tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89706791452996264782024-03-17T21:03:55.479-06:00writer Rod MillerWriter Rod Miller's musings and commentary on writing and reading about cowboys and the American West, Western novels and short stories, poetry and music, history and nonfiction, magazines and art.
writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-26346692226885892652024-03-12T11:48:00.002-06:002024-03-12T12:27:43.492-06:00Luck of the draw.<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif">In my
youth I could draw a little and for years harbored dreams of becoming a
commercial artist. But I lacked the patience required to be good at it.
However, I would still draw sketchy cartoons and other drawings on occasion and
that came in handy at times. As you might imagine, cowboys were most often the
subjects of my scribbles. I have included a few examples tucked away from my
college days.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22fXSCd6GkQpDPdAzRZNq1TZrsWPZIWHFenre_Gzy_uZyMkF5XFjk8nqDatrDPznU3733ctUd9Co7UVXTkzf6y3GZ9mPy5jCzFMYFMzadWhnKoOCoiPkFidrSZbUtbuB35YA33v_Ju7OgEtWHlHVZ1wrVK13uq7BkBfCFBYUSBd-o38pf0wo0_VEMGubz/s823/USU1.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="411" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22fXSCd6GkQpDPdAzRZNq1TZrsWPZIWHFenre_Gzy_uZyMkF5XFjk8nqDatrDPznU3733ctUd9Co7UVXTkzf6y3GZ9mPy5jCzFMYFMzadWhnKoOCoiPkFidrSZbUtbuB35YA33v_Ju7OgEtWHlHVZ1wrVK13uq7BkBfCFBYUSBd-o38pf0wo0_VEMGubz/s320/USU1.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TMaiS2rWBSogHhjlyZNsMXGGyCuSbpZI0AA5FEAySTKdmnFjeBp71UUG4lRMFxewdui6PlLX5aXSB0Op78gF5eNbOBn8EI-pfnXOWUqWnwiv2ZQ7ui_0zyOZyjppsXe72PNvblHCm29-rCMdaZOq_60VhcofUdEttrl5RyebjyViA4NMbAJ6mJEVPMdB/s836/USU2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="393" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TMaiS2rWBSogHhjlyZNsMXGGyCuSbpZI0AA5FEAySTKdmnFjeBp71UUG4lRMFxewdui6PlLX5aXSB0Op78gF5eNbOBn8EI-pfnXOWUqWnwiv2ZQ7ui_0zyOZyjppsXe72PNvblHCm29-rCMdaZOq_60VhcofUdEttrl5RyebjyViA4NMbAJ6mJEVPMdB/s320/USU2.jpg" width="150" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;">First is a
small-space teaser ad for an upcoming Utah State University rodeo, and a later
ad for the same. (Those two are from photocopies using ancient 1970s technology
so are rougher than the originals.)</span></div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCHxVjpYlaYNquQHOxUptEvYDUm6AIL4X9c0CJhTRe55r52NjXHF-CuQXJi5ATbEVnmDGJnPC-_XIR-XXa3XQN2q9r-zUpvRAZzCgduSNgIQfVf-oeArlicrMDsValMVNVeRIP9HzCWvdwpg9sOnBlUaDcu6qO_0gx_8ullLGjSj5I-Jgh8JDaQOjxhhs_/s1814/WSC.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1814" data-original-width="1213" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCHxVjpYlaYNquQHOxUptEvYDUm6AIL4X9c0CJhTRe55r52NjXHF-CuQXJi5ATbEVnmDGJnPC-_XIR-XXa3XQN2q9r-zUpvRAZzCgduSNgIQfVf-oeArlicrMDsValMVNVeRIP9HzCWvdwpg9sOnBlUaDcu6qO_0gx_8ullLGjSj5I-Jgh8JDaQOjxhhs_/s320/WSC.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEH4Cqc7S7zo_Q3WZXQxOT-FIrP2L_NaubKnpMfk9LYaaG7AY5dpFjxUbcSZXjD85ZNpD8JCgRte5s-gMijQjAplqaCX6aM3O7Gk-9oF3D0RBl44ceBiGPw1y9yYm7CVni9lo-paQLt4p0rwjACMkYarm_EvPf2VCnMXKibRjyGWWsjZor-DXvJF8Cj-Y/s2155/BYU.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2155" data-original-width="1684" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEH4Cqc7S7zo_Q3WZXQxOT-FIrP2L_NaubKnpMfk9LYaaG7AY5dpFjxUbcSZXjD85ZNpD8JCgRte5s-gMijQjAplqaCX6aM3O7Gk-9oF3D0RBl44ceBiGPw1y9yYm7CVni9lo-paQLt4p0rwjACMkYarm_EvPf2VCnMXKibRjyGWWsjZor-DXvJF8Cj-Y/s320/BYU.jpg" width="250" /></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif">The
reasons escape me, but the Weber State College and Brigham Young University
rodeo teams asked my assistance, and I made a cover for the WSC rodeo program
and a handbill for the BYU rodeo.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The
signature on the illustrations reads “Mini” which is another story. When I
showed up at USU way back then I was considerably smaller than I am now, and
one of the Rounders there—Marlow Carrol, if memory serves—dubbed me the “Mini
Cowboy” so “Mini” was how I was known for several years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif">I
eventually outgrew the appellation in more ways than one. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-89584268743727264452024-02-28T07:16:00.001-07:002024-02-28T07:16:17.172-07:00Time.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zB7FsHWd6hXs39IoX8OlzwtIdRE6WG1nNE0IfNEyammT1mgeS6YGQCKn8IVwUofaxD9h7J9fxtFYGMHky2y6Fl9U28QtMxK6UbzMaJBDhC_4A7f2YdDfcTON1Ok7SuTqf1SU-IlNG7xUrZiWS96YEfenbLnmgC-CX7Rn-7_lVgTtVvncjTCNyXwVRNVg/s398/many%20clocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="398" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zB7FsHWd6hXs39IoX8OlzwtIdRE6WG1nNE0IfNEyammT1mgeS6YGQCKn8IVwUofaxD9h7J9fxtFYGMHky2y6Fl9U28QtMxK6UbzMaJBDhC_4A7f2YdDfcTON1Ok7SuTqf1SU-IlNG7xUrZiWS96YEfenbLnmgC-CX7Rn-7_lVgTtVvncjTCNyXwVRNVg/s320/many%20clocks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">This is a
leap year. Leap years come around every four years to keep our calendar more or
less harnessed to the sun in its travels. February, being the shortest month on
the calendar, gets the advantage of leap year with the addition of an extra
day. Tomorrow is that day—February 29.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">I often
hear people say they don’t have time. That there aren’t enough hours in a day
or days in a week or weeks in a month…and so on, to do something they want to
do.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">Well, if
you’re one of those people, you’re in luck.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">Tomorrow
is an extra day. A day added to your calendar to give you 24 free hours to do
whatever it is you haven’t had time for. A whole day. An entire day tailor made
for reading that book. Or writing that story. Or that poem. Or whatever has
been nagging at you, but which somehow always falls victim to the lack of time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">The time
is now. Get ready to get up in the morning and get it done.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">At least
get it started, and don’t worry if you don’t get it done. There’s another
tomorrow, another 24 hours, waiting. The truth is, you’ve got all the time
there is. And you won’t be getting any more of it—at least until the next leap
year, in 2028. Don’t wait. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-43835473814213435942024-02-14T13:09:00.002-07:002024-02-14T13:09:31.293-07:00OUTLAWMAN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbrJOeOX7WJbLBDExdtbfPtmX4tMlAcLYs34rEUxPLKfOAYU8tNjnFKPuI9S9_R076U6UVaHYjc2FsQtkqqUCY2od9tqnouw0SWqwwE8XrUlr3bySK9ZQTC5SNF2GO0hrnMPyafb5dKfFaTxNVW7RteAs13WqmGKmZS2aQJMDNYr8lOSCW804TvClo2UG/s2700/OUTLAWMAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbrJOeOX7WJbLBDExdtbfPtmX4tMlAcLYs34rEUxPLKfOAYU8tNjnFKPuI9S9_R076U6UVaHYjc2FsQtkqqUCY2od9tqnouw0SWqwwE8XrUlr3bySK9ZQTC5SNF2GO0hrnMPyafb5dKfFaTxNVW7RteAs13WqmGKmZS2aQJMDNYr8lOSCW804TvClo2UG/w213-h320/OUTLAWMAN.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;"><br />The
history of the Old West is rife with notorious outlaws. Likewise, famous lawmen.
