Ice Castles and Drifters

A week of shoveling out from various winter storms and building an ice castle (inspired by FROZEN of course) for my daughter. Early mornings have been spent finishing up a Gideon Miles novella and giving a new look to The Drifter Detective series.

2/12/15 update: And STILL more white fluff ahead which makes my three-year-old pleased because her castle is becoming quite elaborate and now includes an opening at the top. She crawls up and sits on the snow-packed roof and surveys her vast kingdom which includes a nearby bird feeder and her grandpa plowing the road. And just checking Amazon all the Drifter Detective titles have been reorganized. I do like the new look. Hopefully it kicks the series in gear.

How the West Was Written: Frontier Fiction, Vol. 2, 1907-1915 by Ron Scheer

During the years 1907–1915, frontier fiction boomed with new writers, and the success of Owen Wister’s The Virginian (1902) began to make itself felt in their work. That novel had made the bestseller lists for two years running. With the continued popularity of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show, and the appearance of one-reeler westerns on movie screens, many featuring the adventures of Bronco Billy Anderson, the cowboy hero was becoming an established mythic figure in the public imagination.

For writers of popular fiction, the frontier was also a subject for exploring ideas drawn from current public discourse—ideas about character and villainy, women’s rights, romance and marriage, democracy and government, capitalism, race and social boundaries, and the West itself. With each new publication, they participated as well in an ongoing forum for how to write about the West and how to tell western stories. Taken together, the chapters of this book describe for modern-day readers and writers the origins of frontier fiction and the rich legacy it has left us as a genre. It is also a portal into the past, for it offers a history of ideas as preserved in popular culture of a century ago that continues to claim an audience today.

How the West Was Written: Frontier Fiction, Vol. 2, 1907-1915 by Ron Scheer is now available in print and Kindle formats.

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Praise for How the West Was Written: Vol. 1

“This is a splendid study of early western fiction, most of it written contemporaneously with the settlement of the American West. A surprising number of women authors are included among the sixty-some novels reviewed by the author. The book offers penetrating, rich, and lucid examinations of these early novels, and gives us a good understanding of where western fiction came from and how it has evolved. Highly recommended.”

—Richard S. Wheeler

Spur Award-winning author

“[Ron Scheer’s] scholarship is meticulous and the book is an enlightening contribution to American literature with this study of the Western, its roots and its themes. I’m proud to have it on my bookshelf. It’s unique in the canon, as far as I know.”

—Carol Buchanan

Spur Award-winning author

Looking Ahead to 2013

Fatherhood
To encourage my daughter more in the creative department. We do well, but we can always do better. She loves to draw, color, and create structures with her toddler construction set pieces. Secondly, to continue her love of reading. She has now memorized a large number of her books, and as she turns the pages, she ‘reads’ aloud to herself. Priceless as they say. Btw one of her current favorites is The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood with beautiful illustrations by Don Wood.

Writing
I’ll probably stay in the hardboiled western arena but branch out with some new characters. The Lawyer, featured in the anthology Protectors, comes to mind, as well as the vivacious daughter of Cash Laramie, Veranda Jane. I also have a couple of crime fiction stories to complete.

Beer
Considering switching from Corona to Yuengling but I’ll never pass on Sam Adams Summer Ale during the warm months. Any other suggestions?

Publishing
BEAT to a PULP has books from Thomas Pluck, Heath Lowrance, Wayne D. Dundee, and many more lined up. First out of the gate will be Chad Eagleton with a continuation of A RIP THROUGH TIME, followed by Hardboiled 2 which is currently under the careful editing eye of Scott D. Parker.

Connections
Post more Charles Bukowski-style ramblings on Blogger. Give some love to Google+ by posting some short-short stories. Continue on as I am annoying folks on Twitter. Upload more personal photos to Pinterest. And, maybe, add Instagram to the list. Don’t know why, but since all my friends are doing it … “If they jumped off a cliff, would you?” as Mom would have said.

Maine
Somehow find my way back to the beauty and serenity of The Way Life Should Be state. Win, lose, or draw.

Reading
To read more non-fiction: political science and history and art. I have the genre department nailed down.

And, most importantly, lose no more than three pounds. How about you? What are your plans for 2013?

That Damned Coyote Hill -- Adventures in Publishing!

I’ve been traveling for the day job and staying at a campsite when a severe thunderstorm and tornado warning hit the area. A good friend called to say Little d, Ava, and I could stay with them for the evening. I said no at first because quite often these warnings don’t amount to much. Plus I was this close to finishing the re-issue of Heath Lowrance’s THAT DAMNED COYOTE HILL. An hour went by and I had just hit the KDP publish button when my attention turned to the swirling wind outdoors. I stepped out and watched the dancing lightning light up the rainless night sky like a carnival. I went back in to check the NOAA weather report--70mph winds--then my friend called back to say there was an alert on her phone and things could get serious. My girls and I jumped into the Jeep and made a dash for my friend’s house. A downed power line and fallen tree diverted us so we took another route only to come to another tree across the road. We called my friend to say we couldn’t make it through, but she and her husband arrived in their truck with chains and pulled the tree out of the road. Finally we arrived safely at their home.

I didn’t see any supernatural happenings Friday night like in COYOTE HILL, but it was a helluva adventure and an exciting way to start BEAT to a PULP’s association with the talented Mr. Lowrance.

