As October draws to a close, we’ve had another week full of rain, wind, and clouds, with the occasional outbreak of sunshine. There was a dry period which lasted long enough for me to cut the grass (perhaps the last time this autumn) and rake the fallen leaves. However, with the wind and rain you wouldn’t know I had cleaned up the leaves as more have fallen. Today we’re off to the warmest start of the week at 56F (13C).
There was another increased in the price of gasoline (petrol) this week, climbing two pence. So we’re now at £1.67 a liter. With the current exchange rate now $1.16, this makes the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $7.51, an increase of thirty-one cents from last week.
The number of American college football games shown on Saturday remained five. This weekend, there were two from the Southeastern Conference, two from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and one from the Big Ten. As always, I recorded all of them. The Big Ten game featured Michigan against Michigan State. Because it was already 12:30 a.m. in the UK before the game started, I’ll watch it today.
Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):
“Life is like a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs. But its your choice to scream or enjoy the ride.”
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on October 30th, the fifth and final Sunday of the month:
Enrico Caterino Davila, Italian writer (Storia delguerre civili Francia); Paul Pellisson, French writer; Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright (The Rivals, The School for Scandal) and Whig MP; André Chénier, French poet killed during French Revolution; Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer; Rinse Posthumus, Frisian writer and poet; Elizabeth Madox Roberts, American poet and novelist (The Time of Man); Lena Christ, German writer (The Rumplhanni); Ezra Pound, American poet (Cantos); Zoe Akins, American playwright (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1935); Georg Heym, German writer; Jan Romein, Dutch historian (Low Countries at Sea); Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet; Albert Rice Leventhal, American publisher (Little Golden Books); Sol Tax, American anthropologist (founded the journal Current Anthropology); Miguel Hernadez Gilabert, Spanish poet (Viento del Pueblo); Ágota Kristóf, Hungarian writer (The Notebook); Robert Caro, American journalist and biographer (Lyndon B. Johnson); and Dmitry Muratov, Russian journalist (Novaya Gazeta, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize).
Any names familiar to you? While I didn’t recognize the name of the publisher of the Little Golden Books, I certainly remember them! Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!
Coming Soon!
In case you missed it, I can now reveal the cover of Ultimate Escalation, which will be released by Solstice Publishing. The editing process with the assigned editor has been completed and the manuscript has been returned to the editor-in-chief for her final review before being published.
Here’s the blurb:
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 Aleksandrovich Nikolaev, a disgraced Spetsnaz 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?
My Work in Progress
I’ve resumed work on Frozen Conquest and posted chapter seventeen to the two online subscription writing sites I use.
The sixteen posted chapters received another sixteen reviews this week, bringing the total to 295. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.
I’ll be skipping the snippet again this week but will bring you another one next time. One thing I have done is changed the name of one of the minor characters. Instead of David Walliams, he will now be known as Douglas Walliams.
In case you missed the blurb, here it is:
An international criminal gang, known as Diablo Corps, plans a series of devastating attacks to take over the G7 countries unless their demands are met. Secure in their hidden headquarters in Antarctica, they possess the means to disrupt the leading world economies. The Diablos want what other power-hungry people want—more power.
Will the G7 bend to the will of these rogues or will evil triumph? Diablo Corps believes their previous infiltration of the international banking system and world stock exchanges will allow them to risk all on a single gamble.
The Scandinavian Protection Agency joins forces with Bedlam to thwart the efforts of the group and restore faith. Will Antarctica become a smoking ruin or will the world suffer an economic meltdown?
I also continued working on Temples of Abydos. Chapter six was posted to the two online subscription writing sites I use and chapter seven is almost finished. This week there were another fourteen reviews, bringing the total thus far to sixty-three.
Here’s the blurb:
History professor Sylvia Burness and her husband, Charles Wilkie, a renowned Greek archeologist, are seeking a new project after spending years cataloging Celtic sites throughout the United Kingdom.
Long fascinated with Egypt, Charles proposes an excursion to one of the lesser-known locations, Abydos, a historic city that played an important role in ancient Egypt. Sylvia agrees and together they plan their trip.
Unbeknownst to them, an unethical antiquities group called Guardians of Shadows are using one of the Abydos temples as their hideout.
Will Sylvia and Charles be able to evade this group and escape with their lives or will they be entombed in Abydos for generations?
Promotions
This month The Kurdish Connection and Dangerous Alliance will be participating in a Kindle Unlimited Thriller Series Starters promotion. Only two books per author, and there are currently forty-eight participating.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/ku_thriller_series/t7qp6i4ek8
Five of my novels (all but Revenge) are also participating in a Mayhem & Motives: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Reads. This one allows five books per author and there are currently eight-five novels participating.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-oct/utj2oamorr
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