But there were a few who, at one time or another, wore both hats, black and
white. One such was a Utah cowboy born Erastus Christiansen (with various spellings)
but known in his day and in history as Matt Warner.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">Warner set
out on the outlaw trail at an early age. He rustled cattle, stole horses, and
graduated to robbing banks and other crimes. He was schooled in the dark arts
by his brother-in-law Tom McCarty, and the two of them served as mentors of a
sort to the notorious bandit who would become Butch Cassidy. Warner was, in a
word, an outlaw.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">But, later
in life, Warner switched his black hat for a white hat and served as a justice
of the peace and deputy sheriff for several years. In other words, a lawman.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">Put those
words together and you have a perfect description of Warner: OUTLAWMAN.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">His story
is told, in fictional form, in OUTLAWMAN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MATT WARNER,
coming soon in </span><a href="https://speakingvolumes.mybigcommerce.com/outlawman-by-rod-miller-print/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">paperback</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="https://speakingvolumes.mybigcommerce.com/outlawman-by-rod-miller-ebook/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">eBook</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;"> from Speaking Volumes. The tale is based
largely on Warner’s own chronicle of his life as spelled out in <i>The Last of
the Bandit Riders</i>, as well as other sources, and told in a unique and
surprising way.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;">OUTLAWMAN.
Coming soon. Watch for it.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif;"><br /></span></p></div>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-28540910025988187742024-01-23T11:27:00.000-07:002024-01-23T11:27:01.442-07:00Speed of sound.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidV9JcaYLLgJklLmtqP5IbZ68qe_9LeI2FrwVOWohTzKf1x26SsQ6pBa2VUgUo0_by1rnALGweAz9tQWEdxmjoPacxRhZq4uxfgIdtitH5gl0mqd97u57v_huEN3JTT8yadkb_H_SxFzXcXEZ3hntJFrv1QGCy7mf6u3F29hbBNPf0bYX-8QKjbBv1ELM0/s230/bang.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="213" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidV9JcaYLLgJklLmtqP5IbZ68qe_9LeI2FrwVOWohTzKf1x26SsQ6pBa2VUgUo0_by1rnALGweAz9tQWEdxmjoPacxRhZq4uxfgIdtitH5gl0mqd97u57v_huEN3JTT8yadkb_H_SxFzXcXEZ3hntJFrv1QGCy7mf6u3F29hbBNPf0bYX-8QKjbBv1ELM0/w185-h200/bang.png" width="185" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A
writer friend and I were talking a while back. He mentioned a book he had read
in which a character under fire heard a bullet strike a tree, then heard the
report of the rifle. My friend suggested this was unlikely, as the speed of sound
is much greater than that of the bullets of the era—the Old West.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I
disagreed, and we left it at that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">However,
curiosity got the best of me, so I thought I’d do what they tell you to do on
Sesame Street: “Look it up.” It took a few hours and lots of mouse clicks to
reach a number of relevant web sites. Here’s what I learned about the speed of
sound and the velocity of bullets fired from a few rifles in common use at the
time in question.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sound
travels through the air at 1,125 feet per second. That varies somewhat,
affected by temperature, humidity, and wind. And, of course, sound waves
dissipate and the noise fades with distance. The velocity of bullets varies as
well, depending on wind and distance, and the bullet loses speed the farther it
travels.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But,
all things being equal, a bullet fired from a .52 caliber Spencer repeating
rifle would lose the race, lumbering along at a paltry 931 to 1,033 feet per
second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
race with a .44 caliber round from a Henry rifle would be a dead heat, the
bullet leaving the barrel at 1,125 feet per second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A
bullet from a Winchester .44-40 Golden Boy outruns sound at 1,433 feet per
second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
old-time Hawken rifle, .50 caliber model, spit out lead at 1,600 feet per
second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Winning
it all is the Sharps .50 caliber, which, depending on grains of powder in the
cartridge, fires bullets that fly 1,448 to 1,814 feet per second.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">None
of which matters. But how else is an old man with no gainful employment
supposed to spend his time?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-42744007197599860922023-12-29T10:01:00.004-07:002023-12-29T10:01:49.914-07:00Still Sinning. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2j_x7PU8DslIMVLifnEm40fqHKuCZje3hjKYMsrBDht0xJevWfhjQjjaD1Iv9Hd_UPwafBTs-jl4Hy2N8FLq5BMZbqrYphXtb7mrHeqiE817p4-xqlL7cPm2qpXXfqgftuQzRk-PkhgdR-yUnzojq5jH4v9gq9ubtqlj71lnXKqi6N58ARNSs3IsmXISo/s2780/All%20My%20Sins%20Remembered%20-%203D%20%20Promo%20Material.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1840" data-original-width="2780" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2j_x7PU8DslIMVLifnEm40fqHKuCZje3hjKYMsrBDht0xJevWfhjQjjaD1Iv9Hd_UPwafBTs-jl4Hy2N8FLq5BMZbqrYphXtb7mrHeqiE817p4-xqlL7cPm2qpXXfqgftuQzRk-PkhgdR-yUnzojq5jH4v9gq9ubtqlj71lnXKqi6N58ARNSs3IsmXISo/w295-h202/All%20My%20Sins%20Remembered%20-%203D%20%20Promo%20Material.png" width="295" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">All My Sins Remembered</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> is now available in paperback and eBook, as well as the original
hardcover edition. I have wrenched my elbow patting myself on the back about
this book, so this time I will leave that to others.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“A riveting tale of human weakness which explores the nature of
evil and its presence in and among us.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <i>True West</i> magazine</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<i>All My Sins Remembered</i> is destined to join the ranks of
the frontier classic.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Loren D. Estleman, Western Writers Hall of Fame author</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“A brutal, beautifully rendered masterpiece, guaranteed to stay
with you long after the last page is turned.” </span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Michael
Zimmer, Winner of the Western Heritage Wrangler Award</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“The action is swift, the Western scene spare and tense, the whole
a haunting tale of good and evil. This is superb Western fiction.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Charles E.
Rankin, Retired Associate Director/Editor in Chief, University of Oklahoma
Press</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<i>All My Sins Remembered</i> is hypnotic and poetic and vivid.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Marc
Cameron, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<i>All My Sins Remembered</i> is a unique, original novel with a
wealth of period and milieu detail.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> John D. Nesbitt, Spur Award-winning novelist</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>eBook:<br /></b></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ3ZYR96"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon US</span></a><br /><a href="http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6473841334"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Apple Books</span></a><br /><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-my-sins-remembered-rod-miller/1140054417?ean=2940185892909" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Barnes
& Noble</a><br /><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about?id=funnEAAAQBAJ"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Google Play</span></a><br /><a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/all-my-sins-remembered-10"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kobo Books</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Paperback:<br /></b></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNYDTMXW"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon US</span></a><br /><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-my-sins-remembered-rod-miller/1140054417?ean=9798890220301"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Barnes &
Noble</span></a><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Hardcover:<br /></b></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sins-Remembered-Five-Star-Western/dp/1432887289/ref=monarch_sidesheet"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon</span></a></p></div>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-18080646288274042602023-12-03T14:48:00.001-07:002023-12-03T14:48:50.628-07:00Stupid words redux.<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLWopSYrCIz1yXhzpqmpYF0zOawd8kGO5UKWs9pR-I0Sz3RFhxC-cEjck9d6Sb3EZIsP3Jodum0IU85D2VGMfct-unW5HVMCna1sVtVoqxDhRYfkS7L9MyP1n_-v2dq4BRw9M740Y1bnZH-UvLu6kwyGR7E-1SMOeOwi5vN7hnx_X-aYbQfaIpe6Rt3kl/s300/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="300" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLWopSYrCIz1yXhzpqmpYF0zOawd8kGO5UKWs9pR-I0Sz3RFhxC-cEjck9d6Sb3EZIsP3Jodum0IU85D2VGMfct-unW5HVMCna1sVtVoqxDhRYfkS7L9MyP1n_-v2dq4BRw9M740Y1bnZH-UvLu6kwyGR7E-1SMOeOwi5vN7hnx_X-aYbQfaIpe6Rt3kl/w200-h120/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After
my latest rant on abuse of our shared language, a friend suggested I did not
like to see language evolve. But it happens. It’s something that can’t be
helped. Most of the time it doesn’t matter. Sometimes it’s an improvement.