Beginning tomorrow (or Wednesday) THAT DAMNED COYOTE HILL will be free for five days, and I hope you jump at the chance of owning this kick-ass novella. A second Hawthorne title, THE LONG BLACK TRAIN, will be on the way soon.

Here is the Amazon link for THAT DAMNED COYOTE HILL.

And don't miss Heath's Psycho Noir blog.

Altered Plans

Saturday’s plan was simple: mail out copies of ROUND TWO to contributors, finish proofing a collection of my crime stories, and publish the next BTAP story on the webzine.

Reality: Staples had in stock only half of the padded mailers I needed, so fifteen out of thirty books were sent out, leaving more to do this week. Then, the Internet was working sporadically which meant the other items on the list were getting done in bits and pieces.

And to top it off, while taking an afternoon break watching GHOST PROTOCOL with the family, I discovered a bump on the top of my head that was kinda crusty. Dandruff? Not a stranger to that but when something popped and puss ran down my forehead, I jumped up and had Little d take a look. At first, it seemed like a pimple but when examined under the light, it looked more like a rash a good half dollar in size.

Off to the doctor—an old, country sawbones at that—who said it was too soon to tell. Could be a rash, could be an infection. It was in a spot difficult to diagnose so early, and because it had popped open, he suggested I should wait twenty-four hours to see what happens. “This is the same treatment I would give to my brother if he was sitting across the table from me and asked my opinion.” That didn’t make me feel any better, but I smiled kindly.

I left the office thinking about the time I slammed my head into the corner of a cabinet door in the camper a couple of weeks before. Was it that? An infection? Or it does resemble shingles—I had the chickenpox as a kid, so it could be that. Though shingles usually happens to men and women over fifty.

And now here I am. My Sunday is shot for the most part as I sit here and wait to go back to the doctor. Ava wants to go to the pool and Little d will take her. I’m going to read the Vin of Venus novella that Garnett Elliott sent to me. With fingers crossed for a simple infection and not shingles.

How’s your day/weekend going?

Writing and Publishing Updates

I’ve got some writing and publishing updates that are mostly Western related, hence the doodle by my buddy William E.

First up: Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles will return in a story titled “Legends.” This one, co-written with Chuck Tyrell, has our heroes in 1920s New Orleans as a sequel to “The Wicked.” "Legends" will be in the upcoming issue of Pulp Modern edited by Alec Cizak. Mr. Cizak is planning to have the third issue out in a few weeks.

I received a most welcomed email from Wayne D. Dundee who wrote to say he’s started his second Cash Laramie novel. He recently made an inspirational visit to the Vedauwoo Rocks area of Wyoming where a stellar plot for the new novel will take place. It sounds like a serious rival for Manhunter’s Mountain. By the way, Mountain is still riding high on the Western chart and showing considerable determination on the hardboiled chart. Thanks, Wayne!

BEAT to a PULP: Round Two is still in the eBook works. We’re hoping it will be available later this week.

Also coming up soon is an eBook collection of mine called The Education of a Pulp Writer: 10 Crime Short Stories.

Never slow down and you never grow old, right?

That’s it for me. What are you up to?

The Proof is in the Box

Have you ever had that sensation of extreme exhilaration? The kind that doesn't go away for days? That's how I feel when a proof of a new book arrives in the mail. Seeing that book, picking it up and leafing through it for the first time--I imagine it's comparable to my daughter's pride in completing a task on her very own and her joy in seeing the cat and squealing "m-ow" for the umpteenth time.

Anyway, here's the arrival of BEAT to a PULP: ROUND TWO proof. Over the next few days, we'll be going through it one last time.

Give It Away, Give It Away

I've read many thoughts about giving away books for free and there are a whole host of opinions. It seems it comes down to whether it was successful or not for that particular author. Here are a few quick thoughts on my experiences.

Both volumes of my Cash & Miles Adventures have been offered for free at different times. I began with Vol. II because Vol. I was doing well and I wanted to boost sales of the second collection. During the freebie offer, there was an unexpected increase in sales of the first volume, but that makes sense, right? If you have the second installment of a series, you probably want to know how it started. After the offer closed, Vol. II entered the Top 100 sales charts. I had several readers on Twitter thank me for the free book and mention they bought my other title.

Kinda, sorta the same for MANHUNTER'S MOUNTAIN written by Wayne D. Dundee--a Cash Laramie story with a new author taking the reins. To introduce this first novel (in what I hope will be an ongoing series), I gave it away free for a few days. A couple thousand folks downloaded the book, which helped to expand its horizons through the Amazon charts and recommendations panel "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought." Both these things brought my eBook to the attention of folks who might not otherwise see it. MOUNTAIN has re-entered the best sellers charts several times, and I feel the success goes back to that free giveaway in January.

So I'm going to try again with our latest release, BULLETS FOR A BALLOT written by Nik Morton. We'll see how it works out this time but, so far, giving away books for free has been a good move for me. What has been your experience?

Photo-Finish Friday -- Reflection in a Jeep Window

I took the pic through the Jeep window and if you look closely you can see my baby girl being strapped into her car seat for a ride to get some groceries. I still haven't found Denise in the shot, but she was in there.

 Leah J. Utas is the force behind Photo-Finish Friday.

A Post I Enjoyed

Things I've Learned Since My First Book Got Published.

Hat tip: Chris F. Holm.