5 Golden Rings

 It's done. Child number 5 has entered the hallowed halls of wedded bliss. There's no guarantee on the earthly duration of the bliss, but if ignorance is also bliss, then turning a blind eye to many little annoyances should help. However, somethings are a very big deal. I shared with son-in-law that much of the rest of his life will be spent in discovering that many things he took for granted or never gave much thought to are now, in fact, a very big deal. The information will frequently come as a complete surprise to him; just as it will surprise her that he could've failed to realize a thing so obvious to her. They're in for some good times.

The wedding took place in the morning, followed by a luncheon, and then a reception in the evening. I shot a picture of one of the few outdoor decorations at the reception venue because nothing says matrimony like hyper-salivating lions.

We had all our children together again, and they had good news to share. 

We had a nice hike in this alien landscape:

 While the young ones chose to explore a cave, I elected to go up the red rocks--what with it getting dark and there being a marked lack of flashlights among us--as I didn't think there would be much to see by the light of a phone in the obscure, subterranean recesses--except for gargoyles. I watched Gargoyles with Cornell Wilde (he wasn't watching with me; he was in the movie) during workouts a few weeks ago and I knew I did not want to meet one or more gargoyles in the dark with only a water bottle and a phone light as my primary weapons. Maybe...if the water was holy water and the phone light was a ray of turning with a +2 flash causing cringing fear... but I digress.

 I didn't meet any any bipedal lizards and therefore didn't attempt to make a primitive cannon, and the spelunkers emerged sans gargoyle companions. It was an evening well spent.

Prior to the exploration expedition and after succumbing to a nap brought on by the earlier activities, I had a brainstorm while cogitating about a new short story. I've got the main character, now I have to hammer out a little trauma, drama, and dream to forge a tale of mystery and adventure that will smack the reader right between the eyebrows.

Next week, it's Writers Cantina. 

 

 

 

 

Viking Cruise to Jerusalem

 

Fun Fact:

Sigurd I became king of Norway at 13 when an Irish axe ended his father's life. He received the crown jointly with his two half brothers, Eystein and Olaf, the latter being a toddler. At 17, Sigurd agreed to lead an expeditionary force to the Mediterranean and Eystein agreed to rule the kingdom while Sigurd was away. In 1177, Sigurd took 60 longships and sailed away (without meeting any extra-terrestrials who sang for him to Come Sail Away.) 

Sigurd spend some months in England before sailing south and put in at Galicia for another winter. The Norwegians had difficult times when the supply arrangements with a local earl fell through and they had to forage for provisions. Sigurd plundered the offending earl's castle and set sail again. They soon encountered a fleet of Muslim pirates--seizing eight of the galleys and scattering the rest. Sigurd then stopped off in Portugal to plunder a Muslim castle at Sintra and executed the occupants. The fun continued with a raid on a castle south of Lisbon and a battle with Muslim corsairs near Gibraltar. 

He followed that by bringing a taste of Norway to the black pirates at Formentera in the Baleric Islands. The pirates taunted Sigurd from their walled caves, and Sigurd responded by throwing a housewarming party. He had two small boats hauled to the clifftops, where he filled them with men and had them lowered into the mouth of the caves. While the Norwegians gifted the pirates with stones and arrow, Sigurd led a climbing expedition from below. On arrival, they tore down the walls and set fires to smother the caves with smoke. They killed the pirates and took more loot there than at any other rest stop.

 Sigurd continued the pillage party at Ibiza and Menorca before reaching Sicily in 1110. On his arrival in the waters of Palestine, Sigurd took aim at the Fatimid city of Ascalon. The Muslims refused to come out to party, so Sigurd has his crew drop him at Jaffa while they sailed on to Acre. At Jaffa, he met Baldwin I and the two of them headed for Jerusalem. 

