A is for … Albatross

 

A is for Anteater, Aphid, and Albatross.

We’ll look at Albatross.

The albatross is one of the largest seabirds, and spends most of its life soaring and gliding many miles from land. Lifespan depending on sub-species can last 40 or 50 years.

Albatross

 

 

Species: 21 species are on record, although many are endangered.

Size: Wandering Albatross can reach up to 1 metre in body length with a wingspan of 3.5 metres (10 feet).

Habitat: Sky and open ocean.

Location: Pacific Ocean, mainly found in the southern regions.

Diet: Crab, Fish, Krill, Squid

Predators: Humans, Tiger Shark – which lay in wait off the coast during the breeding season; at the time fledglings leave the nest.

Info / Strange Facts: The albatross is one of many seabirds which have the ability to drink saltwater. Some species can spend their first six or seven years in flight.

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A Time for Courage: and other military stories

A Time for Courage - 2Now available!

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I’m delighted to report the publication of my fourth anthology of short stories. The primary theme is of course military, but as suggested in the title, ‘courage’ is the underlying feature of this collection.

In some cases how the character deals with adversity is fairly obvious, but in other tales the conflict and solution is more subtle.

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Here I have created 12 stories using a wide spectrum of scenarios. Military experiences can be funny, heart-breaking and, everything in between.

This anthology is a blend of my personal experience and knowledge, together with specially created pieces to highlight the peaks and troughs of service life.

These tales can be enjoyed equally by those who have served and, those who have never donned a uniform.

Humour, fact, fiction, and fantasy are used to portray service in theatres as varied as Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Ancient Briton, the Persian Gulf, Africa, and elsewhere.

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Amazon – Universal (Preview / Buy)

Booklinker (if unable to download from Amazon)

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As any sensible and serious indie author will do, I requested beta readers to cast a critical eye over these stories. Notwithstanding the fact one of the stories was a competition winner, I needed the confidence of more than one set of eyes checking my work. To this end, every story has been seen by at least two beta readers, and in some cases I stretched this to four beta readers.

I would now like to say a public thank you to Martin Ashworth, an ex-colleague from my latter days in the military.

My other readers are all members of the fine Indie Author Support and Discussion group:

Sharon Brownlie, Lucinda E Clarke, Barbara Doran-Rogel, Sylva Fae, Pam Kesterson, Robert Lalonde, Eric Lahti, Penny Luker, Julia Lund, Ian D Moore, and Andy Updegrove

Many thanks guys, one and all. I may not have used every suggestion, but I considered every one, and used a lot of them. Without your help I doubt if I’d have the same confidence in the end product.

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