January 29, 2008 by Karl.

Yes, my friends, we in the United States are in a lot of trouble. I know I’m an old man of 71, and may be set in my ways, but it pains me to see the youth of America mimicking someone like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, or the other so called “stars” of the present generation.
There used to be decent, law-abiding role models for our youth to emulate. Now there are sports figures that have killed their wives and got away with it; taken drugs or steroids to enhance their abilities, while lying to the American public, and ask for an astronomical amount of pay to play a simple game. There is no man or woman alive who is worth millions of dollars in any sport. The fans are the ones who pay. Where are the heroes of yesterday?
Our government officials are no better. Why don’t the Congressmen, (and women), Senators, and other government leaders represent the average American instead of lining their pockets? The use of these so called “earmarks” attached to bills and resolutions goes against all the rules our forefathers laid down as guides for better government.
If an earmark has merit for the program it desires to fund, why not go through the proper procedure and let it stand on its own?
If I were President Bush, I’d go on television and read each and every earmark that is attached to a funding bill one at a time to the American Public, until they all are laid before the taxpayers to see just where the wasted money is going, and who sponsored that particular earmark. Then I’d ask the taxpayers to vote on the issue by computer or text messaging. Guess how many of these “pork belly” pet projects would pass.
If their names were out in the open as sponsors of these wasteful spending, how many of our illustrious leaders would be re-elected?
And that’s not the only area of concern. What has happened to decency in the world? You can’t turn on your television without being bombarded by SEX, raw and uncensored. Every program has to feature some sex scene, or it isn’t in vogue. Small wonder we have perverts running all over the place, stalking our children. I’ve watched the program that shows these bastards showing up at a house to meet a thirteen year old for sex, and they just keep coming. Stupidity runs rampant.
When will we wake up and stop this idiotic fascination with sex?
Many of our female teenagers copy their “idols’” wardrobes, dress like streetwalkers and then wonder why grown men are tempted to attack them.
Our young men don’t know how to shave, or they emulate the guys who they call “stars” who run around with four or five days growth of beard. Have you ever heard a woman say she likes to feel a beard scratch across her face when she kisses a man?
And when did we allow our children to defile their bodies with tattoos at such an early age? Don’t they know those inked eyesores are forever? And don’t mention body piercing to me. If that isn’t stupid, what is?
Our schools are another source of disappointment. I call your attention to the latest edition of Readers’ Digest and the article about cheating. It will open your eyes. It’s not just the students who are cheating; it’s the teachers, principals, administrators, and anyone who has to do with the “test score” mentality presently ruining our education system. It isn’t how much you learn, it’s how well you do on a stupid test.
God help us.
Our troops are over in Iraq fighting for our way of life, while we sit here and burn up gas while waiting in line at the drive-thru window. I guess $3.00 a gallon gas can be wasted just like the cheaper stuff used to be.
You know I stand behind our troops 1,000 percent, but how much longer can we ask them to keep fighting for oil? That’s what it’s all about, no matter what anyone tells you. If we’d spent the billions we wasted in the Middle East on a modern rail system like they have in Europe, we wouldn’t be dependent upon the Arabs for their high-priced oil.
I could go on forever, but you are smart enough to know that, yes, we are in trouble, and if we don’t all stand up and be heard, there won’t be a United States in the near future.
The Mayans believed our world was to come to an end on December 21, 2012. Other scholars and civilizations in the past have come up with the same date. How strange is that? They also said “A spider web will encircle the globe and cause its destruction.” Guess what - the WORLD WIDE WEB is here, encircling the globe, and the predators are out there, using it to its fullest. Isn’t that a little eerie?
God, I hope they aren’t right, but if we keep on doing what we do, and letting apathy rule our lives, maybe they will prove they knew what they were thinking.
With these thoughts off my mind, I’ll leave you for tonight to ponder my message.
I’d love to hear from you and what you think. If you’re of the same mind, maybe we can gather enough of us together to make a difference. Stand up, America, before it’s too late.
Via con Dias,
Karl

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January 15, 2008 by Karl.

