Fun Fact:

Following Abercromby's defeat at Carillon/Ticonderoga, he granted permission to Colonel John Bradstreet to undertake a bold mission that would have greater consequences than the taking of Ticonderoga. Bradstreet had mastered the use of flat-bottomed boats. Each boat could haul 25 men and supplies along the waterways. General Shirley had discovered Bradstreet and put him in charge of the bateau supply service on the Mohawk River, which served as the vital link between Albany and the western outposts, including Oswego.

Bradstreet's plan was to lead an attack on Fort Frontenac--the hub of the French supply line in the west. In July 1758, Bradstreet was ordered to go up the Mohawk to help General Stanwix complete Fort Stanwix at the carrying place between the Mohawk River and Lake Oneida. From there, Bradstreet would take the fight up to Lake Ontario and to Frontenac at the vital location where the Lake Ontario jointed the St. Lawrence River. All the supplies for France's western outposts, including Fort Duquesne, came through Fort Frontenac.

August 25, 1758, Bradstreet landed about a mile west of Fort Frontenac. The French were completely unprepared. The French commander, Major Pierre-Jacques Payen de Noyan had a few days before received word of Bradstreet's advance and sent to Governor Vaudreuil for help The governor had called for the militia to go to Frontenac. Bradstreet started his bombardment on August 26. The French didn't even have enough troops to man all their cannons. On the second morning, two of Bradstreet's guns fired from a hill only 150 yards from the fort's northwest corner. 

The 85 year-old fort was in no state to withstand the destructive attack, and Noyan surrendered. The garrison consisted of only 110 men, but there were civilians, including women and children in the fort. Bradstreet gathered the plunder, burning everything he couldn't haul away, including 2000 barrels of provisions as well as the boats at the wharf for transporting goods. Even in additional provisions should arrive, there would be no way to haul them to Fort Duquesne and the other outposts. Bradstreet allowed Noyan and his men to leave for Montreal on the promise to release an equal number of British prisoners, and he left the ashes of the fort to return to the lake. Bradstreet had lost one man killed and a dozen wounded.

--I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman, Chapter 9 for this fun fact episode. 

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The editing of Book 6, Crisis in Fire and Snow, is nearing completion. It's still on course to be available before Christmas.

 

Miniature Wrestling

 There were two items of note this week. First, regarding this picture:

Somebody gave my wife some of these candies a while back. I ate them. I wanted more. When I suggested that she get back in touch with the friend who gave them to her, she went and bought me some. I think these are my new favorite candy: dark chocolate and what looks and tastes like real peanut butter (not the grainy sugar and peanut butter substitute found in America's most popular candy). These are a real treat--in spite of what the writing on the wrapper might lead you to believe. I give them 5 stars and would recommend them to a friend, but only if I were opening a new bag. If I were down to the last few, I would keep them for myself and not say a word about them.

Next was the miniature wrestling tournament. By miniature, I don't mean Hobbits, Dwarves, Munchkins, or the little people among us. This is what I'm talking about:

 Over a few days, I assembled ten of these American Militia miniatures. They're supposed to be 28mm, but they may be slightly smaller, or the ones with which I'm comparing them are slightly larger than 28mm. I'm putting them together for use in a campaign with my skirmish/RPG rules with Les Freres Corses and perhaps another guest set in my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Universe. Anyway, some assembly required is a euphemism for the combination of gladiatorial combat and mud wrestling it takes to put these plastic chaps together.

Cutting out the body and gluing it to a base is deceptively simple and easy--no real problems, apart from the accident with the knife and the blood drops. It's everything after that becomes a death match in the mud--except the mud is glue. The head, both arms, and some weapons have to be cut free from the sprue and attached to the body. While the heads provided can be attached to any of the figures, the arms and some weapons match only particular figures; it's not a mix-and-match at will operation. Every part has to be properly matched.

 Round one of the contest involves scanning the schematic to find compatible limbs for the selected body. 

Round two is cutting them free and trimming the little nodules of sprue remnant from the parts. 

Round three is where things get sticky--literally: Fit the limbs to the body and remember how they go; add a dab of superglue to the precise position; attempt to fit the first limb to the figure as determined by the earlier test; smear glue hither and yon as the limb slips into every position except the one way it fit earlier--adjust, adjust, and readjust; hold the limb against the body while the glue dries; remove fingers from the figure--only to have the arm come away (glued to one hand) and the body come away (glued to the other hand); peel the miniature parts from finger along with top layer of skin; repeat previous phase; glue finger to table and drop miniature limb; find the lost limb glued to the back or base of a different miniature or to the front of your shirt; finally get one limb attached; repeat the previous phases for the second limb and note that if both hands are supposed to be on the weapon, the second hand won't reach it because one or both arms were not glued into the proper position; decide that's good enough even better because it gives the illusion of movement to the miniature.

