Spy Novels

The fascists are taking over your country. The president is having judges arrested, sending citizens off to death camps in foreign countries, without due process, pulling international students out of their classrooms to either be sent off to the death camps, or to just go home, promises broken. What do you do?

I'll tell you what I do. I read spy novels from Nazi Germany. It somehow is the only thing I can do. I can't seem to write my fairy-tale book, or my family-history book, or my Texas Quaker novel. I just can't get into them when the country is going down in flames.

And furthermore, after having seen all the big social-media boys up on stage with him, I have trouble even putting things on social media that say "go to Amazon" or "go check out my Facebook page." It's lke I want nothing to do with them. Does that make any sense?

Ah but I will read a good spy novel, and I found some really good ones. Nazi Germany wasn't the same, quite, as what we're dealing with, but it's close. The sending off to camps of innocent people because of their race. An abuse of police power. The turning of state machinery into the spying on dissenters and brown people. It's close enough.

Here's what I've found:

books by Kate Quinn:
1. The Rose Code
2. The Alice Network

books by Richard Wake:
1. Vienna at Nightfall
2. Spies of Zurich
3. The Lyon Resistance
4. The Limoges Dilemma


Now I will say this. All six books are excellent. There are more in the Richard Wake series; it's just that I've only read the first four. Quinn focuses more on women and their role in the war, but she also has done a lot of research and that really shows through in her books; these two are the only ones I've found that are directly spy-novels. Wake, on the other hand, seems to be able to write spy novels 'til the sun goes down. So, I'll read them.

Fives for all six of them. They calm my nerves in troubled times.

Ever since I saw those social-media titans lined up together, with their buddies, new rulers of the non-free world, I've been unable, in good conscience, to post things that lead people to Amazon. I've had trouble even posting routine things on Facebook, though that's more social; that's where friends of my generation all are.

But if I abandon Amazon (go wide, they call it), what is there for me? I'm actually not giving up all that much, as I wasn't making a fortune on Amazon, and the payouts for people actually reading your KU work are miserably small. But the advantage of working through Createspace (Amazon subsidiary) has always been the ability to order just one, or maybe two books. If they make five in preparation for you to order more, it's on them. Some of my early books are actually one-offs - that is, I made one, bought one, changed the cover, and made another. And it cost me what, all of a few bucks?

No sooner did I start investigating competitors to Createspace (people who promise they'll print, on order, whatever you want), than I started getting offers from millions of them. That's right, Facebook knew instantly what I was thinking, and tipped off all these printing companies which were pretty quick on the draw. The thing that bothers me is, they don't make it clear you can make just one. Or, make it clear how much just making one would be.

I've reached the point where, if I'm selling anything, I want to give my buyers the option to not go through Amazon. They may, like me, have an aversion to supporting techno-Russia, and if they do, I'm all with them. But I don't quite know how to go about it. I obviously need a website that links to other sources besides Amazon.

That little hurdle has proven to be a little overwhelming. I'm exhausted. We have a personal situation. I need to make real money, not invest many hours into this kind of operation. It may be time to admit defeat, and just kick back a little. I am, after all, turning seventy-one.

Local author fair

Furever Friends Anthology

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Proud to be part of this anthology, a large book of many different stories, all romance, intended to help shelters deal with an influx of pets. Here's the information:

Furever Friends A Collection of Stories

Coming from Wycked Minds Publishing

Releasing November 30th! Get yours now, and let's help our furry, feathered, and scaled friends affected by the hurricanes that tore through the Southeast!

🐶🐱🦎🦜

When disaster strikes, not only humans are affected. Our four-legged companions are as well. Sadly, many get left behind, and rescues and shelters scramble to save them before it's too late.

This anthology is packed full of stories about animals who have been rescued and given a second chance at life! Each story is uniquely different as is each author.

All proceeds for this anthology go to Best Friends, a non-profit animal rescue that has mobilized to help animal shelters in the Southeast that have been affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

https://books2read.com/ForeverFriendsAntho

🐶🐱🦎🦜

#comingsoon #preorder #bookpreorder #charityanthology #charityanthologies #hurricanesheleneandmilton #disasterrelief #recoveryeffort #fundraisers #romanceanthologies #romancecollections #fureverfriends #helpourfurryfeatheredscaledfriends #bestfriendsrescue #operationfureverfriends #helene #milton

Have a Magical Day

These are not feel-good, happily-ever-after stories like Disney movies, nor are they dark or violent. Each story is from a different perspective (tour guide, PR staffer, detective, fantasy author, housewife, state patrolman, and businessman among others) and gives insight into life in 2024 at a huge theme park and large entertainment corporation. It is not adoring of Disney, or scornful, but the stories include a variety of characters you might meet if you spent a little free time in the park, and they offer a variety of perspectives about the role of fantasy and of Disney in modern American culture. Stories included are Have a Magical Day, Space Mountain Getaway, Stealing his Heart, Slapping a Mickey, Afternoon Snake, Detective's Tale, Garbage Duty, Downpour, Attic Bride, Just Ashes, Cocktail Party, Small World Problems, If the Shoe Fits, and It is what it is. All were written in 2023 or 2024. It is the author's eleventh volume of short stories.

$4.79 + shipping, Amazon paperback
$1.99 on kindle
free on kindle unlimited

Dogs of Love

"Dogs of Love" was the name of one of my bands many years ago - we played bluegrass and really only had a gig or two at the American Legion. Its leader was a guy who painted houses for a living (I helped him) and told me, "there are really only three colors, farmhouse white, International Red and John Deere Green."

But with respect to writing, writer's block is really the dogs of love. We love writing yet here I am every day doing everything but. It's related to my schedule. I work nights, fall asleep immediately when done, and need to chill seriously in the morning when I wake up. It takes me several cups of coffee. I give people rides, make more coffee, waste some time, like I just got out of work. By late morning I'm ready to get started.

But then all these other responsibilities come into view. If I could clear the deck at seven or eight and say, "writing hour!" I could probably have some uninterrupted minutes at the keyboard. By eleven there's no such thing as uninterrupted, interrupted is the air I breathe. I end up, through the noon hour, eating and doing things that are "interruptable."

Another day goes by, maybe another week, nnothing written. I'm about done with a story, and with a book of stories, and even have a novel mostly written. No luck finishing any of them. It's not a lack of ideas - the ideas are still coming. It's lack of ability to pick up the big computer (the word one) and finish.

I'm dying for a win here. It's the dogs, the dogs of love.

Great review

for Prairie Leveretts
from a blog I love and trust!
https://booksthatmakeyouthink2.co.uk/2024/09/11/prairie-leveretts-thomas-leverett/