Randall’s Ramblings, August 28, 2022

It’s been a fairly normal week with cooler temperatures, rain-filled days, and the occasional burst of brilliant sunshine. Fortunately, there were enough gaps in the rain to cut the grass, rake fallen leaves, and power wash the sandstone slabs making up our large patio area. Still more work to do but I’ll have to see what Mother Nature has in store for us.

There wasn’t any change this week at the gasoline (petrol) pumps, still at £1.66 a liter. However, homeowners were hit with another large increase in natural gas and electricity. In April, the combined price cap was raised by fifty-four percent to £1,971 ($2,313) for the year. This week, the regulator, Ofgem, raised the October cap by another eighty percent! It’ll now be £3,549 ($4,165) with some estimates indicating this could be raised in early 2023 up to £6,000 ($7,040). The chancellor is warning people earning up to £45,000 ($52,805) will be struggling to pay these bills in addition to the continuing increase in food costs. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“Pay no mind to those who talk behind your back, it simply means that you are two steps ahead.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on August 28, the fourth and final Sunday of the month:

Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch scholar; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and social philosopher (Faust); Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish writer (The House by the Churchyard); Vance Palmer, Australian author; Ivor Gurney, English composer and poet; Ludwig Turek, German writer; Cees Kelk, Dutch writer (Dance of Young Feet); John Betjeman, poet (Mount Zion) and English Poet Laureate (1972-1984); Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and writer (How to Know Birds); Robertson Davies, Canadian novelist essayist/dramatist; Tasha Tudor, American illustrator and children’s books author (Pumpkin Moonshine, Corgiville Fair); C. Wright Mills, American sociologist and writer (The Power Elite); Jack [Holbrook] Vance, American sci-fi author (2 Hugo, Dirdir, Pnume); Janet Frame, New Zealand novelist (Intensive Care, Owls Do Cry); Carlene Polite, American dancer, activist and author (Sister X); Vonda N. McIntyre, American sci-fi author (Star Trek II, III, IV); Rita Dove, African-American poet (Thomas and Beulah); Frederick Kesner, Philippine-born Australian poet; and Sheryl Sandberg, American technology executive (COO Facebook) and author (Lean In).

Any names familiar to you? There were two for me: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Vonda N. McIntyre.  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

I’m moving along nicely with my next WIP, Frozen Conquest. Chapter twelve was posted this week. There were another eighteen chapter reviews, bringing the total to 178, some from long-standing reviewers while others came from new people. Plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.

Here’s the next snippet:

The UN Security Council convened after an emergency request by the UK and France. Although Germany was not a permanent council member, they were included in the request.

The monthly revolving presidency belonged to the United States. Sylvia Green, the U.S. representative to the UN, banged the gavel. “The chair recognized the UK ambassador.”

Bethany Williams smiled. “Thank you, Madame President. I will be speaking on behalf of my French and German colleagues.” She sipped from a glass of water on the table in front of her. “Madame President, we are concerned that the unprecedented attacks on our bourses must be investigated. All countries with a stock market should be warned about the possibility of future attacks. We request the security council issue an appeal for any and all impacted countries or those who might be targeted to work together to identify the culprit or culprits behind these episodes.”

She nodded, signaling the end of her brief speech.

Sylvia glanced around the chamber. “Any other speakers?”

In a rare show of unity, no one challenged Bethany’s comments.

Sylvia banged her gavel. “The proposal is hereby passed and will be disseminated. We will reconvene with next week’s regularly scheduled meeting.”

* * *

Hortense Heathcliffe stared at the screen showing the other G7 members. She cleared her throat. “T-Thank you for joining me t-today. As you are aware, we are under attack.”

“Yes, Hortense.” The Japanese finance minister wiped a hand through his thinning black hair. “What do you propose?”

“I-I’m not sure. Somehow, we must increase the security of our markets and work together to ensure w-whoever is behind these warnings and attacks is brought to justice.”

“How do you propose to do this?” The Italian finance minister chuckled. “Even our intelligence services can’t identify who is doing this.”

“Gentlemen and lady, if I may.” The French finance minister smirked, showing his pearly whites. “I believe the Russian hacker group, the Chinese, or the North Koreans, are behind this.”

“But what do t-they want?”

“A greater hold over the rest of us,” the UK finance minister said.

“I-I hope we can—”

The screen blanked out.

More next time.

Book Promotions

Colombian Betrayal and Revenge continue to participate in a Bookfunnel promotion for the remainder of August:

Summer adventure group promo. Action & Adventure and Action & Adventure / Military & Warfare. Twenty novels available to choose from in this one:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/lawrence01/8ctktxhlbs