Randall’s Ramblings, October 1, 2017

In the past eight days, we’ve seen the thermometer reach the high for the year (91F) and drop over thirty degrees to yesterday’s 59F. Wave action on the lake has been as varied as the temperature, with three-foot waves crashing against the shore and today’s almost mirror-like calm. At least there’s been on thing consistent–the sunrises have been superb. We began this morning with a brisk 38F and are climbing towards the forecast high of 64F. Plenty of sunshine so it’ll be a good day!

The wildlife continues to visit, seemingly oblivious to these changes. I was sitting in a chair in back of the house yesterday, when a young white-tailed deer buck sauntered by. He couldn’t have been more than twenty feet from me. An incredible sight!

My Work in Progress

I’ve been on fire with my writing the past three or four weeks. I finished chapter 27 of Dangerous Alliance and posted it for review. After spending a bit of time making adjustments to the remainder of my outline, I’ve also started on the next chapter.

We held another garage sale yesterday. As I’ve been doing, I have a small table set up with a couple of my novels, The Kurdish Connection, along with several business cards. I don’t mention anything but most people check the table out. Some make comments such as, “Oh, you’re a writer” while others don’t say anything but take a card. Yesterday, another individual wanted a signed copy. It’s always a great feeling when this happens.

I’m also assisting two writers with editing of their work, so I didn’t do much more on my own. Still, it’s been a good week. I hope it continues so I can achieve my goal of completing the entire first draft by the end of the year.

Here’s a bit more from Dangerous Alliance:

Loud engines noises drowned out whatever the man planned to say. Dacar rushed to a window as two military aircraft circled the ship. “I think the Americans called those planes Hornets.”

“What should we do?” The young man’s eyes widen with fear at the mention of the American aircraft. “Go ou—”

***

“They must be satisfied we’re not the missing Zeus.” Dacar laughed. “Good thing we changed the name as quick as we did.”

“Yes. Should I continue searching for the missing crewmen?” Sahid shoved his knife back in its sheath.

“Not yet. I want to speak with Tahliil and ask his opinion.”

***

Three hours ago, U.S. Naval aircraft located an oil tanker proceeding in established shipping lanes towards India. They identified the ship as the Zebu, flying a Bahamian flag. No sign of the Zeus.

Maintain current operation with Greek frigate. Will advise.

Perhaps more next time.

Books I’m Reading

I recently finished reading Loch: A Dane Maddock Adventure, by David Wood. Not sure how I stumbled across this as it’s the ninth in the series when I usually like to start with the first one.

I couldn’t ask for a better adventure story. Two former SEALs turn treasure hunters end up seeking treasure in Scotland. Plenty of action as Maddock and Bones assist others in trying to uncover a treasure, which might be guarded by the Loch Ness monster.

David has created excellent and realistic characters. As soon as I finished reading this adrenaline rush, I did what I should have done before–started with book one. Needless to say, I’m hooked on David’s writing style and his plots. More to come as I continue to read this series.

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. Unfortunately, with everything else going on, I didn’t have an opportunity to check out anything new. Hopefully, I’ll have something to share next week.

I’m afraid that’s all the time I have today. Hope you’ve found something of interest or at least useful for your own writing.  If you have any suggestions for a topic you’d like to read about, please let me know. Until the next time, thank you for reading!

© Copyright 2017 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved