Eventful couple of months

I was just in a Borders today and saw the second ACCOMPLICE on the shelves. And here I was told it was supposed to be out on the 5th of February! Imagine my consternation. Seriously, it was a nice surprise to see it out there and facing cover-out on the shelf. By the way. . .anyone who reads this can feel free to put my books with the front cover facing out on any shelves you may find them. Even after doing this for about ten years now (still a pup I know), I still get a charge out of seeing my new books on the shelves and cover out is the best!

The 5th BOOT HILL is due out toward the end of March and my second foray into the Ralph Compton series will be released on April 1st. Hopefully the whole April Fools thing doesn't amount to any bad karma. I've already posted cover shots of the first two and will put a picture of the new Compton cover up as soon as I get it. That one is titled, THE DEATH OF A BAD MAN. It's a story idea I've been kicking around for some time. It's simple, classic, but never really fit into either of my other series. Fortunately, I was able to put it to use in this Compton book. I hope you all like it.

I figure I'll arrange a signing or two once all three books have hit store shelves. It's always more impressive to have more than one new book at that table to keep me company. Once I get something arranged, I'll post it on my site and hopefully a few of you folks will stop by to say hello.

Back to some editing right now. I'll poke my head in here again before too long.

The trail into '08

Well, the holidays are over and they turned out pretty well for me. My wife and I stayed home, which is actually something new since we've traveled to see family for the holidays every year since we've been together. Even the years when we lived closer to family, we still didn't spend Christmas at our place. So that was nice, but next year it will be good to see everyone else again.

As for some new stuff book-wise, here's a look at the cover to the next MAN FROM BOOT HILL book. I could not be happier with how well this turned out. I know I say that about all my covers, but this is another one to add to the list. I especially like the darker color, since it matches the tone for the book. I don't want to give anything away, but things are never really light and breezy for Nicolai anyway. This one comes out in April, I think.

Also, next month the second book in the ACCOMPLICE series comes out. I talked about that one already when I posted that pic, but I'm anxious to see how well this one does. Doc really starts to hit his stride, so I think everyone should be pleased.

Not much else to report on for now. Even though there is a writer's strike going on, I'm not one of the members of any picket line. My friend called me up to complain about all the reruns lately and I told him, "I'm not in Hollywood!" Of course I felt for them when this all started and I'll always be behind the practitioners of my craft, but now I'm just getting sick of reality TV and game shows. Oh well. Just like Clemenza said in the Godfather, "This sort of thing's gotta happen every now and then, kid. It clears out the bad blood." It was something like that, anyway. Since there's nothing on TV, I might as well pop in my Godfather DVD to double check.

The long silence

Yeah, I know it's been a while since my last post. That title makes it sound all dramatic and everything, but it's just been my fault. I've been busy with work and neglectful of my blogging duties. Anyway, I've recently endured the tedious labor that is the copy editing process for the fifth BOOT HILL book and am pleased to announce Nick Graves came through pretty darn well. Editing isn't exactly my favorite detail of writing, but it is a very necessary one...especially when you write like I do. (Just thought I'd say it before someone else did) Anyway, the fifth book in that series is going to be called Reaper's Fee and I believe it should be out in April or March of '08.

I've also done the editing thing for the third ACCOMPLICE book and that one should be released in Feb of '08 (I think). Here's a peek at the cover. I am VERY happy with it and love everything from the layout of the title to the cut of Doc's suit. What do you think? It still strikes me as odd to be touching up the third book in the series when the second is still a ways off from being published. It's business as usual for publishing houses, since they're backlogged out the wazoo, but I get awfully anxious to see my stuff hit the shelves. Sometimes, I've forgotten what the book was about by the time I see it at a store! The numbers for both of those series have been coming in and things are looking pretty good, so hopefully there'll be more to come from both.

It's been a while since I've done any signing events. The last one was at the Western Writers convention in July and that was a lot of fun. I always enjoy getting out there and meeting some readers. Every writer has their horror stories of bad signings, but even those can turn out pretty cool. I went to one at a mall bookstore and was ignored for three solid hours. When I started packing up and signing the books that were there, people took notice and gathered around to form a real crowd! I guess I just blended in with the scenery too much on that one. Oh well. Live and learn.

First Compton

Well, my first Ralph Compton book is out. It's called THE BLOODY TRAIL and I'm curious to see what the Compton fans think about it. Most of the stuff I write isn't exactly "traditional" Western fare. I like to think I always stay true to the spirit of adventure and action that goes along with that genre, but I've gotten a bit of flack from the traditionalists. I've always looked at it as watching Gunsmoke vs Deadwood. Sure, they're both Westerns, but one couldn't be more different than the other. That's what makes a genre great. If there wasn't any variety, then there might as well just be one show, one author and one definitive movie. Of course, then there'd also be one funeral for whatever genre that decided to limit itself that way.

In writing the Compton books, I hope to put my mark on that series without stepping outside of

it. Comptons are more traditional and I had a lot of fun writing it. I read somewhere that a Compton fan saw I was going to write this, so they bought a BOOT HILL book to scope me out. He was thoughtful in his review and he said something to the effect that the tone of BOOT HILL wasn't for him, so he had some concerns about the upcoming Compton. To be honest, I wouldn't expect a fan of strictly traditional Westerns to like BOOT HILL. Not every fan of Gunsmoke will appreciate a show like Deadwood (and vice versa). Hopefully, that reader will pick up THE BLOODY TRAIL and enjoy it because I tried to write a Compton instead of another BOOT HILL.

I think I did the job and am very happy with THE BLOODY TRAIL. Hopefully, the Compton fans will like it too.

I hate Summer

Well, the title of this post pretty much says it all. As soon as school's out (forever), there's really no more reason to love Summer so much. That is, unless you're one of those people who like to be outside and sweat. Now, this may sound funny coming from a western writer. I mean, we're supposed to love the open range and ride horses, right? I love the open country, but just not when it's hot enough to cook a steak on a rock.

I'm more of an Autumn guy. Everything just flows better in the cool air. Even the cold is nice and quiet. Summer is just hot and sticky and loud. As you might have noticed, Summer makes me just a little irritable. Eh, that's mostly because it's been at or near the 100 degree mark around here lately and that just plain stinks. I didn't exactly mean to get on here and complain. I thought it's been a while since I last posted, so I'd write a little update.

Sorry about this. I'll get back to work and grumble to myself.

New desk, new chair

Sure, these things sound inconsequential. Just some new furniture. But it's amazing what a difference they make! Since I sit in or at these things for most of the day, switching them around really makes work seem all shiny and new. All right, maybe it's not that dramatic, but my backside sure feels better in the new cushion. Also, the desk I've been using is the same one I've had since Junior High School and it's a bit prior to the whole ergonomics thing. What's ergonomics? I sure didn't know. Apparently, it means being able to sit and type for hours on end without feeling like your arms and hands will rust and fall off. Progressive health functionality or making us into more productive worker robots? You decide.

Why share this with whoever reads this blog? Eh, it's a slow news day and I felt like writing an update. Lucky you.

WWA Convention '07

Back from the Western Writers Convention. Whew. It wasn't a very long drive this year, but I still feel like I was shot from a cannon! It's just one of those things where I'm always on the move and looking for the next thing I'm supposed to do. Even when I'm "relaxing" at the bar, I'm still watching for a familiar face, wondering what panel is coming up, etc. Even so, it was as fun as ever.

I've never been to Springfield, MO before so that was cool. There were a ton of great used bookstores there, any one of which I could have spent an eternity poking through. I stayed at The Oasis hotel which was a funky little place with a great restaurant.

The signing went pretty well. For all of you who showed up and said hello, I appreciate it VERY much! I find that I'm not doing a lot of signings anymore, simply because I don't have the time. Of course, I'll post when the next signing will be on my website, but there just aren't as many as there were. This signing was very nice and I met plenty of readers who were kind enough to stop at my spot when I was sitting in such esteemed company. For any reader of the western genre, these annual signings are simply amazing. There were at least 40-50 authors there. I don't know the exact number, but it was A LOT! Considering how rare it is to get western writers together in those numbers, it's quite an event.

The rest of the convention was well organized and had some great food. Writers ALWAYS appreciate good food. Maybe it's a hold-over from the starving days. Whatever the reason, I had steak a few times in as many days and it was good.

I also talked to my editor over at Berkley (who works on THE ACCOMPLICE). Hello, Carolyn! It was nice to meet you. Thanks again for the invite!

That's about it for the convention. Next year, I believe it's going to be in Arizona. That should be a fun road trip, so I'll hopefully be able to attend. Until then, I've got a lot to keep me busy. I'll check in later.