StanleyWheeler

First this: The best baseball movie ever made is--and there can be no argument about this as the film is very nearly a religious experience; the angels don't quite sing but they do play instruments (and I'm not talking about the Willie Nelson number that seemed particularly appropriate)--

The Rookie, staring Dennis Quaid. Every man should watch it at least every five years as a reminder to chase those dreams. Of course, women might enjoy it too. Quaid is perfect in the role of Jim Morris.

A reader this week said about reading Power to Hurt, "I finally understand those one things, but I don't know what they are." -- High praise indeed. She was referring to the gryphons. Apparently she had confounded the gryphons and their riders, not realizing that they were two separate species. Speaking of Power to Hurt (which I know I do often, perhaps too often) my author copies arrove arrived this week. They are, of course, beautiful. The fire-orange color reminded me of how I described the voice of one of the women in Smoke, another of my books. I read some of the latter work while making a few corrections pointed out by the gentleman I mentioned a couple weeks ago. I easily slip back into that book after reading only a small bit and have difficulty prying myself away to to take care of the tasks to which I must attend. It's certainly an enjoyable journey which beckons me with soft, sweet whispers and subtly flirtatious glances whenever I skim the pages.

I finished one book and started another this week--that's reading, not writing. This is the book I started:

I'm only to chapter 7 -- the 20% mark -- and I'm enjoying it immensely. I've never before read anything by Will Wight and I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing and of the story. The writing doesn't call attention to itself (which I think is a good thing) and tells an intriguing story so far. Last month or the month before, Will Wight made a significant number of his kindle books available for free and I availed myself of the opportunity to get every one of them at that price. I hope they all prove to be as enjoyable as this one is so far. I should post a review when I finish.

I finished this book:

I also got this book for free. I found it a refreshing bit of space opera, a genre I've not touched in a few years. I like the author's style. He knows how to tell a good story. I would fault the book for the cliche of a woman in every port and the infrequent vulgar word. Otherwise, I thought it was good, better than most. While the characters didn't stand out as new and original (if that's even possible anymore), the author crafted them in a believable and fun manner that invited me to continue reading. That is something that many of the books I've picked up recently no longer do. The writer is a Vietnam war vet and this book, published in the 90's, emits the not-so-faint fragrance of Vietnam. I would give it a solid 4 stars out of 5.

Finally, what I have been writing are rules to my own skirmish game. I haven't named them yet but I believe they work for anything in the age of muskets and I'm confident they'll work for more modern weapons as well. I plan to use them with some Barsoom adventures. I first tested them with the rescue from the hangman's noose scenario that I had made for some rules which I had purchased. After playing that scenario with my new rules, I had made a few adjustments and played a scenario I'm calling "Encounter at the Docks" (that's the watery rather than the medical for those of you not tipped off by the spelling). I played it a couple times over the week and found it to be terrific--simple yet with more interesting possibilities than I found in most other skirmish rules. I should have done an AAR, but didn't take any pictures. I will another time. Note: I did not paint that figure pictured above. It is from the Redoubt Miniatures website. I, of course, did not need to note that fact as the the figure is in fact quite well painted--unlike my own slipshod workmanship.