Sometimes it’s not.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">But
I can sleep at night knowing that many—at least some—of the stupid words I rant
about will end up on the trash heap of speech, discarded as the useless, even
noxious, locutions they are.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Using
only words extant during my lifetime, I offer some examples of this
self-correction.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Time
was, people who were “cool” (a word that was silly then and still is, but has demonstrated
staying power) were ofttimes referred to as “cats.” If they were really cool,
they were “hep” cats. No more. In the same vein, “groovy” has pretty much
disappeared. And when was the last time you heard something cool referred to as
“far out” or “bitchin’?” “Fab” had its day, which has long since passed. And we
no longer say we “dig” things that are cool. An event or incident that was the
opposite of cool was often called a “bummer.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Clothes
were once “threads” but now they are not. No longer are women “chicks” or “dames.”
I haven’t heard police referred to as “fuzz” lately. And we have moved beyond
all the silly CB radio-inspired lingo too expansive to chronicle here. To that
I can only say, “10-4 good buddy. See you on the flip side. Keep your ears on.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-87889164436062133672023-11-14T13:04:00.002-07:002023-11-14T13:05:17.055-07:00Good Books.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsLx1oT2OSmnHdHqBN3Y_NeM5WBiQRajO82SrzDns5Du6PM4MRZpQKyxgO5Gu22SFQXM7pnOCioYV8bRiazPoUocnpYS4GV8N6u5W4zopyBxFbmMxxBKfCE5bK9nn5nBh9_dBrCtKimpycgFhAHDmG3OkP9P0X26rY29t8dGnaFWw4ik0D8cqwu-XqJOZ/s1522/top3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1522" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsLx1oT2OSmnHdHqBN3Y_NeM5WBiQRajO82SrzDns5Du6PM4MRZpQKyxgO5Gu22SFQXM7pnOCioYV8bRiazPoUocnpYS4GV8N6u5W4zopyBxFbmMxxBKfCE5bK9nn5nBh9_dBrCtKimpycgFhAHDmG3OkP9P0X26rY29t8dGnaFWw4ik0D8cqwu-XqJOZ/s320/top3.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Read
any good books lately? Along with numerous other writers, I was asked by the
Shepherd.com web site to list the three best books I read in the past year. Not
necessarily books that were new in the past year, but books read during that period.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For
almost 40 years (don’t ask me why) I have kept a list of the books I read. So, finding
my three favorites for the year took nothing more than paging back 12 months
and going through the list to see which titles jumped out at me. Some surprised
me, to be honest. Others almost topped the ones I chose, but not quite. Still,
it was not an easy decision. Maybe, on a different day, my choices would be
different.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You
can see my list here: </span><a href="https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/rod-miller" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/rod-miller</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And
don’t hesitate to wander around the <a href="https://shepherd.com/">Shepherd.com</a>
web site for other lists by other writers on other subjects. (Somewhere on
there is my list of five Western novels about cowboys who really are cowboys,
rather than the usual fare of outlaws, lawmen, gamblers, and the like.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-59911381324874022242023-10-12T10:44:00.001-06:002023-10-12T10:44:50.209-06:00Really Stupid Words, Chapter 22.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sVB3nUPXb5WyypTcQ81Iq_as-nNj8nLZpXBQKnP_VTalYOVM-KtZvJap95N1GowMKbS66OwZNbPKo6PpjkOpL-NwdHdRC3-eiuEwlm5MVbwl9bs85CQyKALeazBKsu0g-yNJSQ0G1d_-39zkasysGTRebH37e7N-8indRAHUPF94mVm-6GqwuWXxmkFx/s300/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="300" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sVB3nUPXb5WyypTcQ81Iq_as-nNj8nLZpXBQKnP_VTalYOVM-KtZvJap95N1GowMKbS66OwZNbPKo6PpjkOpL-NwdHdRC3-eiuEwlm5MVbwl9bs85CQyKALeazBKsu0g-yNJSQ0G1d_-39zkasysGTRebH37e7N-8indRAHUPF94mVm-6GqwuWXxmkFx/w200-h120/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You
hear a lot about “hacks” nowadays.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not,
in this case, “hack” as a means to cut or sever or chop with repeated irregular
or unskillful blows, as most dictionaries define the word’s original and primary
meaning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nor
does it conform to another longstanding sense of being unable to deal with a given
situation successfully, as in “he can’t hack it,” or “he’s a hack writer,” both
of which can be seen to have evolved from the original meaning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nor
is the current usage related to the meaning of the word that came along with
the rise of computer networks and the internet, where people “hack” into computer
systems where they have no business being, whether for fun or to do damage—chopping
their way in, so to speak.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">No.
The current buzzwordy use of hack has to do with something altogether
different, and I am not sure how or why it applies. You hear a lot these days about
this “hack” or that “hack” that seems (apparently) to be a shortcut or
something of the sort. Just lately, I have been advised of “hacks” for life, fishing,
parenting, productivity, health, housekeeping, heating and cooling, cooking, cleaning,
clothing, crafts, decluttering, organization, school, math, travel, and on and
on and on…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On
a side note, “hack” seems to be popular with the same people who are fond of “side
hustle” (which sounds to me like being up to something no good) and “the gig
economy.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
cannot fathom the word “hack” in this most recent—but already clichéd—usage. I
guess I wish there were a “hack” for understanding stupid words. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-74251058684312063552023-09-10T16:38:00.000-06:002023-09-10T16:38:46.648-06:00On the air in Ireland.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF9ruS2bBJQmJh4-UoovUI3sq1anOUgRP8Rnq5Flnf7g0_pO1vrTV6AcZu_a98AQ7d2so2zJo5CxTw-O3-G8VOxFXePYbAjnqGkS_OnTeZQC39o_LiIZa5MelbR8ofQ1nYWFfR2P5ZTP_72YQUBCZtBEMh0EClwAcYxzjzvaDrbSoNF1_DShpEU5Q-fRA/s841/connor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="641" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF9ruS2bBJQmJh4-UoovUI3sq1anOUgRP8Rnq5Flnf7g0_pO1vrTV6AcZu_a98AQ7d2so2zJo5CxTw-O3-G8VOxFXePYbAjnqGkS_OnTeZQC39o_LiIZa5MelbR8ofQ1nYWFfR2P5ZTP_72YQUBCZtBEMh0EClwAcYxzjzvaDrbSoNF1_DShpEU5Q-fRA/w153-h200/connor.png" width="153" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">This
story starts a few years ago but got derailed when Covid shut the world off for
a time. A radio producer from Ireland contacted me to say he lived and worked
in County Kerry, homeland of Patrick Edward Connor. Connor was the army
commander behind the Massacre at Bear River (promoted from colonel to brigadier
general following the atrocity), the Father of Utah Mining, and was involved in
other military and business pursuits here in the West.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
man from Radio Kerry, Jerry O’Sullivan, wanted to create a radio documentary
about Connor, was coming to Utah, and wondered if he could interview me. Then
came Covid.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But
all things must pass, and early this summer he contacted me to say he was on
his way. We spent some time at the remnants of Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City,
including a spell at Connor’s gravesite in the cemetery there to record the
interview. O’Sullivan interviewed other people here, then went back to Ireland
to put the program together. It aired on Radio Kerry in early August, and </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/57T37XxHcdkdqV62eeLen9"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Glory
Hunter”</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
is now available on Spotify. (Just click on </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/57T37XxHcdkdqV62eeLen9"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Glory
Hunter”</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
and you’ll go there.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">O’Sullivan
also wrote a commentary on Connor, the connections between Ireland and the USA,
and the way we remember history. That article appeared recently in the </span><a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2023/08/25/jerry-osullivan-what-bear-river/"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Salt Lake Tribune</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. (Again, a
click should get you there.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Connor
was an interesting man of many accomplishments—not all of them laudable. It
will be worth your time to </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/57T37XxHcdkdqV62eeLen9"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">hear</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—and </span><a href="https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2023/08/25/jerry-osullivan-what-bear-river/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">read</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—what Jerry
O’Sullivan has to say about him.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-60640205922164196522023-08-22T09:57:00.001-06:002023-08-22T09:57:07.746-06:00See page 26.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUE1tZ9qmWv2H35ZDxPIkDQyC5pDWZ_59UzYT-YZPFPdIdBMIAzkZcFsA4IAaV-u-FWeYFIu5ysTe5AwAShQvryAzD6y-P6IC2nH-WQheDQE99xZ44pGLje1yyFD4ps-yJs5fM7BXadOPTmdmhMFZCNRtLJzON-zvKm5nbW8GK9G0o5813vo1oDOXRDTY_/s2215/roundup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2215" data-original-width="1679" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUE1tZ9qmWv2H35ZDxPIkDQyC5pDWZ_59UzYT-YZPFPdIdBMIAzkZcFsA4IAaV-u-FWeYFIu5ysTe5AwAShQvryAzD6y-P6IC2nH-WQheDQE99xZ44pGLje1yyFD4ps-yJs5fM7BXadOPTmdmhMFZCNRtLJzON-zvKm5nbW8GK9G0o5813vo1oDOXRDTY_/w243-h320/roundup.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The
August 2023 issue of <i>Roundup Magazine</i>, official publication of Western
Writers of America, focuses on the theme “Writing the Traditional Western
Novel” in a series of articles. One story, by Western Writers Hall of Fame
author </span><a href="http://www.lorenestleman.com/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Loren D. Estleman</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, offers a
departure to talk about Western novels that stray from the herd in search of
something more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Estleman
writes in “Westerns: Beyond Tradition”: “The difference between the
‘traditional’ Western and literature that resonates through the decades is the
sense that these stories are not confined to the page. The characters seem to
have a life outside the story. Men and women live and die, often violently; but
they don’t exist merely to thrill. While they live, other lives are affected,
and when they die, others are left to mourn, or at least ask why. That simple premise
is what separates the enduring classic from empty tradition.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Offered
as examples are <i>The Virginian</i> by Owen Wister (of which, Estleman says, “Nearly
all the tropes we associate with the Western were invented by one writer in one
book”), <i>Shane</i> by Jack Schafer, <i>True Grit</i> by Charles Portis, the
novella “A Man Called Horse” by Dorothy M. Johnson, <i>Ride the Wind</i> by Lucia
St. Clair Robson, and <i>All My Sins Remembered</i> by Rod Miller.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What?
