The Post Before We Leave for Florida

Good morning, Stroock's Books people. 

Ahhh...Florida tonight. Miami, followed by South Beach and then the Keys. We won't be doing any work whatsoever. We could use the break. 

We've plenty of ju-ju though for the 5th nuke novel. We shall allow that ju-ju to percolate (jujinate?).

But we are offline beginning tonight. 

Trump's peace proposal seems generous or trusting, anyway. We're of two minds. Either the war is going badly and Trump is trying to cut a deal to get out. Or this proposal is Trump's final offer before escalating further (paras, marines, etc etc). Which is more likely? Seem's like the war will go on, no?

Iran talks tough, acts like it's dragging America into some kind of quagmire and makes unreasonable demands. Iran must needs do so. Any other stance would be a sign of weakness. Meanwhile the US and Israel destroy Iranian infrastructure. The 'Iranian street' remains quiet, probably for a reason, no? 

Everyone's talking about the marines seizing Kharq Island. But what if the real target is Kish Island which could cover a large swath of the Iranian coast and is much closer to the Strait of Hormuz? Nobody knows nuthin'.

Trump's political situation at home...worsens. 

World War 1990: Ireland has 9 ratings and two reviews on Amazon for a 4.4 rating. We usually wait for ten ratings before making an assessment and a couple of early ratings were two and three stars. We 'll reserve judgement. Sales are declining but still accumulating. Because Ireland is dragging up other books, we've made its production costs back, but Ireland is not profitable on its own...yet.

Off to Florida! 

Tuesday Bla-Bla

We had a cold spring morning here in New Jersey with temps below freezing. Good thing we're heading to Florida tomorrow night. 

Bla-bla Israel, bla-bla Iran. The daily recitation of air strikes, while impressive, is uninteresting. What's Trump doing?  Is Trump giving negotiations another chance before landing two MEU's and a brigade of paratroopers? These units give Trump great leverage. Still...[Still what?-Ed]. We dunno, still. We dunno. Everything Trump's done so far has worked, right? Right?

Ben Shapiro has been advocating for taking Kharq Island, but we approach doing so with great caution. And let the Euros escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. I know, right? Go ahead and laugh. 

This blog believes Israel's main war lies north, not east.

DOGE report.

We worked on one 5th nuke novel short story and began another. By the time we leave for Florida tomorrow we'll have three unfinished short stories. Yes we're Ludendorfing (in which we follow the latest ju-ju or buzz) but it's working right now. 

We now have 1500 followers on Substack. Yay. Is Substack doing anything? We shrug indifferently. We've 41 followers...in Nigeria? One subscriber in China. Five subscribers in (uh-oh) Russia. Thirteen subscribers in Israel. Forty-eight Brits. Way too many Canadians. And 395 subscribers in the United States. We've subscribers in every state except for Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont, and Iowa. 

Daily we toy with getting rid of our Substack. We're not really sure the account is really doing anything for us. Daily we attract grievance right Tucker/Candace wannabes. We still enjoy telling them they're gay and retarded though. That's something. We shrug again. 

Monday Morass

A good rainy afternoon, Stroock's Books reader(s) and happy Monday. 

The Stroock family vacation + college tour of Florida begins Wednesday night. Mrs. Stroock is planning furiously. We just stand back and let her work. 'Do not mess with my process,' she once admonished us. And so we don't.

Bla-bla Israel, bla-bla Iran. The US Marines are taking Khar Island and the Strait of Hormuz, aren't they? Uhhh...elements of the 82nd Airborne Division are in the Middle East? And Israel is going to invade Lebanon and take the country south of the Litani River, right? Right? 

Or not, given Trump's tarmac presser?  Never write in the morning but publish in the afternoon. 

Meanwhile Trump and the GOP's poll numbers look bad. One bright spot, there is no MAGA split and the GOP is sticking with Trump. This is the first prerequisite for a GOP polling and political comeback. But were the election held today...

Seriously, we watched the local news at the gym yesterday.  ABC-7 stories included the war, gas prices, airport delays, and a Long Island high school kid who missed his graduation because he was deported home to El Salvador. Right now, there's your narrative. 

DOGE Report.

Sales of World War 1990: Ireland go one direction....down. When to make it available on Kindle Select? [What's the rush? -Ed]. Dunno. Ireland accounts for about 60% of book sales this month. And god bless that backlist. 

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 3/22/26

Good Sunday morning to the Christian faithful among Stroock's Books reader(s).

Bla-bla Israel, bla-bla, Iran. Our own thoughts:

-The Iranians have pissed everyone off.

-Ignore establishment, whacky left, and retard right media accounts. These people hate America and want us to lose.

-The Iranian street remains idle for a reason. 

-Talk is cheap and useless. 

-Trump talks too much.

-The mullahs talk more.

-The war is going just fine.

-Eschew Victory Disease. 

Exit question: What are the unknown unknowns? 

Quick reminder that the late Robert Mueller tried to lock up Trump and his family and ruined a lot of people's lives. 

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 3/22/26. 

We are out of here Wednesday evening and out of things till April 3. 

