It’s been a mixed week with rain, clouds and sunshine, sometimes all at the same time. For the past couple of days, though, there hasn’t been any rain. However, the wind shifted and is coming from the north, making it difficult for the temperature to get into the mid-50s. At least the blooms are continuing to pop out and of course, the grass needs a cut every week.
Over the past week, the price of petrol jumped five pence a liter. Now it’s up to £1.71, which makes it the equivalent of $8.33 for a U.S. gallon at the current exchange rate. This is a jump of thirty-four cents a gallon since last week.
Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):
“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on May 29th, the fifth and final Sunday of the month:
Johann Heinrich von Mädler, German astronomer (published the most complete map of the Moon of the time, Mappa Selenographica, 4 vol. with Wilhelm Beer); G. K. Chesterton [Gilbert Keith], English writer (Man Who Made Gold); Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (Decline of West); Erwin Finlay-Freundlich, British astronomer (theory of relativity); Alfonsina Storni, Argentine poet (La inquietud del rosal); George L. Funke, Dutch botanist (Flower Physiology); Ronald Russell, British journalist, author and Conservative politician; Sebastian Shaw, British actor, director, playwright and poet (High Season, Ace of Spades, Caste); T. H. White, English novelist (England Have My Bones) and author of the King Arthur novels; Desmond Shawe-Taylor, British critic and writer (co-author of The Record Guide); Neil R. Jones, American sci-fi author (Space War, Twin Worlds); Jan Hanlo, Dutch poet (Go to the Mosque); David Jenkins, Welsh librarian (National Library of Wales); Dick Hillenius, Dutch biologist and writer; Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author who founded the group Zero Population Growth; and André Brink, South African writer (Dry White Season).
Any names familiar to you? There was one for me: T. H. White. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!
My Work in Progress
Work continued this week on my next WIP, Frozen Conquest. The second chapter has been posted to the two online subscription writing site I use. So far, the two chapters have received nineteen reviews, some from long-standing reviewers while others came from new people.
Here’s the next snippet:
Walter Brown, the eighty-year-old founder and CEO of the privately held Diablo Corps, gazed out the office windows on the top floor of the Diablo headquarters in downtown Miami. Although dwarfed by much taller buildings, Brown normally enjoyed the skyline view toward the ocean.
As one of the world’s richest men, he could have lived anywhere. Few knew his name, and even fewer could boast of meeting the recluse.
Rain lashed the windows as an intermittent storm disrupted the otherwise hot and sunny day. He turned back to a sixty-four inch-monitor. Blinking red and green lights signified his worldwide operations.
When his phone rang, he stabbed at the console and put the call on speaker. “What?”
“Sir, Reginald here. Both tests were completed.”
“Excellent Have the accountants arrived yet?”
“Yes, sir. They came yesterday and are getting acclimated now. Several began work this morning, but ….”
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh … your nephew. He was caught on an ice floe after the second test. He’s still missing.”
Walter closed his eyes and pursed his lips. “Very well. Keep searching, but I doubt he’ll still be alive. However, my sister will want to give him a proper burial.”
“Yes, sir. When will you be returning?”
“I should finish what I need to do here by tomorrow morning. Expect me to arrive in the evening. Tell Chris to make sure everything is ready for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Walter broke the connection and changed the monitor presentation. Blue lights signified the locations of major banking and investment institutions and the world’s leading stock exchanges. “Soon, we shall make our requirements known. If the G7 doesn’t bend to our demands, the might of Diablo shall disrupt their economies.”
He stepped to a self-service bar in the corner of his office and poured himself a large single malt whiskey. After taking a sip, he logged onto his computer and created a message:
To: The Chairmen and Governors of the G7 Central Banks
From: Nightmare
Stand by for my demands, which will be released soon. Failure to comply will result in the destruction of your way of life as you know it. The world cries out for truth, and I will be the sword of justice.
More next time.
The final chapters of Ultimate Escalation have now been uploaded to the two online subscription writing sites I use. My manuscript received another seven reviews this week, bringing the total to 873. 
The editing process is going well. I just started my third edit pass through the manuscript, which currently stand at 77,926 words. I’ve decided that six of my foreign characters will not use contractions when they speak, to separate them from those who do.
Now it’s a case of checking for missing or incorrect punctuation, misspelled or incorrect words, and making adjustments to anything else I think needs a tweak. I’m on schedule to send the manuscript to my beta readers by the middle of June. Depending upon their feedback, I’ll be submitting it to my publisher the beginning of August.
Book Promotions
My novels are participating in two Bookfunnel promotions this month:
THE USUAL SUSPECTS: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads group promo. There are 168 novels to choose from:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/b…
May the First Book – Mystery Thriller Suspense group promo. There are 44 novels in this one:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/m…
This brings us to an end for another week. I hope you found something of interest. 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 2022 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
