After several falls down the stairs and a couple of illnesses, I’m finally back on my feet. I still have intermittent pain in the right side of my back and down my right arm, but overall, I’m back to normal.
Over the past week , the weather has returned to normal patterns for this time of year: overcast with some spurts of sunshine, frigid winds, and cold days. There’s still been a couple of light frosts, but things are progressing toward spring. Even some of the flowers have already popped out to add their color to the dismal winter days.
Here is today’s inspirational quote: “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” — Carol Burnett (compliments of https://parade.com/973277/jessicasager/inspirational-quotes/
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on February 26th, the fourth and final Sunday of the month, compliments of https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/:
Christopher Marlowe, English poet and dramatist (Dr Faustus); James Hervey, English clergyman and writer; Victor Hugo, French author (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables); John George Nicolay, German-American author (Abe Lincoln’s biographer); Carel Steven Adama van Scheltema, Dutch socialist poet; Stefan Grabinski, Polish writer; (Ivor Armstrong) I. A. Richards, British poet and influential critic (Meaning of Meaning); Julien de Valckenaere, Belgian poet; Vercors [Jean Bruller], French writer (Le Silence de la mer); Leela Majumdar, Bengali writer; George Barker, English poet (Calamiterror, Anno Domini); Hermann Lenz, German writer (Swabian Chronicle); Elisabeth Eybers, South African poet (That Woman & Other Verses); Theodore Sturgeon, American sci-fi author (Hugo, It, Caviar); Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller; Adriaan van Dis, Dutch author (Nathan Sid, In Africa); Phyllis Eisenstein, American sci-fi author (Sorcerer’s Son, Born to Exile); Elizabeth George, American novelist (Inspector Thomas Lynley mystery novels); and Michel Houellebecq, French novelist.
Any names familiar to you? There were two for me: Christopher Marlowe and Victor Hugo. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!
My Publications
I’m please to announce Revenge has moved from the long list, the short list, the semi-finals, and is now a finalist in the 2022 Chanticleer International Global Thriller Book Awards for high stakes suspense.
Needless to say, I’m thrilled. Of course, the competition to be selected as one of seven genre 1st Place Category winners will be extremely competitive. In addition to Revenge, there are another twelve novels on the finals list. All be well, I’ll have further good news to share as the competition goes into full swing, with the 1st Place Category winners and Genre Grand Prize Division Winners being announced in late April. Watch this space!
My Work in Progress
Since my last update, I managed to complete chapters twenty-two and twenty-three. Over the past week, my writing has more or less returned to normal with completion of chapters twenty-four and twenty-five.
Over the past few weeks, reviews continued to trickle in. Since my last update, fifty-two reviews have been add, bringing the total to 452. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.
Here’s another snippet:
Everyone laughed.
The admiral’s phone rang. “Just a minute.” He spoke briefly into the handset before putting the call on speaker. “Jonny, I’m on a conference call with the rest of Bedlam. Could you please repeat what you said so everyone hears it?”
“Sure. I received an email from David Walliams, president of the World Bank. It was buried in my inbox and I didn’t see it, or I would have contacted you sooner. He forwarded a message he received from a concerned citizen of the world. I’m quoting the contents now: ‘Behold the beast, for he wants to destroy the world. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Seek him where glaciers abound.’ Hopefully, this is some use to you.”
“Thanks, Jonny. We’ll add it into the mix and see what comes out.”
“Glad to help. As you’re aware, the president is afraid of a world economic meltdown with this beast hitting stock markets and banks. What will come next—will he go after infrastructure?”
“I’ll keep you advised about anything we uncover. Anything else, Jonny?”
“That’s all just now, so I’ll let you get back to your call.” Jonny broke the connection.
“Well, Admiral, it looks like this citizen is helping to narrow our search parameters.” CC glanced at the ceiling as if he was reading something. “If memory served me correctly, glaciers are found at the two poles, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. Guess we better start breaking out the cold weather gear.”
