Monday, April 23, 2012

Rambling promotion.

When I wrote my first book I used a publisher and while it wasn't a disaster, it wasn't exactly what I had envisioned. Then I stumbled across a short story program run by Amazon. Participating in the Amazon Shorts program you might say was my introduction the the indie market. Amazon either rejected or accepted your work, editing and other technical chores were strictly the responsibility of the author. They provided cover art and that was about it. While the program was fun to be a part of, it didn't last long. It did however allow me to move all of those short stories over to Kindle and to finally put them all together into a single volume. I once again went the publisher route, but used a different publisher. This has been a much better experience I must say. For one thing she is receptive to ideas from her authors. Which is why we decided to try this promotion for the book Rambling, thanks to seeing a measure of success with a similar give away I did with my novella The Last Raid. So as of 12:01 tonight April 24, 2012 you will be able to download the Kindle edition for free. it will be free for the next three days and the promo will end at midnight on April 26th.

The book contains thirteen short stories most of which could be considered westerns, a couple of them are more sci-fi, two of them are autobiographical, but all of them are safe for the whole family to read and enjoy. Four of these stories are only available in the book. So please take the time to download it and read it. If you like it be sure to pass the word to everyone you know.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Home again.

It was a long hard trip, and a lot of things went wrong, but it is over now. I unloaded in Oregon yesterday then spent most of the rest of the day getting the truck taken care of in the shop in Spokane. My wife came to get me and waited with me. The problem was that we had work that had to be done at one shop before taking it to another shop to finish the repairs. Thankfully that is all over now.

So now the sun is rising behind the pines, fir, tamarack, and aspen outside the window, Scout the mighty Trucker Pup, is curled up on the floor nearby, my coffee is steaming in the cup next to the computer, so it must mean that it is time to write. Well then off I go to a future version of Seattle, where rain is the least of the problems. Trying to get the second Shade story completed, but it is going to take some time.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Inspiration from a song.

I was just listening to a song by the late Rodeo Champion and Western singer Chris LeDoux. It reminded me of where I got the inspiration to write one of the short stories in the book Rambling. The phrases that caught my attention were "Storm clouds are building above the timberline, lightning flashing across the mountain side." As someone who grew up on the Front Range of the Rockies, these phrases just reached out and grabbed me. They also made me wonder what it must have been like for our ancestors when one of these storms came rolling down out of the mountains and on to the open plains. I have seen them now when I have a place to wait them out safe, sound and dry and they are awe inspiring examples of nature's raw power. Can you imagine what it must have been like trying to find shelter back in the time before fences, highways, and even in some cases wooden buildings. My thoughts on it are in the short story "Storm" in my book Rambling. The song that inspired it? Call of the Wild by Chris LeDoux a true cowboy, and a great songwriter. It would be interesting to hear some other writers share similar stories.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Spring is here and the weather is getting nicer, so it is time to take care of some of the chores that have been put off because of the weather. Time to get into the nooks and crannies to get all that dust that has been building up all winter long. Making sure all of the cobwebs are removed and taken out with the rest of the built up debris. Then maybe after that I can get down to some serious writing, once I get my head cleaned out, or I could clean the truck.

Happy Easter everyone.