Randall Krzak's Blog, page 12

Randall’s Ramblings, November 13th, 2022

It’s been a mild week, with daytime temperatures 10-15 degrees above normal averages for this time of year. Still a mixture of clouds, sunshine, rain, and wind, but overall, it’s been a reasonable week. I was able to get outside twice to rake up leaves as the wind is doing its job in bringing the rest down.

There was another decrease in the price of gasoline (petrol) this week, dropping two pence. So we’re now at £1.62 a liter. With the current exchange rate of $1.18, this makes the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $7.24, a an increase of twenty cents from last week. The Automobile Association is calling on the chancellor not to increase fuel duty, which was dropped five pence a liter in April. We should find out in his autumn statement this week. If he does raise it, price will increase the dollar equivalent to $7.46. Only time will tell.

The number of American college football games shown on Saturday remained at ftive. This weekend, there were two from the Southeastern Conference, one from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and one from the Big Ten. As always, I recorded all of them. The Big Ten game featured Michigan playing Nebraska, with Michigan increasing their record to 10-0 with a 34-3 win. Meanwhile, Michigan State defeated Rutgers 27-21.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress. You are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on November 13th, the second Sunday of the month:

Árni Magnússon, Icelandic scholar and collector of manuscripts (Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection); Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist; William Shenstone, English poet; Esaias Tegnér, Swedish writer (Frithjof’s Saga); Caroline Lamb, English aristocrat, author (Glenarvon); Edward John Trelawny, English traveler and author (Adv of Younger Son); John Wolcott Phelps, American abolitionist, author and Brigadier General (Union Army); Peter II, prince-bishop of Montenegro (1830-51) and poet (The Ray of The Microcosm); Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Mexican author (El Zarco); Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author (Treasure Island); Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian writer and feminist; Josef Kjellgren, Swedish writer (Guldkedjan); Paul de Vree, Flemish author (Between Doubt & Tears); William Bradford Huie, American writer and publisher; Inez van Dullemen, Dutch author; Nico Scheepmaker, Dutch columnist and poet; Garry Marshall, American TV writer (The Dick Van Dyke Show), TV producer (The Odd Couple; Happy Days; Laverne & Shirley), and film director (Pretty Woman; Runaway Bride; The Princess Diaries); Gérald Godin, French Canadian poet and politician; Ronald Shusett, author (Project Mankind); Edwin “Rick” Bakker, Dutch author: Rick’s Report, AIDS Diary; Thilo Timothy Newman, writer (Freejack, Alien); and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Dutch author.

Any names familiar to you? There was one for me: Robert Louis Stevenson. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!

Coming Soon!

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.

Here’s the blurb:

Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country caused further persecution and heartache.

The militants have no idea how to achieve their desires–until the appearance of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Nikolaev, a disgraced Spetsnaz colonel. He offers the militants a means to spark a conflict between the two nuclear powers.

Russian subs sold on the black market and manned by Iranian and Russian sailors will surface off the coasts of the two countries and destroy Karachi and Mumbai. Propaganda machines will levy accusations against each country, leading to escalation of hostilities, pushing the countries to the brink of nuclear war.

The Bedlam organization fields their three teams to counter the violence and seek to restore calm before it’s too late. Will they be successful, or will South Asia become a smoking ruin?

My Work in Progress

I’ve resumed work on Frozen Conquest. Chapter eighteen was posted this week to the two online subscription writing sites I use. There were another fifteen reviews this week, bringing the total to 317. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.

Here’s another snippet:

Felix approached Emmanuel’s door with apprehension. Wonder what’s up that he needs my help when he talks with security? He rapped his knuckles on the door.

“Come in.”

“You wanted my help?”

Emmanuel waved to a chair. “Take a seat. Sawyer will be joining us in a few minutes.”

“Uh. I thought we were going to his office.” Felix shut the door and sat in front of Emmanuel’s desk.

“That was the plan, but it’ll be easier here.”

“Okay, whatever you think is best.” Why’s he staring at me?

“How are you settling into the job, Felix? This must be quite a transition for you after heading up your own team.”

Felix shrugged. “You know how it is—need to go where I’ll make the big bucks so I can retire early.”

“That’s why I took Brown’s offer. I want to set up my own business in the future because I don’t want to answer to anyone.” Emmanuel chuckled.

“That’s too much of an effort for me to take on. I always work better under a boss—but one who gives me freedom to complete jobs on a timely basis without interference.”

Emmanuel nodded. “Understood. I—”

Someone knocked and opened the door.

In came Sawyer, the head of Brown’s security. He nodded at Felix as he sat in the chair next to him. “So what’s up, Emmanuel, that requires my assistance?”

“I believe we have a security breach.” He glanced at Felix. “An unknown individual is apparently using clandestine means to communicate outside the organization even everyone signs the nondisclosure agreement saying they understood such communication is forbidden.”

Felix swallowed. I’ve only sent one message through the dark web. How did Emmanuel find out?

“I’m pretty tied up doing some special projects for Brown, so I thought Felix would be the perfect candidate to help you out.”

“I-I am?” Felix glanced between the two men.

“Sure. Next to me, you’re the best person on the team.” Emmanuel smiled. “What do you think, Sawyer?”

“It’s your call, but if you’re satisfied with Felix lending a hand, I have no problem. Speaking of hands, I need some assistance on the ice with a Sno-Cat. I skidded off the frozen path, and the machine was stuck. Could you both give me a hand? With three of us, it should only take a few minutes. The rest of the security team is tied up, or I’d get them to help me.”

“Sure thing, Sawyer.” Emmanuel stood. “Felix and I will get our gear together and meet you outside in ten minutes.”

