It’s been a busy week. A wall came down; a doorway was sealed. Parts of the floor were ripped up. The old kitchen was ripped out and a new one is installed, except for a few tweaks. Hopefully, the new flooring will be delivered as scheduled and by the end of this coming week, things will be wrapping up.
Of course, there will still be some tiling to do, as well as some painting, and an island added. When everything’s finished, we’ll have a new eat-in kitchen.
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on February 10th. (compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):
John Suckling, English Cavalier poet/dramatist/courtier; William Congreve, England, writer (Old Bachelor, Way of the World); Aaron Hill, English playwright/poet (Tragedy of Zara); Charles Lamb, British critic/poet/essayist (Essays of Elia); [Fran J] Vital Celen, Flemish literary/author; Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian poet (Hermeticism) and journalist; Howard Spring, British author/novelist/writer/critic (O Absalom); Boris Pasternak, Russian novelist and poet (Doctor Zhivago, Nobel 1958); Bertolt Brecht, German poet and playwright (Mother Courage); Joseph Kessel, French journalist/writer (Army of the Shadows); Armand Bernier, Belgian poet (Sorcier Triste); Alexander Comfort, English poet/writer (Wreath for the Living); Jakov Lind, German/British author (Counting My Footsteps); Thomas Bernhard, writer; Fleur Adcock, New Zealand poet; John Shirley, and American sci-fi author (Eclipse Penumbra, Eclipse Corona).
How many are you familiar with? There’s definitely one who should be recognizable, perhaps not his name, but his work. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one and many more to follow!
News About My Published Work
Nothing new to report this work. As I previously mentioned, both The Kurdish Connection and Dangerous Alliance are two of the thirteen semi-finalists for the CIBA Global Thriller Book Awards, which will be announced the end of April. Stay tuned.
Both novels are available across the Amazon Network, through Barnes&Noble, and other outlets.
My Work in Progress
Editing is progressing nicely on my third novel, Carnage in Singapore. So far I’m still on 
track to submit the manuscript to my publisher in May/June. Here’s another snippet:
After the cell door shut, Evelyn sat on a chair opposite the prisoner. Ollie leaned against the door while Barbara took up a position within easy reach of the terrorist should she need to subdue him again.
Evelyn gazed at the man, allowing the silence to build.
Beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead, trickling down his face. Unable to maintain eye contact with Evelyn, he turned to the side and spat on the floor.
The members of Bedlam Charlie remained quiet as the man squirmed and tested his bonds. Unable to break free, his eyes flicked from one face to another. He licked his lips, staring at a water bottle on a small table to Evelyn’s left.
Noticing his interest, Evelyn opened the bottle and took a sip. “Are you thirsty? Answer our questions and I’ll give you the bottle.”
He glared at her but didn’t respond.
“First question. What is your name?”
Silence.
Evelyn jumped to her feet. “Name!”
In what appeared to be a reflex action, the man leaned back in his chair. “Kaku.”
“What is your full name?”
Kaku shook his head.
“You will answer our questions. Otherwise, Captain Kusuma and his men will resume their questioning.”
“They beat me. If I free, I kill them.”
“Tell me your full name.”
Kaku fidgeted in the chair. “Kaku Paton.”
“Where are you from?”
He closed his eyes as he shook his head.
“Where?”
“One of the islands.”
“Stop playing games.” Evelyn’s jaw clenched. “Which one?”
Kaku stared at her, seeming to summon up new courage. “You are an infidel. Our effort might be wasted, but there are many more. Jemaah Anshorut Daulah will raise jihad against the West.” He spat toward her.
Barbara pushed forward and backhanded Kaku across the face. He grinned as blood seeped from his nose. He glared at her. “I will kill you.”
More next time.
I didn’t have much time left over to work on my new novel, Ultimate Escalation. Perhaps I’ll squeeze in more time next week.
Books I’m Reading
I have two books almost finished, so I hope to post my reviews next week. In the meantime, happy reading!
My Favorite Authors
Another of my favorite authors is Tom Clancy. While he’s no longer with us, he’s inspired numerous writers throughout his career. The Chicago Tribune quoted Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stephen Hunter as saying, “When he published The Hunt for Red October, he redefined and expanded the genre and as a consequence of that, many people were able to publish such books who had previously been unable to do so.”
I felt very honored when a recent review posted on Amazon about Dangerous Alliance referred to me as the next Tom Clancy. If only!
This brings us to a close for another week. I hope you 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 2019 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
I’m looking forward to reading the finished Carnage. Congratulations on making the list with Dangerous Alliance. Also congratulations and condolences (at the same time) renovations are great when finished but hell as you do them.
Regards
Mike
Many thanks, Mike! Still editing Carnage at this time but plan to submit the manuscript to my publisher in May/June (if I’m ready). Fingers crossed with Dangerous Alliance and The Kurdish Connection. I’d be thrilled if they both became finalists. Will let you know how things go. Agree with the chaos of renovations but it’ll all be over soon.:)