Although the crusader state holdings has expanded, there were places like Ascalon, Tyre, and Sidon which continued to hold out. Sigurd took his fleet to blockade Sidon from the sea, and Baldwin brought his army by land to storm the walls. Sidon surrendered on December 4. 

Sigurd seemed to feel like he had done his part to liberate the holy land, and left for Norway. He stopped in Constantinople where he was feted extravagantly by Emperor Alexios. Sigurd traded in his ships for horses and made his way across country to Denmark, where he was given a ship for a happy return to Norway. Although he was later subject to hallucinations and panic attacks, he governed peaceably with his brothers and outlived them both.

--The above information was condensed from chapter 10 of Dan Jones' Crusaders. 

I found Dan Jones' history podcast this weekend on Amazon. Although I enjoyed them, the ones I've listened to so far lack the the depth and detail to make them really great.

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This week took us to Coeur d'Alene, the homestead, and back to Byzantium. We passed through the other fabled land where I almost accepted a job offer and my traveling companion assured me that I had made the right choice.

I finished a short story and got it off to my Skirmish Team, and I trimmed two hundred words from another story and also sent it to the team. We're on the road again next week and the week after.

 

Independence Day 2025

 

It was Independence Day. The Fourth of July. The ogygia of summer. I name it the latter, not because we're trapped there and must choose between Calypso and escape, but because it is the center point about which summer revolves. In Byzantium this year, it brought dark clouds and rain.

We usually get our own fireworks to celebrate our right to watch our money become transformed into disappointing fountains of sparks of various ilk, but this year we did something that I don't recall having done before. We watched A Capitol Fourth on PBS. There were non-obnoxious musical acts on or near the White House lawn. They sang patriotic songs, had military bands and anthems, and presented old and new talent. People who wanted to celebrate America attended, waived little flags, sang along, and enjoyed themselves. Even the hosts repeated, "God Bless America," without fear or concern of offense. The fireworks display afterward as the Beach Boys sang a medley of favorites, with other singing and instrumentals, including Sousa's patriotic presentations, brought the celebration to a climax. It was spectacular.

We've experienced the pinnacle of summer. From here on it's a reluctant but inevitable slide down the slippery pole of glorious summer into the heap of leaves we call fall.  

As part of my celebration of Independence Day, I've reduced the prices on most of my ebooks to $3.99 and Truth in Flames, book 5 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series to just $2.99.

It's the book that covers the Declaration of Independence and the battle in words and deeds to set forth and preserve the important truths. You'll hate yourself for not getting it - or not. Anything's possible. It's the book that made Iago a favorite character for some, or maybe that was the previous book. It's hard to keep track of the exciting adventures.

In other news, Raconteur Press has expressed a desire to publish my adventure book for boys. That's fabulous news! 

 

 

Goblin Souk

 

 Goblin Souk has finally materialized from shimmering mirage on the sands into solid form in paperback and ebook. Quaff from the many flavors of the Near East, ancient and otherwise, with this anthology of stories set in mysterious marketplaces. My story, "A Soldier's Bargain," sees three of Napoleon's infantrymen under attack and looking for refuge find their way to a bazaar that will effect their fates in this life and the next.

Fun Fact:

Before Christmas in 1099, Bohemond of Antioch and Baldwin of Edessa made a miserable 250 mile trip to Jerusalem, plagued by cold, rainstorms, hunger, and bandits. They arrived at a city ruled by Baldwin's brother Godrey and smothered in stench of the dead. Godrey had taken the title of Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. On receiving his appointment, Godrey had marched out to Ascalon where Al-Afdal was assembling the army that had failed to relieve Jerusalem from the crusaders' earlier assault. He defeated the Fatimid army and put Al-Afdal to flight. He also had acquired a shard of the True Cross from the priests who had guarded it at the Holy Sepulchre. 

Bohemond and Baldwin brought with them Daimbert, the archbishop of Pisa. In Jerusalem, he was appointed Patriarch in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At Christmas he blessed Bohemond as Prince of Antioch and struck down Byzantine claims to Antioch. Bohemond had made promises to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios that he would turn Antioch over to him. Daimbert retroactively sanctioned Bohemond's violation of the promise. 

Although he had received holy blessings and had his repudiated oaths sanctioned, all would not be well for Bohemond. In August of 1100 he was taken prison while on campaign in northeast Asia Minor and not released until nearly two years later on payment of a tremendous ransom. In late 1100, Godfrey died, and Baldwin of Edessa was crowned King of Jerusalem on December 25. Baldwin campaigned against the Fatimids and began building a genuine crusader kingdom.

The above information was taken from chapter 9 of Dan Jone's Crusaders. 

--Truth in Flames is sale on now for the 4th of July. 

 

 

The Count's Mansion

As part of the road trip to take care of things at Le Chateau au Chat Gris, we had to play the next installment of the adventure that started with the Cursed Ruins and the Cauldron of Mystery. Le Freres Corses were looking to meet with the Count who hired them to get the flask of fluid from the cauldron. I hadn't prepared anything yet, so I put something together on the fly.

Charo and Gretel arrived back at the Count's mansion and immediately discovered that it wasn't going to be as easy as provided in their Anticipation Proclamation. A mouthy guard at the gate demanded to see some ID and the Wizard Gretel obliged him by zapping the head of a statute beside the doorway. The helpful guard then offered to take the flask to the Count himself. 

Charo nearly gave him the flask--which would've resulted in a locked door and no reward for their efforts. They finally convinced the guard that they had to take it in themselves. The guard then took them inside the mansion and introduced them to Brutus, who took them to the next room and introduced them to Elmo. He took them to the next room and introduced them to Aero who sent them across the bridge over the troubled water to meet with the Count and Spearo, his personal guard.

Now that they were in the Count's chamber, they naively handed over the flask without getting payment. With flask in hand, the Count became highly uncooperative. The verbal struggle transitioned away from words to deeds when the Count ordered Spearo to employ his namesake weapon against the adventurers with extreme prejudice. As one might expect, our heroes reacted badly. In the fracas that followed, the Count proved entirely inept in using the flask against Charo and Gretel, while they proved adept at dealing with Spearo. Charo used the same zap spell he had used on the statute, and it produced permanent results on Spearo. At the latter's death, the Count became congenial and had Aero pay the heroes the promised funds with a little something extra to smooth over the misunderstanding.

Of course, once they were out of range, he rang the bell and ordered room service of the lethal variety be delivered to Charo and Gretel, and disappeared down a secret passage. They ran across the bridge, successfully passing their challenge rolls against finding the collapsing portion of the bridge. Once on the other side, Aero discharged some parting gifts--arrows--but the presence of Spearo's corpse apparently spoiled his aim. 

The adventurers fought their way out of the mansion with their skillful weapon-handling aided by Charo's fire-spraying-ring and Gretel's spells. The wizard was forced down to his last hero point to avoid a serious wound. He did find a mechanical dog, but he couldn't activate it. He also discovered a stuffed gryphon's head and a secret passage. Gretel managed to get himself trapped in the secret passage for two or three turns while Charo loosed his wrath on the wounded Aero and Brutus. Finally, they got out and dispatched the last guard at the gate. However, Charo, never one to let potential loot go unliberated--especially when the owner has tried to kill him--carried out the gryphon head. He doesn't realize it, but selling that item will lead the Count and his new, more powerful minions to the pair of adventurers.

 

 

 

Michael D. Young

 Interview with Michael D. Young

Author of

The Penultimate Dawn Trilogy

 

 Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

My current work in progress is called “Everyman” and was started during National Novel Writer’s Month this November. I managed to write the 50,000 words on it that month! It is about a deep-sea explorer who goes missing and comes back with an alien host that can absorb the DNA of other people and assume their traits and appearance. When he appears, a mysterious cult appears with him that has been expecting his coming. The protagonist is a man whose pregnant wife was taken by this monster, who has vowed to find a way to stop him while trying to work through his own grief and anger.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

Like many of my books, this one popped into my head as a “shower thought.” Warm water gets my brain going.

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes, while I love fantasy and science fiction, I also write inspirational non-fiction. My latest release was a Christmas book about the history of 24 different carols. I find that it helps to mix things up to keep my creativity flowing. I’ve done other non-fiction titles on musical topics, and I enjoy mixing those two parts of my life.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

I pay a lot of attention to worldbuilding and especially to the literature, history, religious and creative aspects of a culture. I also try to write books with a strong moral center without beating the reader over the head with a moral to the story. I try to take the time to twist old tropes and to deliver something that feels as fresh as possible.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I freely admit that I have a thing for Germany, having lived there and taught German in public schools, so I often incorporate German stuff into my novels. There are just so many interesting things about German culture to talk about! There are so many places I’ve been in Germany that feel like stepping right into the pages of a fantasy novel.

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I’m also a musician and I do a variety of musical projects on my YouTube channel. (Music by Michael D. Young.) I also do a few podcasts, including one of about the history of Christmas carols. (The Carols of Christmas) I’d really appreciate new listeners!

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

Read the Keys to the Kingdom or the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix. He’s an Australian author and I don’t think he got quite the reach in the United States that he should have. He has really interesting fantasy worlds that helped shape who I am as a writer.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

I am really happy with my Penultimate Dawn trilogy, and so I recommend starting with the first book in that series, “The Hunger.” It has a lot of fun worldbuilding and characters that I think many people will relate to. It’s a great way to get familiar with my writing style and many readers have already told me how much they enjoyed the trilogy. So, start there.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

A couple of years ago, I just happened to see this call for submissions on social media that led me to turn one of my podcasts into a book that subsequently got published and did very well. Not all time spent on social media is wasted for us writers!

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

How can I help support your writing in other ways in addition to buying your books? I would love people to leave reviews and to share things they enjoyed with their friends.

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

One of my catchphrases is “No worries!” This links to the quote, “Worry is an attempt to control future outcomes before they occur.” If I find myself worrying excessively about something, I try to redirect my energy toward what I can control.

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Thanks to Michael for participating.

 

 

Windows into infinity

  

Every book is a window into another time, place, reality, or mind. 

Apparently, just over half of adult Americans read at least one book a year. That's terrible. Every adult should be reading at least a dozen books a year - minimum. Older adults read more than younger adults. Is that because older adults grew up with reading as the primary means of obtaining information and younger adults are accustomed to plugging their brain into a screen through which someone who has already evaluated and condensed the material can tell them what they think they should know? Or is it because reading books has become a completely foreign activity which they've never tried or from which they've divorced themselves?

I haven't been in a bookstore in quite a while. I can't remember the last time I was in a bookstore. The new books I get are almost all ebooks because they're cheaper than paper books, I can carry an entire library on my phone, I can change the print size, and they're easy to mark and search. Also, I just don't have room for more physical books. On the other hand, I don't trust the ebook supplier not to whisk my books away from for entirely arbitrary reasons.

 I know. As long as there are young women, romance novels will always sell. Of course, that doesn't help me. 

Here's what the Skynet predecessor says about which of my books you would enjoy:

The Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series: This series is perfect if you love high-stakes fantasy set against real history. Expect dragon hunts, historical figures, magic artifacts, wartime intrigue, and a satisfying blend of action and character growth. The first book is a strong entry point, and later volumes maintain momentum while deepening lore. 

Smoke: If you’re a fan of hard boiled detective fiction—with witty narration, period style, and clever plotting—this one delivers a satisfying standalone mystery, mixing charm and noir intrigue.

 Justice in Season and Justice Resurgent: Great if you appreciate historical westerns infused with moral dilemmas, local history, and action grounded in real-world frontier life.