“Excellent. We’ll take one of the larger machines in case we need to tow the other one back.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the three men climbed into a Sno-Cat, with Sawyer being the wheel. “Should take about twenty minutes to get to the stuck machine. Hang on, as I’m going to use a shortcut over the ice.”

Maneuvering off the normal path, Sawyer gunned the engine as they bounced over the icy terrain.

“Is that your machine up ahead?” Emmanuel pointed to a dark smudge on the horizon. “You were well off the beaten path.”

Sawyer laughed. “Brown pays me well to search for alternate routes around crevices. It’s exciting work but can be a bit dangerous.”

As they approached the abandoned Sno-cat, Sawyer pointed to the left of the machine. “If you look closely, you can see there’s a crevice not far from where I got stuck. I was trying to go around it when my little accident happened.” He parked behind the first machine.

The men climbed out of their warm Sco-cat and inspected the other one.

Felix pointed to the left side. “Looks like some damage—something fell off.” He glanced around and spotted a red and white piece of metal near the crevice. “There it is.” He slogged through the snow toward the damaged part.

As he bent down to retrieve it, he slipped on the ice.

“Wait a minute, Felix. I’ll help you.” Sawyer stepped next to Felix. “Here, take this rope and tie it around your waist. I’ll hold you while you step closer.”

Felix did as instructed and inched his way forward. He began to turn toward Sawyer.

A dark shape hit Felix on the shoulder, propelling him toward the crevice. “Hey! What are—”

Sawyer gave Felix a final shove, and he fell through the thin ice.

Iaaaaaahh!

Perhaps another one next week.

Promotions

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 145 novels participating.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-nov/4nmgssn0ek

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

Randall’s Ramblings, November 6th, 2022

The weather feature this week has been rain–at least five of the past seven days. Just to break things up, Mother Nature also included strong winds and even some sunshine. Once things dry out I have loads of leaves to clean up, but for now they have to remain in place as the ground it too wet to walk on. Two days ago, I had to scrape frost off the windshield. Signs of things to come!

There were decrease in the price of gasoline (petrol) this week. The first was on Tuesday, two pence, and the other yesterday, another penny off. So we’re now at £1.64 a liter. With the current exchange rate of $1.14, this makes the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $7.04, a decrease of forty-six cents from last week.

The number of American college football games shown on Saturday remained fative. This weekend, there were two from the Southeastern Conference, one from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and one from the Big Ten. As always, I recorded all of them. Unfortunately, neither Big Ten game featured my favorite teams, Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan increased their record to 9-0 as they rolled over Rutgers 52-17 while Michigan State squeaked past Illinois, 23-15.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on November 6th, the first Sunday of the month: Thomas Kyd, English dramatist (The Spanish Tragedy); Colley Cibber, English actor, dramatist and Poet Laureate (1730-57); Louis Racine, French poet (La Religion); Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny, French dramatist and composer; Jonas Lie, Norwegian author (The Family at Gilje: A Domestic Story of the Forties); Francis Ellingwood Abbot, American theologian (Scientific Theism); Marie Bregendahl, Danish author (Holger Hauge og hans Hustru); Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-American writer and novelist (Pietje Bell, Kruimeltje); Robert Musil, Austrian writer (Mann ohne Eigenschaften); Harold Ross, American magazine editor and co-founder of The New Yorker; August Defresne, Dutch playwright and director (Uninhabited Island); Fanny Leys, Flemish author (Ontwijding); Arthur Cohn, American composer and writer on music; James Jones, American novelist (Bad Blood, From Here to Eternity); K. Schippers [Gerard Stigter], Dutch author (Een klok en profil); John Falsey, American television writer and producer; Michael Cunningham, American novelist and screenwriter (The Hours); Catherine Crier, American journalist and author (The Case Against Lawyers, A Deadly Game); Colson Whitehead, American writer (The Intuitionist, The Underground Railroad); Ethan Hawke, American actor and author (Dead Poets Society, Before trilogy); and Nicole Dubuc, American writer and actress (Robin-Major Dad).

Any names familiar to you? There were two for me: James Jones and Ethan Hawke. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!

Coming Soon!

In case you missed it, I can now reveal the cover of Ultimate Escalation, which will be released by Solstice Publishing. The editor-in-chief sent me the PDF version of the manuscript for me to go through a final time before it’s released.

Here’s the blurb:

Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country caused further persecution and heartache.

The militants have no idea how to achieve their desires–until the appearance of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Nikolaev, a disgraced Spetsnaz colonel. He offers the militants a means to spark a conflict between the two nuclear powers.

Russian subs sold on the black market and manned by Iranian and Russian sailors will surface off the coasts of the two countries and destroy Karachi and Mumbai. Propaganda machines will levy accusations against each country, leading to escalation of hostilities, pushing the countries to the brink of nuclear war.

The Bedlam organization fields their three teams to counter the violence and seek to restore calm before it’s too late. Will they be successful, or will South Asia become a smoking ruin?

My Work in Progress

I’ve resumed work on Frozen Conquest. Chapter eighteen is almost ready to post to the two online subscription writing sites I use.

The seventeen posted chapters received another seven reviews this week, bringing the total to 302. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.

I’ll be skipping the snippet again this week but will bring you another one next time.

In case you missed the blurb, here it is:

An international criminal gang, known as Diablo Corps, plans a series of devastating attacks to take over the G7 countries unless their demands are met. Secure in their hidden headquarters in Antarctica, they possess the means to disrupt the leading world economies. The Diablos want what other power-hungry people want—more power.