If that last bit surprises you, imagine my surprise when I saw it. About the
book, Estleman writes, among other things, “Miller tells his story with a
minimum of emotion and just the right amount of pathos, masterfully expressed
between the lines of his spare prose. A 2022 release, <i>All My Sins Remembered</i>
is a late addition to the long string of Western classics and promises that
it’s nowhere near its end.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">By
happenstance, when the article appeared I had just started proofreading the
galleys for the pending paperback and eBook editions of <i>All My Sins
Remembered</i>, due out within the next couple of months. The </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sins-Remembered-Five-Star-Western/dp/1432887289/ref=sr_1_6?crid=56QU1821J6ZL&keywords=all+my+sins+remembered&qid=1692648276&sprefix=all+my+sins+remembered%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-6"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">hardcover
edition</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
is still out there and will be, I hope, for a long, long time.</span></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-38673020495991241972023-07-21T12:56:00.001-06:002023-07-21T12:56:36.911-06:00Nothing to say. <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRvWrbGzY5idUVGfiHV6tHqFwm4xBXR9yOL26NZtwTsVQc0KjVrhr7-9-qpJmBgzd6Ovd8v1DrV6KrihgHQNyUftJ9uB0bkI_uaYqeiUerQjGL4tx8VJy-4XZ8Z6cQtuYDr8-jNy96Mrah4f1-B_ABOaW5mTdQbiEvyiXHdpydNE9BQ64Gu51WV5m1koX/s2184/WF22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1670" data-original-width="2184" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRvWrbGzY5idUVGfiHV6tHqFwm4xBXR9yOL26NZtwTsVQc0KjVrhr7-9-qpJmBgzd6Ovd8v1DrV6KrihgHQNyUftJ9uB0bkI_uaYqeiUerQjGL4tx8VJy-4XZ8Z6cQtuYDr8-jNy96Mrah4f1-B_ABOaW5mTdQbiEvyiXHdpydNE9BQ64Gu51WV5m1koX/w400-h306/WF22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-39846088636431168702023-07-03T16:48:00.000-06:002023-07-03T16:50:38.699-06:00Coming Attraction.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-dHlEyjXIn-0aK5veeJbexi0oO7DmKFbTmZpuMOfM40lMZaU0LpMxhFA9BImbHuRzDUnLkVRQ9UhdsXMX8gxGRvt7yE6ciKn6sw5AzrnbwWHRD301k4VBqg7PmfGvluKGBQzrvy6AAMJ-G-0NFMitEDZzybEboeldCEmCZOWHG5Iva-tO2koSwA0zKT3/s2700/A%20Thousand%20Dead%20Horses-paperback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-dHlEyjXIn-0aK5veeJbexi0oO7DmKFbTmZpuMOfM40lMZaU0LpMxhFA9BImbHuRzDUnLkVRQ9UhdsXMX8gxGRvt7yE6ciKn6sw5AzrnbwWHRD301k4VBqg7PmfGvluKGBQzrvy6AAMJ-G-0NFMitEDZzybEboeldCEmCZOWHG5Iva-tO2koSwA0zKT3/s320/A%20Thousand%20Dead%20Horses-paperback.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />How
does a young man who fled Missouri fearing a murder charge make a new life in
the West? How does a mountain man make a living when the fur trade dries up?
How does a Ute boy on the verge of manhood prove his worth? How does a lovesick
California vaquero learn to live in exile?</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="https://speakingvolumes.us/author/rod-miller/"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A Thousand
Dead Horses</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> asks these questions and more as it tells a story drawn from the
history of the Old Spanish Trail. It’s coming soon in paperback and e-book
editions from </span><a href="https://speakingvolumes.us/author/rod-miller/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Speaking
Volumes</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This
novel was a joy to write as I delved deep into history and tried to see it
through the eyes of a variety of characters facing myriad challenges, all built
into the true story of a series of unprecedented and unequaled raids on
California missions and ranchos to steal thousands of horses and mules. It’s a
tough tale, both for the characters and the reader. But, as my friend and
best-selling author </span><a href="https://marccameronbooks.com/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Marc Cameron</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> says, “Fire
embers snap, saddle leather groans—and the richly drawn characters pull you
along with them on their adventure.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Watch
for the release of the paperback and e-book editions of </span><a href="https://speakingvolumes.us/author/rod-miller/"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A Thousand Dead Horses</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. It’s the
novel with the pretty cover shown above.</span></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-77280486725382177302023-06-15T08:13:00.000-06:002023-06-15T08:13:22.481-06:00Some cowboy.<p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3vofVd58B2PFcrJrPGhqyVjOLtthBsKdwsZjx6JVlzTrjOYiJHfkE7UIrJcrOy9Ij8jOQnVWsPhfvy_eLCDoVKX_7EBjEvhY0WTkhTe7WIZGOYVlfdRIzFXNpI-tPBhsFcZ---ubtMKyJnfgEGpkZyWYylpcRSROHVFJKtaKg-foC4uPInaQ3LWi4w/s1515/Evanston%20rodeo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1515" data-original-width="1215" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3vofVd58B2PFcrJrPGhqyVjOLtthBsKdwsZjx6JVlzTrjOYiJHfkE7UIrJcrOy9Ij8jOQnVWsPhfvy_eLCDoVKX_7EBjEvhY0WTkhTe7WIZGOYVlfdRIzFXNpI-tPBhsFcZ---ubtMKyJnfgEGpkZyWYylpcRSROHVFJKtaKg-foC4uPInaQ3LWi4w/w258-h320/Evanston%20rodeo.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /><br /><br />Not long ago, we lost a good friend of mine. <a href="https://www.jamesfain.com/" target="_blank">Jim Fain</a> is gone, but
won’t soon be forgotten. Jim was a photographer of many talents, but specialized
in rodeo action. I’ve got more than a few photos signed by Fain. Hundreds,
thousands, of rodeo cowboys over the past sixty years can say the same thing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The photo above is not typical of his work but, as he always did,
Jim captured the essence of a story.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The year was 1973. It was Labor Day weekend, “Cowboy Days” in
Evanston, Wyoming. Back then the arena had no lights so the rodeo was held
Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The weather turned bad on Saturday—a deluge so heavy
the rodeo committee pulled the plug and re-scheduled for Sunday morning. Then
it rained some more. And snowed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mud, water, ice, and muck covered the arena come morning, but the
show must go on. I was up in the first event, the bareback riding. In the cold,
with icy fingers, and on the back of a frosty, dripping wet horse I did a sorry
job of setting my bareback rigging. When the horse turned back into a spin, my
rigging went over the side and so did I. Then the horse landed on me, stomping
me deeper into the mire. I have other Fain photos that show it all.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jim snapped the shutter on this picture as I waded back to the
bucking chutes. I was soaked, muddy, and cold. My face and eyes were gritty. My
hat was mashed. So was I. All in all, I was a mess. The few fans in the stands
thought it funny. At the time, it didn’t seem funny to me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A misadventure, recorded for all time through Jim Fain’s camera
lens. The sad thing is, this photo is my favorite from the album documenting my
rodeo career. Some cowboy, huh?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-73615206393764363492023-06-01T10:27:00.000-06:002023-06-01T10:27:36.345-06:00My Favorite Book, Part 29<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3lNzLT1qNq0AWrJLh56audQ1-O78k8poGnWP9iObeWRT4VV5NtXmiWFPD4RX384jeUiLxpMxRb0CHCclvudd6HQFDdy8WpZ9i334ROJkkflLrUepNlXHmPPIY5fvhz1OE7CiOwqMZIExyrbzAAB97X1UjjUKOC9faG0hK6lb7VmVSlal2z-SJwGUdTQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1689" data-original-width="1104" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3lNzLT1qNq0AWrJLh56audQ1-O78k8poGnWP9iObeWRT4VV5NtXmiWFPD4RX384jeUiLxpMxRb0CHCclvudd6HQFDdy8WpZ9i334ROJkkflLrUepNlXHmPPIY5fvhz1OE7CiOwqMZIExyrbzAAB97X1UjjUKOC9faG0hK6lb7VmVSlal2z-SJwGUdTQ" width="157" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We citizens of the United States sometimes forget that we do not
