Selfless Book Promo

Lately, I have been a bit dismayed at my book sale totals. That means, in my Wyoming vernacular, I ain't sellin’ much. Guess it proves the point, so many authors make – If you don’t promote you won’t sell many books. I have mentioned books in only one post, here last week, in the past six weeks. I normally promote on Twitter, Google Plus, and my five blogs on a regular basis.

Here They Are All Five of My Books

I hate self-promotion, but it is part of the business. I still do speaking engagements, and love those, and sell quite a few books when I speak. That’s my idea of promotion. I have two events coming up soon and am looking forward and getting ready for them. Meanwhile, if you are interested in a real western, give, Commitment, a look, I believe you will enjoy it. Adventure in the old west, with a terrific mystery. Click the link and read the free sample. This book is available as an ebook and an incredibly good looking soft cover. As most of you know from my previous posts, book two of this series is coming soon. 

Take A Look

The good news, it’s summer and my nonfiction book, The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Building of Guernsey State Park – With Folktales and Stories of the Park, is sold in several places, in and around where I live, and does quite well.

So, I guess it is time to get back to the old grindstone and see if I can start selling a few books again. I think it will help when my next book, or two, come out, just hope it is sooner than later.

Busy Doing Oregon Trail Reserch 

 Here Sitting In the Ruts of That Famous Trail
 Less Than a Mile From Our House 

This week I have been back at work writing. But there is a problem with that; it’s not on either of the books that I should be working on – Oh Well! 

And still time for a few photo sessions this week.

Up High the Snow is Melting, This is The Laramie River Yesterday
 It is normally about 20 Feet Wide - Now 100 Yards or More

Guernsey Lake Looking Through the Wonderful CCC Built
Sitting Bull Shelter

You can see all five of my books on HERE on my Amazon Author Site

Have a great week - keep reading and keep writing.

Books and EBooks

Looks like January has flat lined my book sales. I remember when television medical and murder mysteries used to show a machine beeping and flashing and then a solid beep and solid red line when the patient/victim died. That is what my KDP sales look like right now. Flatlined for nine days. Looks like the New Year is off to a slow start.

Sales are as slow as this old bull in the January snow

I did sell a couple of books yesterday, books not EBooks. The sale of EBooks brings on something that still bothers me. Why are so many traditional publish houses charging so much for EBooks? I wanted to read one yesterday and it was $12.99 – too much for me. I put my name on the list at the Library and should get it next week. FREE to read.

My books are all available as EBooks or softcover books - check them our today

Often I look for older books to read as EBooks, but if they are with a big publishing house, the price is still at the original, usually over $10.00. The same book, after a couple of years, can be bought from dozens of online used book dealers for a few cents. These sellers always tack on $3.99 for shipping, which is how they make their money. I send books out for less than $3.00. Seems to me if the big publishing houses would lower their client’s EBooks to three or four dollars, after a year or two, they and the author would continue to make money. 

Hoping my sales take off soon

Family Time

This time, of the year I put most of my writing away. Time for family and fun. I might get a bit of writing in but won’t try to schedule anything specific. Seemed like I have slowed down some lately anyway, might be the winter time blues. (Caused by not enough time on the golf course)  No, I haven’t quit, just smacked into a few obstacles.

I did get a chance this week to talk history with some school kids. This is something I always enjoy after spending 42 years at the front of the class.

Talking to Elementary Kids about the Mountain Men

First I am trying to get a decent copy, in a word, of my Civilian Conservation Corps book on Guernsey State Park. I am going to send it for editing to see if I can get a better digital book. The soft cover is fine, but the digital book moves photos and captions around and adds in white space. It still is in order and reads all right, but does not look very good. The problem?  I messed up my word files so much trying to fix it that I no longer have a good copy to send for editing. So here I am, fixing a copy, three hours so far and half way through – never fear, I will get there. #1 Reason why a professional editor is good.

Talking with High Schoolers about the CCC

I am also trying to finish up a new novel, my sixth book, tentatively titled – Ghost of the Fawn, and subtitled- A Wyoming Mystery. It is a good full day or two of work before it will go off for editing.

Setting for and possible cover photo for my new novel

The final project I am working on is still in the research phase, my book, as yet not titled, on Fort Laramie. If all goes well, I hope to send my CCC book off to the editor this weekend. After that, I am not sure. Hope to have the novel completed by the end of February, but that may be too optimistic. As far as the nonfiction book on Fort Laramie, who knows, my hope? By summer.

Fort Laramie this Summer - back when it was warm

Now it is time to enjoy family and friends over the holidays.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Writing Update

The review copy of my fifth book, Under Western Skies – 14 stories of Christmas, should be here tomorrow. I hope I don’t have too many things to clean up. Still would like it available, both as a book and eBook by next week. I like the book and have another book of short stories in the planning stages. This next one will be traditional western stories, not Christmas stories. I find writing short stories both relaxing and challenging. Sometimes it can take me a week or more to write a four or five-page story and get it the way I want.

Early draft of the cover for my book of Christmas shorts

I am also finishing up the first draft of my sixth book,  Mystery at Hell’s Half Acre, Wyoming. This is my first teen/young adult offering and will come in at a bit over 50,000 words. The book is set in modern times with flashbacks to the 1800s. It is both a discovery/growing up book and one that deals with American Indian (Arapaho) legend and beliefs. I am hoping for a release by February 1^st but will not hold my breath on that date.

Hell's Half Acre Wyoming - setting for my teen mystery

 Work continues on the research for my second nonfiction book, this one about Fort Laramie. Nonfiction is a whole different kind of animal – takes a lot of time, but it seems worth it, I learn a lot.

Old Bedlem on the grounds of Fort Laramie

For me, with winter, comes more writing. Not crazy about doing too much out in the cold any longer so writing occupies most of my days December through February. We do hope to take a trip south in February which should warm us up, but it may slow down the writing.

Winter is coming soon to the mountain west

Yesterday I found a tongue in cheek novella, I wrote 15 years ago about the trials and tribulations of starting a business. It still seems pretty timely, might give it another look. We have started up several, none succeeded, although one try lasted five years. Mostly we discovered much work – little money.

 

Enjoy the day!

Bad Weather and Heading West on the Oregon Trail

Spring snowstorms are not uncommon in Wyoming, but all of us seem surprised each time we get one. We were so dry in March I was afraid that we would dry up by the middle of June – not now.

When pioneers headed west they had to very careful of the weather and spring storms. They weren’t this far, not yet. The early wagons would have reached Nebraska around this time of May. One of the crossing's on the Oregon Trail in southeast Nebraska was the Little Blue River near present day Fairbury, Nebraska, and that river has been out of its banks for several days.

When I hear sportscasters talking about how courageous some athlete was for: hitting some shot, taking the big shot or scoring the winning points, I think about these people. Now they were courageous, fighting the weather, often all the way west.

Trail Ruts south of town - taken before the recent snow

We are blessed to get all of this rain and snow this time of year. My part of Wyoming only receives about 12 inches of total moisture each year. So far in the month of May over 5 inches. Lovin’ it! 

The North Platte River, south of town, is running strong

Short Westerns and Back to Work

After putting aside a writing project I always have a difficult time getting back to it. I put a western novel, tentative titled, Commitment - A Blade Holmes Novel, several months ago. Since putting it away I finished a local history book and a children’s novella. I have also went back to work on another, nearly completed western, and wrote a half dozen short stories.

Nice Setting

     What follows is the first few paragraphs of a short story from my, to be published this year, book of short western stories.

Enjoy!

Heading West - A comical and whimsical look at travel on the Oregon Trail

Arlo Slug stuffed the front of his shirt back into his trousers, picked up his lunch bucket and whistled a tune as he walked out the front door of the Cleveland Ohio Iron Works. He’d been thinking about it for a long time and today was the day, the day to tell Isabelle his plan for the rest of their lives.         “Oregon, Oregon,” Arlo shouted as he opened the front door of their, much in need of repair, house on E street.

 “Let’s go to Oregon, away from the city and the factory,” Arlo said.  

 Isabelle, somewhat surprised at Arlo's enthusiasm over something that they had never once talked about, smiled and said “and just what will we do when we get to Oregon, and how will we get there?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Arlo answered, “I’ve got it all worked out. It’ll be easy, hardly no work at all. We just set up there on the wagon seat soaking up the sun shine, and in no time we’ll be in Oregon, hardly no work at all.”

Seven weeks later it was spring and Arlo and Isabelle, well Arlo anyway, were ready to carry out Arlo's great plan. They tossed the last of their belongings atop a considerable pile of last minute, “we can’t get along without this,” climbed up on the weathered and cracked wooden seat of their old wagon and headed west.

 Lazy and Bones, their two ancient mules reluctantly pulled the overloaded, squeaking and creaking wagon to a roll. “Yes sir-ee,” Arlo shouted, “we’re headin' west, Oregon here come the Slugs”.

Cleveland was not going to get him down, not any more, no sir, and no more shoveling coal in the Iron mill for Arlo Slug. Arlo’s mind raced and filled with happy thoughts of his soon to be new life.

The wagon was a patchwork of tacks, nails, wire, rope and twine, a relic that Arlo loved and Isabelle hated. Much to the embarrassment of Isabelle, Arlo had painted, ‘headin' to Oregon’ in bright green on the wagons back board. Arlo daydreamed of the west as he held the reins and let the arthritic mules set their own pace.

A loud, CRACK, snapped Arlo’s mind back into the present. “Two blocks from home, two blocks,” Arlo muttered to himself as he climbed from the wagon seat to the ground and surveyed the damage.

 The rear wheel on the right side of the wagon had snapped one of its wooden spokes, and now looked rather more oval than round. After a nearly two-hour delay and two new wheels, one lashed to the back of the wagon, just in case, and Arlo and Isabelle were off, again.

