Quebec again.

I spent most of last week in Canada again. I went in through Michigan and drove across Ontario Provence which has its moments, but nothing quite like the stretch of Quebec that I had the pleasure of seeing this trip. In the past I have been pretty far up in the northern part of the Provence, but this trip was along the St. Lawrence Seaway, almost to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It was a long hard drive out there, with a lot of steep grades and of course a lot of downgrades to deal with, but the scenery was spectacular. At one point I thought I had gotten off route. As I came around a bend in the road it came to an end at the banks of a large river.One that didn't show up on my map or the GPS the company had installed in my truck. Fortunately there was a ferry there to take traffic across and it was no charge. Reaching my destination I found a quaint seaside town cloaked in a fine mist. It was a beautiful town and the people were friendly even if I didn't speak French. Along the way I passed numerous signs that were shaped like whales. I later learned that it is not unusual for whales to swim up the river and that there are whale watching tours. All in all it was a fairly good trip. My one big complaint about going to Canada is being out of touch, since my wife hates paying the roaming charges if I use my phone up there. I did use the time to work on the latest Shade tale while I was there.

Update.

There has been a lot going on since leaving home. Mainly trucking but some writing too. Still working on the Shade sequel when I can find the time and inspiration. I have also run into a dilemma with another author, who has written a really good book. In my opinion with a few corrections it could be a really great book. He didn't ask me to read his book so this is all on me. It is just one of my personal quirks. As a writer I can be a bit touchy about my creations and I would never knowingly trash another persons work in public. If I see something that really bothers me enough that I feel the need to comment on it, I will do it via private means. With regard to my work, I try to do as much research as I can before putting it on the page. Before anything I write hits the list at Amazon or anywhere else it is read by a number of people, who are reading it for the express purpose to see if I got it right. If there is something wrong I want to know it so that I can correct it before it is published. I only wish that some other writers would do the same. There is a certain military author, who I am told is very good when writing about the Armor or Artillery, but his one book about a Special Forces Unit was so full of mistakes that I haven't picked up another one of his books. I hope that other authors will take the time to do their research. One of the reasons that I read the authors that I do is that most of them are very good at getting the facts right. Some like Brad Thor make me keep the laptop close so that I can check what he is writing about. He has always had it right so far. Others like Dean Koontz even when he is making things up he keeps it pretty close to reality. What do you think?

Back to work

Actually it is more like back to my routine. All the things that were broken on the truck are now fixed. While the honey-do list didn't get completely finished a major portion of it is done. There is something very gratifying about working on your own land. Slowly but surely we are getting it cleaned up and the landscape looking better all the time. Part of cleaning it up includes yarding downed trees out of the woods. These trees have been down now for a year or more and will be cut up for firewood later on this summer. Our tractor isn't that big so we ended up leaving some of the downed timber to be pulled out later, when we can get a larger machine in there. While leaving them laying would be easier, it also would provide fuel if we ever get a fire up there. Most people don't understand the need to thin the timber and clean out the deadwood, but it is all part of owning property in timber country. It also keeps me thinking about how it was so much harder for our ancestors who had to do it using horses, mules, and oxen. When I think about how hard it can be to find time to write on the road, I wonder how much harder it would be at home, with all the work that needs to be done there.

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.

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.

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.

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.