Anyway, I got ten of the 30 figures completed, and I'm happy to note that there were no casualties or grotesque deformities, and the glue holds extremely well. (I know because I dropped some of them from an altitude of five feet to a concrete floor with no breakage or loss of limb. Also, there are left over muskets and tomahawks that can be left separate for game purposes, or added to some of my other miniatures. I already have some metal British Infantry (that are at least partially painted) for the campaign, along with some wolves, and natives. I'm not sure what I'll use for the stone cats and dragonlings, but I know those will be integral to the campaign. The first episode will involve the blowing of a bridge before the British Regulars can cross.

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Editing continues on Book 6 -- Crisis in Fire and Snow -- in the Tomhawks and Dragon Fire Series. It will be ready just in time for Christmas!

Spectacular Villains

 Before I get to the discussion of great villains, let me shout out that I've completed Book 6 in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. By "completed" I mean that I finished the first draft--it only took me six months longer than it should have. I still have editing and proofing to do. I've sent the last five chapters out to my Skirmish Team for their comments, corrections, and suggestions. That reminds me that a gentleman caught me today to report that he is reading Book 4, Promise of Carnage and Flame, and enjoying the unexpected twists and turns of the story.

One thing that reminded me of great villains was the fact that PinUp Noir 2, which features my short story "Monica on My Mind," is available in ebook and paperback. The stories feature knockout blonde bombshells in a variety of settings. Many of those dames in the stories are bad--very bad. You know who else was a blonde bombshell villain? Milady de Winter from Dumas' The Three Musketeers (one of my favorite books). Anyway, I'll have a short discussion about her in my newsletter. 

The villain I want to ramble about here is Richard III from Shakespeare's play of that name. I recently read the play and am watching the second part of The Hollow Crown series in bits and pieces in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays "the lump of foul deformity."

"Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York;"

The play opens with Richard giving us the facts, and telling us right away what to expect from him. He's completely candid about his plans and his character. He means to be king and has no qualms about using messy means to get there. Anyone who stands in his way is expendable.

His first plot is to set his brothers at odds. Clarence stands between him and the throne, which is occupied by his other brother King Edward IV. They'll both have to go so that he can take the coveted chair and crown.

"And therefore,—since I cannot prove a lover, To entertain these fair well-spoken days,— I am determined to prove a villain, And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams, To set my brother Clarence and the king In deadly hate the one against the other:"

With Clarence dead (or soon to be) by the King's command--and Richard delaying the countermanding order until the deed of death is done by his hired assassins--he needs a marriage that will solidify his position. He woos Lady Anne, the daughter-in-law of King Henry VI--killed by Richard. He also killed her husband.

"For then I'll marry Warwick's youngest daughter: What though I kill'd her husband and her father? The readiest way to make the wench amends Is to become her husband and her father:"

He approaches her at the funeral process for Henry VI--and let's us know it won't be a match of lasting duration.

"Was ever woman in this humour woo'd? Was ever woman in this humour won? I'll have her; but I will not keep her long"

He replies to her insults: "Teach not thy lip such scorn; for it was made For kissing, lady, not for such contempt." 

Claims that it was her beauty and his desire to espouse her that caused his part in the death of her family.

The woman falls for his fake charm and espouses him.

King Edward falls ill and dies, and Richard becomes Lord Protector to govern for the young Edward V. His two minions in evil are Hastings and Buckingham who get the people Mayor of London and the people to proclaim Richard king. Richard has the young princes, his nephews, confined in the tower. When Hastings balks at killing the princes, Richard orders Hasting's execution, and arranges the murder of the princes.

"I do the wrong, and first begin to brawl. The secret mischiefs that I set abroach I lay unto the grievous charge of others."

"And thus I clothe my naked villany With odd old ends stol'n forth of holy writ; And seem a saint when most I play the devil."

Play the devil he does. When Buckingham raises questions about the death of princes, Richard denies him a promised earldom. Buckingham flees to raise an army against Richard but is eventually captured and executed.

With Edward IV dead, Richard needs that brother's daughter Elizabeth for his wife to cement his position as king. Richard, being the problem solver that he is, doesn't let the fact that he already has a wife keep him from realizing his dreams. He has Anne killed and woos Elizabeth--who willingly marries him, even though she has been warned against him.

Does Richard have any kind of conscience? He answers that question with honesty:

"I'll not meddle with it,—it makes a man coward; a man cannot steal, but it accuseth him; a man cannot swear, but it checks him; a man cannot lie with his neighbour's wife, but it detects him: 'tis a blushing shame-faced spirit that mutinies in a man's bosom; it fills a man full of obstacles: it made me once restore a purse of gold that by chance I found; it beggars any man that keeps it: it is turned out of towns and cities for a dangerous thing; and every man that means to live well endeavours to trust to himself and live without it."

I've probably missed some of his murders and may have put some of them out of order, but you get the idea. Richard is a villain and a charmer. He plays the saint while being the devil. He kills husbands and fathers and then marries the widowed wives and daughters. He even executes his henchmen for cringing at the depth of his evil. He means to do evil and plainly tells the audience so. A more honest villain would be hard to find. Like all good villains, he never repents and goes down fighting, possessed by his evil nature.