Will the G7 bend to the will of these rogues or will evil triumph? Diablo Corps believes their previous infiltration of the international banking system and world stock exchanges will allow them to risk all on a single gamble.

The Scandinavian Protection Agency joins forces with Bedlam to thwart the efforts of the group and restore faith. Will Antarctica become a smoking ruin or will the world suffer an economic meltdown?

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.

Here’s the blurb:

History professor Sylvia Burness and her husband, Charles Wilkie, a renowned Greek archeologist, are seeking a new project after spending years cataloging Celtic sites throughout the United Kingdom.

Long fascinated with Egypt, Charles proposes an excursion to one of the lesser-known locations, Abydos, a historic city that played an important role in ancient Egypt. Sylvia agrees and together they plan their trip.

Unbeknownst to them, an unethical antiquities group called Guardians of Shadows are using one of the Abydos temples as their hideout.

Will Sylvia and Charles be able to evade this group and escape with their lives or will they be entombed in Abydos for generations?

Promotions

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 145 novels participating.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-nov/4nmgssn0ek

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

New Release – In the Shadow of an Irish God – SD Barry

Welcome to the story about Jack Maguire, a fourteen-year-old Irish-Catholic boy who lives in Glen Park, a neighborhood in the hills of San Francisco. The year is 1956. Neurotic from years of religious indoctrination, Jack suffers severe stomach cramps and intermittent insomnia.

His life is a mess until he meets Samuel, an elderly Colored neighbor who takes an interest in him. Using steady wisdom and earthy humor, distilled from decades in the Jim Crow South, Samuel leads Jack to a surprising conclusion to his quest for emotional balance.

Testimonials

“Punctuated with poignancy and humor, In the Shadow of an Irish God reminds us of the hilly ups and downs of youth, the ever-looming pitfalls of life, and the redemptive spirit of human beings regardless of racial, religious, or geographical backgrounds.” – Dr. Bill Younglove, Lecturer Emeritus, Long Beach State University and board member of CATE (California Association of Teachers of English).

“In the Shadow of an Irish God portrays the edgy springtime of a boy’s life—first love, dawning sexual awareness, religious anxiety, racial bigotry, ethnic identity, and a host of boyhood adventures.” – Randall Krzak, author of multiple award-winning thriller novels.

SD Barry

I attended Catholic school in San Francisco during the 1950s and experienced much of the religious angst described in the story. After high school, I entered an apprenticeship in the San Francisco shipyards and spent eight years building ships for the U.S. Navy. During those years I worked my way through college, earned a degree in Biology and Physics, and subsequently spent forty years teaching in minority high schools. During my last ten years, I taught ESL Science to new immigrants. More than forty languages were spoken by the students in my school.

I wrote In the Shadow of an Irish God to explore what might have happened to my spiritual life had I come under the influence of an intelligent, thoughtful adult during a crucial time in my life.

Dedication

I want to give a shout-out to three older Black journeymen shipfitters who mentored me during my early shipyard years. All had migrated to San Francisco from the Deep South to work for the Navy during World War Two. They not only taught me the intricacies of their craft, they also shared much of their personal histories and hard-earned philosophies. It is from my hundreds of conversations with them that I created Samuel, a principal character in my story.

© Copyright 2022 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved

  

 

 

 

Randall’s Ramblings, October 30th, 2022

As October draws to a close, we’ve had another week full of rain, wind, and clouds, with the occasional outbreak of sunshine. There was a dry period which lasted long enough for me to cut the grass (perhaps the last time this autumn) and rake the fallen leaves. However, with the wind and rain you wouldn’t know I had cleaned up the leaves as more have fallen. Today we’re off to the warmest start of the week at 56F (13C).

There was another increased in the price of gasoline (petrol) this week, climbing two pence. So we’re now at £1.67 a liter. With the current exchange rate now $1.16, this makes the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $7.51, an increase of thirty-one cents from last week.

The number of American college football games shown on Saturday remained five. This weekend, there were two from the Southeastern Conference, two from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and one from the Big Ten. As always, I recorded all of them. The Big Ten game featured Michigan against Michigan State. Because it was already 12:30 a.m. in the UK before the game started, I’ll watch it today.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“Life is like a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs. But its your choice to scream or enjoy the ride.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on October 30th, the fifth and final Sunday of the month:

Enrico Caterino Davila, Italian writer (Storia delguerre civili Francia); Paul Pellisson, French writer; Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright (The Rivals, The School for Scandal) and Whig MP; André Chénier, French poet killed during French Revolution; Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer; Rinse Posthumus, Frisian writer and poet; Elizabeth Madox Roberts, American poet and novelist (The Time of Man); Lena Christ, German writer (The Rumplhanni); Ezra Pound, American poet (Cantos); Zoe Akins, American playwright (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1935); Georg Heym, German writer; Jan Romein, Dutch historian (Low Countries at Sea); Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet; Albert Rice Leventhal, American publisher (Little Golden Books); Sol Tax, American anthropologist (founded the journal Current Anthropology); Miguel Hernadez Gilabert, Spanish poet (Viento del Pueblo); Ágota Kristóf, Hungarian writer (The Notebook); Robert Caro, American journalist and biographer (Lyndon B. Johnson); and Dmitry Muratov, Russian journalist (Novaya Gazeta, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize).

Any names familiar to you? While I didn’t recognize the name of the publisher of the Little Golden Books, I certainly remember them! Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!

Coming Soon!

In case you missed it, I can now reveal the cover of Ultimate Escalation, which will be released by Solstice Publishing. The editing process with the assigned editor has been completed and the manuscript has been returned to the editor-in-chief for her final review before being published.

Here’s the blurb:

Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country caused further persecution and heartache.

