Will is Yonder

More blessed and much needed rain this morning.  

A ceasefire in Lebanon seems imminent. Ynet has the details. It also seems the Biden regime has twisted Israel's arm. Assuming Ynet's details are true it looks to us like the Israelis got everything they wanted plus a pause in the fighting. The Times of Israel says the pause would last 60 days and would not end the war. Gee, who becomes president in 60 days? Hmmm...maybe Bibi twisted Joe's arm? Stroock's Books has no problem with this ceasefire, so far. 

We have a few thoughts on what's going on with the ceasefire deal, but we'll holdoff on those till the deal goes into effect. We read one argument that the ceasefire terms are terrible. Sorry, we don't see it, yet. Back to Gaza...

In the meantime the Israelis are hammering Beirut. 

Reminder, we have a short story in Violent Blue Yonder:

So that's three short stories in three compilations. The others were Standoff at San Miguel in Hooves, Tracks and Sabers, and The Blue and the Red: Palmerston's Ironclads in Those in Peril.  Palmerston's Iron Clads was nominated for a Sidewise Award. So not a fluke, and we are among the best there at what we do. 

We are pondering our next anthology submission, a naval story to take place within our own Great Nuclear War of 1975 universe. There's plenty of fodder and we've plenty of ideas, but we're running into one foreboding fact. We've done most of these ideas already. We've written carrier stories, and sub stories before. Honestly this doesn't have to be a problem. But usually we like to come up with something new. 

We've one good idea, highly encouraged by our Grognard. Recall that USS Ranger and USS Independence fought a major naval battle in the Bearing Sea and then nuked the Kola. Cool, we know. But as noted above, we've done this! Also, in 1975 there are no Soviet carriers and no mighty Kirov Class guided missile cruisers. So would such a story really be that interesting? Or does the absence of those capital ships make the story interesting? Have fun, reader(s).

Big Blue Blew Bad While Green Gangs Up

Mrs. Stroock's Eagles decisively defeated the Rams in LA last night 37-20. Former Giant Saquan Barkley had 300 + all-purpose yards and a pair (a pair) of 70 yard TD rushes. The man looks happy and rejuvenated with the Eagles. Good, we're happy for him. What a player, what a season he's having. The Eagles are 9-2. This is the point last year when they fell apart. Up next, the imposing Ravens of Baltimore. An interesting test. 

The Giants did better than we thought they would do, losing to Tampa Bay 30-7. The franchise has gone from bad to dysfunctional. 

Just released by our friend and editor, James L. Young:

Morning Suns, that Jewy WWII submarine story we talked about earlier in the month, is part of the anthology. That's two stories in anthologies this year. We are among the best there is at what we do. 

In more excellent news James Young asked us to contribute a naval story in our Great Nuclear War of 1975 universe. Hmmmm....there's plenty of fodder. The due date is January 5th. We wrote our last two short stories for the man in something like two weeks. January 5th feels like an eternity.

We'll spend the truncated week thinking about story ideas and fixing up War Night's Australia story. We need to think of a title, don't we? [Would be wise-Ed]. Here's a bit of Aussie news presenter research we conducted. Interesting, most interesting. Just like contemporary news broadcasts in America, only Australian.

One problem we've found, there are at least four stories where people are watching TV or listening to the radio as a means of describing to the reader what's happening. We dunno, maybe it's not a problem. But it is redundant, AF.

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 11/24/24

Mrs. Stroock's Nittany Lions defeated Minnesota in a nail biter, 26-25. A good, entertaining, tense game. The Stroock family celebrated by getting imitation, yet delicious Mexican take out. Mmmm...bad for you. 

Mrs. Stroock's Eagles are the late game tonight. Oh dear lord the Giants are playing today. And then they play again...on Thanksgiving?! JFC. 

Plans for Thanksgiving week remain in flux, but preparations continue apace. There's talk of snow Thursday. Personally, we'd be perfectly happy to stay home and order some Chinese. 

We find ourselves wracked with angst. We've no idea why. We should probably cut down on the caffeine. Four cups of coffee in the morning, two at night. 

We arrive now at Will's good idea for the week of 11/24/24...or ideas we should say. 

We've got plenty of ideas, we've posted about the good ones. This week will post about some of the bad ideas.

