Best Books of 2021

 Confessions of a Writer of Westerns

February 7, 2022

It’s that time of year again. Oh, and what time is that? When politicians, actors, and other famous people list all their favorite books of the year. I often take these lists with a grain of salt, as in, I doubt they read many if any of the books listed. Lucky for all you readers, I am not going to glean from their lists and come up with a must-read list of my own. Today, I will mention a few of my favorite reads from this past year.

Instead of listing everything I read or the number of books I read in 2021 (I have no idea if I could make an accurate list). Here is my favorite, fiction, nonfiction, just for fun, and writing book of the year.

 

My favorite fiction read of the year was C.J. Box’s Dark Sky,

another in his best-selling Joe Pickett series. I have read them all, and if you have not read any, take a look. All of them are terrific reads. These books are modern-day western mysteries all set mainly in Wyoming.

My favorite nonfiction read of the year is now on my list of all-time favorite nonfiction books. This book, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis, written by Timothy Eagan, has been out since 2013. Surprised I had not gotten around to it until last year. This one feeds my love of history and photography and gives readers a look at one man’s passion for a lifelong project. This book is a terrific read that includes many famous Curtis photos.

Each year I read a fair number of, what I call, just for fun books. My favorite in 2021 was Steve Hockensmith’s – Holmes on the Range. This one is just what it sounds like, a lover of Sherlock Holmes solving cases in the old-west like Holme’s did in far-off London.

Lastly, my favorite writing book of the year was – Ta-da! Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print, by Renni Browne and Dave King. This one has been around for almost twenty years. Not sure how much earlier the first edition came out. I see this book as a must-have for all writers, whether traditional or self-published.

There you have it- my list of favorite books I read in 2021.

 

Reading – Still working my way through a couple of books I started two weeks ago. I did read through Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co’s spring 2022 seed catalog. That is a sure sign that I am now officially anxious for spring.

Writing Tip – “The very best thing you can do for good dialogue is never, ever to explain it.” (from Self-Editing for Fiction Writers)  Oddly if I were to edit the above line, I would take out very and ever to. Neither makes the sentence stronger. Now that’s pretty strange. Still a good tip. 😊

Weather – Another great week here in east-central Wyoming. A few days in the 50s are coming soon. I Might get out on the golf course sometime this week. It definitely will be an excellent week to go out with one of my cameras.

Quote of the day – It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” Ernest Hemingway

 

Today’s Photos – From my walks over the past few days

 

 Click the link to see all of my books on Amazon

 

Have a great week. Keep on reading, and keep on writing!

 

 

My Books and Kindle Unlimited

Things are looking up. Sales I mean, and my KDP pages read is now looking better than ever at nearly a thousand pages each day.

Whether or not to put books in the Kindle Select or in the Unlimited program is a decision many self-publishers are having to make. Basically, self–pub authors have two choices, go with the Select or Unlimited program on Amazon, or go wide and publish on many platforms. There are certainly good points and bad to each, so why did I choose to go with the Amazon only, Select program? Easy, I’m pretty lazy, much-preferring writing, taking photos, working in the garden, traveling and playing golf to trying to sell books. 

All this and a great short - free on Kindle Unlimited

Don’t get me wrong, I love selling books, just not crazy about all the time it takes to do promotions. I still do some and will continue but only on Amazon. Over the past two years, my sales have been mostly through Amazon or with the soft cover books I sell myself or that are sold in bookstores. I don’t believe it will harm my sales to be exclusively on Amazon, so far it is helping.

Relaxing at the Guernsey Dam Spillway with a nice rainbow

Meanwhile, I am researching, time-lining, and rough outlining the third in the series of my Marshall Blade Holmes western mysteries. Still early, but I like the way the story is shaping up. Also, I am still working on my nonfiction Fort Laramie book.

Fort Laramie

What am I reading?

Fort Laramie by Donald Clayton Porter

The Man From Hanksville by Oscar W. Case

I am nearly finished with both and will write a full review. I have read much of Donald Clayton Porter’s work and always like it, but at the moment I am really enjoying Mr. Case’s book. My Kindle says I am at 71% of the read (I do miss page numbers when I read on my Kindle) and am sure I will wish for more when it is finished. I started the Hanksville book a few weeks ago but put in on the backburner as I was off on some speaking engagements and heavy into the research part of my Fort Laramie book, now it is my go to each day. Click the link above and take a look at Oscar Case’s Man From Hanksville.

See my Amazon Author Page and all my books here.

