It’s been a crazy week on the weather front, with temperatures here on the lake ranging from 29F/-2C to 63F/17C. At least the snow is gone, hopefully until next winter! What remained constant is some of our neighbors stopping by for a bit of breakfast.
I never realized how mean they could be to each other until watching them eat. Of course, it is survival of the fittest.
Even the birds that stop by from time-to-time to check out the feeders become territorial, even though there’s always plenty for them to eat. It’s clearly instinct-driven. We’ve been fortunate to have so many regular visitors throughout the year. What a treat!
Did you have a birthday this week? If so, are there any names on the list you recognize? I spotted a few I knew, but as always, many that are new to me. This week’s group includes: Louise Otto, German author; Edward Bellamy, writer (Looking Backward; A.E. Houseman, poet (A Shropshire Lad); Robert Frost, poet, multiple Pulitzer Prize-winner; Joseph Campbell, folklorist and writer; Erica Jong, poet, novelist (Fear of Flying, How to Save Your Own Life); (Mary) Flannery O’Connor, novelist and short story writer; William Morris, English craftsman, poet and socialist; Lawrence Ferlinghetti, ‘beat’ poet; Louis L’Amour, American Western novelist; and Ovid, Roman poet.
My Work in Progress
Almost everything, including marketing and publicity of The Kurdish Connection, took a back seat to everyday requirements. Someone thirty miles away heard I had published a novel and requested a signed copy. Fantastic! The word is getting out.
I only managed about 800 words on my next chapter of Dangerous Alliance, but hope to pick up the pace this week. The overall number of chapter reviews for the fifteen chapters posted on the two subscription writing sites I use increased from 229 to 245. Plenty of positive feedback, which will aid me when I enter the editing phase.
A bit more from Dangerous Alliance:
A tall, broad-shouldered man twisted his back to work out the kinks, grabbed a red and white-checkered bandana from his pocket and wiped the perspiration from his face. His nose, white from layers of sun cream for protection, vied for attention with reddish hair to be his most prominent feature.
George turned to Alf, who joined Save the World for his gap year before returning to university to study history. “Want a drink of water? I’m getting one.”
Alf stopped digging a hole for a new post and climbed up. “I could kill a beer about now.”
George laughed. “The rumor going around is Tusker Beer is drinkable. Perhaps we’ll try one tonight.”
Perhaps more next time.
Books I’m Reading
I recently finished reading Ties That Bind (Detective Madison Knight Series, Book One, by Carolyn Arnold, an international bestselling and award-winning author. I’ve already become a fan after reading, and have purchased the next two in the series: Justified and Sacrifice.
Detective Madison Knight and her able-bodied partner, Terry, are handed what appears to be an isolated incident. A woman is found strangled but then another body surfaces, both killed by the same brand of necktie. Their sergeant hounds them to close the case, even if they don’t have the perpetrator. Meanwhile, Terry’s mind is on his rocky marriage. Will they be able to stop a possible serial killer before another body is found?
Without a personal life, Madison works all hours to identify the killer. Her well-honed investigative skills are put to the test, while Terry keeps skipping out to deal with his personal crisis. Ties That Bind is full of suspense from the beginning to the end when the case appears to be solved. With a very smooth pace, it was very difficult to put down, as I wanted to keep reading and find out if they caught the culprit. An excellent storyline, filled with realistic police procedures centered on their current assignment, while at the same time we find the detectives exhibit a variety of traits, likes, and dislikes.
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. However, with the day-to-day commitments this week, I wasn’t able to check out new sites. Perhaps next time!
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 2017 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved.
