I went fishing with the musketeer and one of his minions, as well as the big dog to whom I'm a minion. We have an annual tradition fishing one of the reservoirs on the Snake. I caught two big bass before my companions had caught any. We each caught at least one. Although it wasn't the fun-fest for me that it was last year, it still beat a day at the office. Last year I could not stop catching fish. The other two weren't doing as well, but stayed an extra hour because I was having too much fun to stop.

On the reading front, I'm getting near the end of Death or Victory by Dan Snow about the taking of Quebec in 1759, and I'm enjoying the great detail about the whole endeavor. It's particularly interesting because a fictional character from my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series plays a major role in the matter in my alternate history fantasy. There will be a separate prequel which deals with that campaign. You can get the first book in the series for FREE in the link below, and choose from a big selection of other books for FREE:

LINK TO FREE SELECTIONS

I'm also strolling through Louis L'Amour's, Last of the Breed. I had not read it before, but I did know the general premise. One of my friends, (who has since passed away) read it and told me about it in high school, but I never got around to reading it back then.

I've started my vidangel viewing of Outer Range. I had supposed that it would go all western-viking crossover, but I'm having second guesses about that.

I'm also listening to Sudden Courage by Ronald C. Rosbottom. It purports to be about the French resistance youth during WWII--but so far it's all background.

The Frontier Partisan podcast has been a great discovery. While I mowed the south and west forty, I consumed all of the "Pontiac's War" episodes. Great stuff.

On the matter of great stuff, I'm writing the first of a couple prequels to my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. The first such prequel is: In Death Bedrenched. You can read the first chapter here.

Additionally, I'm in search of an elite team of fearless fighters who can boldly advance to the forefront of the conflict and engage in the battle-before-the-battle. I'm looking for recruits for my Skirmishers who would like to read and provide feedback on complete novels or parts thereof before the works are published--to read where no man has read before (except me of course). Every dedicated participant would receive an autographed paperback of the final novel, as well as a mention in the acknowledgments. Sure, that is less than the equivalent of the king's schilling for the responsibility of giving meaningful feedback and helping to create some buzz for the novel, but the glory of plunging into exhilarating adventures to prepare the way for the masses who follow is a prize beyond price. I would like to magnify that prize by including minor characters in my novels named after the Skirmishers -- if the Skirmisher agrees -- and in all likelihood, give them a memorable death scene, but it's hard to say what can happen to a character once it receives a name. Enlist in the Skirmishers now.

Respond to this email to join the team!

_________________

I have not found that any of you took up the gauntlet, which was thrown down in the previous letter, by posting your own reviews of any of my books on Amazon or goodreads over the last 2 weeks. Please correct me if I'm wrong so that I can add you to the Honor Roll below.

In the meantime, let me give you a taste of what you are missing:

Excerpt from Promise of Carnage and Flame:

Akram remained still until the head with its iridescent yellow horns and downy halo, which resembled nothing so much as a bloodless circle of smashed canaries, had passed cleanly out and the neck of the monster began to extend through the entrance. Akram pulled the stone cat antler from his belt, swallowed, and exhaled. He stepped from the timbers over the entrance.

He landed on his knees, one upon each side of the jagged ridges which ran down the center of the dragon’s neck and spine. He closed his empty hand upon one of the horn-like projections. In response to his unexpected touch, the dragon squirted from the entrance like a slick fish through gripping hands. The dragon spun in the open, turning its head to reach the unwelcome rider upon its neck.

_____________________

Let me drop something completely different here. Here are some sentiment-laden words on marriage and daughters that I wrote not many years ago. Let me know what you think.

********************

Honor Roll with special thanks to these subscribers:

Lois for her stunning review and heroic defense of The Shrinking Zone

Budd for reviews for a couple of my books, as well as his expression of how much he is enjoying reading the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series.

Colleen for leaving ratings for several of my books on Amazon.

Rob for leaving a review of Threading the Rude Eye

Michael for leaving a review of Threading the Rude Eye, and The Shrinking Zone

There are other reviews of my books, but I don't know whether those reviews are also subscribers to this newsletter.

If you have posted a review anywhere of any of my books, let me know so that I can include you in the Honor Roll.

********************