Trevor half-raised a hand. “When I was with the Paras, we trained in the French, Austrian, and Swiss mountains. They have a number of glaciers, too.”
“I want Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie to put together an action plan to cover these locations and begin a search for Matthew’s friend. I think locating him will be the best way to proceed. With the new name of beast to go with devil, I’ll have Matthew refine his searches. I still think this is pointing to one individual or group, but only time will tell.”
“Admiral, I think there might be someone who will be able to help us out.”
“Go ahead, Rufus.”
“Well, since CC mentioned the poles, it got me thinking. My cousin is currently on the RV Aquavit on her way to Antarctica with a team from the Scandinavian Protection Agency. Perhaps we could have her look around for us while she’s there?”
“Sir Alex and Harrison, what do you think? As you know, we normally don’t use outsiders, but this may be an appropriate time.”
“I agree, Richard.” Harrison wiped a hand over his hair as he yawned. “I think we can use any help we can find.”
Sir Alex nodded. “I concur.”
“It’s settled. CC, Trevor, and Evelyn, work with Rufus on an approach to his cousin. Rufus, what did you say his name is?”
Rufus smiled. “It’s Carina. She’s a cousin on my mother’s side of the family, but we’re in regular contact.”
“Okay, get your heads together and work something out. I want your proposal within forty-eight hours.”
Rufus grinned. “Yes, Admiral.”
The admiral glanced at the three connections. “Anything else at this time? If not, we’ll break and meet again as soon as we have plans put together.”
After a trio of negative responses, the admiral broke the connections.
“Admiral, I’ve been thinking about uses non-Bedlam resources. What would be the probability of getting one of our team members onto the RV Aquavit to lend a hand?”
“You know, CC, I was going to ask you what you thought about it. Good to know we think alike. Who do you suggest?”
“Aye. I was going to say me, but Trevor has more experience in cold climates than I do. Let me review the personnel files and see if there is anyone else on the teams I can suggest.”
“Get me a name by the end of the day, and we’ll see what we can sort out.”
“Aye, Admiral.”
More next time.
Promotions
The Kurdish Connection and Mission Angola are participating in the First in A Mystery/Thriller Series promotion, commencing February 27th and running through March 8th. This one only allowed two books per author and there are currently eighteen novels participating. Why not check it out? You might find your next new author.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysterythrillers1stinseries/r8vs7mulee
Dangerous Alliance, Carnage in Singapore, and Colombian Betrayal are completing in the Join The Rebellion promotion which runs through February 28th. This promotion covers Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, and Sci-Fi & Fantasy / Space Opera and there are eighty-five novels participating. Please drop in and see if there is anything that appeals to you.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/thydr12345/3ymzwgkm22
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 2023 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
Tomorrow the Small Business Christmas Market begins and runs through Christmas Eve. If you happen to be in the Dunfermline, Fife area during this period, why not stop into the Kingsgate and see what’s on offer. There’ll be plenty of gifts to choose from as well as a mixture of goodies to sample. Hope to see you there!
I’m pleased to announce the release of Ultimate Escalation by Solstice Publishing.
experience severe flooding. The photo is compliments of The Scottish Sun showing the River Eden. We were fortunate as our area is slightly elevated and there aren’t any rivers/streams nearby. What a mess for those trying to get where they need to be!
subscription writing sites I use. There were another six reviews this week, bringing the total to 323. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.
In case you missed it, I can now reveal the cover of Ultimate Escalation, which will be released by Solstice Publishing. We’re closing in on the publication date. I’m currently going through the PDF file the editor-in-chief sent me for the third, and hopefully, the final time.
I also continued working on Temples of Abydos. Chapter seven was posted to the two online subscription writing sites I use and chapter eight is almost finished. This week there were another fifteen reviews, bringing the total thus far to seventy-eight.
I’ve resumed work on Frozen Conquest and posted chapter seventeen to the two online subscription writing sites I use.
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.