European friends often tease me about the unbridled optimism of Americans. This sentiment increases the further east you head. Poland, is an underrated gem of a country. They appreciate freedom there, and have experienced dark times on a scale many of us in the States simply can’t comprehend.
As we sit early in the third month of the second COVID lockdown, it’s starting to feel like that movie Groundhog Day. In a way, the singular lesson of a young 2021 is careful what you wish for. The days are short. The nights are long, it’s cold out. COVID can’t end fast enough for any of us.
Like most of us, the focus is keeping loved ones safe, while maintaining sanity amidst lockdown. As mentioned before, daily time in the great outdoors, seems one of the few effective and permissible activities.
The recent, insanity at the US Capitol last week, is enough to get any one’s attention. Politics is better left to others, than this blog. In writing, it always seems there’s a wrestling match with plot credibility. The year, 2020, and the initial events of 2021 sure seems too farfetched for any Hollywood script.
A sole thought is America doesn’t need a blue or red wave, she needs a red, white, and blue ocean. Now. There is no vaccine for the budding intolerance from either major US party, anything but a lawful peaceful transition of power is insanity.
Back to books.
On the writing front, the sequel to The Eagle Feather was somehow much faster to write than the first book. It’s up to you, gentle reader, to determine its quality. The first draft is in the hands of trusted beta-readers, so a short break from writing is here. A Q1 2021 release seems reasonable.
Half of writing is reading. Growing up in Texas, and on the Great Plains of the Midwest, a good Western always appealed to me. Once again, European friends will ask me, What’s the point of this rugged individualist cowboy mentality?
Cultural differences, I guess. I still get dirty looks here, for jaywalking a red light, without a car in sight, at o-dark thirty. Perhaps it’s time spent in NYC?
I usually reply, “There are no cars in this zip code, and you don’t get this time back.”
Then again, Europeans seem more relaxed.
Regardless, a sunny day is an excellent opportunity to combine nature and reading. In hopes of not completely embarrassing myself, with the Western I’ve always longed to write, it’s research time!
So, I’m the guy re-reading classic westerns in the chilly winter woods. On a cold January day, it’s quiet enough to think. There’s nothing around but red squirrels, and grand old deciduous trees. Pack a thermos full of strong black coffee, and away we go.
A research focus is also US Civil War historical fiction (given recent events at the Capitol let’s hope this genre remains both.)
For example, details of the battle of Antietam in 1862, may seem dull to the masses. However, have you heard the story of a young man from Ohio, who while under fire, personally and without orders, risked his life to serve hot coffee and food to his men?
Such a man, can go far in life.
He did.
His name was William McKinley, and he became the 25th President of the United States.
There is also something really cool about reading a book about the outdoors, when outdoors.
So, I guess for now, a break from The Eagle Feather Saga.
A Western novel is in the works.