New Compton cover

I was looking around the various bookstore web sites when I came across the cover to my upcoming Compton book. It's very orange. Then again, I thought the same thing about the second Man From Boot Hill book and that one grew on me. This one will really jump out at you on the shelves! In fact, this may not be the highest quality scan of the picture. If I find a better one I'll put it up. Anyway, this is what it looks like. I think it's pretty cool.

This was a fun one to write. I got the idea for this story from an article I read in the newspaper about a thief who stumbled upon some evidence of a kidnapping while committing a crime. He knew he'd be putting himself at risk with the law if he handed over the evidence. If he didn't hand it over, he knew the kidnapping victim would never be found. A very interesting dilemma for a criminal. Stealing is one thing, but taking part (even indirectly) in a violent crime that may escalate to murder is another. Anyway, this story obviously isn't EXACTLY the same, but it's where the idea for this book came from.

It hits stores on April 7th, so line up early! Actually, there should be plenty for everyone. Just pick it up whenever you get the chance.

Chestnuts...roasting...you know the rest

We finally got our first real snow here in Omaha. Sure, there's been some frosty dust on the ground for a while, but not much until now. Along with the snow, you get people spinning their tires, speeding sideways through intersections and generally carrying on as if they've never seen cold white stuff falling from the sky before.

In general, snow tends to make everything seem quieter and calmer. It's one of the few times during the year when you can step outside and hear a calm wind. This may not apply to the big city folk, but it holds for those of us in mid-sized cities. What I find amusing is how differently each city responds to snow. Omaha is pretty quick to get the plows and salt trucks out. I spent a good amount of time living in St. Louis and they were more in the "What the hell is going on?!" camp when snow fell. The slightest hint of the possibility of snow in a forecast will close schools. I'm not joking about that one. I've heard Seattle has about 2 plows for the whole city.

Can you tell I'm on a day off? My brain tends to ramble more and it spills out through my fingers. Anyway, that's about it for now. Book-wise, it's rough. The publishing industry is feeling the economic pinch and tightening their purse strings. I've got another Ralph Compton book coming out in April and will have to wait until the dust settles from the holidays before getting any more news than that. Even in the best of times, most everyone at the publishers would have packed up and gone on their winter vacation weeks ago. Even if the editors are in their offices, they're really not looking too hard at new stuff. Just trying to scrape by until they can open presents. Can't say as I blame them. Hopefully, '09 will be a little better for everyone.

Flavor saver

Thanksgiving is almost here and I'm making the necessary preparations. First of all, I've got a nice pair of pants with an elastic waistband. Absolutely essential. Second, I'm growing out my beard so, in the words of Little Bill from Unforgiven, I can "taste my soup a few days after I ate it". The line was something like that anyway. Third, I'm doing some deep breathing exercises so I can get my second wind that much quicker.

See? Thanksgiving isn't just an easy thing. Sure, I'm not cooking the big meal, but I'm doing my level best to enjoy it properly. I'll also be squaring myself away in front of the TV for the coveted "parade/football" combo. I am most definitely thankful for Thanksgiving!

Have a great one, everybody.

Interview at Western Fiction Review

Recently, I was approached by a fellow blogger who puts together an excellent western site. Steve is a great guy and he wanted to do an interview with yours truly. Needless to say, I obliged and it turned out great. Here's the address to check it out: http://westernfictionreview.blogspot.com/

Despite his taste in interview subjects, it's a very well-done site. Heh. Seriously, though, there's a ton of great reviews which are put together with genuine affection for westerns in general. Have a look and check in often.

On the shelves

It took a little while, but I finally spotted The Silent Partner on the shelves of a local Borders. Granted, I haven't been combing the stores lately, but this is the first time I actually got my author copies before spotting the book out in the world. Either my publisher is on the ball, or the stores are a little behind. Either way, everyone's got their copies so we're all happy. Now go out and buy some!

5 Stages of Waiting

Here’s another process that’s very important to being a professional writer: Waiting.
You come up with your ideas, write them and edit to hit some deadline or a window of opportunity for submitting it somewhere. That’s a whirlwind of work, creation and refinement also known as “the good stuff”. The waiting comes when you must deal with the rest of the world.

And I’m not referring to those fortunate writers who submit something and have to wait through a whole weekend or two before they get their deal. That’s great if it happens, but it’s not the norm. It’s more like earning your salary by winning the lottery. And that’s nothing against the talent of those quick-dealers. The whole system is generally very slow and any writer will tell you that you have to wait for any results whatsoever. Wait a LOT.

