rlfj: Blog

Sorry about the delay from my regular posting schedule, but life gets in the way at times.

At least one reader pointed out that the various North Sea ferries don't just handle traffic between England, Scotland, Norway, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Other North Sea destinations include Iceland, the Faroes, the Hebrides, and Ireland. Technically not every location might be the North Sea but that is a little nitpicky for my taste.

In any case, Vikings ends with the Epilogue. I hope everybody enjoyed it. For those who purchased a copy, I will be posting the final corrections and edits over the next week or so. At that time, I will upload a corrected final version to bookapy and elsewhere. I will post when this is finished so you can download a final version.

We are getting to the end of the story. The Vikings are heading to England. Can we say 'culture shock!'

For those curious, the MV Sudreyjar was modeled as a sister ship to the MV Hjaltland and MV Hrossey. These two ships are active interisland ferries that service the Shetlands, the Orkneys, and Scotland. They have cabins, lounges, and deluxe accommodations. It is not a stretch to envision a ship like this being chartered for a special run. Additionally, several other ferries crisscross the North Sea traveling between England, Scotland, Norway, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Some of them seem quite nice.

I don't know many of the details of the British bureaucracy. My British editors made several suggestions about the National Health Service and Revenues and Customs; they seemed satisfied with what I ended up writing. If there is a problem, it is my fault, not theirs.

Enjoy!

I learned that it's not 'wrinkle out' but 'winkle out.' This was in two chapters, so I uploaded a fix to both. Thanks.

It was pointed out to me that the British king never really beat the Scottish king. "I don't know what your Scottish readers will say to your comment that the King of England beat the King of Scotland in battle :-) The reality was James VI inherited the crown on the death of Elizabeth I and became James I of England and united the Crowns, but not the Kingdoms, it was the last of the Stuarts, Anne that did that, with the Act of Union."

Technically, I specified, "Each land had their own king, and they battled often. England's king won." At the time of the Vikings, England was carved up into many small kingdoms. At the beginning of the Viking period, the sack of Lindisfarne in 793, there were seven kingdoms, known as the Heptarchy. Over the next few hundred years, the number declined, some by submission to other English kings and some by submission to the Vikings. Eventually they ended up with just one English king.

I think this one is a touch nit-picky, but you're allowed to disagree. Thanks for reading!

No, this isn't a blog about my future writing. Chapter 16 is about the future plans of Lars and the Vikings. The Vikings are moving to England. God help the Vikings and God help England! I know that everybody will have their own take on what should happen. Some will disagree with the approach I've taken, but that's the way things work. I tried to be realistic with the possibilities.

As for my future writing - Send me some ideas! I already have a collection of erotic short stories that will be put online shortly after Vikings finishes. These are some stories I've had cooking for a few years that I finally got around to finishing. No, I need an idea or two for something 'serious'. I have no interest in adding chapters to either the Carl Buckman or Grim Reaper stories. That seems like moving backward, not forward. Suggestions for a new story would be appreciated. Thanks.

For those curious, the usage of Private Military Contractors is ubiquitous on military bases. Many think it is limited to overseas conflicts, but the reality is that they are used in military bases around the world. Much of this is due to the decline of conscription to maintain manning levels after the end of the Vietnam War. An all-volunteer army required considerably higher pay rates to attract recruits. A decision was made to shrink the military to 'essential' combat duties. No longer would soldiers be used for housekeeping duties such as cooks and cleaners and maintenance. Instead, we would contract those functions out to the private market.

There was, and is, considerable disagreement as to the wisdom of this system, but it is the system we have. In any case, there is a wide range of capabilities and specialization in the PMC community. Some specialize in the housekeeping and maintenance functions described early in the story. Others specialize in combat functions. For those curious, the description of the PMCs in this story passed both American and British military editors.