After another week of dry weather, we're finally getting a light rain. Thank goodness, as we certainly need it since it's been dry for a couple of weeks and the ground (and plants) need it.
Last weekend's small business market was a great success. I sold seventeen of my autographed novels, while two of Sylvia's poetry books and sixteen of her laminated poetry sheets went as well. Both of us were greatly pleased with the results.
Stop trying to write sentences and start trying to write stories. ~ James Patterson. Compliments of https://www.writerswrite.co.za/motivational-quotes-on-writing/.
So who was born on this date in history? Let's find out who in the writing world was born on 11 June, the second Sunday of the month. (Compliments of https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/):
Barnabe Googe, English poet; Ben Johnson, English playwright and poet (Volpone, Alchemist); Anton Hildebrand, Dutch children's book writer (Man in the Moon); George Wither, English writer (Abuses Stript and Whipt); J. H. Leopold, Dutch poet (translated Omar Khayyam); Alfred L. Kroeber, American anthropologist and author (Anthropologist looks at History); Renee Vivien, English-born poet, wrote in French; Edward Shanks, British poet and critic; Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist (Thousand Cranes) and Nobel laureate (1968); Emil František Burian, Czech author and composer; Mary Lavin, Irish author (Tales from Bective Bridge); Hendrikus Berkhof, Dutch theologist (Church & Emperor; Irving Howe, American writer and critic (World of Our Fathers); Michael Meyer, English novelist and translator; William Styron, American novelist (Confess of Nat Turner, Sophie's Choice); thol Fugard, South African anti-apartheid writer (Blood Knot); Christina Crawford, American actress and author (Mommie Dearest); Robert Munsch, Canadian children's author (The Paper Bag Princess, Love You Forever); and Chris Rice, American contemporary Christian and folk music singer-songwriter ("When Did You Fall (In Love With Me)"), poet, and visual artist.
Any names familiar to you? There weren't any this week for me. 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
This week, I began the hard work on Frozen Conquest -- getting the manuscript ready to submit to my publisher. I'll finish my first edit pass later today.
Frozen Conquest received twenty reviews this week, bringing the total to 801! Once again, there are plenty of good suggestions to improve my story and I'm greatly appreciative of the continued support. I've gone through all the reviews for chapters 1-39 and made note of suggestions I want to incorporate into the story.
Here's another snippet:
Rufus unlocked a cabinet, pulled out his laptop, and booted it. While they waited, he turned to the others. "I placed all the applications on here. Eight are prior military, while the other two are FBI agents looking for a career change."
"Aye." CC sipped his dark German beer. "We'll give you our opinions, but in the end, the choice is yours."
Rufus nodded. "Admiral Blakely said we should pick four people, for now, giving us a decent QRF staff as we could split into two three-person teams, if necessary, although I think eight would be better."
Trevor glanced at CC. "Fully agree with you. However, in our recent team build, the admiral indicated changes would need to wait for additional funding."
"Aye. If everything works out, we'll get the necessary funding in the next budget."
"I recommend picking four people you want right away." Evelyn sipped her white wine. "Choose two others as alternates—they can be added to the team when the budget is sorted." She smiled. "Of course, it depends on how many meet the threshold for being offered positions."
"Makes sense." Rufus clicked on the first file and opened it. "I've blocked the names in case any of us know the applicants and might show inadvertent bias. For now, they'll be known as one through ten."
"Aye. Excellent idea." CC scooted forward.
* * *
Over the next three hours, the five Bedlam personnel reviewed the files. Two were rejected outright due to a lack of operational experience. While well-trained, they were desk jockeys and never served in a high-tension environment.
They took a short restroom break and replaced their empty drinks.
Rufus led them outside for a breath of fresh air.
"Will you keep this place when you've assembled your teams?" Evelyn glanced at the other houses on the street.
Rufus nodded and pointed to two properties, both larger than their current abode. "Yes. Those houses over there each have three bedrooms. Each member will have their own bedroom but will share the common areas. Meanwhile, August and I will stay here. It's only two bedrooms but plenty of space for us." He yawned. "Shall we get back to it?"
Everyone agreed, and they returned inside.
After an additional two hours, they reached a decision: one, three, four, six, eight, and nine.
"Shall we uncover their names and faces to see if we know any of them?" Rufus unblocked the hidden information and stepped through the six applicants.
"Wait." CC raised a hand. "Number nine—I recognize his photo and name. In my opinion, you don't want him."
"Any valid reason? He seems very qualified." Rufus frowned.
"Aye. He's qualified, but that's not the problem. He resents authority from those he considers junior to his abilities. In Afghanistan, he killed an Afghan captain after a disagreement. Charges were never filed—I think the rest of his team didn't want to deal with any repercussions as they could end up like the captain."
CC gazed into each of their faces. "He also tried to kill an American army colonel looking into the Afghan captain's death—me."
More next time.
Promotions
Dangerous Alliance, Colombian Betrayal, and Ultimate Escalation are participating in a Murders, Mysteries and the Paranormal promotion, running until the end of June for Mystery & Suspense / Paranormal, Mystery & Suspense / Thriller, and Mystery & Suspense / Women Sleuths. There are currently ninety-four novels participating. Why not check it out?
https://books.bookfunnel.com/murdermysteriespromo3/f3fke10rs2
All of my novels are participating in June's MAYHEM & MOTIVES: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads. There are 234 novels to choose from. Please stop in when you have a chance. You could find your next best author!
https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-jun/nwprjw7ql4
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
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