The weather has been topsy-turvy all week as Mother Nature tries to make up her mind on what we should have. It wasn’t unusual to have sunshine, clouds, rain and heavy gusts–all at the same time! Right now were at 50F (10C) with plenty of sunshine. The tops of the tress are gently rocking in the breeze.
More great news at the petrol (gasoline) pumps again this week as the price of a liter dropped four pence to £1.59. While we’re still above January’s price of £1.45, we’re heading in the right direction. With the exchange rate climbing to 1.1169 on Friday (currently 1.0847), this made the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $6.72, an increase of three cents.
In Big Ten college football, Michigan held off Iowa 27-14 to increase their record to 5-0. There aren’t any Big Ten games televised here in While this game wasn’t televised here in Scotland, there were plenty of SEC and ACC conference games to choose from.
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 October 2nd, the first Sunday of the month:
Andreas Gryphius, German lyric poet and dramatist; François-Timoléon de Choisy, French writer (Quatre dialogues sur l’immortalité de l’âme); Gunnar Wennerberg, Swedish poet and composer; Louis-Antoine Ranvier, French anatomist and historian; Wallace Stevens, American poet (Ideas of Order); Roy Campbell, South African poet (Flowering Rifle); [Henry] Graham Greene, English novelist (Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory); Jack Finney, American sci-fi and thriller author (The Body Snatchers, Time and Again); Vivian Ridler, British scholar and printer (Oxford University); Jan Morris, Welsh journalist, historian and travel writer (Among the Cities, Hong Kong, Journeys); Clay Felker, American journalist (NY Herald Tribune, Esquire); Franklin Rosemont, American poet, artist and co-founder of the Chicago Surrealist Group; Vernor [Steffen] Vinge, American sci-fi author (Witling, True Names); and Maria Ressa, Filipino-American journalist (co-founder of Rappler, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize).
Any names familiar to you? There was one for me: Maria Ressa. 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 continue nicely with my next WIP, Frozen Conquest. Chapter sixteen was posted this week to the two online subscription writing sites I use. I’ve also made a dent in chapter seventeen.
This week, there were another fifteen chapter reviews, bringing the total to 258, some from long-standing reviewers while others came from new people. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.
Here’s the next snippet:
David Walliams, president of the World Bank, rifled through the stack of postal mail dropped off by his secretary. Nothing worth reading. He switched on his computer and skimmed his new messages. Routine, routine. Why can’t I receive something exciting?
He deleted the spam and filed trivial reports in their respective folders. The one-word subject of the next message from an unknown email address piqued his interest. What’s this?
David opened the message and studied its contents.
To: David Walliams, World Bank President
From: A concerned citizen of the world
Behold the beast, for he wants to destroy the world. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Seek him where glaciers abound.
David scratched his chin. Is this some kind of a joke? Why send it to me? He picked up the phone and dialed.
A deep male voice answered after the first ring. “Hello.”
“Hey, Jonny. David Walliams here. I received a strange email today. It might be from a crackpot, but with the threats against the stock markets, I thought you might be interested.” He forwarded the message to Jonny. “Just sent it to you.”
“Got it. Hmm. Just a minute—I’ll be right back.”
David listened to the classical hold music while he waited.
Moments later, Jonny came back on the line. “Sorry about that. I wanted to compare what you sent me with some earlier information that came in. I just forwarded your email to an organization already looking into this issue. If you receive anything else, just send it to me.”
“Will do, Jonny. Should I be worried?”
“You can share it with Japan, China, Germany, and the U.K., as they have the most voting power, not including the U.S. However, I recommend against sharing it with your executive directors and vice presidents. If I recall, that will push the word out to over fifty more people, and I think we should keep it contained—for now.”
“Understood.”
“Anything else, David?”
“Not today. We need to arrange another outing on the Chesapeake.”
“As soon as a quiet period appears on my schedule, I’ll let you know.”
More next time.
Books I’m Reading
M.D. Neu, the creative genius behind the New World series (Contact, Conviction, and Conspiracy) had done it again with his latest sci-fi thriller, Volaria. While the earth’s population has dropped to four billion, new species such as the Arcanes, Lycans, and vampires, now co-exist with humans. In order for the vampires to survive, humans make mandatory monthly blood donations. Tobin Corsian decides to explore a different way of doing this by visiting a vampire spa. Will he live to regret his decision?
Follow Tobin’s journey as he tries to make sense of his life. Did he make the correct decision or was his choice one which he’ll regret for the rest of his life? As with all of M.D. Neu’s novels, you’ll be turning the pages to find out what happens next in this action-packed, spine-chilling adventure. This one will definitely appeal to sci-fi aficionados of all ages!
M.D has also announced the release of the audio version of The Calling. Being nobody isn’t Duncan Alexander’s life goal. Juliet de Exter is an Immortal who is undertaking ‘The Calling’ – a search for a human to join the Immortals. How will Duncan navigate a forbidden romance with an outcast, keep the balance between the Light and Dark Immortals, survive vicious attacks while keeping the humans unaware? More importantly, who is this foe Duncan sees in his dreams?
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/TheCalling
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 fifty-one 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-one 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
I continued moving forward with Ultimate Escalation, completing chapters thirty-four through thirty-six. My manuscript received another twelve reviews, bringing the total to 664. Once again, plenty of suggestions to enhance my writing.