It’s been a busy week getting things finished outside. I finally tackled the block-paved driveway. What was once gray is more or less restored to its regular color of red and brown bricks. It’ll need a second wash so I can clean the spots I missed, but it looks so much better, if I do say so myself.
For those celebrating the traditional but unofficial ‘end of summer’ Labor Day weekend, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable time!
So, who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on September 6th. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):
Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish merchant and historian; Moses Mendelssohn, German Jewish enlightenment philosopher (Haksalah); Anton Diabelli, Austria publisher and composer; Frances Wright, Scottish writer and lecturer; Horatio Greenough, American neo-classical sculptor and writer (Form & Function); Johanna D Courtmans-Berchmans, Flemish author (Rozeken Pot); Nicolae Filimon, Romanian writer and critic (Ciocoii Vechi Si Noi); Zelia Nuttall, American archeologist and historian; Rodolfo Lenz, German-Chilian linguist (El Papiamento); Felix Salten [Siegmund Salzmann], Austrian author (Bambi, a Life in the Woods); Willem Adriaan Bonger, Dutch criminologist (Race & Crime); Franz Theodor Csokor, Austrian author (Writings on the Wall); Mario Praz, Italian literary critic and scholar (La carne, la morte, e il diavolo); Julien Green, American-French writer (Frere Francois); Arvi Kivimaa, Finnish writer (Groenende Cross); John Meulenhoff, Dutch publisher; Elizabeth Ferrars, British crime writer; Carmen Laforet, Spanish author; Andrea Camilleri, Italian author (Inspector Montalbano novels; Robert M. Pirsig, American author (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance); Dan Cragg, American soldier and author; Gordon DeMarco, American writer and activist; Alice Sebold, American novelist (The Almost Moon); Christopher Brookmyre, Scottish writer (Quite Ugly One Morning); and China Miéville, English fantasy fiction writer (Perdido Street Station).
Anyone familiar to you? I didn’t find any names I’m familiar with. 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
This week, I began the editing process for Xavier Sear: Angola. As of today, there’s been 484 chapter reviews from the two online subscription writing sites I use, an increase of nineteen in the past week.
As with my previous novels, I’m sifting through the different reviews to identify areas where readers suggests I make changes–whether additions or subtractions. I enjoy this part of the process as I get an excellent picture of what is working and what isn’t.
Here’s another snippet:
Sear raced toward the shore. Chest heaving, he waded in the shallows before dragging himself up the embankment. Collapsing in the grass, he propped himself up on an arm and gazed at the ferry as it approached its docking station.
Guzman and Kruger stood next to the vehicles, grins plastered on their faces.
Kruger cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey, Sear! Watch out for the Nile crocs!”
Eyes wide, Sear jumped to his feet. “Where?” Not finding anything coming after him, he walked over to the dirt road, water dripping from his clothes. He waited as the gate dropped on the ferry.
Kruger and Guzman drove the cargo vehicles onto land, stopping by Sear and jumping out.
“You going to train for the next Olympics?” Guzman punched Sear in the shoulder. “Your dive from the boat would be a medal winner off the high platform.”
“Ha, ha.” He glared at his friends. “So, why didn’t you jump when the mortar came at us?”
“What mortar?” Kruger pointed to the far shore where the locals stood laughing and waving. “Just a prank by the villagers to catch unsuspecting travelers. The ferry owner has a speaker rigged up and cranks it up when the boat’s about halfway across.” He shaded his eyes from the bright sunlight as he glanced at the river. “At least there weren’t any crocs—today.”
“Okay, you’ve had your fun. Let’s move.” Sear shook his head, showering Guzman and Kruger with water.
“Hey! Cut it out. I had nothing to do with it.” Guzman raised his hands in the air and laughed.
“Just remember—paybacks are hell.”
***
They continued on in silence, the drone of the engine making it difficult to stay awake.
Sear’s head nodded, his chin dropping to his chest. Before long, snores filled the cabin.
Two hours later, Kruger jabbed Sear’s shoulder. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!”
With a start, Sear jumped, pulling his SIG Sauer P320 from its holster.
“Whoa, kemosabe!” Kruger raised a hand.
“Why’d you wake me? I was just enjoying myself.”
Kruger rolled his eyes. Spare me the details, boss. According to my friends in Lusaka, we’ll pass by a couple of villages on the way to our rendezvous point. Do you want to stop for lunch?” He laughed.
Sear raised his brows. “Uh. No. There are plenty of MREs in the shipment.”
“Oh, yes. American Meals Rarely Edible. I remember them.” He pantomimed shoving two fingers down his throat. “If I can’t catch something to eat and cook, I supposed I’ll have to struggle with them.”
***
In no time at all, the cargo was stowed away, except for a large item. Together, they grabbed the Zodiac and manhandled it on top of the other cargo. As they turned around, ten men stepped forward.
“Now what?” Sear stared at a tall, thick-chested man who stood forward of the others. A shakedown or worse?
“Hands up. We take cargo.” The apparent leader grinned. “We take you too—maybe someone pay ransom.” He raised an arm.
Several men ran forward, grabbing Sear, Kruger, and Guzman. They clubbed the men to the ground before binding their hands and feet with rope.
“Wait!” Sear struggled against two men trying to tie his feet. “What do you want? We’ll pay—”
Darkness descended as Sear blacked out from the blow to the back of his head.
Perhaps more next time.
Books I’m Reading
I recently finished The Reach of Shadows by Tony J. Forder. This is the fourth novel in Tony’s DI Bliss series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite recovering from a road collision, Bliss is whisked from the hospital to the scene of a vicious assault. Was the victim being stalked or was this a random murder?
Tony keeps his readers guessing with a superb plot, filled with enough twists and twists to keep you turning the pages to find out what happened. We also learn more about Bliss and how his past comes back to haunt him. For those of you who enjoy intense crime and mystery thrillers, this one’s for you!
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 and hope you drop in again.
© Copyright 2020 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
Sorry for the typos on my last note to you. I don’t work well on my phone text is always to small to read properly.
Michael Kent
Good morning (here in Montreal) Randall. Always fun reading your posts. I just started to think of the coming winter on my side of the Atlantic. Putting all the patio furniture away and trimming the summer plants. I’ve started an resource service for Indie authors (Writers-first.com) I haven’t been on TNBW for quite a while, nor have I reviewed you novels recently. Text me or message me on FB to tell which one you would like me to give you a review and post on good reads and social media. My pleasure. We could exchange reviews my latest “Dead Run” is low on reviews.
Kind regards and stay well.
Michael Kent