The militants have no idea how to achieve their desires–until the appearance of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Nikolaev, a disgraced Spetsnaz colonel. He offers the militants a means to spark a conflict between the two nuclear powers.

Russian subs sold on the black market and manned by Iranian and Russian sailors will surface off the coasts of the two countries and destroy Karachi and Mumbai. Propaganda machines will levy accusations against each country, leading to escalation of hostilities, pushing the countries to the brink of nuclear war.

The Bedlam organization fields their three teams to counter the violence and seek to restore calm before it’s too late. Will they be successful, or will South Asia become a smoking ruin?

My Work in Progress

I’ve resumed work on Frozen Conquest and posted chapter seventeen to the two online subscription writing sites I use.

The sixteen posted chapters received another sixteen reviews this week, bringing the total to 295. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.

I’ll be skipping the snippet again this week but will bring you another one next time. One thing I have done is changed the name of one of the minor characters. Instead of David Walliams, he will now be known as Douglas Walliams.

In case you missed the blurb, here it is:

An international criminal gang, known as Diablo Corps, plans a series of devastating attacks to take over the G7 countries unless their demands are met. Secure in their hidden headquarters in Antarctica, they possess the means to disrupt the leading world economies. The Diablos want what other power-hungry people want—more power.

Will the G7 bend to the will of these rogues or will evil triumph? Diablo Corps believes their previous infiltration of the international banking system and world stock exchanges will allow them to risk all on a single gamble.

The Scandinavian Protection Agency joins forces with Bedlam to thwart the efforts of the group and restore faith. Will Antarctica become a smoking ruin or will the world suffer an economic meltdown?

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.

Here’s the blurb:

History professor Sylvia Burness and her husband, Charles Wilkie, a renowned Greek archeologist, are seeking a new project after spending years cataloging Celtic sites throughout the United Kingdom.

Long fascinated with Egypt, Charles proposes an excursion to one of the lesser-known locations, Abydos, a historic city that played an important role in ancient Egypt. Sylvia agrees and together they plan their trip.

Unbeknownst to them, an unethical antiquities group called Guardians of Shadows are using one of the Abydos temples as their hideout.

Will Sylvia and Charles be able to evade this group and escape with their lives or will they be entombed in Abydos for generations?

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 forty-eight 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-five 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

Randall’s Ramblings, October 23rd, 2022

It’s been another week of rain, rain, and rain, with the occasional outbreak of sunshine. Last week’s rainbows were replaced with patch fog. Today looks like it might be brighter and stay dry, which would be a good thing so I can rake up the fallen leaves before they start to rot. Oh, the joys of autumn!

Over the past couple of weeks there have been warnings on the television about the possibility of power outages this winter, particularly during cold spells. It was suggested for people to prepare. I ordered four battery-operated lanterns online as the local DIY stores were out. My order was supposed to be delivered today, but I received an email informing me there was a delay with no anticipated delivery date provided.

After a few weeks with a slight downward trend in the price of gasoline (petrol) we had two three-pence increases this week, one on Tuesday and the other on Friday. So we’re now at £1.65 a liter. With the current exchange rate now $1.13, this makes the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $7.20, an increase of forty-eight cents since the last time I mentioned this.

The number of American college football games shown on Saturday has returned to five. This weekend, there were two from the Southeastern Conference, two from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and one from the Big Ten. As always, I recorded all of them. The Big Ten game was between Penn State and Minnesota, and I’ll watch this one tonight. Both Michigan and Michigan State were idle this week, giving both teams an extra week to prepare for their upcoming showdown next weekend (which will be televised here).

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“′Classic′ – a book which people praise and don’t read.” ― Mark Twain

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on October 23rd, the fourth Sunday of the month:

Juan de la Cueva, Spanish dramatist; Benjamin Constant [de Rebeque], French politician and writer (Adolphe); Adalbert Stifter, Austrian author (Nachsommer); Robert Bridges, English poet (Testament of beauty) and British Poet Laureate (1913-30); Neltje Blanchan, American nature writer; Harvey Penick, American golfer, coach, author (World Golf Hall of Fame); Ned Rorem, American composer and author (Sky Music); Vasily Belov, Russian author, poet and playwright (Business as Usual, Everything’s Ahead); Michael Crichton, American novelist (Andromeda Strain, Congo, Looker) and filmmaker (Jurassic Park, ER); Nick Tosches, American writer (bio of Jerry Lee Lewis); Laurie Halse Anderson, American writer (Speak) and Meghan McCain, American columnist, author, and TV host.

Any names familiar to you? There were two for me: Michael Crichton and Meghan Mccain. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!

Coming Soon!

In case you missed it, I can now reveal the cover of Ultimate Escalation, which will be released by Solstice Publishing. I received the second edit pass of my manuscript from one of their editors. After going through his suggestions and making changes, it’s now back with him.

Here’s the blurb:

Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country caused further persecution and heartache.

The militants have no idea how to achieve their desires–until the appearance of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Nikolaev, a disgraced Spetsnaz colonel. He offers the militants a means to spark a conflict between the two nuclear powers.

Russian subs sold on the black market and manned by Iranian and Russian sailors will surface off the coasts of the two countries and destroy Karachi and Mumbai. Propaganda machines will levy accusations against each country, leading to escalation of hostilities, pushing the countries to the brink of nuclear war.

The Bedlam organization fields their three teams to counter the violence and seek to restore calm before it’s too late. Will they be successful, or will South Asia become a smoking ruin?

My Work in Progress

I’ve resumed work on Frozen Conquest. I didn’t quite finish chapter seventeen but hope to do so this week.

