World War 1990 and 90 and 90 and 90....

The World War 1990 series was supposed to be one book.

Yeah, stop laughing, Ed.

[Sorry? I was just enjoying a cup of tea. I really don't sit around here and wait for you to write something funny-Ed]

Actually, Ed, since you exist exclusively in our head, that's exactly what you do.

[Henceforth you use of 'we'?-Ed]

No, that's just the medication.

[Ohhhhh-Ed]

Anyway when we got it in our head to write about the Ruskis attacking Nome, Alaska* more ideas followed. 

Things got really out of hand when we realized Operation Eastern Storm would work better if the book was centered on the battle for Prague and the 2nd ACR's holding action. That's still the best battle we've written, we think. That book was going to have the whole battle for Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania.

[Romania? Huh? -Ed]

You'll see.

Also, why write one book that people will buy when you can write multiple books that people will by. The writer's number one job is to get paid, as the indefatigable Robert Stacey McCain says, and the WW 1990 series is doing well by us.
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So the ideas kept coming. World War III in Africa and Central America, then Southeast Asia and soon Poland. 

Thus one book became four and soon five, then six and eventually seven and eight. But not this year.

[Really, The Final Storm is 42,000 words and really just needs political stuff to wrap things up. You could do that it like, a month-Ed.] 

You're killing me, Ed.

*Damn you Bearing Sea Gold, and yes some of those guys show up in Artic Storm. 

Friday Updates on Friday

Alert reader(s) have noticed that World War 1990 Anzacs is out. It's doing pretty good, too.

The Austrian Painter looks great and will go into the system today.

That Pershing book chapter on rescuing the Lost Battalion just doesn't seem to want to get worked out, so we're looking at another week. Meanwhile we're starting work on a chapter about AEF lit, memoirs, books, etc.

World War 1990:Anzacs

One of the skills we've learned in recent years is building character without needing five pages to do so. We feel this skill really comes across in World War 1990: Anzacs. Here's an example:

Captain Paul Lowey blew his nose.

 ‘What a time for a sinus infection,’ he lamented.

Lowey was the sickly type and as a child earned the nickname ‘blow’ because he always had a inhaler with him. Being tall and skinny only added to his childhood reputation as a sickly weakling. So he proved all those bullies wrong by joining the army. Now in action for the first time, his childhood maladies were back. It was the last round of maneuvers Lowey figured. All that time outdoors in a dry climate gave him the sinus infection. His nose stuffed, sinuses reeling from pressure, Lowey refused any medication, lest it dull his senses. 

Captain Lowey suffered as he led Alpha Squadron into battle. He kept his LAV in between the 1st and 2nd platoon. He rode unbuttoned, his binoculars to his eyes as he looked to the right for any signs of the enemy. So far nothing from the enemy, and that concerned Lowey. He felt they should have made contact with someone by now, what with the battle being waged by Task Force Baker. Off to the right he heard a series of mortar bombs exploding. That had to have been the Vietnamese engaging 1st Armoured Regiment over on the inland road.
‘Blue-One this is Black-Six,’ he called the lead platoon. ‘Halt.’
‘Copy, Captain I…’

Blue-1 never got the chance to finish his sentence as a Vietnamese anti-tank gun fired and hit his LAV killing himself and one other crewmen. As their LAV burned, a half dozen infantrymen scrambled outside and threw themselves to the ground.

Just a few lines to give Captain Lowey some personality.

See more of Captain Lowey and more characters in World War 1990: Anzacs

World War 1990: ANZACs

World War 1990:Anzacs is out on Kindle

In a different 1990...

The Third World War Rages

After Vietnam attacks The Philippines and Hong Kong at the behest of Moscow, Australia and New Zealand join the Third World War. 

