It’s been a busy week. When the rain permitted, we continued getting the backyard/garden into shape. The kidney-shaped bricked feature, which was filled with gravel and weeds has had the clay removed, drainage installed, and is now covered with sod/turf. On the outside of the bricks and between the inner stone wall, additional drainage has been added and the area has been covered with white, red, brown, and blue stone chips.
We removed most of one ‘gravel’ bed’s clay and gravel, but the rain yesterday stopped completion of this area. If it’s dry enough today, although right now it’s pretty damp, the last of the clay will be removed. Afterward, a layer of sand will be added, with the remainder of the hole filled with topsoil for planting of shrubs and flowers.
Still plenty more to do, but will take it a day at a time.
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on October 6th. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):
Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Italian patriot and writer; Albert Jeremiah Beveridge, American politician/author (Progressive); Mikhail Kuzmin, Russian writer; MartinLuis Guzman, Mexican novelist (Eagle & the Serpent); Maria Dabrowska, Polish writer (Noce I Dnie); Caroline Gordon, Kentucky, writer (Green Centuries); Horst Lange, German writer (The Long Lament); Meret Oppenheim, writer; Yaşar Kemal, Turkish writer (Memed, My Hawk); Gloria Lane, educator/author/founder (Women’s International Center); David Brin, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Nebula, Sundiver, Postman); Ayten Mutlu, Turkish poet and writer; and Joseph Finder, American novelist.
Was anyone familiar to you? I admit I didn’t know most of this group, although David Brin’s work stands out. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one and many more to follow!
News About My Published Work
I mentioned last time about The new Big Thrill book giveaway, sponsored by the International Thriller Writers, which will take place on October 25th. I’m pleased to announce that my award-winning novel, Dangerous Alliance, is part of October’s giveaway. Two lucky winners will each receive ten novels, all written by ITW members and released by publishers recognized by the organization.
If you’re interested in entering the draw, there’s still time. Click here: contest. Good luck!
My Work in Progress
Writing continued on A Cartel’s Revenge this week with the completion of chapter thirty-two. 
As always, it’s now posted to the two subscription writing sites I use. The chapter review count continues to increase, now standing at 436, an increase of ten in the past week. As always, plenty of good advice to help me improve my writing.
Here’s another snippet:
Giggles greeted him as he approached the dining room.
“Oh, Ramon, will you teach me to shoot?” Silvina maintained a straight face until Maria nudged her. Both girls burst into laughter.
“I’m glad you both recovered from yesterday’s scare. Did you ask your mother about learning to shoot?”
“Sí. She said I must be older.” Silvina pouted.
“Jefe is the boss. When she gives her permission, I’ll teach you. Maria, what about you?”
She shook her head. “The noise scares me.”
He chuckled and continued along the corridor. When Olivia called his name, he sipped his coffee and waited as she approached.
“Dona, everything is arranged. Días will arrive late this afternoon.”
“Excellent. Alonzo will join us.”
“As you wish.”
Ramon caught a whiff of cigar smoke as he stepped onto the veranda where Pedro was reading El Heraldo as he puffed on his daily cigar.
“Jefe, how is your head this morning?”
Pedro set the newspaper aside. “Buenos Días, Ramon. My head is fine—a couple of cuts, a few stitches, but no permanent damage. Nothing on the x-rays and the doctor’s pills handled the pain. I’m in excellent shape and will go for my ride today since I missed my exercise yesterday.”
“Do you want a guard to accompany you?”
Pedro shrugged. “No, unnecessary.” He patted his shoulder. “I’m prepared.”
***
A free morning, Olivia met with the girls in the living room. Maria and Silvina curled on each side of her as she read from the fairy tale, “The Poor Old Lady.” One of Olivia’s favorite childhood treasures, the story was written by Colombian poet Rafael Pombo in 1854. Her mother had read Pombo’s tale to her for years, and she never grew tired of the message.
“Mamá, why does the rich lady become poor?” Maria, hands clasped to either side of her face, waited for an answer.
“There must be a reason. Mamá will share when the time is right.”
“Girls, let me continue and what happens will be clear.” Olivia finished the story and closed the book. “What did you learn?”
“I don’t want to be poor.” Maria wailed, her arms crossed.
“The lady became greedy. She never had enough.” Silvina wore a smirk as she rendered her opinion.
Olivia smiled at her daughter’s comments and squeezed them closer to her.
“Maria, we won’t be poor. But if we become greedy, bad things might happen. The moral of this story is material possessions don’t make us rich.”
“What does, Mamá?”
“What we do with our lives and the people we love.”
More next time.
Books I’m Reading
M.D. Neu has done it again with his latest novel, TAD. Doug, a fun-loving drama queen finds TAD down on his luck and needing a friend. While Doug doesn’t believe his new friend’s story of being a former angel of death, he gives him his new name, an acronym for The Angel of Death.
This is a riveting story of lasting friendship between two people who couldn’t be more different, but it teaches us to be tolerant of others and their lifestyles. Doug and TAD are well-developed characters and are the main focus of the story. This novel will make you smile, laugh, and perhaps even cry by the time you turn the last page. I won’t spoil the story for anyone who wants to read without know what happens, but M.D. has done a brilliant job of putting together an excellent plot and well-written story about life, friends, and death. Grab yourself a copy now!
This brings us to a close for another week. I hope you found something of interest or at least useful for your own writing. 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.
© Copyright 2019 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