own the West. Most everything that counts as cowboy came to us from south of
the border, courtesy of Spanish and Mexican vaqueros. And their influence, always
adapted for regional use, did not stop at the Canadian border. Cowboys are big
in Canada.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was reminded of that fact with this novel, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Smiths-Quarter-Horse-Pierre/dp/0888944314/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NSS2QR4QWIKN&keywords=%22breaking+smith%27s+quarter+horse%22&qid=1685547590&sprefix=brea%2Caps%2C4538&sr=8-1"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Breaking
Smith’s Quarter Horse</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. The book was recommended by my friend </span><a href="https://www.dorisdaley.com/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Doris Daley</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> from Alberta. She is as fine a poet, reciter, and writer as
you’re likely to find anywhere.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Written by Paul St. Pierre, the details of cowboy life in </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Smiths-Quarter-Horse-Pierre/dp/0888944314/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NSS2QR4QWIKN&keywords=%22breaking+smith%27s+quarter+horse%22&qid=1685547590&sprefix=brea%2Caps%2C4538&sr=8-1"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Breaking
Smith’s Quarter Horse</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> will be recognized by anybody who loves and lives the West, but
with a unique north-of-our-border flavor that captures the quirks and customs of
a time and place where the West was wild, the winters cold, and a sense of
humor a necessary tool in coping—the sense of humor (or ‘humour’ as they spell
it in Canada) perhaps most important of all. As you smile through page after
page, and occasionally laugh out loud, you’ll wonder if the Indian cowboy—a
horse whisperer of sorts—will ever find time in his not-so-busy schedule to see
to the breaking of Smith’s quarter horse.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I thank </span><a href="https://www.dorisdaley.com/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Doris Daley</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> for the
recommendation. You will too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-90694698131132147662023-05-15T15:49:00.001-06:002023-05-16T10:19:19.689-06:00Interesting times.<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzJlHT-q7aroRL4nEJuFvkYvOL9NG8t2MCaxy-MYa8daK_oXSCVzWhHQlL1boDVQBVxr_XUGUZQ95TNyI8s2sDOGVoY57I59lfYpzHRGDz3saJbh7XvJ3x4YbfRFfn2KWqEHTxLax9bM-2FcE8nRLhFKLjrNz0wOZyfeqk2-wcDIjryBgYhiU7mB_dw/s1000/qrcode-writer%20Rod%20Miller.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzJlHT-q7aroRL4nEJuFvkYvOL9NG8t2MCaxy-MYa8daK_oXSCVzWhHQlL1boDVQBVxr_XUGUZQ95TNyI8s2sDOGVoY57I59lfYpzHRGDz3saJbh7XvJ3x4YbfRFfn2KWqEHTxLax9bM-2FcE8nRLhFKLjrNz0wOZyfeqk2-wcDIjryBgYhiU7mB_dw/w200-h200/qrcode-writer%20Rod%20Miller.png" width="200" /></a></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is a curse, wrongly attributed to the Chinese, that says,
“May you live in interesting times.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We certainly do.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As most of you probably know, that strange assemblage of little
squares above is a QR Code (QR is shorthand for Quick Response, I’m told). You
see them all over the place in these interesting times. They bear about as much
resemblance to the real world as Rorschach ink blots. Word is, if you point
your smart phone at one, it will link you to some other place online.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As one living in interesting times, and feeling a slight tug at
times to keep up, I got my very own QR Code. It links to my web site, </span><a href="http://www.writerrodmiller.com/"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">writerRodMiller.com</span></a><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. I had to borrow my wife’s smart phone (because I don’t own one) to
test it. It works. I was amazed and surprised at the success of my first-ever
experience with a QR Code.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Try it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">P.S. The hero of four of my novels, </span><a href="http://www.rawhiderobinson.com/"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rawhide Robinson</span></a><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, was jealous and wanted a QR Code of his own. So, I got him one.
Try it, too. Here it is: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntNVknJEYbaXoUl3UWtANJx80escON9f7Gat5fbV-XPYQvLIi7pQHS6BGYR6_KfU63xbt6w_aAfBTuBoT-FlcmnZjN5sjCVzBBTu8YmOJ-mzYImETcp_0dAvgQqNs57HejyK2H83-ZwlAxo_2GZCpleEdM_byTGsWin2NntZTG2HDIbuY033xCeUahg/s1000/qrcode-Rawhide%20Robinson.png" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-indent: 0in;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntNVknJEYbaXoUl3UWtANJx80escON9f7Gat5fbV-XPYQvLIi7pQHS6BGYR6_KfU63xbt6w_aAfBTuBoT-FlcmnZjN5sjCVzBBTu8YmOJ-mzYImETcp_0dAvgQqNs57HejyK2H83-ZwlAxo_2GZCpleEdM_byTGsWin2NntZTG2HDIbuY033xCeUahg/w200-h200/qrcode-Rawhide%20Robinson.png" width="200" /></a><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><br /><br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p>P.P.S. </o:p></span><i style="text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1432887289/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i23" target="_blank">All My Sins Remembered</a></i><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> was just named a finalist for the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award for Best Novel of 2022!</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJ29wxrzUiNA0XeIm1eMzSHNQGjZRt5-JAU2r2EbRevrWAJnfIaOSpjfyyjolEwfStoIyTWA8eQUQG6Cfx4ij1Mm2dducTTxFJtcjcT9SRdblscTDDlNM4Z6z2VsiIomKjG7EPlgdvUKV2Wkw6XSNOlpXwcXpgtN5musG-9yD5l8gYtmeKbwQdzozGQ/s2550/All%20My%20Sins%20Remembered%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="1650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJ29wxrzUiNA0XeIm1eMzSHNQGjZRt5-JAU2r2EbRevrWAJnfIaOSpjfyyjolEwfStoIyTWA8eQUQG6Cfx4ij1Mm2dducTTxFJtcjcT9SRdblscTDDlNM4Z6z2VsiIomKjG7EPlgdvUKV2Wkw6XSNOlpXwcXpgtN5musG-9yD5l8gYtmeKbwQdzozGQ/s320/All%20My%20Sins%20Remembered%20.jpg" width="207" /></a></span></div><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /> </span><p></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-38527812755199957682023-04-24T08:57:00.000-06:002023-04-24T08:57:17.955-06:00Silver Screen Cowboys I have loved.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hupPQWwl4-k53eNTyjnuckMukCUBuaPRh3o8zK7F_Ku7ZIuMsuAUPwBDhNYlHi03w-ugziL1WCnkvgpqqaEQdXkOaNQivF4pKjVMxyEoyFx5lt_NeTaGbiS1M7P37dPKcWVxOaQicPEgVpPb_6EN1NsSu8y8GDNOepun0nDmqWIbV51pEiN9exEAYA/s432/movie%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="432" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hupPQWwl4-k53eNTyjnuckMukCUBuaPRh3o8zK7F_Ku7ZIuMsuAUPwBDhNYlHi03w-ugziL1WCnkvgpqqaEQdXkOaNQivF4pKjVMxyEoyFx5lt_NeTaGbiS1M7P37dPKcWVxOaQicPEgVpPb_6EN1NsSu8y8GDNOepun0nDmqWIbV51pEiN9exEAYA/s320/movie%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Movies and television programs are very much a matter of opinion.
