Autumn continues its march forward. We've seen our lowest temperatures since last winter at 36F/3C. Plenty of overcast days, making things seem dreary. Yesterday, we had so much rain for several hours, Tommy, one of our rescued feral cats, wouldn't go outside. Normally, a bit of rain doesn't bother him, but yesterday it was just too much. He kept going from one external door to the other (we have three) hoping the weather would be better at a different one.

Here's this week's quote (Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/): "Humor is one of the most serious tools we have for dealing with impossible situations." ~ Erica Jong

So who was born on this date in history? Let's find out who in the writing world was born on October 17th, the third Sunday of the month. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays):

Simon van Leeuwen, lawyer/historian (Roman-Holland regt); Jupiter Hammon, slave and poet, 1st African American to publish poetry; Jacques Cazotte, French writer; Georg Büchner, German playwright; Emanuel Geibel, writer; Elinor Glyn, British novelist (3 Weeks); Alfred Polgar, Austrian writer (Yes & No!); Simon Vestdijk, Dutch writer/poet (5th Seal); Nathanael West, American novelist (Day of the Locusts); Jerry Siegel, comic book writer (Superman); Arthur Miller, American playwright (Death of a Salesman, Crucible); Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-born American novelist; Miguel Delibes, Spanish writer; George Mackey Brown, poet; Pricilla Lanford Buckly, editor/columnist (National Review); Jimmy Breslin, American author and columnist (NY Post, News, Newsday); Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian writer; Drusilla Modjeska, Australian writer and editor; Ron Drummond, American writer; Richard Roeper, American columnist and film critic; Norm MacDonald, Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor (Saturday Night Live, 1993-98; Dirty Work; The Norm Show); Mark Gatiss, English actor and writer; and Ariel Levy, American feminist writer.

Any names familiar to you? There were two for me: Jerry Siegel and Arthur Miller. 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!

New Release!

Revenge-Cover-HRI'm delighted to announce the release of the both the Kindle and paperback versions of Revenge. It's also available through Kindle Unlimited.

For those who might have missed the synopsis, here it is:

Relegated to a desk job at the Pentagon despite his last field mission being a success, Colonel Javier Smith submits his retirement papers.  He moves forward with his plans to create a security and investigative agency called the Brusch Agency. The focus will be aiding international clientele.

AJ Bruce, who co-led the mission with Smith, finds herself rooted at CIA Headquarters. Although now in charge of the division responsible for tracking terrorist groups in Latin America, she misses the action from being in the field.

Meanwhile, Alberto Cabrera was one of four terrorists who survived Bruce and Smith's mission. Also known as Abdul Rahman, he enlists the assistance of the others who escaped and vows to track down those who killed his friends and comrades.

As Javier and AJ grow closer together, will the future hold wedding bells or funerals? Hang onto your hats as the story unfolds.

My Published Work

During October, Colombian Betrayal and Mission: Angola are participating in a promotion of the first books in a mystery or thriller series. I could only include two, so The Kurdish Connection missed out. There are thirty-eight books in this Kindle and paperback promotion, so why not stop by?

My Work in Progress

Slide1I'm finally back to work on Ultimate Escalation. Chapter fifteen was posted in a couple of days to the two online subscription writing sites I use, and chapter sixteen is almost completed. A total of seventeen chapter reviews came in this week, bringing the total to 310.

Here's another snippet:

Streetlights popped on as daylight faded and dusk approached. CC glanced out the window and watched the bumper-to-bumper Beltway traffic crawling along as people left work and headed home.

Ten minutes later, the Chinook dipped as it crossed the Potomac River in a rural area, and the pilot prepared to land. "All teams—prepare to—shit!"

The helicopter dove to the right. The teams rocked in their seats along both exterior walls as an automated voice sounded over the intercom, "Missile alert."

The Bedlam teams hung onto their seats as the pilot continued to jink. The helicopter dropped a hundred feet and twisted to the left. "It missed. Holy shit—here's another!"

Blam!

Several sharp bangs echoed through the shaking Chinook as shrapnel slammed into the helicopter's metal shell.

"Hang on!" the pilot shouted as the aircraft began to autorotate. A severe vibration shook the helicopter. A loud whining from the twin rotors drowned out the whistling. His knuckles turned white as he jammed fought with the collective control.

"Mayday! Mayday! This is Bedlam-One. We're going down!"

More next time.

Books I'm Reading

I recently finished reading Mark Iles' latest novel, Gardens of Earth, and it's a stunner. Plenty of twists and turns as we follow Seethan Bodell while he battles with internal demons and tries to save the earth from an alien race. Will Seethan overcome the effects of PTSD or will he succumb after using an Earth-changing weapon? This one will give you plenty of food for thought and will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. An excellent plot, riveting action, and a cast of characters where you're bound to find someone who appeals to your senses. This is the first book of Mark's I've read, and I can guarantee it won't be the last!

That 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 2021 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved