Back from Gretna

I went to that speaking engagement at the Gretna Public Library and I don’t think I made a fool out of myself. Well, not TOO big of a fool anyway. It was a nice little library and the group that showed up was a lot of fun. They had a lot of great questions and kept me on my toes the whole time. I haven’t spoken like that for a while, so my throat feels sore today. I don’t mind it one bit, since it was a genuinely good time.

One of the questions raised was about whether or not westerns could make a return to TV. As much as it pained me to do so, I had to answer, “No…for the time being.” Personally, I’d love to see a weekly show along the lines of Have Gun Will Travel or Wanted Dead or Alive. It just seems like the TV corporations are too interested in the quick ratings grabbers like reality shows that are also cheap to make. Deadwood might have divided audiences a bit, but I thought it was something new and I liked it. Critics liked it, the DVDs sold, but that STILL got cancelled because it was expensive to make. I think a new (possibly more traditional) western series could do well, but it would need some time to get going. At the moment, the networks just don’t seem to have that kind of patience. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to be proven wrong on this one.

Another thing that was a pleasant surprise was the number of women at the library group. Now, this could just be that more women were members of that particular reading group, but the ladies there actually read The Accomplice and enjoyed it. The only reason this stood out is because westerns are always considered to have more of a male audience. I just wish I could shake the publishers or anyone else who makes the big decisions regarding which projects get made and say, “Look! People WILL read these! They WILL watch the shows! Just let more of them get out there and you’ll see.” Ugh. It’s a frustrating thing, but the writers don’t make the big decisions. We just write, so that’s what we’ll keep doin’.

That’s it for today. Thanks to everyone who showed up at the library and I hope to see you folks again sometime.

Researching myself

I speak at the Gretna Public Library tomorrow and I'm actually a little nervous. Sure, I get nervous before any speaking thing, but this is because I may be a little rusty in the subject matter. Oddly enough, that subject matter is me! It's been well over four years since I've written THE ACCOMPLICE and now I need to field questions about it from folks who've just read it. I just hope I don't get stumped by EVERY question. I love that book and I love that entire series, but a lot's happened inside those four years.


I'm sure it'll be fun and those folks will all be great. I just hope they're understanding if I stumble here and there. Just to be safe, I'll be flipping through the book today and tomorrow in preparation for the event. It's a little weird researching something I've already written, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the reading. It's some damn good stuff. Just kidding...I'm still nervous.

Gretna Public Library

On July 22nd, I'll be going to the Gretna Public Library to have a chat with their Adult Summer Reading group. They're reading THE ACCOMPLICE, so I'd better flip through it again myself. It's been a few years since I wrote that one. Heh. Hopefully I don't get stumped too many times by people's questions. Here's a link to the event's website. http://www.gretnapubliclibrary.org/adultservices/index.html
I'm not sure if it's open to the public or if it's just for the reading group, but if you want to stop by and you're in the Gretna area, give 'em a call.

Peru State College

I spoke to some students, faculty and other folks at Peru State College today. It's a great school about eighty miles or so south of Omaha. I hadn't been there before, but am really glad I went. Everyone there was very nice and there was actually a good turnout for my lecture (speech, talk, whatever you'd want to call it). I always get nervous with these things, but I still enjoy doing them. Let me clarify that. I enjoy doing them as long as it seems like it was worth doing. Sometimes, nobody shows up or they look like the sound of my voice is something close to broken glass scraping against their eardrums. This, however, was definitely worth doing.

First of all, it's a personal triumph for me because I, like plenty of other people, spent a good deal of my life being petrified at the very prospect of speaking in front of anyone. Sure, this lecture was just me talking about writing and the whole publishing process which I know something or two about, but it's still public speaking. Everyone at Peru was very nice and made me feel right at home. Plenty of folks showed up, which was great. Nobody fell asleep while I was talking, or they covered it up well enough that I didn't notice. That's a plus. There were even some great questions. All in all, a fun experience and I hope to do it again sometime.

If anyone from Peru is reading this, it was great meeting you and feel free to drop me an email or comment on this blog. That goes for anyone else too, by the way. I don't leave the house much, so any word from the outside world is always welcome.

Now...back to work.