Here we are–the middle of another month. Time is sure marching by. The trees are more or less bare, with a few persistent leaves still hanging onto their branches. Fortunately, there are still the occasional outbreaks of sunshine!
The neighborhood stray cat we adopted wasn’t well this week. We knew something was up when he wanted to come inside as normally he just uses the shelter we put in the back for him and he didn’t want to eat. Poor Alfie! He had a dry, hacking cough and his eyes were a bit gummy. A trip to the vet for antibotic, anti-inflammatory, and steriod injections seem to be working. Now he’s eating better, and his eyes have cleared up. He still has the cough, but it’s less persistent. Alfie is coming and going like our other feline friends.
So, who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on November 15th. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):
Madeleine de Scudéry, French novelist (Artamène ou le grand Cyrus); Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss writer, philosopher; and founder of physiognomics; Joseph Quesnel, French Canadian composer and playwright (Colas et Colinette); Aleksey Apukhtin, Russian poet and friend of Tsjaikovski; Adolf Bartels, German journalist and poet; Gerhart Hauptmann, German author (Before Dawn – Nobel 1912); Robert marquess of Flers, French author (Habit Vert); René Guénon, French-Egyptian author; Marianne Moore, poet (Pulitzer 1951, Collected Poems); René Maran, Martinique, author (Batouala, Prix Goncourt); Richmal Crompton, British author; Antoni Słonimski, Polish writer; Sacheverell Sitwell, English author (People’s Palace); Willy Alfredo [Willem Jue], Dutch entertainer/poet (Fish-Trap); Giorgio Manganelli, writer; Yuli Daniel, Russian writer; J[ames] G[raham] Ballard, China, sci-fi author (Drowned World); Jerry Douglas, American director and writer (Grabby Awards Hall of Fame); Daniel Manus Pinkwater, American sci-fi author (Magic Moscow); Heathcote Williams [John Henly Heathcote Williams], British poet, actor and political activist; and Ildikó Enyedi, Hungarian film director and screenwriter (On Body and Soul).
Anyone familiar to you? This was another unknown group for me. 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
I’m almost finished with my final edit pass of Mission: Angola (A Xavier Sear Thriller). Shouldn’t be long and it’ll be ready to submit.
I also completed chapter fourteen of Revenge and posted it to the two online subscription writing site I use. There are now 227 chapter reviews, an increase of twelve over the past week.
Here’s another snippet:
AJ Bruce flicked her head, tossing her brown hair to the side as she glanced at her watch. Where is he? She chuckled. He knows I’m the impatient type. She waved at a passing waiter.
“Yes, ma’am. Can I get you another coffee or something a bit stronger?”
“Another coffee for now. Oh, and a muffin—any kind. I’ll wait until the others arrive before switching.”
“Very good.”
While she waited, AJ read the details about the restaurant on the back of the menu: The historic brick building housing Virtue Feed & Grain was once a feed house in the 1800s. Playing on the original use of the building as a warehouse—
“Here you are, ma’am. Another Americano, extra coffee, no sugar.”
AJ took a sip of the hot brew. “Perfect, thanks.”
“Did you order one for me?” The bass voice seemed to resonate from the floorboards.
AJ jumped to her feet and hugged Javier. “About time you arrived. Where are the others?”
“Slithering around.” Javier’s eyes twinkled. “They thought I should join you first. They’ll make an appearance when they’re ready.”
“Always the clowns, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. But, when necessary, they become as dangerous as anyone who put on a uniform.”
“Excuse me, sir. Do you mind if I take a picture of you and your beautiful wife?” A man stood near the table with a camera in his hand.
“Uh … Yeah. But, she’s not my—”
AJ kicked him under the table as she frowned at Javier.
“What I mean is … yes, please take our photo.” He leaned closer to AJ and put his arm around her. “How’s this?”
“Perfect. Now, smile!”
More next time.
I also pulled out Ultimate Escalation this week and completed chapter seven. This is the 
fourth novel in my Bedlam series. So far there have been ninety-five chapter reviews on this one.
In case you might have missed the synopsis on this one, here it is:
Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country caused further persecution and heartache.
The militants have no idea how to achieve their desires–until the appearance of Vladimir Aleksandr Nikolai, a disgraced Spetnaz colonel. He offers the militants a means to spark a conflict between the two nuclear powers.
Russian subs sold on the black market and manned by Iranian and Russian sailors will surface off the coasts of the two countries and destroy Karachi and Mumbai. Propaganda machines will levy accusations against each country, leading to escalation of hostilities, pushing the countries to the brink of nuclear war.
The Bedlam organization fields their three teams to counter the violence and seek to restore calm before it’s too late. Will they be successful or will South Asia become a smoking ruin?
Books I’m Reading
I didn’t complete any books this week. I’m busy going through The Civil War and Western Series by Blair Howard. This is a five-book anthology and should be welcome reading for those who enjoy the time period. I should begin sharing my thoughts on this next time.
That’s all 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