The sixteen posted chapters received another eight reviews this week, bringing the total to 279. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.

I’ll be skipping the snippet this week but will bring you another one next time. One thing I have done is changed the name of one of the minor characters. Instead of David Walliams, he will now be known as Douglas Walliams.

I also continued working on Temples of Abydos. Chapter six is almost ready to post to the two online subscription writing sites I use. This week there were another five reviews, bringing the total thus far to forty-nine.

Here’s the blurb:

History professor Sylvia Burness and her husband, Charles Wilkie, a renowned Greek archeologist, are seeking a new project after spending years cataloging Celtic sites throughout the United Kingdom.

Long fascinated with Egypt, Charles proposes an excursion to one of the lesser-known locations, Abydos, a historic city that played an important role in ancient Egypt. Sylvia agrees and together they plan their trip.

Unbeknownst to them, an unethical antiquities group called Guardians of Shadows are using one of the Abydos temples as their hideout.

Will Sylvia and Charles be able to evade this group and escape with their lives or will they be entombed in Abydos for generations?

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 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-five 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

Randall’s Ramblings, October 16th, 2022

It’s been another week of typical autumn weather: clouds, rain, wind, occasional bursts of sunshine. We even had a couple of rainbows this week. I almost forgot: plenty of chilly weather, too. I don’t think we hit 60F (15C) at all.  The leaves keep falling en masse, but I need to wait for a sunny day to rake them up as it’s too difficult when they’re soaked.

This evening, I’ll be getting my annual flu shot along with my fourth Covid injection. Oh joy!

Once again the number of college football games shown were reduced–this time to two, instead of the normal five. With the Major League Baseball division races underway, this will continue for some time. The two games shown were both from the Southeastern Conference. I did see some of the highlights of the Michigan-Penn State game, with Michigan increasing their record to 7-0 as a result of beating Penn State, 41-17. Michigan is one of nine remaining undefeated teams in college football. Meanwhile, Michigan broke a four-game losing streak, upending Wisconsin 34-28.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” ~ Mark Twain 

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on October 16th, the third Sunday of the month:

Charles Coypeau Dassoucy, French poet and singer; Albrecht von Haller, Swiss experimental physiologist, biologist and author (Acadamy of Science); Noah Webster, American lexicographer (Webster’s Dictionary); William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and author; Ferdinand van der Haeghen, Flemish librarian/bibliography; Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and novelist (Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray); Camille Looten, Belgian priest/literature historian; J. B. Bury, Irish historian; Pieter J Kromsigt, theologist/publicist (Troffel & Sword); Helge Rode, Danish poet/essayist; Armin T Wegner, writer; Eugene O’Neill, American playwright (Desire Under the Elms-Nobel 1936); Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller; Dino Buzzati, Italian writer (The Tartar Steppe); Roger Vailland, French author (Drôle de jeu, La loi) and screenwriter; George Turner, Australian author; Kathleen Winsor, American writer; Günter Grass, German writer, playwright (The Tin Drum) and Nobel Prize laureate (1999); Paul Monette, American writer and LBT activist; and Marc Levy, French novelist.

Any names familiar to you? There were two for me: Noah Webster and Oscar Wilde. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!

Coming Soon!

I can now reveal the cover for Ultimate Escalation, which I received this week from Solstice Publishing. I also received the first edit pass of my manuscript from one of their editors. After going through his suggestions and making changes, it’s now back with him.

For those who might have missed it, here’s the blurb:

Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country caused further persecution and heartache.

The militants have no idea how to achieve their desires–until the appearance of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Nikolaev, a disgraced Spetsnaz colonel. He offers the militants a means to spark a conflict between the two nuclear powers.

Russian subs sold on the black market and manned by Iranian and Russian sailors will surface off the coasts of the two countries and destroy Karachi and Mumbai. Propaganda machines will levy accusations against each country, leading to escalation of hostilities, pushing the countries to the brink of nuclear war.

The Bedlam organization fields their three teams to counter the violence and seek to restore calm before it’s too late. Will they be successful, or will South Asia become a smoking ruin?

My Work in Progress

I’ve resumed work on Frozen Conquest and hope to post chapter seventeen this week to the two online subscription writing sites I use.

The sixteen posted chapters received another five reviews this week, bringing the total to 271. 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.

I also continued working on Temples of Abydos. Chapters four and five were posted to the two online subscription writing sites I use. This week there were another seventeen reviews, bringing the total thus far to forty-four.

Here’s the blurb:

History professor Sylvia Burness and her husband, Charles Wilkie, a renowned Greek archeologist, are seeking a new project after spending years cataloging Celtic sites throughout the United Kingdom.

Long fascinated with Egypt, Charles proposes an excursion to one of the lesser-known locations, Abydos, a historic city that played an important role in ancient Egypt. Sylvia agrees and together they plan their trip.

Unbeknownst to them, an unethical antiquities group called Guardians of Shadows are using one of the Abydos temples as their hideout.

Will Sylvia and Charles be able to evade this group and escape with their lives or will they be entombed in Abydos for generations?

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 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-five 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

 

Randall’s Ramblings, October 9th, 2022

We’re well and truly into autumn. The days are mostly filled with wind, clouds, rain, and the occasional tease with some sunshine. Leaves are turning–unfortunately the birch trees on our property go a sickly yellow, unlike some nearby oak trees. It’s that time of year to finish any pruning and raking leaves. It seems like we just did this!

