StanleyWheeler

Fun Facts: Pressed by the Coercive Acts (see last week's post), the colonies took action. One of the actions was the gathering of delegates for the First Continental Congress which met September 5, 1774, in Philadelphia. Each colony, except Georgia, sent delegates. George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Patrick Henry were among the delegates in attendance from Virginia. One of the proposals discussed was A Plan of Union of Great Britain and the Colonies, which provided for a popularly elected Grand Council which would've been the equivalent to the English Parliament, and a President General appointed by the crown. Even at that time, some of the delegates favored independence rather than simple legislative equality with England.

The congress organized a boycott against British goods, and petitioned King George III for redress. The congress resolved to reconvene in May 1775 if the response from England was not favorable.

England responded to the boycott with the New England Restraining Act which forbade the colonies from trading with anyone other than Britain and the West Indies, and prohibited colonial ships from the North Atlantic fisheries. The petition to the king was as equally well received.

When the congress reconvened in May 1775, the Revolutionary War had already begun.


Cover Reveal:

Having finished the writing and having very nearly completed the proofing, it's quite possible that this e-book will be available next week. The hard copy will take a little more time to format. The third book in the trilogy will end the first part of the saga which is set during the Revolutionary War. Most of the action in the second and third books takes place in the wilderness away from the major military battles. Small skirmishes, battling dragons, magic, gryphons, and more bad guys like that one on the cover carry this part of the story on the way to the surprising conclusion.

You should pick up the first two books, Threading the Rude Eye, and Power to Hurt--get them now. If you would like a free review copy, let me know in the comments.

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I finished reading Andre Norton's Star Born this week. I know that I had read something by her when I was a kid and I didn't like it--and hadn't read anything by her since. I shouldn't have judged all her work by that one book--whatever it was. I enjoyed Star Born. I'm not going to rehash the story for you. You can read it yourself. It's free on Amazon.

While you're at Amazon, pick up Manly Wade Wellman's The Golgotha Dancers. It's a short, quick read that seems like it should be a Night Gallery episode. It's a quick read--and it's also free.

I'm interested in reading Wellman's "A Star for a Warrior," for which he won the Ellery Queen Award, and which caused Faulkner get bent out of shape that his entry did not win because he was a true literary author while Wellman was not. I haven't found the story anywhere yet.