Good morning my friends,

I can’t believe two weeks has flown by since my last entry. Where do the days go?
I’ve been busy finishing my latest story, “The Texas Two Card Hold ‘em Heist”, where my “gang” of ex-Army buddies steals the $20 million first place prize off the main event table during the Universal Poker Tour Tournament.
Carol says I should have been born a thief. I know how to perform all these robberies and get away with them. I’d rather be an author and not do the jail time!
I hope to have another short story posted on my website soon. Check the others out by clicking on the various titles at the side of the page. I think there are eight or nine posted by now.
We’re off on a few more book signings. Only 84 more first editions left, so stop by and pick up your signed edition.
We’ll be at the Navy Exchange on Corpus Christi Naval Station this Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9-5 each day.
Then we’ll do “Curves” in Rockport on Monday the 21st from 9-12 and 4-7. If we still have any books remaining to sell, we’ll do Starbucks in Rockport on Friday and Saturday, Jan 25 & 26.
I’m still waiting to hear from the head man from the Wounded Warrior Project at BAMC, so we can make arrangements to write that $5,000 check. I’ll let you know when that happens. I hope it’s soon.
For now, enjoy the other posts on my blog and the short stories I mentioned before. We’re working hard to get the next five books published. No word yet from any of the agents I sent query letters to.
Everyone is telling me they want another book and I’m doing the best I can to make that a reality. If you know a publisher or agent who would like to review my work, let them know. They won’t be sorry.
Keep the faith.
Until next time,
Via con Dias, my friends,
Karl

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January 2, 2008 by Karl.

Good evening my friends. Thanks for stopping by again. This time you’ll be rewarded with a chance to review the prelude and first chapter of a new book I wrote recently titled “From China with Love”. Here it is. I hope you enjoy it.
Karl

FROM CHINA WITH LOVE

Prelude

In the beginning, the Bible says God created the world in six days. Then He rested on the seventh.
The history books of the future would record it took the Chinese one day less to conquer North America without firing a shot. Afterward, they never paused for a moment.
At one second after midnight on the west coast, or the first tick of the clock on a cold, late winter day, there were approximately three hundred million Americans residing in the U.S.A. An additional thirty-two million lived in Canada, and one hundred and nine million were citizens of Mexico.
Five days later, it was one second after noon, Eastern Time; and the corresponding times in the Mountain, Central and Pacific time zones, plus those of the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska. Given the average number of natural deaths and new babies born each day, the number of warm bodies was approximately the same.
The only difference was that nearly seventy-two percent of them were dead.
More than one survivor wondered what God thought about all of this, or if he even cared anymore.

