Saturday Updates

The Waterproof has left us sore, tired, fatalistic, cautious and hurting. 

We are still not listening to French and think we're probably not going to need it in 2021 anyway. We might try another approach in the fall, but we're concluding that as far as languages go, we just don't have it. 

New York City, Portland, Seattle, Chicago continue their rapid decline. Estimates are that a million people have fled NYC. Manhattan is ghostly. Businesses are shutting down, corporations are selling real-estate. The market is collapsing. The rapid rise of telecommuting will accelerate both trends, small eateries will shutter, chain restaurants will pull out. Normal people don't care about global brands that scream I can buy this on 5th Ave or the Champs Elyeese! They're history too. Bill de Blasio remains remarkably detached. At least Abe Beam tried. These people voted for this. Enjoy it. We know we are. Mr. We could use a man like Giuliani again.

In Portland, we suggest the president let the Mark O Hatfield building burn. Burn, baby burn. This place, that city, is not worth the life of one Federal officer. At some point it's going to come down to a rightwing militia, isn't it?

Our study of the Civil War continues...by 1865 Confederate morale was collapsing. To be honest after 1862 it was never that great, especially in the wintertime. The country was a mess from the very beginning. This government had nothing to recommend it. The more we learn about Jefferson Davis the more baffled we become. Incapable of delegating authority, coalition building and compromise, it would have been better if Davis were sort of a figurehead and left the actual running of the country to someone else; Stephens, Toombs? The Confederacy needed an administrator of talent and political skill. Davis wasn't that. Interesting thought experiment, what if Lincoln was president of the CSA?

Business.

Sales remain stubbornly strong. 

We've more or less finished the Kazakh Coup chapter in The Final Storm. We think it's kinda short, but that might not be a problem. It's possible we'll get more ideas later. The real action is in Georgia, a chapter with which we are pleased.

The Great Nuclear War of 1975 is 75,000 words. Synergy? While there will be a lot of stuff to fill in, it's time to move on to the autumn and prep for the winter of 76/77. From there a forward chapter to 1980, a future history and two air force officers reverse engineering the nuclear exchange. Hmmmm....maybe that should be the first chapter? We anticipate this book being 100,000 words. We're in great shape.

Just which World War 1990 novel do we want to write in 2021? You'll be getting Nederland, The Final Storm...maybe we should keep that pattern going, one novel forward, one novel back? If so the novel back is The Weser. We've had a pretty good feel for that one for a while. 

Some very good and interesting ideas from you people yesterday on Palmerston's War. The Confederate Contingent reminded us that The Blue and The Red ends with the destruction of NYC and there's no reason the task force can't sail up the Hudson and wreck havoc. Look at us, writing about the Hudson again! The Sioux idea is interesting. Would the Brits/Cannucks be reluctant to help Indians? Washington would indeed be a tough nut to crack and we think it'd make a hell of a short story. It is also our opinion that a British army fighting the Army of the Potomac would be suicidal. Despite Crimea we just don't think they'd be up to it. Right now we think a British assault on Washington would be a disaster. Bombing Chicago could be fun...