RAAF F-18s dogfight in the skies above Hanoi

-A combined Australian-Zealand Task Force gathers at Singapore

-Australian troops come ashore at Haiphong

-New Zealanders fight for the lives at Cam Ranh Bay

World War 1990: Anzacs

ANZACs Cover

Alright we have the cover for World War 1990: ANZACs

Editing (again) World War 1990: ANZACs

We have the physical proof for World War 1990: ANZACS.

Actually we've been wondering about proper usage for ANZACs  (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) or Anzacs. It really depends, but generally in conversation Anzacs is proper.

This is the absolute worst part about writing. We've read this thing 25 times already and its only on the 26th that one finds certain typos. Bear in mind that this is after an editor has taken a look.

We're working with the PDF printout of the manuscript. So far things are looking pretty not too bad.

Our proof readers will get the hard copy book and go through it. Once they're done we'll enter the final changes.

This is almost certainly the last round. If all goes well...[that's a huge, I'm sorry yuuge, if-Ed] about a month.

Anyway we slog on, slog on.

World War 1990: ANZACs

Well, as noted previously this is our final week for working on ANZACs before it goes into the great editing grinder.

We had thought about adding a blockbuster end chapter, but frankly it wouldn't make much political sense and the Aussies really don't have the capability to do anything other than launch large scale, Dieppe style raids.

A few fun ideas we had never made it in. First off, there are only oblique references to the Aussie SAS. Also we had thought Aussie Oberon subs would make it in, but again, the opportunity never really arose.

We'll look for some gaps where maybe we can through the subs in. We'll see.

Otherwise there is plenty of Aussie armor, ships, air, Kiwi infantry, Kiwi SAS, etc etc.

We may revisit those other issues at a later date.

ANZACing

World War 1990: ANZACs has been driving us batty.

We see three main issues.

First the MS was just a mess of George Lucas proportions; where talking Revenge of the Sith here. Nothing seemed to go together, the pacing seemed to make no sense. We are satisfied that this issue is fixed.

Second we're just not sure the stakes are high enough in ANZACs. Simply put, the Aussies are not driving on Hanoi, or even Haiphong. They basically mount a big putative expedition.

Third, as noted before we can't quite make up our mind about just how far down the chain of command the historical figures should go. Someone commanded the New Zealander's Scorpion tank squadron in 1990, but we've made up a character in ANZACs.

There's also the matter of Aussie/Kiwi terms but this is not a huge problem. Note to self: the Aussies did not call the Vietnamese 'Charlie'.

There's another issue here. We're pretty big in Australia. Or we should say, Australia is per capita a market for us up there with the US and UK. We have a lot of readers in Australia and we'd like to turn in a good book about them, for them.

So we press on, and if that means ANZACs gets delayed, then it gets delayed.

Figure Autumn.

Early ANZACs Update

OK, after another read through we feel like we've fixed the problems with World War 1990: ANZACs.

Frankly there was a time when we felt that maybe the entire project should be killed.

Phew.

We still need some tweeks.

At this point we're targeting July 1 for our submission date.

World War 1990: ANZACs

Well, we went the full George Lucas on that one.

We've spent the last week re-editing ANZACs and intend to wrap it up today [You plan, do you? god laughs at you -ed]

Yeah, yeah....

Anyhoo, after that we'll re-sit ANZACs for a week or so and take another whack at it. This will include making sure we've fixed the problems [those were legion -ed].

I know, ed, and thanks for noticing.

We'll also have to fact check things, and Aussie it up a bit.

[What about the Kiwis?-ed]

Fuck them...no actually they're looking pretty good here. If all goes well...[why would all go well? -ed] we'll start the actual physical proof in July.

Editing ANZACs

Well we opened up World War 1990: ANZACs for the first time in a month and found a mess.

We've had to pull apart all of the Haiphong operation and are in the process of throwing it all back together. Also somewhere along the line we forgot Strunk and White's most import admonition: omit needless words.

We press on.

World War 1990: ANZACs

One of the fun things about this novel has been the research.