With the Major League Baseball wildcard games underway, the number of college football games shown were cut in half. I did see the highlights of the Michigan-Indiana game, with Michigan increasing their record to 6-0 as a result of beating Indiana 31-10. The Ohio State and Michigan State game was televised. Unfortunately, the outcome for Michigan State, while expected, was disappointing nonetheless, as they fell 49-20 as Ohio State increase their record to 6-0.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on October 9th, the second Sunday of the month:

Salimbene di Adam, Italian chronicler; Claude Gaspard Bachet de Meziriac, French mathematician and poet; Jan III van Foreest, Dutch lawyer, poet and mayor of Hoorn; Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, Italian literary and critic (Arcadia); Mary Ann Shadd Cary, American-Canadian publisher and anti-slavery campaigner, 1st African American newspaper publisher (‘Provincial Freeman’); Stephanus Jacobus du Toit, South African theologist and journalist (Afrikaner Bond); Ivo Andric, Yugoslavian novelist (Bridge on Drina, Nobel 1961); Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (The Train of Life); Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer, photographer and modernist; Bruce Catton, American historian and writer (Civil War); Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet and 1st President of Senegal (1960-80); Harry Hooton, Australian poet; Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian poet and writer (Dikt, Jonas); Michel Boisrond, French film director and screenwriter; Jill Ker Conway, Australian-American author, first female president of Smith College; and Pierre Mertens, French-Belgian writer (Lettres Clandestines).

Any names familiar to you? There weren’t any for me this time. 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

I’ve put work on Frozen Conquest on hold pending a decision regarding the names used for some of my characters. Since whatever is decided will not only impact Frozen Conquest but the next two novels in the series, I need to pause at this time.

The sixteen posted chapters received another eight reviews this week, bringing the total to 266. As always, plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I’m greatly appreciative of the support.

Here’s the next snippet:

“I believe we have a security breach.” He glanced at Felix. “An unknown individual is apparently using clandestine means to communicate outside the organization even everyone signs the nondisclosure agreement saying they understood such communication is forbidden.”

Felix swallowed. I’ve only sent one message through the dark web. How did Emmanuel find out?

“I’m pretty tied up doing some special projects for Brown, so I thought Felix would be the perfect candidate to help you out.”

“I-I am?” Felix glanced between the two men.

“Sure. Next to me, you’re the best person on the team.” Emmanuel smiled. “What do you think, Sawyer?”

“It’s your call, but if you’re satisfied with Felix lending a hand, I have no problem. Speaking of hands, I need some assistance on the ice with a Sno-Cat. I skidded off the frozen path, and the machine was stuck. Could you both give me a hand? With three of us, it should only take a few minutes. The rest of the security team is tied up, or I’d get them to help me.”

“Sure thing, Sawyer.” Emmanuel stood. “Felix and I will get our gear together and meet you outside in ten minutes.”

“Excellent. We’ll take one of the larger machines in case we need to tow the other one back.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the three men climbed into a Sno-Cat, with Sawyer being the wheel. “Should take about twenty minutes to get to the stuck machine. Hang on, as I’m going to use a shortcut over the ice.”

Maneuvering off the normal path, Sawyer gunned the engine as they bounced over the icy terrain.

“Is that your machine up ahead?” Emmanuel pointed to a dark smudge on the horizon. “You were well off the beaten path.”

Sawyer laughed. “Brown pays me well to search for alternate routes around crevices. It’s exciting work but can be a bit dangerous.”

As they approached the abandoned Sno-cat, Sawyer pointed to the left of the machine. “If you look closely, you can see there’s a crevice not far from where I got stuck. I was trying to go around it when my little accident happened.” He parked behind the first machine.

The men climbed out of their warm Sco-cat and inspected the other one.

Felix pointed to the left side. “Looks like some damage—something fell off.” He glanced around and spotted a red and white piece of metal near the crevice. “There it is.” He slogged through the snow toward the damaged part.

As he bent down to retrieve it, he slipped on the ice.

“Wait a minute, Felix. I’ll help you.” Sawyer stepped next to Felix. “Here, take this rope and tie it around your waist. I’ll hold you while you step closer.”

Felix did as instructed and inched his way forward. He began to turn toward Sawyer.

A dark shape hit Felix on the shoulder, propelling him toward the crevice. “Hey! What are—”

Sawyer gave Felix a final shove, and he fell through the thin ice.

Iaaaaaahh!

In an instant, Felix was gone, his body disappearing into the deep hole.

Sawyer turned to Emmanuel. “That’s another problem sorted. At this rate, you’ll have to keep working for Brown to pay your debt to me.”

Perhaps another snippet next time.

 

 

With the pause on Frozen Conquest, I’ve started work on a new series. The first novel will be called Temples of Abydos. The first three chapters have already been posted to the two online subscription writing sites I use and have received twenty-seven reviews thus far.

Here’s the blurb:

History professor Sylvie Burness and her husband, Charles Wilkie, a renowned Greek archeologist, are seeking a new project after spending years cataloging Celtic sites throughout the United Kingdom.

Long fascinated with Egypt, Charles proposes an excursion to one of the lesser-known locations, Abydos, a historic city that played an important role in ancient Egypt. Sylvia agrees and together they plan their trip.

Unbeknownst to them, an unethical antiquities group called Guardians of Shadows are using one of the Abydos temples as their hideout.

Will Sylvia and Charles be able to evade this group and escape with their lives or will they be entombed in Abydos for generations?

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

Randall’s Ramblings, October 2, 2022

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

Randall’s Ramblings, September 25, 2022

The autumn temperatures continue to hit us. Most morning temperatures (at 8 a.m.) struggled to reach 46F (8C) with daily highs rarely making it beyond 60F (15C). At least we’ve had plenty of sunshine again this past week, making it feel warmer than the actual temperature. With the dry weather, I was able to do a bit of pruning around the property, in particular removing a large patch of bamboo as high as twelve feet. Since the garden refuse bin is only picked up once a month, I made six trips to the local recycling center to get rid of the evidence.