Writing Short Stories and a Walk to Refresh

Sometimes when I should be writing, but it is too nice to stay inside, my wife, and I go for a hike. We planned on two or three miles but went for four, a bit tiring but the day was spectacular.

Clear skies and a day to see for Miles and Miles

We spend as much time as we can outside and constantly marvel at the beauty that can be found in nature.

Whether it is landscape or animals seems there is always something to see. Sometimes even a simple rock can stop me as I walk.

Well Hello There

“The next best thing to being clever is being able to quote someone who is.”  -Mary Pettibone Poole-

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”  Rudyard Kipling

Throughout my years of teaching, I was always proud when a colleague said they could never teach like I do because they just were not a story teller. I loved it when a student told me they loved my classes because I was a story teller and they had never been in a class with a storyteller before. I guess that is what turns storytellers into writers.

I seem to have an endless supply of stories, one of the reasons I am a fan of short stories, which brings me to my last point. A few weeks ago I published a short story and gave it away on Amazon for five days, after the giveaway, it continues to sell well at .99 cents, and for that I am grateful.

Here is the .99 cent short

Good enough sales and downloads that I believe I will try another in a few weeks.

Meanwhile keep on reading and keep on writing. My online western writer friend Oscar Case, you can find him here, posted a few reviews from a book of short stories called, The Mammoth Book of Westerns. I could not help myself. I bought it and now cannot put it down.

The First Line

Great Opening Lines

Much has been written about how important the first line of a novel is. Google it, and there are several pages about famous first lines. I read through a list of well-known books and the first line from each. These were taken from a survey of some sort and titled the best first lines from 100 famous novels, or something similar to that. Most were okay, some were terrific and some, well, I didn’t get why they made the list of great lines. I scratched my head and decided to check out the first lines of my five books. I changed it to four decided to skip my nonfiction book that opens with a very nice quote from President Roosevelt (FDR). I had to check mine out who knows, maybe, some were terrific.

My Opening Lines

I came up with six using a second, first line, (hey I like the sound of that)  from my collection of Christmas Tales. I also used one from an unpublished novella with a great title. So, here they are.

  If the young cowboy had but one wish, it would be to live. 

From my western mystery, Commitment. Not bad, I like it.

.The old mountain man was starving, but not for food. 

This one is taken from a story in my Christmas book, nice hook. What was he starving from? Sorry, no spoiler here.

The street I lived on was red brick, and our house was white. 

Not sure why but I really like this one. It is from the first of my two children’s chapter books, Melvin the E Street Ghost. 

Moose and I laid in the shade of a bright summer sun under an apple tree in my backyard. 

My second chapter book, soon to be the second of three with publication hopes for late May of the third in this series. This one is titled, 

Then Mike Said, “There’s a Zombie in My Basement.

Hardy Galloway pulled up rein, placed one knurled hand over the other on top his saddle horn and pushed back in an attempt to straighten his back.

 The opening line from my book of Christmas shorts. 
Under Western Skies, 14 Tales of Christmas. At my age, I am partial to stories that have someone as old as me, so I like it. 

    The old man thought about the question then nodded yes, he shook his head no at the next. Simple but interesting. This is from my yet to be published novella of about 20,000 words. 

 There you have it my opening lines. Good luck with yours and keep writing.

Writing a Perfect Paragraph

Stalled – that’s where I am right now. I have written on this blog a few times in the last three months about having a finished book that I am editing. Well, I still am. I don’t like the first chapter and despite many fixings, it still does not seem to work. I like the story, think it’s a good one, but doesn’t every author think their story is a good one?

Something Just Does Not Seem to be Correct

The Problem 

This novel is set in modern times but has several flashback chapter to the 1800s. I wanted to write the first two chapters, one in the present and one in flashback. Chapter one started as the flashback with chapter two taking readers to the present. That didn’t seem to work, so I switched them. Now chapter one is in the present and chapter two sets the modern day story from an event in the past. This seems to work. The problem is that the first chapter is still not very strong. I am afraid readers will put it away before getting to the meat of the tale. That and the fact that readers looking at the free preview of the book will see this chapter, not great for sales.

Chapter one describes the two main characters, the setting and why they are there. To me, it reads like the age old, bad writing chapter - laundry list, of too many facts and not enough story.

Oh, What Should I Do?

The way I see it, I have three options, maybe four.

1.  Start the book with a scene that I now have later in the story. Might work, but this means a different type of flashback, and I am not sure I want that.

2.  Flip chapters one and two again – not happening.

3.  This will probably be it – rewrite adding a new action scene to drive the reader forward to the story.

4.  Who knows? Trash the chapter and let the reader figure out what is happening as they go. Not a bad idea, but seems confusing when I read it this way. Not likely I will use this one.

Number three is the option I will most likely take. I don’t like it because I have no idea how, or what, I will do with this. I will write it as soon as I am struck with some type of magical inspiration.

How Do I Choose One From So Many Options?

But I Do Have Another Project

On another note, I am well into my second Blade Holmes, Western Mystery, tentatively titled, Ghost Dance Moon. Presently the novel is 32,000 words, looks like about 60% complete. Yesterday I wrote a few lines and had to find my wife so that I could read the part to her, yes, I thought it was that good. Not sure if she agreed, but either she did or at least pretended that she thought it to be the beautiful literary, masterful writing, I believed it to be. 

That’s what writers live for, ahhh, the perfect sentence or paragraph, doesn’t happen often, but when it does – glorious!

A great scene should read like this photo - perfection

Remembering the Man Who Was Two of My Favorite Authors

I remember, years ago, reading the Wagons West series by Dana Fuller Ross and the White Indian series by Donald Clayton Porter. I loved both series, although I think I quit after ten or so books in the Wagons West series. My wife wanted to give up after her Dana Fuller Ross hero, Whip Holt died, but continued to read them all. The White Indian series I couldn’t put down.

It was years later before I found out that Dana Fuller Ross and Donald Clayton Porter were one in the same – the prolific Noel Bertram Gerson (1913-1988). Why prolific? He wrote 325 books including best-sellers and two books made into movies. Although I read him as a historical novelist he actually wrote in many areas and under 10 different pseudonyms.

These two series have lived on with the Wagons West, I believe, now in re-release. If you haven’t tried them, they really are great reads. Think I will figure out where I left off in the Wagons West series and read the rest of them.

Mountain Valley in my part of the west

One of My Favorite Writers - and a Writing Update

Elmer Kelton is one of my all-time favorite authors. Not sure if I have read all of his books but believe that I have.

I often think of this quote on writing by Kelton when I decide to start writing something at an odd time such as, eleven o’clock at night.

“I just write whenever I can.”

That sums it up for me, whenever is when I write, that’s my schedule. I believed for many years that when I retired from my full time job I would write most of the day, every day, NOPE!

That just isn't me, I, like Mr. Kelton, write whenever I can, not really, for me it’s more I write when I feel like it. I still managed to write about a quarter of a million words most years, but who’s counting?

(I wrote 28,629 words in February – Finishing my second children’s book –Then Mike Said, “There’s a Zombie in My Basement” – I am also in the final stages of finishing up with my non-fiction work, The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Building of Guernsey State Park. Both will be published in print and e-reader formats by the first of April)

Back to Elmer Kelton as I close today. A favorite line from one of his best novels. The Time It Never Rained

 “A bad habit or two is good for a man or a beast. Did you ever know a man who didn't have any bad habits? I have, and I always hated the son of a bitch."

 Charlie Flagg  

Wow - Looks like the sun just came out, think I will go outside for awhile!

Who's Reading Now?

Nice Spot to Read a Good Book

According to a report from the Pew Research Center, about a quarter of American adults did not read or listen to a single book last year. Seemed like when I was a kid everyone read books, but that was back in the 60s, the one channel on television and no internet days. The same report says that in the last 25 years the percentage of non-readers of a single book in a year has nearly tripled. That is a lot of people not reading, and only about a quarter of Americans say they read 11 or more books in the last year.

Why are people reading less? Too many other things to do for entertainment? Maybe, or maybe not enough good books to get people excited about reading again. Like them or not, the Harry Potter books, the vampire romances and books like 50 Shades, have certainly got, at least, some persons excited about reading.

Do we just need better books? Unfortunately too many books attempted to copy these best sellers and most didn’t work. But that has always been the case with success in every venue.

So what is the answer? Write something people want to read. But the question, what is it that will get both readers and nonreaders alike excited about reading again?  Most genres are too narrow to appeal to those who have given up on reading, so it must be something new and exciting. Or maybe not.

Good stories, good writing, great promotion might help. Seems like word of mouth is still what sells the most books, even traditionally published books need help from word of mouth and of course social media.

But it is still about the story. The last three fiction books I have tried were no-goes. I give them one or two chapters, that’s it, too many books to read a bad one. I get authors promotions touting their great new book, and in some cases, they are just, flat-out bad.

So it’s still the story, if it is a great story and the author promotes, word of mouth/social media should take care of the rest.

 

 

What Grade Level Are You Writing For?