I know own a half dozen books about the Australian military and I must say, I'm impressed. Australia, as former Prime Minister John Howard used to say, is in a rough neighborhood. It also had and has several defense commitments.

During the Cold War Australian forces participated in all of  Britain's actions in Asia and contributed units to the Vietnam War. Of course since 9/11, when John Howard again said, 'This is no time to be an 80 percent ally,' Australia has sent contributions to Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 1990 the Royal Australian Navy boasted twenty or so modern surface warships, two squadrons of F-18 Hornets, two squadrons of F-111 Aardvarks and the cadre to create three to four army divisions including a mechanized and an armored brigade.

This is a nation that takes its defence commitments seriously.

You'll love what they do in ANZACs.

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 3-19-17

World War 1990: ANZACs missing thread edition.

Well, we're at 60,000 words into ANZACs. The battles are fought, the ships sunk, the Scorpion Tanks have kicked some booty, the standard Stroockian political intrigue has intrigued. Still,  a few things are missing and we weren't quite sure what. 

Then we realized that since a fair amount of action takes place in the Philippines we needed Philippine President Quarozon Aquino in there in some capacity, probably getting a talkin' to from the American ambassador, 'Listen honey, if it weren't for us...'

Also we need something or should I say, someone to wrap things up. How do you get the Vietnamese to stop? Who talks them into accepting some kind of ceasefire? In my estimation there's only one man for the job. I won't divulge name's, but lets just say he never let down Hunter S. Thompson.

Friday Updates

We are pleased to say that World War 1990: ANZACs is at 60,000 words. The completion of the rough draft is near and we are hoping to start editing on 15 April.

Nothing new with Pershing in Command.

We are struggling on with Whatever Happened to Jake and Patricia Bloom and that is now 50,000 words. Interestingly we have no idea how it ends but we got everything else.

We are thinking soon that we might begin writing the Austrian Painter.

We are experimenting again with digital ads. Check it out.

Friday Updates

Not much to update really.

World War 1990: ANZACs is still at 55,000 words. That's 55,000 edited, fleshed out and refined words, I should say.

We are hopping for a summer release.

Working a bit on Jake and Patricia.

We are hoping for a fall release.

We'll see.

Boiling Kiwis

Sometimes the writing percolation is more of a boil.

After a few hours of wondering what's next the Battle of the South China Sea is taking shape.

There's the Australian Task Force steaming north. And there! Tran's flight of Mig-21s taking to the sky. Below them are the Vietnamese ships heading to battle and probable doom. All of the sudden Tran and his flight detect incoming bogies. Ahhh....Bonfman and his Australian F-18s out of Clark AFB....And what's this? Vietnamese attack boats running off the coast toward the Australian Task Force. Now only a New Zealand destroy on picket duty to fight them off....

I love it when a good chapter comes together.

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 2-19-17

ANZACs!

For a couple of months we've been pounding away on Operation Pacific Storm.

This morning we are announcing that there is no Operation Pacific Storm. Well, there is, but its in World War 1990: Operation Eastern Storm.

Given the subject matter, and the amount of space the Aussies and Kiwis are taking up, we've chosen to make them the sole focus of this book. Out is the Japanese move on Vladivostok and Chinese intrigue in Siberia. This novel is about the ANZACs and their operations in Vietnam.

We've got an Australian naval task force of ten Australian ships (Melbourne wasn't scrapped in my universe), two from New Zealand and several support vessels from Malaysia and Singapore. Land element is four plus Australian brigades, an ad-hox NZ brigade, the 1st Fijian Infantry Regiment and a Gurkha brigade. In the air, two squadrons F-18s, two F-111s, one squadron of NZ Sky Hawks, F-5s out of the Philippians  and F-16s out of Singapore.

Now we've got plenty of historical characters, especially at the political level with a four-way battle between Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Kim Beazley and John Howard. But at the brigade level on down the characters and commanders are fictional.

We hope to have the rough done in a month. Tan book cover? We'll see.