We've created two universes, World War 1990 and The Great Nuclear War of 1975*that sell. Maybe we're thinking about the summer sneak in problem all wrong. Maybe we should try to create a third universe that sells. This could be The Bastard's Conquest. One novel about Robert d'Huatville from 1066 to 1096, a second about his son on the First Crusade. We admit to some juju for this project.

[You're thinking.....good! But you're still thinking about this problem all wrong. What's the third alternate history series you should be writing?-Ed]

Another one? Why I....that's it, isn't it. Ef me.

[Ef you, indeed. Knobhead-Ed].

We'll spend the short week fixing War Night's Australia story.

*If War Night: Stories of the Great Nuclear War of 1975 does well, we'll write more novels. This includes a compilation taking place in the 80's and 90's, and military conflict ideas. 

Saturday Updates

Good Saturday morning, Stroock's Books. 

The rain has finally stopped. State authorities have lifted fire restrictions. But drought conditions remain.

We got in a Judaism last night. 

So we looked and World War 1990: Norway has 209 ratings for a 4.4 star average. Here's the AI summary, 'Customers find the book exceedingly readable and great. They also describe the storytelling as realistic, intriguing, and engaging. Readers appreciate the authentic action.' Not bad. So then we took a look at World War 1990: The Final Storm, 284 ratings for a 4.3 star average. AI comments, 'Customers find the writing quality very good and the book highly recommended. They also appreciate the suspense, action, and incredible detail in the story. Readers mention that the battle scenes are a pure adrenaline rush.'

The Things:

Or Thing, really. We spent all week reading through War Night: Stories of the Great Nuclear War of 1975. We read every story and every story is better for having been read. We even read the Australia story. Australia is less of a big rambling mess than it was before we read it, but a big rambling mess the Australia story remains.  The Australia story only improves with reading and rereading. So read and re-read we shall. There are no short cuts in this racket.

Big Blue Blows

More blessed and much needed rain this morning. Lot's more. Parts of northern and northwest New Jersey got up to a foot of snow. 

The Daniel Jones era in New York comes to an end. Jones showed flashes of greatness. He even won a playoff game, which is no small thing. Someone will sign Jones as a backup, if not this season than the next and he'll get a deserved fresh start. The Giants remain a dysfunctional mess. They're not as bad as they were from 1964-1978, not yet. They can thank Jones for that. What's next? Deion and Shedeur? Don't laugh. We said don't laugh. 

So the International Criminal Court has indicted Prime Minister Netanyahu. Even the Biden Regime is dismissing the case as unwarranted garbage. Up in Canada, Justin says he'd arrest Bibi. So has whoever the hell is running Ireland after Leo*. This all ends on January 20th. In the meantime, Israel should bomb the Hague. 

Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration for attorney general. Good. Trump has nominated former Florida AG Pam Bondi. Most excellent. As a former AG and former Trump defense attorney, Bondi is perfect for the task that lies ahead. Also, dang. Gentlemen, do an image search [Knobhead-Ed]. She can adjudicate my case...ouch! Aw! Stop hitting me... [Knobhead-Ed].

Ideas...We've been thinking about our old space war novel that would be a combination of Operation Hailstone and the hunt for the Bismarck. It's a good idea. It's a fun idea. But what's the point? We don't have anything very interesting to say and....or do we...? For years we've had a rough idea for a space universe so far in the future they don't even know where man originated...No, not Dune inspired. Not at all. What if we combined the two ideas? This could be an excuse for some universe building with something to say about the far future.** Upon this we shall dwell.

*Soon we return to World War 1990: Thatcher's War.

APK Family Ties' Way

Ah, blessed rain. Keep coming. New Jersey needs lots more of it. But with rain today and more rain tomorrow, we're off to a good start. By the way, the above linked article mentions this is New Jersey's worst drought in 22 years. We remember that one. Then in the spring of 2003, it just rained and rained. 

We see Matt Gaetz has withdrawn from attorney general consideration. Good. This was probably always a troll job on Trump's part. Why not Texas AG Ken Paxton? Is Ken Cuccinelli still around? Heh, perhaps Harmeet K. Dhillon?

Last night we watched an episode of Family Ties, our first viewing in 35 years. Family Ties was everything we remember. Cozy and warm, with a semi-serious plot punctuated by silly jokes. 

