before, but want to bring their names and work to the forefront again.
Sideways Eight Series – check out the work of AJ Wallace, an excellent writer. Her characters, Charley and Murphy, are a great team!
Aidan J. Reid – a thriller writer from Ireland.
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:
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers – by Renni Browne and Dave King. An excellent guide to help novice and experienced writers by two professional editors.
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.
