William R. Ablan, Police Mysteries and Adventures

Daily writing promptWhat’s a song that always puts you in a good mood?View all responses Agnus Dei. It’s a good, old fashioned Christian anthem, and when I’m down, I put it on loud! Click here to hear one of my favorite versions. Play them, and I close my eyes, I lift my hands, and I glory in whatever is around me. Starry night? I’m out there dancing among the stars overawed by…

Daily writing promptDo you think humans will ever colonize Mars? What would life there actually look like?View all responses Mars! It’s fired my imagination for years. I’ve peered through a telescope at it. It’s a bright disk, and with the right filters, I could even see the ice caps. Occasionally the mind connects dots, real or imagined, and I might see the Canals leap out at me and be gone…

Daily writing promptWhat’s your favorite meme?View all responses I don’t know if a poster hanging in the office of your favorite College prog counts, but it certainly rang true the first time I saw it. I had to hunt down where it came from, and of course it comes from that classic book, Catch-22 by Josephy heller (which I really have to read again – loved the movie). Then I lived it and found…

Happy Birthday to Joy Kidney, Author of some incredible true history books like Leora’s Letters and Meadowlark Songs (not to mention her latest, The Immigrant and the Outlaw). Click here to send your own best wishes to her. As we say in the southwest, “Feliz Cumpleanos, and many more.”

Daily writing promptWhat’s a cultural tradition from another country that you wish existed in yours?View all responses The idea of an afternoon break, siesta, whatever you want to call it. To me, it makes perfect sense to knock off for a couple of hours in the afternoon, recharge your batteries, and then finish up your day. But her in America? Nope. never fly. God forbid we take a nap and…

I thought I’d take a quick chance to tell you how it’s going. I’m still on track for a December release. The rough draft is almost finished. And now comes the part where it becomes a novel worth reading. I don’t know how a lot of writers work, but I get the rough draft done first. I have to. If I don’t, I spend eternity getting the “perfect” first chapter and never finish the novel. I get it…

Daily writing promptWhat’s a fear you’ve overcome — and how did you do it?View all responses Let’s see. Snakes? Nope. I encounter one and an Olympian would still be hard pressed to keep up with me. Horses? I’ve ridden them, but I don’t enjoy it. War. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Public speaking? Now, we’re talking. I’ve shared this a time of two, but my first attempt at…

Daily writing promptWhat’s the best way to build self-confidence?View all responses I’m reminded of our twelve-mile tactical road march to finish Basic Training. The term “Road March” is way off the mark. For openers, there was no road. There was a rough path through the woods. And being from Colorado, I thought I knew hills. Trust me, the hills in Colorado and the hills in Alabama are two…

Daily writing promptShare a proverb you think is completely wrong and make your case.View all responses “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” It’s true you know. You stand and you look and it always looks better than what you got. But there might be a reason for that. A reason you don’t want to know. So, you tear through the fence. In the place I was raised, this…

Daily writing promptWhat’s a moment in your life that felt like it was straight out of a movie?View all responses First day at my Basic Training company, 10th MP BN, Charlie Company. We’d just arrived on a big bus. We’re wearing uniforms that reek of mothballs. Everything we own is in an enormous duffel bag on our laps. Through the bus windows, we can see the Drill Sgts waiting to get a crack…

Talking about soulmates. A while back, there was a writing prompt about what words we hate. For me, the word is astrology. When I tell people I took my degree in astronomy, the first thing they ask is if I can do horoscopes for them. They then get treated to a five-minute rant of how I study what’s out there and try to figure the Universe out vs a pseudo-science that lies about the future, And…

Daily writing promptDo you believe in soulmates? Why or why not?View all responses I got one very big break in life. I got to marry my best friend. So, the answer is yes. There are people out there that you just fit with. And when they’re together, it’s magic.

I have to admit. I like the VA writing group. One thing it does, it forces you to be honest with yourself. I may have mentioned the process. You’re shown an image. In this case, the image was a multicolored image of man shaped creatures. They looked almost mechanical rather than human. You look at it, write what comes to mind. And yesterday’s image made me be honest. As many of you know, I’ve…

Daily writing promptWhat’s something you’d love to see in the future, but know you probably won’t live to witness?View all responses Simple. One of my descendants walking on the Moon or Mars. I know I’ll never make it. There are far fewer days ahead than there are behind me. But one of them might make it. It would be nice to see one of them achieved the dream I could only see from afar.

Daily writing promptIf you could have dinner with any philosopher, who would it be?View all responses I don’t know if you could consider him a philosopher, but he sure had a lot to say about the human condition. Which makes me wonder if Mark Twain would have liked cheeseburgers, red chili, and a vanilla shake for lunch. I think our lunch would have been interesting. The man was a cynic, but…

Daily writing promptWhat’s the first book you ever finished and still remember to this day?View all responses I’m probably the only kid in my school who lived in the Library. While everyone else was out playing on swings, I was prowling the stack of books. I read Mark Twain. I devoured biographies about famous people (the Wright Brother, Florence Nightingale, Abe Lincoln to name a few). And…

Daily writing promptWhat’s the most profound piece of advice you’ve been given? Did you take it?View all responses The advice? Something I’ve said again and again. Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see. Of course with AI images and etc., that last part is less than ten percent. Ultimate power on this planet has always been about one thing, the manipulation and control of…