While I’m waiting to hear back from submissions, I’ve found I go through some pretty basic stages. These held up when I waited to get a short story published in a small press magazine, to get an agent, and now to get a book (or series) published. Maybe some of this seems familiar to some other writers out there. For those of you new to the craft, it’s something to look forward to. After all, in the immortal words of GI Joe, “Knowing is half the battle”. And if you’re one of those folks who got your huge contract in less than eight months, good for you. I do hate you, though.

Stage 1: Denial – “This time it’ll be different! I’ll send it in and the first person who’s lucky enough to read it will trip all over themselves to give me a deal! I’d better be ready for the landslide that’ll follow this one. Should I subscribe to Publisher’s Weekly so I can read the awesome news before it hits the news stands?”

Stage 2: Bargaining – “Come on! It’s been what, three weeks? I haven’t heard anything so that’s gotta be good. That editor must be wondering if I can truly handle following through on the amazing idea I showed them in that proposal. I can handle it! I swear, if I get my chance with this, I’ll run with it! I’ll RUN like the WIND!! Who am I talking to? It doesn’t matter. The forces of good will carry my desire and happy thoughts to where they need to be. I can’t doubt for one moment that this is gonna happen or I’ll jinx it. Oh, shit! Did I just jinx it? No. I can DO THIS!!!”

Stage 3: Anger – “Damn it! It’s been three months!! Freaking editors are always on vacation. Freaking system doesn’t even move. What the hell is going on out there?! I should stomp into whatever break room they’re using to suck down their coffee and show them my GENIUS!!!! This is ridiculous! If I had the crappiest office job imaginable I’d never have to wait this long to get results from handing something in! I crank out more starlight from my printer and they take a month off for ONE HOLIDAY!!”

Stage 4: Depression – “It’s been over six months. I’m not gonna hear anything. Honestly, what did I expect? Those editors have either tossed my submission away like the garbage it is or they’re laughing at it. I think that telemarketing firm is hiring. Maybe I’ll try that.”

Stage 5: Acceptance – “Eh, screw it. I did the best I could, so I just need to wait for something to happen. There’s not much else for me to do. Actually, I’ve got an idea for something else. Maybe I’ll try that.”

Unfortunately for my wife and anyone else who has to deal with me (a big sorry goes out to my agent who still returns my calls and answers emails from every one of these stages), I may go through this cycle several times while waiting for one submission. If this sounds familiar to anyone out there, at least I’m not alone. That’s the problem with not working in an office. I don’t get to gripe to fellow co-workers.

As far as waiting goes, the simple truth is that you gotta do it whether you go through these stages or any other sort of ritualistic torture. Cry, whine, howl, work, shrug, it doesn’t matter. In the end, you’ll still be waiting. Of course, every so often, the waiting is worth it. And when it is. . .it’s REALLY worth it.

Sounds like a good one

I've been hearing some really great things about the new movie Appaloosa. First of all, I think Viggo Mortenson is one of those guys who's tailor-made for westerns. Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott are another two that come to mind. I hope to see this one fairly soon, but I'm so busy with editing right now that it's tough to get out to a theater.

Snuck up on me

Wow, time really does fly. It's already the end of September, which means the beginning of October isn't far away. That, for the readers patient enough to make it this far, means it's almost time for the third ACCOMPLICE book to hit store shelves. The Silent Partner covers a small period of time where Doc was supposed to have been in Deadwood. It's also rumored he may have crossed paths with Wyatt Earp, but might not have officially met him.

When I wrote this one, I thought I'd have a little piece in Deadwood and then move on. Turned out half the book wound up in Deadwood, simply because it was fun to write. Those of you who watched the HBO series (Deadwood) will probably recognize some familiar characters. While I based these guys on accounts of their true activities, so did the people who made the series. I really liked that show and, thanks to DVD, still do. Also, I've been to Deadwood a few times recently so writing that section was great.

I didn't want to rush the ACCOMPLICE books too quickly toward Tombstone. I've always said that Doc had a hell of a career before the OK Corral and wanted to take my time with a period in Doc's life that isn't so familiar. That being said, a lot happens in this book. Once Doc hit his stride in the gambling scene, he met a lot of famous folks and kicked up a lot of dust. The Silent Partner covers a span where he meets Wyatt (in Deadwood as well as the more "official first meeting") along with Kate Elder. Kate was a lot of fun to write. There's almost as much contradictory stuff about her as there is of Doc and I had to pick and choose which "facts" to run with.

