Once again, we’ve had a myriad of wildlife visitors: squirrels, male/female cardinals, blue jays, pigeons, woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees, and deer. Another flock of wild turkeys also dropped in on Wednesday–twenty-two if my count was correct. The deer and the turkeys left after they ate, while the others remained behind, going after what was left.
There were mixed results for the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans’ basketball teams again this week . Michigan moved back into the Top Twenty-Five at twenty-four after winning two more games and improving their record to 18-5. Meanwhile, the Spartans dropped down to 9th in the Top Twenty-Five. They won one game this week, but lost a second one. Their record is now 19-4.
The Detroit Pistons continued on their march forward, now at 26-26. This is the most games they’ve won in a season since before the 2018-19 season. Hopefully, they’ll keep on winning, although they won’t match their most wins in a season, which occurred in 2005-06 when they won sixty-four games.
Last week, Frozen Conquest received a five-star editorial review. If you’re interested in checking it out, click on the title.
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath. Compliments of https://copyblogger.com/inspirational-quotes-for-writers/.
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on February 9th, the sixth Sunday of 2025 and the second one for February. (Compliments of https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/).
Ali-Shir Nava’i, Timurid poet and writer (Mahbub ul-Qulub) considered a founder of early Turkic literature; Giambattista Andreini, Italian playwright and actor (L’adamo); Adriaan Kluit, Dutch scholar and historian; Susette Gontard (née Borkenstein), the beloved of German poet Friedrich Hölderlin and inspiration for Hölderlin’s novel Hyperion; Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet; Felix Dahn, German Historian, jurist and poet; Anthony Hope, British novelist and playwright (The Prisoner of Zenda); George Ade, American playwright, writer and humorist (Counsel Widow, Fables in Slang); Fran Saleški Finžgar, Slovene folk writer (Our Blood, Service Girls); Amy Lowell, American poet and critic (Patterns, Sword Blades & Poppy Seed); Jacques Bainville, French historian, essayist and journalist; James Stephens, Irish poet (Crock of Gold); Frederik Gerretson [Geerten Gossaert], Dutch poet and politician; Vital Celen, Flemish writer and scholar (Puppy Love); Larry Semon, American silent film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (The Wizard of Oz (1925)); Charles Montgomery Monteith, Irish publisher (Faber & Faber – published “Lord of the Flies”; Brendan Behan, rish author and poet (Borstal Boy, The Hostage); J. M. Coetzee, South African novelist; Alice Walker, American novelist (The Color Purple, Meridian); Janet Issaca Ashford, American writer (Birth Stories); Mary Jo Duffy, American comic book writer and editor for Marvel and DC; and Tom Scharpling, American comedian and writer (Steven Universe, Monk).
Any names familiar to you? There weren’t any for me this week. 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 continues at a good pace on Vendetta, the sixth novel in my Bedlam series, although I didn’t finish chapter twelve as planned. There were another eight reviews this week, bringing the total to 162. As always, plenty of suggestions to improve my writing.
As previously mentioned the cover is a filler, as the final cover won’t be done until the entire first draft is completed. Here’s another snippet:
CC glanced at Evelyn and Rufus. “You two stay here and be our backup. Come running if you hear lots of shooting. CC shoved a magazine into his SA-8-2A assault rifle.
Trevor followed suit. “Ready, CC?”
“I was born ready.” CC chuckled. “Let’s go find out what’s what. I’ll take lead.” He stopped by the table and picked up a radio, clipping it to his belt. CC handed one to Trevor.
“Just remember, CC, you can’t use your bagpipes to lead us into battle.”
Everyone laughed.
“Aye, that’s why I left them at home.”
CC and Trevor left the tent, crouching as they maneuvered through the jungle in the direction of the OP.
After climbing over fallen trees, under low-hanging branches, and around rock croppings, they approached the OP fifteen minutes later.
Craack! Craack!
Periodic shots came from the OP as Bob fired into the jungle.
“Hey, Bob. Hold your fire—it’s CC and Trevor.”
“Come in.” Bob fired again. “I think the attackers fled, but I can’t be sure.”
“On our way.” CC entered the OP through an opening at the rear.
Trevor studied the surrounding jungle before following.
CC scooted in beside Bob. “What’s the situation, Bob?”
“Two men approached, weapons drawn. I shouted at them, and they began shooting. I returned first while Jim went for help. I might have winged one of the attackers, but I can’t be sure.” Bob glanced around. “Where’s Jim? Didn’t he come back with you?”
CC shook his head. “No easy way to say this—he’s dead. Appeared to be a heart attack, but a coroner will have to determine the cause of death. He grabbed his chest after entering the tent and fell to the ground. Evelyn checked for a pulse, but there wasn’t any.”
“Gee, willikers!” Bob sucked in a lungful of air and exhaled in small breaths. “I can’t believe it. We went through security training together, and he became my friend. We’re both from Virginia.” He shook his head. “What do we do now?”
“First thing is to find out if any targets are still around.” CC turned to Trevor. “Check it out.”
Trevor nodded and left the OP in silence.
Bob began to shake. “I-I’ve never been in a firefight before. How do you and Trevor deal with the danger and tension?”
CC laughed. “I’m sure Trevor will agree with me, but we both had butterflies in our stomachs and reacted the say way as you are. There isn’t any manual to teach you how to respond. Everyone’s experience different emotions and act in different ways. When Trevor returns, if the coast is clear, he’ll escort you back to camp. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things.” CC shifted position so he had a better angle looking into the jungle.
Bob sat on the single camp chair in the OP and sighed. “I’m not cut out for this. I’d be better remaining in an embassy or consulate where things aren’t so dangerous.”
“Are you sure it’s any safer?” CC turned to look at Bob and grinned. “Several of our overseas facilities have been attacked, with some being overrun. Americans aren’t the best-like people in the world and the bad guys love to hit what they think might be soft targets—but not anymore.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Just ask Rufus about this. When he was in Peshawar, Pakistan, he was in charge of a QRF protecting the consulate. When the facility was attacked by the Taliban, he and his team were ready for anything.” CC shook his head. “They were fortunate the attackers blew themselves up before they breached the perimeter. Otherwise, Rufus and the others were perched on the consulate’s roof, waiting to strike.”
“Oh, wow! I’ll talk to him about how he and his men handled things. Many thanks, CC. You’ve calmed my nerves—at least a bit.”
The field isn’t ready for you—and might never be. CC shifted position again as he heard a noise from outside.
“What’s that noise?” Bob’s eyes widened.
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.
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