WARRIOR of God, man's friend, and tyrant's foe

Now somewhere dead far in the waste Soudan,

Thou livest in all hearts, for all men know

This earth has never borne a nobler man.

--"Epitaph on General Gordon" by Alfred Lord Tennyson

We lost another warrior of God, man's friend, and tyrant's foe last week. The messenger of truth may be slain, but the truth lives on to be taken up and embraced by a thousand new messengers.

The work continues on editing the book. I submitted a short story to a new editor. I have a backlog of stories I want to write, but I'll soon be hit with some required editing on the boys adventure book - those edit requests should drop this week. Between the two editing projects, I may not have time finish any other stories for a month or two.

I did finish Marengo: The Victory that Placed the Crown on Napoleon's Head by T.E. Crowdy. It a painstakingly researched book that is a delight to read. Crowdy digs into regimental histories, memoirs, letters, and official papers on both sides of the battle. The conflict between the Austrian officers Zach and Radetzky as well as the duplicity of the spy Gioelli was new to me.

I've talked about doing another giveaway but haven't got around to it. I'm thinking about a twist on this one: Perhaps a contest with the best or three best limericks about one or more of my books or stories winning an autographed paperback or free ebook. Any interest?

History Bite:

The Indians at Ocale told De Soto of a large province with plenty of corn seven days' journey away. He set out with 50 horsemen and 100 foot soldiers. Moscoso remained with the rest of the army. After passing through several villages, on August 13 they came to one they later named the Village of Bad Peace. The name arose after Juan Anasco captured 30 men and women. That night an Indian came claiming to be the chief. He promised that if De Soto would let his people go he would provide food and guides to the Spaniards. De Soto released the captives and kept the chief under guard. The next morning many armed Indians came and took positions in the woods near the town. The chief asked to be taken to them to let them know everything was fine. When they took him near the armed Indians, he attacked his guards and ran away with the other Indians. As you might expect, De Soto did not appreciate the joke. He released the big mastiff Bruto. The war dog raced through the woods to catch the pretended chief. The dog dragged him to the ground and held him by the arm until the Spaniards arrived to retake him.

Check out The Volcan Knights, for a tale of winged warriors protecting humanity from soul-devouring creatures.

Luna Fox has Loss of the Unbound: Ordeal of the Dracomancer demanding your attention.

Ignite your imagination with these fantastic giveaways.

Best wishes