When icicles hang by the wall, 

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,

And Tom bears logs into the hall, 

And milk comes frozen home in pail, 

When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,

Then nightly sings the staring owl, 

To-whit! To-who!—a merry note, 

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

--From Love's Labor's Lost (Act V, Scene 2) - Shakespeare

It's that icicle time of year when Old Man Winter's frosty breath clings to your neck like hungry ghoul - but honestly, it's been unseasonably warm in my neck of the woods. Sure the frost is thick in the mornings and the temperature never rises above 35F or so, but the lack of snow makes it seem warmer. We've had rain instead of snow so far - that kind that leaves a hostile sheet of ice on the cars and the roads after nightfall. Snow is coming.

I finished the sequel to Accidental Pirates, and I've completed the edits suggested by my tireless Skirmish Team--my beta or rather alpha readers because they get the raw product with little or no proofing from me, so they can begin reading and correcting while I continue the creative process. Now, I'll go through it again to knock off any remaining rough edges and send it to the publisher--who assures me of interest.

Here's the latest review for Accidental Pirates:

This book was read by our 8 year old son, this is his review: "the pictures are amazing! It is a good adventure book and fun pirate story. It was very fun to read!"

I"m impressed with that 8 year old. I worried that parts might be too intense or advanced for boys that age. I'm happy to see that one loved it.

If you've read it, post your 5 star review. Accidental Pirates and the sequel are wind-in-the-sails and magic-at-full-gallop adventures.

In reading, I just finished Ardneh's Sword by Fred Saberhagen. It's a lot like the second part of Empire of the East, but takes place a thousand years later. Not my favorite, but I gave it 4 stars. I was intrigued by the putting on of the armor of gods near the end (cf. Ephesians 6:11, as well as my story here).

In music, the William Tell Overture--first known to me as The Lone Ranger Series Theme with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels--found me this week. I used to have it on a cassette of Rossini's overtures. It's probably in a box somewhere. I had forgotten that the overture is eleven or twelve minutes long. It's not until 5:50 that the familiar strains begin and only at 8:50 that the horse race (finale) begins. Of course, Amazon won't let me sample or just listen to the one track so I can decide if I want to get it; the big river music must shuffle everything to make me listen to other tracks instead of the one I want to sample, thus preventing me from purchasing it.

Excerpt from Accidental Pirates:

"These islands aren’t quite like the ones I’ve seen on maps of the Caribbean—unless maybe they’re too small to have made it onto any maps that survived into our time. And there’s a couple other things out of place according to what I thought I understood about the time.”

Court sat looking out toward the sea. A scowl passed over his face, and he used his good hand to wipe his forehead.

“What are the other things?” Kenny asked.

“I suppose it’s something you need to know, but I don’t want to scare you. I’m not telling you this to frighten you. I’m telling you this to help you survive. First, like I said, this place is different than any you’ve ever known or thought of. You saw Snarlin’ Fox. I mentioned Captain Ross, Toeless Tim, and Philip One-Eye. They’re buccaneers. Pirates, plain and simple. They’re at war with the world and out to get whatever they can, however they can. There are one or two among them with some shred of human decency still stuck to their souls, but the rest are devoid of sympathy, civility, and kindness. Their cup of care for anything other than themselves has long since gone dry. Captain Ross and his gang are a scourge in these seas. Captain Bird and another ship or two also stain the sea with their filth—”

Court stopped short. He pulled a spyglass from the bag hanging over his shoulder and put the glass to his eye.

“I think we’re about to meet one of those foul captains and his scurvy crew. A ship’s putting in near Shipwreck Cove.”

“Why are they coming here? Are they after you?” Kenny asked.

Court looked at the sky. “They’re not coming after something; they’re getting away from something.”

“What are they getting away from?” I asked.

“That’s the other thing you need to know about.”

History Bit:

De Soto had an attack dog named Bruto. At the Suwanee River, unfriendly Indians taunted the Spaniards from the far shore. Bruto escaped from his handlers to leap into the river to get at the natives. The Spaniards called for him to return, but he would not. By the time he reached the opposite bank, the Indians had struck him with a number of arrows. The wounds were fatal and died at the shore. Bruto had been a great weapon for the Spaniards and a deadly scourge to the Indians.

The Spaniards built a bridge and the army crossed. The Indian villiage had been abandoned, and the Spaniards stayed there, enjoying the store of corns, beans, and pumpkins. The Indians began attacking small parties of the invaders and the Spaniards paid them back in kind, killing the Indians wherever they found them and rounded up about 100 local men and women as slaves.

--From Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun.

"My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I'm after." -- The Art of the Deal - Donald Trump.