Lynn Dayton Thriller #4: I finished research and wrote a few more scenes in the fourth Lynn Dayton thriller. The road to completion is still long.
Flash Fiction: Super-short “Why Are You Running?” was published in the DOG DAYS OF SUMMER and THE YEAR OF SHORTS flash fiction anthologies (both available from Amazon). My flash fiction story, “Essence of Genius, Genius of Essence,” won an honorable mention (top 20 out of 300 entries) in the Women on Writing (WOW) Spring 2021 Flash Fiction Contest.
Interview: NFReads interviewed me (Interview With Author L. A. Starks (nfreads.com).
Reading
In the last six months I read twenty-four books, eleven of them non-fiction and thirteen fiction.
Written decades apart but with similar plots about accomplished con men and women are The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith and Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger. I recommend both. I also liked the latest (Australia-set) Jane Harper book, The Survivors, and Red Widow, a thriller by Alma Katsu. Readers who like Washington/international suspense with well-drawn characters and a too-realistic plot will want to read The Power Couple, by Alex Berenson. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling is long but engaging. And Erik Larsen has done wonderful work with the much-trod history of Churchill in The Splendid and the Vile by focusing on the man, those around him, and their actions during the difficult first year of World War II. This book is a tribute to Churchill and to the English people for their resilience through months of bombing by the Germans.
All my book reviews can be found at Goodreads.
Energy
Staying with the books theme for a moment, three of the nonfiction books I read in the last six months focused on energy with themes, data, and theories that run counter to the widespread tropes of the moment. The one I recommend most highly is Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger.
Travel and economics activity, and thus oil prices, have waxed and waned with Covid surges and variants. The bigger surprise has been natural gas prices, at levels that are 2-3 times typical for this time of the year. The reasons are drawdowns from cold winter weather worldwide, reduced associated gas production in the west Texas Permian, increased liquefied natural gas trade from the US Gulf Coast, concerns about the reliability of Russian gas flows, and the increased use of natural gas as a quick-start backup fuel to wind and solar for electricity generation.
I write three articles a month for the public (free) Seeking Alpha platform and five a month for a Seeking Alpha Marketplace subscriber platform, Econ-Based Energy Investing (EBEI). The public platform link: https://seekingalpha.com/author/laura-starks#regular_articles
Until next time,
L.A. Starks
http://lastarksbooks.com
Fiction (books) by L. A. Starks–in reverse order
The Second Law (Lynn Dayton Thriller #3)
- Print ISBN 9780991110742, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, October 2018, $18.95.
- E-book ASIN B07JLDGTVL, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, October 2018, $8.12.
Strike Price (Lynn Dayton Thriller #2)
- Print ISBN 9780991110704, 2nd edition published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, March 2014, $18.95.
- E-book ASIN B01K5Y406A, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, August 2016, $8.99.
13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy (Lynn Dayton Thriller #1)
- 2nd Print ISBN 978-0991110711, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC, August 2016, $18.95.
- E-book ASIN B015LI65GI, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC, September 2015, $7.99.
Short stories by L. A. Starks on Amazon Kindle, in reverse order
- “Incurable” bubbled up as I developed one of the antagonists in THE SECOND LAW. 2020. ASIN: B08L9RY4T5, $0.99.
- “Josh Rosen & Bubbe” gives additional background on series character Josh Rosen and insight into his relationship with his grandmother when she falls ill. 2014. ASIN: B00O854YKA, $0.99.
- “A Time for Eating Wild Onions” introduces two key characters in the second Lynn Dayton book, STRIKE PRICE. The tragedy that befalls them profoundly shapes the next generation. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6DGA, $0.99.
- “Robert and Thérèse Guillard: Choices” is a story about 13 DAYS’ Parisian antagonist and how it feels to fly in a wing suit. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6D74, $0.99.
Flash fiction by L. A. Starks
- “Why Are You Running?” in Dog Days of Summer and A Year of Shorts flash fiction anthologies.
- *DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: FLASH FICTION, May 2021, E-book ASIN: B095J998Q9, $0.99.
- *A YEAR OF SHORTS: FLASH FICTION, Print ISBN: 979-8519555579, June 2021, $5.99. E-book ASIN: B096Y7WBH6, June 2021, $1.99.
Thank you for your support of the early editions! The covers have changed but the books and short stories are the same. Electronic and print editions published primarily by L&L Dreamspell, Brown Books, and StoneThread Publishing are no longer available. Covers from prior editions of these books and stories, are shown below. If you own one of these collector’s items, congratulations!