 

Anat Eliraz

Interview with Anat Eliraz

Author of 

Jewels of Smoky Quartz

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

I actually have two WIPs right now.

One is the sequel of my published book and continues the adventures of the characters. The story is a portal fantasy where a nurse, who also practices martial arts, finds herself in a new world and needs to use her wit and skills to survive and find her way. In the sequel the readers will learn more about the characters and the world and will get more information about things only hinted in the first book.

My other WIP is also a fantasy story that takes place on earth during WW2.

 

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

It was a December evening and I don't remember if it all started from a conversation with friends or something I saw on TV, but the question that came up was- Do we have free will, or not. The first book revolves around that question.

Do you write in more than one genre?

I write in the fantasy genre, but I did have an idea for a series of novellas that were meant to be a collection of short stories. Each novella about a different aspect of life- pregnancy stories, mother- in- law stories, etc. A kind of easy read for people using public transport and wanting something fun, short and mostly comic to pass the time. I had been playing with this idea in the many years I used the train and buses to get to university and work.

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

Most basic ideas in fantasy stories aren't very unique. They are usually different versions of the same story. Most will have clichés, which readers either like or not.

My writing might be telling a story you came across in the past, but what makes it unique is the twists and turns in the plot. The word games that span the entire story.

The readers might notice some clues and congratulate themselves when they are revealed, or turn back the pages to see how come they missed it. Readers can actually take a semi- active part in the story by picking up on the clues and the reading becomes somewhat of a game.

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

Wow! A lot!

My MC is a nurse. I am a physiotherapist and have been working with a diverse medical staff since 2005. 

She practices martial arts and so do I (though she is much higher ranking than me!).

I used to play D&D games from the mid 80's and some campaigns we played and characters from those games found their way into the book.

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

I avoided political topics in my writing. The world around us is in so much turmoil, that I wanted to write a book without them. 

They say- write what you want to read. I felt I needed a break from this, and my book did not need it. 

I really enjoy corresponding with my readers! Some contacted me after reading my book, but with some I corresponded as they were reading and I must say it was loads of fun! Not only getting their thoughts on the book as a whole, but actually their immediate comments about certain scenes as they were reading through them. It's an amazing experience!

So- you're all welcome to chat!

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

Great question!

In the past two years I decided to start reading books by new indie authors, and I must say- there are some very talented people out there whom I hope will shine bright in the future!

I am listing a few in the fantasy/ sci-fi genre-

Ryan Cahill- Of Blood and Fire

David Green- Solitudes Shadow

U. G. Gutman- Winds of Strife

Blake Vanier- The Orphans of New Lur

Daan Katz, Nathan Tudor, Jeffrey Kippel and others!

Why? (Almost forgot this part…!)

Because they write great stories and deserve a chance to prove it!

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

Hmmm… out of my one published book… (so hard to choose!!!)

Okay! So it's "Jewels of Smoky Quartz"!

First of all- it's the only one I can recommend at the moment! 

But, like I mentioned before- it's a story full of twists and turns in the plot. 

It's an easy read, not too long, with things to ponder over but no politics or world scale wars.

Oh, and it has a dragon! 

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

I always wrote, but never thought of publishing.

As a medical staff member, I worked all through the pandemic. But in the very first lockdown, when no one knew what was going on, I was also mostly unemployed. 

I started listening to podcasts and lectures about writing and publishing. My final draft had been sitting in a modern term drawer- disc on key, for over a year and I suddenly asked myself- maybe it's worth something? Why not try and publish it?! 

That's when my publishing journey began. I also did a crowd funding to help me out and it was a real learning experience for me!

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

How are you?

But really asked. Not out of social courtesy, but out of true interest in me and my wellbeing.

Think about it, how many people ask you this question and actually want to listen to your answer?

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

"I am a writer! Anything you say or do may be used in a story!"

I really like it, because it's true! So many things from my daily life enter my stories, whether straight forward or changed to fit into a certain scene. But I guess in a way, many books are stories from our lives, dressed in a costume (in my case- fantasy setting), that when you take the basic essence- it's real life situations.

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Thanks to Anat for participating.

 

In my own writing, I'm halfway through the final chapter of Book 6 in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series.  I expect to finish this week. The story runs from England, Long Island, Lake Champlain, to the Mohawk Valley, deadly mountain hideaways, a winter of crises, and the potential disintegration of the patriot army. Action and adventure mark the course with dragons, dragonlings, stone cats, gryphons, and some new creatures to complicate our heroes' efforts. The core of indomitable adventurers carry on with separate threads toward some exciting conclusions in this episode in the series.

 

And if you would like to check out the anthology that features my noir detective short story "Monica on My Mind," Click here.

 

 

PinUp Noir 2

 

 

It's here! PinUp Noir 2 is an anthology of noir tales in a variety of fabulous settings featuring a hot--and possibly toxic--blonde.  My story is "Monica on My Mind," which is set in and takes place right after the events of my novel Smoke. So if you want to revisit Noah Vale or Duncan Kane -- and don't forget Pip -- check it out with the other terrific stories in this anthology.