I didn't really intend on doing such a long post about this. The book's coming out on Oct. 7. I've got to be honest about the cover. I'm not crazy about it. Caleb doesn't look anything like I imagine and I don't know who that third guy is supposed to be. At the very least, I suggested changing Doc's cane into something a dandy like him would actually use. The suggestions were passed along and nothing was changed. Oh well. I had fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it.

---edit 9/23 --> I just got an advance copy of the book today and it looks ok. I still don't think this cover is up to par with the first two, but never fear. The stuff between the covers is just fine!

Still kickin'

Yes, I’m still alive. Just taking some time to put together a bunch of different projects. Writing professionally is tricky enough. It gets REALLY tricky when you don’t have another (dreaded) day job. Not all regular jobs have to be tedious and mind-numbing. Lots of authors are also teachers or lawyers. I’m not fortunate enough to be quite so smart. I write and write some more.

Writing for a living is a constant hustle. For those who’ve read my ACCOMPLICE books, you’ll know Doc and Caleb make their money in a lot of different ways besides sitting at a poker table and giving suckers…I mean other players…a hard time. For me, I’ve got projects in other genres like horror and fantasy to go along with my western stuff. Do I like some genres more than others? Sometimes, but it changes. Variety and all that.

Here’s where all the risk and uncertainty of a writer’s life pays off. Hustle enough and you can move along doing what you love. Like Doc, we get to leave our day jobs behind and forge a trail of our own choosing. I don’t get to carry pistols and get into saloon fights, so I’ll take my comparisons to Doc wherever I can get them. There’s a lot of more surefire ways to make a buck, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. As a lot of writers will tell you, any money you get from selling your work feels like a victory. And in the words of Fast Eddie Felson, “Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.”

Now for something COMPLETELY different

I’ve been saying that something needed to happen to shake up the western genre and it’s finally arrived. In fact, the Sci Fi Channel has stepped up with an amazing work of western cinema entitled Copperhead. It’s an entrhalling tale of a sleepy town that plays host to a man with a dark secret, a bloodthirsty outlaw and a kid trying to proove himself in a harsh land. Oh…then the town is overrun by snakes.

I haven’t lost my mind. I’m kidding.

Actually, Copperhead is one of those Sci Fi Channel original movies that are so crappy they’re amazing. Copperhead is a western and there’s western stuff in there, but don’t take it seriously. Nobody connected to the movie did. It’s good for a laugh and the snakes look like they were actually using computer graphics to render rubber toys. If you’ve got some time to kill on a lazy weekend, give it a go. Sometimes, a crappy movie fits the bill very nicely.

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.

...and proud of it!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Being a writer has allowed me to revel in many of the freedoms that are distinctly American. Free speech and free expression are just a few. Being a western writer has allowed me to have fun with even more distinctly American things like cowboys, poker, riverboat gambling and saloon girls. Now that I've tipped my hat to the Stars and Stripes as well as to you guys, I'm off to revel in bar-b-q and the scent of burnt gunpowder drifting through suburban air. Ahhhhhh. Gotta love it.

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.

The house began to twitch...

Ok, so last night THIS hits us. It was something between a tornado and a hurricane. Actually, I figure it was the equivalent of a tornado that had been spread across an entire city.

The storm lasted for about 10-15 minutes, but it was a tough 10-15 minutes! Couldn't see anything through my windows besides flying leaves, churning gray and some old guy in a rowboat. Maybe that last one was from The Wizard of Oz, but the rest was about right. Winds blew through here at over 90 mph!

Trees are down all over and we lost power for the better part of a day. Fortunately, we got our power back and we can all get back to work. Sure the piles of hail look pretty and the smell of broken wood is nice and fresh, but SHEEEZZ!!

Random Stupidness

Yeah, I know stupidness isn't a word...or is it?

I was just going over some preliminary edits for my next Compton book and it got me thinking about dumb typos that I constantly make. Every writer's got at least one or two. For example, I don't know why but I often type "furture" when I mean to type "future". I think my brain is just zipping ahead to the end of the word while I'm still typing the beginning. Either that, or I've got a screw loose.

Another good one that an editor pointed out is my insistence on writing "in tact" instead of "intact". It's one word, idiot!!!!!

