Yesterday, I learned that my novel in progress, The Hunt for Shooter #5, is a Top Pick in the thriller category for the 2024 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. My previous mystery, Elrod, was a finalist for the 2022 Claymore Award. That completed novel is in the caring hands of my wonderful agent, Terrie Wolf, who is promoting it to publishers. Stay tuned for more news when I can share it.
Please note: Since we’re celebrating the 4th of July this week I’ll be taking it off here without presenting new episodes of The Standard Weakly Standard. But look for more new adventures and surprises next week. After all, we have a few murders that need solving. Meanwhile, I’ll be spending more time this week on finishing my novel in progress, which I mentioned above. In effect, time off is not really time off.
While we’ll be celebrating the 4th of July at our home and neighborhood, most importantly, I’ll be reflecting this week on what it means to be free and independent from tyranny. You see, my parents were refugees. They escaped Soviet communism at the end of WWII.
As immigrants, I was 20 months old when we arrived in the United States. Mother and father came with one suitcase each and without understanding one word of English. They also had no money except for a $5 bill that a kind gentlemen thrust into my father’s hand at Union Station in Kansas City. My parents were proud to become U.S. citizens. They learned the language, held good blue-collar jobs, and while we were poor we never knew it.
When I think of freedom and what the 4th of July represents for Americans, I have a deep understanding of what it means to be free. History tells us our founding fathers’ lives were at stake when they signed the Declaration of Independence. They were hunted men by the British. That’s a high-priced commitment to an ideal. Thankfully, they succeeded but it was not without a great cost of life and treasure. I pray that we have the common will as Americans to keep our freedoms sacrosanct.
Here’s a couple of good quotes from a couple of pretty good writers. Thought you might enjoy their thoughts about the 4th of July:
William Faulkner- We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.
Thomas Wolfe- America. It is the only place where miracles not only happen, but where they happen all the time.
As always, I appreciate you reading my Substack novels in episodic form and appreciate any and all comments on either the novels or the bad poetry that appears here on Mondays.
Best wishes to and yours for a safe and thoughtful Fourth of July!
ZJ Czupor
I've long admired your family's story of immigration. How did your parents manage without money? How was their passage organized, and accomplished? Who picked them up from Kansas City? How did they learn English? So many things l wish l knew. I'm so excited about your new novel, and congratulations. I'm so proud of you my friend.
Congratulations on the Claymore nomination, ZJ! I have my fingers crossed for you!