Chapter 1

(One)
Ten years previously – 1005 hours – Peking, China:
This was the third harsh winter in succession for China. Record amounts of snow and ice were reported throughout the country, which foretold of horrendous floods to come with the spring thaw.
Coal, gas and other heating supplies were either low in supply or priced beyond the means of the average citizen. Hundreds of deaths had been reported due to the extreme temperatures in the northern reaches. It was not much better in the larger, overpopulated southern cities, where several families lived together in small, cramped quarters, sharing their pitifully inadequate food, staples and body heat in order to survive.
To further complicate matters, a severe drought during the summer had resulted in shortages of produce; and, an already strapped meat supply was hit with an epidemic of mad cow disease. Combined with the losses suffered to the poultry industry through a new strain of bird flu, these events were causing great suffering among the millions of China’s poor citizens. Although not reported to the world media, thousands had already perished from starvation.
Outside the great hall in Peking, icy winds whipped the drifting snow in angry circles across the emptiness of the wide, deserted main square. Inside the central meeting room, thick granite walls glinted with ice particles that formed when the meager heat from four large blazing fireplaces managed to penetrate the wintry chill. The condensation ran down the cracks in thin, icy trails and then refroze once more as it neared the chilly marble floor.
Fourteen aged men seated on cushioned red and yellow lacquered chairs fidgeted with their long, heavy coats and pulled them closer around their cold, aching bodies as they stared at the fifteenth man in the room.
He was an impressive human being, big when compared to the average Chinese; with a head much larger than any of his ministers. One look into his intelligent eyes told you this man was special, possessing wisdom far beyond his age of only fifty-five.
He stood nearly six feet two inches tall, but was very thin and weighed less than one hundred and fifty pounds. His hair was long, black and streaked with white. He wore it braided into a pigtail which hung over the collar of his heavy black woolen coat.
His steely eyes were coal black and his fingers were long and thin. A thin, grey goatee several inches long hung from the point of his chin and he stroked it occasionally when lost in thought, as he was now. From where he sat, on a raised dais in front of the others, he appeared to be larger than life itself.
Finally, Gin Lang Tang, Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, slowly raised his eyes from the documents lying in front of him. After removing his spectacles, he let them dangle from his right hand. Then resting his chin on the fingers of his left, he gazed across his massive oak desk into the eyes of his fourteen ministers, one at a time.
Despite the chill in the room, each of the men felt warm perspiration trickle down his spine, while the cold sweat of fear broke out on their brows. As the unwavering eyes of the Chairman met theirs, silently they wondered, “Will I leave this room alive? And if I do, will I still be breathing at the end of the day?”
For the past hour and fifteen minutes, the only sound in the barely warm room had been the ticking of the clock which was setting on one edge of the Chairman’s desk, the occasional muffled cough or a tiny clinking of china.
The fourteen ministers sat silently, curling their toes in their thin slippers to ease the pain from the chill while sipping tea, first hot, then lukewarm and now cold, from fragile porcelain cups. They watched nervously as Chairman Tang painstakingly reviewed their individual reports on the state of the Chinese nation.
In reality, Tang did not need to read the documents. He had done so hours before. His purpose in staring at the top of his desk for so long was to make his ministers sweat blood as they waited to hear their fate and that of China. Having them watch him slowly turn a page over after making notations that only he could decipher also taught his minions a little humility, while putting them in a state of anxiety.
“It does them good to perspire a little,” the Chairman thought. “Lately some of them have forgotten their place in the scheme of things as far as China is concerned. It is my job to periodically remind them.”
From the expressions on their faces, it appeared his intimidation had been successful. He took note of the perspiration on their foreheads and smiled inwardly. Keeping his facial expression blank, he began to speak.
“As I thought, the state of our country is not good. But take heart, I place no individual blame on any of you. World events have unfolded over which we had no control.”
An almost silent sigh drifted through the room, almost as if someone let the air out of a balloon. Color returned to the pale faces before him as they realized they were not to be purged or sent to a reeducation camp.
Pausing for a moment, the chairman picked up a black marking pen. Making sure all eyes followed his movements; he held his desk calendar aloft so they could all see it.
Then he circled the date boldly.
“Do you all know the date?”
All the assembled men nodded their heads. More than half of them murmured, “Yes, Mister Chairman.”
They were not sure whether their leader required a verbal answer, but didn’t want to be the one who didn’t know.
“No, you do not!” He shouted. His voice resounded through the great hall.
There was a stirring among his audience. By their puzzled expressions, he knew they were unsure of what he wanted from them. They would soon find out.
Turning to his desk once more, he picked up a red marking pen and wrote something in large crimson letters across the calendar. Then he stood up and held the pad high so they could see what he had written.
It was the date: “New China Year One - Day One.”
As he let his message sink in for a minute, the Chairman stared at each man in turn. His expression was empty of emotion, yet his black eyes seemed to be made of molten steel.
Then he continued, “This is the beginning of a new year, and a new age for our great country. But you will not mention the change of date beyond this room. Do you understand?”
Again he gazed at each man in turn and waited for them to reply.
When they all had answered in the affirmative, he said, “From this date forward, the situation I mentioned will change. We will control our destiny and that of the entire world. China must prevail and survive. But to do so, we require additional land and resources.”
“These are my orders: You will formulate a plan to take over the entire North American continent, including the United States, Canada and Mexico within the next ten years.”
There was a distinct sound of breath being drawn into dry throats. The chairman let it pass and then continued.
Referring to Russia and India he added, “At the same time, you will devise a way to neutralize our neighbors to the north, as well as the Army of India. We will not invade these two populous nations, but we must reduce their capability to fight militarily.
“They must not be able to come to the aid of the North Americans.
“I want no horrific third world war to drain our resources or manpower. The invasion must be silent and performed with stealth, but one which will insure our victory.
“Use courage and deceit. Be devious in your planning. Utilize your best brains to show me the way to achieve our goal by exactly one year from today – in other words, by the date New China Year Two, Day One.”
Although he knew there would be none, nevertheless Chairman Tang asked, “Are there any questions?”
No one spoke.
“Go then. Do what I have asked. Save China and her people. You have one year. Do not fail.”

(Two)
Twelve months later, the strategy was finalized and the multi-pronged invasion of North America began quietly. The devilishly clever operation was totally unobserved by the American public, their military and/or politicians, and their neighbors to the north and south.
Russia and India alike were scheduled for a less severe “neutralization”, which was planned to take place nine years in the future.