Isabelle had fought with Arlo about this trip for weeks, finally given up a month ago, accepting the fact that they were going to Oregon. Now she reached through the knitting on her lap, patted Arlo on the knee and smiled as they rolled westward on a bright April morning. “Maybe this won’t be too bad,” she thought. But she was wrong!

Mules

What's In A Name ?

Register Cliff, about a day west of Fort Laramie by wagon, has been referred to as the great register of the trail. The large sandstone outcropping has hundreds of names carved in its banks.

The Cliff today
 

Unfortunately, too many modern names went over the top of carved names that had historical value. It is still fun to look at, and many, many historical names and dates can still be seen.

One of many names that still stands out today it is – G.O. Willard, Boston 1855. (He didn’t put in the comma, and he made a backward 's' in Boston, not sure I know how to do that on a computer).

 It is so well preserved that I thought I might Google old G.O. and see if there is any information on him.

I was surprised to find several things about him. Seems he didn’t last long in the west but did make it at least as far as Salt Lake City. But marriage records show him back in the Boston area by 1869. He died there at age 62 in 1893.

Maybe he lived a few years in Utah, possibly he went on to the west coast? Might make a fine story. Movies tend to portray people as so happy in their new lands, but reality and history often tells a different story – many went back, back home. I think I would like to read that story, all the perils of the trip west, get there, only to work and save enough money to go back.

Art work by a seven year old a year later

Doesn’t seem like we do this much anymore, carve our names to leave our mark. Although if you tell a five year old granddaughter to go ahead, she just might try it on the aspen in the front yard.
The Trail, a mile from Register Cliff, still looks pretty good. Haven't seen many wagons on it lately.

 

Fort Laramie the Oregon Trail and The Big Re-write

Re-write on my novel is almost complete-I can see the end from here. I will let you know when I have finished. For those that have been with me for a long time, I finished this novel seven years ago and put it away. I did not want the pressure of trying to publish; now with opportunities for self publishing and e-books, maybe I will try again. Need to- I have another novel complete and a non-fiction (mostly) Wyoming History Book 80% complete and two other novels of 25,000 plus words in the works.

Today I am doing some more reading on Fort Laramie (15 miles away) while thinking about another novel or part of one, set there. I ran across the following and thought it interesting.

Fort Laramie, beloved in western legend and story may not have been quite so popular in its day. Francis Parkman in his wonderful book, The Oregon Trail, described his visit to the famous fort in 1846. This year was specific as 1846 was the year the fort went from a private concern (one of the trading-posts established by the American Fur Company) to a government owned fort with the purpose of protecting travelers along the trail and protecting settlers, if any, in and around the fort.

Parkman described the fort itself, the buildings within and even spent quite a few words talking about building materials, roofs and windows. But what I found most interesting was the following. “Prices are most extortionate: sugar, two dollars a cup; five-cent tobacco at a dollar and a half; bullets at seventy-five cents a pound. The company is exceedingly disliked in this country.”

Travelers along the trail often needed to re-supply by the time they got to the fort—hope they had a lot of money with them as prices were much more than they were expecting.

Anything to make a buck!

 

 

Fourth of July at Fort Laramie

Celebrated the fourth watching a parade in our little town then spent the afternoon at Fort Laramie.  It’s been a while but we (my wife and I) have spent an Independence Day there before-but many years ago. We live only 18 miles from Fort Laramie so it is not too much of a drive. Watched the kid’s game, gunny sack races, sampled some army bread, and listened to a very good presentation on Plains Indian culture. The highlight of the day was the 38 gun salute, along with cannon, to celebrate the fourth. Some people in period uniforms made the day memorable and a family entertained playing music under a tarp attached to their covered wagon.

As we walked the grounds I started to wonder, not about Fort Laramie and the history of the west, but wondered about old fashioned fun. No water park, no rides, no glitz, just a hot day on the grounds of the old Fort and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Did not see one person with headphones or connected to an iPod, listening to their own music. It was refreshing-almost as refreshing as the bottle of old fashioned Root Beer I sipped as we walked the grounds.

All and all a nice relaxing afternoon, no fireworks at night when we got home as we are in a fire ban area, did miss that. We live in Wyoming and wildfires have been as close as two miles from us this summer. One burning now, about 40 miles west of town, 90,000 acres, think I have seen enough real fireworks this summer for one lifetime.

July 4th on the Oregon Trail

July 4^th, Independence Day, but it was a lot more than that for travelers on the Oregon Trail. July Fourth was the day to reach Independence Rock (thus the name) almost in the middle of Wyoming. If you reached the rock by the fourth you could make it through the passes before the snows. Legend says (because I cannot find a better fact here) that Independence Rock got its name from Ashley’s men who camped there on July Fourth 1825. By 1840 there were so many names carved into the rock that Father DeSmet referred to the rock as,   “the register of the Desert.”