Have you ever wondered what level of reader you are writing for?  Or for that matter have you ever wondered what level the books you are reading are meant for?  Seems there are a variety of on line tools, free of charge, that an author can use to check the level of your words and sentence structure. I checked some of my blog posts, fifth to seventh grade, and also typed in some of the stuff I was reading, two novels, both seventh grade. And how does that stack up, well average reading material is fifth to seventh grade so I guess what I am writing is at about the correct level. Think I may challenge myself to find some more difficult reading material.

Here are two great online tools to check up on yourself, try them out it is great fun. I tested this blog, complete with links, and here are my results.

http://www.writingtester.com/ , my readable Score was, 57/ 100, the higher the number the easier it is to read.  Grade level for this post, came in at a grade six.

The second analyzer is based on tried and true methods used in American schools for many years. This scale is based on the, Flesch Reading Ease Scale, a popular readability algorithm.  You can find this analyzer at, http://sarahktyler.com/code/sample.php, using this scale the same block post came in at a grade level of 6.3, very similar to the writing tester. Surprisingly when I added in the links the reading level for this analyzer went down to 4.54, interesting, not sure what that means.

This might be a waste of time but it beats the computer card game I was playing.

Read Any BadBooks Lately?

I have noticed recently that every book I read has a bad ending. Bad because I was not ready for it to end, bad because I didn’t like what happened on the last page, or bad because, well it was bad.

I love books that leave me wanting more, not sure if I will ever read one that is so satisfying when I finish I will say, “perfect.” This would be a book that ended when it should, and everything that should happen did – bad guys meet bad endings and good people have good endings. And a book that does not leave me, the reader, with false hopes for a sequel.

The books that really drive me crazy – books that just end. You turn the page and it is the last page, you read it and say something like HUA.  You’re wondering, what happened to those other guys, or where was that place, or other questions leaving the reader in the dark. This may be what happens when as my wife says, “the writer ran out of words.”

Happing Reading

Great Western Novel Opening Lines

Today we will look at the first of two parts on famous, western novel, first lines. Some opening lines are great, some are all right and some are downright dreadful. See if you can guess who penned these first lines. Answers on the bottom of the page—no peaking.

1.     “It was my privilege to know the late Jack Crabb – frontiersman, Indian scout, gunfighter, buffalo hunter, adopted Cheyenne – In the final days upon this earth.

2.     “Some notable sight was drawing the passengers, both men and women, to the window; and therefore I rose and crossed the car to see what it was.”

3.     “A sharp clip-crop of Iron-shod hoofs deadened and died away, and clouds of yellow dust drifted from under the cottonwoods out over the sage.”

4.     “He rode into the valley in the summer of 89. I was a kid then, barley topping the backboard of father’s old chuckwagon.”

5.     “Lil ol’ town, you don’t amount to much,” said Harry Destry. “You never done nothing an’ you ain’t gonna come to no good.”

-See Answers Below-

 

 

 

1.       Thomas Burger, Little Big Man

2.       Owen Wister, The Virginian

3.       Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage

4.       Jack Schaefer, Shane

5.       Max Brand, Destry Rides Again

 

-Another five opening lines coming up in 48 hours-

When History Becomes Important

How many times do we hear someone say, “I wish I would have listened more and learned more in history class when I was in high school,” or something similar?

Seems like what happened long ago is more important as we get along in years. I look back now wondering, as a career history teacher, why I did not ask my dad more about his World War 2 time in the South Pacific.

This gets to today’s point. Know your subject before putting pen to paper, or in today’s world, fingers to keyboard.

My list of what a western writer needs to write a good western story.

This list can also be used by readers, do the stories you read follow my list? Can you add more?

1.   Knowledge of basic American history and deeper knowledge of the region of America where your story will take place.

2.  Know your weapons – if you haven’t already, go out and shoot. Understand how a gun feels, what recoil (kick) feels like, smell the powder, reload the weapon.

3.  Know the lay of the land (hills, mountains, rivers, streams, roads, and trails, anything that is there or was there). I know Wyoming and the states around, I will not try to write about places I do not know. I have traveled to Australia and would love to have a character do that someday.

4. Google Maps – If you write in the present use Google maps, you can go up and down streets in the city of your choice, visit places you have never been. It really is pretty amazing

5. Most westerns are simple adventure or mystery tails and a good adventure/mystery is much better in a great setting.

6. Characters need to be real breathing people not cardboard cutouts to the reader.

7.  Tell a great story – write it as good as you can

8. Edit – Edit - Edit