One more is my over-use of the "...". I do that one a lot...or do I?

Ahhhhhhhh....

That’s the contented sigh I let out when a completed manuscript is dropped off at the Post Office. I just finished my newest Ralph Compton book and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. There’s still a few editing phases to go through, but this part’s done and, even better, it’s done ON TIME!

Reports are coming in from the Western Writer’s convention and it sounds like it was a good time. Lots of good folks showed up, but only a few editors were among them. This harkens back to the dry spell I wrote about a few posts back. As I said back then, the market ebbs and flows. So long as good stuff keeps getting written, things will come around eventually.

It’s hot here on the prairie, but at least it’s not sopping wet like it is in Missouri. My Mom lives in the thick of all that, but she’s tough and is doing as well as can be expected. Even so, I’m sure I’ll be headed down there as soon as she needs a helping hand. That’s why I’ve got the ol’ laptop. It may not be one of those new, slim models, but it gets the job done. Actually, by computer standards, my laptop is a brick. All I need it for is to work on Word documents, and even a brick can handle that.

See ya in April

My next book in the Ralph Compton series just got put up on Amazon.com with a release date of April of '09. These are always fun to do and I think this one turned out pretty well. The Western Writer's Convention wrapped up this weekend and so I'm waiting to hear back from the folks that were lucky enough to be able to go. If you went, send me some pictures and let me know how it turned out.

Wish I was there

This week is the Western Writer's Convention in Scottsdale. Several different factors all came together, making it impossible for me to go this year and it really stinks! I've gone to the last six of these in a row and a few more scattered here and there before that. It's always a great time and it's also always my summer road trip. I shake my fist at you, high gas prices!! To everyone who's there, have fun and tip a bottle or two for me.

Dry spell

Seems like there's been a bit of a dry spell where westerns are concerned. It's a good news / bad news sort of thing, though. The bad news is that there really aren't any good western movies or TV shows out right now (reruns don't count). Publishers are getting reluctant to start up anything new and the western sections in a lot of bookstores are dwindling down to the ol' reliables like tried and true series, L'Amour and such. The good news is that this just happens every now and then in this business. Westerns rise and fall in popularity, much like other genres such as horror and private eye fiction. It's a cycle, which means it'll be on the upswing before too long.

Of course I don't mean that westerns are drying up or dead. They're just in a lull. Personally, I think it's funny when anyone says that westerns or any of those other genres are dead (especially funny when they say horror is dead, but that's just irony...or a pun). I've heard this stuff from readers, writers, editors and publishers. Some time goes by, then those same people say the genres are being revitalized by some new movie or something else. Now, it could be that movie or just the mood of readers in general that brings a genre up or lets it fall. Whatever causes it, those peaks and valleys happen. I've written in a good number of other genres and they're all affected by these things to some degree.

There's still work to be done and stories to be written. When readers get tired of a genre, maybe writers should try to put another twist on it or do something a little different. If something's stagnating, shake it up! It doesn't have to be revolutionary, but get out of the rut. Otherwise, you just need to stockpile some stories and wait for the mood to change on its own. Then again, the publishers don't help matters when they are reluctant to buy anything too far outside of their lines. It's the old story of trying something new vs. going with something that's more likely to sell.

Eh, this is why I don't like talking about the business part of what I do. Writers write and publishers do the business end. Some writers are real good at the business angle, but I hate it. I just want to write and write some more. Dry spells come along and sometimes they cause writers to hang up their pens. It's the stuff that drives a lot of writers to the ol' whiskey bottle. Then again, if we tough it through the valleys and make it to another peak, we get paid to do what we love. It's not an easy job, but it's a rewarding one.

Fortunately, I've still got work to do so I'd better get back to it. I've settled on a new title for that Compton book: Outlaw's Reckoning. I like the sound of it.

What's in a title?

Actually, a lot.

Usually, I come up with a title before I start a project or get one not long after I'm into it. I like my titles to have some meaning and reference something in particular as opposed to something that just sounds cool without being specific to the story. I like there to be that moment when someone's reading that they go, "Oh, that's where the title came from." It's a dumb little thing, but I always think about it. I've done my fair share of ghostwriting for other series and get sick of stuff like, "______ River Vengeance" or "Hellfire on the _____ Trail". Just fill in the blanks and you've got about six dozen different books in a dozen other series.

I don't always get to use my own titles, which can throw me off. THE MAN FROM BOOT HILL wasn't my original title for the series. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me and I like it just fine now.