What some like, others despise. The same holds true for actors. Portrayals of
cowboys on the big (and small) screen range from authentic to absurd, and the
actors assigned those roles come off as believable or bogus, and sometimes
downright laughable.</span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like most movie fans, I have my favorites. I lean toward actors
who are absorbed into the role, rather than movie stars who are essentially
playing themselves in cowboy costumes. Here are some of my favorites, in no
particular order. (Not included are many, many fine players who appear mostly
in supporting roles or small parts.) I’m sure some—most—of you will disagree
with my choices. Others will wonder about those left out. That’s fine. You can
make your own list.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Robert Duvall. Tommy Lee Jones. Ben Johnson. Clint Eastwood. Tom
Selleck. Paul Newman. Henry Fonda. Robert Redford. Thomas Hayden Church. Ed
Harris. Jeff Bridges. Alan Ladd. Sam Elliott.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And, finally, Latigo Brown.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Latigo Brown?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Excuse the crass commercialism, but Latigo Brown is the hero of my
latest novel, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1645406628"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Silver Screen
Cowboy</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.
Like me, Latigo Brown is often uncomfortable, sometimes downright dismissive,
of the unrealistic ways cowboys are portrayed on screen. Despite his surprising
path from ranch and rodeo cowboy to movie star back in the golden days of
Westerns and the remuneration and renown that come with it, some of the things
he is asked to do on screen chafe like a bur under a saddle blanket.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Give </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1645406628"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Silver Screen
Cowboy</span></i></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">a read. Could be that Latigo Brown will make it onto your list of
favorite silver screen cowboys. Even if you’ve only seen him in your mind.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVtyIz7OyIh38bJnPifGbR5CUVhNlMSeamtMKcs-lvRWAMDBKlNyjWdwQv5falKRh968TF5EHNLQXqOi8tZtBG8cGSYDBhirYQNQWOXvaXMtkmkCeW3qCY7PHql3KDio9YYrVbfZf4m9iFWiCTwvN3_fktiuc0R7RtInDP1sz0TDeBwDIRYzOVH9wtg/s2700/Silver%20Screen%20Cowboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVtyIz7OyIh38bJnPifGbR5CUVhNlMSeamtMKcs-lvRWAMDBKlNyjWdwQv5falKRh968TF5EHNLQXqOi8tZtBG8cGSYDBhirYQNQWOXvaXMtkmkCeW3qCY7PHql3KDio9YYrVbfZf4m9iFWiCTwvN3_fktiuc0R7RtInDP1sz0TDeBwDIRYzOVH9wtg/s320/Silver%20Screen%20Cowboy.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-66871976362648389262023-04-08T09:40:00.000-06:002023-04-08T09:40:28.126-06:00School days.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9YmWfMH9SqmgrOmBFSUldCqdFZ4XNL3fTDEsCeusID9FWPw9uBbvhX44xJydsMhy4s1TTCEvxLXFBrzDonekN9pVgJnDLUpgVhu_x9NpcGsIsgtK6EoNfNoxHWow9gizmfXZyB_BCizXfRHeenEvTsjLLHyeTpaBAO87zMUvVfM4IbvYT43lvJ8K2w/s712/usu-ut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="712" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9YmWfMH9SqmgrOmBFSUldCqdFZ4XNL3fTDEsCeusID9FWPw9uBbvhX44xJydsMhy4s1TTCEvxLXFBrzDonekN9pVgJnDLUpgVhu_x9NpcGsIsgtK6EoNfNoxHWow9gizmfXZyB_BCizXfRHeenEvTsjLLHyeTpaBAO87zMUvVfM4IbvYT43lvJ8K2w/s320/usu-ut.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">In recent weeks I’ve had the opportunity to spend time on
university campuses at opposite ends of my home state of Utah.</span><p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">At my alma mater, Utah State University in Logan, I met with a
classroom full of journalism students. For more than an hour they peppered me
with questions about journalism, advertising, magazine writing, poetry,
fiction, nonfiction, Western history, how I go about writing, and all manner of
things. Fortunately, after stringing words together over several decades for
all manner of reasons I was able to offer some sort of response to most of
their queries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Days later, I spent an equally enjoyable hour with creative
writing students at Utah Tech University in St. George. Again, the questions
were insightful and the discussion engaging. Later, UT hosted a public event
during which I read from several of my books—mostly fiction but also some nonfiction
and poetry—answered a few questions, and spent time talking with and signing
books for some of the readers kind enough to come out for the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fine local bookseller, </span><a href="https://www.thebookbungalow.com/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Book Bungalow</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, handled sales and now has several of my titles on the shelves at
their store in St. George.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">All in all, the faculty and staff members involved in my visits had
everything well in hand to make the experiences enjoyable. And, the students at
both universities were impressive. They seemed bright, immersed, and
involved—much different from my own time as a college student, if my hazy
memories are to be trusted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-32311961850564274782023-03-17T10:46:00.000-06:002023-03-17T10:46:18.434-06:00To read or not to read?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sWSoT595aqnORNLzjJwkQ_vWpHCSIrCVDW2ToWnKhLKtUzp_f4rzZBzw7grqOX_pefvkXCml8xdhIMaXc-Z4NOn_SwksL6QSztta0FAiH3KX2z8ocuuzeAfSVvig71UsobyWJHuuGvUN27Gfdf1BH5dxh9eWLOMcSfM5Hf_SIGTLHtFQq5t6zF_ghg/s515/NYJB.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="74" data-original-width="515" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sWSoT595aqnORNLzjJwkQ_vWpHCSIrCVDW2ToWnKhLKtUzp_f4rzZBzw7grqOX_pefvkXCml8xdhIMaXc-Z4NOn_SwksL6QSztta0FAiH3KX2z8ocuuzeAfSVvig71UsobyWJHuuGvUN27Gfdf1BH5dxh9eWLOMcSfM5Hf_SIGTLHtFQq5t6zF_ghg/w513-h73/NYJB.png" width="513" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Book reviews can be helpful for readers. Honest book reviews, that
is, not the puff pieces authors often ask friends to post online. An honest
review that expresses the reviewer’s opinion of the book—good or bad—can help
prospective readers weigh that opinion in their decision to read—or not read—a particular
book. A review can also inspire readers to read books they had not known about
or considered.</span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not long ago, I got an email from the <a href="https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/home">New York Journal of Books</a>
where readers find reviews on hundreds of books in every category imaginable.