(Three)
Nine years later, at the stroke of midnight in the New China Year Ten, Day One; the final phase of the attack began.
Five days later, at the same time North America was conquered, the military might of Russia and India was rendered inoperable and millions of their citizens perished.
Contrary to the beliefs of most North Americans, who if they ever envisioned China attacking those three countries, it was not a large Army that destroyed them.
It took only a small group of five hundred dedicated Chinese executives, their well-trained and motivated sales force numbering somewhere around five thousand American, Mexican and Canadian employees, plus perhaps two hundred Chinese supervisors.
Their products were both large and small, and varied in nature.
As strange as it seemed, one of the main ingredients of the invasion was a new sugar substitute named “Nice and Thin”, which was distributed by a completely separate division from the other sales forces.
One of the remaining two entities was a group of individuals tasked with selling all the latest electronics and communicative gear, including cell phones, pagers, IPODS, PDAS etcetera.
The last branch of the organization offered advanced computer components at bargain prices to manufacturers of military hardware and other electronic industries throughout North America.
A smaller, but still dedicated team entered Russia and India, exhibiting and selling the latest electronic devices and computers for military hardware.
Cash strapped Russia was granted exceptional credit to purchase these items. The citizens of both countries, all of them wishing and hoping to keep up with the west, took the products to heart. Sales records which warmed the hearts of the Chairman and his ministers were reported by both teams.
On the first day of the invasion of North America, approximately fifty thousand people died across the countryside. Their individual deaths were unexpected, and because they were scattered across three nations, little note was made of the total number and cause. Most deaths were attributed to heart attacks or strokes.
On the second day, the total increased to over seven hundred thousand nationwide in the United States alone. Canada and Mexico reported a smaller, but still significant number of deaths. The beginning of a major panic ensued, but still no one knew the true cause of the many fatalities.
Russia and India took note of the strange episode which was unfolding in the west. However, since only a small number of deaths were noted in their countries, they wrote it off as some sort of welcomed plague that would hopefully reduce the number of their enemies.
On the third day, more than two million perished throughout North America and the cause was finally determined. As always, should the reports prove wrong, everyone wanted to save his or her own ass, so the findings were reviewed for yet another day.
By the time the bureaucratic delay was over and the authorities were able to use the massive communications systems of the United States, Canada and Mexico to warn the public, another six million people succumbed on the fourth day.
At the height of the hysteria caused by this disaster, on the fifth day, when everyone was attempting to communicate with their loved ones and warn them of the danger, the real slaughter began.
It was over in an instant – actually a nanosecond.
At the same tick of the clock, millions of Russians and Indian citizens were killed, (as collateral damage), while the computers that controlled their military might were destroyed.

(Four)
Two days later, on the seventh day of the New China Year Ten, the first wave of fifty thousand Chinese troops arrived off North America’s Pacific shores. Concealed in fifty large sea-going vessels disguised as foreign car carriers, container ships and large tankers, they landed at every major port.
Accompanying the troops were a hundred and fifty thousand civilian personnel assigned as decontamination crews. Both the soldiers and civilians found there was little to do other than locate, document and cremate the remains of the more than forty million bodies stretching from Acapulco north to Seattle, Washington, and on up the coast to Vancouver, Canada.
The leaders of the Chinese force had planned well in advance.
The first troops off the ships were ten companies of men tasked with the unenviable job of dealing with the “Federal Prisoner Problem.” After gathering their equipment, they headed out to complete their missions.
Then the remaining troops unloaded a few tanks and Automated Personnel Carriers (APCs) for reconnaissance missions. Following them was their main cargo – ten thousand specially designed, butane-fed crematoriums mounted on truck frames. A self-contained two thousand gallon gas tank was attached at the rear of each.
Accompanying these strange looking vehicles were another one thousand butane tankers, each containing twenty thousand gallons of replacement fuel for the crematoriums on a daily basis.
Thoughtfully, the Americans listed the location of every butane refinery or storage area in California on the internet. Even though a fleet of tankers was on its way from China, until they arrived, re-supply would be no problem.
“It seems the internet is an imaginary child’s toy to the Americans,” a noted Chinese scholar, Mei Chang stated. “It is a never-ending hole to be filled with every conceivable item in the universe, no matter how mundane or trivial.”
“They have nothing else to occupy their time,” one of his closest friends commented. “Other countries now do the labor they once bragged of, while the Americans gather their material belongings around them and ask for more.”
Beginning at the docks and working outward toward the center of the cities, the workers, (five to a truck – a driver and four helpers), began to gather the bodies.
Each corpse was searched for identification. When it was found, a worker swiped either one of the victim’s credit cards or driver’s license through a slot of a small handheld computer.
The deceased’s name and address was automatically printed onto a strip of tape. This was then attached to a plastic bag which held the dead individual’s billfold, watch and any jewelry and keys found on his/her person.
These bags were collected and stored, to be used to determine empty residences which would soon be available for the Chinese civilian “Pioneers” who would be following shortly.
“If no identification is found, the bag will be annotated, ‘Unknown’,” their instructors told them.
With Chinese efficiency, the bags were finally stored in a large warehouse in the shipping district of San Francisco. To retrieve a tagged bag took only one minute and thirty seconds from the time the request was typed into a computer console.
Each body was stripped of its clothing, which was destined for recycling. The nude corpse was then cremated on the spot.
Provided each of the ten thousand crematoriums functioned properly; the scheduled rate of consumption was six bodies per hour, or four hundred and eighty thousand per eight hour day.
“It is estimated all forty million corpses will be turned into ashes within ninety days,” the Minister of Reclamation told the Chairman.
Of course there were some breakdowns, as was to be expected. Nevertheless, with redundancy built into their plans; those vehicles were taken offline to be repaired while spares took up the slack. The project remained on schedule. It was hard, backbreaking work, but the Chinese were used to it.
They had a purpose in mind. When all the bodies were eliminated, the new residents of New China would begin arriving. They would take up residence in the completely furnished homes left behind by their American benefactors.
The ashes of the citizens of the Untied States were carefully gathered and placed in huge containers. These were eventually shipped to the side of a tall mountain in Yosemite National Park.
“A large memorial will be constructed there to honor the sacred remains of the Americans who died so that China might live,” the Minister of Spiritual Planning reported.
“Similar final resting places and memorials are designated for Mexico City, and the capitals of each of the Canadian Provinces.”
As the troops made their way into the cities, since America was a cornucopia of firearms, there was some small resistance among the few survivors. As planned, it was easily controlled and eliminated with minimum Chinese casualties.
As a result, there was no major damage to the infrastructure of the major port cities of Acapulco, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle or Vancouver.