Some titles are happy accidents, like NO ANGELS FOR OUTLAWS. That one just came out as dialogue from Nick's father and I instantly knew that had to be the title for the next one.

Some titles can be somewhat generic, but still very cool and appropriate for the book. The reason I'm bringing all of this up is because I'm trying to think of a title for the next Compton and am having some trouble. I had an original title in mind, but that got shot down. It's fine, because I wasn't too crazy about it anyway. The problem is that nothing else is coming to mind. Oh well. I'll think of something. Times like this, it's always good to just keep chuggin' along and wait for that title to hit you. It will hit you. If little creative things don't hit writers every now and then, they shouldn't really be writers.

Donkey kick

Tax time has come and gone. Being self-employed, I generally don't get to cheer about getting a return. In fact, I get to guess what my income will be, send the money to the IRS and hope they don't want more. Usually they do. This year, doing my taxes felt as good as getting a powerful kick straight to the goods in the cellar if you know what I mean. Ugh. Surely lots of you can feel my pain. If you got a bunch of money back (or even some), then good for you. I don't want to hear about it, but good for you.

A big hit with the ladies

Today was my signing at Borders and it went pretty well. It’s a beautiful day here, so some folks were probably outside getting fresh air and sun instead of coming to see me. Those folks need to check their priorities. Just kidding. The Borders people were great as always and it was a nice setup. I even got some free coffee, which is always a plus.

What set this signing apart was the fact that only women came over to talk with me. Since the western genre is pretty much skewed in the male direction, that’s usually the crowd that comes by to see me at a signing. There are always a few women that show up, but it’s mostly men. This time, every last person to notice me at my table was of the womanly persuasion. And hey…who can blame them? It was great seeing you all and I thank you so much for keeping me company.

More specifically:
Heidi – I hope you actually read that book you bought. I told you I’d blog about it.
Samantha – Enjoy No Angles for Outlaws. That’s still my favorite title of the bunch. Don’t worry, your characters will start cooperating sooner or later.

See? Show up and you too can be immortalized in a western writer’s section of the internet. There’s no better way to spend a wonderful Saturday afternoon. Oh yeah, I suppose there is the whole “outside and sun” thing, but that stuff will be around all summer.

Crossing fingers.....now

Just thinking about my signing this Saturday. There was an announcement in the paper as well as on the Borders website, so everything seems to be on track. Still, I hope it goes ok. Just to be safe, I might bring some wrapping paper so I can be of some use if I'm mistaken for an employee (see previous post about signings). I'm sure it'll be great. Right? Right.

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.

Top o' the world, Ma!!

Well, maybe not the absolute top, but it's a few steps up from where I was before. I was putzing around on the Borders website and found an actual announcement for my April 5th signing. Now, this may not seem like a huge deal, but it's the first time a signing of mine actually made the site. I've had plenty of them at plenty of other places and never got onto the place's website.

This brings to mind the subject of signings in general. Most new writers (myself included, back when I was wet behind the ears) picture their signings as these huge events where you're finally recognized for all the hard work and dedication you've poured into your craft. More often than not, unless you stack the signing with your own friends or family, these things end up with the writer sitting at a table somewhere fielding questions like, "Do you work here?" or "Can you wrap this for me?" or the ever-popular, "Why are you sitting there?"

One of my signings started off with the bookstore manager forgetting I was supposed to be there, which wasn't too bad since there were only 2 copies of my book to sign anyway. That's not a typo, folks. TWO copies. Now, don't get me wrong. Some signings are really great and no matter who shows up it's great to see them. It's just the ones where NOBODY shows up that sting the ol' ego. I know I'm not a #1 Bestseller or anything, but sitting at a folding table in a mall while people walk by and throw peanuts at you just plain sucks. Fortunately, it's been a while since I've had one that bad. With some experience, all writers tend to get philosophical about these events. At least our books are in those stores. SOMEbody usually stops to talk to you and that's fun. Also...free peanuts!

Look what ELSE I found

Actually, it's more like look WHO else I found. Back when I was first able to quit my day job and try my hand at writing for a living, I got the chance to do some short stories for a company called Foggy Windows Books. Don't try looking for them because they went out of business and I'm pretty sure they haven't come back. Anyway, the editor who worked with me was Russell Davis and he was actually the first editor I ever worked with.

