On the Homefront

In previous years, I’ve sent out poems to celebrate the holiday season. There are two so far, both based on ‘A Visit from Saint Nicholas’ (better known as ‘Twas the night before Christmas’), but with a decidedly Mercerian twist.

This year, I’m considering a short story to keep things interesting. I've been mulling over a few ideas, but the one that interests me the most is Gerald telling a bedtime story to a young Prince Braedon to celebrate the Midwinter Feast.

I won’t reveal more at this point other than to say I’m looking forward to writing it and I’m already thinking of several twists.

I did it!!! NaNoWriMo 2022 Complete

Fighting Against Overwhelming Odds

Writing Temple Commander has me reading about famous battles where the victors were severely outnumbered. During the Korean War, the Chinese army launched a spring offensive in 1951 against the 27^th British Commonwealth Brigade. This unit consisted of the 3^rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (RAR), and the 2^nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), each of approximately 700 men. They were supported by a New Zealand Artillery regiment and a small US force consisting of several mortars and fifteen Sherman tanks.

On the afternoon of April 24^th, the Australians, along with the American tanks, held their positions but withdrew after taking heavy casualties. The invading force, estimated between 10,000 and 20,000 men, assaulted the Canadian position on Hill 677. A ferocious night battle ensued, but the PPCLI held their position. Their stand prevented the encirclement of American forces and, by extension, saved the city of Seoul.

This is one of the more interesting examples of holding off a numerically superior enemy I’ve recently read.

Congrats to Emil for winning last week's giveaway, and thank you for all the questions for the twenty-five questions of Christmas

Big Ships?

When we think of big ships, we tend to think of tankers or aircraft carriers, but in medieval times, ocean-going vessels were much smaller.

The caravel, made famous by the Nina and Pinta, was common in the early fourteen hundreds and was somewhere between 50 and 70 feet (15 to 21 metres) in length. The Santa Maria, considered a carrack, was only a little longer, at approximately 77 feet (23.5 metres).

The Sao Gabriel, Vasco da Gama’s flagship during his first voyage, was a carrack with a length of roughly 88 feet (27 metres), only a little larger than Santa Maria.

On his third voyage, da Gama sailed in the Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai, a carrack of approximately 124 feet (38 metres).

To put all of this into perspective, the PT boats of World War II fame were 80 feet (24 metres) long, roughly the size of a carrack.

Favourite 5-Star Review of the Week:

Work In Progress Update

Temple Commander now sits at 67,500 words, meaning that by the end of the day, I should reach the halfway point. That is, of course, based on my original estimate in terms of word count. From a chapter standpoint, I’ll only be working on chapter twenty-one out of forty-five, meaning I still have a few more chapters before I reach fifty percent. Only time will tell how accurate my estimate proves to be.

This book is significantly different from Temple Captain because this time, everyone knows the Halvarian Empire is going to attack. Charlaine and Danica are forced to work against the clock to try and come up with a way to defeat the enemy despite their overwhelming numbers.

There will be battles at sea as well as on land, but that’s a topic for another day.

Until next time, Happy reading!

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