Tag: Valentine's Day

We’ve been at the monthly small business market the past two days. Friday was really slow–only the food stalls were constantly busy. Even so, ten autographed copies of my novels, ten of Sylvia’s laminated poetry sheets, and two of her poetry books sold. All being well, today will be a good day and we’ll hit our monthly sales averages.

Weather-wise, the dreaded ‘s’ word is in the forecast. It was supposed to hit the higher elevations last night. All we had was rain, but there is more forecast for the middle of the week. Only time will tell what we’ll receive, if any (fingers crossed).

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/): “You decide every moment of every day who you are and what you believe in. You get a second chance every second.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on February 6th, the first Sunday of the month. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):

Džore Držić, Croatian poet and playwright who is considered one of the fathers of Croatian literature; Daniel Georg Morhof, German writer & scholar; Évariste de Parny, French poet; Ugo Foscolo, Italian poet (Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis); José María de Pereda, Spanish novelist; Eliza Johannes Meester, Dutch journalist & writer (Geertje); John Henry Mackay, Scottish-born German writer (Anarchists); Karl Sapper, German traveller & natural historian; Alfred Mombert, German poet; Wilhelm August Schmidtbonn, German writer (Der Sprechende Eros); Ljudmil Stojanow, Bulgarian poet (Metsh i Slowo, Cholera); Siegfried Kracauer, German writer; Pieter G Buckinx, Flemish writer (Temptation of Poverty); Irmgard Keun, German author; Lothar-Günther Buchheim, German author; Louis Heren, English foreign correspondent & writer (China’s Three Thousand Years); Paolo Volponi, Italian communist & author (Road to Rome); Jin Yong [Louis Cha Leung-yung], Chinese Wuxia novelist; and Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta, Venezuelan writer.

Any names familiar to you? I struck out once again. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!

My Published Work

The Kurdish Connection, Colombian Betrayal, and Mission: Angola are participating in a first-in-series promotion for mysteries and thrillers. There are sixty-four novels in this one, which ends on February 12th.

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day gift for those special people in your life, look no further. Sylvia’s debut poetry and prose book, Colours of My Life, would make the perfect gift.

Someone recently left a review on Amazon, entitled, ‘Amazingly Upbeat. It went on to say, “Sylvia’s poetry and prose lifted my spirit. Her love of life lingers on every page.”

Colours of My Life is available across the Amazon network. Just click on the title anywhere in this article to find the universal link and your perfect gift.

My Work in Progress

This week I spent my writing time on research for upcoming chapters of Ultimate Escalation. My manuscript received another eleven reviews, bringing the total to 529. As always, plenty of suggestions to enhance my writing.

Here’s another snippet:

Grigori slammed the door behind him as he entered the office attached to a hanger on the edge of the airport. “If I could, I’d replace these fifty zhopas with a dozen Spetsnaz.”

“Don’t be too harsh on our new colleagues. After all, they can’t help it if they are arses. Remember, we need Punjabis to fight for their cause.” Eduard Kalugin, a former Spetsnaz major laughed. “Many of them believe martyring themselves will give them a place with Allah.”

“Da. But I’m tired of repeating myself.” Grigori sighed. “They act like they’re getting ready for a picnic, not an uprising.”

“Relax and take several deep breaths.” Former Spetsnaz Captain Fedor Tatarov grinned. “You’re taking yourself too seriously. All we can do is offer our guidance based on our years of experience in troubled areas. If they choose to ignore us, it’ll be their downfall, not ours.”

Grigori tilted his head. “I suppose both of you are correct. But it is frustrating. If we can’t get them to understand how their demonstrations should begin and escalate when they should, how will we control them when it comes to shooting?”

“Do your best, Grigori. That’s all we can do.” Eduard pushed back his sleeve and checked the time. “Vladimir should be here in about three hours. Once he arrives, you can explain the difficulties you’re experiencing and find out if he has any suggestions.”

“Da. But I’m not sure it will help.” Grigori walked to a carton of bottled water in the corner. He pulled one out and drank, excess water dribbling down his face. “I hope Mishka is having better success with the Indians.” He grabbed another bottle of water. “Guess I better rejoin our recruits before someone gets injured.”

More next time.

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.