They invited me to join their panel of reviewers. It says on their website, “This
panel includes bestselling and award-winning authors, journalists, experienced
publishing executives, academics, as well as professionals across a number of
disciplines and industries.” Given that, I can’t help but wonder how or where
they heard about me. Still, I signed on.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Truth is, I am no stranger to book reviews. I wrote a library’s
worth of brief reviews for Western Writers of America’s <i>Roundup</i> magazine
(and not always to the authors’ satisfaction). <i>True West</i> magazine has
asked me to review a few books. I write a lengthier book review each month for
the Utah Westerners newsletter. And my reviews have appeared here and there on
other occasions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you are not familiar with the <a href="https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/home">New York Journal of Books</a>, check
it out. It may help you answer the question all readers ask: To read, or not to
read?</span></p><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-66449030565470995242023-03-04T10:50:00.000-07:002023-03-04T10:50:59.450-07:00Talk, talk, talk. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="357" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d7wf3d0YnC0" width="454" youtube-src-id="d7wf3d0YnC0"></iframe></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not long ago I was asked to do an online interview with a
publisher of Western novels—not my own. <a href="https://dspublishingnetwork.com/">Dusty Saddle Publishing</a>, DSP for
short, in an effort to wave the flag for Western literature, has launched a campaign
to feature authors outside their own stable. So I uncapped the camera on my
laptop and when the questions started coming I opened my mouth and let the syllables spill out and trickle down my shirtfront. <a href="https://youtu.be/d7wf3d0YnC0">Click on the video link</a> and you can watch it
happen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here is how DSP introduced the interview to their readers:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“DSP is always working to reach out to our fellow authors and
bring them to you, our readers. This interview is one of the first of 2023, and
we are very honored to be featuring the very talented Rod Miller. Rod has won
every writing award the Western business has to offer, and his novels are
generally considered to be some of the finest in the genre. We would consider
it an honor if you would hop on over and take a listen to his brand-new
interview and then try out a few of his books. These are the kind of Westerns
readers sit around waiting for. It’s about time you discovered them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-28033230311755003572023-02-23T07:55:00.000-07:002023-02-23T07:55:09.890-07:00At the movies. <p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJ0_Z3Ag2INRYYcjAAamDqEeoaFjDDL0mIs77V8IIa0QJJr7OUlOnxONHOOMfqPAZ3iwlaLWgW9cKiXafhA3l36ko-Xroz1kFZovLHSmzhwmOZclN64k_oEE0RNBNjyIiI_y5P-362auz6XKjfBmyBFpfv_YPhjzqNsyPQstkVbsqnOwxHvCnxXCwzg/s2700/Silver%20Screen%20Cowboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJ0_Z3Ag2INRYYcjAAamDqEeoaFjDDL0mIs77V8IIa0QJJr7OUlOnxONHOOMfqPAZ3iwlaLWgW9cKiXafhA3l36ko-Xroz1kFZovLHSmzhwmOZclN64k_oEE0RNBNjyIiI_y5P-362auz6XKjfBmyBFpfv_YPhjzqNsyPQstkVbsqnOwxHvCnxXCwzg/s320/Silver%20Screen%20Cowboy.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Latigo Brown is a cowboy. A real cowboy, not like those TV and
movie cowboys who ride everywhere at a high lope firing off six-shooters and
hardly ever come into contact with a cow. But he finds himself lured to
Hollywood by a rodeo hero, where he unexpectedly becomes a box-office star
during the heyday of big-screen Westerns and cowboy heroes. Amidst the glitter
and glamour of the movie business, he still harbors resentment for the way
he—and other cowboys—are portrayed.<p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Will Latigo Brown swallow his pride and pocket the money? Will
starlets, high society, and riches win out? Or will Latigo write “The End” to
the movie business? Follow Latigo Brown’s adventures through rodeo arenas, film
sets, and the Hollywood West in the pages of <i>Silver Screen Cowboy</i>. Coming
soon in paperback and eBook from publisher Speaking Volumes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-17999573479820595042023-02-01T10:54:00.000-07:002023-02-01T10:54:24.009-07:00On the trail of an idea.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkSUogugKC9CHznMkp0qBVme_1wKejkykj1XQv9gIjnKslbMt0_On6aaePAVtRGlZJ2dHLUrpDZyEQI6rqUfiVU5N6FsU8Ehq38o0atZcDRQ_MBnUVasvdl7fA94P-x3eCpeC5guDP2FlDL7zkas_9SwEooczvRwK5dZq_5PHKConFJmClGAJYV3INg/s699/Black%20Joe-cover%20art.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="455" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkSUogugKC9CHznMkp0qBVme_1wKejkykj1XQv9gIjnKslbMt0_On6aaePAVtRGlZJ2dHLUrpDZyEQI6rqUfiVU5N6FsU8Ehq38o0atZcDRQ_MBnUVasvdl7fA94P-x3eCpeC5guDP2FlDL7zkas_9SwEooczvRwK5dZq_5PHKConFJmClGAJYV3INg/w130-h200/Black%20Joe-cover%20art.png" width="130" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Writers—including yours truly—are often asked where they get their
ideas. It is not always an easy question to answer. But in the case of my short
story “Black Joe” I know the answer.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Black Joe” was originally published in the periodical <i>Saddlebag
Dispatches</i> in 2019. It was named “Best Western Short Fiction” in 2020 and
given the Peacemaker Award by Western Fictioneers, an organization of
professional writers of—you guessed it—Western fiction. Now it is the title
story in my just released hardcover book from Five Star Publishing, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Joe-Other-Selected-Stories/dp/1432897837/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SRIQ3CN5FXWY&keywords=black+joe+and+other+selected+stories&qid=1674586615&s=books&sprefix=black+joe+and+other+selected+stories%2Cstripbooks%2C129&sr=1-1"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Black Joe and
Other Selected Stories</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But back to the subject at hand and the source of ideas.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://www.cowpokepoet.com/bio"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Andy Nelson</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, a radio host, entertainer, and cowboy poet—and friend—of the
highest order learned of the event that inspired the story from his father, Jim.
It concerns an ornery wild horse, a black stud called Black Joe, that attacked
a father and young daughter while out riding in the backcountry of Idaho. Andy
passed the story on to another friend, cowboy composer, singer, and songwriter </span><a href="https://www.brennhill.com/"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Brenn Hill</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, who saw a song in the incident. He penned “Black Joe” and
recorded it for his 2018 album </span><a href="https://www.brennhill.com/artist/rocky-mountain-drifter/"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rocky
Mountain Drifter</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Being a fan of Brenn Hill’s many talents, I heard the song
numerous times as I played and replayed the album and saw in it the idea for a tale
that starts with the story in the song and goes from there. The result is the
short story “Black Joe.” (Starring, as it happens, two cowboys named Andy Hill
and Brenn Nelson.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So, many thanks to Jim Nelson, Andy Nelson, Brenn Hill, <i>Saddlebag
Dispatches</i>, Western Fictioneers, Five Star Publishing, and you for the
parts you all played in making “</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Joe-Other-Selected-Stories/dp/1432897837/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SRIQ3CN5FXWY&keywords=black+joe+and+other+selected+stories&qid=1674586615&s=books&sprefix=black+joe+and+other+selected+stories%2Cstripbooks%2C129&sr=1-1"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Black Joe</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">” a success.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-20968040438849674612023-01-17T12:21:00.000-07:002023-01-17T12:21:48.432-07:00Really stupid words, Chapter 21.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6H146dG5zWphCkj7nyDwwstsYxQM62P_Vq4MNcUPBYU78dXqpQwKxW2X5JDMGpOgN_9SggJSStKobOrVQkh-k-rX9LuOl9KMdWknzqxKVaEy6te-Cpvp3aXzY6WCvztZ6Dfm1tMJqbTJ_UuY8mHl74IcTqZZaXEGkLfCyDaXBvgpEEEmC4FllXtlEBw/s300/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="300" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6H146dG5zWphCkj7nyDwwstsYxQM62P_Vq4MNcUPBYU78dXqpQwKxW2X5JDMGpOgN_9SggJSStKobOrVQkh-k-rX9LuOl9KMdWknzqxKVaEy6te-Cpvp3aXzY6WCvztZ6Dfm1tMJqbTJ_UuY8mHl74IcTqZZaXEGkLfCyDaXBvgpEEEmC4FllXtlEBw/w320-h192/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Sometimes, perfectly good words get overused and abused and
stretched to the point that they become stupid. One such word that has been stirring
my curmudgeonly coals of late is “journey.”</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">At its core it is a fine word, describing “travel or passage from
one place to another,” the key word being <i>place</i>. While it can be
suggestive of other things, place generally indicates a physical location. That
notion is forgotten more often than not nowadays when it comes to journeys.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu voiced what must be the most famous
saying about “journey” when he said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins
with one step.” The implication of moving from one physical location to another
is surely implicit, if not explicit. Still, the saying and the source have contributed
to the dilution of the meaning of journey. More to blame, perhaps, is a bumper
sticker phrase of uncertain origin and many iterations: “Life is a journey, not
a destination.” Notice how the idea of going from one actual, physical place to
another is missing, watering down the meaning of “journey” to the point where
it can be applied to anything, everything, and nothing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The New Age (which elevated Lao Tzu and his sayings) and all its
psychobabble latched onto the word back in the 1970s and there has been no