Good news at the petrol (gasoline) pumps again this week as the price of a liter dropped a further penny to £1.64. This way above the £1.45 we saw in January, but at least it’s heading in the right direction. With the exchange rate plummeting to 1.0845 on Friday (currently 1.0847), this made the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $6.69, a drop of thirty-eight cents.

In Big Ten college football, Michigan held off Maryland 34-27 to increase their record to 4-0. While this game wasn’t televised here in Scotland, they did show the Wisconsin-Ohio State game, which I recorded to watch this evening.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“Everything is Beautiful, But Beautiful isn’t everything.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on September 25th, the fourth and final Sunday of the month:

Matthew Merian the Elder, Swiss engraver and bookseller; Mark Zuesius Boxhorn, Dutch historian; Charles Robert Maturin, Irish playwright and novelist; Felicia Dorothea Hemans, English-Welsh poet (“The boy stood on the burning deck”, “The stately homes of England”); William Michael Rossetti, English writer and civil servant; Mina Kruseman, Dutch writer and feminist; Hans Vaihinger, German philosopher (Nietzsche Philosophy); Lope K. Santos, Filipino writer and Father of the Philippine National Language and Grammar; Lu Xun, Chinese writer of modern Chinese literature; Kees Boeke, Dutch reformist educator (Cosmic View); John Howard Lawson, American scriptwriter and playwright (Blockade, Algiers, Sahara); C. K. Scott-Moncrieff, Scottish writer and translator; Elsa Triolet [Ella Kagan], Russian-French writer and Resistance fighter; William Faulkner, American author (Sound & Fury-Nobel 1949); Ernst von Salomon, German writer (Kette Der Tausend Kraniche); Nahman Avigad, Israeli archaeologist (Discovering Jerusalem); Red Smith, American sportscaster and columnist (Pulitzer 1976, Fight Talk); Madeleine Bourdouxhe, Belgian writer; Phyllis Pearsall, British painter and writer (A to Z Map Company); Jessica Anderson, Australian novelist (Tirra Lirra By The River; The Impersonators); Remy C. van de Kerckhove, Flemish poet; Herbert Heckmann, German writer; Shel Silverstein, American writer and cartoonist (Now Here’s My Plan: A Book of Futilities; The Giving Tree) and songwriter (“A Boy Named Sue”; “The Cover Of The Rolling Stone”); Manouchehr Atashi, Persian poet; Maj Sjowall, Swedish writer (Martin Beck crime novels); Tim Severin, British author and explorer who replicated historic voyages; Eugenia Zukerman, American flutist and novelist (Deceptive Cadence); Bell Hooks [Gloria Jean Watkins], American author, feminist, scholar and social activist; and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Spanish writer (Shadow of the Wind).

Any names familiar to you? There was one for me: William Faulkner. 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 Fifteen was posted this week to the two online subscription writing sites I use. I’ve also made a dent in chapter sixteen.

This week, there were another twenty-two chapter reviews, bringing the total to 243, 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:

The Scandinavian Protection Agency had chartered the RV Aquavit as a floating platform for their venture to Antarctica, complete with an experienced crew and a scientific staff.

Carina and Gunner joined the rest of the six-person SPA team, which would conduct their experiments on the mainland. They entered the mess and found their teammates: Ailsa Dahl, a petite blonde who was game for anything; Bertelot Gulbrandsson, the team leader and an engineer by training; Eggert Falkenberg, a blond giant of a man with a quiet nature; and Rona Lundgren, a statuesque blonde well over six feet.

“Where did you two go? Checking out the sights—or each other?” Bertelot chuckled.

Carina’s face reddened. “If you must know, I was studying the landscape above the city. It’s the last time we’ll see anything like this until we return.”

“Should have taken some photos to remind you.” Bertelot maintained a straight face.

Everyone laughed.

Rona stood. “Anyone for coffee? I’ll put on a fresh pot.”

After a round of “yes” from the rest of the team, she headed into the galley.

Another whistle blew.

A vibration ran through the deck as the engine engaged. The ship swung away from the pier, heading in a southerly direction.

Rona returned a few minutes later with a fresh pot of coffee and cups. After everyone had a refill, she raised her cup in the air. “Here’s to our next adventure—Antarctica, here we come!”

Eggert spoke in his normal deep bass voice. “I am looking forward to my first time on the ice. I have dreamed of this since I was a child.”

“Too bad you missed our Arctic excursion.” Carina smiled. “What a time to come down with chickenpox.”

“Yes. They were a present from my niece.” He thumped his chest and coughed. “But I am in perfect shape now.” He coughed again.

“Take it easy, Eggert.” Bertelot grinned. “We don’t have a doctor aboard—just a nurse.”

“Is she pretty?”

Bertelot chuckled. “I guess you could say so. The nurse’s name is Tim.”

“Oh.”

Everyone laughed as they stood.

“See everyone here in about three hours.” Bertelot pointed at Rona. “We have a guest chef tonight.”

Rona touched a finger to her cheek. “Oh. Not sure about being a chef, but I make fantastic spaghetti and meatballs.”

“I’m heading out on deck. Anyone care to join me in bidding Ushuaia farewell?”

Ailsa nodded. “I’ll join you, Carina.”

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.