(Five)
Two months later, the Commander of the troops on shore, now numbering more than three million, declared those cities and most of the major towns and ports along the Pacific coast were secured. His subordinates informed him they were preparing to head eastward, continuing the cleanup.
His next message to the Chairman read: “Send in the first wave of civilian pioneers.”

So, that’s the beginning - what did you think of it? Let me know on the comments tab. The novel is complete, has been professionally edited and is awaiting a smart agent to pick it up and run with it.
Let’s hope someone does just that.
But for now,
Via con Dias, my friends,

Karl

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January 1, 2008 by Karl.

Good evening my friends and a Happy New Year to you. May it be filled with nothing but good things for all of you.
We’re back home in Rockport, after a wonderful trip to Cabo San Lucas. As promised, I caught another nice 7 foot, 120 pound Marlin, and a 33 pound Dorado on the same fishing trip.
I’ll get the pictures posted on my web shortly, so you can see the smile on my face.
We came back to Houston and drove over to Lufkin to spend Christmas with our son and his family, plus do another book signing at the starbucks coffee shop there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a busier place!
We sold another 26 books, so our total sold is now up to 589, with only 84 first editions remaining. If you haven’t ordered one from me, I suggest you do. Cost is $19.75 plus $3.25 shipping and handling. Send a check for $23.00 to Karl Boyd Productions,
P. O. Box 2096, Rockport, TX, and I’ll sign the book to whoever you select and get it back to you within a week.
While in Lufkin, we experienced a mini tornado about 3 a.m. one morning, just outside our bedroom window. It came and went with a roar and a cloud of hail, taking down three trees in our son’s yard, (none of which hit the house), a lot of fences in the neighborhood and more trees throughout the community. A scary night. I spent two days cutting up the large trees for firewood.
Christmas is Lufkin was wonderful and we enjoyed our visit with our grandchildren. It’s a special time for family and we hope you were able to be with yours.
I’ve finished editing “The Lost Priest”, a two part adventure/romance novel, and hope to have it published soon. If you bought a book from me and entered my drawing for a free copy, I have your address and will let you know when this book comes out.
At the same time, I’m finishing up a trilogy of crime stories very similar to those you saw in the “Ocean’s Eleven” series. These would make terrific movies. Keep those fingers crossed.
As always, it’s tax time again and I spent most of the day gathering paperwork and adding and subtracting to prepare my taxes for my CPA.
But tomorrow I hope to get back to writing. Until next time, again, I wish you a very Happy New Year. Don’t be a stranger. Stay with me and we’ll see how far these books go.
For tonight,
Via con Dias, my friends,
Karl

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