I finally finished my latest genre specific novel, and have put together an outstanding query letter, and will be sending that out to potential publishers and agents over the next few weeks (Be Prepared, Oh Mighty Agents and Publishers). It’s called “Blood of Many Nations” and my lead man should have been working in the 1930s as a hardboiled private dick, but is trapped in the 21st Century where he has to deal with such things as the Miranda rule, civil rights, and compassionate judges that re-write the constitution. He doesn’t do well in these things, but he does solve the cases, and in his opinion, and his opinion is the only one that counts, that is the his sole job. I named him Simon Sol Dorsey, and along with the novel, I have five Dorsey short stories that I am working to get published.
We don’t have the pleasure of the old pulp detective and mystery magazines anymore, and the market is very limited. Mystery and Western novels sell well, but there is a very limited market today for Mystery and Western short stories. I’ve been very lucky to get my western short stories published, in book form by Bottom of the Hill Publishing, and in story form in Imitation Fruit and Rope and Wire, Internet magazines.
One of the stories in Rope and Wire featured a U.S. Marshal by the name of Jacob Chance that I called “Four Corners.” It has been well received and my next big project is to create a Jacob Chance novel. These projects pretty much keep me off the streets and out of saloons --- hey, maybe that isn’t the best thing here …
It took almost three years to write “Blood of Many Nations”, my little gem (those are my words), and I hope some day soon you will have a chance to get down to Sundance Books and buy a copy or nine.
In other news around the J-P Ranchette, we had a coyote visit the other morning. Found him eyeing the chicken yard when I went out to feed. I yelled at him, chased him off, threw a harmless rock at him, because that’s about all you can do. Too many people around here, so I couldn’t shoot him. Sure would have made a fine cape for my Mountain Man expeditions regalia. With the rabbits and chickens we have, it’s amazing that we don’t have more of these little varmints running around.
Chickens, goat, and horses really don’t like this very hot weather we’ve been having. Reminds me, I sent a photo off to a farm journal recently that shows my big Poco Rojo standing in the middle of a blizzard, covered in snow, with his warm, dry, open stall twenty feet behind him. The caption reads, “You can lead a horse to water, but you sure as hell can’t make him drink.” Haven’t heard back from the editor on that one yet.
That’s abut it for this time. Have a great day, read good books, and stay regular.
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