Greetings from the Stroock Northern Strategic Direction: Berkshires Front.
Ten minutes after leaving home we blew out a tire on Interstate 287. Three hours and three new tires later (that's what the tire guy recommended and he wouldn't lie, right?) we were back on the road.
While waiting for the tires to be switched out (seriously it's five lug nuts why did it take so long?) we read the first chapter of WW1990:NL. So far so good. A bit bare, but so far so good.
Before leaving we also started the opening blockbuster in which the Dutch 51st Armored Brigade holds open Route-1 for the rest of Nederlandse I Corps.
At this point we're ready to make bold predictions about completion dates.
Politie sneak men up canal on west end of Klazienaveen.
Politie ram Soviet roadblock with army truck.
Politie fight way into town.
We should note there's some Dutch KMC Troops.
[Mobile Command Columns - kind of like their National Guard, engineers medics, etc. troops -Ed].
From there it's house to house. Picture a politie standing in a doorway, helmet on his head, M-1 carbine at the ready. He points his carbine down the street and fires, snap-snap-snap...snap-snap-snap.
If Klazienaveen were in Texas or, I dunno, Colorado*, we all know what the townspeople would do. The question is, what would a Dutchman do?
[WWDD?-Ed]
In other news we found a Dutch police show, the Bantjeer Mysteries (1995). This should help with realism, day to day stuff.
[Really, I know how you Americans do with subtitles-Ed]
At the beginning of the month we wrote that we hoped to finish World War 1990: NL'spolitei chapter and complete The Battle of the Three Seas. Right now we are tentatively on track to do so.
On the former we'll have 35-40,000 words and be clear to write Dutch I Corps' big battle chapter, which ought to be easy enough.
[Christ, did he really say that?-Ed]
By which we mean the chapter should write itself. We've got a fair amount of experience in the genre, no? So maybe we know what the fuck we're talking about, Ed.
Battle of the Three Seas may well be driving us mad, but it's 60,000 words. We have narrative. One could read it from start to finish.
To be honest, we're really in pretty good shape here.
By the way, at our behest the Fami De-Stroock is seriously considering slapping another week onto our Ireland trip and visiting, you guessed it, The Netherlands and possibly Belgium. We're thinking Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels. We're already across the pond, and after the highly successful Stroock's in Europe Tour of 2018, why not?
The always sensible and grounded Mrs. Stroock see's the logic, and is willing to consider it.
We'll have to take language lessons again. What do they speak in Belgium?
A good chuck of NL shows Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers running around dealing with problems.
Lubbers gives interviews to the press. He talks with cabinet ministers about economic damage wrought by the Soviets. He takes phone calls. He meets with the US Ambassador. The seat of government gets bombed and they have to relocate to a train station because Lubbers wont ride out the war in a bunker.
At one point Lubbers realizes he hasn't eaten. At another the chief of staff tells him to get some sleep.
Lubbers tours damage in The Hague with a helmet and bullet proof vest at the insistence of his worried security detail.
These are the things he has to deal with, and we think these simple government issues in the face of invasion are fascinating.
Anyone else notice that in our novels one usually reads about the chief of staff informing the president or saying things like, 'Prime Minister, you have to [insert plot device].'
Using the national leader as a newbie straight-man has always been a good and easy way to inform the reader. 'Gosh, we have three divisions ready to go. Who knew?'
Well not In World War 1990: NL. This time the PM, Ruud Lubbers will be telling the CoS what to do.
Don't worry, the briefings are still coming. In fact when we tried to get away from the cabinet room in Castro's Folly, readers complained, 'But I can't tell what's going on!' What part of, 'We're blowing the fuck out of Cuito Cuanavale' is unclear? Actually, at this point in our career we're sort of kicking ourselves in the head (boy Ed would have loved to do that for us) for our lack of ambition. There is no reason we could not have made Castro's Folly two novels, one in Central America, one in South Africa. World War 1990: SA. But don't worry people, we're still doing Esercito Italiano.
This is a good short story...What we'd we did this...and that...we suppose it could be a novel...but there's no need to it's just....Oh hell that's a good idea...So's that...
!@#$.
There it is.
Dutch I Corp fighting like mad along the R-1.
The Prime Minister touring the country giving war speeches.
A Soviet airborne attack on Groningen to lay the groundwork for invasion; the reverse Market Garden.
The old man fortifying his farm against invasion and fighting off Soviet Spetznaz.
Right now it feels like we can crank out a couple thousand words a day. That will change, but right now we can do it.
There's really only one problem. That is, we have Dutch I Corps acting as NorthAG's theatre reserve when they had their own sector up front. We may not care. Plot is always more important than fact.
We'll see.
Reader(s) are invited to throw in a couple of ideas for NL in the comments.