If one is Generation-X, one knows APK. We come now to the case of Alex P. Keaton, the Nixon admiring, Reaganomics loving, women's lib rejecting child Boomer hippies Steven and Elise Keaton. Alex P. Keaton was something of an 80s sensation and the first important Generation X television character. Alex is unique because he follows political and economic news and wears a jacket and tie to school. This is a very Gen-X act of rebellion. In our own College Republican days we and our friends made a point of wearing a coat and tie to school functions. 

Producer Gary David Goldberg later said that he wanted viewers to hear and reject Alex's conservative ideals. But the in-script criticism never really landed. Michael J. Fox played Alex as a likable, optimistic young lad. Underneath the coat and tie, Alex P. Keaton was still a teenage boy worried about growing up, wanting to be liked, and chasing girls. One couldn't really not like Alex P. Keaton. 

Importantly, in Family Ties' 'very special' episodes, Alex is never on the wrong side of an issue. He defends a feminist's right to speak. He opposes book banning. Even Goldberg's attempts at political jokes at Alex's expense are mostly silly and good-humored. When Alex gets  a pair of Pet goldfish he names them Kissinger and Agnew. Later he opens a scene by saying, 'Bad news. Kissinger just ate Agnew'. In the 80's, that was funny. 

Boomer Family Untied From the 60s

Happy Wednesday, Stroock's Books reader(s).

We got a spot of rain here in New Jersey last night and are supposed to get more on Thursday. Let's hope so. Local reservoirs are about half full and the state is wracked with small wildfires. 

A dear friend from college is turning 52 today. We congratulated him and said he should celebrate by finally coming out. 

Fun fact, we filed yesterday's post from an exam room in Morristown Medical Center. We ourselves were not the patient. Rest assured that everyone is just fine, A-Okay and everything is back to normal. We walked into the empty ER and the nice lady at the front desk sent us right back. The polite, competent (and really young) medical staff got us in and out of that joint in two hours. We passed the time by mocking our fellow North American and his socialized medicine which would have taken a couple of hours just to admit us.

Yesterday we described Family Ties' Steve and Elise Keaton as a couple of ex-Hippies who had turned into respectable middle-class types. Quite right. We should take a look at the couple's politics more, because they were a fascinating 80s cultural phenomenon. Steven had radical roots. He attended many anti-war protests. He was once an editor at a radical hippy magazine called The Scavenger.  Steven wrote a play called A Draft Card for the Burning. He openly associated with former 60s radicals wanted by the FBI. 

Time passes, as is its wont. Marriages happen, children arrive, mortgages are taken out. Those children must needs be cared for and mortgages paid. By 1982 Steven is a producer at the local PBS affiliate. Elise is an architect. These are facts of life in 1982, and hilarious in retrospect in 2024. Even funnier, Steve and Elise didn't settle down in San Francisco, or some other hippie heaven. The Keatons live in Columbus Ohio. Why Steven even likes to take in the Ohio/Ohio State game. Sorry folks, one can't get more American outside of laboratory conditions. 

Stop Anti-Semitism has issued its college and university Juden Hass report card. Four schools get an A grade: Baylor, Elon, Clemson, and the University of Mississippi. The south has always been a friend to the Jew. Sadly, our grandmother's own LSU didn't make the list. Actually, several southern schools received mediocre or failing grades, but reader(s) will get the point. And most of the northern schools on the report are run by Jew hating communists. Dang Yankees....

Disgraced former Boston Globe columnist Mike Barnicle is a plagiarist and fabulist. He is also a moron. Via Breitbart, Barnicle laments the decline of cable news:  “I don’t know how we make ourselves relevant again because we can’t compete with 20 second snippets on an iPhone, walking up the street and getting your entire news digest of the day in less than a minute on your phone as you’re walking in a crowd with coffee in one hand and your phone in the other. I don’t know how we catch up to that.” Barnicle still doesn't 'get it'. Cable news isn't competing with Tik Tok. It's competing with Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla, and Pod Save America and hundreds of others of current events podcasts that people listen to while on the way to work, or at the gym or doing household chores. Idiot. 

We sigh forlornly as we consider what to write next summer. Too early? No. It's only six months off. We think perhaps we may be over thinking the Medieval novel problem. Our bookselling strategy relies on the backlist. People buy one World War 1990 novel and then buy another and another, and another...We're employing the same strategy with the Great Nuclear War series. There's plenty of overlap and vertical integration between the two. And honestly there would probably be some overlap with an entirely different kind of novel eg, Medieval warfare. But maybe not enough. Let's say we write The Bastard's Conquest. It sells well. We write another, and another...