Happy Mother’s Day to all those mothers (or soon-to-be) in the U.S. Canada Mexico, Australia New Zealand. A belated happy Mother’s Day to those in the UK and Ireland. Hope I haven’t let anyone out! Enjoy your special day.
We finally had some decent rain last night. The ground really needed it as cracks were beginning to appear where things had dried out. We have a breeze coming from the north so the temperature is much colder than yesterday, with more rain in the forecast. At least I won’t have to get the hose and watering can out to take care of the plants I’ve moved around this week!
So, who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on May 10th. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):
Johann Peter Hebel, German writer (Allemannische Gedichte); Jacques-Nicolas-Augustin Thierry, historian; James Gordon Bennett Jr., American publisher; Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish novelist (Episodios Nacionales); Jan Kalf, literary/art historian (Preservation of museums); Ivan Cankar, Slavs author (Hlapec Jernej-Njegova Pravica); Fritz von Unruh, German writer; Karl Barth, Swiss theologian/author (Action in Waiting); Olaf Stapleton, British religious sci-fi writer (Star Maker); Jacobus C Bloem, Dutch poet (Sintels); Ariel Durant, writer (Story of Civilization); Anatole Litvak, Russian-born American film director, writer and producer (Mayerling, Anastasia, The Snake Pit); Bel Kaufman, American author (Up the Down Staircase); Monica Dickens, British author and founder of the Samaritians in the US; Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author; Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (A Special Day); Barbara Taylor Bradford, author; Caroline Cooney, American author; Thomas Tessier, American author; on Ronson, British journalist and author; and John Scalzi, American writer.
Recognize anyone? The only name I was familiar with was Barbara Taylor Bradford. 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 Published Work
Three of my novels continue to participate in a May Kindle Unlimited promotion: Dangerous Alliance, Carnage in Singapore, and Colombian Betrayal. They’re also available for Kindle downloads or paperbacks. There are a total of 384 KU works included in the promotion.
Why not stop by and see if any of your favorite authors are listed. If not, why not choose someone new to check out? There’s bound to be something of interest, as this promotion covers multiple genres. Head to: https://books.bookfunnel.com/mayyouread/24lhdvqujo
My Work in Progress
W
hen time permitted, I continued moving forward with Xavier Sear: Angola. This week I finished chapter nineteen chapter eighteen posted it to the two online subscription writing sites I use. Angola has now received 226 chapter reviews, an increase of fourteen in the past week. As always, plenty of good advice from my faithful reviewers to provide as good a story for you as possible.
Here’s another snippet:
Masudi pursed his lips and leaned on the table. “Today, I will send word to your father we hold you. A price must be paid if he wants you back.”
Peter did not respond.
“You will not be killed. I require a physician.”
“I will not mend your murderers so they can kill again. I would rather die.”
“Bravely spoken. I really don’t give a damn about them. For each that falls, ten rise up to join us. What you miss is that for food, women, a weapon, and boots, these that enlist would kill their mothers.” Masudi raised a hand in the air. “I need someone trained in modern medical ways. Any witch doctor can patch up the wounds of this lot. If not ….” He shrugged.
Peter was taken aback by the cavalier attitude of the commander for his men. Masudi seemed healthy and fit. Peter tried to imagine his need to keep a personal physician.
“Namali!” The tone of the voice Peter heard did not match the despot that spoke of the death of both friend and foe alike with a heatless lack of concern just moments before. He called with affection and tenderness.
The curtain that divided the building parted, and a girl of no more than fifteen peeked out before stepping into the room. The breathtaking beauty of the girl struck Peter. Is she a slave? He never expected Masudi to be a father. Peter smiled and nodded.
Masudi looked toward the girl with obvious affection. As she stepped around his chair, Peter realized for the first time she was pregnant. He tried not to show any signs of a reaction.
“This is my Namali. She carries my son.”
“I understand.” Peter smiled again with a bit less heart. “And how do you know it will be a boy?”
“The old woman. She is a midwife. She senses these things.”
“If it is a girl?”
“It won’t be.”
I’ll provide some more next time.
This week I also completed the third chapter of Revenge, the sequel to Colombian Betrayal. Reviews are coming in, with a total of thirty-five so far, and increase of fourteen over the past week. A draft cover is being work on at this time, and should be available soon.
Books I’m Reading
I didn’t quite finish The World Beneath (Joe Tesla Series Book 1) by Rebecca Cantrell, so I provide my thoughts on this and another one 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
Hi Randall Always nice to read your posts. Still quite cool in Montreal 5C only. I will pick up one of your new titles and write a review.
Kind regards
Michael K.
Hi Michael,
Glad you’re enjoying the posts. It’s chilly here today, about 7C with a wind coming down from the Artic. Many thanks for offering to write a review–as you know authors need reviews and I appreciate every one I receive.