Well, another friend of mine recently pointed me in the direction of a good western blog called Westerns For Today. Wouldn't you know it? It's run by Russell Davis. He's a great guy and his blog has a lot of reviews (including one for yours truly). I put a link to his blog on the side of this page, so pay him a visit and tell him who sent ya.

Look what I found

I was looking online for the release date of my upcoming entry in the Ralph Compton series and I found something even better: the cover! Usually, the editor sends me a copy of the cover, but sometimes they just come out on their own. This was a very pleasant surprise and I am really happy with it. Take a look for yourself. Pretty cool, huh? I particularly enjoyed this book because it’s an idea I’ve had kicking around in the back of my skull for quite a while. It was an idea that never quite fit into any of my own series and I rarely get to do standalone books. This was an opportunity to finally get this story out there. Personally, I’m glad to see that title on a real cover. It was just one of those titles that I’ve been itching to use. The book comes out on April 1st (no, that’s not an April Fool’s joke…I hope that doesn’t jinx anything). Hope you like it.

Appearances, etc.

As you might have noticed on my main web page, I’ve managed to set up a few appearances. The most recent is a book signing at a Borders here in Omaha. The last one I had here was great, so this should be a fun one. Also, I was approached by someone from the Public Library in Gretna, NE about speaking to their Adult Summer Reading Group. I’ll be discussing THE ACCOMPLICE as well as other writing stuff so that should be fun. The funny part is that I’ll probably need to flip through that book myself before I go since I wrote it close to two years ago.
The Western Writer’s Convention is coming up in June and that’s always fun. It’s in Scottsdale, so that should be a great road trip! Hittin’ the trail.

In other local news, it’s COLD!! Today, it’s in the negative degrees with a wind chill of negative 25. YOWZA!!! It’s good weather to write in, but not much else. I think there’s a family of squirrels frozen to the side of my car.

Bucking the Tiger

The second book in THE ACCOMPLICE series hit shelves today. Actually, it hit shelves in some stores last week, which was a full week early. Since I'm not J K Rowling or John Grisham, the release dates don't mean a whole lot. Also, I don't really care if they hit shelves early or not. As long as they get there, I'm happy. Now the next step is that they leave those shelves and are purchased, so you guys need to get out there and do your part!

I've already mentioned I'll be setting up a signing or two, but that won't be until April when all three of my most recent masterpieces (ok, maybe that's a stretch) hit stores.

In other news, The Assassination of Jesse James hit DVD. I didn't see this one in the theater because it looked BORING. It may be accurate (or not, I don't know) but "boring" doesn't work for any movie no matter what genre it is.

By the way, if you see a lot of spelling errors on this blog, it's because the spell check is broken on Blogger.com. I know, I know. I'm a writer and should also need to know how to spell. I do know how to spell, but I don't feel the need to line edit a blog post when I've got other stuff to write. I'm thinking about moving over to Live Journal, but I'm used to working on this. If this site would get their stuff together, I could just settle back into my nice little rut.

5 Stages of Editing

I published this on another blog, but thought you guys would get a kick out of it too. Maybe some of you can relate. If not, you're lucky.

Stage 1 ) Anticipation - “I can barely wait to see what my editor thought about that manuscript! It’ll really be great to get back to work on it and move this project along. YAAAYYYY!!!”

Stage 2 ) Denial - “What are all these marks doing on my manuscript? I guess the editor needs to earn their pay somehow, but it should make them happy if I work in a few of their
suggestions.”

Stage 3 ) Anger - “What the HELL?? Whoever scribbled all over my goddamn work must be ON SOMETHING!! What is this GARBAGE? If THEY’RE so smart, why don’t
THEY WRITE THE F’ING THING???”

Stage 4 ) Depression - “Oh my God. These suggestions are right. They’re all right, which means I was all wrong. This editor was right all over the place and I just suck! Why am I doing
this? How do I get paid for this? I suck!”

Stage 5 ) Acceptance - “You know what? Most of these suggestions are good, so I’ll use them. The ones that aren’t so great, I’ll just STET and move on. His is why there are buildings full of editors in New York. I come up with my part, they do theirs and a book is born. What was I going on about before? Jeez! I sure won’t go through all this next time.”

Yeah, right

---Although the speed of going through these stages might have varied from book to book, I still went through them while writing every book that's on this site and plenty that aren't. Unfortunately, my wife has to go through this too, but it's more entertaining for her. You know, like watching reruns.

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.