turning back. Healing and transformation became a journey, along with your health
and wellness journey, your recovery journey, your emotional growth journey, and
your soul journey. And, of course, our spiritual and religious journeys.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now, even unfortunate situations like fighting cancer have become
journeys. So have trivial situations, like my hair loss journey. Grief became a
journey. Education is a journey. So is weight loss. Business has latched onto the
idea with a passion, tracking customer journeys, service journeys, training and
development journeys, leadership journeys, workday journeys….</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Writers are not immune to the infection. Seldom have I attended a
conference where the “hero’s journey” wasn’t held up as the essence of most any
and every piece of literature. (I confess ignorance of its finer points.) And,
of course, we are each on our personal writing journey.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That’s all for now. While the “journey” journey may be an endless
journey, we’ve come far enough on our journey for one day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkzfsm2rfeEJS9pO_OrGkbCd_2QQ1A7SwWQ1cmeAxxNvknbhzrGPJ1hNipG9w_NMPnjS81kVCqFfOnm1M55Ki-7MYRAo3CnvwL9tDGG1R8L5odfQ7LF0U-uLcV1otZ-fCB1nwKSMIYhlopQM_gWVzRps2B722wHuf2JWtikQuxzfPVlwb2DrqfQS8mQ/s300/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkzfsm2rfeEJS9pO_OrGkbCd_2QQ1A7SwWQ1cmeAxxNvknbhzrGPJ1hNipG9w_NMPnjS81kVCqFfOnm1M55Ki-7MYRAo3CnvwL9tDGG1R8L5odfQ7LF0U-uLcV1otZ-fCB1nwKSMIYhlopQM_gWVzRps2B722wHuf2JWtikQuxzfPVlwb2DrqfQS8mQ/s300/stupid%20keyboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-50601208440658535482022-12-23T11:21:00.000-07:002022-12-23T11:21:56.497-07:00NFR Icons.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHiOeZaIVQXnTy7wj-NRHa8fRs0mYFcEnGAboV9UHX_jopdsrcQQGJ2df7YBeEP9RUGnfcTBAwh97XttVC0zfzxSENv7wt0aVYIobWrAccTK0WWqIrRNIs0sSKclJvy2pglajIGq6LQ0zbTB_-g8KkhuCZDv0x8mLdshUWlAzvL08O5qk3o5If7UmAQ/s1290/NFR%20Icons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="1290" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHiOeZaIVQXnTy7wj-NRHa8fRs0mYFcEnGAboV9UHX_jopdsrcQQGJ2df7YBeEP9RUGnfcTBAwh97XttVC0zfzxSENv7wt0aVYIobWrAccTK0WWqIrRNIs0sSKclJvy2pglajIGq6LQ0zbTB_-g8KkhuCZDv0x8mLdshUWlAzvL08O5qk3o5If7UmAQ/w488-h160/NFR%20Icons.png" width="488" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like many of you, I suspect, I recently spent ten days in rodeo
heaven watching the National Finals Rodeo. This year, the festivities included
a new event: the naming of “NFR Icons,” honored with a banner hoisted into the
rafters and their image enshrined in a bronze sculpture.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The first honorees were Ty Murray, Charmayne James, and Trevor
Brazile. The reasons for honoring those three are many and well chronicled, so
I won’t go into that. What I will mention is the bronze sculpture each received.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The sculptures are the creation of cowboy artist Jeff Wolf, a friend
I have known since our boyhood days in the same hometown. Jeff’s work has been
honored and exhibited and displayed and featured and awarded far and wide. And rightly so, as his depictions of Western life capture the soul and spirit of
the people and the place, right down to the animals. His heart and hands find essence
and energy in lumps of clay and breathe life into bronze.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I had the pleasure of seeing the NFR Icon sculptures in progress
while visiting Jeff at his studio one day this past summer. That memory will be
treasured as much by me as the finished works will be cherished by the
recipients.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jeff’s name as artist and creator was not mentioned in any of the
reports I read about the NFR Icon honors. Shame. As well miss out a bronc, tip
over a barrel, or break a barrier. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ4ZUsRVSs4R53pLVEjPfVbzsqGjVeCMhS-jyqrQwPXnf8A7DniTZQKsUswWHNFOstsTufR6IqQzP6IHkOpcxIdPxVdQy1PXSz23Ql3CgmVXwgYF5zkQBFwHFlxZxWVHw0rejdGtxsQ2DptKnd2FuEdO9nZXM3BlTorCXmh9l-XeJd89qLZAZeYZzlA/s1331/crop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="1331" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ4ZUsRVSs4R53pLVEjPfVbzsqGjVeCMhS-jyqrQwPXnf8A7DniTZQKsUswWHNFOstsTufR6IqQzP6IHkOpcxIdPxVdQy1PXSz23Ql3CgmVXwgYF5zkQBFwHFlxZxWVHw0rejdGtxsQ2DptKnd2FuEdO9nZXM3BlTorCXmh9l-XeJd89qLZAZeYZzlA/w477-h148/crop.png" width="477" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-36756616671813030262022-12-05T11:53:00.000-07:002022-12-05T11:53:35.781-07:00Four totally useless skills I have mastered.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7vKDZYeIagpZX2uE50CQww_zF-AmEUaz5YMZTCxB_en5PF5cQ3oJOOdxDpmqIX3NiFb2DA5rNugMjsT3ovH9cTz5IlFxu4OPruxCEg4GGj-C59aP49sTRdzN2tG85yu5eOK5oPc2GgHvtSkpHJaROkedmRKKShmyxGuHY3oWXq0KMrU0DwseH2fcZQ/s940/useless.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="736" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7vKDZYeIagpZX2uE50CQww_zF-AmEUaz5YMZTCxB_en5PF5cQ3oJOOdxDpmqIX3NiFb2DA5rNugMjsT3ovH9cTz5IlFxu4OPruxCEg4GGj-C59aP49sTRdzN2tG85yu5eOK5oPc2GgHvtSkpHJaROkedmRKKShmyxGuHY3oWXq0KMrU0DwseH2fcZQ/w157-h200/useless.jpeg" width="157" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For several years now I have been of an age that qualifies as old.
I am not feeble as yet—at least not for very long at a stretch—and my health is
generally good. But I am definitely in my dotage.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Among the things that often happen at this time of life is an
accounting of what you have accomplished. My list is short. But among my
accomplishments are a few things I was—or still am—good at that are completely
useless outside of the possibility of providing fleeting enjoyment for those
easily entertained.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>1. Jump in the air and click my heels three times.<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">This one may have left me, but it remains a point of pride for
someone (me) whose coordination and physical abilities are generally lacking.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>2. Recite the alphabet backwards.<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">Although assembling the twenty-six letters of the alphabet has earned
my daily bread throughout my adult life, I have seldom, if ever, been called
upon to recite it in reverse. But I could if asked.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>3. Flip a rope into a bow knot.<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">It takes no more than the blink of an eye. You would think this
skill might come in handy for tying shoes, but I do not remember owning a pair
of shoes with laces.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>4. Hypnotize a chicken.<br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">I have done this. I can do this. Don’t ask me why. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There you have it. Four things I can do that matter not a whit. (It
is, as they say, a slow news day.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /></p><p></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970679145299626478.post-72075490274542280492022-11-19T13:11:00.000-07:002022-11-19T13:11:44.101-07:00Remembering 9/11.<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">September 11. A date burned into history like a brand. The date of
the deadliest mass murder on American soil. But the 9/11 chronicled in </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143289580X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i20" style="text-indent: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With a Kiss I
Die</span></i></a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;">
occurred in 1857 at a place called Mountain Meadows in Utah Territory—an evil
deed unsurpassed in bloody violence until its one hundred and forty-fourth
anniversary in 2001.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143289580X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i20"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With a Kiss I
Die—A Novel of the</span></i><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Massacre at Mountain Meadows </span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is a love story entwined in the tragedy of the
Mountain Meadows Massacre. Polly Alden, a young California-bound Arkansas
emigrant, falls in love with Tom Langford, a Mormon boy she meets in the
settlements of Utah Territory. Caught between the fear and hatred of the
persecuted Saints for the emigrants, and the hostility of the emigrants toward
Mormons who will not replenish their dwindling supplies, the young lovers defy
mistrust and opposition as they aspire to a life together.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Animosity between the emigrants and the settlers grows as the
wagon train makes its way south through the territory, culminating in the
blood-stained soil of Mountain Meadows.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Follow the trail of the Arkansas emigrants and the blossoming
affection of the star-crossed lovers in a compelling, engaging tale inspired by
history—and the eternal conflict between good and evil, hatred and love—through
the pages of </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143289580X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i20"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With a Kiss I
Die</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBQ6umxo_choXfPjDgYz6zX1zrPK4ToiAa5y_zRb-5_c7XZMwmiI2sJlMjiyf27U8ZxbFXw0npmcuVAwMjhIvviIrqV_Sd6IZn7NWS4odv_Edf1ONHYCFlKKE5CtDQkABevVEgWfVXUQSLz-1z4mYZEoI6OItDScB0UfkAm2vige3r43gfaBZrqdwnA/s2550/With%20a%20Kiss%20I%20Die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0in;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="1650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBQ6umxo_choXfPjDgYz6zX1zrPK4ToiAa5y_zRb-5_c7XZMwmiI2sJlMjiyf27U8ZxbFXw0npmcuVAwMjhIvviIrqV_Sd6IZn7NWS4odv_Edf1ONHYCFlKKE5CtDQkABevVEgWfVXUQSLz-1z4mYZEoI6OItDScB0UfkAm2vige3r43gfaBZrqdwnA/s320/With%20a%20Kiss%20I%20Die.jpg" width="207" /></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><br /><br /></o:p></span></p>writer Rod Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466823137099536809noreply@blogger.com0