Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Changing gears

Well, I suppose this is technically Spring, but it feels like Summer to me. It's heating up, the big movies are coming out and my air conditioning is on more often than not. I hate the heat, but it doesn't matter too much, since I haven't left my office very much lately. After putting the final edits onto (into?) the third ACCOMPLICE book, I'm working on another western in the Ralph Compton series. So far, I'm liking the book but it's taking a bit to hit my stride.

That's a funny thing with writing. Since I write more than one or two books a year, I often find myself switching from one story to the next. Not only are there different characters, but different tones, moods, and pacing that go along with those other books. Writing an ACCOMPLICE is a whole different ball of wax than writing a BOOT HILL. If they weren't, they'd all just be the same thing.

Now, don't get me wrong. I do love switching between stories and characters. It keeps my job fresh and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's just easier to switch gears some times than others. Maybe it's the heat. Everything seems to slow down when it gets hot. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just me in the heat. I also tend to babble more when it's hot. Have you noticed?

Heh.

Oh well. That's about it for now. Go see one of the big movies that are coming out. Have some popcorn. In my opinion, that's the best part of Summer now that I'm out of school and don't get to be. . .well. . .out of school during the Summer. Big budget blockbusters may not be the most intellectually stimulating fare, but they do a hell of a good job of keeping our eyes busy.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

And I'm back!

I'm back from the Wine, Writers & Song event in Brownville, and boy are my arms tired. Wait a minute, I guess that doesn't make sense since I didn't fly. Anyway, I'm back and the festival was a lot of fun! I've never been to Brownville so that was something new. I didn't know there was such a great little spot so close to home. It's an artistic community with plenty of book shops (that I loved) and plenty of antique stores (that my wife loved). It also looks like a town from a western. See for yourself:



Ok...it looks like a western town if you don't think about the SUVs and cars parked outside. You know what I mean.


There were a lot of poets and artists there, which was fun because I don't normally get a chance to hear poets do their thing. I found out there's a lot of poetry societies in my area, so I'll have to check some of those out. In general, I've never been very good at writing poetry. I'm just too long-winded, I suppose. I saw a group called Echopoetico and they were phenomenal. They had a mix of traditional Andean instruments along with spoken poetry. Personally, I wasn't expecting for it to be my sort of thing, but it was really great! I'm really glad I sat back and gave them a chance because it was definitely worth it. I'll put a link to them on the blog so you can check them out if you want. I recommend it!


On Saturday, I spoke at a great place called the Carson House. I didn't get a chance to take a full tour of it, but it looked like an old house that was restored to be historically accurate. It was truly a beautiful place. Here's a picture:
I did a reading from THE ACCOMPLICE and talked a lot about Doc Holliday. For those of you who were able to stop by, it was great seeing you. For those of you who didn't make it, you missed a historical event because it was the first time I ever did a reading from any of my books. It wasn't poetry or music, but I thought it fit with the tone of the event. Hopefully, I didn't look like too big of a fool up there.
All in all, it was a fun weekend. My thanks to Jan, who did a great job organizing everything. The food was excellent and I highly recommend that anyone in the Nebraska area give Brownville a visit. Right now, it's back to work for me. I'm starting in on my second book in the Ralph Compton series. My first Compton book, THE BLOODY TRAIL, will be released in August. I won't be poking my head out again until June for the Western Writers Convention being held in Springfield, MO, but I'll check in here as much as possible.