I hope this update finds you and yours in good health and in a safe place. If you’re a medical professional, a first responder, or just helping others in this serious time of need, I salute and thank you. Many thanks!
I had a bit of a laugh on Saturday when I happened to look out our home office window and spotted three of our cats. They were practicing their version of social distancing, each about three feet apart.
From left to right, meet Flora, Tommy, and Charlie. Flora came to us in December 2014, the day before she was to be euthanized. Charlie joined us during a heavy Michigan snowstorm in late January 2015, while Tommy appeared during another storm in January 2017. Without our intervention, none of them would have survived. In the meantime, they use their rain shelters as a place to sun themselves–at least when the sun appears.
Who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on April 5th. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):
Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (Leviathan); Sydney Thompson Dobell, English poet; Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet (Atalanta in Calydon); Chester Bowles, American ambassador and writer (Conscience of a Liberal); Robert Bloch, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Psycho); Arthur Hailey, English novelist (Hotel, Airport); Hugo Claus, Belgian writer (Cool Lover, Sugar); and Ann Maxwell, American sci-fi author (Jaws of Menx).
Recognize anyone? The only one I’ve heard of is Hobbes. 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
Colombian Betrayal will be heading out on a blog tour beginning on April 6th at 6 a.m. EST, sponsored by Bewitching Book Tours.
https://www.bewitchingbooktours.biz/2020/04/now-on-tour-colombian-betrayal-by.html
My novel will also be participating in three Bookfunnel promotions during April. If you’re interested in checking them out and perhaps finding new authors to read, here’s the schedule. The links won’t be active until the first day of each giveaway. I’d greatly you forward these to anyone you think might be interested.
The links will go active on the first day of the promotions.
April 7th-30th:
https://dashboard.bookfunnel.com/bundles/board/a3k53rc4a2
April 10th-17th:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/assassins-kill-kill-kill/qjgu8z6ymr
April 11th-26th:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/2nd-quarter-mystery/tvyvcj2sx6
My Work in Progress
When I’m not working on marketing/promoting Colombian Betrayal, I’m continuing to move
forward with my next novel, Xavier Sear: Angola. This week, chapter fourteen posted to the two online subscription writing sites I use. Although only posted for a short time, Angola has now received 143 chapter reviews, an increase of fourteen in the past week. Plenty of good advice from my faithful reviewers to provide as good a story for you as possible.
Here’s another snippet:
The faint sound of a tingling bell came from João’s computer. He sat deep in thought, hands behind his head, as he proofread the draft of a document. The sound registered a second time. He glanced at the screen, aggravated by the distraction. The Skype icon continued to pulse. He moved the mouse, not wanting to accept the call.
He clicked the small powder blue symbol.
The out of focus face of a black man popped up on the screen. “Major Regaleira?”
The man used a voice so soft João almost didn’t catch it.
“Can you hear me?”
João turned up the volume on his speakers. “Hello. Who is calling?”
“Can’t you see me?”
“A silhouette—nothing more. Turn to face the light.” João became more annoyed by the second.
The image began to pitch and shift. The dizzying effect diminished as the man lifted and turned the laptop. “Now?”
João smiled as the face of his old friend Theo Mwanga came into focus.
“Theo! How are you, old man?”
“I’m in need of help.” Worry lines crisscrossed Theo’s face, and his voice carried a slight tremor. “Did you receive my message?”
He knows I received his email, as I sent a response. He sighed. Anyone João knew in power had retired long ago. He now represented business and cultural initiatives. Diplomatic concerns remained far outside his jurisdiction.
“I am sorry not to be of any help. Any word about Peter?”
“The Congolese Marxist, Jonah Masudi, took him. He’s using his so-called rebellion to murder, rape and extort from the people in Congo and Angola. Our troops are too few and too spread out to be effective. His people know where we are at any given time. He strikes at will.”
As João stared into the eyes of this former enemy, he saw a tired and defeated old man. His mind drifted into the past as his friend spoke.
More next time.
This brings us to a close for this 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 2020 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
If I lived near you and Sylvia, one of the reasons I’d stop over is to play with the cats. They are a LOT of fun as both of you know.
These three are all wary of people they don’t know, although Flora would be the first to greet you. Tommy and Charlie still maintain a lot of their feral nature and sometimes even run from us (or at least dash past:)
Hi Randy,
Great picture of the cats! They look like they’re well-fed and quite content:-)
The very best to you and Sylvia!!
Mike
Many thanks, Mike!