© Copyright 2022 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved

Randal’s Ramblings, September 25, 2022

The autumn temperatures continue to hit us. Most morning temperatures (at 8 a.m.) struggled to reach 46F (8C) with daily highs rarely making it beyond 60F (15C). At least we’ve had plenty of sunshine again this past week, making it feel warmer than the actual temperature. With the dry weather, I was able to do a bit of pruning around the property, in particular removing a large patch of bamboo as high as twelve feet. Since the garden refuse bin is only picked up once a month, I made six trips to the local recycling center to get rid of the evidence.

Good news at the petrol (gasoline) pumps again this week as the price of a liter dropped a further penny to £1.64. This way above the £1.45 we saw in January, but at least it’s heading in the right direction. With the exchange rate plummeting to 1.0845 on Friday (currently 1.0847), this made the equivalent cost of a U.S. gallon $6.69, a drop of thirty-eight cents.

In Big Ten college football, Michigan held off Maryland 34-27 to increase their record to 4-0. While this game wasn’t televised here in Scotland, they did show the Wisconsin-Ohio State game, which I recorded to watch this evening.

Here’s this week’s quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/):

“Everything is Beautiful, But Beautiful isn’t everything.”

So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on September 25th, the fourth and final Sunday of the month:

Matthew Merian the Elder, Swiss engraver and bookseller; Mark Zuesius Boxhorn, Dutch historian; Charles Robert Maturin, Irish playwright and novelist; Felicia Dorothea Hemans, English-Welsh poet (“The boy stood on the burning deck”, “The stately homes of England”); William Michael Rossetti, English writer and civil servant; Mina Kruseman, Dutch writer and feminist; Hans Vaihinger, German philosopher (Nietzsche Philosophy); Lope K. Santos, Filipino writer and Father of the Philippine National Language and Grammar; Lu Xun, Chinese writer of modern Chinese literature; Kees Boeke, Dutch reformist educator (Cosmic View); John Howard Lawson, American scriptwriter and playwright (Blockade, Algiers, Sahara); C. K. Scott-Moncrieff, Scottish writer and translator; Elsa Triolet [Ella Kagan], Russian-French writer and Resistance fighter; William Faulkner, American author (Sound & Fury-Nobel 1949); Ernst von Salomon, German writer (Kette Der Tausend Kraniche); Nahman Avigad, Israeli archaeologist (Discovering Jerusalem); Red Smith, American sportscaster and columnist (Pulitzer 1976, Fight Talk); Madeleine Bourdouxhe, Belgian writer; Phyllis Pearsall, British painter and writer (A to Z Map Company); Jessica Anderson, Australian novelist (Tirra Lirra By The River; The Impersonators); Remy C. van de Kerckhove, Flemish poet; Herbert Heckmann, German writer; Shel Silverstein, American writer and cartoonist (Now Here’s My Plan: A Book of Futilities; The Giving Tree) and songwriter (“A Boy Named Sue”; “The Cover Of The Rolling Stone”); Manouchehr Atashi, Persian poet; Maj Sjowall, Swedish writer (Martin Beck crime novels); Tim Severin, British author and explorer who replicated historic voyages; Eugenia Zukerman, American flutist and novelist (Deceptive Cadence); Bell Hooks [Gloria Jean Watkins], American author, feminist, scholar and social activist; and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Spanish writer (Shadow of the Wind).

Any names familiar to you? There was one for me: William Faulkner. 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 Fifteen was posted this week to the two online subscription writing sites I use. I’ve also made a dent in chapter sixteen.

This week, there were another twenty-two chapter reviews, bringing the total to 243, 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:

The Scandinavian Protection Agency had chartered the RV Aquavit as a floating platform for their venture to Antarctica, complete with an experienced crew and a scientific staff.

Carina and Gunner joined the rest of the six-person SPA team, which would conduct their experiments on the mainland. They entered the mess and found their teammates: Ailsa Dahl, a petite blonde who was game for anything; Bertelot Gulbrandsson, the team leader and an engineer by training; Eggert Falkenberg, a blond giant of a man with a quiet nature; and Rona Lundgren, a statuesque blonde well over six feet.

“Where did you two go? Checking out the sights—or each other?” Bertelot chuckled.

Carina’s face reddened. “If you must know, I was studying the landscape above the city. It’s the last time we’ll see anything like this until we return.”

“Should have taken some photos to remind you.” Bertelot maintained a straight face.

Everyone laughed.

Rona stood. “Anyone for coffee? I’ll put on a fresh pot.”

After a round of “yes” from the rest of the team, she headed into the galley.

Another whistle blew.

A vibration ran through the deck as the engine engaged. The ship swung away from the pier, heading in a southerly direction.

Rona returned a few minutes later with a fresh pot of coffee and cups. After everyone had a refill, she raised her cup in the air. “Here’s to our next adventure—Antarctica, here we come!”

Eggert spoke in his normal deep bass voice. “I am looking forward to my first time on the ice. I have dreamed of this since I was a child.”

“Too bad you missed our Arctic excursion.” Carina smiled. “What a time to come down with chickenpox.”

“Yes. They were a present from my niece.” He thumped his chest and coughed. “But I am in perfect shape now.” He coughed again.

“Take it easy, Eggert.” Bertelot grinned. “We don’t have a doctor aboard—just a nurse.”

“Is she pretty?”

Bertelot chuckled. “I guess you could say so. The nurse’s name is Tim.”

“Oh.”

Everyone laughed as they stood.

“See everyone here in about three hours.” Bertelot pointed at Rona. “We have a guest chef tonight.”

Rona touched a finger to her cheek. “Oh. Not sure about being a chef, but I make fantastic spaghetti and meatballs.”

“I’m heading out on deck. Anyone care to join me in bidding Ushuaia farewell?”

Ailsa nodded. “I’ll join you, Carina.”

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.

© Copyright 2022 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved