Accidental Pirates - and more

 

The Court of Peers

Chris and Kenny step through a crack in a cave wall and come out somewhere else entirely — a place where a man named Court Barnes is fighting for his life against a knife-wielding attacker.

The boys help him bandage the wound, and Court leads them back to his hidden camp: a lean-to cave stocked with pistols, a sword, and a warning that this isn't the Caribbean they'd recognize from any map.

It's the moment the book stops being an ordinary cave hike and becomes something else — and Court becomes the closest thing the boys have to a trustworthy adult in a very dangerous place.

Accidental Pirates is on sale this month

The sale ends by the end of the month. 

Speaking of Accidental Pirates, the sequel, Accidental Wizard comes out next month. I don't know if I'm allowed to give any tidbits to whet your appetite for this rip-roaring sequel, but I'm going to do so. I'm doing final edits. I would love to see some renderings of the scene surrounding this sentence:

All three of us were down, struggling in the pale moonlight on the bloody ground against the survivors of the blood pack.--From Chapter 12 of Accidental Wizard.

I'm dying to tell you more about it, but I'll have to restrain myself. I can say that the story is pure adventure from chapter one to chapter 31. The boys find themselves in a hostile environment where even those who profess to be their allies treat them terribly. Magic is in the air and it has a bite.

Grab Accidental Pirates now and be ready to snatch Accidental Wizard next month.

I'm also more than half done writing book three. 

Fun Fact:

The Mamelukes of Egypt replenished their numbers by buying boys from the Caucasus who were eight to ten years old and training them up to be warriors. They formed the nobility and learned nothing but the art of war. The Beys and their 10,000 warriors lived in relative luxury off the beaten down populace of Egypt. They kept the appointed Pasha, the nominal ruler, confined in the Citadel in Cairo. Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey ruled at the time Napoleon and his troops landed near Alexandria.

Bonaparte divided his infantry into five divisions under Desaix, Kleber, d'Hilliers (replaced by Menou), Reynier, and Bon. General Donmartin commanded the artillery. General Caffarelli supervised the engineers and the scientific expedition. General Alexandre Dumas commanded the cavalry. Naturally, Berthier was Bonaparte's chief of staff. During the landing, 19 men drowned. 

After landing, Bonaparte ordered 3 divisions, those of Kleber, Menou, and Bon, to march on Alexandria. (I note with interest that his first objective in Egypt was Alexandria. In 1800, he would move on Alessandria in Italy. Desaix would be killed in battle near Marengo and Kleber would be slain by an assassin in Egypt on the same day). There was no road to Alexandria and neither water nor food. The French troops would have to take the city to find water, as they had not been provided with canteens.

Bonaparte, Caffarelli (with one wooden leg), Donmartin, and Dumas all led the way--on foot. By eight in the morning, they came near the outer fortifications of Alexandria. Bonaparte ordered his troops to attack.

--The above is condensed from Herold J. Christopher's Bonaparte in Egypt. 

 

 

From Time to Time

Before I get to a review of the movie, I note that everything seems to be on fire. Roaring flames encroach on the old homestead across the state and evacuation notices are in place there; the hiking trail I wrote about in the previous post in on the edge of fire. Fires rage to the north, south, east, and west; smoke seasons the air and shrouds the horizon; I can't even see the hills a few miles away; the wind blows but it only brings more smoke.

From Time to Time, directed by Julian Fellowes and written by Fellowes and Lucy M. Boston, features Maggie Smith as Mrs. Oldknow, Alex Etel as the boy Tolly, and Eliza Bennet as Susan. This movie from 2009 surprised me. I had never heard of it before.

Near the end of WWII (that's not eleven for those of you in doubt) Tolly, whose father is listed as "missing" is sent to live in the country with his father's mother--Mrs. (or grandmother) Oldknow. Naturally, with a name like that, one must expect there will be some significant discussion or relevant history. 

Tolly is a bit of a bother, being somewhat hostile to his grandmother and the situation. However, that all changes when he meets Susan--the blond girl in the picture below with Tolly on the left and Jacob on the right.

Her initial appearance comes as a surprise as Tolly has gone to bed. He can see and hear her, but she can only hear him, because she's blind. I thought it interesting that her ghost would be blind -- except, Susan et al. aren't really ghosts. What we have is brushes with time. It's like Captain Kirk in "The Tholian Web." Tolly moves in and out of time between his own time and the early 1800s at the estate. At the present, the estate has fallen on hard times and Grandma is going to have to sell the place. 

However, there was woman who almost ruined the family when she married the heir who was a sea captain during the Napoleonic Wars.

 She had some valuable jewels, but those were stolen when the wing she had built caught fire. So, we have the set up for young Tolly to move in and out of time to learn family secrets and save the estate--hopefully--all while dealing with his father's missing status and his grandmother's dislike for his mother.

As soon as we see Caxton, the butler, we know we aren't going to like him.

He does fun things like aiding and abetting Susan's older, pampered, and evil brother in forcing Jacob up the chimney and then having a fire lit. Jacob is a runaway slave the captain/father rescued and brought back as an assistant to Susan.

The story is predictable but it doesn't disappoint. The transitions from present to past are nearly seamless and occur without warning. There is no mechanism, it just happens. Some people can see Tolly when he's moving in time, but most people cannot--it's sort of like plot armor; those who need to see and interact with him can, while the bad guys cannot. Although Grandma can see the ghosts, and they are ghosts when she sees them, she apparently doesn't get to go back in time and see them alive and in their own time. The story moves along quickly once it gets past the slow opening. 

I recommend it. 4 out 5 time portals given.

________________________________

I won't know anything about my short story submission for a week or two. I do have concerns that it may not fit with the other stories--which may have been the problem with my previous Napoleonic story that didn't get selected. I, however, enjoy variety, or as a certain batch of British funny men would say, "Something completely different."

The first half of the third installment in my adventure series for boys has been sent to my review team for their comments and corrections while I finish the second half. I'm enjoying the writing as well as feeding descriptions into AI to get images of the characters and creatures featured in the story. Book Two: Accidental Wizard is scheduled for release next month.
 

 

 

 

Cress Creek Trail

  

 That mound of gray material atop the rock, according to the sign, is ash that was all hot and sticky and formed a kind of concretesque substance when it got compacted. I didn't get to go up and examine it closely because it was off the trail and, as you can see by the photo, not easily accessible from that location. Although, I do think I could've reached it if I had had the time and inclination.

We had slipped the chafing leash of fair Byzantium to seek adventure to the north. The All Trails app promised a "moderate" hike an hour away. I didn't notice whether we beat the estimated time, but we did arrive without mishap to the location where a hill or small mounts arise from the fertile plain along the Snake River. The trail head failed to elude us as Madame Google brought us to the parking lot. The lot was nearly full. I imagined that a full lot meant an easy hike but lots of people.

Before we left, I told my companion that it was an hour away and the trail was less than a mile and a half long. Naturally, she packed food and drink for a three day journey through orc infested forest--and we wouldn't be missing any second breakfasts. 

I, too, had planned ahead, and upon our arrival, I pulled out a bandana and rolled five or six ice cubes in it and tied it around her neck. I prepared another one and put it around my own neck. We loaded a couple bottles of water into the backpack and began the journey outlined on the app. 

The first part of the trail is actually paved--not asphalt, but actual concrete; although I don't think it was formed naturally like the gray stuff in the photo above. We passed a few folks on their way out, and when we arrived at the creek itself, several people and their kids were soaking up the shade. Naturally, considering that lingering in that area could lead to interacting with people, we continued up the trail.

"Up" is the operative word. The trail climbs to the high point with a few lookouts for those who wish to look down upon the domain below.

 That one must be from pretty low. It hardly makes one feel lordly at all.

I believe that one is a view from on the way up.

 

I think that one is from the first lookout. There was a better, higher lookout, but my companion declined to hike over to it, so that view will forever remain a mystery. Although, I think it would be a lot like that picture above, only a little higher.

This one may be from the top of the trail where the view is largely blocked by the trees. We encountered both Utah Juniper and Rocky Mountain Juniper, as well as a lot of other foliage. Most of the plant life crowded the stream, leaving the rest of the hillside to the Utah Juniper.

This picture shows some of that gray stuff closer to the trail. Both the picture at the top and this picture are were taken at the beginning/end of the trail. The trail is a short loop with only about 350 feet of elevation gain, if I remember correctly. It left me wanting more, but my companion thought it was just right. I could tell, because she didn't complain or make threats against my person during or after the trip.

We didn't even need to open the pack during the hike, waiting until we got back to the car before getting a drink and then nibbling at second breakfast on the ride home.

In the writing sector, I've finished chapter sixteen of book 3 in my adventures for boys series. It's coming along well, even though I'm still uncertain how the heroes get from where they are to where they have to be to finish the book. The journey is always an adventure.

Writers Cantina 2026

 

 

The picture isn't from Writers Cantina, it's one I created from a scene in my book, Accidental Wizard, which will be published in September.

___________ 

 

I had planned to be on the road by 3 pm. The assistant who scheduled me for the mediation did not care about my plans. The judge conducting the mediation did not care about my plans. The crime victims and others at the mediation did not care about my plans. Not one soul shed even a figurative tear that I had already missed shooting wheel locks and flintlocks. The law is a harsh mistress.

My tires eventually met the asphalt trail extending from my house to the Writers Cantina. Because of the late start, I dropped my wife off at a gas station so she could hitch a ride to her sister’s house. Actually, her sister came and picked her up, and I waited for her sister to arrive before I continued the journey. In contradistinction to last year’s experience, the hotel check-in and the room were unremarkable.

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When I arrived at the temple of storytelling on Friday morning, the door was ajar—not the Mason type, but the open type. I walked the silent corridor, passing the reception tables and through the lobby area unchallenged, and eventually found...

The rest is here. 

 

A Shau Valor

 Thomas R. Yarborough's A Shau Valor takes you to the action that brought individuals recognition with wards of Congressional Medals of Honor and other distinctions for courage, bravery, and service. A lot of those recipients received the awards posthumously. Although there is discussion about the war overall, the actions are restricted to the A Shau Valley and areas close by. I knew one of the Medal of Honor recipients and was glad to see his story retold in this volume. It was because of him that I was familiar with at least the name of the valley. 

The book takes the reader from one mission to another, often explaining how the particular mission related to the larger plan. The action is intense and bloody. Outstanding stories of courage and valor leap from the pages. There are just so many of them that a sort of fatigue comes over the reader--at least that's how it was for me. The missions, the weapons, the helicopters, the establishing and defending of bases, the taking and retaking of hilltops, and the rescues in terrible conditions all becomes overwhelming. As I often do in such cases, I took a break and read a different book or two before heading back into the A Shau. After that, I continued through to the end.

One can't read the experiences without feeling admiration for the courage and sacrifices of the soldiers and other personnel involved in the fighting. The American ground troops exhibited tremendous bravery and always seemed to be outnumbered, usually attacking/defending or scouting in small units. The chopper crews defied the odds, flying in where angels would fear to tread in order to insert or rescue ground forces or the crews of other downed choppers. I couldn't believe how many choppers were shot down. It may be more precise to say I'm surprised that more weren't shot down.

The book reveals an utter failure of leadership and strategic planning in the A Shau. While there may not have been a winning possibility, given all the circumstances at the time, the decision to wage a war of attrition, simply withdrawing from ground taken at tremendous costs only to go back and retake it again after giving the enemy an opportunity to reoccupy and strengthen the position seems like the peak of foolishness, guaranteeing reduced morale and high casualties. It's hard to look at that approach and imagine it could ever be successful against a determined and dedicated enemy.

Read the book. The accounts of these heroes should be read and their valor recognized.

________________

I spent the week going over book two of my boys' adventure books for Raconteur Press for structural edits. The story pulled me in again and I enjoyed the wild, wild ride on the high road to adventure. I believe the plan is still for publication in September. Meanwhile, I'll get back to work on book three, which is over half complete.