March 10th, 2014.
Seems that the Tucson Festival of Books spurs me on each year; and each year, I am a good bit closer to finishing The Journal of Rudd. (fictitiously) written, by my grandfather, after he fled Iowa, got shanghaied in San Fransisco, and via the Straights of Magellan and a mutiny in the South Atlantic, landed up in Cape Town, South Africa.

Recently, I was stuck for a month or two. The description of the journey around Cape Horn was complete and, I believe, well written - at least it is very descriptive. The tsunami and mutiny scenes, ditto, and then it was arrival in Cape Town - and wham!, I stuck. OK... so... Frank Rudd Bybee arrives in Cape Town - so what? And stuck... and stu...! BINGO, for a writer to write, a writer must read - so read up on the Boer War and other events circa 1900 just before Grandpa met Mini Clara Harriman (my Grandma). One of the beautiful synchronous events I feel, that will make this whole ms, is  that Grandma grew up in SE London (Plumstead, Woolwich, Kent) and... drum roll please, Rudyard Kipling, whom with me on Grandma's knee, said she adored Kipling and read me the Jungle Book etc. Kipling lived in Batesman, Kent. only 26 miles south of where Grandma lived. Now the will meet in Cape Town, also Cecil John Rhodes joins the fray.

We'll see what transpires. This is going to be fun to write this Journey North... even more fun to get this published... and then. As dad would say, "...it's in the lap of the mountain gods."

Stay tuned - let me know what you think.

--JSB. Follow @TechwriteJacque