We're sort of all over the place at the moment. We'll be spending some intellectual energy on World War 1990: Ireland. But out primary work will be on the 5th nuke novel. We're gonna try to finish the fourth story about a little boy left home alone, and we're going to try to start another story.  

Saturday Updates

Good morning, Stroock's Books weekenders, and happy Saturday.

Last night we made final plans for the Stroock Florida trip.

We won't be bringing our computer. So we'll be signing off Wednesday. We'll read instead. Wish us luck. 

Looks like we'll be doing some light yard work today. 

The war goes on. And on and on. Trump is easing Iranian oil sanctions and also threatening to send the 82nd Airborne to Iran, and also saying we're just about done, but also sending another Marine MEU. People and pundits are confused. Critics say Trump is wild and incoherent. Ten years after he descended the escalator, one should realize that saying wild and contradictory stuff is part of Trump's negotiating strategy. 

The war on Iran feels like the Desert Storm air war, or the Kosovo war, in which the aerial campaign drags on, until it doesn't. 

The Things. 

The Saturday Updates are a little redundant with the (mostly) daily DOGE Reports, but whatev. 

We had an excellent week with the World War 1990: Thatcher's War Belfast riot chapter. Looks good? Looks good.

We worked a little on the Soviet cosmonaut story. We don't know where it goes, though.  We started a new story about a little boy left home alone in the 5th nuke novel. We don't know where it goes, though. We really should come up with a name for the 5th nuke novel.  Four Days After? When the Bombs Stopped? To smug, we say. 

We got another idea for a 5th nuke novel short story and will probably work on that before heading to Florida. 

Friday, Will's Getting Ready for Florida

Good Friday morning, Stroock's Books reader(s) and shabbat shalom.  

Temperatures are climbing. Buds are on the trees. Spring is just hours away. 

No school today as the kids have Eid off. We're not as exercised about this as some might assume. 

Bla-bla Israel, bla-bla-Iran...we awake to the same recitation of strikes, US, Israel, Iranian. It's all bewildering. A second MEU is heading to the Persian Gulf they say. One needs not be a genius to see that the US and Israel are focusing on regime elements to foment a revolt. People are staying off the streets. When will they take to the streets?

Gas prices approach four bucks a gallon here. What are gas prices there?*

We are bored with Substack and our daily reminders that Israel is great. We troll for Gaza sob-stories and repost them with the admonition, 'Hamas chose war' or 'invading Israel and murdering all those people was a terrible idea' or some such. Reader(s) will get the idea. Most of the grief we get on Substack is from Tucker Carlson fanboys and Groyper types. Right wing Juden hass is real.

DOGE Report.

We worked on two different nuke novel short stories yesterday. We started a new story in which a little boy, say 6 years old, is left home alone. A little boy being home alone is more plausible than modern readers may think. It was the 70s man. Things just worked different. We recall being told to stay on the couch and watch Super Friends while mom ran to the store to get cigarettes. Right? Anyway, he's home alone, no sign of mom and dad, and night is coming.

We read through the World War 1990: Thatcher's War Belfast riots. The chapter is just about how we want it. Do we need views from Government Buildings, Stormont, White Hall, and/or the IRA Army Council? 

Sales of World War 1990: Ireland recovered some yesterday. We'll see what happens today. Ireland has five ratings and two reviews on Amazon, 5 star average, and 8 ratings on Good Reads, 4-star average. We were spooked by a couple of two-star ratings early on, which is unusual. So we're waiting for a few more returns before declaring victory. 

Holy hell, somebody bought a copy of Blooms. 

We leave for Florida Wednesday. 

*Report in American numbers and Yankee dollars only. Sorry, Canadian equivalents not accepted.  

The Post Before the Friday Fek n Fook the Farsis Post

Aye, faire reader(s), and good morning. 

Yesterday we shaved our glorious mustache, much to the relief of the Stroock women. Honestly, we're just not a mustache guy. Never have been.

Bla-bla, Israel, bla-bla Iran. Tomorrow begins the fourth week of the war. A quagmire, a quagmire indeed. The campaign against Iran will drag on, until it doesn't. Anyone else remember the Kosovo thing back in 1999? The US and NATO bombed Serbia, which held out defiantly, indefinitely, before finally giving in? 

NATO/Europe refusing to do anything about the Strait of Hormuz is on point for Europe. The Australians and Japanese are acting like, well, a bunch of Europeans. 

When we head out today we're gonna see gas at four bucks a gallon, aren't we?

DOGE report.

We wrote another World War 1990: Thatcher's War riot scene and edited what we had. Finn Fahy is back. Why not? 

Things are going well, but the problem of the Ardee chapter remains. 

We began a new short story in the 5th nuke novel and worked on the cosmonaut scene.

World War 1990: Ireland sales collapsed yesterday. Time for Kindle Select? We'll wait a little while longer. Ireland has four ratings on Amazon, all of 5 stars, and 8 reviews on Good Reads, of various ratings from 2 to 5 stars for a 4 star average. So far there is only one review, and we know that guy. A very nice man.