Lit Fest

I've just recently confirmed that I'll be appearing at the Omaha Literary Festival on September 19. It'll be held in, you guessed it, Omaha, NE. If you're in the area, stop by and you shouldn't be disappointed. There will be plenty of writers from the western and other genres giving talks and (hopefully) signing some books. Here's a link to a website with some details. Hope to see you there!

Until then, I'll be working on a new Ralph Compton book. Feels good to climb into the saddle again.

Too early to tell

Don't quite know what to make of this one yet. A Jonah Hex movie could be amazing or it could just be a schlocky attempt to put Megan Fox into another tight dress. Not that I'm opposed to that sort of thing, but Jonah Hex deserves something more than that.

I'm still reading the comic books and enjoying them immensely. I've kind of fallen out of love with The Man With No Name series just because it seems a bit too convoluted for its own good. Haven't given up on it completely yet, but the next few issues better be good.

I'd like to see a new Ghost Rider series set in the old west. Say what you want about the Nick Cage movie, but that one scene where he was riding alongside Sam Elliott's dead horse was one hell of a cool visual. Give me some demon banditos and I'll be a happy guy.

Tainted Interview

Gary Dobbs did a great interview with yours truly over on his Tainted Archive blog. Here's the link: http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-always-wanted-to-wear-black-hat.html

There were some really good questions that got me rambling about subjects ranging from the Clint vs. Duke debate all the way up to the state of the western genre. Go see for yourself, because that's all you're getting from me.

Fourth of Joo-ly

I can't remember the last time I've had a 4th of July where I wasn't working. That's not really a bad thing, since I have fond memories of finishing up many hopeful projects while fireworks going off outside. This year was nice. My wife cooked up some burgers and we were entertained by the show put on by our skittish dog as she ran back and forth to guard against the approaching horde of gun-toting intruders. Sure, the banditos were just poppers from across the street, but the pup's heart was in the right place.

Hope the rest of you had a great holiday as well. For those of you not in the States, shoot some fireworks anyway. They're purrrdy.

The Wild Midwest

Every now and then, I catch some flack for living in Nebraska. Usually it’s some comment about covered wagons and prairie dogs flipped my way any time I venture out of the state. I always have to defend Omaha by saying, “No, it’s really a city. Yes, there are paved roads.” And “No, it’s not the wild west.”

Today, Megan and I went to our bank and found the entrance taped off, cop cars out front and the drive-through lanes closed off. Was my bank robbed? Did I just miss seeing a bunch of gunmen storm out carrying bags of money with big dollar signs on them? Do I watch too many superhero cartoons? For all I know, somebody with a bad case of heat stroke wandered in to knock over the deposit slip racks or charge over the counter when the teller wouldn’t acknowledge they were there as they helped car after car in the outside lanes. If that’s the case, I feel for them. If it was a robbery, I’m just glad Megan and I hit the post office first. I like watching the horses thunder in from the east to drop off the new Sears Roebuck catalogs.

UPDATE -- News just came in that it WAS a bank robbery. I've already signed on for the posse.

Like a bad penny

Or possibly a well travelled penny. Since I'm referring to westerns, I could hardly use the term "Bad". We all know western novels aren't going anywhere. Western movies show up on a fairly regular cycle (but not often enough for my taste). Western TV shows are becoming rare, but still pop up every now and then. What makes me even happier is finding our favorite genre in other venues. For example, I've started buying comic books again. It's an old habit, but has become an expensive one. $3-$4 per comic. Yowch. Among the superheroes and horror stuff, there's good ol' Jonah Hex. I've also found a comic based on The Man with No Name. In fact, it's a continuation of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with Tuco, Blondie and Angel Eyes (in flashback) together again. They're well drawn, well written and a lot of fun.

I've also found a few more western video games showing up. Sure, there's not as many gunslingers as space marines, but they're out there. What's even more refreshing is how well received they are. People want more western games, comics and everything else. They just want GOOD westerns and FRESH westerns no matter what form they take. The demand is alive and well, so that's something. The tricky part is for us to meet it without shooting ourselves in the foot.

St. Pat's

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone! This doesn't rank too high on my personal holiday list since it's more of a bar hopping occasion than anything else, but have a good one anyway. My wife is cooking up some corned beef and cabbage, so that's making the house smell really good. It's one of those odors that starts off pretty bad, but builds up to something great. As of a few hours ago, it had drifted into the great range.

Perhaps it's a sign of getting older, but I've started looking forward to holidays more for what I can eat than what I can drink. I mean, the beer and whiskey are there any time of the year. It's not every day I get turkey that's been cooked in the oven all day long or corned beef and cabbage for that matter. I'd actually prefer it if the bartenders kept their green food coloring for the cookies and kept it out of my lager.