For all the fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day! Earlier this week I received a Father’s Day card through the mail and today there was an e-gift card in my email. Our son is like an elephant–he never forgets. Many thanks, Craig!
It’s been a pleasant week weather-wise, with our two hottest days of the year in our area, both at 71F (21C). Since the weather was so nice, a neighbor gave us a few plants for the front borders. One was a yellow geum but I don’t remember the name of the other twenty-seven plants he gave us. All of them have found homes in the borders, adding additional color.
Gasoline (Petrol) jumped again this week, with a three-pence a liter increase on Tuesday and another fiv on Saturday. Now it’s up to £1.89 a liter, making an equivalent U.S. gallon at $8.99. It would be even higher except Sterling weakened this week against the dollar. It was still a increase of thirty-eight cents for a U.S. gallon over the past week.
Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):
“I have just Three things to teach: Simplicity, Patience & Compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” ~ Lao Tzu
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on June 19th, the third Sunday of the month: Annibale Caro, Italian writer and poet (Lettere familiare); Thomas Fuller, British scholar, preacher and historian (History of the Worthies of Britain); Christiaan de Placker, Flemish poet and composer; Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais, French Catholic priest and writer (L’avenir); Gustav Schwab, German writer; David Jayne Hill, American diplomat and author; Elbert Hubbard, American editor, publisher and author (Message to Garcia); José Rizal, Filipino nationalist, author (‘Noli Me Tángere’, ‘El Filibusterismo’) and ophthalmologist; Jóhann Sigurjónsson, Icelandic writer (Dr Rung); Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, French Dadaist artist and writer; Robert Herberigs, Flemish composer and writer (Hiawatha’s Song); Laura Z. Hobson, American TV writer and panelist (I’ve Got a Secret); Osamu Dazai, Japan, novelist (Tsugaru, No Longer Human); Julius Schwartz, American editor and agent; Wassil Bykau, Belarusian writer; Sybren Polet [Sijbe Minnema], Dutch writer and poet (Mannekino); Barry Took, English comedy writer; Tobias Wolff, American writer (This Boy’s Life); Robert Franklin Palmer Jr., American writer, musicologist, and musician (Deep Blues); and Salman Rushdie, British-Indian novelist (Midnight’s Children, Satanic Verses).
Any names familiar to you? There was one for me this week: Salman Rushdie. 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
Things are moving along nicely on my next WIP, Frozen Conquest. The fifth chapter has been posted to the two online subscription writing site I use. Over the past week, Frozen Conquest received another eleven reviews, bringing the total to sixty-three, some from long-standing reviewers while others came from new people.
Here’s the next snippet:
Back in his own office, Chris eased into his chair, slamming a fist on the metal desk. Hired to handle Diablo’s information technology and communications needs, he found himself working more and more as a personal lackey. “On day … I’ll make Brown pay for his callous behavior.”
He booted his computer and logged in. Staring at the ceiling, he tapped a finger against his lips. Beware the Devil. Attack imminent.
Focusing on a mental image of his message, he encoded it as he typed:
To: Numerologist
From: Knuckle Cracker
25220 42609 22071 92223 22051 81500 26070 72624 16221 41418 13221 30700
Chris reread through it again, cracking his knuckles as he did so. Satisfied there were no errors, he connected to the Dark Web and sent his message.
He frowned. Hope Grandson remembers our university code.
A red strobe began flashing.
Chris picked up the phone and hit the appropriate button. “Yes, Mister Brown?”
“I want an update from our test team. No one is answering the phone. Where are they?”
Chris closed his eyes. The sooner I’m out of here, the better. “I’ll find out.”
Walter broke the connection.
Chris hit another button on his console.
Reginald immediately answered. “What’s up, Chris?”
“The usual. Why won’t you answer when Brown calls?”
“You know why.” Reginald sighed. “I told him it would be a few days before we can calve more of the ice. He doesn’t want excuses—just results. I told him we had to wait for the arrival of a new demolitions expert since Harold disappeared—probably dead. All he could say was, ‘It’s damn inconvenient of Harold to kill himself.’ So much for any concern about his nephew.”
“I thought Harold’s death was an accident.”
“It was. As far as Brown’s concerned, Harold was weak and couldn’t handle the pressure.”
“Okay, understood. But try to appease him and keep him off my back.”
“Will do. We’re almost finished drilling the holes for the explosives. But I’ve told the others not to touch it—no point in anyone else dying for this maniac. The money might be good, but I want to live to spend it.”
“I agree with you, Harold. Talk to you later.”
More next time.
Book Promotions
My novels are participating in three Bookfunnel promotions for the remainder of the month:
THE USUAL SUSPECTS: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads group promo. There are 171 novels to choose from:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/b…
THE COLOR OF Action: Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, and Sci-Fi & Fantasy with 18 novels to choose from:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/t…
Thriller, Mystery and Suspense: There are 70 novels in this one.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/thrillertime/ai0n57rurm
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
