Here we are in another month. Seems like only yesterday we celebrated New Year’s! It’s great to have more daylight, even if the weather’s still a bit unsettled. The plants seem to think spring is on the way as more and more buds are popping out each day. Hope there’s no sudden dip in the temperature to cause them harm.
The painting moved from the hallway to the living room. Things appear to be completed for now, although when the doors and windows can be left open, it’ll be time to paint the trims.
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on March 3rd. (compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):
Edmund Waller, England, poet (Penshust); Thomas Otway, England, playwright/poet (Venice Preserved); William Godwin, philosopher/political writer (Caleb Williams); Charles Sealsfield [Carl Anton Postl], Austrian-American writer; Vissarion Belinsky, Russian author (Literary Review); Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author; Arthur Machen, Welsh-born author; Alain, [Emile-Auguste Chartier], French philosopher/writer; Tore Ørjasæter, Norwegian poet; Beatrice Wood, potter/artist/author; Yuri Olesha, Russian writer; Rabbe A Enckell, Fins author/poet (Lutad about Brunnen); Artur Lundkvist, Swedish writer/Swedish Academy (Agadir); Aar van de Werfhorst, [Pieter G Jansen], Dutch writer; Kenton Kilmer, American writer; Roger Caillois, French writer (Les Jeux et les Hommes); Bert van Aerschot, Flemish writer (Elevator, Women); James Ingram Merrill, US poet/author (Scripts for the Pageant); Gudrun Pausewang, German writer; Hans Pieter Verhagen, Dutch poet (Hoepla/Holland’s Hole); Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian writer and journalist; Roger Swaybill, actor/writer (Porky’s II, Breaking Point); and Clifton Snider, American poet and writer.
How many did you recognize? There’s definitely one or two who should be familiar, perhaps not by name, but by the title of their 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!
My Work in Progress
Editing continues 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 sharing a breakfast of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a variety of sliced fruit, Musa bid farewell to his old friend. He stepped onto the veranda where the same armed men waited to escort him to the beach. They helped him onto the waiting speedboat, which pulled away and skipped over the calm waves.
Musa thought about the past twenty-four hours. So, it begins. We’ve created a path to join JI. Now, I must make things work.
Before long, the rhythmic rocking of the boat lulled Musa to sleep.
The next morning as he awoke, the boat pulled into the harbor of Tanjung Pinang, the largest town on Bintan Island. After he clambered up a ladder to the dock, he spotted Umar waiting for him. Umar took Musa’s single bag, and they walked to a nearby microlet, a battered, once-white, minibus.
They remained silent until they left the outskirts of Tanjung Pinag, heading toward Gunung Bintan. Umar glanced at Musa. “How did your visit go with Abu Zeze?”
Musa smiled. “Excellent. He supports us.”
“We will not let you down.” Umar released a pent-up sigh. “The men are waiting for us.”
***
Once they hid the van in a tight copse of trees, they climbed the hill. Dusk beckoned, and a few flickering lights could be seen through the foliage as they approached the camp.
Umar led Musa into the central hut. Ten men jumped to their feet. Musa sat in his self-appointed chair and grinned at his followers as they grabbed seats on the benches. “Abu Zeze agreed to our plan. We are now aligned with Jemaah Islamiyah. Our first strike will be within two weeks.”
The men whistled, stomped their feet and slapped each other on the back.
Musa waved for quiet. “We have one other issue to decide.” He stared at each man in turn. “What should we do with our remaining hostages?”
“Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!”
More next time.
I didn’t have much time left over to work on the final book of the series, Ultimate Escalation. However, I did manage to write a bit more on chapter three.
I’m also assisting a fellow writer with paring down his first book, a memoir based on his father’s life as a hobo during the Great Depression. A fascinating read!
Books I’m Reading
Over the past few days, I finished reading Five Light-Years to the Firesnake. Rayner Ye’s debut novel depicts what the future might hold for people of distant planets and galaxies. Those with power continue to prey on the powerless, forcing them into a life of misery. Follow Aedre as she deals with the death of her mother and eventually ends up as a slave. But the future holds some promise that things might change for her.
Rayner’s characters come across as vivid and believable as the plot unfolds. An excellent space fantasy story. Look forward to the next installment.
My Favorite Authors
In addition to Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, and Clive Cussler, another favorite author is Brad Thor. Like the others, Brad’s stories have an international flavor to them, are full of action and suspense, with life-like characters. It’s no wonder he’s on my list of favorites!
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
